mathare's poker diary 2007

[mathare]

Decided to keep yet another little diary/blog on this site :)

I started playing cash games again about a week ago, primarily to get a free Poker Office licence but now I have done that I have caught the cash game bug again. I'm only playing $0.50/$1 limit for now and trying to steadily build a bankroll that way. I figured it would be good for my poker education and great experience.

Now that I have Poker Office and am getting to grips with it I am as likely to post updates on how my game is progressing (or otherwise) as I am to post results of my poker sessions.

At the middle I am in the middle of a session on Empire, one that started really well but I think I have antagonised the guy to my right a bit as he has come alive and started to play far more aggressively and my profits have slipped away and about back where I started the evening.

I am trying to play in a Hellmuth-inspired style. I re-read Play Poker Like The Pros recently and some of it struck a chord so I am giving it a real bash. His top ten strategy is OK but a bit limited for my liking. It may be good for beginners trying to get used to the nuances of the game but I am way beyond that. So I have thrown his majority play hands into the mixer too meaning I am playing all pairs, AK, AQ, A-x suited and KQ. Of course, there is a bit of my own play in there too such as blind steals and so on.

It's kinda working for me too. Tonight it has seen me win (and lose) some big pots, bigger than I would have expected with the sort of hands I am getting. I guess because I am giving action, such as three-betting pocket pairs, I am getting action in return. I am playing enough hands to keep me occupied but few enough to play a tight game. In fact Poker Office (PO) reckons I am seeing 18.34% of flops. Unfortunately I am only winning 43.48% of showdowns.

The biggest hole I have spotted in my game (based on the 700 or so hands I have in PO so far) seems to be my play of small pocket pairs on the flop when I don't connect to make trips. When I am first to act and bet out I am losing heavily. When I check-raise the flop I lose. When someone else has acted before me I lose when I call and lose when I raise. I am playing these pairs well enough before the flop but being too aggressive when I miss the flop. I need to start check-folding or check-calling if the pot odds allow or I sense any weakness in the opponent's bet. I think I am also playing flops where I have only one overcard to the board too aggressively too.

I know I don't have too many hands in my PO database at the minute but I think what I am seeing in the aforementioned cases makes sense and I have already identified an area of my game to work on. There is a lot of stuff PO can do that I have yet to get my head round but if I can keep spotting ways to improve my game through analysing the numbers I will be most happy :)

[tacker]

Do you want me to sent you some HH,s from my party database.Its on pokertracker but id imagine its the same

[mathare]

Do you want me to sent you some HH,s from my party database.Its on pokertracker but id imagine its the same

I have a Poker Tracker licence too as it happens, I just don't have Poker Tracker installed on this PC yet. I thought about exporting everything from PT and importing in to PO but I was also kinda keen to have a fresh clean start so I can see how my game is developing and not get hung up on old data.

Thanks anyway though Tacker :)

[mathare]

6th February

I started writing a lengthy post last night updating you all on my results and discussing the weaknesses in my game but my machine decided to have a mini hissy fit and I lost it. So I'm going to start afresh tonight.

A couple of sessions this evening and I broke one of the pro rules I'm afraid - I left when the game was still good. For my own peace of mind it was better to book the win than stay in the game even though I was beating it. It's not like I was beating it all ends up anyway. It was a steady table that I was playing ultra-tight on and making big hands that won decent pots. I was also playing another slightly tighter table where the session was a very mixed affair. Some good play, some bad play in the early part of the session. Some very tight play in the middle but also some hands I played too fast and/or too far. The poker gods were nice to me though after a long while of lousy cards that would have hit the flops hard had I played them, or made big hands despite poor flops had I played them to the river. But the teasing ended and I hot a run of good cards and took down a few big pots, including quad aces with someone raising in to me, so finish that session with a respectable win when it looked for a while like I was booking a loss there.

The quad aces pot with someone raising in to me reminds me of a big pot I lost last night. I think I played it very well but in hindsight I could maybe have seen the end coming...

I'm dealt pocket fours (4s 4c) in pretty early position and raise pre-flop. 6 players take a flop, including the big blind. The flop comes down 5h 4h 5s. I've flopped a full house!
It's checked round to late position where it is called and then raised. 4 players see the turn, which is 6c.
It's checked to me and I bet. A fold, a call, a raise which we both call and 3 of us go to the river - 2s.
Straight draws all over the place. Trips maybe. Someone playing a big pair into a low board and hoping? The betting has been such that any of that could be out there.
It's bet to me and I raise. That's called, raised and I cap the betting. A fold and the original bettor calls me.
Then he turns over 5d 4d
He beat me with a bigger full house!

Did I see it coming? No. Should I have seen it coming? Perhaps. But what could have beaten me on that board? Only quad 5s and the hand he had. Did I fear either of them? Of course not. I may not have had the nuts but I had a monster hand. His betting didn't indicate he had anything to scare me. He slow-played his full house in the same way I slow-played mine. And had I played that hand faster and harder I would have lost a lot more than I did because there is no way he'd back off as he did have the nuts from the flop. But on reflection I don't think I would have played that hand any differently. Just one of those things innit? Bad beat? Perhaps. I have just filed it under

I have been analysing my game with PO a bit more too, trying to spot my main leaks and addressing those. I still don't have huge amounts of data to go on in this area but I have spotted a few bits. But the main problem I am having is my opponents. They're not playing like I would expect. Am I playing at too low a level? Maybe. But my concentration is not up to playing a higher level at the minute and neither is my bankroll. I want to build a bankroll through poker and step my way up through the tables. I think it will do me good. But at this level ($0.50/$1) I am finding some players don't know when they have a good hand so don't bet it. And there's me charging around trying to steal pots on the basis of having a decent enough hand but not a good hand but as they have nothing I want the pot. They must have nothing, if they'd have connected with the flop they'd have bet out wouldn't they? Nope, they can be a passive lot at times this lot. As a consequence I am seeing some hands through too far because I don't know I'm beat. Often I suspect I am beat but I don't know. I am working hard to improve on this area.

My other main weakness seems to be low/medium pocket pairs. When they don't connect with the flop I am betting out or raising to see where I stand and it's costing me a fair chunk, far more than when I have nothing at all on the flop. I need to stop trying to drive these hands through and only play them this hard when I actually connect. I can bet out on the flop, sure. But I then need to stop leading out on every other round of betting. I am surely beat and if not I will happily win a smaller pot than I would have won had I lead out. These are not great situations and I need to start minimising my losses here rather than trying to build a big pot to win.

My other big hole seems to be two pair on the flop when I have been bet into. I need to call and see where I stand on the turn, not raise and then get into a war for a big pot that I am probably behind in. Of course this depends very much on the hand I have got and what the board shows but early indications are that I am playing these situations too hard and fast.

I have to balance this out with some of the areas I am doing well in though. Top pair with any kicker is great for me. When I flop that and lead out on the betting I am making some good gains. Two pair when I act first on the flop is working out very nicely too. It seems when anyone hits two pair the advantage is definitely with the first bettor on the flop and I would do well to remember that.

[tacker]

Is this full ring?I dont think you can do much about house over house unless you know the opposition very well.Are your pocket pairs making or losing money?

[mathare]

Is this full ring?I dont think you can do much about house over house unless you know the opposition very well.Are your pocket pairs making or losing money?

Yep, I try to play 10-seaters only. I haven't figured out the right starting hands for 6-seaters yet.

I agree that there is not much I can do about house over house though. It had to be very specific cards he held. I mean it's not like the board was double paired or held trips and all he needed was one matching card (for the double paired board) or a pocket pair (for the trips board).

I think my pocket pairs are doing alright, yeah, but I don't have the figures on me as I am at work now. Next time I fire up PO at home I'll check for you. I do know, however, that the figures aren't that significant as I don't have too many hands to work from. Plus hitting quad aces last night from the pocket rockets and winning a $20+ pot will distort the figures slightly. IIRC pocket 9s were causing me problems and my kings keep getting cracked.

[mathare]

27th February
My first update for a while but that's because I haven't played much recently. And if I play like I have done today it's probably best I don't play too often :(

Yesterday was a good session. The aim was to spend a while at the $0.50/$1 limit tables on Empire and try and double up a $25 session bankroll. Mission accomplished in a little over an hour. Great. Lock that away and leave the table - job done. I know what the pros say about leaving while the game is good etc. but I had other things I could do with that time so I took the money and ran.

Today I gave it all back in less time than it took to win it yesterday. $25 lost on around 45 minutes today. I played bloody awfully! Too hard and too fast on hands that were marginal by the time the flop hit. Sure, I lost to bigger flushes and bigger full houses which didn't help but the majority of the time it was just poor play. My head wasn't in the game so I should have stepped away from the table a lot earlier, or not sat down at all. But so be it.

One step forward, one step back.

[mathare]

28th February

I couldn't get interested in cash games toay, which is unusual for me really. But I fancied the STT action and atmosphere so I played a few of them this afternoon.

I started with a $3 speed limit hold'em STT on Empire and won that pretty comfortably. I was very pleased with the way I played there, staying tight for ages and then coming alive when there were just a few of us left.

After that it was over to Ladbrokes to give the Ladders another chance. I still have a $10+1 L2 token I haven't used but I wanted to get into the Ladders mindset before using that and to me that means putting in a decent performance in a L1 tourney. And I didn't do that today, it was a rubbish game and I was equally poor. It was a game of pre-flop pushes to win small amounts from the blinds. I don't like games like that. I had a good whinge at one guy two seats to my right who pushed all in for over 1200 chips with the blinds at 25/50. He got a caller from the next fella (between me and the all-in pusher). They flip the cards on their backs and the all-in bettor has AK and gets a call from KT

To me AK is a strong drawing hand and a raise of 3-5 big blinds is fine because you may need to get away from the hand. But all this pre-flop pushing struck me as the behaviour of those who can't play properly post-flop so they want to avoid making tricky decisions.

Anyway, AK held up and from then on he thinks he's a poker god and my criticism of his play leads to some banter. Unfortunately I am getting crap cards throughout this and the blinds are going up. I get two face cards in reasonable position with a stack of around 9 big blinds left so I push, the first hand I have played for ages. Two callers split the final pot leaving me with nowt, so out. Much to the amusement of the AK all-in bod.

Then I find a $2 deep stacks, the sort of tourney I love. Cheap and skill should win out in the long run. I sit tight and pick up a few hands at the early levels but mostly I am sorting out my recommendations on Amazon and only going back to the table when it beeps. Before I really realise it we are down to 4 so I start to pay more (but not full) attention to the game. I soon realise that one of the players who has had a lot of chips for most of the game didn't get them through skill. He must have got lucky on one hand, taken a couple of players out and had a decent stack since. He wasn't all that good so I had fun with him. :) He did well to make it to 3rd place though. By the time he was out the chipstacks were pretty even (within a few hundred of each other) so we danced a little and then I started making moves on his chips, suckering him in a couple of times. It was pretty easy really, and a very enjoyable game all round. :)

So 1st, 6th, 1st this afternoon. :)

[mathare]

1st March

Another day where I wasn't sure I could focus long enough to make a cash game worthwhile so off to Ladbrokes for an STT. I managed to find a $5+0.50 high stacks tourney to play in so I figured I may as well give that a go. I love these high stacks tourneys where it's not a complete crap shoot half the time and I figured I know enough to be able to compete at the $5 tables but I am just too chicken to do it most of the time. Time to grow some balls and then a bankroll!

By sitting tight and not really getting involved I soon found myself in the final 4. The guy to my right was a massive chip leader with around 2/3 of all the chips in play. I had a bit, but not a lot, more than I started with. The guy to my left was very short stacked. And the other fella had maybe twice what I had but still way behind the chip leader. At this point I figured the short stack is gonna be out soon and I'm guaranteed a cash finish. But no, as it happens the chip leader and the guy in second hit huge pocket pairs and it was AA v KK for the two of them, respectively. AA won the day and the chip leader sat behind a huge mountain of virtual chips. I chipped away at the short stack (who was comparable to my stack by now) and eventually got rid of him, leaving me heads up. The chip leader had me covered nearly 5:1 but I made a good old fight of it. I had to settle for second in the end though but that's pleasing enough for me, for now.

[darcy666]

Really nice to read your diary Mat, you've provided me with some good insight. I only started playing at the end of December and have been playing reasonably well but have been very leaky in certain situations which I've now started to tighten up on. I've also been reading some books to help improve my game.

I really like playing in the $11 N/L STT but at the moment my bank roll seems to hover, as I usually finish 1st, 3rd or 10th! I've busted out a few times this week where people have pushed all-in with KJ or Ax suited, and holding AA I've had to call, only to lose to a flush or 2 pair. SO infuriating!

I really like the STT's but might go back to the cash games for a while as you can play tighter and its less volatile and you can build up your bankroll over time. Would you recommend limit or no-limit for cash games?

[mathare]

Would you recommend limit or no-limit for cash games?

I'm a grinder by nature in almost all of my betting so I play limit cash games. No limit will probably result in a bigger overall win if you know what you're doing but you need bigger balls and to be prepared to lose a wedge one night and make it all back and more the next. I prefer to avoid swings like that, so limit hold'em is my game. It's more mechanical and 'by the book' which means I don't need to concentrate as heavily when playing cash games. I don't need to try and get decent reads of players' styles like I would want for a no limit cash game.

I'd say try both and see what suits you but for me it's limit cahs games and no limit STTs.

[darcy666]

Cheers Mat, thats exactly what I was thinking. I prefer no-limit for STT as the game is often 'truer'. Indeed, you get some idiotic all-in bluffers, but on the whole if you have the best hand after the flop you can put up a decent sized bet and push out those who would usually draw to the end with an inside straight draw in a limit tournament.

With cash games, I started with a $30 bankroll playing on the 0.05/0.1 limit tables and managed to double my bank in a fairly short period. However, then I switched over to no limit and it became more scary as when it came to an all-in I was ahving to put a large proportion of my bankroll on the line. The swings were certainly massive and in the end have gone back to limit for cash games after losing a large chunk where my full house lost to quads.

[mathare]

The swings were certainly massive and in the end have gone back to limit for cash games after losing a large chunk where my full house lost to quads.

That's one of the problems with no limit. You have to make a stand with a big hand such as a full house but it won't always be the nuts, as you've already experienced. But if you only make big bets with the nuts you're losing value on a lot of good hands and playing too predictably. In a way one of the worst things that can happen during no limit play is to get a great hand when someone has something slightly better and you both have decent chip stacks because someone is going bust on that. But at limit all you'll lose is a few big bets. Sure, it'll annoy you to lose the hand but it won't bust you.