“So shave your face with some mace in the dark
Savin all your food stamps and burnin down the trailer park
Soy un perdedor
I’m a loser baby, so why don’t’ you kill me?”
Beck, “Loser”
I sit down to play some poker at Stars. It’s late and the room is full of fish. A fly is buzzing around my head, literally, doing circles. He lands on my computer screen. I can’t catch him. Then it’s back to buzzing my brain. TPTK goes down to a set. I knew he had a set. He telegraphed he had a set. Bzzzzzz.
With 2/3 of my stack gone, I switchover to Poker Academy, hang with some friends, play some non-lethal Hold ‘em, and chat it up. People are bickering. I double up, maybe a little more, and with my confidence restored, head back to Stars.
I sit down with $15 at a 25NL. The room is juicy, Maniacs looking to lose it all or cooler. They’re betting with air. The best table I have seen to-date. The read is fast and easy. I know these players. They are some of PA’s biggest fish-types. And I get lucky.
Table 'Hydra II' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: Z_Lowery ($12.60 in chips)
Seat 2: bastinptc ($14.75 in chips)
Seat 3: sutmin@nu ($12 in chips)
Seat 4: Kai23P ($17.95 in chips)
Seat 5: Streetgun ($14.40 in chips)
Seat 6: 0neShott ($14.20 in chips)
Seat 7: strinsel ($13.05 in chips)
Seat 8: ceteotl78 ($3.50 in chips)
Seat 9: baufleur ($26.20 in chips)
baufleur: posts small blind $0.10
Z_Lowery: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Kh Ah]
bastinptc: calls $0.25
sutmin@nu: calls $0.25
Kai23P: folds
Streetgun: folds
0neShott: folds
strinsel: calls $0.25
ceteotl78: calls $0.25
baufleur: raises $1.75 to $2
Z_Lowery: folds
bastinptc: calls $1.75
sutmin@nu: calls $1.75
strinsel: calls $1.75
ceteotl78: folds
*** FLOP *** [2d 4h 3h]
Z_Lowery leaves the table
baufleur: checks
bastinptc: checks
sutmin@nu: checks
strinsel: bets $6
baufleur: calls $6
bastinptc: calls $6
sutmin@nu: folds
*** TURN *** [2d 4h 3h] [3d]
baufleur: checks
bastinptc: checks
strinsel: bets $5.05 and is all-in
baufleur: calls $5.05
bastinptc: calls $5.05
*** RIVER *** [2d 4h 3h 3d] [Js]
baufleur: checks
bastinptc: checks
FREVALE joins the table at seat #1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
baufleur: shows [Kd 6d] (a pair of Threes)
bastinptc: shows [Kh Ah] (a pair of Threes - Ace kicker)
strinsel: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $39.65 from pot
A couple hands later and I pick up a $13 pot with a set of nines. I’m back, Baby! Up for the day. I pour myself a scotch to celebrate.
Gumpo shows up in the room.. He’s looking to get in on the action. The nut cases soon leave, the table tightens up a bit, and he leaves. Just as he does, it goes a little wacky again. Maybe because the scotch is kicking in.
The player to my left was quiet for quite some time, and then he starts raising, raising raising, and losing a portion of his stack in the process. I take note, I hit a Broadway on the turn, which also makes 3 to a flush. He puts in what he has left and I call. 73c. A few hands later I didn’t believe he had the Ace. I had the Ace. He had the Ace, a big one. Oops.
He leaves and Mr. All-in Shortie takes his seat. He raises it up from UTG and gets two callers before me in the BB. I have KQ off and call. K on the flop and I check raise. He calls. Ace comes on the, he puts in the rest of his piddly stack, I call. Figures.
So, I tilted and called off all of my winnings and more. I eventually calm down and start getting some of it back. But it’s very, very late, or early, and I have the day to think about. I pour myself a little more scotch and go upstairs to watch the fucking depressing news, pet a kitty and eventually crawl into a lonely bed. Bzzzzzzzzzz
“Yo, hit it.
Soy un perdedor
Im a loser baby, so why dont you kill me?”
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
On and Off, Left and Right, and Friendship as a Rheostat
It’s 11:50am so it must be time for the DSL to go down. Yep. Clockwork. I’ve called about 20 times in the last month about this and get various answers and solutions that seem to always lead back to another phone call. But, you didn’t come here to read my whine about this.
I told myself that I would write a bit this morning, post it, and get my ass outside to do some work. The long to-do list just gets longer.
12:00 noon and the DSL is back up. Magic. Whine enough and things happen.
Whining works in poker too. I sit there for 40 hands with 93 off, type in “JFC! Can I get a fekkin hand?” and get a baby run, just enough to give my stack a bump and keep me at the table for another 50 hands.
12:07pm. DSL down again. WTF? Lunch time for Tech Support. “Rebuffering Stream” pops up on my iTunes. I can feel my frustration building. Music tilt. I’ll have to revert to my playlist. I should stay away from free jazz for the moment. No Ken Vandermark.
I listen to music while I play poker online. That’s about the extent of my abilities to multitask. Sometimes I take my iPod to the casino to tune out or to re-energize. My dear wife has put some great music on the thing, all designed to get one singing and swinging. I have downloaded a more ambient selection, and I find myself returning to hers time and again.
12:19. Back up. A techno beat, much like the music my son creates. The kid is good.
So, a half hour into this and I’m having a hard time figuring out where this post is going. I had intended on writing more about the Friday night home game, focusing more on the banter. No iPod needed for this game, as it is usually a laugh riot.
As I wrote in the previous post, M showed up late, a little toasty after a woman friend’s birthday party at a bar. He had a glow about him. He tells a story about climbing up on the bar and starting to do a strip tease. He unbuttoned his shirt, took off his belt and dropped his pants zipper to half-mast. Women started putting dollar bills into his pockets and his fly. When it was over, he put all of the dollars into the bartender’s tip jar. After I relieve him of the majority of his chips, he looks in his wallet for more money, finds $14, digs into his pockets and finds a crushed dollar bill.
My dedicated readers might remember that M is the guy who had the heart attack. M likes me. He respects my play. This means a lot to me. In fact, I think it is fair to say that most of the guys in this game like me. And why not? I’m a nice guy. Still, the test came at the game last week. Fresh on the heels of the Sarah Palin speech (the debut, not the multiple reiterations and continued insistence on things that have already been found to be untrue, such as selling the jet on Ebay and her initial take on the Bridge to Nowhere), we started talking politics. The discussion was lively, as if I had a chance to go on FOX Noise and debate the sound bites. Of course, nothing was resolved, and most folks dismissed outright anything I had to say. Except for P. This week he said that I had made a good argument, and in fact I stated my position better than anyone else at the table. However, he was still going to vote for McCain. I was fine with that. Folks out here, away from the big metropolitan areas of the state, are largely conservative. I understand why. I still think they’re drinking the Kool Aid, but I understand why. They think I drink the Kool Aid too. Still, we come together for other reasons, just as the other farmers in the area would rather talk about harvests than affiliations.
So, the air was cleared and we went back to our banter. It was my turn to deal and P asks about the tattoo on my left forearm. He states that he’s never noticed it before. It is a single, straight black line, about 3/16” wide and 2 1/2” long. “It’s my ode to minimalism.” That’s my standard reply when I’m asked.
“Huh?”
“Well, you know how most folks get very elaborate tattoos? I wanted something simple.”
M chimes in: “Minimalism, huh? Well, if you were that clever to think up that, then why bother with getting the tattoo at all? Seems the idea is enough.” We had a good laugh. M was confusing minimalism with conceptualism.
How did we get started on politics again this week? I was still waiting for the cash game to start. L, King of the Donks started it. He wasn’t at the game the week before. “How about that woman’s speech? What did you think bastin?”
“You mean Palin?”
“Yeah. I was going to vote for Obama before, but that was a great speech.” Lord. I steer clear.
P asks me to retrieve one of his beers from the fridge. I say sure and F asks, “So, is bastin your bitch now?”
I reply, “Call me a bitch again and I’ll come over there and slap those glasses off of your face and then cram them up your nose!” I said it with a smile. One can say almost anything with a smile and get away with it. (“ He worked as a community organizer. What?”) The table roars with laughter.
F says, Whoa! I thought you were a peace-loving Liberal.”
“This is the new breed of Liberal. No more bend-over-and-take-it-up-the-ass nice guy.”
L asks, “Hey, where’s your hat?” He’s referring to my Dead Guy Ale hat. The hat that makes me aggressive.
“I forgot it. I don’t need it anymore. It’s a new day.”
1:23pm It’s been almost an hour since the DSL last went down. My frustration has dissipated. Hell, I’m almost hopeful. Maybe it will stay up for good. Right.
2:20pm. Neighbors called and needed some help. These neighbors are good friends of ours, a couple women who aren’t as spry as they used to be and they’re still trying to maintain a cattle herd and a sizable flock of sheep. Their log splitter is on the fritz and couldn’t load it into the back of the pick up to take it for repairs. No sweat. I pulled and one of the women pushed. And just for the record, I suspect they’re Reagan Democrats.
And the DSL is down again. Oops, it’s 2:26pm and it’s back.
I take down a big pot from F, and this time he calls me a bastard. I pick up a folding chair.
I told myself that I would write a bit this morning, post it, and get my ass outside to do some work. The long to-do list just gets longer.
12:00 noon and the DSL is back up. Magic. Whine enough and things happen.
Whining works in poker too. I sit there for 40 hands with 93 off, type in “JFC! Can I get a fekkin hand?” and get a baby run, just enough to give my stack a bump and keep me at the table for another 50 hands.
12:07pm. DSL down again. WTF? Lunch time for Tech Support. “Rebuffering Stream” pops up on my iTunes. I can feel my frustration building. Music tilt. I’ll have to revert to my playlist. I should stay away from free jazz for the moment. No Ken Vandermark.
I listen to music while I play poker online. That’s about the extent of my abilities to multitask. Sometimes I take my iPod to the casino to tune out or to re-energize. My dear wife has put some great music on the thing, all designed to get one singing and swinging. I have downloaded a more ambient selection, and I find myself returning to hers time and again.
12:19. Back up. A techno beat, much like the music my son creates. The kid is good.
So, a half hour into this and I’m having a hard time figuring out where this post is going. I had intended on writing more about the Friday night home game, focusing more on the banter. No iPod needed for this game, as it is usually a laugh riot.
As I wrote in the previous post, M showed up late, a little toasty after a woman friend’s birthday party at a bar. He had a glow about him. He tells a story about climbing up on the bar and starting to do a strip tease. He unbuttoned his shirt, took off his belt and dropped his pants zipper to half-mast. Women started putting dollar bills into his pockets and his fly. When it was over, he put all of the dollars into the bartender’s tip jar. After I relieve him of the majority of his chips, he looks in his wallet for more money, finds $14, digs into his pockets and finds a crushed dollar bill.
My dedicated readers might remember that M is the guy who had the heart attack. M likes me. He respects my play. This means a lot to me. In fact, I think it is fair to say that most of the guys in this game like me. And why not? I’m a nice guy. Still, the test came at the game last week. Fresh on the heels of the Sarah Palin speech (the debut, not the multiple reiterations and continued insistence on things that have already been found to be untrue, such as selling the jet on Ebay and her initial take on the Bridge to Nowhere), we started talking politics. The discussion was lively, as if I had a chance to go on FOX Noise and debate the sound bites. Of course, nothing was resolved, and most folks dismissed outright anything I had to say. Except for P. This week he said that I had made a good argument, and in fact I stated my position better than anyone else at the table. However, he was still going to vote for McCain. I was fine with that. Folks out here, away from the big metropolitan areas of the state, are largely conservative. I understand why. I still think they’re drinking the Kool Aid, but I understand why. They think I drink the Kool Aid too. Still, we come together for other reasons, just as the other farmers in the area would rather talk about harvests than affiliations.
So, the air was cleared and we went back to our banter. It was my turn to deal and P asks about the tattoo on my left forearm. He states that he’s never noticed it before. It is a single, straight black line, about 3/16” wide and 2 1/2” long. “It’s my ode to minimalism.” That’s my standard reply when I’m asked.
“Huh?”
“Well, you know how most folks get very elaborate tattoos? I wanted something simple.”
M chimes in: “Minimalism, huh? Well, if you were that clever to think up that, then why bother with getting the tattoo at all? Seems the idea is enough.” We had a good laugh. M was confusing minimalism with conceptualism.
How did we get started on politics again this week? I was still waiting for the cash game to start. L, King of the Donks started it. He wasn’t at the game the week before. “How about that woman’s speech? What did you think bastin?”
“You mean Palin?”
“Yeah. I was going to vote for Obama before, but that was a great speech.” Lord. I steer clear.
P asks me to retrieve one of his beers from the fridge. I say sure and F asks, “So, is bastin your bitch now?”
I reply, “Call me a bitch again and I’ll come over there and slap those glasses off of your face and then cram them up your nose!” I said it with a smile. One can say almost anything with a smile and get away with it. (“ He worked as a community organizer. What?”) The table roars with laughter.
F says, Whoa! I thought you were a peace-loving Liberal.”
“This is the new breed of Liberal. No more bend-over-and-take-it-up-the-ass nice guy.”
L asks, “Hey, where’s your hat?” He’s referring to my Dead Guy Ale hat. The hat that makes me aggressive.
“I forgot it. I don’t need it anymore. It’s a new day.”
1:23pm It’s been almost an hour since the DSL last went down. My frustration has dissipated. Hell, I’m almost hopeful. Maybe it will stay up for good. Right.
2:20pm. Neighbors called and needed some help. These neighbors are good friends of ours, a couple women who aren’t as spry as they used to be and they’re still trying to maintain a cattle herd and a sizable flock of sheep. Their log splitter is on the fritz and couldn’t load it into the back of the pick up to take it for repairs. No sweat. I pulled and one of the women pushed. And just for the record, I suspect they’re Reagan Democrats.
And the DSL is down again. Oops, it’s 2:26pm and it’s back.
I take down a big pot from F, and this time he calls me a bastard. I pick up a folding chair.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
If It’s Friday…
Home Game last night. I went late for the cash game segment, for as I have mentioned before, I am dead money in the tournament portion of the evening. I counted six cars in the drive, considerably fewer cars than usual, and walked into a seven-handed game. Maybe a lot of people had already busted out and gone home. Nope, and for some reason the blinds were still at 100/200 two and one half hours after the game was supposed to begin. Things felt off-kilter. L, King of All Donks, was, for the moment, killing the table with his usual any two cards.
I arrived just in time to see the host, R, bust out with AKs against L’s A3h when L picked up a 3. R was miffed, not only because it was L, but I also suspect because he is almost always in the money, maybe 90% of the time. R does not like to lose. I know, who does, yet when it is to L, you can see the ire rise. His face turns red, which is really quite a sight to see, the flush against his snow-white hair and full beard, like a pimple in reverse. To R’s credit, he went for a walk and cooled off a bit. He is, after all, the gracious host.
R had been sitting at the head of the table and L was to his right. I took the seat just to watch, and see every hand that L had in the hole. I watched him play both 82s and 82 off, successfully stealing a pot on the flop with the latter from the BB when it was just he and the SB in the hand. How, then, would he play the AJ off from UTG with four players left? He limped. The Button, P, raised 3 x BB, the blinds folded and L called. J on the flop and L shoves. The button calls and has L covered. AA holds up.
The sad part is that L left shortly thereafter. I was hoping for a repeat of last week’s game in which his stack became mine. I continued to watch the game and to watch P eventually win, and soon thereafter we sat down to a short-handed cash game.
By the time the cash game started, things were pretty loose, in more ways than one, yet probably all ways related. There’s alcohol involved: P drinks 16-oz cans of Busch Light (I know, yuk); F was drinking Fat Tire; I had one bottle of Stella Artois left in the fridge from last week’s game; R rarely drinks while playing and wasn’t tonight; F’s cousin was nursing a Snapple; and the kid at the table, B, wasn’t drinking either. P and F drove the action.
I had R to my right and F’s cousin to my left, which is the way I wanted it. I can read both of them fairly well. R gives off a vibe that telegraphs his hand in a way that is hard to describe. It’s a subtle shift in his demeanor. F’s cousin plays ABC poker and is a bit of a chaser. You know when he has a big hand and you know when he’s on a draw. The kid, B, wears his hand on his sleeve, so there’s no problem there either. P and F are a little harder to figure out. No, make that a lot harder, and add to that the fact that they’ll play marginal hands preflop without a second thought.
I was holding my own. I was up about 50% with some good postflop play and a pair of Ks that went uncontested postflop. A $6 raise in this .50/1.00 game is seen as a challenge to call. And now that I think back on the evening, it’s seen as an indication that a player has a middle pocket pair. I know this because after a big hand, a discussion often ensues.
Because this game has pretty much the same cast of characters each week, there is a level of comfort and familiarity that, in the end, makes the game a little more challenging. As a hand is being played, the peanut gallery often chimes in with their reads. I don’t like this aspect, and don’t indulge, yet I keep quiet about it. I have already made my feelings known about rat holing, and had the house rules changed, so I had changed enough. I did note, however, if F didn’t like the chorus during a hand he was in, he spoke up. Too late. Nor did it subside.
F felted R, which was all the R could handle and he silently went to bed. The kid had bought in for $20 and was soon gone, leaving a four-handed game. I thought we might call it a night, but no, we were just getting started. M showed up to the game, a bit tipsy from a birthday party and was ready to throw some cash around. We now had three loose players at the table.
I began to take some hits. P called my raise and hit a K with his K7h to my AJs, I had a gutshot on the flop. He called my C-bet, I fired another bullet on the turn when it paired the board. He wasn’t budging and I gave up the ghost. UTG I pick up AQ and limp, knowing that if I were to raise, I’m going to get 3 callers. I’ll hope to hit the flop and go from there. M has different ideas. From the SB and with three limps behind him, he raises to $6. I’m his only caller. The flop is all small and M fires out $10. I figure with two overcards, I’ll see another card. The turn is small again and M bets $20. I fold. He shows A8c. OK… He may have had a gutshot.
I use this information to my advantage. I am in two more hands HU with M. Kings in the hole and he doesn’t believe me (remember, middle pair) and I take a portion of his stack. Then a nut flush river. He went into the tank with my value bet. No dice. He had caught an A on the flop, the turn paired my Kc and had it kept me in the hand. He showed his Ace with a 5s. I am now back above even.
It’s getting late. I have chores in the morning but I don’t want to leave the game just yet. I decide instead to shift my usual tight play into a limpfest. I’m up $12 and I’ll use that to see any two cards twelve times and then go home. Seven hands into this strategy I pick up 10s from UTG and bet $6, the reminder of my profit. As anticipated, I get two callers, P and F. (M is nursing his last $15.) The flop is Q 10 3, all hearts. F is the BB and bets $10 into a $18.50 pot. I re-raise another $20. I have $27 behind. F goes into the tank, P remarks that it is obvious I don’t want a call, F says he’s getting 3 to 1 to call, fiddles with his stack of $5 chips, and I’m kicking myself in the ass for not shoving. I had thought that putting in three times his bet would be enough of a psychological deterrent; instead, he’s doing the math. F calls. I know what F has. He has the Ah with a Q. I want F to know what I have too, loud and clear, and I shove the rest of my stack in blind.
The turn is a blank. He goes in the tank again, still shuffling those green chips. He mutters “6 to 1” and P is egging him on to call. I’m silently begging for mercy. After at least four minutes of this, F folds and asks for a rabbit hunt. Another blank. Oh well. I’m happy with the outcome. Yet, I have to think back over the hand. Had I shoved the flop, he may have folded and I’d be out an additional $20. Had I shoved the flop and, as unlikely as it was, he held two hearts, I’d be screwed. My raise on the flop was to find out where I was at and to send a message. The problem was that I was then left with so little behind that I was at his mercy. I am left thinking that I played the hand marginally well and got marginally lucky.
I stayed for another orbit and, having nearly doubled up, called it a night around 2am, only to come home and, before going to bed, flop quad Jacks on Poker Academy. My HU opponent boated up on the turn.
I arrived just in time to see the host, R, bust out with AKs against L’s A3h when L picked up a 3. R was miffed, not only because it was L, but I also suspect because he is almost always in the money, maybe 90% of the time. R does not like to lose. I know, who does, yet when it is to L, you can see the ire rise. His face turns red, which is really quite a sight to see, the flush against his snow-white hair and full beard, like a pimple in reverse. To R’s credit, he went for a walk and cooled off a bit. He is, after all, the gracious host.
R had been sitting at the head of the table and L was to his right. I took the seat just to watch, and see every hand that L had in the hole. I watched him play both 82s and 82 off, successfully stealing a pot on the flop with the latter from the BB when it was just he and the SB in the hand. How, then, would he play the AJ off from UTG with four players left? He limped. The Button, P, raised 3 x BB, the blinds folded and L called. J on the flop and L shoves. The button calls and has L covered. AA holds up.
The sad part is that L left shortly thereafter. I was hoping for a repeat of last week’s game in which his stack became mine. I continued to watch the game and to watch P eventually win, and soon thereafter we sat down to a short-handed cash game.
By the time the cash game started, things were pretty loose, in more ways than one, yet probably all ways related. There’s alcohol involved: P drinks 16-oz cans of Busch Light (I know, yuk); F was drinking Fat Tire; I had one bottle of Stella Artois left in the fridge from last week’s game; R rarely drinks while playing and wasn’t tonight; F’s cousin was nursing a Snapple; and the kid at the table, B, wasn’t drinking either. P and F drove the action.
I had R to my right and F’s cousin to my left, which is the way I wanted it. I can read both of them fairly well. R gives off a vibe that telegraphs his hand in a way that is hard to describe. It’s a subtle shift in his demeanor. F’s cousin plays ABC poker and is a bit of a chaser. You know when he has a big hand and you know when he’s on a draw. The kid, B, wears his hand on his sleeve, so there’s no problem there either. P and F are a little harder to figure out. No, make that a lot harder, and add to that the fact that they’ll play marginal hands preflop without a second thought.
I was holding my own. I was up about 50% with some good postflop play and a pair of Ks that went uncontested postflop. A $6 raise in this .50/1.00 game is seen as a challenge to call. And now that I think back on the evening, it’s seen as an indication that a player has a middle pocket pair. I know this because after a big hand, a discussion often ensues.
Because this game has pretty much the same cast of characters each week, there is a level of comfort and familiarity that, in the end, makes the game a little more challenging. As a hand is being played, the peanut gallery often chimes in with their reads. I don’t like this aspect, and don’t indulge, yet I keep quiet about it. I have already made my feelings known about rat holing, and had the house rules changed, so I had changed enough. I did note, however, if F didn’t like the chorus during a hand he was in, he spoke up. Too late. Nor did it subside.
F felted R, which was all the R could handle and he silently went to bed. The kid had bought in for $20 and was soon gone, leaving a four-handed game. I thought we might call it a night, but no, we were just getting started. M showed up to the game, a bit tipsy from a birthday party and was ready to throw some cash around. We now had three loose players at the table.
I began to take some hits. P called my raise and hit a K with his K7h to my AJs, I had a gutshot on the flop. He called my C-bet, I fired another bullet on the turn when it paired the board. He wasn’t budging and I gave up the ghost. UTG I pick up AQ and limp, knowing that if I were to raise, I’m going to get 3 callers. I’ll hope to hit the flop and go from there. M has different ideas. From the SB and with three limps behind him, he raises to $6. I’m his only caller. The flop is all small and M fires out $10. I figure with two overcards, I’ll see another card. The turn is small again and M bets $20. I fold. He shows A8c. OK… He may have had a gutshot.
I use this information to my advantage. I am in two more hands HU with M. Kings in the hole and he doesn’t believe me (remember, middle pair) and I take a portion of his stack. Then a nut flush river. He went into the tank with my value bet. No dice. He had caught an A on the flop, the turn paired my Kc and had it kept me in the hand. He showed his Ace with a 5s. I am now back above even.
It’s getting late. I have chores in the morning but I don’t want to leave the game just yet. I decide instead to shift my usual tight play into a limpfest. I’m up $12 and I’ll use that to see any two cards twelve times and then go home. Seven hands into this strategy I pick up 10s from UTG and bet $6, the reminder of my profit. As anticipated, I get two callers, P and F. (M is nursing his last $15.) The flop is Q 10 3, all hearts. F is the BB and bets $10 into a $18.50 pot. I re-raise another $20. I have $27 behind. F goes into the tank, P remarks that it is obvious I don’t want a call, F says he’s getting 3 to 1 to call, fiddles with his stack of $5 chips, and I’m kicking myself in the ass for not shoving. I had thought that putting in three times his bet would be enough of a psychological deterrent; instead, he’s doing the math. F calls. I know what F has. He has the Ah with a Q. I want F to know what I have too, loud and clear, and I shove the rest of my stack in blind.
The turn is a blank. He goes in the tank again, still shuffling those green chips. He mutters “6 to 1” and P is egging him on to call. I’m silently begging for mercy. After at least four minutes of this, F folds and asks for a rabbit hunt. Another blank. Oh well. I’m happy with the outcome. Yet, I have to think back over the hand. Had I shoved the flop, he may have folded and I’d be out an additional $20. Had I shoved the flop and, as unlikely as it was, he held two hearts, I’d be screwed. My raise on the flop was to find out where I was at and to send a message. The problem was that I was then left with so little behind that I was at his mercy. I am left thinking that I played the hand marginally well and got marginally lucky.
I stayed for another orbit and, having nearly doubled up, called it a night around 2am, only to come home and, before going to bed, flop quad Jacks on Poker Academy. My HU opponent boated up on the turn.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Swings, Part 2
Last night after chores had all been taken care of and I had closed down the Republican National Convention (Yes, this old progressive hippie watches The RNC too.), I poured a cup of coffee and played some 25NL at Stars. Ever patient, I waited for the right hands or the right spots, and managed to lose about $26. The final blow was cracked Aces against a set of Kings on the flop. A little voice said, “set” but I was too busy praying AK to listen. And, of course, he let me do all of the betting until he was all-in.
Today during chores I thought about the hand. Four out of five times, I’m good against Kings, right? The most immediate problem that came to mind real was that the $20 I lost on that hand represented 12% of my existing PS roll. Not so good. I gave some more consideration to moving down to 10NL and made a mental note to look around for one of those games tonight.
I’ve looked at the 10NL games before. Yesterday and today weren’t the first times I thought I should be more prudent with my roll. Yet, today, as on other days, I couldn’t find a room that registered as being loose, nor could I find one that wasn’t heavily peppered with people playing $2 stacks. No set mining allowed when the shorty pushes. No implied odds. Not prudent. Yet, I was determined to try, so I found one that had only a couple shorties and took a seat… for about two orbits.
I couldn’t stand it. It just wasn’t worth my time or, perhaps , more honestly, I don’t have the patience to grind any lower than 25NL. By the end of the second round I was looking for a move up.
I had to wait a bit, yet there were a couple stacks that looked to be in their final throes, so wait I did. (See, I can be patient.) However, my bladder was feeling a bit overwrought. Could I wait it out? Yes, a seat! I bought in, sat out and ran upstairs.
By the time I returned the blinds had just passed. “Wait until the big blind?” the program asked. No, I’ll play the cut-off. Pretty. QQ. An early position player raised 3 x BB and the player to my right called. Knowing full well that no one believes someone could possibly have a good hand when coming in like that, I popped it to $2.00. The first player folded and the second called. The flop was 388. Bet, raise, call. The turn, another Q, was sheer beauty. The guy puts in the rest of his initial $24. He has A3 off and immediately reloads for $10.
The next hand he pushes all-in and everyone dutifully folds. Same with the next hand and about 75% of the rest of his hands, increasing his stack to $17, and then he ran up against someone’s pocket Kings. Unfortunately, they weren’t mine. The best I saw was snowmen, and they weren’t worth $15.
With the donkey vanquished, it was time to move on. To make a long story short, I made another quick $7 in another room with 10s against 9s, leading the whole way after calling an early position 5 x BB preflop bet.
Then the phone rang. It might be my dear wife checking in, so GL folks, until tomorrow.
Very early on, when I was just learning how to play poker, I learned that money seems to disappear a lot faster than it comes in. Even today it seems to be the case. One can rationalize it away by blaming the big downward swings on bad beat and suckouts. Yes, they happen to all of us, and they are painful. Yet, they don’t happen every single time one loses a big pot or goes on a bad run. So, I have to look for holes.
I know my losing sessions aren’t caused by chasing. I simply don’t do it. If I have odds to a draw, I’m there; otherwise I fold. If I have a pocket pair and don’t hit a set on the flop, without four to a straight or flush, I’m gone. Where, then, do I lose it? Primarily with top pairs or TPTK hands. I push with them despite evidence that I may be beat. It’s almost as if I feel that I am owed the pot. Wow, what a huge flaw! What a newbie!
This is actually a much more complicated problem than being relatively new to the game. (Almost 3 years now.) It may have more to do with what Mr. Gumpo was talking about in his comments to my last post: bad players believing they have the best of it, when in fact they don’t, and me looking for a cooler draw behind every Bush. So, when the board looks favorable, I push it along with pot-sized bets, looking more to discourage players from staying in a hand than actually considering what winning hand I may be up against. I’m reading the players wrong, or rather, my approach is more reactionary than it should be.
I suspect, forgive me for saying this, that it has something to do with Poker Academy. Not with the software, and not with a majority of players who I play with day-in and day-out. It’s the ones that play as if it is play money. The same type of players, or so I imagine, are playing the micros at the cash sites, and $1/$2 at the casino (albeit fewer at the casino). Play money. $25 is play money for some, just as $100 is for a few others who can afford such a thing. They are either giving it their (not so) best or gambling for fun. (At the casino the loose players may be straight out gamblers, playing poker like they would roulette. Who knows? Sounds like a future post.)
I should be glad that these players are around, right? Over the long haul… right? Ultimately, it is my attitude that needs to shift. And this, dear friends, may be a more daunting task for me than doing algebra. Is it purely another manifestation of the bankroll issue? Is it an ego thing? I shall think upon it and, with the hope that any insights I gain might help other players, report back.
Today during chores I thought about the hand. Four out of five times, I’m good against Kings, right? The most immediate problem that came to mind real was that the $20 I lost on that hand represented 12% of my existing PS roll. Not so good. I gave some more consideration to moving down to 10NL and made a mental note to look around for one of those games tonight.
I’ve looked at the 10NL games before. Yesterday and today weren’t the first times I thought I should be more prudent with my roll. Yet, today, as on other days, I couldn’t find a room that registered as being loose, nor could I find one that wasn’t heavily peppered with people playing $2 stacks. No set mining allowed when the shorty pushes. No implied odds. Not prudent. Yet, I was determined to try, so I found one that had only a couple shorties and took a seat… for about two orbits.
I couldn’t stand it. It just wasn’t worth my time or, perhaps , more honestly, I don’t have the patience to grind any lower than 25NL. By the end of the second round I was looking for a move up.
I had to wait a bit, yet there were a couple stacks that looked to be in their final throes, so wait I did. (See, I can be patient.) However, my bladder was feeling a bit overwrought. Could I wait it out? Yes, a seat! I bought in, sat out and ran upstairs.
By the time I returned the blinds had just passed. “Wait until the big blind?” the program asked. No, I’ll play the cut-off. Pretty. QQ. An early position player raised 3 x BB and the player to my right called. Knowing full well that no one believes someone could possibly have a good hand when coming in like that, I popped it to $2.00. The first player folded and the second called. The flop was 388. Bet, raise, call. The turn, another Q, was sheer beauty. The guy puts in the rest of his initial $24. He has A3 off and immediately reloads for $10.
The next hand he pushes all-in and everyone dutifully folds. Same with the next hand and about 75% of the rest of his hands, increasing his stack to $17, and then he ran up against someone’s pocket Kings. Unfortunately, they weren’t mine. The best I saw was snowmen, and they weren’t worth $15.
With the donkey vanquished, it was time to move on. To make a long story short, I made another quick $7 in another room with 10s against 9s, leading the whole way after calling an early position 5 x BB preflop bet.
Then the phone rang. It might be my dear wife checking in, so GL folks, until tomorrow.
Very early on, when I was just learning how to play poker, I learned that money seems to disappear a lot faster than it comes in. Even today it seems to be the case. One can rationalize it away by blaming the big downward swings on bad beat and suckouts. Yes, they happen to all of us, and they are painful. Yet, they don’t happen every single time one loses a big pot or goes on a bad run. So, I have to look for holes.
I know my losing sessions aren’t caused by chasing. I simply don’t do it. If I have odds to a draw, I’m there; otherwise I fold. If I have a pocket pair and don’t hit a set on the flop, without four to a straight or flush, I’m gone. Where, then, do I lose it? Primarily with top pairs or TPTK hands. I push with them despite evidence that I may be beat. It’s almost as if I feel that I am owed the pot. Wow, what a huge flaw! What a newbie!
This is actually a much more complicated problem than being relatively new to the game. (Almost 3 years now.) It may have more to do with what Mr. Gumpo was talking about in his comments to my last post: bad players believing they have the best of it, when in fact they don’t, and me looking for a cooler draw behind every Bush. So, when the board looks favorable, I push it along with pot-sized bets, looking more to discourage players from staying in a hand than actually considering what winning hand I may be up against. I’m reading the players wrong, or rather, my approach is more reactionary than it should be.
I suspect, forgive me for saying this, that it has something to do with Poker Academy. Not with the software, and not with a majority of players who I play with day-in and day-out. It’s the ones that play as if it is play money. The same type of players, or so I imagine, are playing the micros at the cash sites, and $1/$2 at the casino (albeit fewer at the casino). Play money. $25 is play money for some, just as $100 is for a few others who can afford such a thing. They are either giving it their (not so) best or gambling for fun. (At the casino the loose players may be straight out gamblers, playing poker like they would roulette. Who knows? Sounds like a future post.)
I should be glad that these players are around, right? Over the long haul… right? Ultimately, it is my attitude that needs to shift. And this, dear friends, may be a more daunting task for me than doing algebra. Is it purely another manifestation of the bankroll issue? Is it an ego thing? I shall think upon it and, with the hope that any insights I gain might help other players, report back.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Swings
My dear wife is out of town for 10 days or so, helping her dear parents move from Colorado to California, and leaving me to my own devices. There are chores to do, so I can’t get into too much trouble. I can, however, get in a little poker. In fact, Dear Wifey encouraged me to pull a couple all-nighters. Don’t you just love her and envy me? Unfortunately, with the amount of work that needs to be done around here, and feeding schedules for cats and birds, I’m going to limit my play to the evening hours and hit the hay at a semi-reasonable hour. At least that’s my intention. It doesn’t always work out that way for this old bohemian.
When my dear wife is home, she handles Tuesday evening chores so I can go to my pub game. I had to skip the game last night; however, I did stop by there for a while in order to get the address of a couple who are hosting a game this Saturday evening. I arrived about 15 minutes before the first break, when they divide up the ghosts (chips at empty seats). All three tables were full. I was roundly welcomed, which is nice. There was still time for me to sit down and play, and I was tempted, but I opted otherwise.
Well, that’s not completely true. As one of the hosts for the Saturday game was writing down her address and drawing a map, I sat in for her. Just one hand. UTG with AJ off. I limped, as did about five other players. It was early in the levels, $50/$100, so everyone figures, “What the hell.” The flop comes J35 with 2 diamonds and the BB says, “bastin, you’re going to hate me because I’m playing that hand you hate.” That would be J3. She bets $100.
I say, “Yes, I know what you have and I have you beat.” I raise it to $300. Fold, fold, one call and then the BB also calls. It’s nice to know what both players have. The turn is an Ace, the big blind bets $300, I raise it to $600, the flush draw calls and the J3 calls. The river is another Ace. I have the Ad. BB checks, I bet $1000 and both fold. Why did I bet so much? Simply because I wanted both of them to fold. It wasn’t my hand and it wouldn’t smell right if I took more of their chips. The woman whose hand I was playing gave me a big hug. I ate my dinner and went home.
As much as I like to write slightly nasty stories about the pub game and players, I still enjoy these nights out and, by-and-large, if the people aren’t nice (many of them are), at least they’re colorful. And as time goes along and I know them better, I begin to not mind so much when they suck out.
The same sentiments apply to Poker Academy. No, I don’t care for some of the virtual people I play against, yet there are many whom I like quite a bit. And there are some I play with almost on a daily basis whom are still complete strangers. I’ll endure the suckouts or bad beats on PA because I enjoy playing with these people, and because it builds character for those games when there is real money on the line and the inevitable happens.
Playing on Poker Stars is a wholly different experience. This is play in almost a complete vacuum. Sometimes I will be in a room where I know someone; yet even then, chat is kept to a minimum or is non-existent as we don’t want to give anyone reason to think there is collusion. No, this is a pretty sterile environment, and maybe even a bit hostile, as everyone has just one thing in mine, taking money from others. So be it. I’m comfortable with that. After all, it’s complicit. So, let the fun begin.
I have discovered that stats on a room may be deceiving. I look for rooms in which 40% or more of the players are in a hand. I want loose and crazy, right? But in the past couple days when I find such a room and then run a search for the stats on individual players, I’m turning up a lot of shark and bomb ratings for six of the nine players in the room. The other two (not including myself) are the fish that are causing all of the excitement. I don’t particularly like being in such a situation, six players waiting to feed on the dinky morsels, yet, sometimes, it works out where one good player get all of the goodies.
PokerStars Game #20082419703: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/09/01 - 23:51:55
(ET)
Table 'Resi' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: pplay10 ($4.95 in chips)
Seat 2: watiesta ($3.75 in chips)
Seat 3: 41Rose ($20.05 in chips)
Seat 4: bastinptc ($14.75 in chips)
Seat 5: vIrtUal.$1N ($11.55 in chips)
Seat 6: TallStackCP$ ($18.25 in chips)
Seat 8: VTBF2 ($6.65 in chips)
Seat 9: tofapoka ($22.40 in chips)
bastinptc: posts small blind $0.10
vIrtUal.$1N: posts big blind $0.25
Ports Rookie: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Qd Qs]
TallStackCP$: folds
VTBF2: calls $0.25
tofapoka: folds
pplay10: folds
watiesta: calls $0.25
41Rose: calls $0.25
bastinptc: raises $1.75 to $2
vIrtUal.$1N: calls $1.75
VTBF2: calls $1.75
watiesta: calls $1.75
41Rose: folds
*** FLOP *** [9c 3d 8s]
bastinptc: bets $5
vIrtUal.$1N: folds
VTBF2: calls $4.65 and is all-in
watiesta: calls $1.75 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($0.35) returned to bastinptc
*** TURN *** [9c 3d 8s] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [9c 3d 8s Js] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [Qd Qs] (two pair, Queens and Eights)
VTBF2: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $5.55 from side pot
watiesta: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $12.85 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $19.30 Main pot $12.85. Side pot $5.55. | Rake $0.90
Board [9c 3d 8s Js 8d]
Seat 1: pplay10 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: watiesta mucked [Tc 9h]
Seat 3: 41Rose (button) folded before Flop
Seat 4: bastinptc (small blind) showed [Qd Qs] and won ($18.40) with two pair, Queens
and Eights
Seat 5: vIrtUal.$1N (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: TallStackCP$ folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: VTBF2 mucked [7c 6c]
Seat 9: tofapoka folded before Flop (didn't bet)
I was a little stunned when I went back to see what the other players had as hands. I avoided the minefield, eh? And who knows what the initial caller had? I can’t help thinking how I would feel if either straight was filled, one or if watiesta would have boated. Both players were obviously looking to cooler when they called my preflop raise. This post might then have a slightly different tone.
I left the room shortly thereafter. I figured all the juicy bits were now gone. Plus, I am trying to adapt a hit-and-run strategy for these rooms. I need to build my bankroll, and getting into situations like the one above, albeit a good move, stresses me out a bit. I admit to getting a little terrorized because I can’t afford to take big hits relative to my stack size. I could, of course, move down in stakes. Yet, I imagine the play in the .05/.10 rooms is even more maniacal, and still, my bankroll is not all that much, so my stress level would probably stay the same.
The key, I believe, is to continue with the slow and steady. Even so, as I write this, I am tempted to sign on and play for a couple hours. But I have chores to do, so I’ll wait.
And if you get a chance to read this, Dear Wife, I miss you terribly.
When my dear wife is home, she handles Tuesday evening chores so I can go to my pub game. I had to skip the game last night; however, I did stop by there for a while in order to get the address of a couple who are hosting a game this Saturday evening. I arrived about 15 minutes before the first break, when they divide up the ghosts (chips at empty seats). All three tables were full. I was roundly welcomed, which is nice. There was still time for me to sit down and play, and I was tempted, but I opted otherwise.
Well, that’s not completely true. As one of the hosts for the Saturday game was writing down her address and drawing a map, I sat in for her. Just one hand. UTG with AJ off. I limped, as did about five other players. It was early in the levels, $50/$100, so everyone figures, “What the hell.” The flop comes J35 with 2 diamonds and the BB says, “bastin, you’re going to hate me because I’m playing that hand you hate.” That would be J3. She bets $100.
I say, “Yes, I know what you have and I have you beat.” I raise it to $300. Fold, fold, one call and then the BB also calls. It’s nice to know what both players have. The turn is an Ace, the big blind bets $300, I raise it to $600, the flush draw calls and the J3 calls. The river is another Ace. I have the Ad. BB checks, I bet $1000 and both fold. Why did I bet so much? Simply because I wanted both of them to fold. It wasn’t my hand and it wouldn’t smell right if I took more of their chips. The woman whose hand I was playing gave me a big hug. I ate my dinner and went home.
As much as I like to write slightly nasty stories about the pub game and players, I still enjoy these nights out and, by-and-large, if the people aren’t nice (many of them are), at least they’re colorful. And as time goes along and I know them better, I begin to not mind so much when they suck out.
The same sentiments apply to Poker Academy. No, I don’t care for some of the virtual people I play against, yet there are many whom I like quite a bit. And there are some I play with almost on a daily basis whom are still complete strangers. I’ll endure the suckouts or bad beats on PA because I enjoy playing with these people, and because it builds character for those games when there is real money on the line and the inevitable happens.
Playing on Poker Stars is a wholly different experience. This is play in almost a complete vacuum. Sometimes I will be in a room where I know someone; yet even then, chat is kept to a minimum or is non-existent as we don’t want to give anyone reason to think there is collusion. No, this is a pretty sterile environment, and maybe even a bit hostile, as everyone has just one thing in mine, taking money from others. So be it. I’m comfortable with that. After all, it’s complicit. So, let the fun begin.
I have discovered that stats on a room may be deceiving. I look for rooms in which 40% or more of the players are in a hand. I want loose and crazy, right? But in the past couple days when I find such a room and then run a search for the stats on individual players, I’m turning up a lot of shark and bomb ratings for six of the nine players in the room. The other two (not including myself) are the fish that are causing all of the excitement. I don’t particularly like being in such a situation, six players waiting to feed on the dinky morsels, yet, sometimes, it works out where one good player get all of the goodies.
PokerStars Game #20082419703: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/09/01 - 23:51:55
(ET)
Table 'Resi' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: pplay10 ($4.95 in chips)
Seat 2: watiesta ($3.75 in chips)
Seat 3: 41Rose ($20.05 in chips)
Seat 4: bastinptc ($14.75 in chips)
Seat 5: vIrtUal.$1N ($11.55 in chips)
Seat 6: TallStackCP$ ($18.25 in chips)
Seat 8: VTBF2 ($6.65 in chips)
Seat 9: tofapoka ($22.40 in chips)
bastinptc: posts small blind $0.10
vIrtUal.$1N: posts big blind $0.25
Ports Rookie: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Qd Qs]
TallStackCP$: folds
VTBF2: calls $0.25
tofapoka: folds
pplay10: folds
watiesta: calls $0.25
41Rose: calls $0.25
bastinptc: raises $1.75 to $2
vIrtUal.$1N: calls $1.75
VTBF2: calls $1.75
watiesta: calls $1.75
41Rose: folds
*** FLOP *** [9c 3d 8s]
bastinptc: bets $5
vIrtUal.$1N: folds
VTBF2: calls $4.65 and is all-in
watiesta: calls $1.75 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($0.35) returned to bastinptc
*** TURN *** [9c 3d 8s] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [9c 3d 8s Js] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [Qd Qs] (two pair, Queens and Eights)
VTBF2: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $5.55 from side pot
watiesta: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $12.85 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $19.30 Main pot $12.85. Side pot $5.55. | Rake $0.90
Board [9c 3d 8s Js 8d]
Seat 1: pplay10 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: watiesta mucked [Tc 9h]
Seat 3: 41Rose (button) folded before Flop
Seat 4: bastinptc (small blind) showed [Qd Qs] and won ($18.40) with two pair, Queens
and Eights
Seat 5: vIrtUal.$1N (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: TallStackCP$ folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: VTBF2 mucked [7c 6c]
Seat 9: tofapoka folded before Flop (didn't bet)
I was a little stunned when I went back to see what the other players had as hands. I avoided the minefield, eh? And who knows what the initial caller had? I can’t help thinking how I would feel if either straight was filled, one or if watiesta would have boated. Both players were obviously looking to cooler when they called my preflop raise. This post might then have a slightly different tone.
I left the room shortly thereafter. I figured all the juicy bits were now gone. Plus, I am trying to adapt a hit-and-run strategy for these rooms. I need to build my bankroll, and getting into situations like the one above, albeit a good move, stresses me out a bit. I admit to getting a little terrorized because I can’t afford to take big hits relative to my stack size. I could, of course, move down in stakes. Yet, I imagine the play in the .05/.10 rooms is even more maniacal, and still, my bankroll is not all that much, so my stress level would probably stay the same.
The key, I believe, is to continue with the slow and steady. Even so, as I write this, I am tempted to sign on and play for a couple hours. But I have chores to do, so I’ll wait.
And if you get a chance to read this, Dear Wife, I miss you terribly.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Habitat
Last fall we planted cover crops in two of our paddocks, a mixture of clovers, cow peas and annual rye. The intention was to put something in the ground that would compete with the weeds that were sure to otherwise take over a fallow, recently tilled field. These plants have now all died and gone to seed.
Actually, they went to seed quite some time ago. I have left them standing for a reason, and that is I know field sparrows often use tall grasses to hide their ground nests and young. I found this fact out the hard way last year when I was readying a field for a second planting. One less field sparrow nest.
The tall dead grasses serve another purpose as well. A lot of seed-eating birds have been feeding off of the rye for a month or more. We try to provide birds with food. Every year we have sunflowers that volunteer, and when I’m mowing or tilling, I avoid these plants. The finches love the seeds in the fall. We also let our fencerows grow a little wild to provide the birds more food and some cover, and to give beneficial insects such as lacewings and mantids a place to live.
This late in the season all of the birds have fledged, so I figured it was safe to mow and till under the plants with the hope that the seeds would do a repeat performance. I use a bush hog to mow the fields. For you city slickers, think of a regular lawn mower blade and multiply it by about five in size and girth. This blade is housed in a piece of equipment that is put on the back of a tractor and is also propelled by the tractor’s power. It cuts about a five-foot swath. Pretty heavy-duty.
A soon as I started mowing, I noticed a milky white substance on a dead leaf of a taller plant. It looked like it might be a freshly-placed Praying Mantis egg cluster. I love mantids and would rather not have mowed it down, but too late, a front tire took the plant down and ran over it. Indeed, the field had numerous mantids, both the indigenous and imported varieties. Hopefully, they had been preying on the multitudes of grasshoppers I was also seeing.
The grasshoppers avoided the bush hog more readily than the mantids and for a moment I thought that perhaps I should just let the field be. I really didn’t like killing a beneficial insect. They eat a fair amount of the nasty ones. Of course, the ducks and the guinea also love grasshoppers and eat their fair share. But they also eat mantids. As I was mulling all of this over, I saw a vole. And then another. And another.
Voles are small rodents, like a cross between a mouse and a gopher. They burrow shallow tunnels and eat plant roots, including vegetables like carrots and potatoes. Every few years their populations grow to such a degree that they destroy large percentages of crop yields. The upside of these infestations is that the owl and raptor populations also grow. (We have installed barn owl nesting box just for such an occasion.) We’re about due for another one of those years, and this field already had its fair share. I would have to keep mowing, if for no other reason than to displace them. Perhaps the hawks and owls would benefit over the next couple days, but just in case they couldn’t get them all, I began chasing the varmints down with the tractor.
In the end, I left about a tractor’s width of the field unmowed. Some of the mantids escaped, and perhaps they will use what I didn’t take down to lay their eggs. Of course, there is another eight acres that I am certain is just as full of these wonderful bugs, so all is not lost. But there are voles out there too.
Actually, they went to seed quite some time ago. I have left them standing for a reason, and that is I know field sparrows often use tall grasses to hide their ground nests and young. I found this fact out the hard way last year when I was readying a field for a second planting. One less field sparrow nest.
The tall dead grasses serve another purpose as well. A lot of seed-eating birds have been feeding off of the rye for a month or more. We try to provide birds with food. Every year we have sunflowers that volunteer, and when I’m mowing or tilling, I avoid these plants. The finches love the seeds in the fall. We also let our fencerows grow a little wild to provide the birds more food and some cover, and to give beneficial insects such as lacewings and mantids a place to live.
This late in the season all of the birds have fledged, so I figured it was safe to mow and till under the plants with the hope that the seeds would do a repeat performance. I use a bush hog to mow the fields. For you city slickers, think of a regular lawn mower blade and multiply it by about five in size and girth. This blade is housed in a piece of equipment that is put on the back of a tractor and is also propelled by the tractor’s power. It cuts about a five-foot swath. Pretty heavy-duty.
A soon as I started mowing, I noticed a milky white substance on a dead leaf of a taller plant. It looked like it might be a freshly-placed Praying Mantis egg cluster. I love mantids and would rather not have mowed it down, but too late, a front tire took the plant down and ran over it. Indeed, the field had numerous mantids, both the indigenous and imported varieties. Hopefully, they had been preying on the multitudes of grasshoppers I was also seeing.
The grasshoppers avoided the bush hog more readily than the mantids and for a moment I thought that perhaps I should just let the field be. I really didn’t like killing a beneficial insect. They eat a fair amount of the nasty ones. Of course, the ducks and the guinea also love grasshoppers and eat their fair share. But they also eat mantids. As I was mulling all of this over, I saw a vole. And then another. And another.
Voles are small rodents, like a cross between a mouse and a gopher. They burrow shallow tunnels and eat plant roots, including vegetables like carrots and potatoes. Every few years their populations grow to such a degree that they destroy large percentages of crop yields. The upside of these infestations is that the owl and raptor populations also grow. (We have installed barn owl nesting box just for such an occasion.) We’re about due for another one of those years, and this field already had its fair share. I would have to keep mowing, if for no other reason than to displace them. Perhaps the hawks and owls would benefit over the next couple days, but just in case they couldn’t get them all, I began chasing the varmints down with the tractor.
In the end, I left about a tractor’s width of the field unmowed. Some of the mantids escaped, and perhaps they will use what I didn’t take down to lay their eggs. Of course, there is another eight acres that I am certain is just as full of these wonderful bugs, so all is not lost. But there are voles out there too.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Getting the hang of it.
I have been trying to take Mr. Gumpo’s and Sandman’s advice on playing smaller online cash games. Look for loose tables, play uber tight, play pairs for sets, fold AQ early, bet aggressively upfront with big pairs, and multi-table to decrease the boredom factor. In the past few weeks I have tried all or some of these strategies, all the while taking notes on the type of play I’m seeing, looking to tailor their approaches to fit a style with which I will feel most at home.
It’s not like I’m a complete novice, correct? So, why all of the trepidation up to this point? Because I’ve been playing, at best, a break-even game. Actually, I’ve moved from a losing game to a break-even, which is an improvement, and I chalk it up to learning how to play these lower stakes rooms, getting over the fact that my roll is piddly, and settling in to the grind.
Sunday afternoons at Stars seems to be a good time to play. I wondered. It seemed to make sense that a long holiday weekend, or just a weekend in general would have a lot of folks playing poker, and perhaps some of them would be more recreational players. I logged on and started looking around for a room with over 40% of the players in a hand. I found one, sat in and played for a while with little happening in my hand. The percentage of players in a hand started to diminish as well, and, in fact, people started leaving the table, so I renewed my search.
Eight players at a table, one seat open, 50% in a hand. I grabbed the seat. The big stack was two to my left. I’d rather not have him there, but I’d see how it went. It soon became apparent to me that the big stack was the reason this table was so loose. He was betting up everything, either with a minraise or 5 xBB. Position didn’t seem to matter.
I had AQoff in middle position and limped. He minraise from the SB and I called. Q on the flop, he checked and I bet the pot. He called. Turn brings the 10 of diamonds, a second diamond and he bet out. I called. A of diamonds on the river and he bets small. I call. Runner runner flush, no Q no 10, nothing much at all. I reloaded what I had lost.
As the game proceeded, it became apparent that the player to my immediate left (cmchu) and Mr. Flushy (oreoboe) were doing a lot of battle, and they were doing so with less than stellar hands. Mr. Flushy was still living up to his name with this player as trips went down, leaving this player a shortish stack. I picked up Qs in the SB, and after several limpers, bet 8 x BB. The BB, Mr. Shorty, (cmchu) and a middle position player called. The flop was a blank and I fired again. Mr. Shorty went all-in with what little he had left, the other player called the all-in and I shoved. Middle position folded and Mr Shorty hit a straight on the river with his pocket 9s. I didn’t take too bad of a hit, of which I was relieved and added more chips again.
The game was still loose as hell. So loose that there were 10 players waiting to get into the game! Mr. Flushy (oreoboe) had just lost a pot betting to the river with air when this hand came up:
PokerStars Game #20050180486: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/08/31 - 19:43:38
(ET)
Table 'Suttung II' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Sep79 ($25 in chips)
Seat 2: bastinptc ($25 in chips)
Seat 3: cmchu ($12.65 in chips)
Seat 4: oeroboe ($50.20 in chips)
Seat 5: nancy34 ($20.15 in chips)
Seat 6: juice1319 ($25 in chips)
Seat 7: icenine3 ($7.25 in chips)
Seat 8: addie10 ($27.55 in chips)
Seat 9: yipyapsap ($25.65 in chips)
oeroboe: posts small blind $0.10
nancy34: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [3d Ad]
juice1319: folds
icenine3: calls $0.25
addie10: calls $0.25
yipyapsap: folds
Sep79: folds
bastinptc: calls $0.25
cmchu: calls $0.25
oeroboe: raises $0.25 to $0.50
nancy34: calls $0.25
icenine3: calls $0.25
addie10: calls $0.25
bastinptc: calls $0.25
cmchu: calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [9d 8c Kd]
oeroboe: bets $4
nancy34: folds
icenine3: folds
addie10: folds
bastinptc: calls $4
cmchu: folds
*** TURN *** [9d 8c Kd] [6s]
oeroboe: bets $0.25
bastinptc: calls $0.25
*** RIVER *** [9d 8c Kd 6s] [Qs]
oeroboe: bets $1
bastinptc: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
oeroboe: shows [5h 3h] (high card King)
bastinptc: shows [3d Ad] (high card Ace)
bastinptc collected $12.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $13.50 | Rake $0.60
Board [9d 8c Kd 6s Qs]
Seat 1: Sep79 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: bastinptc showed [3d Ad] and won ($12.90) with high card Ace
Seat 3: cmchu (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: oeroboe (small blind) showed [5h 3h] and lost with high card King
Seat 5: nancy34 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: juice1319 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: icenine3 folded on the Flop
Seat 8: addie10 folded on the Flop
Seat 9: yipyapsap folded before Flop (didn't bet)
I had retrieved what I had lost earlier to this guy. As scary as that board was, I wasn’t folding with his last 1.00 bet, that’s for sure. I got lucky, but sometimes, Ace high is good enough, especially with information to back up the call. The danger, however, was that now it appeared that I had joined in the fray of calling down with air. Or, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, for I wasn’t the only one looking to score big at this table, even if it meant sucking out. The very next hand is with the guy to my immediate left (cmchu):
Table 'Suttung II' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Sep79 ($25 in chips)
Seat 2: bastinptc ($32.15 in chips)
Seat 3: cmchu ($12.15 in chips)
Seat 4: oeroboe ($44.45 in chips)
Seat 5: nancy34 ($19.65 in chips)
Seat 6: juice1319 ($25 in chips)
Seat 7: icenine3 ($6.75 in chips)
Seat 8: addie10 ($27.05 in chips)
Seat 9: yipyapsap ($25.65 in chips)
nancy34: posts small blind $0.10
juice1319: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Qs Jd]
icenine3: raises $0.25 to $0.50
addie10: calls $0.50
yipyapsap: folds
Sep79: folds
bastinptc: calls $0.50
cmchu: calls $0.50
oeroboe: calls $0.50
nancy34: folds
juice1319: calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [Qh 6c 7c]
juice1319: checks
icenine3: checks
addie10: checks
bastinptc: bets $3
cmchu: calls $3
oeroboe: folds
juice1319: folds
icenine3: folds
addie10: folds
*** TURN *** [Qh 6c 7c] [7h]
bastinptc: bets $3.25
cmchu: calls $3.25
*** RIVER *** [Qh 6c 7c 7h] [9d]
bastinptc: bets $5
cmchu: raises $0.40 to $5.40 and is all-in
bastinptc: calls $0.40
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cmchu: shows [Kc Ad] (a pair of Sevens)
bastinptc: shows [Qs Jd] (two pair, Queens and Sevens)
bastinptc collected $25.15 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $26.40 | Rake $1.25
Board [Qh 6c 7c 7h 9d]
Seat 1: Sep79 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: bastinptc showed [Qs Jd] and won ($25.15) with two pair, Queens and Sevens
Seat 3: cmchu showed [Kc Ad] and lost with a pair of Sevens
Seat 4: oeroboe (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: nancy34 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: juice1319 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: icenine3 folded on the Flop
I had now recovered my losses from both players, with quite a bit on top of that.
Of course, the room went dead after that, the waiting line had dropped to 1 and I got ready to call it a day.
With all of the action in this room, I only had one other table open. Actually, two tables is about all I can handle at this early stage in my online game. And, although the other table was supposedly fairly loose, it wasn’t anything like the other table. There were a couple generic calling stations, one LAG and a couple rocks. I lost holding 77 to a guy with K2 who called my flop raise (all blanks) and hit a K on the turn. That was about it. I folded a lot, took down a small pot with a pair of Jacks. I was tight, tight, tight forever. Change-up time!
Table 'Unitas III' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: voelker ($27.60 in chips)
Seat 2: Eksal ($6.35 in chips)
Seat 3: phillme13 ($14.50 in chips)
Seat 4: rdgoins ($15.25 in chips)
Seat 6: FlagellumD ($34.70 in chips)
Seat 7: bastinptc ($17.70 in chips)
Seat 8: Jeusbbp ($40.50 in chips)
Seat 9: SCScoach ($24.65 in chips)
rdgoins: posts small blind $0.10
FlagellumD: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [5s 4s]
bastinptc: calls $0.25
Jeusbbp: folds
SCScoach: calls $0.25
voelker: folds
Eksal: folds
phillme13: folds
rdgoins: calls $0.15
FlagellumD: checks
*** FLOP *** [5h 7d 9d]
rdgoins: checks
FlagellumD: checks
bastinptc: checks
SCScoach: checks
*** TURN *** [5h 7d 9d] [4d]
rdgoins: bets $1
FlagellumD: folds
bastinptc: calls $1
SCScoach: folds
*** RIVER *** [5h 7d 9d 4d] [4c]
rdgoins: bets $1
bastinptc: raises $1.75 to $2.75
rdgoins: calls $1.75
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [5s 4s] (a full house, Fours full of Fives)
rdgoins: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $8.10 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.50 | Rake $0.40
Board [5h 7d 9d 4d 4c]
Seat 1: voelker folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Eksal folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: phillme13 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: rdgoins (small blind) mucked [8h 6h]
Seat 6: FlagellumD (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 7: bastinptc showed [5s 4s] and won ($8.10) with a full house, Fours full of
Fives
I’m soooo embarrassed! Think I could have gotten more? Probably not with the flush and paired board. He made the price right, so maybe I’m not so embarrassed after all.
I didn’t stick around long after this hand. I was happy with my results and let it go, up for the day. Maybe up more than I ever have been at PS. Maybe I’m starting to get the hang of what it takes to play at this site. I have to think more on this, as it is apparent that I loosened up more than what Mr. Gumpo recommends. Maybe it’s a case of “whatever works,” and I say this because of my experience at PA. Loose tables are often the norm and it is often the odd hand that takes down a pot. Not always, yet it is clear that the player who has superior hand-reading skills can readily outplay the ABC, top pair, TPTK player. The downside is potentially higher variance, which I don’t have the luxury of enduring at this juncture.
As I said, I have a lot of thinking to do. And playing. Together, I believe I can come up with a strategy that suits me.
It’s not like I’m a complete novice, correct? So, why all of the trepidation up to this point? Because I’ve been playing, at best, a break-even game. Actually, I’ve moved from a losing game to a break-even, which is an improvement, and I chalk it up to learning how to play these lower stakes rooms, getting over the fact that my roll is piddly, and settling in to the grind.
Sunday afternoons at Stars seems to be a good time to play. I wondered. It seemed to make sense that a long holiday weekend, or just a weekend in general would have a lot of folks playing poker, and perhaps some of them would be more recreational players. I logged on and started looking around for a room with over 40% of the players in a hand. I found one, sat in and played for a while with little happening in my hand. The percentage of players in a hand started to diminish as well, and, in fact, people started leaving the table, so I renewed my search.
Eight players at a table, one seat open, 50% in a hand. I grabbed the seat. The big stack was two to my left. I’d rather not have him there, but I’d see how it went. It soon became apparent to me that the big stack was the reason this table was so loose. He was betting up everything, either with a minraise or 5 xBB. Position didn’t seem to matter.
I had AQoff in middle position and limped. He minraise from the SB and I called. Q on the flop, he checked and I bet the pot. He called. Turn brings the 10 of diamonds, a second diamond and he bet out. I called. A of diamonds on the river and he bets small. I call. Runner runner flush, no Q no 10, nothing much at all. I reloaded what I had lost.
As the game proceeded, it became apparent that the player to my immediate left (cmchu) and Mr. Flushy (oreoboe) were doing a lot of battle, and they were doing so with less than stellar hands. Mr. Flushy was still living up to his name with this player as trips went down, leaving this player a shortish stack. I picked up Qs in the SB, and after several limpers, bet 8 x BB. The BB, Mr. Shorty, (cmchu) and a middle position player called. The flop was a blank and I fired again. Mr. Shorty went all-in with what little he had left, the other player called the all-in and I shoved. Middle position folded and Mr Shorty hit a straight on the river with his pocket 9s. I didn’t take too bad of a hit, of which I was relieved and added more chips again.
The game was still loose as hell. So loose that there were 10 players waiting to get into the game! Mr. Flushy (oreoboe) had just lost a pot betting to the river with air when this hand came up:
PokerStars Game #20050180486: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/08/31 - 19:43:38
(ET)
Table 'Suttung II' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Sep79 ($25 in chips)
Seat 2: bastinptc ($25 in chips)
Seat 3: cmchu ($12.65 in chips)
Seat 4: oeroboe ($50.20 in chips)
Seat 5: nancy34 ($20.15 in chips)
Seat 6: juice1319 ($25 in chips)
Seat 7: icenine3 ($7.25 in chips)
Seat 8: addie10 ($27.55 in chips)
Seat 9: yipyapsap ($25.65 in chips)
oeroboe: posts small blind $0.10
nancy34: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [3d Ad]
juice1319: folds
icenine3: calls $0.25
addie10: calls $0.25
yipyapsap: folds
Sep79: folds
bastinptc: calls $0.25
cmchu: calls $0.25
oeroboe: raises $0.25 to $0.50
nancy34: calls $0.25
icenine3: calls $0.25
addie10: calls $0.25
bastinptc: calls $0.25
cmchu: calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [9d 8c Kd]
oeroboe: bets $4
nancy34: folds
icenine3: folds
addie10: folds
bastinptc: calls $4
cmchu: folds
*** TURN *** [9d 8c Kd] [6s]
oeroboe: bets $0.25
bastinptc: calls $0.25
*** RIVER *** [9d 8c Kd 6s] [Qs]
oeroboe: bets $1
bastinptc: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
oeroboe: shows [5h 3h] (high card King)
bastinptc: shows [3d Ad] (high card Ace)
bastinptc collected $12.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $13.50 | Rake $0.60
Board [9d 8c Kd 6s Qs]
Seat 1: Sep79 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: bastinptc showed [3d Ad] and won ($12.90) with high card Ace
Seat 3: cmchu (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: oeroboe (small blind) showed [5h 3h] and lost with high card King
Seat 5: nancy34 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: juice1319 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: icenine3 folded on the Flop
Seat 8: addie10 folded on the Flop
Seat 9: yipyapsap folded before Flop (didn't bet)
I had retrieved what I had lost earlier to this guy. As scary as that board was, I wasn’t folding with his last 1.00 bet, that’s for sure. I got lucky, but sometimes, Ace high is good enough, especially with information to back up the call. The danger, however, was that now it appeared that I had joined in the fray of calling down with air. Or, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, for I wasn’t the only one looking to score big at this table, even if it meant sucking out. The very next hand is with the guy to my immediate left (cmchu):
Table 'Suttung II' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Sep79 ($25 in chips)
Seat 2: bastinptc ($32.15 in chips)
Seat 3: cmchu ($12.15 in chips)
Seat 4: oeroboe ($44.45 in chips)
Seat 5: nancy34 ($19.65 in chips)
Seat 6: juice1319 ($25 in chips)
Seat 7: icenine3 ($6.75 in chips)
Seat 8: addie10 ($27.05 in chips)
Seat 9: yipyapsap ($25.65 in chips)
nancy34: posts small blind $0.10
juice1319: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Qs Jd]
icenine3: raises $0.25 to $0.50
addie10: calls $0.50
yipyapsap: folds
Sep79: folds
bastinptc: calls $0.50
cmchu: calls $0.50
oeroboe: calls $0.50
nancy34: folds
juice1319: calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [Qh 6c 7c]
juice1319: checks
icenine3: checks
addie10: checks
bastinptc: bets $3
cmchu: calls $3
oeroboe: folds
juice1319: folds
icenine3: folds
addie10: folds
*** TURN *** [Qh 6c 7c] [7h]
bastinptc: bets $3.25
cmchu: calls $3.25
*** RIVER *** [Qh 6c 7c 7h] [9d]
bastinptc: bets $5
cmchu: raises $0.40 to $5.40 and is all-in
bastinptc: calls $0.40
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cmchu: shows [Kc Ad] (a pair of Sevens)
bastinptc: shows [Qs Jd] (two pair, Queens and Sevens)
bastinptc collected $25.15 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $26.40 | Rake $1.25
Board [Qh 6c 7c 7h 9d]
Seat 1: Sep79 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: bastinptc showed [Qs Jd] and won ($25.15) with two pair, Queens and Sevens
Seat 3: cmchu showed [Kc Ad] and lost with a pair of Sevens
Seat 4: oeroboe (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: nancy34 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: juice1319 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: icenine3 folded on the Flop
I had now recovered my losses from both players, with quite a bit on top of that.
Of course, the room went dead after that, the waiting line had dropped to 1 and I got ready to call it a day.
With all of the action in this room, I only had one other table open. Actually, two tables is about all I can handle at this early stage in my online game. And, although the other table was supposedly fairly loose, it wasn’t anything like the other table. There were a couple generic calling stations, one LAG and a couple rocks. I lost holding 77 to a guy with K2 who called my flop raise (all blanks) and hit a K on the turn. That was about it. I folded a lot, took down a small pot with a pair of Jacks. I was tight, tight, tight forever. Change-up time!
Table 'Unitas III' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: voelker ($27.60 in chips)
Seat 2: Eksal ($6.35 in chips)
Seat 3: phillme13 ($14.50 in chips)
Seat 4: rdgoins ($15.25 in chips)
Seat 6: FlagellumD ($34.70 in chips)
Seat 7: bastinptc ($17.70 in chips)
Seat 8: Jeusbbp ($40.50 in chips)
Seat 9: SCScoach ($24.65 in chips)
rdgoins: posts small blind $0.10
FlagellumD: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [5s 4s]
bastinptc: calls $0.25
Jeusbbp: folds
SCScoach: calls $0.25
voelker: folds
Eksal: folds
phillme13: folds
rdgoins: calls $0.15
FlagellumD: checks
*** FLOP *** [5h 7d 9d]
rdgoins: checks
FlagellumD: checks
bastinptc: checks
SCScoach: checks
*** TURN *** [5h 7d 9d] [4d]
rdgoins: bets $1
FlagellumD: folds
bastinptc: calls $1
SCScoach: folds
*** RIVER *** [5h 7d 9d 4d] [4c]
rdgoins: bets $1
bastinptc: raises $1.75 to $2.75
rdgoins: calls $1.75
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [5s 4s] (a full house, Fours full of Fives)
rdgoins: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $8.10 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.50 | Rake $0.40
Board [5h 7d 9d 4d 4c]
Seat 1: voelker folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Eksal folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: phillme13 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: rdgoins (small blind) mucked [8h 6h]
Seat 6: FlagellumD (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 7: bastinptc showed [5s 4s] and won ($8.10) with a full house, Fours full of
Fives
I’m soooo embarrassed! Think I could have gotten more? Probably not with the flush and paired board. He made the price right, so maybe I’m not so embarrassed after all.
I didn’t stick around long after this hand. I was happy with my results and let it go, up for the day. Maybe up more than I ever have been at PS. Maybe I’m starting to get the hang of what it takes to play at this site. I have to think more on this, as it is apparent that I loosened up more than what Mr. Gumpo recommends. Maybe it’s a case of “whatever works,” and I say this because of my experience at PA. Loose tables are often the norm and it is often the odd hand that takes down a pot. Not always, yet it is clear that the player who has superior hand-reading skills can readily outplay the ABC, top pair, TPTK player. The downside is potentially higher variance, which I don’t have the luxury of enduring at this juncture.
As I said, I have a lot of thinking to do. And playing. Together, I believe I can come up with a strategy that suits me.
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