Crazy Night on Full Tilt Poker

I've been playing around with $100 on Full Tilt Poker this week.  For the most part, I would say I've been up and down and with some huge swings.  Admittedly, I've been playing .10 / .25 tables, but my online cash game abilities need some work before I put in a lot of money.

I started the night being down 50% with just $50 of my original $100 remaining.  So, I decided to play 2 tables simultaneously ($25 each).  Everything was going along pretty well until I went all in with 2 pairs AQ on one table and lost to a sick set of 10's.  Didn't see that coming!

So, I was down to 1 table and by this time, just about $14 or $15 remaining.  30 minutes later, all hell broke lose and I was up over $75.  In 5 hands, I hit a full house and 2 Straight Flushes that were both 9 thru K.

As you can see, the 2nd was even on the flop and I only won .57 cents.  The 1st was the best because my opponent hit a full house and he called my all-in bet.

When I hit the full house, I actually picked up a set of 4's on the flop and then the board paired.  With that set, I had it all the way, but the guy I beat for quite a bit of money completely went on tilt.  This is him:

He made such as special (although completely ineffective) effort to piss me off and get me off of my game for the next 10 minutes that I thought I should memorialize him here.  At this point, half of the money I was playing with came from him anyways, so how could I be upset at him for being a total jerk afterwards.  It's safe to say that HE didn't see THAT coming either.

Anyways, I finished with $74 for the night and now I'm only down $26 for the week.  What a crazy night!

Texas Hold'em Game Transformation

Over the past several weeks, I've been literally fighting against myself in Texas Hold'em.  My game has evolved from very tight to super loose and then back to variations in between.  For too long, my cards were see-thru.  When multiple people could call my hand, there's a serious problem.  That's what instigated my current situation.


I began changing up my game and that brought win after win after win for weeks.  But then, winning wasn't even satisfying.  My game started being about something more than just winning.  I had nights where I was in the money in all 3 games and I would drive home picking my bad moves a part.  I had one game where I ended up with every single chip on the table, but all I could think about after a while was the game I got 2nd place in.  What if I would have bet big instead of check?  How did I misplay pocket A's so bad?  Did I get bluffed on that one hand?  Why couldn't I see the bluff?  Even with an over-whelming winning percentage, something was wrong.  I still wasn't good enough (and I'm still not).


Then, a series of things recently happened that turned it all upside down.  I played a cash game at Winstar and lost $300 in a rushed effort with my wife waiting.  Then, I went to New Orleans and played 6 hours only to lose $300 more.  And last weekend, I went to Shreveport and lost $100 over several hours.  Lose, lose, lose!!!  I lost $700 in about a month's time, not to mention just barely breaking even in Friday Night Poker.  You would think this probably didn't help matters very much, but it actually changed me.


These cash poker games are very aggressive.  Sitting down with under-sized chip stacks and losing $700 over the course of about 12 hours opened my eyes to the fact that not only could I sit in there with big players, but I'm just on the cusp of being a big player myself.  I feel like I'm very close and I learned that the #1 thing I'm missing is the thing I love most about poker - poker psychology.


I'm missing most of the tells and giving off most of them back to my opponents.  I'm still an open book and my cards are still see-thru, but not for long.  I had a chance lunch meeting with at attorney who just played in the WSOP main event and he placed in the top 10%, getting him into the money.  We hit it off instantly and he recommended that I read Caro's Book of Poker Tells.  In fact, he had it delivered to my office a couple of days later and I read it for the first time that night.  Yes - I read it cover-to-cover that first night.  I couldn't believe how badly I was crippling my game by giving off and not recognizing obvious tells.


So, last night I was playing Friday Night Poker with the guys and I spent most of the evening watching for tells.  I still didn't win either game last night, but I did pick up some tells that saved me a lot of chips.  One guy was sizing up his chip stack after seeing the flop.  He had a good hand and I folded.  He had me beat.  Good fold.  Another guy saw the flop and immediately glanced down at his chips - huge tell.  Then, to add to it, he appeared to be indecisive as to whether or not to bet.  That made up my mind to fold - good fold.  He had it.  Then, my favorite one took a little friendly manipulation on my part.  I had pocket J's and the flop was all cards lower than jack, so was the turn.  I bet fairly big and was raised on the flop and the turn.  So, I said to the other guy, "I have a pretty big pocket pair, so if you're raising me, you must have an even bigger pair."  It took a few seconds before he couldn't hold in his smile.  It took even less time for me to fold my Jacks and he had pocket Kings.  I'll keep watching for tells and I'm going to read the book a couple of more times too.


Finally, tonight I sat down to play a Full Tilt Poker tournament (90 players) and for the 21st time this year, I made it to the final table and ended up in 4th place.  I was pretty happy with that outcome.  My game purpose was to get back to "basics".  I tightened back up some and primarily played a range of about 15 to 20 starting hands.  I raised about 30% of the time that I bet, made some good position bets, and put in some strategic bluffs that paid off.  I even loosened up a couple of times to suck out on the river, which I guess you have to be able to do sometimes.  Tonight, I just needed to be reminded that I could still get it done if I needed to back away from the game transformation.  But then, what am I really thinking?  Back away from the game transformation?  Now, I have a "range" of acceptable starting hands, a calculated % of raises, strategic position bets and bluffs.  My game is evolving to a mix of tight and loose, aggressive and calculated.


I have no idea where my game will go next, but I do know one thing:  I'm very competitive and there is nothing that I hate worse than losing at poker.  But poker energizes me, so I'll weather the losing until I start winning consistently again.  Hopefully a winning streak is coming.

Texas Holdem: Sick Winning Streak

In the last few months, I've been winning - period.  I'm winnng on-line.  I'm winning in Friday Night Poker.  I'm winning when I'm not interested in the game.  I'm winning when I'm badly distracted.  I'm winning when I get bad to medium hands.  And last night, I won when I couldn't miss.  I got 2nd, 1st, 1st last night.  My hands last night were so lucky that I was embarrarssed to keep winning.  I even folded what would have turned out to be great hands, including a full house.  The thing about getting cards though is that you have to play them right.  I wrote a while back about not mis-playing hands:  http://floppedtheboat.blogspot.com/2010/08/avoid-mis-played-poker-hands.html. 

Well, I can only think of maybe 1 or 2 hands that I mis-played last night.  Most of my moves last night were on purpose, meaning that even when I made questionable calls, it was for a reason.  For example, I played a couple of hands all the way to the river and made small raises and straight calls and lost the hands because I didn't even have a pair.  That was sort of my way of mixing up so the other guys don't "figure me out" like they used to all the time.  There's a guy that I play with that I swear sometimes he can see my cards before I do.  In recognition of this, I have to try to keep him guessing.

I had a couple of other winning hands that I might have folded in the past.  In one of them, I hit the straight on the river.  I wasn't chasing the river.  The bets made just weren't big enough to get me off my hand and I hit.  The river card was the 3rd club on the board and my opponent made a big bet THAT I DIDN'T BELIEVE.  So, I went with my gut and made the successful call.  In another hand, I had A J suited and the board paired 7's and some other small cards.  It was checks on the flop and checks on the turn (keeping me in the hand) and then my opponent bet the river.  I quickly calculated the odds of what I thought he had and found that the odds were against him, so I made the call and won.  He also had an Ace in his hand with a smaller kicker.

I know the way I've been winning lately has to be frustrating for the guys I play with.  I would be frustrated if I was them.  Then again, frustration is a weakness in poker because it brings a loss of focus, but it's hard to avoid sometimes.  Right now, I'm questioning my poker ability because this kind of winning makes me wonder how much of my success is pure luck.  I'm happy to have it on my side for as long as possible, but in the bigger picture, luck isn't why I want to win.  I'm going to be re-evaluating my actual skills over the next week.  Some of the guys I play with are too good for me to hope for luck each time I set down.  I want to be good enough to play with anyone.  I'm not there yet and that's going to be my focus.

This has been a sick streak though.

Lessons From Poker Boredom

I played 2 no-money full tilt poker tournaments in the last 2 days.  I got 6th place out of 90 players last night and 11th tonight.  11th sucks, but the 6th was OK.  In both of these tournaments, I was completely bored and uninterested.  I have no idea how I made it to the final table last night and I don't know why I lasted to #11 tonight.  If someone would have just played their B game early on, I probably would been gone.

I play these free tournaments during the week just so I can get some practice and see a bunch of poker hands.  In doing this, I've made 18 final tables in the last 6 or so months.  I know, I know - there's no money at stake in these games.  I understand the implications of playing for cash.  I do that weekly too.  These are just for practice.

Anyways, in the last 2 nights, I played bored and uninterested for an average finish of 8.5 out of 90 (basically the top 10%).  Reading players in these free, on-line poker tournaments is pretty interesting.  If you're paying just a little attention, you can figure a lot out about your opponents.  Chasers are the easiest to find.  2 clubs on the board, turn card is a heart - shut down.  Top pair, huge bet.  Check the flop, check the turn, hit your card on the river - bet.  Hit your flush on the flop (while holding 9-3 of hearts) and then check to the river.  Really man?  Listen, I'm not one of those jerks that's going to talk trash to you for playing your game.  Believe me, plenty of others will though.  You just won't be too hard to beat.  That's all.

The psychology of poker is my favorite part of the game and online poker can be great for picking up a players betting habits.  Play several hundred or several thousand hands just to pick up on these habits and then use that understanding when you're playing in your home game.  How about that - poker boredom can be educational too.

God's Gift to Poker

I was playing on Full Tilt Poker tonight and there was this guy there that was criticizing the other players at the table.  Some people were making stupid bets and calls, but there was no money at stake, so what do you expect.  This guy came out swinging on the chat telling the table what bad players they were.  I looked over and I had more chips than he did and I just sat down at the table.  IDIOT! 

Anyways, it reminds me of the time I was at the Bellagio and the guy sitting to my left thought he was God's gift to poker.  Every time someone beat him, he was talking trash.  Every time he won, he was talking trash.  This guy must have thought that it was his God given right to win at poker.  I don't personally have that right so I have to work at it, but this guy was tuned in with God.  Lucky bastard!

If you're reading this, let me tell you the truth:  it is not your God given right to win every hand in poker.  I highly recommend that you play smart, play the odds, and know yourself and your opponents.  I mean seriously, do you really think you should win every hand?  The odds aren't in your favor for being a 100% winner.  Did you know that?

I love the comment, "keep playing like that and you won't win very much."  My thought is that if you keep thinking like that, neither will you.  Luck happens at a poker table.  Like it or not, you were not born to win in poker.  I know that's a big shock to you, but you should really consider your position as God's gifted poker champion.  I have news for you man:  you are going to get beat.  Then what? 

I sat next to this guy at the Bellagio and I enjoyed taking his chips from him.   Tonight at Full Tilt Poker, I felt the same, except there was no money involved.  If you're reading this, you are not God's gift to poker.  You were not born with a destiny to win every hand you play.  Sometimes you're going to lose.  My advice to you is simple and sound:  shut the hell up and keep your head in the game.   Everyone loses hands from time to time.  Stop believing your own hype.

If you're truly better than the other guys at the table, then play like it.  Understand the other players at the table.  Play accordingly.  Don't be a jerk.

Friday Night Poker: Respect the Streak

To be honest with you, I'm a little embarrassed to be writing this.  I've either gotten 1st or 2nd in 6 of the last 7 games I've played in at Friday Night Poker.  I've actually gotten 1 or 2 in about 80% of the games I've played over the last 3 months.  I really quit keeping score because I wanted to respect the streak and I've been in an incredible poker zone.  You have to respect the streak, but I really like the guys I play with and at some point, I hope some of them win a game or 2, or at least get 2nd place and get a piece of the chop.  That did happen tonight for my buddy Chris.  He's been playing in the exact opposite direction as me over the last several weeks and tonight he got in the money twice out of 3 games, so for him, the losing is officially over.  He's a great player so I'm pretty sure he's not getting back on the losing streak anytime soon.  God help the rest of us.

But tonight - wow.  In the first game, I literally ended up with ALL OF THE CHIPS.  Chris said he's never seen that before and I hadn't either.  So, there was no chop because I knocked out both of the last 2 players with a straight on the flop (from the small blind).  It was pure brutality.  Prior to that however, I was down to a very small stack just like I have so many times before.  I lost a huge hand and donated a ton of chips, leaving me crippled (a position I have come to enjoy).  So, I told that guy that I would be coming back to get them.  I did.  I got 'em all - every last one of them.  I wanted to say I was sorry, but I wasn't.  He was 1 of those final 2 players.  I wasn't mad for losing my chips to him.  That's not why I went back in after them.  It was just a challenge that I made with myself.  What a thing that was!

The 2nd game started like the 1st one ended.  I got an early huge chip lead and ended up getting 2nd behind Chris who finally ended his losing streak against me.  Game 3 was forgettable, but to be completely honest, I was glad to lose.  I don't want to believe the hype.  The game 3 reality check was a good one too.  I played wild and stupid and deserved to lose, but stupid's gone now.  We'll see what happens next week.

To be continued. . .

Lessons:
1.  Don't play stupid!
2.  Don't believe your own hype.
3.  Respect the streak.

Avoid Mis-Played Poker Hands

I just finished watching some of day 2 of the WSOP on ESPN.  The broadcast really highlighted Daniel Negreanu who was bleeding chips.  One thing that I love about the WSOP is that over 6,000 people pay $10,000 to play for a chance to win nearly $9 Million, and this means that lots of amateurs are playing along side serious pros.  What other game / sport does that happen in?  I'm never getting subbed in for Marion Barber and I won't soon be dishing it off to LeBron, but I could find myself sitting next to Negreanu at a poker table.  If that ever happens, as much as I like Negreanu's playing style, I hope he plays like I just saw him playing tonight.

He mis-read his opponents' hands and mis-judged at least one guy's stomach for calling his large bets.  I've said this before, but it applies here as well.  KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS.  If you can do this, you can anticipate what they MIGHT do, especially in response to your moves.  Why bet $6,000 at a pot when you have NOTHING, NOT EVEN A PAIR, when your opponent is showing a propensity to call?  Sometimes your beat, even by an amateur, but at least it can be a beat from laying down your cards and not your chips.

And when you're hemorrhaging chips, know yourself.  A little self-awareness comes in handy.  Know when you're pushing it too much.  Know when you're making bets that don't make sense.  Know when you're out of rhythm.  A lack of self-awareness will cause you to miss-play hands.

Finally, when in doubt, understand the basic odds of poker.  What are the best and worst starting hands?  What is the likelihood that someone has a bigger pair than you do?  What's the likelihood that someone has a better starting hand than you?  Flush draw?  Straight draw?  What are the odds of hitting?

So, that's the lesson.  To avoid mis-played hands:

1. Know your opponents.
2  Know yourself.
3. Understand the odds.

Texas Holdem: How to Beat a Losing Streak

A couple of months ago, I ended a 6-week losing streak in Friday Night Poker that I was more than happy to see go.  Prior to that streak starting, I had built some positive momentum of winning quite a bit more than I was losing.  Chronic winning and chronic losing create very different psychological game play.  It is my opinion that winning streaks are built by, quite literally, a winning attitude.  Conversely, losing streaks are worsened and continued by a losing attitude.  Until you realize you're playing with a losing attitude, you're going to just keep losing.

What is a losing attitude in poker?

1.  You're easily frustrated.
2.  You get upset, or even angry, more often than usual when other players suck out on the river.
3.  You've lost your momentum and you no longer play hands like you were when you were winning.
4.  You don't play the people as much as you play your cards, and you mis-play those.
5.  You are irritated when you folded your hand (smartly) and realize that your hand would have won.
6.  Your betting doesn't make any sense.
7.  You literally think about all of the losing you've been doing more than you focus on winning this hand and this game.
8.  All the talk at the table has you distracted and frustrated.

What is a winning attitude in poker?

1.  You play relaxed and in control.
2.  You play patiently, allowing yourself to fold smartly without looking back in regret.
3.  You don't get angry when players suck out on the river because you are already aware of player tendencies at the table and you adjust your game accordingly.
4.  You play the people at least as much as you play your cards, watching for trends, habits, and tells.
5.  Because you understand how your opponents are playing, your betting makes perfect sense.  You know for example that some people just won't be raised out of their card chase, so you don't make any critical errors.
6.  You certainly don't think about losing, maybe not even winning because you are only thinking about this hand, building momentum, and not allowing your opponents to gain momentum.
7.  You are not distracted by anything that is going on at the table.  It's almost as if you have blocked that nonsense out and you're in a zone.
8.  You never believe your out of it as long as you have a chip in front of you.

I love poker so much because of the psychology-factor.  Sometimes it doesn't even matter which 2 cards you hold in your hand.  When you've got it, you can win very often regardless of the strength of your hand.  When you've lost it however, you MUST have a good hand to have a prayer for success.  So, in my opinion, if you want long-term success in really anything, including poker, you need to think like a dominant champion.  Believe you will win.  Do everything just like you do when you're winning.