Giddyup

Day Two of 10NL and I must say that I am enjoying myself, and learning a few things along the way. Well, maybe not learning, but developing some impressions that might stand the test of time: Table selection, while still necessary, is not as critical due to the marked difference in skill levels between 10NL and 25NL; and, play at this level is remarkably like playing the 50NL at PA. Players often play absolute shit hands, like to chase, and as I pointed out yesterday, often have no clue when they are beat. I would imagine a large portion of the shoddy play is attributable to the low buy-in, meaning that the skill level is deficient, or the play is purely recreational gambling. With that said, one still has to pay attention.

I played two tables, getting comfortable in one room and adding a second shortly thereafter. As pathetic as it may seem, I have yet to fully adjust to this “multi-tabling.” Yet, it suits my style to keep the number of tables low, as I spend quite a bit of time watching the play as it progresses.

The first table I sat at had a fairly high percentage of players in a hand, and I soon discovered why. One player, davidupe, seemed to be running all over the table, had a $40+ stack and was playing almost every hand. Initially, I was a bit intimidated to see such a large stack at the table, yet he was three to my right, so at least I had some position on him.

Almost immediately I was involved in a hand with him. I don’t remember exactly the hand, and it was beyond the 100 hand history limit I could request from PS this morning, yet I believe I was in the BB with J 10 off. Dupe had limped, the flop came with a Jack and I bet. He called. The board was coordinated and flushy, so I kept the pot small. The river made straights and a flush possible so I checked. The pot was probably about $1.25 and he bet $4.50. I laughed to myself and folded. Let the games begin.

PokerStars Game #20912605536: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/04 2:31:15 ET
Table 'Minkar V' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 2: davidupe ($41.55 in chips)
Seat 3: pokerlkdh ($9.85 in chips)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd ($4.60 in chips)
Seat 5: bastinptc ($9.30 in chips)
Seat 6: ffpmdon ($7.40 in chips)
Seat 7: Balu282 ($10.95 in chips)
Seat 8: organico ($16.50 in chips)
Seat 9: Congobob ($11.50 in chips)
organico: posts small blind $0.05
Congobob: posts big blind $0.10
NYCbuddha: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Ac Qh]
davidupe: calls $0.10
pokerlkdh: folds
tahoeboyd: folds
bastinptc: raises $0.40 to $0.50
ffpmdon: folds
Balu282: folds
organico: folds
Congobob: folds
davidupe: calls $0.40
*** FLOP *** [4c Qc Ts]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: bets $1.30
davidupe: calls $1.30
*** TURN *** [4c Qc Ts] [8s]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: bets $2.30
davidupe: calls $2.30
*** RIVER *** [4c Qc Ts 8s] [8d]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
davidupe: shows [4s 7h] (two pair, Eights and Fours)
bastinptc: shows [Ac Qh] (two pair, Queens and Eights)
bastinptc collected $7.95 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.35 | Rake $0.40
Board [4c Qc Ts 8s 8d]
Seat 2: davidupe showed [4s 7h] and lost with two pair, Eights and Fours
Seat 3: pokerlkdh folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: bastinptc showed [Ac Qh] and won ($7.95) with two pair, Queens and Eights
Seat 6: ffpmdon folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Balu282 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: organico (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Congobob (big blind) folded before Flop

I laughed again when I saw what he was holding. His big stack had him mesmerized and he was looking to cooler.

PokerStars Game #20912782580: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/04 2:46:47 ET
Table 'Minkar V' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: NYCbuddha ($20.70 in chips)
Seat 2: davidupe ($22.90 in chips)
Seat 3: pokerlkdh ($9.80 in chips)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd ($2.45 in chips)
Seat 5: bastinptc ($19.65 in chips)
Seat 7: Balu282 ($10.65 in chips)
Seat 8: organico ($21.15 in chips)
Seat 9: Congobob ($14.05 in chips)
davidupe: posts small blind $0.05
pokerlkdh: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Kc Ac]
tahoeboyd: folds
ffpmdon leaves the table
bastinptc: raises $0.40 to $0.50
WTA50100 joins the table at seat #6
Balu282: folds
organico: calls $0.50
Congobob: folds
NYCbuddha: folds
tahoeboyd leaves the table
lbndev joins the table at seat #4
davidupe: calls $0.45
pokerlkdh: folds
*** FLOP *** [Kd 3s Th]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: bets $1.30
organico: folds
davidupe: calls $1.30
*** TURN *** [Kd 3s Th] [9d]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: bets $3.20
davidupe: folds
Uncalled bet ($3.20) returned to bastinptc
bastinptc collected $4 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $4.20 | Rake $0.20
Board [Kd 3s Th 9d]
Seat 1: NYCbuddha (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: davidupe (small blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 3: pokerlkdh (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: tahoeboyd folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: bastinptc collected ($4)
Seat 7: Balu282 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: organico folded on the Flop
Seat 9: Congobob folded before Flop (didn't bet)

You will note that his stack size has been depleted between the first hand and this one. His luck had turned but he hadn’t given up yet. Still, I knew that it was unlikely I would be getting any big money from this guy. This type of player will call any flop bet to see the turn, and then fold if nothing comes to help his hand. Yet, this guy apparently was not clueless, for a bit later when I had another big hand and put out a sizable bet preflop after he had limped, he folded immediately. I owned him.

And how did he lose a good portion of his stack? Below is the sad, sad tale:

PokerStars Game #20912708611: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/04 2:40:12 ET
Table 'Minkar V' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: NYCbuddha ($10 in chips)
Seat 2: davidupe ($39.30 in chips)
Seat 3: pokerlkdh ($9.90 in chips)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd ($3.90 in chips)
Seat 5: bastinptc ($12.50 in chips)
Seat 6: ffpmdon ($4.45 in chips)
Seat 7: Balu282 ($10.75 in chips)
Seat 8: organico ($21.30 in chips)
Seat 9: Congobob ($11.25 in chips)
Balu282: posts small blind $0.05
organico: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Th 9h]
Congobob: folds
NYCbuddha: calls $0.10
davidupe: calls $0.10
pokerlkdh: folds
tahoeboyd: calls $0.10
bastinptc is disconnected
bastinptc has timed out while disconnected
bastinptc: folds
bastinptc is sitting out
ffpmdon: calls $0.10
Balu282: calls $0.05
organico: checks
*** FLOP *** [Jh 3h Kd]
bastinptc is connected
Balu282: checks
organico: checks
bastinptc has returned
NYCbuddha: checks
davidupe: checks
tahoeboyd: checks
ffpmdon: bets $0.30
Balu282: folds
organico: folds
NYCbuddha: calls $0.30
davidupe: calls $0.30
tahoeboyd: folds
*** TURN *** [Jh 3h Kd] [Ah]
NYCbuddha: checks
davidupe: bets $0.70
ffpmdon: raises $0.70 to $1.40
NYCbuddha: raises $2.60 to $4
davidupe: calls $3.30
ffpmdon: folds
*** RIVER *** [Jh 3h Kd Ah] [9d]
NYCbuddha: bets $5.60 and is all-in
davidupe: calls $5.60
*** SHOW DOWN ***
NYCbuddha: shows [7h 6h] (a flush, Ace high)
davidupe: mucks hand
NYCbuddha collected $21.05 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $22.10 | Rake $1.05
Board [Jh 3h Kd Ah 9d]
Seat 1: NYCbuddha showed [7h 6h] and won ($21.05) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 2: davidupe mucked [Kc Kh]
Seat 3: pokerlkdh folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd folded on the Flop
Seat 5: bastinptc folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ffpmdon (button) folded on the Turn
Seat 7: Balu282 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 8: organico (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 9: Congobob folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I was not laughing.

Getting Back Up on the Pony

Mr. and Mrs. Jung were my grandparent’s neighbors. They were considerably older than my grandfolks, and a kind couple who tolerated my brother and me as we wandered the countryside and found our way to their house. The memories are vibrant and could fill pages.

The Jungs had a pony named Prince. And let me tell you, Prince was no prince. He stayed out in the pasture most of the time, so he didn’t get rode much, and he had a temper. One day he was up in the barnyard and I asked if I could ride him. For all I know, my brother and I may have been the only people who rode Prince. So, Mr. Jung got out the saddle and I got on for a leisurely stroll around the barnyard.

Maybe Mrs. Jung had been feeding the chickens. I can’t think of any other reason for the bucket to be sitting there in the dirt. Prince stepped in it and bucked me off, over his rear. I must have been about nine years old at the time, and although it wasn’t a long way to the ground, it was quite upsetting for this young kid. But I wasn’t hurt, got up, and dusted myself off.

The Jungs had quite a few animals, and the usual variety that one might find on a farm: cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, dogs, hogs and sheep. My brother and I helped Mr. Jung bring in the cows of an evening, riding on the sideboards of his old Ford pickup and jumping off when we spotted the cattle. We’d then walk them back to the barn for the evening. The chickens and ducks we didn’t bother with much except when a duck found our worm on a hook in the middle of their pond just too tempting to resist. The pigs we cut a wide berth as we had been warned of their paternal instincts and razor sharp teeth. The sheep, well, they were just sheep, except for Old Joe, the sole male in the flock.

No sooner had I got up off the ground and gathered my composure, Old Joe ran up and gave me one helluva butt in my own backside, sending me flying once again. Insult to injury.

Well, I never rode that pony again. And I have only been on a horse once since, and that was only because a woman I was dating had a couple and I was eager to please. Not crazy about the animals in the least.

I am reminded of this childhood trauma as I muster up the courage to return to Poker Stars. I don’t respond well to setbacks, when a series of events lead to an increasing amount of humiliation, whether caused by external circumstances or by that demon Impatience. I dust myself off a second time and limp back to my grandmother’s loving arms. In other words, I want to take a few days off.

Or rather, I shall try to. Last night the urge to play on PS was about me. Instead, I sweated a friend in a tourney while I got sucked out on at Poker Academy. That friend and I seemed to flame out together, and I imagined us both slinking off to our respective beds. Today, the urge returned and I found myself back at Stars.

A couple days ago I wrote about my concerns with my bankroll, especially after getting clobbered in 25NL. I came to the conclusion that I should move down to 10NL, and that’s what I did. I didn’t want to, but I did. And you know what? Falling off of a pony as an adult is a lot less painful. My kicker wasn’t there with trip Aces but my AK went on to hold up in three hands; the play is loose and big hands get paid. I think I will be okay.

Uh

I'm going to be a grandfather. It's strikes me as rather odd, even though I know that it was an eventuality. Many of my high school friends have been grandparents for ten years or more. Pardon me while I let this sink in...

Pub Tourney Tales Continued

Six weeks ago, or thereabouts: “bastin, you don’t know as much abut poker as you think you do.” That was Skunk’s pronouncement as I stepped out of line and asked him why he would go all-in with A8 when the blinds were still $25/$50. He lost the hand to A5.

With a field of 24 players, I made it to the final table last night with a halfway decent stack, pocket queens having held up twice. It wasn’t huge, but I was better off than several of the eight players left. I was doing a lot of folding, folding winning hands as a matter of fact, and blinding off. I could hear the “loosen up” monkey chattering away in my ear. That monkey has notoriously bad timing, so I did my best to ignore it, and blinded off some more.

Blinds were 2k/4k and I had 2.5 M in the small blind with one limper UTG. All in with AJo. The peanut gallery is speculating. The BB reluctantly folds and the UTG tanks. The peanut gallery says “Fold Doug. You know you’re going to fold, so hurry up.” The guy is getting halfway decent odds to call with any two, which is exactly what he plays most of the time. He calls with 10 7o and the flop comes with….a 7. Ah, sweet river J! I double up.

All-in with A5h from UTG and collect 1.5 BB. Again in the SB, just me and the BB. I take her out of her short-stack misery. I have some chips to do battle. Time to turn up the heat a bit. KQc, raise it up 2 X BB, Skunk goes all-in and I call. He has K 10, one of his favorite hands. Sweet Queen. (There is a side story about Queens: Several of the Crackers playing were bad-mouthing Gays earlier in the evening. I remarked that I was winning with Queens as vindication for my gay friends.) Skunk puts forward a limp fist-bump and slinks away. I love knocking him out.

I’m heads-up with a kid I have been heads up with twice before in the last two months. I have about 3 times as many chips as him. After a little back and forth, I’m on the button with 7s and raise it up. He goes all in and I call. He has A6o and my hand holds. I’m happy. My third win in as many months. Not bad, considering I had only one win before that in two years.

Peanut gallery: “bastin was overdue.” No, bastin is finally learning how to play tourneys.

Between a Rock and a Card Place

Cute title, eh? This may be the first blog entry I’ve written in which I have a title before the fact. WTF am I thinking?!

Yesterday I fell while fishing. Again. It happens. Negotiating big basalt boulders can get a bit tricky. It’s these damn bifocals. While I bruised up my knee the last time I went fishing and fell, this time I only scraped my other knee, yet I strained a muscle in my chest. Some little muscle that magically connects to my chest and back, making a deep breath a bit painful, in stereo. On top of that, it’s an old injury come back to remind me of prior falls.

Adding insult to injury, we were skunked on the money hole. I caught a little cut throat trout on my first cast, and then nothing for the rest of the day. This was a first. Despite a good rain last week, the river had returned to its previous shallow level. The fish that were in the hole two weeks ago were no longer there. They had either been fished out by other folks, or had moved up the river when they had a chance.

Poker swims around in this writing like a half-remembered, reoccurring dream that nags at me for hours after waking up. When I am ready…

Clocked

Running good? How about running second best?

Sure as shit, as soon as I say anything, I have a disastrous session. AQ vs AK, 2 pair with an open straight draw against a set. Initial reads on opponents proven situationally (maybe not a word) wrong. Semi-bluffs called, aggression disregarded by calling stations.

I lost two buy-ins on two separate tables, almost simultaneously. As a consequence, I’m a little bit gun shy, yet more importantly, I am reassessing my insistence on playing 25NL. Although, as I stated yesterday, I can afford to re-supply my account, I don’t see why I should, and the cold, hard truth is that there is the potential for the variance to eat me alive. I’m going to drop down. Happy, Cardgrrl?

Contrast this performance with that of my nicks at Poker Academy. Both bankrolls for ubu roi and bastin are at all-time highs. Even lowly little EarlyCuyler (of “Squidbillies” fame) has managed to double his roll in the last week with a smattering of hands played.

Now, some may consider that playing for fake money is not the same, that people are more ready to donk off PAX, while they would be more cautious with real money. Or, since PA is a learning tool, there are high numbers of beginners, or people playing in rooms beyond their skill level and learning the hard way not to. Easy money. That may be so. Yet, Cardgrrl also maintains that the same types of players are in abundance at Stars as well.

I am not of the same mind. I believe the ratio of good online cash players to poor players is higher than at PA, therefore making for a more difficult game. I pay close attention to betting patterns, bet sizes and position, assuming that the players I am up against do as well. And those that don’t, well, they’re easy to spot. Cardgrrl has told me that she finds this approach to be over-the-top, and all that is needed is to play ABC poker. I wonder.

Maybe there is an inverse downside to fancy play. Let me try to explain.

What normally constitutes fancy play? 56s looking to cooler; slow-playing Aces or a set, betting on the come…those sorts of things that can come back and bite one in the ass. Well, maybe I am over-analyzing the play of my opponents, getting fancy in my own mind, and that is leading me astray.

This is nascent idea, mind you, and may be off the mark. Like so many other things about my game, I’m going to have to think on it and get back to you.

BTW, Cardgrrl's post today is tangentially poignant.

Click

I’m running good. Maybe it’s a psychological thing after receiving my deposit bonus and thereby having an extra two buy-ins. Since that glorious day I have acquired two more buy-ins, and now I’m up to eight for 25NL. If I can get my “m” (ha) up to ten, maybe I will see a flop all-in with pocket Kings (ha again).

Yeah, I know it’s pretty pathetic to be yappin’ about grinding with a small roll, all the while playing above that roll. Cardgrrl says I should move down. I just can’t do it. I see those $5 stacks and ask myself, “Why bother?” I’m not so sure the competition is any worse either. (Someday I’m going to post my observations about the PS game in general.) To be honest, if I somehow lost it all, it wouldn’t be the end of me or my playing on Stars. It’s still a helluva lot cheaper than going to the casino with the same amount of money and playing 1/2, so I’d make a deposit.

Yet, that’s not what I want to achieve here. I see no reason why I cannot replicate my performance at PA, and if I can get up to about a grand, I’ll be looking to move up. Or not. It’s too early to tell.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, it’s a beautiful early autumn day. The rains have stopped for a few days, which will give me an opportunity to dig up the rest of the potatoes. We have more tomatoes than we can eat and the Jerusalem Artichokes are blooming. The buzzards are circling, only not for carrion. They will soon make one more orbit and then file off southward. I’m going to get in the truck and take a drive to look for some photo opportunities.