Been in socal ever since June 26th or so. Got to go to Vegas as well and played in one of the events at the World Series of Poker, and got to meet a lot of some famous (at least famous in the poker community, but not quite TV material) pros. Was a great experience and even though I lost a good chunk I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Staying here has made me super lazy, and I even told myself I'd go to Commerce today, but that obviously didn't happen. Also been playing a lot online, and I feel its helped shape my style and game a lot more. I did however, go to Commerce yesterday and my favorite hand came like one of those dream situations.
A solid player in middle position (MP) raises, I re-raise with red Queens and big blind takes three to the face with MP calling the 3-bet.
Flop: Q52 rainbow
bb checks, MP donks (bets into me even though I put in the last raise), I raise, bb now 3-bets, MP 4-bet caps it, me and bb call
Turn: 9 completing all 4 suits on board
bb bets, MP raises, I 3-bet, bb folds, MP calls
River: 2
MP checks, I bet, he calls
As you would notice I had the absolute nuts the entire way except at the river where only 22 would beat me and I did nothing but jam the raise button if there was one at live poker.
- Dan Low
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Long overdue post
I guess it has come to my attention that people actually read this thing. But no one tells me they do. Anyway, winning streak has been great for my confidence and overall mental state I suppose. I have not lost a session yet in June though I'm sure it's bound to happen. I've only played 5 sessions for a total of 23 hours, so obviously not much. I've been wanting to/half-assed planning but not yet planned to go to Vegas sometime soon. Hopefully things'll put themselves together by this weekend or next.
Recently I've met up with my old friend from highschool who I played a lot of poker back in the day. I've been full staking him with a 75/25 return. Meaning if he happens to lose, I eat 100% of the loss he takes. If he happens to win I get 75% of that win and he retains 25% of the win. Basically he can never lose, but is cutting at his wins and I am taking a bulk of the variance he can take. Hopefully this works out well for both him and I.
Lately I've been seeing a lot of younger faces at the games. Guess its summer and college is out so a lot of those kids come to gamble it up. Good thing they suck. But they don't quite suck the way an old rich person might suck. They tend to suck in a doing too much kind of way as opposed to the old rich person's version of suck is doing too little. However, the younger players do talk a lot more. And whine about their poor luck even though they bring their losing upon themselves.
I'd post some hands except I haven't really played since Tuesday the 16th cause I'm a lazy bum, but I have posted some hands on twoplustwo so here goes...
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/53/medium-stakes-limit/k3-soooooooted-515467/
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/53/medium-stakes-limit/preflop-pregunta-511446/
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/53/medium-stakes-limit/i-got-myself-interesting-spot-508032/
hopefully more hours to come
-Dan Low
Recently I've met up with my old friend from highschool who I played a lot of poker back in the day. I've been full staking him with a 75/25 return. Meaning if he happens to lose, I eat 100% of the loss he takes. If he happens to win I get 75% of that win and he retains 25% of the win. Basically he can never lose, but is cutting at his wins and I am taking a bulk of the variance he can take. Hopefully this works out well for both him and I.
Lately I've been seeing a lot of younger faces at the games. Guess its summer and college is out so a lot of those kids come to gamble it up. Good thing they suck. But they don't quite suck the way an old rich person might suck. They tend to suck in a doing too much kind of way as opposed to the old rich person's version of suck is doing too little. However, the younger players do talk a lot more. And whine about their poor luck even though they bring their losing upon themselves.
I'd post some hands except I haven't really played since Tuesday the 16th cause I'm a lazy bum, but I have posted some hands on twoplustwo so here goes...
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/53/medium-stakes-limit/k3-soooooooted-515467/
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/53/medium-stakes-limit/preflop-pregunta-511446/
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/53/medium-stakes-limit/i-got-myself-interesting-spot-508032/
hopefully more hours to come
-Dan Low
Friday, June 5, 2009
Poker sucks
Indeed it does. I probably need a long break from the game after the atrocity that was the month of May. While I definitely can say I didn't play on average my best game overall for the month, I feel like I played fairly solid for the most part. Whatever that means. The large downswing made me think a lot about whether or not I can handle the game, whether I'm lucky enough or good enough to still play well amidst a downswing, and whether or not its worth learning to cope with it at all.
Downswings absolutely kill a poker players confidence. I've found myself questioning tons of standard plays and making poor plays regularly. I've taken notice lately even that when I do play that my stress level seems to be higher than normal and that nervousness when I flop a straight that I'm still going to lose the pot by some miracle comes back again. I'm hoping for a much more successful June, and still strive to learn and grow both as a poker player and as a person in general.
Okay, now that that's out of the way onto some hilarious hands.
I'm sitting in what seems to be the worst game I've sat in in a while. Everyone plays tight and passive. There is barely any action around at all on this table. Lots of folding preflop and no loose drawing on the flop etc.
1st hand, this was by far the most action this table was ever going to get
UTG limps, I limp next in with JT of clubs, like 2 or 3 more players limp and then the cut-off (2nd to last to act postflop) raises, button calls, both blinds call, now I reraise for awesomeness. Everyone calls up to the small blind who wants to make gamble and caps it for 4 bets.
We are now a massive 7x4 small bets (1 small bet = 20$) w/o a flop between 7 people
Flop: Kc8d2s
sb checks, bb now bets out, utg folds, I call because any 79TJQA and any club gives me 4 outs or more at the cost of only 28:1 (1 small bet to win 28). Some others call can't remember but its probably 4 or 5 to the turn
Turn: 3h
complete brick, bb bets, I fold, 2 guys call. with one of them yelling for a deuce
River: 2c
bb still bets and the guy who was calling for the deuce raises and last guy folds and bb calls only to see A2 to scoop up this massive pot.
Next hand has a bit of humor to it
2 limps, I raise KK in the sb, bb asks me if I'm stealing and calls and the rest call.
Flop 339
I bet, lady now raises as she says she wants to see wheres she's at, both limpers fold. and I opt to call planning to raise the turn
So far I've been dominating this olderish Chinese lady so onto the turn
Turn T
I check, she bets, and before I raise she says "please don't raise me cause then I'll have to fold". As soon as she finishes her sentence I put out my 8 chips for a raise.
River blanks off and she pays me off.
-Dan Low
Downswings absolutely kill a poker players confidence. I've found myself questioning tons of standard plays and making poor plays regularly. I've taken notice lately even that when I do play that my stress level seems to be higher than normal and that nervousness when I flop a straight that I'm still going to lose the pot by some miracle comes back again. I'm hoping for a much more successful June, and still strive to learn and grow both as a poker player and as a person in general.
Okay, now that that's out of the way onto some hilarious hands.
I'm sitting in what seems to be the worst game I've sat in in a while. Everyone plays tight and passive. There is barely any action around at all on this table. Lots of folding preflop and no loose drawing on the flop etc.
1st hand, this was by far the most action this table was ever going to get
UTG limps, I limp next in with JT of clubs, like 2 or 3 more players limp and then the cut-off (2nd to last to act postflop) raises, button calls, both blinds call, now I reraise for awesomeness. Everyone calls up to the small blind who wants to make gamble and caps it for 4 bets.
We are now a massive 7x4 small bets (1 small bet = 20$) w/o a flop between 7 people
Flop: Kc8d2s
sb checks, bb now bets out, utg folds, I call because any 79TJQA and any club gives me 4 outs or more at the cost of only 28:1 (1 small bet to win 28). Some others call can't remember but its probably 4 or 5 to the turn
Turn: 3h
complete brick, bb bets, I fold, 2 guys call. with one of them yelling for a deuce
River: 2c
bb still bets and the guy who was calling for the deuce raises and last guy folds and bb calls only to see A2 to scoop up this massive pot.
Next hand has a bit of humor to it
2 limps, I raise KK in the sb, bb asks me if I'm stealing and calls and the rest call.
Flop 339
I bet, lady now raises as she says she wants to see wheres she's at, both limpers fold. and I opt to call planning to raise the turn
So far I've been dominating this olderish Chinese lady so onto the turn
Turn T
I check, she bets, and before I raise she says "please don't raise me cause then I'll have to fold". As soon as she finishes her sentence I put out my 8 chips for a raise.
River blanks off and she pays me off.
-Dan Low
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Long time
Wow it's been a really long time since I last posted, and even longer since I posted anything with some actual content. A friend of mine asked me to go to Commerce Casino over in LA next weekend and I think I'll go. There's some special tournaments going on there right now and the one he wants to play is a $400,000 prize-pool guaranteed 335$ buy-in. Not sure if I'll play the tournament but I've been meaning to make it out to Commerce so I can see some of the more prominent posters on the poker forums I read. Quite poker nerdy I know, but we've always got time for making new friends.
So March was my least successful albiet quite successful still month. I put in a good amount of hours, 85 to be exact. I did earn less than my hourly expectations, but I'm just happy to have put in as many hours that I did and feel very solidly confident that I played very well. In fact, I think my playing abilities as of late have been growing rapidly. I've added more "moves" or plays to my arsenal as well as making more optimizing plays in general.
April has been a monsterous month. I haven't put many hours at all this month so far mostly due to schooling obligations that I've had, but I've been earning way over expectations this month. A lot of it is luck, but a lot of it has also been because of my new main choice of location to be playing at. The games I feel have been much softer than what I experienced over at Bay101, but that could just be because I've been luckier as of late there.
I also received an indirect compliment the other day from my friend Jesse. We were in the same game sitting next to each other when a regular who's not very good, Kenny, had made some comment with the intent to irritate me or something. Forgot what the comment was exactly and whether I won the pot or not, but Jesse responded, "that won't really work on him". I guess he thinks I'm tiltless even though I'm not but I guess its a testament to my ability to control my frustrations. I think that its a very important part of being able to play well. Sure there's a lot of thought process involved both in and outside of the game, but while in the game it's hard to continually be in that objective thought process when you've lost pot after pot. One thought that continually gets me going is, much like a pool hustler, the players donating money to the games have to win or else they never come back. The reason the game is so easy to beat is because of the incredible amount of variance there is with the game. A guy who's play probably deserves to lose ~$40/hour can have pretty strong profit for even as much as 150 hours of play. Its really hard to learn this game when you're earning money somehow over 150 hours when you should be expecting to lose a significant amount of money with the play that you were carrying out. It falsely confirms your idea that you are indeed a winning player.
I find it most fun to crush the players that think they are strong poker players and happily flaunt their abilities to play the game as high as 20/40 (even though its not really very high at all). Guess I'll end the post with a story about how I hit and ran a table and I think the table got somewhat irritated at it but whatevers.
So I was playing for about 3-4 hours at this table when it's time for me to go, but I had a friend who was coming to Garden so I thought I'd hang around for a bit and sit behind my other friend who was at the table so I can say hello to my friend who was coming. At one point 3 people all left or went busto and left the game and my friend had not arrived yet. I decided I'd sit in for one more round and I post my blind in between small blind and Button (kinda too lazy to describe it but essentially its 1 big blind left of button, and then a small blind and a big blind left of that extra big blind).
UTG limps, MP(middle position) middle-aged Asian regular lady raises, I call with 56o, sb calls, bb calls, UTG calls.
Flop: TT6
Everyone checks to MP who bets, I raise, everyone folds to MP who calls.
My plan was to check and fold if she bet on most turn cards (except obviously a 6) cause she's not betting the turn unless I'm beat
Turn: 6
course miracle card comes, i bet she calls
River: 9
I bet she calls and mucks her JJ in disgust.
I play the round up to the big blind and rack up my chips haha. I pretty much doubled how much I had won that day from getting uber lucky in that 1 round where I hit and ran, so go me.
- Dan Low
So March was my least successful albiet quite successful still month. I put in a good amount of hours, 85 to be exact. I did earn less than my hourly expectations, but I'm just happy to have put in as many hours that I did and feel very solidly confident that I played very well. In fact, I think my playing abilities as of late have been growing rapidly. I've added more "moves" or plays to my arsenal as well as making more optimizing plays in general.
April has been a monsterous month. I haven't put many hours at all this month so far mostly due to schooling obligations that I've had, but I've been earning way over expectations this month. A lot of it is luck, but a lot of it has also been because of my new main choice of location to be playing at. The games I feel have been much softer than what I experienced over at Bay101, but that could just be because I've been luckier as of late there.
I also received an indirect compliment the other day from my friend Jesse. We were in the same game sitting next to each other when a regular who's not very good, Kenny, had made some comment with the intent to irritate me or something. Forgot what the comment was exactly and whether I won the pot or not, but Jesse responded, "that won't really work on him". I guess he thinks I'm tiltless even though I'm not but I guess its a testament to my ability to control my frustrations. I think that its a very important part of being able to play well. Sure there's a lot of thought process involved both in and outside of the game, but while in the game it's hard to continually be in that objective thought process when you've lost pot after pot. One thought that continually gets me going is, much like a pool hustler, the players donating money to the games have to win or else they never come back. The reason the game is so easy to beat is because of the incredible amount of variance there is with the game. A guy who's play probably deserves to lose ~$40/hour can have pretty strong profit for even as much as 150 hours of play. Its really hard to learn this game when you're earning money somehow over 150 hours when you should be expecting to lose a significant amount of money with the play that you were carrying out. It falsely confirms your idea that you are indeed a winning player.
I find it most fun to crush the players that think they are strong poker players and happily flaunt their abilities to play the game as high as 20/40 (even though its not really very high at all). Guess I'll end the post with a story about how I hit and ran a table and I think the table got somewhat irritated at it but whatevers.
So I was playing for about 3-4 hours at this table when it's time for me to go, but I had a friend who was coming to Garden so I thought I'd hang around for a bit and sit behind my other friend who was at the table so I can say hello to my friend who was coming. At one point 3 people all left or went busto and left the game and my friend had not arrived yet. I decided I'd sit in for one more round and I post my blind in between small blind and Button (kinda too lazy to describe it but essentially its 1 big blind left of button, and then a small blind and a big blind left of that extra big blind).
UTG limps, MP(middle position) middle-aged Asian regular lady raises, I call with 56o, sb calls, bb calls, UTG calls.
Flop: TT6
Everyone checks to MP who bets, I raise, everyone folds to MP who calls.
My plan was to check and fold if she bet on most turn cards (except obviously a 6) cause she's not betting the turn unless I'm beat
Turn: 6
course miracle card comes, i bet she calls
River: 9
I bet she calls and mucks her JJ in disgust.
I play the round up to the big blind and rack up my chips haha. I pretty much doubled how much I had won that day from getting uber lucky in that 1 round where I hit and ran, so go me.
- Dan Low
Thursday, April 9, 2009
SHIP SHIP SCOOOOOOOP!!!
Poker Stars $2/$4 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo - 9 players
Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is MP2 with 4
2
3
A
UTG raises, 1 fold, UTG+2 calls, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 4 folds, UTG calls, UTG+2 calls
Flop: (10.5 SB) 3 A J (3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+2 checks, Hero bets, UTG calls, UTG+2 calls
Turn: (6.75 BB) 6 (3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+2 checks, Hero bets, UTG raises, UTG+2 calls, Hero calls
River: (12.75 BB) A
(3 players)
UTG bets, UTG+2 calls, Hero raises, UTG calls, UTG+2 calls
Final Pot: 18.75 BB
UTG+2 mucks 5 3 7 2
Hero shows 4 2 3 A (HI: a full house, Aces full of Threes; LO: 6,4,3,2,A)
UTG mucks 4 8 A 8
Hero wins 9 BB
Hero wins 9 BB
(Rake: $3.00)
This is why I play Omaha
Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is MP2 with 4
2 3 AUTG raises, 1 fold, UTG+2 calls, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 4 folds, UTG calls, UTG+2 calls
Flop: (10.5 SB) 3
A J (3 players)UTG checks, UTG+2 checks, Hero bets, UTG calls, UTG+2 calls
Turn: (6.75 BB) 6
(3 players)UTG checks, UTG+2 checks, Hero bets, UTG raises, UTG+2 calls, Hero calls
River: (12.75 BB) A
(3 players)UTG bets, UTG+2 calls, Hero raises, UTG calls, UTG+2 calls
Final Pot: 18.75 BB
UTG+2 mucks 5
3 7 2Hero shows 4
2 3 A (HI: a full house, Aces full of Threes; LO: 6,4,3,2,A)UTG mucks 4
8 A 8Hero wins 9 BB
Hero wins 9 BB
(Rake: $3.00)
This is why I play Omaha
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Omaha is the game of the future
Apparently according to a lot of people, Omaha is the game of the future. I plan to learn it. I played it for the first time in my life a few days ago, and it was quite a sight to see. It was 4/8 Omaha 8, which means its a high/low game. Which means that if your final 5-card hand using the board consists of 5 differently numbered cards you have a low hand, the nut low hand being A2345. Anyway, in the end I think I have a decent grasp of the game and know that the people that played that game that day all suck at it for most part. Course that game is virtually unbeatable because the rake (the fee that the casino takes out of each pot) is a ridiculous 6$ which basically is both the small blind AND big blind. Being the luckbox that I am I ended up winning 60$ haha. I remember using all my brain power to see what kind of draws etc. I had and what not, since its like playing regular Hold'em cept with 4 cards for a total of 6 combinations of Hold'em hands.
Monday, March 16, 2009
March Tourney Madness!
Actually this tournament madness is probably not what everyone thinks it is. Yes it is March Madness time with lots of college basketball, but over at Bay101 when the word tournament is mentioned 90% of the time (ok thats a bit of an overestimation but whatevers) its about the upcoming WPT Shooting Stars Event this Monday (3/16).
The tournament is called Shooting Stars because many "famous poker celebs" are playing and are receiving what is called a bounty dubbing them a shooting star. If you happen to knock out a shooting star you get their bounty which I believe is worth either $5,000 or $10,000. The buy-in for the tournament is $10,000.
I figure #s about how good/bad I've been running are pointless, so I'll just say I feel I've been playing fairly well the past couple sessions. Here's an awesome hand where my opponent goes on tilt for a little after this hand, and for the oddest reason.
Oh and I've been getting pretty lucky
Villain limps UTG, I raise 55 from the CO, everyone else folds he calls.
flop: Jc6c2h
he checks, I bet, he calls
turn: Ts
he checks, I bet, he calls
river: 3h
he checks, I check
He then proceeds to stand up and almost yell, "BUT YOU NEVER CHECK THE RIVER! HOW COME YOU DIDN'T BET?!?!?!" and then he tables 33.
I am awesome.
Been great lately having a familiar face both at my games and to talk to about poker. He's a friend from highschool who has had much greater success than I have had when it comes to poker. I'd also say he probably has a greater edge than I do at the 20/40 game, but who knows. For the most part a large portion of poker strategy discussion I get is from people that I've met online through a poker forum and on AIM or what not. So its nice to be discussing hands with someone I regard to have good knowledge of the game as well as someone I know outside of the online world.
-Dan Low
The tournament is called Shooting Stars because many "famous poker celebs" are playing and are receiving what is called a bounty dubbing them a shooting star. If you happen to knock out a shooting star you get their bounty which I believe is worth either $5,000 or $10,000. The buy-in for the tournament is $10,000.
I figure #s about how good/bad I've been running are pointless, so I'll just say I feel I've been playing fairly well the past couple sessions. Here's an awesome hand where my opponent goes on tilt for a little after this hand, and for the oddest reason.
Oh and I've been getting pretty lucky
Villain limps UTG, I raise 55 from the CO, everyone else folds he calls.
flop: Jc6c2h
he checks, I bet, he calls
turn: Ts
he checks, I bet, he calls
river: 3h
he checks, I check
He then proceeds to stand up and almost yell, "BUT YOU NEVER CHECK THE RIVER! HOW COME YOU DIDN'T BET?!?!?!" and then he tables 33.
I am awesome.
Been great lately having a familiar face both at my games and to talk to about poker. He's a friend from highschool who has had much greater success than I have had when it comes to poker. I'd also say he probably has a greater edge than I do at the 20/40 game, but who knows. For the most part a large portion of poker strategy discussion I get is from people that I've met online through a poker forum and on AIM or what not. So its nice to be discussing hands with someone I regard to have good knowledge of the game as well as someone I know outside of the online world.
-Dan Low
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)