But They're Suited!

A short session of .10 PL HE at FCP tonight. 2 tabled for about 45 mins. Lost a whole buy-in (10.00) on the second hand at the first table. Got completely sucked in by a slowplayer, thinking my pair of As were good.

That is when I fired up the second table. Good news is that between the two tables I made up all but .35 of what I started with tonight. So overall the evening was productive.

Yes, my bankroll balance below shows up .40 from the last bankroll balance. That's because it includes the bonus money I earned at FCP over the weekend. Remember - they credit the earned portion of my bonus money to me daily. So really my loss was just some of the bonus money. Takes a little of the sting out. :-)

FCP Bankroll: 50.94

Misc. ring game play over the weekend. Bankroll took a minor hit on Fri and Sat, but had a minor recovery today. .10 PL HE at FCP. People betting and raising to showdown with middle to bottom pair. I just don't understand that.

FCP Bankroll: 43.xx

Update:
I decided to hit the ring game a bit more after posting the above. A couple of minor wins, but 1 major profit hand. Bought into the .10 PL HE for $10.00, cashed out 30 mins later for $17.50 (down from a peak of 19.70).

The major profit in my ring games seems to come from a few big hands. Is this normal? Should I be winning more hands for less money, or making the majority of my money with a few big wins?

FCP Bankroll: 50.54

The FCP bankroll continued to grow tonight courtesy of the .10 PL HE tables and the players at my table. About half the gain was made on a hand where I made a boat on the river while heads up. I bet 1.00 into a 3 or 4.00 pot. Other player raises to 2.00. I raise back to 4.00. He calls. I have the boat, he folds his cards.

The rest of the pots were 5-7 players calling min bets and raises all the way to showdown with what was apparently less than top pair, since I had top pair and won. One time I had 66 in the pocket, which by the river turned into third pair, and still won the hand. Nice way to build the bankroll, but not so good for sharpening my skills.

FCP Bankroll: 57.13

I know that some people think that posting hand histories is about the worst thing you can do in your poker blog. Out of respect for that, I try to keep the hand history posts to a minimum. If you are one of those that doesn't care for hand histories, then please skip this post.

I wish all hands of poker were this easy. Well, maybe not - because more often than not I would probably not be on the good side of it. But never the less, here it is. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and the donkeys. How I trippled up in .10 PL HE at FCP:

Hand 111111111111, Started at 2/22/2006 9:10 PM
Table 'BLAHBLAH': $0.10-$0.10 Pot Limit HE (Real)
Seat 0: BadBluffer ($11.55 in chips)
Seat 1: Folder1($2.70 in chips)
Seat 2: Sooted ($9.70 in chips)
Seat 3: Folder2($22.85 in chips)
Seat 4: Folder3($6.45 in chips)
Seat 5: Playa ($10 in chips)
Seat 6: Folder4($9.60 in chips)
Seat 7: Folder5($9.75 in chips)
Seat 8: Folder6($9.80 in chips) (on the button)
Seat 9: Folder7($13.85 in chips)
*** Blind Bet Round *** :
Dealt to Sooted: Qs
Dealt to Sooted: Kc
Folder7: Post Blind ($0.10)
BadBluffer : Post Blind ($0.10)
Playa : Post Blind ($0.10)
*** Pre-Flop *** :
Folder1: Fold
Sooted : Call ($0.10)
Folder2: Fold
Folder3: Call ($0.10)
Playa : Check
Folder4: Fold
Folder5: Fold
Folder6: Fold
Folder7: Check
BadBluffer : Check
*** Flop *** : 5h Kh 6c
Folder7: Check
BadBluffer : Check
Sooted : Bet ($0.30)
Folder3: Call ($0.30)
Playa : Raise ($0.60)
Folder7: Fold
BadBluffer : Call ($0.60)
Sooted : Call ($0.30)
Folder3: Call ($0.30)
*** Turn *** : [ 5h Kh 6c ] Qc
BadBluffer : Check
Sooted : Bet ($1)
Folder3: Fold
Playa : Call ($1)
BadBluffer : Call ($1)
*** River *** : [ 5h Kh 6c Qc ] Ks
BadBluffer : Check
Sooted : Bet ($3)
Playa : Call ($3)
BadBluffer : Raise ($7)
Sooted : Call ($4)
Playa : Raise ($5.30)
Playa : All In
BadBluffer : Call ($1.30)
Sooted : Call ($1)
Sooted : All In
*** SUMMARY ***
Pot: $30.30 | Rake: $0.20
Board: [ 5h Kh 6c Qc Ks ]
BadBluffer lost $10 Shows [ 4h Ah ] (a pair of Kings.)
Folder1lost $0
Sooted bet $9.70, collected $29.70, net $20 Shows [ Qs Kc ] (a full house, Kings full of Queens.)
Folder2lost $0
Folder3lost $0.70
Playa bet $10, collected $0.60, net -$9.40 Shows [ Kd 7d ] (three Kings.)
Folder4lost $0
Folder5lost $0
Folder6lost $0
Folder7lost $0.10

I couldn't believe what these gugys were betting. It was like they just wanted to GIVE me their money. And it was the third hand of the session. Talk about wanting to hit and run...but I stayed and gave them a chance to get a little of it back. Only a dollar or two.

FCP Bankroll: 42.56

Played some .10 PL HE at FCP tonight. I think overall I prefer PokerStars, but I still have bonus money to work off at FCP.

Pretty good evening overall. Not a bunch of profit, but my play was pretty solid. One hand in particular made me happy. I had AA in middle position. It came around to me and I raised .10 to .20. Had 2 callers. Flop comes 937 rainbow. SB checks, BB bets .60, I call, SB calls. Turn is 2s. SB checks, BB bets 2.40 (all-in), I call, SB folds. River is 9c. BB turns over 7s5c, has 2 pair (99,77). I show my AA (AA,99) and take pot of $7, net $3.80. Woot!

Bled most of it back over the next hour, but still had good solid play. Got pushed off of a couple of hands I might have won, but one crazy maniac kept betting big and there were combos that could have beaten me, so I folded. Maniac didn't stay long enough for me to figure out if he was a big bluffer or not. Oh, well.

Overall: good, decent, solid play. A good evening.

FCP BR: 22.95

I played in a pretty interesting tournament last night. The Dallas Mavericks partnered with PokerStars to do a special tournament for people in the D/FW area. They had a tournament with a 3.00 entry fee and no rake. The top 10 winners got to pick their prize from a list, starting with first place getting first choice. The prize packages were things like traveling with the Mavericks for a 4 game run, getting a suite at the arena for you and 17 friends catered, playing golf with one of the Mavericks, autographed stuff, etc.

Around 525 players entered. Unfortunately I went out at 435. Pushed all in with a good hand, the best pre-flop, and got sucked out on the river. Oh well - with a field that big I was going to have to take a shot at doubling up at some point, and I feel good about my play.

I also played in another sit and go last night. 5.00+.50, 9 players at PokerStars. I did pretty well, other than going out on the bubble. But for the majority of the time I was in second place. Towards the end, I just couldn't get decent cards and got blinded out finally. I did some bluffing with my bad cards and managed to steal the blinds some (so I'm getting better at that), but it wasn't enough.

I'm going to keep plugging away, though.

I also played a little .05/.10 at FCP to try to eek back up my bankroll. I made a couple bucks before the Mavs tournament at PokerStars started.

PokerStars bankroll: 25.xx
FCP Bankroll: 22.xx

Last night I ended up at PokerStars. I decided at the last minute to play in the Donkeys Always Draw Invitational II - Heads Up NL HE tournament. Entry fee was 10+1. But wait - I have no bankroll at PokerStars. No problem, since they now pay your fee for you to do an InstaCash withdrawal through Neteller. I was good to go. Transferred in a few bucks and entered the tourney.

I had a fairly good first round, until near the end. I went out in the first round, but I don't think I played poorly. There is only so much you can do with the cards you are dealt.

I continued to railbird the tables of Al Can't Hang, DoubleAs, Wes (a.k.a. boobie lover), and Wil Wheaton through the end of the tourney. Wil made it to the end and chopped the pot with the other winner. There were 62 entries total, and the top 8 places paid.

As I was railbirding, I was playing some .05/.10 NL HE ring game. One particular hand I had T7 and was in the BB, so I got to check and see the flop. Flop was T99. I check (figuring someone else for bigger pocket pairs or suited paint), and as it comes back around to me the person on my right makes a small bet. With 2 pair, I decide to call. Everyone else folds. Turn is no help, he makes another small bet (under .50 because I'd folded for that) and I call. River comes with a Q. This time he bets .50, and I figure he is trying to push me off, so I call. For me, the pot was big enough to justify it. He paid a pair of Q on the river - until then I had him beat. I make a comment of "nh - nice river", just being jovial and just commenting on the way poker seems to work some times. He just totally ripped into me - told me how bad I played, how I should have raised and he would have folded, can't believe I'm commenting, blah blah blah.

I wasn't being rude to him - I was just commenting on the turnabout nature of poker. Why does he have to be like that? It's a freaking .05/.10 table for Pete's sake! That kind of stuff is completely out of line.

Ok, thanks for letting me vent. Time to go get a haircut.

I'm planning a post comparing FCP to Stars now that I've spent considerable time at FCP. Look for it in a few days.

Monday night I played 2 sit and go tournaments on Full Contact Poker. First one I went out in 7th. Couldn't really get decent hands, and when I finally had to make a move I was put out. Second one I did pretty well. Got my money in as the favorite multiple times, and made it into the money, leaving 3rd. So for the evening paid 10.00 + 1.00 and won 10.00. I lost .50 overall, as I earned back .50 in bonus money from the tournies.

Tonight was a repeat of Monday night. First tourney I went out in 7th. Not many decent hands, etc. Second tourney I went out in 3rd when I put my A8 up against A7. He had me covered by about 800 chips, so he'd still been in but most likely not for long. Naturally a 7 hits on the river. Oh well, I guess it's better to break even than lose money on these.

Regardless of my financial performance in these, I've been enjoying the tournaments. I think I'll continue them for a while. FCP also has some 5+.50 20 person SNGs that pay out 4 places. I might give one of those a shot next. Won't be more of a risk, and might mean a bigger payout.

Played 2 5.00+.50 SNGs at FCP tonight. First one went out in 8/10. Poor cards, poor play.

Second one I bubbled out in 4th. Was in 2nd place, had KK, opponent had Ad6d, with 2 diamonds on the flop. No, he didn't river his flush. He rivered an Ace. Out I go. Not unhappy with my play. Pushed when I should, only played one hand I thought I shouldn't and it worked out OK for me.

FCP is ok, but I think that when I've worked off my bonus I'll return to PokerStars. The players at Stars seem more friendly.

I found a new blog. Well, new to me anyway. Another guy that is playing the micro-limit tables and building a bankroll. Check out the Poker Cheapskate. You might like it. I do - I've subscribed.

It's been a tough week and a half at the poker tables. It started two weeks ago tonight. I got home from dinner with some friends after work and decided to play some poker. Mistake #1.

I logged into FCP where I had a fairly healthy bankroll (for me anyway) of 80.00+. I decided to take a shot at the next higher level tables: .25/.50 NL HE. Bought in for 50.00. First hand popped up to 52.xx. Second hand, busted. I had pocket KK, raggedy board. Bet kinda big, got raised all-in. Thought long and hard- figured that player for trying to push me off the pot as he hadn't bet much until the river. I called - put me all in. He had poket 7s with a 7 on the flop. My KK cracked by 777. Oh, well.

The following days were very frustrating - lots of play, lots of bad cards. Even played a heads-up tourney (5.00 + 0.50) and almost folded my way out of it. Such Bad Cards!

The last half of this week things have started turning around. I won a 10 person SNG at FCP on Wed night (haven't played many of those - this is maybe my third or fourth -ever), and won a 5.00 + 0.50 heads-up tourney last night, including a comeback from being way down.

Anyway, back to the tables tonight. Hopefully things will keep looking up.

FCP bankroll: 33.97.