Group Sweat Summary

I played 4 tables of $100 nl he sh @ FTP last night while Brian, Kevin, and Ian sweated. All 3 guys gave me new ideas that I will try to implement into my game. Ian and Kevin highly recommended Professional No Limit Holdem and The Poker Mindset for all of us to read. I already ordered The Poker Mindset at FTP and will go buy Professional No Limit HE at Borders.

Here are 5 interesting hands that came up and was discussed afterwards.

Hand 1.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($117.95)
UTG+1		($217.05)
CO		($89.75)
BTN		($99.60)
SB		($30.20)
Hero		($100.00)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is BB

1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $3.5, CO calls $3.5, 2 folds, Hero raises to $17, UTG+1 folds, CO calls $13.5

This was my first hand and I had data mined stats on UTG +1 (23/20/5 over 800 hands) and CO (47/7/0.7 over 75 hands). I just sat down at the table and I squeezed to $17 guessing that UTG +1 was a solid player who would give a unknown respect.

UTG+1 looked very weak CC behind on the CO. I also wanted to get a loose aggressive image early on so that I can get paid off when I picked up a hand.

UTG+1 folds and CO Calls. I don't know what CO has but it's seems pretty wide and weak.


Flop: ($38, 2 players)
Hero bets $24, 1 fold

I c bet about 2/3 pot and hope to take it down. I plan to bet/fold or if called. Possibly double barrel a high card J,K,A, spade on the turn or shut down if the turn is a blank.

Final Pot: $38

Hero wins $60.1 ( won +$19.1 )
UTG+1 lost -$3.50
CO lost -$17.00

Hand 1 Discussion.
The Group didn't like this play because the original raiser could be very strong because his opening range UTG+1 is small. My hand could easily be dominated by AQ or AK. If a A or J high flop hits and I get played back it, I could be drawing to 3 outs or worst OOP.

They feel that it is better to just call or fold and play it safely. They would prefer if the original raiser was on the Co/BTN in order for me to 3 bet out of the BB.

In hindsight, 3 betting the CO/BTN is much better because Villain's range will be much wider there than UTG+1.

Hand 2.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($156.55)
UTG+1		($102.70)
CO		($238.35)
BTN		($101.15)
Hero		($99.00)
BB		($49.05)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is SB

3 folds, BTN raises to $3.5, Hero calls $3, 1 fold

BTN (22/17/4.4 over 500 hands) open raises to $3.5 and I decide to set mine. BB folds and we're heads up. I was playing str8 forward OOP at this table, probably running 19/16/7 over 45 hands or so.

Flop: ($8, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $5, Hero raises to $13.5, BTN folds

I check and he insta $5 bet. My instinct told me he was weak because if he had a hand he would of thought about his bet. I decided to c/r to $13.5 and villain folded.

Final Pot: $18

Hero wins $25.6 ( won +$8.6 )
BTN lost -$8.50

Hand 2 Discussion.
The group thought that I should had 3 bet the BTN and take it down preflop. BTN would not have a hand enough of the time for me to get paid off if I hit my set. BTN attempt to steal was around 30%.

In hindsight, I should def 3 bet this and continue with a c bet if called. They also thought the c/r was bad because that hit's his range better than mine. I can only rep 910, pock 2, and JQ. BTN could have Pock J, Pock Q, AQ, AJ, overpair or a random bluff. BTN could also float and see what I do on the turn and take it if I showed weakness by checking.


Hand 3.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

Hero		($104.00)
UTG+1		($170.20)
CO		($100.00)
BTN		($77.20)
SB		($100.00)
BB		($18.30)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is UTG

Hero raises to $3.5, 3 folds, SB calls $3, 1 fold

Standard open r with AKd UTG. Folded around to SB (22/17/4.4 over 500 hands) who calls and BB folds. Pot is HU.

SB is the same villain in hand 2, however this was on a different table. This hand occured 8 minutes after I had c/r with pock 8 vs him to take down the pot. I did not factor that in into this hand though. In his eyes, I'm a little on the loose aggressive side running around 22/20/17 over about 45 hands or so.

Flop: ($8, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

I was 50/50 on whether I should bet this. I decided to make a delayed c bet and see what he would do on the turn.

Turn: ($8, 2 players)
SB bets $8, Hero calls $8

SB leads pot and I call because I look very weak when I check the flop. I also hit tptk and have showdown value.

River: ($24, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Ugly card because the 4 flush hit the river. I thought about turning my hand into a bluff because I didn't want to see him luck sack into a small flush and felt I could get him off of it.

The group strongly recommended I not bluff this because I had showdown value, so I went against my instinct and checked it down.
Final Pot: $24
SB shows:
Hero shows:

SB wins $22.8 ( won +$11.3 )
Hero lost -$11.50

Hand 3 Discussion.
The group thought I should had c bet the flop and turn my hand into a bluff. It's more credible because I will be betting a naked Ac all day there. Once I check, my hand looks very weak. I had to call the turn pot lead because I had induce a bet by checking the flop. Once the 4 flush hit, the group thought that he could be intending to c/c with a weaker flush or be on a total bluff.

The group didn't see any real value in turning my hand into a bluff because nothing I beat would ever call and I had showdown value.

In hindsight, I misplayed the hand on the flop. I need to bet this and rep the Ac and shutdown if called or fold if raised. I also went against my instinct but oh well. I'm experimenting with new lines and mistakes are to be expected.


Hand 4.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($48.95)
Hero		($163.15)
CO		($121.60)
BTN		($124.70)
SB		($135.05)
BB		($38.70)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is UTG+1

1 fold, Hero raises to $3.5, 3 folds, BB raises to $8, Hero calls $4.5

Standard open raise with pock 9 UTG+1. Folded to BB (41/11/0.7 over 150 hands) who raises very small to $8 with a $38.70 stack. The small raise screamed monster. However, I'm calling such a small raise and want to see a flop. I intend to fold if he bets 2/3 or 3/4 pot or so on a high card flop.

Flop: ($16.5, 2 players)
BB goes all-in $30.7, Hero calls $30.7

BB shoves and my instinct tells me he doesn't have a big hand. Why would he shove with a hand? I had a little history with BB.

Just 10 minutes ago at this table he limp/call my BTN raise to $5.50. SB called and he called. 3 way. I'm holding AQo.

Flop: 2h 3s Jd (pot = $18.50) I was going to bet $13.5 but timed out by accident.

Turn: Ah (pot = $18.50) It is check back to me and I bet $13.50. SB folds and he calls.

River: As (pot = $45.50) He checks and I value bet $29.50 and expect to get called by a Jack or mid pair. He c/c and shows up with A8d for river trips. wow, no raise? I win with trip Aces with the Q kicker.

Basically, this guy is very loose passive. He doesn't bet his big hands. Therefore, when he shoved the flop. I thought, no way this guy has a hand. He doesn't bet them so I called. I was wrong but I rivered my set on the river.

Turn: ($77.9, 2 players)

River: ($77.9, 2 players)

Final Pot: $77.90
BB shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $74.9 ( won +$36.2 )
BB lost -$38.70

Hand 4 Discussion.
The group thought that I should had shoved or folded pre flop. The flop could bring too many overs and scare me into a fold if he c bets.

In hindsight, a call is very bad here because he's betting any flop. I should def fold or shove pre flop.

Hand 5.
$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($230.85)
CO		($40.00)
Hero		($100.00)
SB		($105.50)
BB		($100.00)

[CO posted $1]
Pre-flop: ($2.5, 5 players) Hero is BTN

1 fold, CO checks, Hero raises to $4.5, SB raises to $17.5, 1 fold, CO folds, Hero goes all-in $100, SB folds

CO posts and I raise it up to $4.5 with pock A on the BTN. SB (17/14/3.4 over 1k hands) 3 bets to $17.50 and I shove. SB tanks it and folds.

I wasn't thinking str8 on this hand. The Last Hand affected my play on this hand. I thought SB might of thought I was tilted and call my shove much lighter than usual. SB was very TAG so I thought he was 3 betting me with a big hand and would never fold to my shove. I was wrong and he folded to my shove.

I was running 22/20/17 over 100 hands at this table.

Final Pot: $37

Hero wins $119.5 ( won +$19.5 )
CO lost -$1.00
SB lost -$17.50

Hand 5 Discussion.
The group didn't like my BTN shove when a TAG 3 betted me on the SB. They felt that a call would be better and allow him to hang himself on the flop if he was 3 betting me light because my attempt to steal was around 50% on the CO/BTN.

In hindsight, a call is better than a shove. The pot would had been around $36 and SB would had c betted $25 or more. I could shove and he would basically call with most of his SB c betting range when he only had $50-60 left in his stack.


Conclusion:
Overall, I played alright and made a bi over 381 hands. I made a few mistakes by not getting max value on pock A hand and making one bad read with pock 9. Please leave a comment/question if you happen to read my analysis. My poker group and I would appreciate it. Gl at the tables.

To Brian, Kevin, and Ian. If I misinterpreted what you said in discussion, please clear it up with a comment or two. tks.

Group Sweat tonight at 6:30pm EST

I'm up and plan to play 4 tables of $100 nl he sh at FTP. Brian, Kevin, and Ian will be railing and helping me patch my leaks.

Variance is crazy

I'm table selecting very well and my opponents are getting it in very light against me. They are also making bold bluffs OOP which gives me the opportunity to make a few Hero Calls.

Hand 1)
Preflop:
I raise his weak limp on the BTN to $4 with pock 7. BTN is playing very loose and passive. Running at 60/13/0.6. I"m running Loose aggressive.

Flop:
I bet 2/3 pot with my flop set on 7s As 8h. I expect to be called down light.

Turn:
I bet a scare turn card Jh. A oe str8 just hit and he possibly could have it. Even if he raised, i'm getting it in because he easily could be doing this with a flush, two pair, or just top pair.

River:
I bet 4/5 pot and get called. If he raised, would you call?

Hand 2)
Preflop:
I iso the weak limp with K10d. BB calls and UTG calls. BB is unknown but I have him at 21/15/2.2 over 900 hands. UTG is a loose passive running at 45/9/0.7 over 500 hands. I'm running loose aggressive in position.

Flop:
I check flop intending to see what they would do on the turn and make a delayed c bet.

Turn:
the board pairs and gives me the 2nd nut flush draw. Check to me and I bet. BB calls and UTG folds.

River:
BB leads 1/3 pot and it really looked like a blocking bet to me. I raise for value with the 2nd nut flush. I make it $40 and BB shoves. Can I really fold this vs a solid TAG who is unknown? I can't really beat anything but trip 3's and a lower flush.

Hand 3)
Preflop:
Standard raise when the table is letting me run them over. CO calls and everyone else folds. CO is running at 23/11/1.3 over 1k hands. CO also has a little history with me. I think he has me on his fish list because he sat directly to my left. Yesterday, he made a play with pock 5 on a Q44 2 flush flop and called me down lightly when I slow played AQo IP. Here is the hand.History

Hero Call 1)

Hero Call 2)

Hero Call 3)
Stacks:

UTG		($105.50)
UTG+1		($32.00)
Hero		($204.45)
BTN		($180.00)
SB		($165.75)
BB		($350.15)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 6 players) Hero is CO

UTG calls $1, 1 fold, Hero calls $1, 1 fold, SB calls $0.5, BB checks

I limp along trying to flop huge because everyone was playing back at me on this table. I was running loose aggressive and SB just bet showed a bluff with Q10o on a AAx flop against me OOP. I knew SB was capable of big bluffs. There was also little chance of someone squeezing because most of these villains were very passive except SB who was 3 betting light OOP.
SB was running at 28/17/1.9 over 174 hands.

Flop: ($4, 4 players)
SB bets $3, 2 folds, Hero raises to $7, SB calls $4
I had a nice read on SB that he lead weak hands, draws and c/r big hands OOP. I raise it small to see if he likes his hand. SB calls. I now think he's on a draw or is floating OOP. I don't think he does this with big hands because he would put in another raise on such a draw heavy flop.

Turn: ($18, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $10, SB raises to $34, Hero calls $24

I bet and get c/r to $34. I now think he has a big hand but I got stubborn and want to see what he will do on the river. I think he has a 7 or air. I don't think he has an overpair because he would had played it stronger preflop or on the flop.

River: ($86, 2 players)
SB bets $40, Hero calls $40

His 1/2 pot bet is designed to make it look like he wants me to call. I've seen this guy bet his big hands 3/4 pot or higher for value. I don't think he bet's this small with a monster. He either has trip 7 or air. I make the call and I'm right.

Final Pot: $166
Hero shows:
SB shows:

Hero wins $163 ( won +$81 )
BB lost -$1.00
UTG lost -$1.00
SB lost -$82.00

Update on 5k hand challenge.
5.5 ptbb/100 over 1500 hands.

On Massive Tilt and Quitted Immediately

Wow, I'm on massive tilt after this session. Jason sweated this session about a 1/4th into it and no one at my 4 tables were giving me respect. I was running very loose and aggressive.

While I had a bad image, I still applied the pressure in position and on dry flops. I picked up big hands preflop and flopped big but the results weren't there.

Warning, 3 bad beats, 1 bad hero call, and a cooler.

Bad Beat 1) Pock K vs 78o sstack

Bad Beat 2) Pock A vs AKh

Bad Beat 3) Pock Q vs Pock 10 vs 78s on a Qs 9d 10s flop

On Bad Beat 3, Jason was sweating at the time and suggested I shove it on the flop 4 way because BB lead looks strong and I want to get it HU vs him on such a draw heavy flop because my image was so bad that BTN and SB might just tag along with a draw. At the time, I wanted BTN and SB to tag along so I made it 3x raise and BTN shoved. I think even if I shoved, BTN would probably still call. There's a small chance he folds but unlikely because of my loose image. Sucks to lose this pot.

Bad Hero call with pock 10 on a As 8c 5c flop

(Just added) Oh yeah, on the bad hero call. Jason suggested that I fold and find a better spot. I got stubborn and decided to make the hero call. My reasoning was that since he called BTN's raise and called my 3 bet preflop. I thought, no way this guy has a big ace here and made the hero call.

I put the guy on low-med pair or a flush draw like KQc, JQc 10Jc. My table image was terrible too and alot of guys were playing back at me and I folded every c/r or r when i betted on the flop. Given the table dynamics, I thought this guy was making a play on me. I only take delight in going with my read because I would had hated myself for folding here. Jason and I looked at his stat afterward and he was running at 20/5/.5 over 300 hands. Basically, this guy never raised anything even a big Ace.

Note to self: Tight Passive players who finally show aggression postflop usually have the goods.

Cooler) K9s vs A4s


The K9s suited hand was my last hand. I told Jason, if that guys has the nut flush, I'm quitting this session. He hollywood it and shoved the river nut flush. I insta called and immediately quitted.

Just taking my lumps. This session easily could have been a 4-5 bi session win over 379 hands but it was not meant to be. On the bright side, I'm still up $5.40 over 857 hands at $100 nl he sh. I just gotta think long run and try getting it in good because guys are going to get lucky. I just gotta keep grinding and try to make less mistakes than my opponents. Stay positive....

Not playing tonight and will get a session in tomorrow and get at least 5k more hands this month because I just signed up for Brian's best ptbb/100 hand challenge. I think there are 6 of us (Me, Brian, Jason, Dodgyken, Malfaire and Dice) who threw in $25 into the pot. You win the $150 pot if you have the best ptbb/100 hand over a min of 5k hands between Feb 21-29th, 2008.

Luckily, this session doesn't count toward that challenge.

Group Sweat & Back at $100 nl he sh @ FTP

Just finished a group sweat where Kevin (Moniker) played 4 tables of $100 nl he sh at Absolute Poker. I learned a lot of new lines that I will try to incorporate into my game. Please check out Kevin's blog for a summary of today's group sweat. There were a lot of interesting spots that came up and great discussion afterwards.

As for me, I'm finally backed at $100 nl he sh. I played about 500 hands after the group sweat and ran great. I actually was data mining 16 tables while I was in the group sweat. After we were done, I fired up 4 tables and played for about 1 1/2 hours. I picked tables where there were loose passive players with decent size stacks. I didn't want to sit in with sstacks.

Check out my PT stats. I played very loose aggressive on the CO/BTN preflop because the blinds kept folding. When they played back, I would just fold to their 3 bet unless I had a big hand.

I wasn't too aggressive on the flop, turn or river because villains kept donk leading into me and I called for pot control with big/med strength hands. I flopped a few top sets and slow played them for value. I also made a nice call and shove on the river. Overall, I played very well and wouldn't do anything different based on the info I had at the time.



Check out these crazy hands.

Hand 1) Nice Call Donkey

Hand 2) Which gave me a real aggro image which I used in this 300 bb plus pot. UTG+1 is the same villain who bet/call my turn shove with a gut shot str8 with A2o in Hand 1

Hand 3) Slowplaying flop Top Set when I had a LAG image. Same table as hand 1 & 2

Hand 4) Taking advantage of my loose image. Pock A get's paid off preflop

Hand 5) Slowplaying turn str8 and shoving river for value on scary board vs 7/10 stack donk who limped on SB preflop

Hand 6) Delayed C bet and mini raise river for value on scary low board vs tricky loose passive

Hand 7.

$0.5/$1 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($98.00)
CO		($112.80)
BTN		($252.10)
SB		($9.00)
Hero		($105.15)

Pre-flop: ($1.5, 5 players) Hero is BB

UTG raises to $3.5, 1 fold, BTN calls $3.5, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.5

I defend BB with 78o vs UTG Tag and BTN Lag. I hope to flop big and win a nice size pot.

Flop: ($11, 3 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, BTN bets $11, Hero calls $11, UTG folds

I c/c for pot control I think BTN bet's all his flush draws, str8 draws, overs, and big hands. I don't want to play a big pot OOP.

Turn: ($33, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

I check and Villain checks. If villain bets on the turn, I probably have to fold or shove all in. I lean toward a fold and will look for a better spot.

River: ($33, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $25, Hero calls $25

I check and BTN bets $25 into a $33 pot. A 4 str8 hits on the river. Any Ace or 6 makes a str8. I don't think villain bet's this big with a str8 because I look very weak when I c/c flop, c turn, and c river. I don't think villain has an overpair or top pair because he would had bet on the turn to protect his hand. Once he bets, $25 into a $33 pot I have to put him on air or a str8. I doubt this guy value bet's thin on the river.

Final Pot: $83
BTN shows:
Hero shows:

Hero wins $80 ( won +$40.5 )
BTN lost -$39.50
UTG lost -$3.50


Hand 8) I flop top set vs the same villain who I caught bluffing on Hand 9. I intend to trap him for a big pot but he folds to my turn mini raise