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Old 06-03-2018, 01:09 PM   #271
Denny
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Hey Thaskalos - and everybody here,

Just found this thread and will start going over it in time.

In the mean time if you have a no-limit poker book to recommend, don't forget to let me know.

Thanks
Denny

Last edited by Denny; 06-03-2018 at 01:10 PM.
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Old 06-05-2018, 11:42 PM   #272
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In another thread Thaskalos asked me for the reasons why I have experienced good results this year (currently north of +$10 / hr excluding promotional wins) after about 175 total playing hours.

After careful consideration here are some factors that "might" be contributors:

-- I have better awareness of my opponent's playing styles.
-- I understand hand textures a little better.
-- I have slowly moved away from an almostly exclusive "nitty" style to one that now has more increased, but calculated aggression. I still have a long way to go in this regard.
-- I seem to be encountering a significant level of "soft" games. Perhaps in part to more frequent high-hand promotions at my home poker room which in turn attracts less-skilled players who stay in hands longer hoping to get lucky.
-- I seem to be paying off players who hold better hands at a decreasing frequency.
-- I have more confidence when I play, and I feel like I understand the game on a more intuitive level than in the past.

So by the end of the year it might be the phrase from the Bad Boys song, "If you get hot then you must get cool", or hopefully, I really have improved on skill level. (Even then, the total number of hands I play each year is relatively small, so my results could vary significantly from year to year.).


I have no aspirations to climb up the poker ladder, so I'm currently enjoying an activity that at the very worst is not costing me to play.
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Old 06-14-2018, 02:28 PM   #273
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Last night at the Wynn...

2-5 no-limit, at about 1:30 am. We are 8 at the table, and from the accents, I can tell that only 1 is American. To say that the game is "wild" is the biggest understatement since General Custer...who reportedly told his men: "Over that hill, I fear that we might meet unfriendly Indians".

"A typical hand"...you ask? Okay!

I am on the button with AK. It gets to me after 2 limpers, and I raise to $35. The big blind and the 2 limpers call. The flop falls:

8-3-8 rainbow

The bespectacled American on the big blind checks, and so does the UTG limper... but the middle-positioned player, who looks distinctly Middle-Eastern, bets $100. I fold... suspecting that I am playing against sane human beings. The big blind calls quickly. The turn is a 6, putting 2 hearts on the board...and the big blind now leads out with a bet of $250...causing the prior bettor to go into the tank. After a full 2 minute contemplation...he calls. The river is a J of clubs...and the big blind thinks for about 20 seconds, and then calls out..."all-in", with about $800 remaining in front of him. The Middle Eastener, who has the bettor covered, now REALLY goes into the tank...and we all wait in silence for what feels like an eternity. "Call", he declares...causing the big blind to wince as he sheepishly turns over the A-Q of hearts. The caller excitedly jumps to his feet, and slams 2 deuces on the felted table...while yelling out, "WHAT HE COULD HAVE"?

About an hour later...the same player goes "all-in" on me...with a 6-7-5-3-2 board, and me holding 8-8. Deciding that this isn't the hand I should be playing for all my chips, I fold...and he turns over an A-6...causing me to order a rare alcoholic drink at the table, as I ask the dealer for an aspirin.

What a town!
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Old 06-15-2018, 08:13 PM   #274
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The caller excitedly jumps to his feet, and slams 2 deuces on the felted table...while yelling out, "WHAT HE COULD HAVE"?
all the pros are in town for the world series!
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Old 06-20-2018, 03:36 PM   #275
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Interested in feedback on the following hand.

Middle of a tournament on PokerStars, I'm currently in 71st place; payouts start at pos. 820; there's still 871 left in it.

Blinds 200-400; I pick up 3h-3d in the big blind.

Hijack bets 1000; button calls. I call

Flop is Ah-3c-Ad. I check. HJ bets 2500, button calls. I call

Turn is 3s. I check, HJ checks, button bets 3250. I call. HJ folds.

River is 8h. I bet half pot, button pushes all in, I call. And lose to pocket aces.

Now I realize that this was a massive cooler (DUH!). But, in discussions with friends, everyone says I should have no problem folding the river. I just don't think I can...I lose to exactly one combination!

This tilted me for a couple of weeks...I'm a nice guy, don't understand why the Poker Gods were so upset with me!

Can anyone come up with a lucid reason for a fold here?

Mike
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Old 06-20-2018, 04:09 PM   #276
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Jesus Christ wouldn't have been able to get away alive in that spot.
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Old 06-20-2018, 07:12 PM   #277
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Only "good" thing about the hand was that I outchipped the villain. I managed to nurse my meager stack to a min-cash.

Then I tilted.

Mike
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Old 06-20-2018, 09:19 PM   #278
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikekk View Post
But, in discussions with friends, everyone says I should have no problem folding the river.
not saying your friends are bad people but the gambling world (outside of paceadvantage of course) is filled with insecurity and "contrarianism."

what i'm saying is that most of us probably have gambling friends that would say the same thing but i don't think anyone's really folding there.

what were stacks btw?
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Old 06-20-2018, 10:33 PM   #279
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not saying your friends are bad people but the gambling world (outside of paceadvantage of course) is filled with insecurity and "contrarianism."

what i'm saying is that most of us probably have gambling friends that would say the same thing but i don't think anyone's really folding there.

what were stacks btw?
The standard critique was that I should raise the flop to "see where I stand". But:

- it's a 4-way flop and I should be way ahead...I don't want to be scaring anyone into folding just yet...I want to play 3-way for stacks here
- best scenario is if both of them hold an ace...then I'm 80-20 favorite
- only turn and river I'm considering mucking is if an ace shows
- My God, I HAVE to be in good shape on this flop!
- button with aces would be an IDIOT to raise if I bet the flop, so seeing where I stand is meaningless

Other remark, I should fold to the river jam because "you can only beat a bluff". But:

- there's more full houses that I'm beating, and only one hand that beats me.
- any ace has a full house, probably trying to scoop the pot if I have the other one

I would have bet the river as described even if an ace appeared. Probably would have folded to the jam, tho.

Stacks? I had 70 BB's; Hijack had 40, Button had 61.

Yeah, I agree with your last statement. Easier to fold in a conversation than in real life! Unfortunately, Pokerstars doesn't have a bad beat jackpot; that would have salved the wound a bit!

Thanks to you and Thask for the input.

Mike
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Old 06-20-2018, 11:54 PM   #280
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikekk View Post
The standard critique was that I should raise the flop to "see where I stand". But:

- it's a 4-way flop and I should be way ahead...I don't want to be scaring anyone into folding just yet...I want to play 3-way for stacks here
- best scenario is if both of them hold an ace...then I'm 80-20 favorite
- only turn and river I'm considering mucking is if an ace shows
- My God, I HAVE to be in good shape on this flop!
- button with aces would be an IDIOT to raise if I bet the flop, so seeing where I stand is meaningless

Other remark, I should fold to the river jam because "you can only beat a bluff". But:

- there's more full houses that I'm beating, and only one hand that beats me.
- any ace has a full house, probably trying to scoop the pot if I have the other one

I would have bet the river as described even if an ace appeared. Probably would have folded to the jam, tho.

Stacks? I had 70 BB's; Hijack had 40, Button had 61.

Yeah, I agree with your last statement. Easier to fold in a conversation than in real life! Unfortunately, Pokerstars doesn't have a bad beat jackpot; that would have salved the wound a bit!

Thanks to you and Thask for the input.

Mike
Mike, do yourself a favor. Avoid any further advice from those who told you that you should have raised the flop to "see where you stand". The guy with the pocket aces would never have revealed the strength of his hand to you that early...so your flop raise wouldn't have gotten the desired result. And the idea of folding to the river jam is too ridiculous to comment on. Your demise was unavoidable in that hand...no matter what anyone else tells you.
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Old 06-21-2018, 02:06 AM   #281
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thaskalos View Post
2-5 no-limit, at about 1:30 am. We are 8 at the table, and from the accents, I can tell that only 1 is American. To say that the game is "wild" is the biggest understatement since General Custer...who reportedly told his men: "Over that hill, I fear that we might meet unfriendly Indians".

"A typical hand"...you ask? Okay!

I am on the button with AK. It gets to me after 2 limpers, and I raise to $35. The big blind and the 2 limpers call. The flop falls:

8-3-8 rainbow

The bespectacled American on the big blind checks, and so does the UTG limper... but the middle-positioned player, who looks distinctly Middle-Eastern, bets $100. I fold... suspecting that I am playing against sane human beings. The big blind calls quickly. The turn is a 6, putting 2 hearts on the board...and the big blind now leads out with a bet of $250...causing the prior bettor to go into the tank. After a full 2 minute contemplation...he calls. The river is a J of clubs...and the big blind thinks for about 20 seconds, and then calls out..."all-in", with about $800 remaining in front of him. The Middle Eastener, who has the bettor covered, now REALLY goes into the tank...and we all wait in silence for what feels like an eternity. "Call", he declares...causing the big blind to wince as he sheepishly turns over the A-Q of hearts. The caller excitedly jumps to his feet, and slams 2 deuces on the felted table...while yelling out, "WHAT HE COULD HAVE"?

About an hour later...the same player goes "all-in" on me...with a 6-7-5-3-2 board, and me holding 8-8. Deciding that this isn't the hand I should be playing for all my chips, I fold...and he turns over an A-6...causing me to order a rare alcoholic drink at the table, as I ask the dealer for an aspirin.

What a town!
Sounds like you were at a table with people who have more money than brains. Tough spot in that final pre-alcohol hand...if you go by his prior history, you can easily see him having a 4 or 89 or pocket deuces...what you should have done is peg him as the idiot he was and is...no way he goes all in if he has a straight...and he probably wouldn't go all-in if he has trips seeing as there are multiple straight possibilities out there...

But then again, I barely hold my own at no limit poker...so what do I know?
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Old 06-21-2018, 02:13 AM   #282
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Sounds like you were at a table with people who have more money than brains. Tough spot in that final pre-alcohol hand...if you go by his prior history, you can easily see him having a 4 or 89 or pocket deuces...what you should have done is peg him as the idiot he was and is...no way he goes all in if he has a straight...and he probably wouldn't go all-in if he has trips seeing as there are multiple straight possibilities out there...

But then again, I barely hold my own at no limit poker...so what do I know?
An hour earlier...the same guy called a sizable all-in bet on an 8-3-8-6-J board...with pocket dueces. Why wouldn't I expect him to go all-in with a straight, or a set?
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Old 06-21-2018, 02:20 AM   #283
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An hour earlier...the same guy called a sizable all-in bet on an 8-3-8-6-J board...with pocket dueces. Why wouldn't I expect him to go all-in with a straight, or a set?
I wasn't thinking clearly when I replied, obviously. He went all in on the river...for some reason, I was replying while thinking he went all-in earlier in the hand.

My bad.
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Old 06-21-2018, 02:32 AM   #284
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I wasn't thinking clearly when I replied, obviously. He went all in on the river...for some reason, I was replying while thinking he went all-in earlier in the hand.

My bad.
The point being...we SAY that we want to gamble with "lunatics"...but are we ready for the consequences when things go awry? The more "crazy" the game is, the more volatile the swings become...even for the better players. These are the occupational hazards of gambling.
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Old 06-21-2018, 10:17 PM   #285
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Mike, do yourself a favor. Avoid any further advice from those who told you that you should have raised the flop to "see where you stand". The guy with the pocket aces would never have revealed the strength of his hand to you that early...so your flop raise wouldn't have gotten the desired result. And the idea of folding to the river jam is too ridiculous to comment on. Your demise was unavoidable in that hand...no matter what anyone else tells you.

Spot On IMHO.


Folding to the river jam with such a strong hand is LOSING poker in the long-run, despite this individual hand loss. Just think about how many more times someone can push you off normally winning hands when you don't have the absolute nuts. That would be crazy and again losing poker. As thaskalos said, your demise was unavoidable in that hand.


And raising on the flop was going to get you either a call or a fold. Even bluffing (because they have position on you) is less likely when one risks busting out or severely damaging their opportunity to cash. So getting a call to that raise had the very high probability that you were significantly behind pre-turn, which is not when you want to get more money in the pot.
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