Preparing for the best game I can play

I decided late last week that I'd be playing in the 80'ish player tournament today. It looks like I'll be carpooling with two or three other people.

I've been mentally preparing myself since Sunday. My preparation involves:
1) Playing no online poker. While I don't think I'd drag my online habits into a live game (I play them differently), the main reason I abstain from online poker is to get me hungry for the game. I want to miss playing, so when I do play, I play with all of my being.

2) Read good books on poker until I get bored. I all that knowledge to be freshly filed away in my head. While re-reading Harrington on Hold'em Volume 1 this week I found a big hold that had developed in my game recently. It wasn't there when I read the book the first time, but I've progressed to a point where this error comes into play.
Basically, it's a post flop move where I get too much money in and pot commit people when my advantage isn't big enough.
When I do read I make sure to quit when I find myself getting bored or my mind wandering off. If I'm not "chewing" on what I'm reading, I put the book down and re-read that section later.

3) No alcohol. This is part of a self discipline thing that I like to put myself though. I won't drink a drop until I'm knocked out of the tournament. My diet also becomes a bit more modest as well. I don't have any set rules on food, but I do try to eat smaller portions of healthier food. I don't remember having red meat since Sunday. I had ramen for dinner last night, and a turkey sandwich earlier this week as well. I don't remember my other meals though.

4) Follow the rules. Basically, I make an effort to do things properly. I use mouthwash and floss after I brush. I (attempt to) drive (closer to) the speed limit. If make an effort to put things where they belong. I try to get to bed early, or at least at a normal time.

I have no idea what I'm going to wear tonight. My normal poker attire is a long-sleeve, nice shirt. Last time I wore a loud Hawaiian shirt, to project a different image and so that people would remember me. Image is important, and I wanted people to remember to "stay clear of that guy in the loud Hawaiian shirt." I no longer feel compelled to wear an "I'm serious" long sleeve shirt to look like I'm bringing business to the table, so I'm leaning towards the Hawaiian shirt again.

Last night I went through Caro's tells again. I didn't pick up anything new, but it was good to refresh. I missed a lot more questions in the quiz at the end, because I couldn't tell what was going on. The answer would be "Call, because she's faking like she's going to bet" and from the picture I thought her hand was faking that she was going to muck the cards. Some of those pictures are crap.

Tonight I plan on bringing a couple beers to the poker game. I won't drink them unless I get knocked out early. I'm giving every one of these games my all, and you just can't be your best if alcohol is involved.
Hopefully I won't have the chance to give the beers away, as my friends and I will all make it to the final table. But it's nice to know that I'll have something to drink if I get knocked out in the first hour and have to sit around another four hours or so until all of my companions are finished.

I must admit, I don't feel as "in the zone" as I did early this month.
I was hyped to play a great game. Mentally, I was exactly where I needed to be.
Then my poker mindset got derailed when my wife asked me to cancel the game. I played some online poker and stuff that Wednesday to scratch the itch, then that Thursday my wife called me when I got home from work and said that my bud was there to meet me, so I should go play poker. I was completely off track, but I showed up (after taking my kid fishing for a little bit) and played as well as I could with the lousy cards that I got.
I tried to get in the zone this week, but stuff just isn't falling into place. I know I'll play a proper game, but I won't be bringing the confidence I would have had last time.

Tournament

I wanted to hit the 80'ish player tournament, emailed people, and got no positive responses.
I decided to go alone, but then my wife asked me to stay home to help her pack so I cancelled my plans to go.

Well, it ends up one guy got my email late and wanted to go with me. When I arrived home I got the call that he wanted to play, so the game was back on the schedule.

I did help my wife pack up the car, and let my daughter fish for awhile before heading back to town.

There were plenty of players. Maybe 81 or 91. I know my table got the odd 11th player.

My friend and I ended up sitting two seats away from each other. That was a bit of a disappointment, but at least I knew to stay out of a hand if he was in it because he only plays good hands.

I had poor cards all night. I limped in with 7/7 once but the flop was A/K/J.
Another time I had A/Q spades when the blinds were 40/80 and I upped it to 250. A bunch of people called, then another guy went all-in. Yikes! I put him on a big pair (A's K's or Q's) so I folded. I figured that even if he had something worse than a large pair, I wasn't about to put my tournament life on the line so early in the game. There's be plenty of other chances to get chips. He ended up having pocket kings... but the turn was a Queen and the river was an Ace so I would have won. I made the correct play, though if I had made the call I'd have been the chip leader at the table... for the next hour!

I had nothing hand after hand after that. I think my best hand was K/9 suited until shortly before the break when I had A/Q again. There were several limpers so when it came to me I went all-in for 350 hoping to take the blinds without a fight. One guy called, with something stupid like J/8 suited. Of course, he ended up hitting the J and I failed to connect with the board, so he took all my chips.

The game was a fizzle. I didn't win a single hand.

______________________

My friend was doing pretty well. He was also my ride, so I figured it could be a long night of waiting.

I was texting a "I could be here a long time, Stephen is in a good spot right now" message when I looked up and saw Stephen in front of me. He busted out despite have an above-agerage chip stack.

From what I remember, he said he re- raised with his pair of Queens (pocket Q/6 and the Q paired the flop) even though there was an Ace on the flop. The original raiser was making a lot of raises, so he thought he was someone who played too many pots and bluffed.
Well, the guy had the Ace. I think it was a big misinterpreation by Stephen. People who play play a lot are typically "raise with any Ace" players. Stephen should have known that.
Sephen tried to get tricky and got burned. I bet he'll replay that hand in his mind for the next two days.

There was one hand where Stephen raised with a shakey hand in bad position. I knew he had a monster hand, either poket Aces or Kings.
People called his bet.
Post flop he bet again and the guy on my left thought long and hard about calling. I was tempted to huff, "Pssht! Typical continuation bet!" to get Stephen more action, but I didn't think it was fair, and I'd feel *really* bad if the guy called and ended up sucking out.
He ended up folding and Stephen ended up winning a nice pot after taking chips from other people.

Poker Afer Dark yet again

I entered another Poker After Dark, 630 player game.

The game started out bad. My first hand was 7/2 off-suit and I called out of position. I have no idea what happened that hand because my screen locked up and my Full Tilt program shut down. When I reconnected I was out of the hand, and I was sitting out. I think another hand went by as well, as when I returned I was the BB (Big Blind).

I was doing pretty good, then hit a lucky streak. I was dealt K/K and won a *lot* of chips. The very next hand I was dealt Q/Q and did better than doubling up:

At this point there were 256 players left in the game, and I was #4 in chips.

Immediatly after my Q/Q hand I was moved to another table where I had to wait for the hand to finish. Because of my position I had to wait for a second hand to finish.
After that hand I was moved to another table. Doh!

Here's what my first hand at that table looked like:

The way it played out wasn't especially good for me. I limped in, hoping for a raise so I could re-raise. One or two people called, then the small blind went all-in. That forced everybody else to fold, exept for me of course.

I kept track of players dumb moves. The chip leader at the table (one of the tournament chip leaders) was making a lot of dumb moves. I don't see how he stayed in the game so long.
He loved going all-in pre-flop. In his player notes I jotted down that he was all-in pre-flop under the gun with Ace/Ten. Then as the SB (Small Blind) he was all-in pre-flop with Queen/Ten off-suit. I waited for him for me to have a hand to challenge him and double-up.

That situation arrived a few minutes later. I had AK and he went all-in. I was hoping for another Ace/Paint scenario, so I'd have him dominated. Unfortunately he had a pair, giving him a slight advantage.

As you can see I failed to connect, and the one guy at the table who could eliminate me did eliminate me.

Doh!

It was sort of a relief to lose. My PC was acting really slow. I'd click "raise" or "fold" or whatever and it took a long time for my action to be accepted. If I had one that hand my plan was to click "Sit out next hand" and then reboot my laptop. I just knew that a call or re-raise situation was going to come up and I'd Full Tilt would fold me because they didn't get the command in time.

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I played a couple 10k, 9 player tournaments before this game. I came in 3rd the first (paying 18k) and 5th in the second, so I had a net loss of 2,000.

In the first game there was an annoying know-it-all player directly to my left who belittled the woman directly to my right. She was making dumb calls.
I defended her... no reason to be rude (or to correct the bad play in others). I guess she took kindly to me because whenever she and I were heads up she's show me what cards she had.

I don't remember what happened in the second 10k tournament. Oh wait... yeah I do. I had second pair on the flop (ace kicker) and most people folded. The turn put a third club on the board and I checked. The other guy checked. The river was a blank and I put in a value bet.
Unfortunately he had two clubs, giving him the flush to beat me.
He didn't have the right odds to call the post-flop bet, but after that he played beautifully.

'nother Poker After Dark game

I played another Poker After Dark game. Well, technically a few. In the first couple I just didn't have any patience. I played while tending my three year old daughter, so there were a lot of interruptions, and I just plain played too aggressive.

After my daughter went to bed I got in another game. Again, I got sloppy and lost. I just pushed too hard. Granted, I was chip leader at the table for awhile, but I ended up blowing it in situation where I knew the "What an idiot. I should never checked the call box. I'm wasting chips!" But then, before my call was thrown in, the guy before me made a raise, so it asked what I wanted to do. Of course, I called the raise! Ugh.

I decided to join a 10k, 9 player sit & go. Since I only had 50k I figured that the threat of a 10k loss would be enough to keep me on track.
It was, at first.
I got close to 6k in chips with about 5 people left and got aggressive. I was dominating the table and got cocky.
I ended up finishing in 4th, one spot shy of the money.

I have this habit of being over aggressive towards the end of tournaments. It's killing me. The next Dan Harrington book covers the latter parts of tournaments, so maybe I should get it and read it to improve my end game strategy.

My end game used to be better, because I'd stick to my overall strategy more. I think I need to get back to basics.

Next night

I entered another Poker After Dark game in Saturday night. I was tried before starting, so I don't even know why I started.

Nothing spectacular happened. I think I was in 5th or 6th place in chips by the first break.

By the time there were 15 or so people left I had about half the average chip stack. I was aching to go to bed, so I decided to gamble.
I had an open ended straight on the flop and went all-in and lost to someone's two pair, putting me out in 13th place.

It was a relief to be rid of the game, and under normal circumstances it was a move I'd never make.

Well, I'm tired now so I'll shut up and go to bed.

Poker After Dark

Tonight I tried and tried to play some of the Poker After Dark entry tournaments on Full Tilt. I actually got into about 4 of them.
Here's the first game I was eliminated from:

They guy to my right went all-in pre-flop, and I called. He won with a pair of fives!!! Ugh!

In the second game, here's the hand that crushed me:

I called the blind with my A/A in early position (planning on re-raising if someone raised) and this maniac went all-in. Of course I called. The flop was scarey, and the hand ended in tragedy.

I don't remember how my third exit ended. I'd remember if it was a stupid play, so I probably had the odds to play an underdog hand and lost.

I played pretty good in the 4th game (which was really the second game I started). I was patient, waited for opportunities, and exploited the betting pattens I witnessed in others.

Mid-way through the tournament I made a big bluff for all my chips on the river and because I knew my opponent was weak, and he/she called with third pair to the board! I had made a standard bet every street anda big one on the river and he/she called. Ugh!
So I knew he/she was exploitable. When I was dealt K/Q and the flop was 5/Q/5 I checked, because the schmuck was in the hand. He/she had 4/4.

The guy to my left went all-in early, and I worked my way to all-in on the turn. Of course I was called, and won a ton of chips.

Everything went right this game. When I saw a weakness I was able to exploit it.

Here's my standing at the first break:


With around 25 players left I gambled hoping to triple up, and lost. I went from 75k to 700. Ugh! My friend saw it and said he thought I had 264. I'm pretty sure it was a number in the low 700's.
Anyway, it was barely a big blind's worth of chips.
Then I got a lucky streak. My first had I had trips, and one of the guys who split my chips was all-in. I could have crushed him if I had chips. Doh!
I went all-in about four hands in a row and won them all, tripling up the first two or three times. It was sweet.
I brought that up to around 55k, about average my table (we were down to two tables at that point).

For my final hand there were 5 people at my table, and three of us were active in the hand. It was me (the big blind), the small blind, and the guy under the gun. I had A/3 clubs and bet pre-flop, one raised, the other called, and I called.
The flop had two clubs, with a Jack for the high card I think.
I bet (hoping to steal) the guy to my left called, and the guy to my right raised a bunch.
The guy's bet put me all in, but at this point I had roughly three-to-one on my money, so I called. I was overjoyed when the other guy called. I'd either be the tournament leader, or I was going home. All I needed was a club for the nut flush.
The turn failed to produce a club.
The river failed to produce a club.
I was out.
I think the two players both paired their Jack. They both ended up splitting the pot.

I was eliminated in 10th place, out of 640 (I think) players.

I was incredibly lucky to get that far after getting down to 700. Or, I guess you could say that I was unlucky that I had the incredibly good cards the moment I had very few chips.
In my opinion I was on borrowed the moment I had 700 chips. I did what I had to do, it worked, and I got in with the correct odds at the end.

Good game. I hope to do more of these Poker After Dark games.

81 player live tournament

I had a good time at the tournament last night. There were 81 players.

I played super-tight. I was active in two hands up until the first break. In the first hand I was the big blind, it was checked to me, and I hit top pair on the flop (9's) so I bet and everyone folded.
Then, I raised with 6/6 just as they announced the break. (This is my favorite hand by the way.) I raised.
Some of people called me.
The flop had my third 6. The other two cards were a rainbow, I think maybe a Jack or Queen high, with a rag.
Anyway, I bet again and everyone called.
The flop was the fourth suite/rag.
I bet again and only the newbie at the table called. (An old lady who had never played a tournament before).

Now, this lady had made a comment a few minutes earlier, something along the lines of, "It seems like all you have to do in this game is bet at the end and everybody folds to you." So, I checked the river. I was pretty certain he just had something like Ace high, and was pretty sure she'd follow her own advice.

She did.
She put me all in, and I raked in the chips. I went from 720 or so chips to 2,400 that hand.

During that hand the guy across from me said (in front of everybody). "I've been watching you. That's the first hand you've played all night, huh?"

I smiled and told him it was the second. I smiled because, that comment of his was going to beat "don't mess with this guy" into even the thickest of heads.

the icing on the cake was that my two friends were on break so they were there to witness me rake in the large pot.

When we got back from break I went on a bluffing streak that tripled me up. (At one point I literally paused and thought to myself, "I'm robbing these people blind.") On the second hand after the break I was able to isolate the newbie old lady, firing away each time. I was bluffing all the way, firing a shot each time. When the fourth diamond hit I could tell she missed it (as did I) so I bet on the river and raked in another big pot.
She asked, "Did you have it?" and I just shrugged. I worked hard to get to the point where I could steal, so I wasn't going to admit to any bluff.

The crucial hand of the game was maybe 10 or 15 minutes before I got knocked out. I was dealt King/King and only called (I know... bad move. I threw the wrong number of chips out.)

The I-watch-too-much-TV-poker guy on my left thought my call was weakness, and moved all in for an additional 2,200. Everyone else folded.
(I'd like to note that Mr. I-watch-too-much-TV-poker had a poker ball-cap and sunglasses, but they did nothing to disguise his tells)

I always lose with "Ace Magnets." Whenever I have A/A or K/K I always lose to a straight. Not trips, not two-pair, but a straight.
Thinking about it logically I knew I had to call. He wouldn't have bet like that if he wanted to be called, so I was guessing A/Q or A/J.

I called.

When he showed his King/Ten I was relieved. I was 90% to win!

The flop was a 2/9/Q.
On the turn he shouted, "Jack!" but it was another 9.
On the river he shouted, "Jack!" and it was the %$#! Jack, giving him the straight and the $6,200 (or whatever) pot.

If I would have won that hand I'd have gotten to the final table (barring any other bad beats).

Shortly after that the blinds went up to 400/800 and I couldn't catch any cards. I was down to 1,500 when I was the big blind. Normally I'd go all-in but I had 8/3 off suite. Bleh!
When I was small blind I had 10/4 off suite, so I went all-in. A few people called, but I didn't hit anything and was out in 18th (or so) place.

We were down to two tables at that point and people were dropping like flies. Pretty much if you were in, you were all-in.

Again, if I had that additional 6,200 in chips I could have stolen, easily, another 2,000 chips and it would have been a different story.

I'll get'em next time.

I am impressed with my ability to read though. Only one player, an old black guy named Charlie, had me stumped. Everyone else I could put on a hand, or not.
Well, the guy to Charlie's right I misread once (in a big way), but I wasn't involved in the pot at the time so it didn't burn me. I just filed his tell under "iffy."