One bad choice in Heads Up was my primary downfall. Hand 87 I have Qd 9c, am BB, w/6865 chips. SB open raises to 480 and I call. Flop 6d 2h Qh. I pair my Q. I bet 560 into the 960 pot and SB raises me to 1120. I re-raise to 1680 and they go all-in w/5995 chips. I decide to call. I tend to think they have a Q with a better kicker than mine, but they show pocket K's. Opps!! Turn Kh. River 2s. I'm left w/550 chips.
Based on how he has been playing, if not before, but certainly after, he went all-in, that was my clue to fold. He generally didn't stick around unless he had good cards. I became a bit too impatient there and full of wishful thinking!! That kind of behavior doesn't get me a 1st!!!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
2 HU $2 + .15 End 1st 3 hands
Not a lot to say here. 1st hand I had pocket A's and decided to limp. Flop Kd 2s Qs. I decided to bet the 40 pot and BB folded. 2nd hand I had Jh 8h and SB open raised all-in and I folded. 3rd hand I had As 7c and open raised 3 BB (60), BB raised me all-in. I thought about it, he could have two very nice hands in a row, but I did have an Ace, so I decided to call and see what he has, expecting there was a good chance I could be beat. BB shows 3s 4h. Not sure why he went all-in to just pick up 60 chips if I'd folded which was very likely unless I had a great hand. Now all I had to do was hope he didn't suck out. Flop Qc 10c Ah. Good flop for me!. Turn 8c. River 5d. I win. If only all hands were so easy!!
Friday, April 30, 2010
2 HU $2 + .20 End 2nd 16 hands
I really can't complain about this one. I feel I played well overall. Maybe I could have been a bit more aggressive, but on two critical hands the cards didn't fall my way.
Hand 7. A nice win with a scary flop. I'm BB w/5d 6h. SB limps in (usually they were raising to 3 BB) and I call. Flop Jh 7h 4h. I have an open ended straight draw as well as a flush draw, but SB could already have a flush and with only a 6h high in my hand it'll be iffy if I do get the flush. I bet the pot of 40 and SB calls. Doesn't tell me anything except he isn't afraid of the flush. Turn 8c. I've hit my straight. Once again I bet the pot (120) and SB calls. Hmm, maybe he doesn't have the flush. River 7d. Pairs the board. Since SB hasn't done more than call so far, I bet the pot (360) one more time and again SB calls. SB shows 5s Js; only a pair of J's and I win the 1080 pot. That was the high point of this session for me.
Hand 13. The 1st of the hands that didn't go my way. I'm BB w/Qd 10d and 1840 chips. SB raises to 60 and I call. Flop 2d 10c 9s. I hit top pair and bet 70 into the 120 pot. SB calls. Turn 4s. My pair of 10's still looks pretty good and I bet 150 into the 260 pot and the SB raises me to 360 and I call. My thought was he might have a 10 w/a higher kicker, I didn't consider beyond that why he might have raised me. River Qh. This was not a good card for me once I see the end result, but I felt good about now having 2 pair and doubted he would a better two pair to beat me, so I bet 460 into the 980 pot. SB calls and I'm looking forward to the win, BUT NOT SO FAST, SB shows pocket 4's and he had hit his set on the Turn. :-/ I lose and am down to 910 chips.
I'd not considered that he might have a hit a set on the Turn when he raised my bet and though I suspected he had something, it was hard for me to not like my paired 10 with the Q kicker. Then when I hit two pair on the River, well there was no way I was going to get off that hand.
Hand 16. Last hand and 2nd hand where cards didn't go my way. I'm SB w/3h 10s and 780 in chips. I open raise 3 BB (90) and BB calls. Flop 10h 3d Qs. Nice, I hit two pair and it's looking like I might get some of my chips back!! BB checks and I bet the pot of 180, BB calls. Turn Jh. Possible straight out there. BB checks. I only have 525 chips left and it's either all-in or check and I decide to go all-in. If he has the straight I'm dead, but if he's only on a draw or has nothing maybe he'll fold. He calls and shows Kc 10c. Had paired his 10 and has an open ended straight draw. I'm hopeful. River 9s. He gets his straight and session is over.
I feel I played that hand as well as I could once I hit two pair on the flop. He didn't back down and hit the straight on the River. That's the way the cards went.
Hand 7. A nice win with a scary flop. I'm BB w/5d 6h. SB limps in (usually they were raising to 3 BB) and I call. Flop Jh 7h 4h. I have an open ended straight draw as well as a flush draw, but SB could already have a flush and with only a 6h high in my hand it'll be iffy if I do get the flush. I bet the pot of 40 and SB calls. Doesn't tell me anything except he isn't afraid of the flush. Turn 8c. I've hit my straight. Once again I bet the pot (120) and SB calls. Hmm, maybe he doesn't have the flush. River 7d. Pairs the board. Since SB hasn't done more than call so far, I bet the pot (360) one more time and again SB calls. SB shows 5s Js; only a pair of J's and I win the 1080 pot. That was the high point of this session for me.
Hand 13. The 1st of the hands that didn't go my way. I'm BB w/Qd 10d and 1840 chips. SB raises to 60 and I call. Flop 2d 10c 9s. I hit top pair and bet 70 into the 120 pot. SB calls. Turn 4s. My pair of 10's still looks pretty good and I bet 150 into the 260 pot and the SB raises me to 360 and I call. My thought was he might have a 10 w/a higher kicker, I didn't consider beyond that why he might have raised me. River Qh. This was not a good card for me once I see the end result, but I felt good about now having 2 pair and doubted he would a better two pair to beat me, so I bet 460 into the 980 pot. SB calls and I'm looking forward to the win, BUT NOT SO FAST, SB shows pocket 4's and he had hit his set on the Turn. :-/ I lose and am down to 910 chips.
I'd not considered that he might have a hit a set on the Turn when he raised my bet and though I suspected he had something, it was hard for me to not like my paired 10 with the Q kicker. Then when I hit two pair on the River, well there was no way I was going to get off that hand.
Hand 16. Last hand and 2nd hand where cards didn't go my way. I'm SB w/3h 10s and 780 in chips. I open raise 3 BB (90) and BB calls. Flop 10h 3d Qs. Nice, I hit two pair and it's looking like I might get some of my chips back!! BB checks and I bet the pot of 180, BB calls. Turn Jh. Possible straight out there. BB checks. I only have 525 chips left and it's either all-in or check and I decide to go all-in. If he has the straight I'm dead, but if he's only on a draw or has nothing maybe he'll fold. He calls and shows Kc 10c. Had paired his 10 and has an open ended straight draw. I'm hopeful. River 9s. He gets his straight and session is over.
I feel I played that hand as well as I could once I hit two pair on the flop. He didn't back down and hit the straight on the River. That's the way the cards went.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
9 SNG $2 + .25 End 3rd 94 hands
For the greater part of the session I played well without very good cards. At hand 75 I became chip leader w/7530 chips but let them dwindle later on draws. Will write more tomorrow.
Well time has gone by (4/30/10) and I didn't get back to this one, so it will stand as is.
Well time has gone by (4/30/10) and I didn't get back to this one, so it will stand as is.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
9 SNG $2 + .25 End 1st 140 hands
Overall I played well and on the final hand, as Phil Hellmuth talked about the past two weeks in Poker After Dark, I was able to spring the mousetrap I had set. At the start of HU I was way ahead in chips ... 10,730 to 2,770 and fortunately I didn't do anything that messed that up too much, though there were points were he got closer.
Back to the mousetrap. Most of the time when I'm the SB I'll open with a 2 BB or 3 BB raise; some of the time I'll just limp. Often that limp means I don't have very good cards. I noticed after a bit, that a good number of times when I just limped the SB would raise me all-in, where upon, of course since I had crummy cards I'd fold. I was hoping I'd remember that if a time came when I had great cards as often with great cards I'll bet 3 BB or so. Hand 140 was my chance.
Hand 140. Blinds 120/240. I have 11,230 chips and BB has 1910. I have pocket K's (Kd Kc). I limp in with a 240 bet and the BB raises me all-in!! YEAH (unless he has A's :-) ), I instant call. BB shows Qd 5s. Nice. Now all I need is for him not to suck out. Flop 7c Kh 8s. Nice!! Turn Qs. River 9c. I win!!
Hand 13 was a nice hand that depended on an Ace or flush draw for me to win. Seven players left, I was BB w/Ad 4d. UTG, UTG+1, HJ, & SB limped in, I checked. Flop 8d 3h 5d. I have a nut flush draw. SB checks, I bet 100 into the 200 pot, UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 500, HJ & SB fold. I think about it for awhile, as that was a big bet, and feel he either hit a set or has pocket pair overcards, either of which a nut flush would beat, so I decide to call. Turn Kd. The turn is very nice to me, I hit my nut flush!!! I bet 600 into the 1200 pot and UTG+1 goes all-in w/1300 chips. Of course I call. UTG+1 shows Qs 8s. Much worse cards than I expected. River Kc. I now have 3300 chips. UTG+1 is down to 250.
Hand 34. I'd been a bit up and down since hand 13 and had 3875 chips at the start of this hand on the BTN. Five players left, blinds 30/60, I was 2nd in chips. I had 6c 7h. Action folded to me and I decided to try a blinds steal and opened with a 180 raise. The SB who was the chip leader w/5480 chips called & BB folded. Flop 8h 10d 5h. Well, that's partly a good flop for me as I have an open ended straight draw BUT there is also a heart flush draw possible out there, so even if I hit my straight it'll still be iffy if I'll win. SB bets the 420 pot and I reluctantly call. Looking at it now, I'd have been best off to just fold to the pot bet. Turn 6d. Not much help to me. SB checks and so do I. I could have bet something there but I wasn't confident that the SB didn't have something and might have re-raised me. River 10c. Again no help to me. SB goes all-in at that point and I fold. I'm back to 3275 chips but still in 2nd place.
Hand 65 I was able to pick up some chips from the chip leader with some aggressive play on my part. Four players left, blinds 60/120, I'm BB w/Ks Qh and 3395 chips. UTG & chip leader opens with a raise of 240, BTN & SB fold, I call. Flop 4h 8s Kd. Pairs my K. I bet 360 into the 540 pot and UTG raises me to 720. I think about it for a bit and decide to see how serious he is and re-raise him to 1080. He folds and I now have 4475 chips. 1st dent that's been put into the chip leader for some time.
Hand 84. Three players left I'm BB, blinds 80/160. Chip leader has 6415, I have 3915, and short stack has 2930. All of us still well in the game. I have pocket K's (Ks Kh). BTN/chip leader limps in w/160 and I raise to 480, BTN re-raises me to 800. OK, I'm in the money, at least, and unless BTN has AA I'm in pretty good shape, so I re-raise him all-in w/4075 chips. He calls and shows pocket Q's (Qc Qs). I have the over pair. Flop 2s 5s 4h. So far so good. Even with 2 spades I have the Ks to his Qs if we get a runner, runner flush. Turn 2h. One card to go. River Ah. Nice I win and am now in 1st place w/8230 chips. BTN is down to 2340 and in 3rd place.
Hand 85. I give some of the chips back. I'm SB w/Ah Qc. BTN folds and I open with a raise to 320, BB goes all in. Oh dear, what does he have? Well, there's only one way to find out and I call. He shows pocket 7's (7d 7s). At least I have two overcards. Flop 10s 5d 2s. Turn 2h. River 9s. He wins. I'm back to 5890 chips but still in 1st place by 1200 or so chips.
Hand 86. Hard to believe it but I have AQ again, this time suited (Ah Qh). I'm the BTN and open with a raise to 480, SB & 2nd in chips that beat me last hand goes all-in again. BB folds. Darn!! In same spot I was last hand. Well the worse I can end up is 3rd, so I decide to go for it. He shows Ks Qc. I have an overcard to his K!! He didn't have a high pocket pair, or any pocket pair for that matter. That helps me feel a little better. Flop 2c Jd 4s. So far so good. Turn 3d. River 7c. I win and have 10730 chips. We are heads up. The other player has 2770.
It took awhile but in the end I came through!!
Back to the mousetrap. Most of the time when I'm the SB I'll open with a 2 BB or 3 BB raise; some of the time I'll just limp. Often that limp means I don't have very good cards. I noticed after a bit, that a good number of times when I just limped the SB would raise me all-in, where upon, of course since I had crummy cards I'd fold. I was hoping I'd remember that if a time came when I had great cards as often with great cards I'll bet 3 BB or so. Hand 140 was my chance.
Hand 140. Blinds 120/240. I have 11,230 chips and BB has 1910. I have pocket K's (Kd Kc). I limp in with a 240 bet and the BB raises me all-in!! YEAH (unless he has A's :-) ), I instant call. BB shows Qd 5s. Nice. Now all I need is for him not to suck out. Flop 7c Kh 8s. Nice!! Turn Qs. River 9c. I win!!
Hand 13 was a nice hand that depended on an Ace or flush draw for me to win. Seven players left, I was BB w/Ad 4d. UTG, UTG+1, HJ, & SB limped in, I checked. Flop 8d 3h 5d. I have a nut flush draw. SB checks, I bet 100 into the 200 pot, UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 500, HJ & SB fold. I think about it for awhile, as that was a big bet, and feel he either hit a set or has pocket pair overcards, either of which a nut flush would beat, so I decide to call. Turn Kd. The turn is very nice to me, I hit my nut flush!!! I bet 600 into the 1200 pot and UTG+1 goes all-in w/1300 chips. Of course I call. UTG+1 shows Qs 8s. Much worse cards than I expected. River Kc. I now have 3300 chips. UTG+1 is down to 250.
Hand 34. I'd been a bit up and down since hand 13 and had 3875 chips at the start of this hand on the BTN. Five players left, blinds 30/60, I was 2nd in chips. I had 6c 7h. Action folded to me and I decided to try a blinds steal and opened with a 180 raise. The SB who was the chip leader w/5480 chips called & BB folded. Flop 8h 10d 5h. Well, that's partly a good flop for me as I have an open ended straight draw BUT there is also a heart flush draw possible out there, so even if I hit my straight it'll still be iffy if I'll win. SB bets the 420 pot and I reluctantly call. Looking at it now, I'd have been best off to just fold to the pot bet. Turn 6d. Not much help to me. SB checks and so do I. I could have bet something there but I wasn't confident that the SB didn't have something and might have re-raised me. River 10c. Again no help to me. SB goes all-in at that point and I fold. I'm back to 3275 chips but still in 2nd place.
Hand 65 I was able to pick up some chips from the chip leader with some aggressive play on my part. Four players left, blinds 60/120, I'm BB w/Ks Qh and 3395 chips. UTG & chip leader opens with a raise of 240, BTN & SB fold, I call. Flop 4h 8s Kd. Pairs my K. I bet 360 into the 540 pot and UTG raises me to 720. I think about it for a bit and decide to see how serious he is and re-raise him to 1080. He folds and I now have 4475 chips. 1st dent that's been put into the chip leader for some time.
Hand 84. Three players left I'm BB, blinds 80/160. Chip leader has 6415, I have 3915, and short stack has 2930. All of us still well in the game. I have pocket K's (Ks Kh). BTN/chip leader limps in w/160 and I raise to 480, BTN re-raises me to 800. OK, I'm in the money, at least, and unless BTN has AA I'm in pretty good shape, so I re-raise him all-in w/4075 chips. He calls and shows pocket Q's (Qc Qs). I have the over pair. Flop 2s 5s 4h. So far so good. Even with 2 spades I have the Ks to his Qs if we get a runner, runner flush. Turn 2h. One card to go. River Ah. Nice I win and am now in 1st place w/8230 chips. BTN is down to 2340 and in 3rd place.
Hand 85. I give some of the chips back. I'm SB w/Ah Qc. BTN folds and I open with a raise to 320, BB goes all in. Oh dear, what does he have? Well, there's only one way to find out and I call. He shows pocket 7's (7d 7s). At least I have two overcards. Flop 10s 5d 2s. Turn 2h. River 9s. He wins. I'm back to 5890 chips but still in 1st place by 1200 or so chips.
Hand 86. Hard to believe it but I have AQ again, this time suited (Ah Qh). I'm the BTN and open with a raise to 480, SB & 2nd in chips that beat me last hand goes all-in again. BB folds. Darn!! In same spot I was last hand. Well the worse I can end up is 3rd, so I decide to go for it. He shows Ks Qc. I have an overcard to his K!! He didn't have a high pocket pair, or any pocket pair for that matter. That helps me feel a little better. Flop 2c Jd 4s. So far so good. Turn 3d. River 7c. I win and have 10730 chips. We are heads up. The other player has 2770.
It took awhile but in the end I came through!!
2 HU $2 + .15 End 1st 12 hands
This one went nicely. On hand 9 my pocket 9's hit a set and my opponent paired his 10 with an Ace kicker that let him call my last bet. The board also had 66 so I had a FH.
Hand 11 was a bit of a gamble. I was SB w/Ad 8h, 1730 chips. I open raised to 60 and BB called. Flop 3s 8s 8c. I hit trip 8's. BB checked and I bet 60 into the 120 pot, BB called. Turn Qs. Possible flush out there. BB bet the pot - 240. I thought about it awhile, and decided to re-raise to 480. If he calls or re-re-raises and I have to fold I'll still have enough chips to make it a game. BB thinks about it awhile and finally folds. Phew. BB is down to 900 chips.
Hand 12. I have pocket 4's, am BB. SB open raises to 60 and I call. Flop 4h 2s Kh. I hit my set. I bet 60 into the 120 pot and the SB raises to 300. He may be on a flush draw, or maybe he has K's. I didn't feel he had a set. Since he only has 540 chips left I re-raise all-in and he calls. He shows Kc 5c. I only have to worry about a K. Turn 4s. Well, game over. I don't have to worry about anything now!!! :-) River Jd. I win.
As I said the cards were very good to me at the right times!! Nice to have one of those.
Hand 11 was a bit of a gamble. I was SB w/Ad 8h, 1730 chips. I open raised to 60 and BB called. Flop 3s 8s 8c. I hit trip 8's. BB checked and I bet 60 into the 120 pot, BB called. Turn Qs. Possible flush out there. BB bet the pot - 240. I thought about it awhile, and decided to re-raise to 480. If he calls or re-re-raises and I have to fold I'll still have enough chips to make it a game. BB thinks about it awhile and finally folds. Phew. BB is down to 900 chips.
Hand 12. I have pocket 4's, am BB. SB open raises to 60 and I call. Flop 4h 2s Kh. I hit my set. I bet 60 into the 120 pot and the SB raises to 300. He may be on a flush draw, or maybe he has K's. I didn't feel he had a set. Since he only has 540 chips left I re-raise all-in and he calls. He shows Kc 5c. I only have to worry about a K. Turn 4s. Well, game over. I don't have to worry about anything now!!! :-) River Jd. I win.
As I said the cards were very good to me at the right times!! Nice to have one of those.
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