The Poker Thread

Also can I add the only premium hand I had all day was the Jacks, I saw small pairs a couple of times, and A-TEN, but nithing better. Impeccable patience and chip management all in all. Very happy!

Well done Ben

Well done Rex and DML

I've had a really gooseberry fool week and have not been in the right mindset to play poker, so I haven't played since last Tuesday. I want to play but at the same time I just know that I will play bad at the moment.

Santa wrote:Well done Rex and DML

I've had a really **** week and have not been in the right mindset to play poker, so I haven't played since last Tuesday. I want to play but at the same time I just know that I will play bad at the moment.

Give it a rest for Christmas. You have had a fantastic year of it and have absolutely nothing to prove.

Can't seem to win a game atm...guys keep beating me on the river. But meh, if I can just stick to breakeven for now then I can hold out until my megastreak

PokerStars Game #36656987161: Tournament #221635299, $5.00+$0.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2009/12/13 19:00:17 ET
Table '221635299 1' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: anniek12 (1555 in chips)
Seat 4: fast_money00 (3045 in chips)
Seat 6: rbutler343 (6123 in chips)
Seat 9: RichardNova (2777 in chips)
anniek12: posts small blind 100
fast_money00: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RichardNova [8h As]
rbutler343: folds
RichardNova: raises 350 to 550
anniek12: folds
fast_money00: calls 350
*** FLOP *** [Js Th 7h]
fast_money00: checks
RichardNova: checks
*** TURN *** [Js Th 7h] [7s]
fast_money00: checks
RichardNova: checks
*** RIVER *** [Js Th 7h 7s] [9d]
fast_money00: bets 600
RichardNova: ???

On the bubble, what should I be doing here?

I'd fold. No need to get involved. You have an adequate stack still and theres so much he could be betting there. You can't be good there for such a small bet.

Any reads at all Nova?

PsychicSykes wrote:Any reads at all Nova?

Well, the guy had been doing that quite a lot. Checking down and betting the river. He's not tight (44/17) so I'm finding it quite hard to fold here, at least.

EDIT - It's a SnG, btw.

Oh I snap call and do a little dance when he turns over Ace High then. I figured his line was a little fishy as it's not really representing much and given your description he could be doing this with any pair thinking he's good. No doubt he turned over KQ on this ocassion.

Nova wrote:

PsychicSykes wrote:Any reads at all Nova?

Well, the guy had been doing that quite a lot. Checking down and betting the river. He's not tight (44/17) so I'm finding it quite hard to fold here, at least.

Well with that raise, you have effectively told him that you have a reasonably average hand, as you are unwilling to commit the whole stack, and may well have seen a flop with a weaker hand that smacks those five smack in the face. If he was on an Ace, he'd bet more on the end I'm sure of it.

EDIT - I've totally misread the hand. Ignore. Too much poker today.

PsychicSykes wrote:Oh I snap call and do a little dance when he turns over Ace High then. I figured his line was a little fishy as it's not really representing much and given your description he could be doing this with any pair thinking he's good. No doubt he turned over KQ on this ocassion.

I gave him even less credit, and rather stupidly shoved him. He turned over Q8

I think my end game has become a little rusty recently. I'm fine until the bubble, but I need to refine it a bit. Still came 2nd, 2nd and 1st in 5 SnGs so at least I've made a profit for the day. Want more pennies!

Nova wrote:

PsychicSykes wrote:Oh I snap call and do a little dance when he turns over Ace High then. I figured his line was a little fishy as it's not really representing much and given your description he could be doing this with any pair thinking he's good. No doubt he turned over KQ on this ocassion.

I gave him even less credit, and rather stupidly shoved him. He turned over Q8

I think my end game has become a little rusty recently. I'm fine until the bubble, but I need to refine it a bit. Still came 2nd, 2nd and 1st in 5 SnGs so at least I've made a profit for the day. Want more pennies!

I think you should have shoved before the flop. My point about the raise looking weak is true, and it gives donks an excuse to call with a suspect hand at a time you don't really want.

DML wrote:

Nova wrote:

PsychicSykes wrote:Oh I snap call and do a little dance when he turns over Ace High then. I figured his line was a little fishy as it's not really representing much and given your description he could be doing this with any pair thinking he's good. No doubt he turned over KQ on this ocassion.

I gave him even less credit, and rather stupidly shoved him. He turned over Q8

I think my end game has become a little rusty recently. I'm fine until the bubble, but I need to refine it a bit. Still came 2nd, 2nd and 1st in 5 SnGs so at least I've made a profit for the day. Want more pennies!

I think you should have shoved before the flop. My point about the raise looking weak is true, and it gives donks an excuse to call with a suspect hand at a time you don't really want.

I suppose I could shove there, but generally people have been folding pre and the last thing I want is for one of the two people to call me with a better ace, right? You're right about the bet size though, I think.

Min-raise or possibly an amount just over the min-raise is a decent option here sometimes. One I've been using to good effect recently actually. The little bets saved mean as much as the ones earned.

Make a small raise, and you are basically commited if you hit an Ace, or at least it'll be hard to escape. For me, thats a situation where you play for all or none of your chips - I do not like the small raise at all. Its a hand that flops so badly, why would you want to chance inducing a flop?

DML wrote:Make a small raise, and you are basically commited if you hit an Ace, or at least it'll be hard to escape. For me, thats a situation where you play for all or none of your chips - I do not like the small raise at all. Its a hand that flops so badly, why would you want to chance inducing a flop?

I dunno. I'm thinking it's a different spot 4 handed. I'm just trying to take down blinds here, and it was working for quite a while. It just so happens I hit a straight on the end, otherwise it's an easy fold. But yeah, my lack of chips meant it was difficult to c.bet.

DML wrote:Make a small raise, and you are basically commited if you hit an Ace, or at least it'll be hard to escape. For me, thats a situation where you play for all or none of your chips - I do not like the small raise at all. Its a hand that flops so badly, why would you want to chance inducing a flop?

I don't see a huge problem with being commited against a guy this bad with top pair. Especially considering you're massively ahead of his range and can check down some hands as was being shown above until the villain hit a straight. The problem with this hand not flopping well IYO is that unpaired hands miss 2/3's of flops so where do you draw the line? You're on the button, you'll be last to act, one guy's already folded, seems like a good spot to me.

Its a good situation to shove - but not in my opinion to go small-ball it up, your A-EIGHT is almost definitely good, and even if it isn't theres very little someone will call with there for a massive chunk or all their stack on the bubble. This guy may be awful, but if you are not following it up with a bet on the flop with the Ace I'm not fully sure what is trying to be achieved there? Hes shown he largely doesnt have a Jack by checking there, so unless hes very tricky which we think he isn't, checking that is so, so weak.

Thats it all in all, I just think its weak, if you don't stamp your authority in the late stages with the donks then why are you in hands with them? Its too clever a raise, with too smaller stack, against too donkish a player - to achieve a small increase in chips - for which you risk your tournament life. Others may disagree but I would massively question anyone who bet a small raise when only on 12BBs.

Uh why would you fold?

I probably shove all day tbh, cooler if you lose. Unless I know he can fold trips then maybe I just call but seriously, just looks like a standard value bet with second pair or trips or just repping something they don't have. If I expect you to fold a straight then lol I can bet with anything! People expect you to fold so many hand here so a good spot to represent no? From their POV I mean.