Leading with the Nuts on the Turn

$0.25/$0.5 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($147.35)
UTG+1		($17.55)
CO		($19.70)
BTN		($42.60)
SB		($34.45)
Hero		($50.00)

Pre-flop: ($0.75, 6 players) Hero is BB

1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.5

Easy call preflop to UTG+1 mini raise on the BB. Villain was a sstack and I just wanted to see a flop with him cheaply. No real reads on villain.

Flop: ($2.25, 2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $1, Hero calls $1

Nice flop for me. I don't like the two flush out there because it takes away some of my str8 outs if he is on a flush draw. It could also kill my action if the 6 or J of hearts hits the turn. I c/c a 1/2 pot bet by Villain.

Turn: ($4.25, 2 players)
Hero bets $2, UTG+1 raises to $5.5, Hero raises to $20.75, UTG+1 calls $10.05

I lead about 1/2 pot with the turn nut str8 looking to get called or raised. I find that sstacks don't like to fold on draw heavy flops when they are the aggressor. Villain reraises and I shove with the nuts.

River: ($40.55, 2 players)

Final Pot: $35.35
Hero shows:
UTG+1 shows:

Hero wins $38.8 ( won +$16.05 )
UTG+1 lost -$17.55

Good spot to check raise

$0.25/$0.5 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:

UTG		($194.55)
UTG+1		($28.55)
CO		($50.35)
BTN		($47.75)
SB		($68.25)
Hero		($60.70)

Pre-flop: ($0.75, 6 players) Hero is BB

3 folds, BTN calls $0.5, SB calls $0.25, Hero raises to $3, BTN calls $2.5, SB folds

Standard 3 bet when BTN and SB limps. Trying to get this HU and get value for my hand. BTN and SB are loose passive. They haven't been too active and I have been raising it up preflop and taking down pots with c bets on the flop. (No real reads)

Flop: ($6.5, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $6.5, Hero raises to $18, BTN calls $11.5

I felt this was a good spot to check raise because I sometimes check/fold when the flop misses me vs floaters. I check and look to raise it big vs BTN. I think villain limp/calls a lot of suited connectors, mid pairs, and small Aces. I want him to pay the max in position to continue with the hand. He might check behind but i'm willing to take that risk.



Turn: ($42.5, 2 players)
Hero goes all-in $39.7, BTN calls $26.75

Great turn, I push looking to get called by a worst Ace or flush draw. Villain probably will fold all mid pairs and floats. I might get a hero call by midpairs if he thinks i'm shoving a flush draw myself. I like the shove.

River: ($108.95, 2 players)

Final Pot: $96
BTN shows:
Hero shows:

BTN wins $93 ( won +$45.25 )
Hero wins $12.95 ( lost -$47.75 )
SB lost -$0.50

Great News!

LuckySOB (Jason) posted on PokerTrikz forum and said that he would like to mentor a low stakes player. I applied and got picked.

My first session with him will be on Feb 5th, @ 5pm EST. I feel very fortunate and plan to pay it forward after Jason is done with me.

Jason introduced me to Btimm (Brian) and Luckbox (Ian). Jason suggested we form a poker group so that we would improve at a faster rate. I talked to Brian and Ian yesterday and our first session will be on Monday Feb 11th, @ 8pm EST. Brian will be playing while Ian and I sweat his session. Our goal right now is to understand each other's game. After the session, we will discuss alternative ways to play trouble or interesting hands.

Excited and nervous at the same time because the pressure is on to step it up. This is a good thing because when there is potential growth, you often feel nervous. I expect big things for me this year in poker.

Wish me luck

Check out PokerTrikz.com for free poker training videos

Check this site out. He is a fellow CR member and just recently opened up PokerTrikz.com where he posts up free poker training videos.

He currently has 12 videos posted up. I have watched a few and they are all top notch. He is also going to be giving away one hour of free poker lessons if you sign up for the forums and make 10 quality posts.

I've added him to the my Other Poker Blog under "PokerTrikz: What's up your sleeve?"

I added CTS's old Blog

You guys should def check it out. I'm going to read it from beginning to the end because I think it's one of the best poker blogs out there even though it is about 2 years old. He talks about concepts that I have only begun to understand or don't even think about.

Created a New Blog for Misplayed/Tough Hands

I created a new blog titled "My Misplayed/Tough Hands." You can find it on the right hand side of this blog. I got this idea from Dodgyken and hopefully it will help me improve at a faster rate.

Check it out and comment when you can. I added my own thoughts into each hand in red.

As for poker, haven't been playing much. I'm taking a little break until 2008 and hoping to put in 10-20k hands or more in January. I am able to deposit with Instant E Check now on FTP, so it's much easier for me to deposit/withdraw when I need to.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

AppleSeed

10k plus hands at $50 nl he sh

I've run so bad at $50 nl he sh at FTP. I reviewed all my hands at this level and I am running terrible. Most of the stacks that I lost involves me being suck out on the turn/river or coolered. I did play terrible on some spots due to tilt but overall ran very bad. Out of the 10 buy ins I lost, I would contribute 6 buy ins to suck outs and about 4 buy ins to tilt.

I'm going to move back down to $25 nl he sh and regain my confidence. I'll play another 10k hands at 25 and see where I stand. I want to move up slowly and really evaluate my play. I really hope to be able to beat $200 nl he sh by the end of 2008. That is only a dream though because it seems so far away.

Here are 5 leaks that I need to improve upon.

1)Making too many hero calls with no reads
2)Overplaying TPTK with no reads
3)Learn to fold over pairs on draw heavy flops when villain shows aggression.
4)Need to quit when tilting because I will never fold draws/TPTK/Over Pairs on scary flops.
5)3 bet more out of the blinds vs lags

I'm going to post hand histories where I find big leaks, so I can remind myself not to make it again.

I need to work on my game and reevaluate it. I need to be more aggressive when draws are out and if villain shows resistance, I need to slow down/fold TPTK and over pairs. I see that there are not too many bluffers at 25 and 50 nl he sh. I rarely ran into bluffs when I called down. I couldn't believe the hands I was being shown down on the river.

Here are my stats. If you see any leaks, let me know.

Thanks for any input.