Something happened. My online poker skills seemed to have diminished. Maybe it's lack of playing. My online time has been spotty at best over the past few weeks.
Last night I played in a little tourney with a measley $100 prize pool. There were 400 players. Read it and weep...
This time I actually list every hand, so you can tell me if there are some hands I should have played but folded. The only flops I saw are mentioned.
The hands I played out have extended explanations. Every other hand was folded before the flop.
I note where I was the big blind, the small blind and the button. Hands are separated by ***.
I won the high-card draw before we started so I got the button. It was mostly downhill from there.
BUTTON: Js-7d***8s-3h***6d-2h***6s-4h***Ad-6s, called 10 blind, nothing on the flop
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Hand #6
I'm in an early position with 990 chips when I get a pair of 10's.
I raise to 3x the blind (30) and get two callers.
The flop is Qs-Ac-Qd. Ugh. I check, and the next guy bets 105. I fold, so does the other guy.
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Qh-Jd, raised in front of me***9s-7s***BIG 10: 9h-5h, raised in front of me***LITTLE 5: 4s-3d***BUTTON: 9c-2d***Ad-8c, raised in front of me***Qs-5c***Kd-2s***Qc-7d***As-2d***Kc-8d***BIG 20: Ah-8d, K-Q-7c flop***LITTLE 10: As-8c, 6-4-7 (two hearts) flop***BUTTON: Ad-7d, BIG raise in front of me
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Hand #21
I'm in a late position with 895 chips when I get cowboys.
I raise the big blind of 20 to 100 and get two callers.
The flop is Qd-9d-8c. That doesn't bother me too much. My pocket pair beats any pair from the board. The diamonds present a potential flush, but my biggest worry is the straight potential. The guy in front of me bets the minimum 20, and I raise, betting the pot of 390. Both call... uh oh.
The turn is a Jh. I suddenly hate my hand. Any 10 beats me. A guy goes all-in in front of me and I fold.
The second guy calls however and we get a showdown. 9h-Jd (two pair) vs 8-8 (trips).
The river brings an A, no help to either, and the trips win. I would have lost to both hands. I'm down to 405
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Ah-4s***9s-4h***6h-6c, big raise after I called 20 blind so I fold, some guy flopped the nut flush***10s-6d***BIG 30: Js-9h, no help on flop***LITTLE 15: 7c-6d
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MOVED TO NEW TABLE
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BUTTON: 7c-6h
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Hand #40
I'm in a late position with 340 chips when I get a pair of 7's.
I merely call the big blind of 30 and seven players are in the pot.
The flop is 6h-4s-3h. With 210 in the pot, and 310 left in front of me, I figure now is as good of time as ever to go all-in. Amazingly, I get three callers. Now I'm worried.
The turn is a Qs. No help for me, and now a Q beats me. There are now two hearts and two spades, not to mention the straight potential. The other three players all check.
The river floats me a beauty, the 5 of diamonds. That means the only hand that beats me is 7-8, and since I've got two 7's, the likelihood of that is slim. They all check again.
Showdown:
Guy #1 has 6d-5h, and has two pair
Guy #2 has Ah-3d, just a pair of 3's
Guy #3 has Ac-Kh, he's got just an Ace high
My straight holds up and I'm up to 1495 now.
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10c-9d***Qc-9h***8d-3s
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Hand #44
I'm in an early position with 1495 chips when I get another pair of 10's.
I raise the big blind of 30 to 60. Three others call.
The flop is Ac-Qh-2h. Terrible, terible flop for me. I check and the player after me bets 285. I have to fold.
Eventually two players are all-in, one shows Ah-4s, the other As-9c. The turn is the Ks, and the river brings the only card that helps the A-4 win... another 4. Ouch.
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10c-9c, called, but raised big and folded***BIG 30: Js-9h, all folded
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Hand #47
I'm in the small blind of 15 with 1420 chips when I get As-Jd.
I call the big blind, and three players are in the hand.
The flop is Js-10h-6h. I've got top pair so I bet the pot of 90. One caller.
The turn is the Kh. That's three hearts, and a card higher than my pair. Ugh.
I check and he bets the pot of 270. I fold.
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BUTTON: As-10c, no help on flop, big bet, I fold, down to 1270***9c-5h***Ad-4d, big bet in front of me***Kh-2s***10d-2s***4h-3s***Qh-4s***6c-3d***BIG 40: 8c-5h, raised in front of me
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Hand #57
I'm in the small blind of 20 with 1230 chips when I get Ah-2h.
I call the big blind and four players are in the hand.
The flop is Ac-Qc-2d. I like it. Two pair is pretty strong. I bet the pot of 160 and the guy next to me raises to 320. Time to think. He's been bullying a lot, and has a much bigger stack than me. I think he's got an Ace, but nothing good enough to beat my two pair. I take a chance and go all-in. He calls.
Showdown time and he flips... As-2c. Guess he had a good hand, too. We chop the pot, and I'm at 1270.
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BUTTON: Jc-7d
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Hand #59
I'm in a late position with 1270 chips when I get J's in my pocket.
I raise the big blind of 40 to 100 and get two callers.
The flop is Kc-Qs-2c. Pretty much not what I wanted to see. Both players check and I bet 150 and get a caller.
The turn is a 6d. He checks, I check. I was worried about a check raise here.
The river is another 6. He checks. Should I bet here? If I do and he folds I take the pot. If I do and he comes over top of me, I'm forced to fold. If I don't and he's got a Q and was worried about me having a K, I'll kick myself. I check.
In the showdown, he's got just Ac-5h, and I take the 640 chip pot to go to 1660.
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6d-2c***Ah-8d, raised in front of me***Kh-2h***10h-7h
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Hand #64
I'm UTG with 1660 chips when I get As-Jd.
I don't know why I played this hand, and I especially don't know why I raised the big blind of 40 to 80. I get just one caller.
The flop is Kd-Ks-3h. I'm first to bet. Does he have a king? The odds say No. But how much am I willing to pay to find out? I decide to bet the pot of 220, and, unfortunately, he calls.
The turn is the 9s. The guy I'm head-to-head with has a 2-to-1 chip lead on me. At this point I've made two big bets. A raise from UTG and a pot bet on the flop. I've got nothing at this point, but maybe going all-in will convince him I have a K. Of course, if he has a K, that would backfire. If he doesn't believe I have a K and has anything better than my A-J, he still beats me.
I lose my nerve and check. He goes all-in. I can't call. He's taken all the advantage from me, and probably has the hand. So far, I hadn't noticed him buying anything. I fold.
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Hand #65
I'm in the big blind of 60 with 1360 chips when I get Kh-9d.
No one raises so I check and four players are in the hand.
The flop is Ah-Ks-4s. Not bad, unless one of the other three players has an Ace or a better kicker with a K. I check, and so does everyone else.
The turn is a Jc. I check, and the last guy bets 60, two call, including me.
The river is a 5c. I check, the same guy bets 60 and we both call.
Unfortunately, he's got Kc-Qs, and I muck my cards.
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LITTLE 30: 6d-2h, down to 1150***BUTTON: Kc-7h***Js-6c***Kh-10h, no help on flop***8c-2c***Qc-Js***5d-3c***9s-7h***Ac-9d***BIG 60: Qh-2c, no help on flop***LITTLE 30: Ac-6h, big raise, back at 1000***BUTTON: Qh-7h***9c-6c***9d-7d***Ah-5d***7h-2d
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FIRST BREAK, and I'm at 1000 chips. One full hour of play and I break even. There's a little more than 200 of the 400 original players left, and I'm sitting barely in the top half.
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5c-4c***Jc-4c***9c-4h***BIG 100: Qh-7h, 8-6-2 rainbow flop***LITTLE 50: Jh-3h, raised in front, down to 850***BUTTON: Kd-Qs***10c-7c
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Hand #89
I'm in a late position with 850 chips when I get As-Qh.
Everyone folds in front of me, so I raise the big blind of 100 to 200. The big blind calls, he's got about a 4-1 chip lead over me.
The flop is Kh-5h-2s. Absolutely no help for me. He bets 100 and I fold. I can't chase it, and I'm down to 650.
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10h-7h***Jh-5c***Qd-6s***4c-3c***Js-9s***BIG 100: 8c-7h, terrible flop, down to 550
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Hand #96
I'm in the small blind of 50 with just 550 chips when I get Kh-Qh. That's great for pinochle, but this is poker.
Everyone folds to me so I call the big blind. He's got a 15-to-1 chip lead over me and has been a bully since I sat down. With that stack, I'd probably be a bully, too. He raises to 300.
Decision time. There's no reason to just call. If I want to play, I have to go all-in. Calling 300 and folding on a bad flop would leave me just 250 chips and that's twice around the table. If I fold now, I've still got 450 chips. That's three times around the table.
I figure this guy doesn't have an ace. Maybe a small pair, but I'm not even sure he's got that. I think he's trying to scare me off, so I go all-in. He quickly calls.
The good news is that I was right, he doesn't have an ace. I was also right about him having a pair. The bad news is that he had a pair of K's.
I don't remember any of the cards. Might as well have been blank-blank-blank-blank-blank. Bottom line, I'm out in 174th place. I don't think I played well at all.