And I'm Back
I successfully deposited $200 on Stars this evening and sat down and logged 172 hands. I didn't get my PayTru card in the mail yet, but I tried depositing anyway, and it worked with a blank verification number (the 3 digit number that's on the back of credit cards). Good stuff, cause I was itching to get back in it. I had a successful night.
The first thing I noticed when I sat down was that the table was pretty tight and somewhat passive. I won the first three pots, by having it folded to me in the BB, then raising from the SB and taking it down on the river with 55 that made a backdoor 4-card straight. That hand was pretty much an accident, I raised because I thought it was folded to me (I was trying to find a second table), and in fact there was a limper who called along with the BB anyway and being first to act I had to check an A-high flop. Third hand I had Q
T and raised from the button and took it down. Anyway, here's some key hands:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
MP ($15.50)
CO ($22.55)
Button ($60.40)
Hero ($24.75)
BB ($27.15)
UTG ($54.10)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 6
, Q.
2 folds, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero completes, BB checks.
I usually complete pretty liberally, especially in passive games such as this. I can usually take enough small pots down to make entering the pot worth it.
Flop: ($0.75) Q
, K, 4
(3 players)
Hero bets $0.5, BB calls $0.50, CO calls $0.50.
Two callers. Well that sucks. I should probably give up on the turn, but...
Turn: ($2.25) 6 (3 players)
Hero bets $1.25, BB raises to $2.75, CO folds, Hero calls $1.50
I bet it again with two pair, hoping this guy just has a K or a draw. He minraises me. He was in the BB, so he could have seen the flop with any two cards. I really don't know what to put him on here. Pair + flush draw? Set of fours? 64? Q4? Wouldn't he have raised KQ preflop? Just fooling around with a draw? My sense was that he was passive though, so I pretty much ruled that out.
River: ($7.75) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $3.75, Hero raises to $21.25, BB folds.
Thought a checkraise was the best play here, dunno why. I was really just hoping he had 64 or 44. Against K6 I think I go broke no matter how I play it. I should've just led out for $6, he raises we get the money in, if he calls at least I got to set the price. Wonder what he got away from? Flush? Amazing how I seem to blow them out of the water when I actually have it, but when I'm bluffing, my story doesn't add up.
Poker Stars - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $24.75
BB: $11.25
UTG: $51.70
Hero (MP): $25.00
CO: $35.00
BTN: $40.45
Preflop: Hero is dealt Q
K (6 Players)
UTG raises to $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, CO folds, BTN calls $0.50, 2 folds
Had to find a new converter, since the other one appears to be down, but LegoPoker's is much better anyway. It gives you the suits images even if you do HTML, which the others don't.
Anyway, Passive player minraises UTG, I think about repopping but decide to just call and take a flop. Button comes along also.
Flop: ($1.85) A T J
(3 Players)
UTG bets $1.00, Hero calls $1.00, BTN folds
I flop the joint. Nut straight, with nut flush redraw and royal flush redraw. UTG makes a weakish lead and I just call here. I figure he could have a weak ace, something like KK or QQ (possibly QQx) or could have flopped a set. I figure I'll get him on the turn.
Turn: ($3.85) 6
(2 Players)
UTG bets $1.00, Hero raises to $6.00, UTG calls $5.00
Alright, a blank turn arrives and he weak leads for $1 again, which is now a little less than 1/4 pot. I just pump it up big here to $6. I just like to put pressure on people. If he has a weak ace, he's going to pay big to get to showdown. Well, he's paying big with whatever he has.
River: ($15.85) 4 (2 Players)
UTG bets $2.00, Hero raises all-in to $17.50, UTG calls $15.50
I improve from the nuts to the nuts, even though I didn't need it. He makes another pathetic weak-lead, and I think he just has a weak ace here, he minraised with something like A6 and can't fold top pair. So I view this as a blocking bet. I move in, hoping that he's thinking I'm playing back at him. He calls, and I ship a huge pot.
Pot Size: $50.85 ($2.50 Rake)
UTG had A
A and LOST (-$25.00)
Hero had Q K (a flush, Ace high) and WON (+$23.35)
AA was the last hand I put him on here, but he played it pretty poorly, even though he was behind from the flop on.
Alright, here's a few hands I lost, but think I played well:
Poker Stars - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 5 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $23.25
Hero (BB): $32.65
UTG: $19.80
CO: $52.00
BTN: $15.15
Preflop: Hero is dealt T 9 (5 Players)
UTG calls $0.25, 2 folds, SB calls $0.15, Hero checks
Certainly looking forward to taking a free look at the flop with those cards.
Flop: ($0.75) T 7 9 (3 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG bets $0.50, SB calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.00, UTG calls $1.50, SB raises to $3.50, Hero calls $1.50, UTG calls $1.50
I flop top two here, but on a dangerous board. I check it and it is checked to UTG, who bets $.50 into $.75. He might be taking a stab here (no reliable reads, I'm about an orbit into the table at this point). SB calls here, which I don't think too much of, cause he could just be taking one off with a pair or weak holding. I checkraise to $2, I really want to take down this pot now. UTG flat calls and SB raises. For $1.50 more I'm looking to see the turn, and I do.
Turn: ($11.25) K (3 Players)
SB bets all-in for $19.50, Hero folds, UTG calls all-in for $16.05
SB puts it in, and I'm gone. I am happy I didn't overplay my top two on the flop, though perhaps I could have gotten away from it once I got reraised.
Uncalled bet of $3.45 returned to SB
River: ($43.35) 3 (2 Players - 2 All-In)
Pot Size: $43.35 ($2 Rake)
UTG had J Q (a straight, Nine to King) and WON (+$21.55)
SB had 6 8 (a straight, Six to Ten) and LOST (-$19.80)
So they both made straights, SB had a chance to protect his hand with a bigger reraise on the flop, but didn't. Really not a board you want to fool around on especially against two opponents.
Poker Stars - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $24.75
BB: $39.20
UTG: $22.15
MP: $39.90
CO: $25.30
Hero (BTN): $48.20
Preflop: Hero is dealt 9 9 (6 Players)
UTG folds, MP calls $0.25, CO calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.50, SB folds, BB calls $1.25, MP folds, CO calls $1.25
I make a pretty standard play on the button here with two nines. I'm really hoping to get action call in all honesty and hit my set for a big pot. I get two callers, okay.
Flop: ($4.85) 2 T 5 (3 Players)
BB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $3.00, BB raises to $7.00, CO folds, Hero calls $4.00
Checked to me, and I throw $3 out there. BB raises me $4 more. I have to at least see the turn here, my Gametime+ stats say he's pretty aggressive (7 AF) so he could be raising just a draw here, though a T has me beat as well if he does have JT or something.
Turn: ($18.85) 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $6.00, Hero folds
He leads into me for less than 1/3 pot and now I'm thinking this is a suck bet. He could I suppose still have a draw, but my instinct told me to pitch it. I needed to decide right now how far I was going to go with this hand, and I decided I'm not calling off my chips here with one pair.
Pot Size: $24.85 ($0.90 Rake)
Villain was nice enough to flash me his cards afterwards, and showed 22 for the flopped set. I congratulate him on his good fortune and pat myself on the back for making such an amazing read (har har har). In all honesty though, I did lose $7 after the flop so he did make some money off me, but at least it wasn't my whole stack.
I finished ahead a little more than a buy-in. Deck did hit me in the face a little, but I also got out of some tough situations relatively cheaply, so skill had just as much to do with it as luck. Great to be back playing though.
The first thing I noticed when I sat down was that the table was pretty tight and somewhat passive. I won the first three pots, by having it folded to me in the BB, then raising from the SB and taking it down on the river with 55 that made a backdoor 4-card straight. That hand was pretty much an accident, I raised because I thought it was folded to me (I was trying to find a second table), and in fact there was a limper who called along with the BB anyway and being first to act I had to check an A-high flop. Third hand I had Q
T and raised from the button and took it down. Anyway, here's some key hands:PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
MP ($15.50)
CO ($22.55)
Button ($60.40)
Hero ($24.75)
BB ($27.15)
UTG ($54.10)
Preflop: Hero is SB with 6
, Q.2 folds, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero completes, BB checks.
I usually complete pretty liberally, especially in passive games such as this. I can usually take enough small pots down to make entering the pot worth it.
Flop: ($0.75) Q
, K, 4 (3 players)Hero bets $0.5, BB calls $0.50, CO calls $0.50.
Two callers. Well that sucks. I should probably give up on the turn, but...
Turn: ($2.25) 6
(3 players)Hero bets $1.25, BB raises to $2.75, CO folds, Hero calls $1.50
I bet it again with two pair, hoping this guy just has a K or a draw. He minraises me. He was in the BB, so he could have seen the flop with any two cards. I really don't know what to put him on here. Pair + flush draw? Set of fours? 64? Q4? Wouldn't he have raised KQ preflop? Just fooling around with a draw? My sense was that he was passive though, so I pretty much ruled that out.
River: ($7.75) 6
(2 players)Hero checks, BB bets $3.75, Hero raises to $21.25, BB folds.
Thought a checkraise was the best play here, dunno why. I was really just hoping he had 64 or 44. Against K6 I think I go broke no matter how I play it. I should've just led out for $6, he raises we get the money in, if he calls at least I got to set the price. Wonder what he got away from? Flush? Amazing how I seem to blow them out of the water when I actually have it, but when I'm bluffing, my story doesn't add up.
Poker Stars - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $24.75
BB: $11.25
UTG: $51.70
Hero (MP): $25.00
CO: $35.00
BTN: $40.45
Preflop: Hero is dealt Q
K (6 Players)UTG raises to $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, CO folds, BTN calls $0.50, 2 folds
Had to find a new converter, since the other one appears to be down, but LegoPoker's is much better anyway. It gives you the suits images even if you do HTML, which the others don't.
Anyway, Passive player minraises UTG, I think about repopping but decide to just call and take a flop. Button comes along also.
Flop: ($1.85) A
T J (3 Players)UTG bets $1.00, Hero calls $1.00, BTN folds
I flop the joint. Nut straight, with nut flush redraw and royal flush redraw. UTG makes a weakish lead and I just call here. I figure he could have a weak ace, something like KK or QQ (possibly Q
Qx) or could have flopped a set. I figure I'll get him on the turn.Turn: ($3.85) 6
(2 Players)UTG bets $1.00, Hero raises to $6.00, UTG calls $5.00
Alright, a blank turn arrives and he weak leads for $1 again, which is now a little less than 1/4 pot. I just pump it up big here to $6. I just like to put pressure on people. If he has a weak ace, he's going to pay big to get to showdown. Well, he's paying big with whatever he has.
River: ($15.85) 4
(2 Players)UTG bets $2.00, Hero raises all-in to $17.50, UTG calls $15.50
I improve from the nuts to the nuts, even though I didn't need it. He makes another pathetic weak-lead, and I think he just has a weak ace here, he minraised with something like A
6 and can't fold top pair. So I view this as a blocking bet. I move in, hoping that he's thinking I'm playing back at him. He calls, and I ship a huge pot.Pot Size: $50.85 ($2.50 Rake)
UTG had A
A and LOST (-$25.00)Hero had Q
K (a flush, Ace high) and WON (+$23.35)AA was the last hand I put him on here, but he played it pretty poorly, even though he was behind from the flop on.
Alright, here's a few hands I lost, but think I played well:
Poker Stars - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 5 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $23.25
Hero (BB): $32.65
UTG: $19.80
CO: $52.00
BTN: $15.15
Preflop: Hero is dealt T
9 (5 Players)UTG calls $0.25, 2 folds, SB calls $0.15, Hero checks
Certainly looking forward to taking a free look at the flop with those cards.
Flop: ($0.75) T
7 9 (3 Players)SB checks, Hero checks, UTG bets $0.50, SB calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.00, UTG calls $1.50, SB raises to $3.50, Hero calls $1.50, UTG calls $1.50
I flop top two here, but on a dangerous board. I check it and it is checked to UTG, who bets $.50 into $.75. He might be taking a stab here (no reliable reads, I'm about an orbit into the table at this point). SB calls here, which I don't think too much of, cause he could just be taking one off with a pair or weak holding. I checkraise to $2, I really want to take down this pot now. UTG flat calls and SB raises. For $1.50 more I'm looking to see the turn, and I do.
Turn: ($11.25) K
(3 Players)SB bets all-in for $19.50, Hero folds, UTG calls all-in for $16.05
SB puts it in, and I'm gone. I am happy I didn't overplay my top two on the flop, though perhaps I could have gotten away from it once I got reraised.
Uncalled bet of $3.45 returned to SB
River: ($43.35) 3
(2 Players - 2 All-In)Pot Size: $43.35 ($2 Rake)
UTG had J
Q (a straight, Nine to King) and WON (+$21.55)SB had 6
8 (a straight, Six to Ten) and LOST (-$19.80)So they both made straights, SB had a chance to protect his hand with a bigger reraise on the flop, but didn't. Really not a board you want to fool around on especially against two opponents.
Poker Stars - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.10/$0.25 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $24.75
BB: $39.20
UTG: $22.15
MP: $39.90
CO: $25.30
Hero (BTN): $48.20
Preflop: Hero is dealt 9
9 (6 Players)UTG folds, MP calls $0.25, CO calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.50, SB folds, BB calls $1.25, MP folds, CO calls $1.25
I make a pretty standard play on the button here with two nines. I'm really hoping to get action call in all honesty and hit my set for a big pot. I get two callers, okay.
Flop: ($4.85) 2
T 5 (3 Players)BB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $3.00, BB raises to $7.00, CO folds, Hero calls $4.00
Checked to me, and I throw $3 out there. BB raises me $4 more. I have to at least see the turn here, my Gametime+ stats say he's pretty aggressive (7 AF) so he could be raising just a draw here, though a T has me beat as well if he does have JT or something.
Turn: ($18.85) 6
(2 Players)BB bets $6.00, Hero folds
He leads into me for less than 1/3 pot and now I'm thinking this is a suck bet. He could I suppose still have a draw, but my instinct told me to pitch it. I needed to decide right now how far I was going to go with this hand, and I decided I'm not calling off my chips here with one pair.
Pot Size: $24.85 ($0.90 Rake)
Villain was nice enough to flash me his cards afterwards, and showed 2
2 for the flopped set. I congratulate him on his good fortune and pat myself on the back for making such an amazing read (har har har). In all honesty though, I did lose $7 after the flop so he did make some money off me, but at least it wasn't my whole stack.I finished ahead a little more than a buy-in. Deck did hit me in the face a little, but I also got out of some tough situations relatively cheaply, so skill had just as much to do with it as luck. Great to be back playing though.
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