Forced Poker Hiatus/Vacation - RPM Closes

My online poker venue (RPM, a Merge skin) quickly and quietly shut its doors while I was in Tunica. I've been w/o any poker now for over a week, which has been good and bad.

Additionally, RPM pulled out of Poker Maximus before they closed their doors...so no MTTs to prep or play.

I'm assessing options with either Carbon Poker or Aced Poker to transfer current balance, rakeback, and other things. But, there's "VIP points" (like FPPs) that I've lost...

With regards to live play, I've also taken a break, but will be putting in live sessions in the next week or so.
Currently, I'm looking at FL (West Palm Beach - WSOP-C) and LA (LA Poker Classic) as two leading venues in the near future for MTT action.

Tunica Poker Room Notes

Gold Strike Horseshoe Casino, and Roadhouse are within walking distance on "Casino Center Drive".
Hollywood and Sam's Club are close together.
Harrah's is somewhat far from the other poker rooms.

Games running at Gold Strike:

Saturday night had a 5-10-25 PLO game.
Sunday night had a 200 spread limit badugi cash game going.
Sunday night also had 2 10-20 w/ half kill LO8 cash games. They seemed reg infested, so opted to avoid playing.

240 PLO8 MTT at Gold Strike

240 PLO8 MTT at Gold Strike

Hero late registered at the first break (after 3 levels).
10000 starting
blinds starting 25/50

initial reads:
1 - younger player
2 - older player
4 - mentioned he played some/a lot on PS
5 - older fishier player, seemed to like to gamble
6 - originally mid-age young person who wanted to gamble
7 - Andy - mid-30s large Asian
was extremely LAG in the LO8 MTT
8 - originally older person, eventually changed to another older person
9 - hero

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This hand occurred about 5 hands after hero sat down (as late registrant)
Hero UTG: dealt AK92 (AK suited)

hero: limps
one other player limps
sb calls
bb calls

(4 players - 200 in pot)
AKT rainbow
Hero check/folded to single PSB.

Analysis:
Retrospective, this was probably a nitty fold against unknowns. I think I should have called one street possibly...

------------
About 10 hands into the first level

hero in SB: dealt AA72 (A2 suited)

5 limpers
hero raises to 600 in SB
1 fold
all other players call

(5 players - 3100 in pot)
Flop: Q87 monotone (hero has nut flush blocker)
hero bets 2050
folds to seat 7
seat 7 (Andy) raises pot

Hero tanks for a while. Hero tells villain "You don't have the nuts, unless it's tc 9c xx...", but eventually folds.

Villain says "b/c it's you, i'll show you" - AK43 (K3 suited for flush)

Analysis:
This should have been a smaller bet (maybe 1800 or 1500?), since it's bet/fold and live game where villains don't keep track of pot size.
Should hero ever call for half? No, as villain's raise screams flush since raised preflop/flop aggressor.
7200 in pot + 7200 = 21600
Hero would be calling ~7200 to get 3600 back (and MTT life).

------------
Hero had been kind of tight.
A bit later towards level 5, hero won 1 small pot.

Hero stole one pot when ISOed weak tight player (seat 5) with AKJ4 rainbow
hero cbet flop (K95 rainbow) and villain folds

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Overall Comments about Tournament Field
Lots of limping in general, outside of 2-3 good players who tended to raise. (the players who raised tended to be online players as there were conversations about PLO8 and mixed games).

But, the level of play was pretty bad. Example a fishy player calls flop bet, then turn bet for MTT life.

board: Qx 6h 4h 2d
thinking villain: Ah 7x 4x 3h
fishy villain: AJ93 rainbow
river brings Jx and fishy villain gets 3/4.

No other really interesting hands. Hero maybe played 4 hands in 30-40 hands of MTT.

Seat 7 (Andy) was very aggressive and had some huge swings. Up to 50,000 chips, before giving some back, then rebuilding them up, all while busting 3-4 players. He admitted his very loose, aggressive style.

At second break, Andy was moved to a different table.
Before the table broke, there was maybe 2 raises preflop in ~40 hands, including one folded to BB.

------------
Also weird, my 25 chips were not colored up and raced off at a break.
Upon reporting to tournament director, he immediately took the chips out of play.
Sigh - should have kept them in my pocket as souvenirs :-P

------------
7500 at 100/200 break
5950 at 200/400
5500 at 300/600 dinner break

------------
Player reads after dinner break:

1 - younger player - seemed to be inexperienced
2 - older player; willing to chase player 7's bets for 1/2 the pot
7 - empty seat; Andy was moved to new table which changed the dynamic of the table
8 - eventually got replaced with older person who mincashed in LO8 MTT the day before, but said he'd never played omaha 8 before that time

Summary:
At first table, about half the table raised preflop, but now it's not the case for 2 levels.

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Side comment: Steel wheel sighting in live play!
Seat 4 was kind of fishy. He bet flop/turn (putting self all in) and player in seat 8 called the whole way.
Flop: Ac 2c 6x
Turn: Ac 2c 6x 5c
Seat 4 had 43xx for straight flush.
Seat 8 had 43xx

------------
hero's stack: 5000 at 400/800 blinds

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Hero on button: dealt AAQ4 (A4 suited)
4 limpers
hero raises to 3000
sb (seat 1) - calls
everyone else folds

(pot = 9200, 2 players)
Flop: 975 (two tone, hero has no flush draw)
villain checks
hero bets 2000 (AI)
villain calls and shows A984 (with flush draw)

turn: 97545 (no flush)
river: 97545 (no flush)

Analysis:
In live play, making smaller raise size to entice people to call seemed best, even though some/most players saw very few raises in general. But, either raise size seems fine.
One caller is fine to flop and getting it in on this board is fairly normal.

hero up to 7200 at 400/800

------------
Just before the break:

Hero on the button: dealt Ac 3c 3x Ty
2 limpers
Hero limps on the button
SB: calls
BB: checks

(pot = 4000 - 5 players)
Flop: 7c 3s 8h
everyone checks

(pot = 4000 - 5 players)
Turn: 7c 3s 8h 3d
4: bets 2000
7: calls
button: calls

(pot = 10000 - 2 players)
Turn: 7c 3s 8h 3d
4: checks
7: checks
button: bets 4000 (AI)
4: calls
7: calls

Hero shows: AT33
4: shows A2xx (no pair)

Analysis:
Flop: Hero betting on a dynamic board (nuts can change easily by river + possibility of being overset) with a low already out is kind of spewy. On this board texture, building a big pot in position is a mistake.
Turn: By slowplaying turn (not raising to squeeze either player), hero feels it can underrepresent/look like naked low that wants to get to showdown cheaply and bet rivers if checked to.

hero's stack: 7500

------------
After a level change, these hands occurred back to back. Hero's stack was at 6900 after chopping small pot and blinds passing by 1x or 2x.

Hand 1:
hero dealt: Qs 5s 5c 4h in BB
4 players call (including button and SB)
hero - checks

(5 players - 5000 in pot)
Flop: AJ5 rainbow
SB checks
hero bets 3000
1: calls
4: calls
others fold

(3 players - 14000 in pot)
Turn: AJ5K two tone
hero bets 4400 (all in)
1: calls
4: folds

1: shows 6532

(2 players, 1 all in - 22800)
River: AJ5KT two tone
hero: wins with set of 5s

Analysis:
Flop: This seemed pretty normal. There are very few AAxx that limp preflop. With such short stacks, hero has to accept JJxx in ranges.
Flop bet with 3rd nuts to price out flush/low draws. Higher sets would probably jam the flop before low comes on turn.
Turn: Although gutshot broadway wrap completes on the turn, hero has fold equity + boat outs to bet/call. Equity is ok considering villain's flop call range includes: top set, broadway wraps, low wrap gutshots, random flush draws).

Hero almost triples up to 22800.

---------
Next hand:

hero's stack: 22800 at 500/1000

(7 handed)
Hero in SB: Dealt Ac Qh 5s 3h

folds to button
button: limps
SB (hero): completes
BB: checks

(3 players - 3000)
Flop: J42 monotone (hero has nut flush blocker)
SB: checks
BB: checks
Button: bets 3k
SB: hero tanks, then c/r to 6k.
Button: calls
BB: folds

(2 players - 15000)
Turn: Q42T 3 flush (hero has nut flush blocker)
SB: Hero bets 5k
Button: quickly calls

(2 players - 25000)
River: Q42TJ 4 flush
SB: Hero checks
Button: checks behind

Villain shows Tc 8x 5c 4x (ten high flush)
Hero mucks

Analysis:
Flop: Hero tanked some before min-raising. Bet size seemed ok as some/most villains may fold to flop/turn aggression since it's polarized on flop (although there's a low draw on board).

One likely possibility: Maybe hero overestimated fold equity (if any existed) as villain had folded once when a different villain showed aggression. Villain also seemed to only bet their hands (lock low and bad flushes are 2 examples)
The villain had made a PSB though, so this was a "probably not folding spot".
Hero thought about/fired second barrel on turn, even though not fully analyzing the following:
1. villain has a hand (likely)
2. can villain fold to turn aggression? ...not really likely.

At the end of the day, this was probably a check/fold flop (chasing half is not smart) and fold equity against this straightforward passive villain should have been close to 0...so, this may have been "instinct" rather than evaluating villain and just check/folding.


Hero's Mental State:
Hero's mental state got flustered. Talking to others/tweeting/reviewing mental game of poker "injecting logic notes" eventually helped to subside the "mistake tilt" factor.

------------
hero's stack at 500/1000 level break - 11200

------------
off topic after 500/1000 level
a "sub floor" thought all 100 chips should be colored up.
luckily, hero was able to tell floor (and ask dealers) to stop by showing that there are 600/1200, 800/1600 levels.

------------
Table change:
About 10 hands pass (between the misplay and the break).
As hero was putting chips in rack, hero grabbed too many and they dropped onto seat and floor.
15 seconds later, the same thing happened to another player at my table.
This other player thought they had more chips than they ended up finding.
Eventually, hero walked over to verify and came to conclusion that one of the dropped chips that were found were actually other players...
Hero had about 11k in chips.

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At new table, only 1 player (seat 1) was recognizable as a nitty, middle-aged person with glasses who was at 1st PLO8 table and was at LO8 MTT yesterday, playing similar nitty style.

This hand takes place 3 hands after moving to this table.

Hero dealt UTG: AQ53 (A3, Q5 double suited).
Hero raises to 2.5k
other players fold
button calls
other players fold

(2 players - 6500)
Flop: Q85 two tone (hero has no flush draw)
hero: bets 4000
v: calls

(2 players - 14500)
Turn: Q854 two tone
hero: bets 3500 (AI)
v: calls and shows AT92 (no flush draw)

(2 players - 1 all in, 21500)
River: Q854J (flush draw misses.

Analysis:
All of this seemed pretty normal. No reads on villain, but probably fishy based on this play. Villain peeled lightly with naked nut low draw...
FWIW, hero can scoop if villain's low is counterfeited (5 cards)
Hero is scooped if villain hits gutshot (4 cards).

------------
Hero out in 25th of 73 runners.

This field seemed a little bit tougher than the LO8 MTT based on table draws/reshuffling after table breaks (a couple internet players were at first table), but 50% of field still seemed very bad.

240 LO8 MTT at Gold Strike

240 LO8 MTT at Gold Strike

Hero late registered at the first break (after 3 levels).
10000 starting
hero had 9400 after registering
Limits: 200/400

------------
4th hand after the break:
Hero dealt on the button: A843 (A3 suited)

2 limpers
hero: raises
SB: calls
BB: calls
2 limpers call

(5 players - 4000 in pot)
flop: 767 two tone (hero has no flush draw)
everyone checks
hero checks behind

(5 players - 4000 in pot)
turn: 767T two tone (hero has no flush draw)
everyone checks
hero checks behind

(5 players - 4000 in pot)
river: 767T8 completing flush (hero does not have flush)
everyone checks
hero bets 800
everyone folds

Hero mucks hand, but hits the dealer as he's scooping up all the cards. All cards turn immediately face up, and 2 players mention "Wow, look! He's trying to cover up his cards because it was a bluff." The other half of the table didn't see it.

Analysis:
Flop: Betting this seems really spewy multiway.
Turn: A turn bet might actually take it down sometimes since everyone's shown weakness.
River: This seems mandatory.

Hand turned faceup:
LOL - This was a great "image play" to further affirm - as hero was only person under 30. The only problem is hero didn't get a chance to enter in too many pots as VPIP for the next 3-4 orbits....Sadly, no chances to "value bet thinner", although one would do this anyway in a limit game.

------------
Player reads prior to next hand:
3 - Seemed rather nitty (similar to hero's playing style)
8 - Seemed competent. Talked a bit about PLO/PLO8 mix that happened in STL.
9 - Seemed to care more about playing other MTTs

------------
Hero dealt in LP: Ac 7c 3d 2d

3: limp
4: raise
2 other players call
hero: calls
sb: folds
bb: folds
3: calls

(pot = 2000 - 5 players)
flop: T97 rainbow
all players check

(pot = 2000 - 5 players)
turn: T978 two tone
2 players check
7: bets
1 player folds
hero: calls
2 players call

(pot = 5200 - 4 players)
river: T9785 (no flush completes)
7: bets
hero: calls
2 folds

7: shows AKQJ rainbow
hero: shows A932

7 and hero chop pot

Analysis:
Flop: Check with no hand/backdoor nut low draw.
Turn: There was a really good likelihood that both players behind would call. They seemed very loose and not really great. Since they were also loose, the likelihood of A2xx (and quartering hero) is much less.
River: Same as turn. This is a "pull hand" to get people to stay in the pot to get half of each player's money (hopefully).

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hero's stack at dinner break:
12150 @ 250/500 blinds; 500/1000 limits

The MTT structure called for a color up chip break 10 minutes after dinner ended.
Dinner was from 7:30-8:30.
Color up occurred after the 500/1000 level ended at 8:40.
It sucked as that means the tournament runs longer, but it turned out to help hero refocus.

------------
Hero gets moved to a new table. Hero stole 1 pot a couple hands after sitting at new table.
Hero did isolate one weaker limper and stole the pot. It was a 2 high board (like KT7 two tone) and cbet the flop/villain folded.

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This occurred 1 hand later after winning previous pot.
Hero dealt in CO: AK 62 (AK suited).

2 limpers
hero: raises
sb: calls
bb: calls
2 limpers: call

(5 players - 3000 in pot)
Flop: A75 rainbow
all players check

(5 players - 3000 in pot)
Turn: A755 rainbow
all players check

(5 players - 3000 in pot)
River: A755A rainbow
2 checks
1 player bets
hero calls
all other players fold

1 player shows 32xx (no high)
hero shows AKxx

Hero chops pot.

Analysis: Hero calling on end with top trips is fine. Most boats would probably have went for value on the turn...
Hero's stack: 14900

------------
blinds: 500/1000; limits 1000/2000

hero dealt in mp: AK92 (A2 suited)
CO: ~4000
BB: ~12000

folds to hero
hero: raises
2 folds
CO (short stack - 4 preflop bets): calls
button: 3 bets
hero: tanks, then reraises
CO: calls (AI)
button: calls

(3 players, 1 all in - 12000 in pot)
flop: KQJ rainbow
hero: bets
villain: calls

(3 players, 1 all in - 14000 in pot)
turn: KQJA two tone
hero: checks
villain: checks

(3 players, 1 all in - 14000 in pot)
KQJAQ two tone
hero: bets
villain: folds

hero shows AK92
AI villain: mucks
hero: scoops pot

Analysis:
Preflop: It's not ideal to have lots of bets behind (4 big bets/8000) and be out of position. 4 betting to get villain all in versus flat calling is a good discussion. Personally, it's better to 4bet and show aggression as it overrepresents hero's hand (which is good in limit).
Flop: Hero bets entire range, villain calls because large pot. Feels like villain has a pair here, maybe even bad 2 pair.
Turn: 4 straight on board should slow down hero (who could be betting sets on flop) (and villain if villain does not have straight).
River: Bet is mandatory to rep a boat and get better hands to hero (like straights and bad 2 pairs) to fold.

Hero's stack: 22300

------------
Overall, this new table seemed even softer and there was hope that table would not break too soon.
There was even one spot where it folded to villain in BB and they got a walk!
There was a small mental miscue when hero limp/folded KKJ9 on "orphaned" pot where flop was 2 high/1 low (like QJ5 two tone) that hero could have stolen as pot was 3 handed and neither villain showed strength.

hero's stack: 19000 at 1000/1500 blinds; 1500/3000 limits

------------
Hero dealt on button: AA73 (A7 suited)

2 limpers
Hero: raises
SB: folds
BB: folds
2 limpers: call

(3 players - 6000 in pot)
Flop: K8649 (two tone)
2 players check
hero: bets
2 players call

(3 players - 10500 in pot)
Turn: K8649 (two tone)
2 players check
hero: bets
v1: raises
v2: folds
hero: calls

River: K8649 (two tone)
v1: bets
hero: calls

Villain shows: 75xx (no low)
Hero shows: AA73

Chop Pot

Analysis:
Preflop/Flop are standard to raise and bet for value.
The turn check raise on 3 low board indicates the (likely) nuts. As it turns out, that was exactly right.
Sadly, this wasn't PLO8 and hero could get all in on the flop.

Hero's stack: 21100

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Villain (v1) was a tighter player.
Villain (v2) in this hand was very aggressive pre/post flop. Also, villain was loose and aggressive both preflop and postflop. This player also seemed to be observant.

hero in CO: dealt AA97 (Ah9h, Ad7d double suited)

folds to v1
v1: raises
v2: calls
hero: thinks for a bit, motions to raise, but then only calls.

(3 players - 7000 in pot)
flop: 9h 7h 3d (hero has nut flush blocker and back door nut flush draw)
v1: bets
v2: calls
hero: raises
v1: folds
v2: calls

(2 players - 14500 in pot)
turn: 9h 7h 3d 9d (hero has nut flush blocker)
v2: checks
hero: bets
v2: raises
hero: raises
v2: raises
hero: caps
v2: calls

(2 players - 44500 in pot)
river: 9h 7h 3d 9d 4s (hero has nut flush blocker)
hero only has 1500 left
v2: bets
hero: calls (AI)

Analysis:
Preflop: Maybe this is an automatic raise with double suited aces, even without a good low (wheel) card.
Flop: Top 2 plus nut flush blocking opportunities and to price out low draw is ideal.
Turn: This was a really good turn card. From villain's perspective, hero may go crazy with AAxx here too. But, with 5 bets going in, it just screams at least a 9, if not full boat.
River: Hero bets AI always.

Other notes:
1. Hero made a mistake by hesitating! It actually turned out well though as villain 2 may not have bet so aggressively.
2. After the hand, v2 (Andy, a middle-aged Asian player) said: "I saw you hesitate and put you on AAxx. But I didn't know your side cards."

hero doubles up to 47500

------------
Hero in HJ: dealt QQ87 (Q8, Q7 double suited)
v2: same villain from previous hand

2 limpers
hero limps
button: limps
sb: folds
bb: checks

(5 players - 7500 in pot)
Flop: AKQ (rainbow; hero has back door flush draw)
v1: bets
v2: calls
v3: folds
hero: calls
button: calls

(4 players - 13500 in pot)
Turn: AKQ3 (two tone; hero has Q high flush draw)
v1: bets
v2: calls
hero: calls
button: folds

(3 players - 22500 in pot)
River: AKQ34 (3 flush; hero has Q high flush)
v1: checks
v2: checks
hero: bets
v1: gets mad and folds
v2: calls

v2: shows KT98 (king high flush, no low)
hero: folds

Analysis:
Preflop: An argument can be made for folding as well. Only 1 nuttish component (QQxx for set value) exist with this hand although double suited are good blockers.
Flop: Betting villain seemed passive, so likely villain has the nuts (made straight). Raising is out of the question since villain's range in MW pot betting OOP is very often the nuts (JTxx). Hero is drawing in huge pot where if hero gets boat is likely best.
Turn: Backdoor flush draw adds to hero's equity, although flush draw may not be good and there could be some small reverse implied odds. If flush draw is likely good for high if it hits, this gives enough implied/expressed odds to call.
River: Value bet seemed about right as no one showed aggression on flushing river. A lot of worse hands can make crying calls, while hero can likely fold if c/r by (what is likely) the nut flush.
Villain 2 was scared of hero having nut flush and did not bet it...Villain 2 was aggressive, but smart player. However, value bet seems better from his perspective to get worse hands with crying call getting decent pot odds and flush coming backdoor.
Overall: It seemed like a cooler to see 2nd nut flush check/call.

hero's stack: 28k

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Hero in BB: Dealt A997 (9d 7d suited)

3 calls (including button)
hero: checks

(4 players - 6000 in pot)
Flop: Kd Td 4d (hero has 9 high flush)
hero checks
bad loose player bets
2 folds
1 call

(2 players - 12000 in pot)
Turn: Kd Td 4d 5c
2 checks

(2 players - 12000 in pot)
River: Kd Td 4d 5c Jh
2 checks

Villain (who bet) has 8d 6d x x (8 high flush)
Other villain mucks.

Analysis:
Folding an 9 high flush seems ok in a MW (4 player) pot, but maybe it's too nitty OOP against random aggressive fish who could be betting very wide on flop (possibly sets?).
It suffers from reverse implied odds.
All villains seemed to play straightforward (although bad), so there's a lot of better flushes.
Conserving chips by playing a pot OOP with reverse implied odds seems really bad...thus, the reason for folding on the flop.

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Hero in BB: dealt AKK3 (A3 suited)
MP: older player who seemed somewhat tight and had not been to showdown since hero was at table

MP: raises
folds to hero
hero: reraises
MP: calls

(2 players - 9000 in pot)
Flop: J64 rainbow
Hero: bets
MP: calls

(2 players - 13000 in pot)
Turn: J64 rainbow
Hero: bets
MP: calls

(2 players - 21000 in pot)
River: J6453 rainbow
Hero: checks
MP: checks

MP: Shows KKT5
Hero gets 3/4 pot

Analysis:
Preflop/Flop: This seems ok.
Turn: This may be a spew, since there's not too many hands that hero beats that call. But it might be a limit/pot limit distinction where hero bets turn in limit, but rarely bets turn in PL.
River: It feels like a check/fold as villain's range has a lot of A2xx that backed into a wheel and would bet. It seems less like 6/7/8 high straights w/o lows as many would have bet/raised the turn, IMO.

Hero's stack: 30k

------------
Villain (v1) in this hand was a bad maniac who seemed to just chase with any sort of draw in HU/3 way situations. V2 is an unknown.

hero on button: dealt AKK7 (A7 suited)

v1: raises
v2: calls
hero: calls
sb: folds
bb: folds

(3 players - 12000 in pot)
flop: KT6 two tone
v1: bets
hero: raises
v2: folds
v1: calls

(2 players - 20000 in pot)
turn: KT68 (two tone)
v1: bets
hero: raises
v1: calls

(2 players - 36000 in pot)
river: KT682 (no flush completes)
v1: checks
hero: bets
v1: calls

Villain: Had ATT5 ss!

Analysis:
Preflop: KKxx set mining value
Flop: Mandatory raise for value with nuts.
Turn: Same as flop.
This villain had very little idea of what he was doing. The villain flop/turn bets make little sense. Hero was raising for value on flop/turn
River: River bet seems good as villain's range is extremely wide with many worse high hands (sets/2 pairs) that could call. Although villain could have a low (in which case bet has no value) or QJxx...

Hero's stack = 29k.

------------
Hero's stack: 28k at 2k/4k blinds; 4k/8k limits
Hero dealt in BB: Ad Tx 6y 5d

folds to button
Button: limps
SB: completes
BB: hero checks

(3 players - pot = 12k)
Flop: Qc 4d 2s
SB: checks
BB (hero): checks
Button: bets
SB: folds
hero: raises
Button: calls

(2 players - pot = 28k)
Turn: Qc 4d 2s 9h
hero: bets
Button: calls

(2 players - pot = 40k)
River: Qc 4d 2s 9h 9d
hero: bets
Button: Says "I have to call, the pot is too big".
Button shows: 44xx (naked middle set, no low)
Hero's out in 19th.

Analysis:
Flop: This seemed about right. It would have been better to have a pair, but gutshot + nfd + 2nd nut low draw seemed really great.
Strength of the line might get villain to fold...
But, the problem is that villain seemed to play straightforward and was weak-tight.
Villain betting flop reps strength/made hand - although range could be [2 pairs+sets].
River: Firing River barrel is important because sets (that became boats) would do same thing + it may fold out some better hands (such as naked pair+ draws that missed (like top pair with oesd or low draw)).

------------
Hero out in 19th of 87 runners. The tournament stopped and 2 table redraw occurred.

Post Analysis: After talking with a tournament player the next day, the players agreed to pay 2x buyin after they got down to 18 players :(

PLO Cash Games at Playground Poker Club

Overall Cash Game Notes:
After waiting ~2 hours, I finally got onto 1-2 PLO. Many people at table asked, and the game was converted to 2-5 PLO ($200 min, $2k max).
1. Chopped pots (when not run twice) do not result in rake!
2. Rake is 5% up to $14 though.
3. Converting USD -> CAD is generally best at casinos/poker places.
Playground exchanged .961 USD -> 1 CAD (~3%)
Most other places allowed CAD -> USD exchange if they had supply at 1:1 rate.

A person checked behind with the nuts on the river IP. He was immediately called out by dealer that he could get kicked out for "checking the nuts on the river". It could have been soft playing, but didn't seem that way.

-------------
Hand History:
Hero asked table if they were willing to change it to 2-5 PLO. When the answer was yes, hero came over and bought in for 200bb. Hero did a straddle when entering.

This is 2nd hand of session.

hero in sb - 200bb stack
bb - 40bb stack

hero dealt in SB: AT76 (AT)(76)
folds to hero in sb
hero: limps
BB: raises
hero: calls

(2 players - 6bb in pot)
flop: KQQ (hero had 7 high flush draw)
hero: checks
BB: bets 5bb
hero: folds

Analysis:
Preflop: An argument can be made for limp/call or raise/call. In hindsight, raise/call is probably better.
Flop: Hero should have check/raised flop as villain's range is wide here to cbet this flop and hero has some nuttish outs against trips.

-------------
hero dealt in HJ: AT98 (AT, 98 double suited)

folds to MP:
MP (loose player): raises pot
1 fold
hero: reraises
button: flat calls
SB: folds
BB: 4 bets (all in for ~40bb)
MP: calls
Hero: calls
Button: calls

remaining stack sizes:
MP: 40bb
Hero: 90bb
Button: 80bb

(4 players, 1 all in - pot = 160bb)
Flop: J74 rainbow (hero has back door nut flush draw)

MP: bets all in
Hero: reraises all in
Button: tanks/folds

MP: Shows AJT6 (top pair)

(3 players all in)
Turn: J747 (2 tone)
River: J7477

Hero makes ~10bb with AQ high!
Button who folded was massively tilted and had to leave the table because he would have had quads.

Analysis:
Preflop: Hero 3b loose player in position seemed ok as other players seemed to be playing straight forward and decent chance hero can got it to HU pot.
Flop: With so much money in pot, folding with (likely) 9 nut outs & back door flush draw is bad with so much money in pot. Getting button to fold was great.

-------------
No other really interesting hands in the session.
Overall, the table was half composed of PLO players (mainly from Toronto) who had busted from the MTT, while the other half were random NLHE converts that really did not know what they were doing.

550 PLO MTT at Playground Poker Club

550 PLO MTT at Playground Poker Club

Hero was at late registered table (table 63).
Tables are 8 handed!
3 lives: 10k bullets, blinds start at 50/100.

table 1 (table #63)
1 - TAG AFAIK and only saw one showdown
2 - no reads
3 - random woman; seemed to be a NLHE player
4 - unknown; eventually determined to be bad player who possibly played cash
5 - hero
6 - partypoker hat player; eventually determined to be amateur
7 - canadian poker/hockey player - phil kessel?; seemed to understand how PLO is played, but not sure of skill level
8 - seemed to be internet player; said eventually he played a lot of PLO mainly, but only played NLHE 1.1k + me

------------
Play started 5 handed (3, 4, 5, 6, 8)
Player 8 had made 2-3 aggressive plays early (pre flop raiser; bet on flop and/or turn) and had gained some chips.

6 - limped
8 - raised on the button
hero in sb called

Hero in BB: dealt AKT6 (AT K6 double suited)

(3 players - 950 in pot)
Flop: QT6 rainbow
Hero: checks
6: bets 600
8: raises to 2000
hero: tanks, reraises to 7200
6: folds
8: raises all in
hero: calls

V1: shows QQ95 (Q5 suited, no flush draw)

(2 players, 1 all in)
Turn: QT64 two tone (hero has backdoor K-high flush draw)
River: QT644 two tone (hero has backdoor K-high flush draw)

Analysis:
1. Villain (seat 8) who raised on flop seemed very active when we started 4-5 handed. He seemed to be aggressive.
2. Villain (seat 8) raised PFR on dry board.
3. Hero suspected there was some fold equity from villain (seat 8), but maybe this is inaccurate. None of the 3 players in the pot had gotten to showdown.
4. Hero had blockers to sets except top set...
5. Hero thought he was in best hand or best draw category. Hero crushes naked wraps and has some blockers to nut wraps.
6. It feels like a cooler, but hero thought villain may raise with wrap, wrap+pair here a ton against likely random player to get value...and villain had shown previous aggression.
7. Villain (seat 8) later told me "why did you jam to get the other player out of the pot"?

------------
Other notes/interesting situations:
Seat 8 seemed to be very active, but seemed to be competent when getting stacks in. My imperssion was that he was playing loose to take advantage of the weak table.
That villain was involved 2 times in freeroll situations with nut straight+.

1. 1st time with overwrap on rainbow board. Villain c/r PFR to get stacks in on 875 rainbow board and both players had 96. Villain didn't win any freeroll money with overwrap (T96x.
2. 2nd time with bdfd + overwrap on 985 two tone. (JT76)
3. Got it in kind of bad with naked wrap (AJTx) on KQx board against villain with AKJT (top pair + wrap).
4. Sucked out in huge 4 way pot with short stacks(not much behind when money got in) when villain got in with 9422 in sb (92 suited), turned flush draw, and rivered flush. Villain was up to ~50k with 2 rebuy chips.

Another LOL situation:
4 way limped pot
board: JK662
checked around completely on flop and turn
seat 7 (bb) on river bets 2500 into ~3000 pot
2 players fold
button calls

seat 7 shows 6622!
villain mucks and doesn't even sound like villain had jjxx or kkxx....

------------
hero's stack at first break:
5300 + 1 "life" = 15300
blinds: 300/600

------------
2nd table (was at table for ~45 min.)

1 - empty
2 - Foreign player
3 - Netaw? seemed like competent PLO player
4 - hero
5 - unknown
6 - unknown
7 - female player
8 - no reads

Interesting MTT situation (AKA ask SavagePoker on twitter (Matt Savage)):
When hero was just moved to this table, the floor was trying to figure out what to do in this situation:
A bullet from player 1 was not "redeemed" up during the break. Eventually, villain gets all in and busted.
It was only discovered when counting chips that the rebuy bullet was found.
Based on players at table, floor takes 5 minutes to decide, then finally decides to award busted player their additional life (10k and MTT life).
Floor eventually apologizes.

--------------
--------------
These hands occurred within ~3 hands of sitting down and occurred within span of 5 or so hands.
seat 1 - hj (villain): 15k - player who just sat down at table a couple hands
seat 4 - co (hero): ~13k
seat 5 - button: 50k

blinds: 400/800

hero in CO: dealt AKJ7 (AJ)(K7)
HJ (PFR) - raises to 2100
CO (hero) - calls
button - calls

(7500 in pot - 3 players)
flop: 732 (two tone, hero had backdoor nut flush)
hj: checks
hero: thinks, checks
button: bets 5k
hj: check/raises all in
hero tanks/folds
button: tanks, talks for a little bit, then folds

Analysis:
Hero was thinking about c/r all in, except HJ beat hero to punch.
HJ eventually said they had 7+ other things (maybe gut shot/oesd).

--------------
hero dealt UTG: QT98 (q9 suited)
hero: limps
HJ (seat 6): raises to 2000
2 other players call
hero calls

(4 players in pot = 8000 in pot)
flop: 747 rainbow
hero eventually check folds 747 flop

--------------
villain was likely MTT pro who raised preflop.
PFR was 4th to act of 5 players
4 callers (including hero)
weird 1500 bet into 6500 on a65 two tone...

Hero dealt in MP+1: 9764 rainbow

1 limp
hero: calls
5: raises
6: calls
1 player calls
hero: call

(4 players - 6500 in pot)
flop: A65 two tone (hero has no flush draw)
3 checks
random young Asian player (who seemed like NLHE MTT pro): bets 1500
all players fold
hero: thinks for a bit, then folds.

hero had gutter + pair....jam all in
Analysis: These really small villain bets by "MTT pros" always seem to be really weird. I suspect it's a bet/fold a ton, and perhaps I should have done that as he probably

----------------
Another interesting situation:
blinds: 400/800
both villains had ~45k starting
lady limped UTG
seat 4 (who was PFR in 1 hand to my right): raised about pot (3000)
folds to UTG
UTG reraises (to about 14000)
PFR: calls

(30k pot - 2 players)
board: K6T64 (flush draw on flop never completes)
both villains check flop/turn/river.

Lady had aaxx
Villain: mucks
Villain (the initial PFR) was thinking about betting turn, but decided not to bet. Stack sizes were also awkward according to villain with regards to jamming flop.

-------------
3rd table (table 53).
Hero sat down as BB and watched blinds go pass.
Level went up to 500/1000
Hero's stack: 3500 (3.5 bb)

Hero in HJ: dealt A954 (A5 suited)

Folds to hero in HJ
Hero: raises all in
Button (who hadn't played too many hands) - called
BB - thought about it and called.

Q684T (two tone on flop, but never completes on river)
BB hits gutter on river (kj95?) and knocks 2 people out (including other villain with akj3 with flush draw).

Analysis:
Really bad mental mistake!
Once down to ~5-10BB, hero was mentally reviewing open-jam range(AK**, JJ**+) and noted it 2x. So, when it finally folded to hero in CO, Hero made stupid mistake.
It was kind of funny that hero actually had best hand on the turn with a pair of 4s.

-----------------
Busted around 80th of ~120 runners.

My overall impression (which included consulting some other people): there were a lot of people that did not know what they were doing, whether they were (NLHE) MTT pros, NLHE players who never played PLO, kind of bad live PLO cash game players, etc...
An example: one live player couldn't resist calling on paired board with bad (non-top) trips.

Updates, Updates, Updates...

I started a 2+2 PC&G thread which i'm updated on occasion.
Daily online grind + biweekly live sessions have been consistent.

I'm now focusing on trying to improve mental game while fixing/improving technical (poker) aspects in about 50-50 ratio.

One example is bet/fold => if called; check/fold on any remaining streets.

It's most prevalent on paired boards in PLO:

II. Poker Maximus III is coming soon and I may play some/most events. At a glance...

11/30 (Fri) 8:00PM EST $60 PLO8

12/2 (Sun) 6:00PM EST $33 HORSE

12/4 (Tue) 8:00PM EST $60 PLO

12/7 (Fri) 8:30PM EST $33 PLO

12/7 (Fri) 9:00PM EST $60 Stud/8

12/8 (Sat) 6:00PM EST $60 PLO8

III. I may also be traveling in the last 2 months of the year for a live MTT.

PLO and Mental Game Leak Busting: What I thought I knew, but actually don't

PLO 101: Board Texture

No specific reads or notes on villains per se outside of HUD.

$50.00 USD PL Omaha - Monday, September 10, 11:31:46 ET 2012
Seat 4 is the button
Seat 1: Player1 ( $49.52 USD ) - VPIP: 28, PFR: 16, 3B: 1, AF: 3.5, Hands: 234
Seat 2: Player2 ( $50.00 USD ) - VPIP: 18, PFR: 12, 3B: 5, AF: 5.1, Hands: 561
Seat 3: Player3 ( $58.06 USD ) - VPIP: 48, PFR: 2, 3B: 0, AF: 1.1, Hands: 83
Seat 4: Hero ( $50.25 USD ) - VPIP: 24, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.2
Seat 5: Player5 ( $76.76 USD ) - VPIP: 45, PFR: 16, 3B: 8, AF: 1.1, Hands: 44
Seat 6: Player6 ( $30.91 USD ) - VPIP: 46, PFR: 13, 3B: 22, AF: 4.5, Hands: 39
Player5 posts small blind [$0.25 USD].
Player6 posts big blind [$0.50 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [  4s 8s 6s 7d ]
Player1 raises [$1.33 USD]
Player3 folds
Hero raises [$3.75 USD]
Player5 calls [$3.50 USD]
Player6 folds
Player1 calls [$2.42 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9c, 5c, 8h ]
Player5 checks
Player1 checks
Hero ?

Preflop: I'm not sure if 3bet is necessarily good preflop. I didn't have any super great reads on UTG (ie: villain folds to cbets in 3b pots), so I think this is likely a spew.
The bigger factor though: 2 players are likely cold calling in blinds.
My hand isn't too strong multiway in terms of flush draw strength...

Flop:
What should hero's action be?
Flop Texture:
2 tone, so lots of flush draws have huge amounts of equity.
2 connected high cards in a row = lots of wraps!

Hero's Hand Strength: Mediocre made straight, no redraw.

The nuts will RARELY be the same by the river.
board pair
flush card
TJQ bring higher straights.

safe cards: 4/3/2/A

I'm pretty sure, hero should NEVER bet here. If safe card comes, then bet turn possibly. Freerolls/bad equity abound.

Actual Result:
1. At least I thought about it!
2. Let's just say, I haven't learned my lesson if I'm bet/calling (bet, call raise).
TBH, Hopefully writing this post will engrave in my head (hopefully soon), as I'm sure I haven't truly learned it if

Mental Game Problems and Realizing I'm not Learning
a. I wasn't 100% focused
b. I shouldn't be 6 tabling (I was actually trying to close out action).
c. I said my thought process out loud, then promptly went against it by bet/calling.

Poker Maximus II Mid-Series Update

The mental game is something I've been working on earnestly. A defined warm up and cool down period has really helped me vent and play a "B or A" game more consistently.
There are still relapses in the online or live sessions, but they seem to happen less. I feel like I'm processing information better, but still have room for lots of improvement in consistently thinking about the "consistent algorithm".

I also started a goals thread on 2+2: From Small Stakes PLO8 --> Small Stakes PLO: Improving Quality of Play

Event #13 - $60 PLHE/PLO8 - Good job Merge on hiding this tournament under Draw & Other Games -> Mixed Games. I'm pretty sure very few PLO8 MTTers knew about it.
I was fortunate to play this event, but was not playing very well at all...still got decently far, but far from a cash, and for from being happy with my play.

Upcoming
Event #25 - $60 PLO
Event #28 - $33 PLO8

I was thinking about playing Event #22 - $33 HORSE, but it's so late on a weeknight (Wed @ 9:00PM EST) that it doesn't make sense to try to get even ITM in < 4 hours.

New Goals: Not Spewing and New Horizons

Post-WSOP, I've quietly moved up with a small online bankroll boost. I've "properly rolled" myself to play 50plo.

According to my DB, it looks like I'm a rakeback pro at 25plo for the past year (barely closing in on 0!, but keep losing flips :P) over a medium (15k) sample size. Combined with my prior volume on Full Tilt, this seems about right (I am pretty much a rakeback pro, although the trend has been more upward after leaking busting). I feel that I can learn faster (and not be a rake victim) by going onto 50plo - http://quadrophobia.com/5-leaks-that-leave-you-stuck-at-plo-50/. (My new favorite blog).

Obviously, this is an excuse and I feel it has way more to do with table selection (or my sometimes lazy desire to hang in there) and my "autopilot problems" than anything else.

Additionally, this has come at a cost:
1. I'm likely spewing now at 100plo8. I think I need to "warm up" better and try to ensure I put in adequate volume. The problem is...well, the game rarely gets off and most days, I'm "thinking" i can just jump into that game.
2. Being humble: I have to find the time to work on my small stakes PLO8 game if I want to be able to sit in at the (sometimes) soft PLO8 games. I don't think I really table selected in this spot, even though there were "fish" at the table. My mind was just in default barrelling mode.

Short Term Goals:
1. Proper warmup! Especially for the game(s) I plan to play that particular session (PLO8 especially since I don't focus on that as much anymore).
2. Quit playing 5+ tables. Close a table before going to 5 instead of trying to "scope the action" with multiple tables online.
3. Trying to avoid spew in live play. It happens periodically, but then I feel like I don't get into tough situations unless they're in bunches...

Ultimately, my "warmup" should look as follows:

1. take deep breath before acting.
2. slow down | be thorough & work through all aspects of hand.
3. observe, pay attention to details, and write notes in notepad

In terms of my "algorithm" for play:


1. examine villain bet size & analyze hands/ranges based on player/stack/range
2. work through & think ahead about all possible actions (and future action/cards)
3. remember hero's perception (for thinking players)
4. summarize/create actionable plans against villains
5. when raised/unexpected action, slow down and think through actions

2012 LV Trip Summary

1. It was great to catch up with friends from previous LV trips (and other poker trips). There's only been a couple constants over 3 LV trips.
2. Finally cashing in a PLO8 MTT after 12 or so live entries.
3. Cash gaming was generally great, but definitely didn't put in as many hours as desired.
4. Playing consistently and comfortably in Big "O" and PLO8 cash games.
5. Meeting Dan Harrington briefly.
6. My table got on PokerNews: I was actually at same table that Lee Watkinson got moved to where he "busted and came back": http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2012-world-series-of-poker/event-47-pot-limit-omaha-hi-low-split-8-or-better/post.206731.htm
7. Feeling prepared for the PLO8 MTTs after much online prep.
8. Realizing there's still lots of NLHE/PLHE leaks in my game.
9. My note taking has been degrading...it should be improved upon.
10. Sadly, regrets were not jazz gigging or playing any mixed games (like 10 game satellite).

1-2-5 PLO8 Cash Game @ Venetian

Venetian runs a 1-2 PLO8 with 5 bringin. (Straddles as UTG or button = 10). Max buyin = 1000. Hero decided to play this after meeting up with friend playing 600 NLHE MTT.

---------------

1st hand:
about 20 hands into session

reads:
seat 1 - saw chasing naked nut 32 low and called it down; seemed to have high VPIP
seat 2 - "bugs" - for a little bit; played lots of PLO8 events
seat 3 – a friend from a lot of PLO8 MTTs for a little bit, then PS person
seat 4 - hero

hero did mississippi straddle on button

Effective stacks: 1k (200bb @ 5 bring in)
Reads:
UTG Villain seemed fishy and chased naked low.

preflop:
Hero: dealt aa44 (a4 suited)
hero had button straddle
3 limpers
Hero: raised pot to 50
hero raised pot when 3 players called straddle

(4 players to flop - 200/40bb in pot)
A3J rainbow
checks to hero
hero bets: 150
utg: calls

everyone else folds

(2 players - 500/100bb in pot)
A3J 7 (two tone)
utg: checks
hero: bets 300
utg: calls

(2 players - 1100 in pot/220bb)
A3J 7 4 (no flush on river)
utg: bets AI for (500)
hero: tanks/calls

villain: shows 33xx (no low)
hero: wins pot

Analysis:
Flop: Standard
Turn: It might be a little marginal as it brings a low (but no straights/flushes), but still getting value from tons of high hands.
After talking with friend about it, villain's continuing range could have some 24xx, but more likely lots of high hands (a7/aj, etc...)
River: was a tank/call. The pot was so huge that even if villain has low, hero doesn't have to be right a huge amount of time (~33%).
The only "straight" that got there was a gut shot (245x) wrap, which was not a huge part of calling range.

PPT: It looks like it's actually an easier call.
Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation ?
5,700 trials (Exhaustive)
board: Ad 3h Js 7s 4d
Hand  Equity      Scoops      Wins Hi     Ties Hi     Wins Lo     Ties Lo
33, aj, a2:ss, 245      42.89%      862   862   0     4,028 0
ahas4c4h    57.11%      1,672 4,838 0     0     0

---------------

2nd hand:
villain seemed to be playing really loose, but sounded like he understood the game AFAIK.

Effective stacks: 1k (200bb @ 5 bring in)
hero: dealt aj53 with no flush draw.

(2 players - $40/8bb)
Js 2x 6s 3x Qs
Hero: bets ($30/6bb)
Villain: calls
 

(2 players - 100/20bb)
Js 2x 6s 3x

hero checks
villain bets: $75 (15bb)
hero: calls

 (2 players - 250/50bb)

Js 2x 6s 3x Qs
hero: checks
villain: checks
villain: J3HH no spades

hero gets 3/4

Analysis:
Flop: Betting with TPTK tptk + nld to price out other hands with less equity and get money from villain who likely is equity underdog.
Turn: It might be close to bet/call versus check/call. The 3's a counterfeit card and hero likely has best high hand + 2nd nut low.
Thinking back, only really gutshots get there on turn. Hero probably should have just continued aggression.
River: Labored and thought it through before checking. There's arguments for bet/calling, bet/folding, and check/calling.
20:20 hindsight - maybe it's slightly better to donk bet/call here.

bet/call - This could be the best option as hero is rarely getting scooped. This may get value from many hands which hero could scoop (like: A5J, A53, etc...)
bet/call - problem: Hero calling raise when likely only raised by flushes. It’s tougher because guessing to see if hero's low is good enough (likely it is good, unless villain has something like a34 with spades).
bet/fold - If hero assumes villain will only raise nut flush + low...this seems kinda spewy b/c hero may fold 1/2 of pot.
check/call – This allows villain to continue bluff; Also, rarely getting scooped (a4 w/ flush or rare 2 pair/set). But, hero’s not sure if villain calls worse more often.

Villain mentions that after seeing me hero call earlier (in 1st hand), he didn't think I'd fold if he had bet.

Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation ?
600,000 trials (Randomized)
board: Js 2x 6s 3x
Hand  Equity      Scoops      Wins Hi     Ties Hi     Wins Lo     Ties Lo
a3, jj, j6, a$w$w:ss, a4      46.49%      86,126      254,616     20,211      267,920      50,479
ac jh 3s 5d 53.51%      114,518     325,173     20,211      281,601     50,479

Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation ?
54,369 trials (Exhaustive)
board: Js 2x 6s 3x Qs
Hand  Equity      Scoops      Wins Hi     Ties Hi     Wins Lo     Ties Lo
a3, jj, j6, a$w$w:ss, a4      55.24%      10,740      31,845      1,020 26,022      3,369
ac jh 3s 5d 44.76%      5,166 21,504      1,020 24,978      3,369

---------------

Hero drove to Rio, but 1-2 Big "O" games didn't seem that good.

Attempt to Satellite into WSOP 2.5k 10 game

After talking with table a ton, at least 1 or 2 guys (including the guy who was drawing very well) agreed with going and trying to satellite into 10-game.

Off the Rio...

After looking at the structure the night before, it actually seemed quite good for a ~480 MTT. Game changes every 4 hands, but levels are 20 minutes.

TBH, this probably should have been my priority over Badugi MTT. It may have been more profitable, although it would have been nice to lock up a Badugi MTT cash.

Unfortunately, the last 2 10 game satellites got off the ground ~20 min. before I got there.

There was a list of 3 names (including mine) to get the 6 handed satellite off the ground, but it was not meant to be.

On the upside, it was cool to catch up and rail a friend in the 5k NLHE for a little bit while waiting to see if the satellite would get off the ground.

240 Badugi MTT @ Golden Nugget

12000 starting chips at 50/100 level and 40 min. levels

The MTT structure honestly was kind of bad. Limits don't become significant unless level 4.

Hero late registered into MTT at about 1:40, about half way into level 3.

Fortunately, reviewed strat the night before, but haven't really played much badugi since 10-game MTT online at Full Tilt a year ago.

---------------

Lineup:

1 - unknown

2 - hero

3 - guy who just kept leaving and didn't really even play 1 or 2 hands

4 - seemed like competent person

5 - guy who kept drawing super well

6 - unknown

---------------

draw format:

villain draw / villain 2 draw / hero draw

folds to hero on button

hero opens button open with 5axx

1 call by bb

2 / 2

hero still has 5axx

villain check

hero check

2 / 2

villain bets

hero folds after bricking on 5axx draw

Analysis: Pot too small and villain shows aggression. With 2 card hand and 1 draw to go, easy fold.

---------------

hero was OOP against same villain from previous hand after calling raise with A2xx

villain draw / hero draw

2 / 2

bet / call

1 / 1

bet / raise / 3b

Ad 2c 2s th

0 /0

led river after patting river

villain called again

villain shows 8 badugi

hero mucks

Analysis:

Hero tried to snow in a seemingly good spot with blockers to 2s, but maybe it wasn't great spot to jam.

---------------

Unfortunately, lack of notes and not really wanting to commit stuff to memory means this report will be brief.

(2:30PM)

Pat 9862 badugi draw. Raised/3 bet predraw

Got outdrawn in multiway pot.

Then made bad call oop with queen badugi. Down to 7600     

2/1

Check/Bet

Call

1/1

Check/Bet

Raise/Call

0/0

Bet/Call

---------------

5:53PM: Bleeding. Blind defense. Do i fold 65a against guy betting 8 in previous bvb? 5900

In BvB, this seems fine to defend with 65a, but is definitely a lower tier hand to defend.

     

5:59P: Ok. Road to bust is on. Getting owned. Down to 2900 

6:06P: Another failed blind defense. 1700 at 200 400 

At this point, memory failure mainly b/c the hands themselves were just frustrating.

May have had ~meh 3 card hands (8 low 3 card hands), but villains were standing pat and hero bricked on 1st draw and had to fold when villain stood pat on 2nd draw.

---------------

150/300 (75/150 blinds)

hero: dealt 52ax

hero: CO

folds to seat 3

3: raises

hero: 3 bets

3: reraises

hero: caps (5 bets max)

3: calls

(1500 - 2 players)

1/1

hero: bets AI (150)

3: calls

1/1

1/1

Villain turns over last draw with 6xxx badugi

Hero has 6 outs

Hero turns over last card - J

---------------

Hero busts: 24/24!

Summary: Yup, first time I've ever been first to bust.

Only 24 players and it only took 2 hours! Yeah, there was some LOL draw variance, but I can also attribute it to spews/bad call downs.

5-5 Big "O" Cash Game @ Rio

Two players overall seemed to be very gamble happy. EP player was not. Hero had position on both of them.
Effective stacks: 140bb

EP (500): flatted
HJ (2k): flatted
CO (2k): flatted
Hero raised on button with AKQ52 (A2 suited)
EP: called
HJ: called
CO: called

(4 players to flop – 160 in pot)
T53 two tone (hero has NFD)
EP: checks
HJ: checks
hero bet 4/5 pot
EP: folds
HJ: villain looks at my stack, then check raises pot
hero goes all in
HJ: calls

it's agreed to run it twice.
villain shows naked top set, no low (ex: TTAKQ)
Hero held nut flush + nut low draws.

Hero scooped first board with flush.
Hero chopped second board when low came on turn.

No really interesting hands otherwise.

+308 - 5/5 big o
~1 hour session

600 PLO MTT @ Venetian

12000 starting chips at 25/25 blinds with 40 min. levels and reentry

Hero late registered around 5:25PM (tourney started at 4:00PM) and missed first 2 levels.

It would have helped to remember/realize that it was taking place at the Palazzo. Unfortunately, parking at the Venetian meant an additional 5-10 minutes of trying to find it.

Hero saw 1 playable hand in the 1 rotation other than 1 player building up a stack.

There was the standard people gambling before the end of the reentry period and one person busted, but otherwise it was uneventful.

---------------

Hero's stack: around 14.3k at first break.

---------------

An interesting hand which eliminated 2 people in level 4:

4c 4h 2c

Sadly, I do not remember all the action, but I think it involved the following:

[unknown preflop action]

checks to CO who bets

SB raises

BB tanks/folds

CO raises all in

SB calls.

(2 players all in)

turn: 6c

BB (who tanked/folded) had an OESD (5c 3c x x) and was upset on seeing the turn

CO had a4xx with 2 other live over kickers

BB had 22xx and it held.

---------------

Hero was very quiet/tight (usually was PFR and hero folded junk).

Hero maybe played 1 hand in 2-3 levels (suited ace in limped pot) but was not in any profitable situations.

Thus, hero had tight table image.

In this hand, PFR (HJ) seemed to be opening a lot of pots to 2-2.5x (maybe VPIP/PFR of 30/22 in FR which is loose). In about 4-5 rotations, saw this villain raise 6-8x.

CO: looser player, but seemed to be competent

effective stack sizes: ~13k @ 100/200

hero dealt: AK32 (A3)(K2) double suited

folds to player in HJ

HJ opens to 2.5x (standard opening raise size for this player) - ~500)

CO: calls

Hero 3b to 1750

HJ 4b to 5k

looser player calls in CO

hero flat calls 5k

(~15k in pot, hero has ~8k left)

flop: K82 (two tone, hero has flush draw)

HJ (PFR/4b): bets ~3k

CO calls

Hero: raises all in for 8k

villain calls

CO calls

(~39k in pot; hero is AI)

turn: K82J (two tone; hero has FD)

PFR/4b: bets enough to put other person all in

CO: folds

river: K82J5 (two tone; hero misses flush)

hero is out around level 5 (~280/362)

Analysis:

Not sure if played correctly. After talking it over with some other people, 5b jam might have been best.

It can be super exploitable to c/f on bad flops....

Ultimately, chips still got in on the flop, so nothing ultimately changed per se.

Other analysis:

Source 1: Vanessa Selbst talks about it in duck's dog days donkaments (episode 8: 25:20 time mark)

villain played it perfectly by betting small into hero (and other player), hero has to turn "hand face up" and/or fold super cheaply.

Source 2 - A friend's analysis:

It's a disaster if something like AK2* doesn't get it in.

It's very likely any of the following could happen (where hero has enough equity to get it in on most flops)

AK is "best hand" combo and wins when no one else gets pair.

Hero rarely doesn't flop pair/fd/straight draw/any sort of equity.

Ultimately, chips should go in preflop, but no harm no foul in this spot.

240 PLO/PLHE MTT @ Golden Nugget

12000 starting chips at 25/50 (PLO) with 40 min. levels.

table lineup:
1 - "HORSE" grinder?/wore headphones
2 - bet/jammed with tptk in plhe
3 - unknown
4 - unknown
5 - unknown person, then lady
6 - knew guy in seat 9; 3better?
7 - hero
8 - tightish/quiet guy
9 - canadian person; showed lots of hands face up often

This was ~30-40 min. into the MTT. Blinds 25/50
Hero dealt AAK4 with 1 suit (A4)

ep villain: raised
6: flat called
hero 3 bet
folds to original ep
ep: 4 bets
6: flats
Hero: flats (should have 5 bet jammed)

~8000 with 3 players
flop: QJ7 two tone (hero has no flush draw)
original PFR checks
player in seat 6 donk led pot
hero tanks/folds
original PFR folds

Analysis: Absolute mistake after 3 betting not to 5b/call it off.
Additionally, was actually trying to run up a big stack or bust to go the Venetian, yet I did the EXACT opposite.

Hero's stack: 9500
---------------
 

NLHE level 2

Tweet: Squeeze for value in small blind. Then have gotten 3 bet isoed by BB. Then 4 bet by co raise.
I don't remember my hand when I tweeted this (perhaps it was AQo).

Hero dealt AQo

folds to CO

5: she raises
6: button folds
7: hero 3b in SB
8: BB 4 bets
5: folds
hero folds

Analysis:
This was my 1st squeeze in PLHE. It seemed like it was for value, but easy fold.
BB shows KK

A little bit later on, Hero 3bet in LP against another player who 4b hero and hero folds…
[Running tally: I've 3b/folded 3x now in 2 rotations of PLHE]

---------------
effective stacks of ~7500 @ 100/200.
hero dealt: 77
UTG+2 raises
folds to hero on CO
hero 3b
villain thinks for a little bit, looks at my stack, then 4b

Analysis: Pretty sure my big bet (PLHE/NLHE) is super rusty, but looking back...should have flatted and decided to bluff some flops/turns instead of turning this into a 3b/4b war preflop.
It also sucks b/c my image was pretty bad and was turning hand into bluff for no reason and folding out hands which hero could be dominating.

---------------
During this entire time, there was a constant theme in hero's talk:
1. I'm not really sure why I registered for this MTT.
2. I'm trying to find a good spot to get it in and either double up or go to the Venetian.

---------------

Hero’s stack: around 5k

Folds to seat 5

seat 5 (older woman) raised in MP to 600
hero flat called with 87s

(2 players – 1500 in pot)
jt7 two tone
5: bets 1200

Hero: tanks, then quietly puts out a near PSB raise (with about 1/3 psb left behind)
5: villain thinks for a short while, then folds. she says she had AJo and said it looked extremely strong.

Analysis:

hero had fd+pair+gutshot?
Honestly, hero was gambling here in a really good spot (decent equity) with flush draw, pair, and gutshot straight draw.
It definitely seemed standard, and it's hard to know what villain thought...other than saying later that hero’s image was really tight at the time.

---------------

Hero’s stack: about 8k
PLO: 250/500

Seat 6 (who had donk led a couple times in previous PLO spots) raises in HJ.
Hero 3b with AKQ6 (AQ)
villain flat calls.
 

(2 players: 8k in pot)
flop: A29 two tone (hero has no flush draw)
villain checks
hero bets AI for 40% pot
villain calls
villain shows AKT5 w/ flush draw.

Villain hits flush on river and hero is out.
 

---------------

Hero busted around level 7. ~38/52.
After waiting 5-10 minutes, hero decides to drive quickly to the Venetian for the $600 PLO MTT (which was in late registration.)

240 PLO8 MTT @ Caesar's

15000 starting chips with 50/100 blinds and 30 min levels with reentry

1st table reads:

1 – unknown at first, then eventually large, young asian player sits here; see player later at 2.5k 10-game

2 - unknown

3 - mid-age asian player, seemed very aggressive but with high VPIP

4 - older guy with glasses, found out to be p5er too

5 - person seemed to overplay nut lows

6 - unknown

7 - hero

8 - pocket fiver (bigger guy)

9 - younger person

---------------

Twitter:

Someone already busted at my table. Standard though. Pretty sick. Also apparently in lag mode. Three pots won. "

Self note: My trip report quality has suffered post-twitter. This is a signal to stop posting on twitter and just write notes on paper. It makes trip report writing that much tougher.

Unfortunately, no notes on the bustout hand.

At this juncture, was getting really premium hands, hitting flops, but unfortunately not getting stacks.

---------------

level 3: 150/300 blinds

Twitter: 3/4 plo8 fish overvaluing naked a2 with turned straight and nut low. 15k to 27k.

hero: dealt a257 (a25)

5 - limps in MP

6 - hero raises to 1000

2 other players call behind hero

(pot: 4000 - 4 players)

flop: 6h 4h 7s

villain pots flop

hero calls

other 2 players fold

(pot: 12000 - 2 players)

turn: 6h 4h 7s 3s (two flush on turn, hero has no flush draw)

villain pots turn

hero raises all in

villain calls

villain shows a2q4 no suit for pair of 4s/nut low

turn: 6h 4h 7s 3s 9x

hero 3/4 villain

hero's stack: 15k -> 27k

Analysis: Seems pretty standard. Some argument for raising on flop, but would prefer to keep multiple people in.

---------------  

Twitter Side notes:

Pocket five people. I have never seen people from that community in person.

      It sounded like they were part of the OT community. It was kind of distracting to be honest as they were "railing" 2 people.

Lol live poker. Dealer mistakenly mixed up two all in stacks. Players guessed stack sizes rather than going to camera.

      Dealers apparently were really tired (working huge numbers of shifts and 30+ consecutive days)

---------------

Level 5 Chip Count (first break)

27k going to 300/600 level

---------------

Twitter:

I apparently forgot everything and check called squeeze against aahh with aq92 With suit. Back door low. Should have not been in to start.

(hero was in sb)

Hero dealt: aq92 (A9)

relevant stack sizes:

co: ~10k

hero: 40k

bb (seat 8): ~12k

1 limper

co: raises to 2400

hero: calls

bb: raises pot to 9900 (leaving 3k behind)

co: folds

hero: tanks/raises AI

bb: calls - shows AAHH (ex) AAQJ w/ suit)

board: QJ537

hero gets half

Analysis: Hero made (small-medium sized) mistake not folding, IMO. Villain seemed straight forward TAG, so squeeze is at least AAHH.

IDK, there's definitely some argument with just flipping, but hero's guess of edge on this table seemed fairly high at that point. Also, at this juncture w/ PLO8 structure, it's not mandatory to just "60/40 underdog" flip.

Prior to this trip, ran equity sims and knew that if villain's range was perceived as very tight, this is a leak given hero's actual hand against aaxx.

Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation ?

600,000 trials (Randomized)

Hand  Equity      Scoops      Wins Hi     Ties Hi     Wins Lo     Ties Lo

AA    60.57%      249,443     421,968     7,705 74,863      43,761

As Qh 9s 2c 39.43%      134,621     170,327     7,705 177,981     43,761

Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation ?

600,000 trials (Randomized)

Hand  Equity      Scoops      Wins Hi     Ties Hi     Wins Lo     Ties Lo

AA$w  62.28%      254,967     420,857     8,327 91,347      68,016

As Qh 9s 2c 37.72%      127,307     170,816     8,327 142,689     68,016

---------------

Villain seemed like younger player and competent PLO8 player from previous conversation.

Hero dealt A3Bx (A3 suited) - ex) AQT3

folds to hero in MP

hero raised in MP to 1000

villain calls on button

(2 players - 3000 in pot)

KQ5 (monotone; hero has nut flush)

hero bets 2/3 pot

villain called IP

(2 players - pot: 7k)

KQ57 (monotone - 3 to flush)

hero checked turn

villain checked behind

(2 players - pot: 7k)

KQ57T (4 flush)

hero bets river (6500)

villain says "if you h=ad flush, you would have bet turn for protection" and calls

hero shows nut flush

villain "says had a2" and mucks.

Hero’s stack up to 37.5k.

Analysis:

TBH, villain was probably lieing.

Slow play on turn is definitely not standard line (bet turn to price out naked lows), but seemed like good proposition because:

a) sometimes villain has worse low (and won't get 1/4 anyway)

b) sometimes villain will bet turn (floating hero/picked up low draw) and hero can check/raise AI

Downsides:
a) lose value from other flushes

It definitely worked out in this spot.

hero's stack: 37.5k

---------------

Twitter:

Bet size fail against aggro MTT player. Jj6 two tone.

Villain was seat 3 who had built up a fairly large stack, but had high VPIP/PFR.

TBH, Hero's cards don't really matter other than hero flopped air.

folds to hero in HJ

Hero has: ~15% hand (AQ73 with suit)     

hero raised in MP but was called by seat 3 in BB.

villain calls in BB

Flop: JJ6 two tone

villain checks

hero bets 3/4 pot

villain check raises about 2/3 pot

hero folds

Analysis:

Hero bet too large (3/4 pot) and was check raised.

Alternatives:

1. check flop; bet turn

2. bet closer to 1/2 pot would have done the same thing.

     

---------------  

Hero has 31k

Villain has 15k to start

villain: P5er to my left. Villain was talking about his WSOP PLO8 MTT experience yesterday.

Blinds: 400/800

Folds to hero in SB

Hero raises with AQ65 with 4 to suit

Villain calls

(2 players - 4k in pot)

Flop: QJ4 with hero flush draw

Hero bets ~2.5k

Villain raises to ~10k

Hero 3bets all in

Villain calls

Villain shows AJ44

Hero bricks and is down to 16k.

Analysis:

Hero was kind of upset when hand initially played out.

Looking back:

Effective SPR = 4

Villain's jamming range could be wide in sb/bb, although villain seemed straight forward/tag.

With conservative villain jam range, definitely a bet/call seems right.

Omaha Hi/Lo Simulation ?

600,000 trials (Randomized)

board: qd js 4s

Hand  Equity      Scoops      Wins Hi     Ties Hi     Wins Lo     Ties Lo

as qs 6s 5s 40.75%      201,175     205,789     4,025 151,355     1,929

qq, jj, 44, aktss, qj   59.25%      312,844     390,186     4,025 8,898 1,929

---------------

Hero picked up some chips as a PFR before table broke.

Hero moved to new table with 21k.

Twitter note:

Lol. Drunk maniac just shipped with akq6 one suit versus tight player with aa69 one suit. Two pair suckout by villain.

Note: One player literally had no idea what they were doing (seat 6, as hero was in seat 8).

Hero picked up no hands and moved to level 9 break.

---------------

13.5k at 1k 2k. Short stack ninja mode at level 9

*Fun story:

I briefly did a multi-table and helped a friend I met at previous PLO8 MTTs start a 1-3 game while his girlfriend was still in the MTT (and at my table).

I bought in for 500 at 1/3 PLO8 and clocked 3 hands before going back to MTT.

---------------

Same villain (seat 6 maniac)

seat 6: raises

Hero flatted for 50% stack with A962 (A2)

BB: calls

(3 players - ~19k)

A27 two tone

hero checks

BB checks

(3 players - ~19k)

A27T two tone

all players check

(3 players - ~19k)

A27TA

Hero bets AI for 1/3 PSB

BB: folds

6: calls

6: shows A237 and scoops

Analysis:

Honestly, no complaints about being able to see flop with 1/3 PSB left.

It's a cooler to have walked into better boat, IMO. Only getting half from a low seemed more likely.

Hero busted in 95/236 entries.

---------------

After busting from MTT, hero wandered around, then went back and played the 1/3 PLO8 cash game for about 45 min. There were no interesting hands of note.

My friend mentioned the game was good while I was walking around (person dropped 2 buyins, then left), which was sad...