2016 Poker Discussion Thread

[proximity]

not much excitement to report from our next outing at horseshoe.

about two hours in i'm clinging to a short lead and folding 90% of my hands. i'm certainly not making any kind of spectacle of myself.

however, when i raise KK i anger a reg named harvard and a short moment later i too wish i'd just limped when a donk who called two cold with 65 off ends up winning the pot.

now i don't want to hurt harvard's feelings or anything but about fifteen minutes later i raise again, this time with AK.

flop: 2-3-4 turn: k river:4

at showdown i table my AK and harvard also tables AK for a chop.

"now aren't you glad i raised and knocked out all those 4s harvard?"

this time, harvard concurs with a smile he can't hide and the game moves on.

with QQ i can't drive out my neighbor who calls two cold with KT and sticks around to river trip dimes. but with two dimes of my own in the pocket i reraise a donkey to $9 and hold off a few other fish who called three cold to pull to within $5 of even in the games final moments.

things look promising when 98 suited flops an open ended straight draw but when blanks come on the turn and river we're heading for the exits with loss numero dos on the season.

game -23 (3/6)
year -99 (1-2)
kk 0-1 (2-1)
promo 35 (155)
tier 962 (19.24 hrs, -$5.14 hr)

[proximity]

another 3:20 start at the horseshoe and today things go straight downhill from the opening bell.

by 5:00 i've lost 3-4 times with AK and AQ turns broadway but loses to a rivered flush. half the table takes a simultaneous break and i'm flopping big short handed but keep losing to sets.

shortly after 5:00 i finally get a break when A9s turns a straight and rivers a flush to overtake a player who had turned a bigger straight (Q9).

but pocket jacks fall to a set of 2s and pocket aces fall to a set of kings.

at this point i'm down over $170 and any hopes of a comeback are being washed away by a raging flood of rags.

when the game starts to get short again i raise KJ but get beaten out by one of the supposedly better players at the shoe who calls two cold with 85 off.

later the recently discussed shooter enters the game and i note that this "good player" has limped early with Q7 off.

you'll see another player with even any kind of a clue about as often as you'll see a no-hitter at camden yards.

it's lonely at the top of maryland small stakes hold 'em and tonight we learn that it's lonely at the bottom too.

worst game in horseshoe history.

game -250 (3/6)
year -349 (1-3)
kk 0-0 (2-1)
promo 45 (200)
tier 1301 (26.02 hrs, -$13.41/hr)

[tucker6]

How often do you play limit vs no limit (by %), and which limit game (3/6 etc) do you find plays best to your strengths?

[proximity]

Originally Posted by tucker6

How often do you play limit vs no limit (by %), and which limit game (3/6 etc) do you find plays best to your strengths?

for 2014 and 2015 i played 107 no limit games and 107 limit games.

limit 65-42 +923
nl 60-47 -222

horseshoe only plays 3/6 in limit but i like to play there because of how they treat the player. this post from "that other site" is the absolute stones:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...postcount=1933

and i wouldn't worry about dealers or getting screwed out of rulings. there are a couple that maybe make me cringe a little when i see them coming towards the box but it's mostly an alert to me to keep my eye on the button.

[proximity]

back at the beautiful horseshoe baltimore and we're slow out of the blocks yet again.

an hour in and i'm -46 and haven't won a single hand.

with two overs though a flop checks around and when i turn the top end of an open ended straight draw i take a stab at what appears to be an orphaned pot.

two players come with me and i miss the river but get a sense that they were drawing too and fire out a rare horseshoe limit bluff that folds them both out and gives me my first pot of the contest.

fifteen minutes later i flop a set of jacks from the small blind to take my second pot and move ahead for the game.

my lead is short lived.

with KK i can't fold anyone out on a flop of 985.

another nine falls on the turn and still facing 4-5 villains i almost HAVE to be beaten now.

but NOBODY has a nine.

and NOBODY has 76, or a set, or two pair, or AA.

but when a humble two falls on the river (yes, a 2)one of these donkeys flips over 22 for a rivered boat.

around this time a new player named star enters the game to my immediate left and our rivalry begins almost right away.

with AKs i raise and star calls with A7 off.

flop: A76 turn: x river:5 (gives another player a straight)

winner: none

with KK i raise and star calls with QJ off.

flop: AKT. turn: x river: A

winner: proximity

with AK i raise. star calls with 86.

flop: AJ6 turn: 7 river: 8

winner: star

with K9s (small blind) vs J8

flop: Q9X. (one spade)

the action here checks to the button who bets and i fire out a brilliant check raise to (1)price out all the droolers and (2) there's a good chance i'm actually winning the hand but star isn't having it. she calls with her J8....

turn: ten.

winner: star

the power of good starting hands was with me in this one.

but the force, however, was not.

game -82 (3/6)
year -431 (1-4)
kk 1-1 (3-2)
promo 45 (245)
tier 1704 (34.08 hrs, -12.64 hr)

[proximity]

it's a pleasant sunday morning as i travel on 83s to the beautiful horseshoe baltimore with hopes of reversing this nightmare of a start to 2016.

the cards aren't cooperating.

i quickly lose with KK and twice with AK before flopping trip aces from the big blind and taking down a mini pot on the flop.

with KTs i lead out on a king high flop but hardly lose anyone and a donkey in late position even raises me.

i hang in and do beat the donk (who only has K7 off, lol) but an all-in player ends up hitting a straight so i only drag the side pot.

then it's back to the losing.

AQ loses twice and with 33 i lead out into two other players on a flop of J44.

they both call and i check when an ace falls on the turn.

the first player (a newcomer who thinks he's good) bets and the second player ( a guy who usually at least starts games playing somewhat well) calls.

the second player almost definitely has me beat so i fold and watch my three fall on the river.

the villains chop with A3 and A5.

i can't even believe the second player would've called the flop with that and must have cringed a little as star from the last report has entered the game beside me and asks if i folded the winning hand.

i explain to star (and pretty much the table) that "when i bet the flop i was winning the hand but when i fell behind on the turn i checked and folded because i wasn't getting the odds to draw to a two outer."

maybe another hour of losing and it's time to head back to pennsylvania.

nice sunday drive to drag a pot and a half though.

game -115 (3/6)
year -546 (1-5)
kk 0-1 (3-3)
promo 35 (280)
tier 1868 (37.34 hrs, -14.61 hr)

[proximity]

back at the beautiful horseshoe baltimore for another session of 3/6 hold 'em.

today's game actually starts strong as i flop trip 4s on my first big blind, win a couple times with 77, turn a flush with AQs, and back into two pair with AK.

i'm sitting beside a good limit player named john from the old charles town games and we're again discussing the classic hockey movie youngblood; this time planning a sequel where (after highly successful nhl career) dean youngblood (rob lowe) and (his now wife) jessie (cynthia gibb) return as owner and gm of the hamilton mustangs.

back on the felt a seattle seahawks fan button straddles my big blind and i make a bad mistake when i "just call" with AJs.

i'm leading after an A93 flop but another player called the $6 with 97 off and turns his nine.

there's certainly no guarantee that such a player would've folded for $9 but we should've at least found out instead of having to live with regrets about the hand.

shortly after this i flop trip dimes with QTs (KTT) but another player has KT and for the first time i find myself behind in the game.

eventually the table breaks but i get immediate seating at the other limit game where i spot paceadvantage member track collector playing 1-3 nl at an adjacent table.

we aren't the only horseplayers in attendance however as my neighbor at the new table pulls out a tax slip for a big super he hit in the last race at aqu!!

http://www.equibase.com/premium/char...16&cy=USA&rn=9

nice hit!!

i'm staying around even in the game which is delayed temporarily when the horseplayer lashes out at a drunk girl who is slowing down the game.

words are exchanged and the horseplayer calls "rihanna" a (let's say) "freezing beach" and rihanna takes great offense and is telling the horseplayer to spell "freezing beach." i haven't seen a rivalry this intense since dean youngblood vs carl racki.

eventually the floor gives both players a warning but not long after this rihanna again brings up the incident and gets kicked out.

it's too bad i didn't get kicked out too at this point. i do flop quad aces to regain a small lead but down the stretch i drop hands with AK, AQ, AQ, A7s, A9s, A2s (flops an ace from big blind).......

after losing only eighteen games in the first two years horseshoe was open, i've now dropped six in the first half of january alone.

game -57 (3/6)
year -603 (1-6)
kk 0-0 (3-3)
promo 45 (325)
tier 2236 (44.72 hrs, -13.48/hr)

[tucker6]

You ever get the feeling that you are a no limit player in a limit game? Maybe it's just me but your style and thought process would seem to be better suited there. Jmo.

[proximity]

Originally Posted by tucker6

You ever get the feeling that you are a no limit player in a limit game? Maybe it's just me but your style and thought process would seem to be better suited there. Jmo.

no, i feel i'm more of a natural limit player and actually started winning in limit pretty much immediately while it took me some time to get comfortable in no limit. the results of the two years kinda show this too although prior to that i did score all of my biggest wins in no limit, so the potential is there to make a sudden jump. unfortunately it's just never happened during the two years of reports here.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by proximity

no, i feel i'm more of a natural limit player and actually started winning in limit pretty much immediately while it took me some time to get comfortable in no limit. the results of the two years kinda show this too although prior to that i did score all of my biggest wins in no limit, so the potential is there to make a sudden jump. unfortunately it's just never happened during the two years of reports here.

Why do you think that is?

[proximity]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Why do you think that is?

it could be a number of factors.

maybe i was more of donkey then and there was more overall variance in the results? meaning maybe i got some pots i didn't deserve?

one of the last 4 digit wins i had though i got on a roll and just kept playing all night and into the next day. after a few early wins i hit an ace high flush and got a kid to call an all in for several hundred dollars...... he didn't even see the flush was out there. another hand i was behind with a set of fives (straight) but hit another five on the river. into the following afternoon i stacked another kid with a turned boat and eventually got another guy to drop $300 plus pre flop when i had AA. so nothing really out of the ordinary in that particular game??? idk?

in horses 107 days would've just been a few months for me but in poker i just don't have the documented experience so maybe it's just not enough games?

what are some long streaks for you without what dick mitchell would've called "christmas" poker wins??

[proximity]

well a 1-6 start with $603 of losses ain't they way we were hoping to start out 2016 but one of the good things about the making the reports here on paceadvantage is that i can look back and see that i've been here before and that there's no need to panic.

here's one horrible streak; the august 2014 "vacation" where i went 1-5 and -$571 before coming home and suffering three more losses.

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/s...&postcount=416

eventually my 2014 run of bad luck would end though on a sunday night when i entered the horseshoe baltimore for the first time..... never expecting that it would become my "home" casino and give me all the great benefits that it does!!

and for today's action we find ourselves back at horseshoe and i start fast, notching wins with ATs turning an ace and 66 flopping a set.

T9 of diamonds would river a flush but fall to a rivered boat but i would come right back with AJs turning a flush and getting raised!!

about two hours later i expand my lead when i raise TT and see an ATX flop.

running threes on the turn and river and i'm raised again by a player with A3 and move ahead about $150!!

down the stretch though i drop pots with KK (shocker) and QQ (possibly 2016's kk?) and can only manage a split with AA.

frustrating finish for sure, but good to be back in the win column still!!

game +102 (3/6)
year -501 (2-6)
kk 0-1 (3-4)
promo 45 (370)
tier 2654
53.08 hours, -9.44/hr

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by proximity

it could be a number of factors.

maybe i was more of donkey then and there was more overall variance in the results? meaning maybe i got some pots i didn't deserve?

one of the last 4 digit wins i had though i got on a roll and just kept playing all night and into the next day. after a few early wins i hit an ace high flush and got a kid to call an all in for several hundred dollars...... he didn't even see the flush was out there. another hand i was behind with a set of fives (straight) but hit another five on the river. into the following afternoon i stacked another kid with a turned boat and eventually got another guy to drop $300 plus pre flop when i had AA. so nothing really out of the ordinary in that particular game??? idk?

in horses 107 days would've just been a few months for me but in poker i just don't have the documented experience so maybe it's just not enough games?

what are some long streaks for you without what dick mitchell would've called "christmas" poker wins??

A few years ago, I got disenchanted with horse racing and decided to concentrate on NL holdem. I played at a Hammond Indiana casino...because that was the closest place where the limits were decent and the buy-ins were full. I don't like buying in short, because I like to charge players full-price for their mistakes...and if this means that my OWN mistakes will be costlier as well, so be it. I figure that's the whole point in playing no limit. Anyway...I played 5 days a week, for an average of about 7 hours a day...and, although my results were typically erratic...I managed to record an overall upward trend for about the first 7 months. And then I started running unusually bad. Set over set, flush over flush, all-in losses while I was a huge favorite, etc...for an unbelievably long period of time. Over a period of 5 weeks, I lost the equivalent of 31 buy-ins...which was $31,000. It bothered me to no end, because I was convinced that I wasn't getting outplayed...but the magnitude of the loss staggered me...having never experienced a losing streak of this type before. But I had talked to plenty of other serious NL players, and had read extensively about the game myself...so, I knew that this type of bad run was well within the realm of probability.

I played through the losing streak, while doing my best to maintain my composure....and, things started to turn around. I finished the year with a decent enough profit to entice me to devote the NEXT year to poker as well. The next year was solidly profitable as well. I've gotten so encouraged, in fact...that I have been betting the horses less and less...having come to the realization that poker is more "my style", as far as gambling goes. I now play poker 4 times a week...and horses 3 times a week.

My advice...in case you are interested:

Poker isn't like bowling, or shooting pool. You DON'T get better simply by playing the game. You have to do a lot of serious thinking AWAY from the table...if you want to improve as a poker player. And this isn't just me talking. Ask ANY serious poker player...and he'll tell you the exact same thing. Unless you endeavor to become the best poker player that you can be, you won't really know if you are "running bad"...or if you are being outplayed.

I can't get into specifics with you...because I know nothing about you or your game. But I am always here just in case you think of something that I might be able to help you with. I started off as a HORRIBLE poker player...and a couple of people helped me to find my way in this game. I'd like to repay the favor.

[tucker6]

Originally Posted by proximity

no, i feel i'm more of a natural limit player and actually started winning in limit pretty much immediately while it took me some time to get comfortable in no limit. the results of the two years kinda show this too although prior to that i did score all of my biggest wins in no limit, so the potential is there to make a sudden jump. unfortunately it's just never happened during the two years of reports here.

I asked my question because you seem to have a pretty decent handle on situational poker. Where I see a problem is in your opponents. In my opinion only, people play low limit poker to limit their financial exposure to bad plays. Your reports are chock full of asinine calls and raises from so called 'donkeys'. But are they really donkeys if their strategy is to play more marginal hands with the limit as a financial cover?? They are playing to their individual strategy, but are you recognizing this? If you have 2 or 3 of those people at one table, the number of bad beats will be reflected in your financial outcome. To me, you cannot decrease extremely aggressive play by others as described in your posts except to remove yourself from that situation by finding a game (higher limit or no limit) that penalizes loose play. Just my two pennies.

[Rookies]

Originally Posted by tucker6

I asked my question because you seem to have a pretty decent handle on situational poker. Where I see a problem is in your opponents. In my opinion only, people play low limit poker to limit their financial exposure to bad plays. Your reports are chock full of asinine calls and raises from so called 'donkeys'. But are they really donkeys if their strategy is to play more marginal hands with the limit as a financial cover?? They are playing to their individual strategy, but are you recognizing this? If you have 2 or 3 of those people at one table, the number of bad beats will be reflected in your financial outcome. To me, you cannot decrease extremely aggressive play by others as described in your posts except to remove yourself from that situation by finding a game (higher limit or no limit) that penalizes loose play. Just my two pennies.

Sounds like an accurate summation to me. At the lowest of stakes, a majority will play for the love of the game- knowing they can never be really crushed on a given hand/ day. So, they are likely to jump in to as many outside shots as they possibly can. Obviously, this hurts more serious players, who know the exact odds of a given situation and play accordingly.

These others likely BOTH don't know & don't care.