Burr's laptop challenge

balance: £62.55

largely thanks to this guy who plays the same every game ive played him and always starts off well cos no-one wants to risk their chips.. but usually finishes 4th cos he doesnt change... my notes on him are simple...'bluffing, fishing maniac... ace high has a good chance, but wait for right spot'

eg


thehud2 sitting in seat 2 with €810.00
Roedie78 sitting in seat 3 with €940.00
patmore66 sitting in seat 4 with €3995.00[Dealer]
Burrfoot sitting in seat 5 with €1755.00
Burrfoot posted the small blind - €25.00
thehud2 posted the big blind - €50.00

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: Ad, 10c
Roedie78 folded
patmore66 called - €50.00
Burrfoot called - €50.00
thehud2 checked

Dealing the flop: 10s, Ah, 10h
Burrfoot checked
thehud2 checked
patmore66 bet - €150.00
Burrfoot called - €150.00
thehud2 folded

Dealing the turn: 4h
Burrfoot checked
patmore66 bet - €450.00
Burrfoot raised to €900.00
patmore66 called - €900.00

Dealing the river: 8c
Burrfoot went all-in - €655.00
patmore66 called - €655.00
patmore66 shows: Jc, 4s
Burrfoot wins €3560.00 from the main pot

then...

thehud2 sitting in seat 2 with €760.00
Roedie78 sitting in seat 3 with €940.00
patmore66 sitting in seat 4 with €2240.00
Burrfoot sitting in seat 5 with €3560.00[Dealer]
thehud2 posted the small blind - €25.00
Roedie78 posted the big blind - €50.00

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: Ac, 4c
patmore66 called - €50.00
Burrfoot called - €50.00
thehud2 called - €50.00
Roedie78 checked

Dealing the flop: Kc, 7c, 10h
thehud2 checked
Roedie78 checked
patmore66 checked
Burrfoot checked

Dealing the turn: 5c
thehud2 checked
Roedie78 checked
patmore66 checked
Burrfoot bet - €100.00
thehud2 called - €100.00
Roedie78 folded
patmore66 called - €100.00 (THOUGHT HE MIGHT RAISE TBH)

Dealing the river: 3c
thehud2 checked
patmore66 bet - €500.00
Burrfoot went all-in - €3410.00 (BUT OVER EAGER... A MIN RAISE WUDDA BEEN CALLED)
thehud2 folded
patmore66 folded
Burrfoot mucks: Ac, 4c
Burrfoot mucks:
Burrfoot wins €4410.00 from the main pot

WHAT YE RECKON TO THE ULTRA AGGRESSIVE STYLE? THINK IF HE REFINED IT A LITTLE HE MIGHT BE A DANGER...

Im feeling good about things the now and lady luck is smiling lol maybe that laptop is a possibility?? Ive just jinxed myself!!!


lol gotta stay focused! Normally after a few winds or when i get too confident i get too lairy and lose a fair bit only to start the cycle again!


closing balance thurs 18/03 = £75.25

playing mainly 5 and 10 euro 6 seaters and luckily found some tables where i had decent notes on players.. but heres a cautionary hand that shows what I meant about getting too complacent:

11 players in this MTT and down to last 6, top 3 paid...

A sitting in seat 1 with 355.00
Burrfoot sitting in seat 2 with 2145.00
B sitting in seat 3 with 4125.00[Dealer]
C sitting in seat 4 with 1780.00
D sitting in seat 5 with 7220.00
E sitting in seat 8 with 875.00
C posted the small blind - 75.00
D posted the big blind - 150.00

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: Qh, Ah
E folded
A went all-in - 355.00
Burrfoot called - 355.00 (HORRIBLE!!! I SHOULDA BEEN HAPPY TO GET THEM ALL IN AND ISOLATE AND IF IM CALLED SO BE IT)
B called - 355.00
C folded
D called - 355.00

Dealing the flop: 4d, 4h, 6h
D bet - 150.00
Burrfoot called - 150.00
B went all-in - 3770.00
D folded
Burrfoot went all-in - 1640.00 (EVEN WORSE.. I THOUGHT MY OVER CARDS AND FLUSH DRAW MIGHT BE LIVE AND HES ON A STEAL... BUT EVEN SO, WHY RISK IT SO CLOSE TO THE BUBBLE... PLAYED IT BAD PRE-FLOP BUT THIS WAS TERRIBLE. SHOULDA JUST FOLDED AND WAITED FOR NEXT SPOT IM IN SECOND PLACE!)
A shows: Qs, Js
B shows: 6s, 6c

Dealing the turn: 10c

Dealing the river: 8s

Ach well... live n learn

Really wanna break the 100 barrier this weekend!!!!! Starting to play too many 10euro games, so far ive placed, but its a risky ploy... but at least it gets the old adrenaline going

Didnt play yesterday and spent some QT wit the missus.... today was all about the TAS league and a very enjoyable game it was too... cheers guys...

After the last of my Guiness was gone, I discovered a cheeky Merlot in the cupboard and with the latest episodes of Poker After Dark to keep me company I decided to play a few 5euro STTs.. after all, Im going into backshifts and nightshifts so theres not going to be much chance of games over the next few days

Closing Balance = £90.18

Most Ive had since the start of this challenge and things still feel right and forcing myself to wait till three bars have elapsed on timer, gives me precious seconds to think things over and reduce the risk of me making my usual rash decisions... lol seconds!!!! good players takes 10 minutes or more to make some decisions! Ach well Ive never declared myself a good player

Sooo close to the tonne...

... it occured to me today that Im playing outside my bankroll.... well unless i can find an easy 1/2p/1p game I reckon thats gonna be the case for the foreseeable future & I wouldnt have it any other way.... bankroll management is fine for serious levels when its your income... this is fun for me (my rule is that if i blow my account I can only put £30 back in... something I havent done for ages... so at least that keeps the missus off my back... am I rambling?) and a hobby and much cheaper than golf

Not a good day

was looking forward to a few games after a couple of days off, but the poker gods had other plans.. taking the weekend off (well Friday and Sunday off

lol everything i folded turned into monster hand and my pocket monsters turned into junk...

Too tired and was chasing the game... got to £110 odd so played a 20 euro table.... suffered a bad beat and came 4th... worse thing that cudda happened cos it meant i went back on and came 4th again

ach well... back to the grind..

closing balance £57.63

Been takin a longish break from the tables... the odd game here & there of course tryin to play micro stakes cash games to feed my addiction without the painful & expensive beats... will be going back to STTs when I feel the beats are out of the way (not that Im superstitious! prob more to do with making right decisions and confidence.. so when thats back, so am i )

balance £44.34

Found at decent 2p/4p table the other day...

ACES CRACKED TWICE IN QUICK SUCCESSION..

joep81 sitting in seat 1 with €4.00
przemek77 sitting in seat 2 with €1.06
NastyMarty sitting in seat 3 with €3.47
argutis sitting in seat 4 with €3.09
BordaK sitting in seat 5 with €3.82[Dealer]
Burrfoot sitting in seat 6 with €7.59
Burrfoot posted the small blind - €0.02
joep81 posted the big blind - €0.04

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: As, Ad
przemek77 folded
NastyMarty folded
argutis called - €0.04
BordaK folded
Burrfoot raised to €0.16
joep81 folded
argutis called - €0.16

.24 in pot and he calls the extra .12 fair enough and the pot is now .40

Dealing the flop: 3s, Ks, 9h
Burrfoot bet - €0.28
argutis called - €0.28

Dealing the turn: Kd
Burrfoot bet - €0.92
argutis called - €0.92 alarm bells should be going off..

Dealing the river: 6c
Burrfoot bet - €2.76
argutis went all-in - €1.73
Burrfoot shows: As, Ad
argutis shows: 5d, Kh
argutis wins €6.12 from the main pot

but heyho... at least I know what Im up against
A FEW HANDS LATER... and Ive started rebuilding my stack up a bit and players have come and gone..

omusty sitting in seat 2 with €4.42
poulp105 sitting in seat 3 with €0.58[Dealer]
258456753159abc sitting in seat 4 with €1.16
ouekas sitting in seat 5 with €2.28
Burrfoot sitting in seat 6 with €6.51
258456753159abc posted the small blind - €0.02
ouekas posted the big blind - €0.04

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: As, Ah
Burrfoot raised to €0.16
omusty called - €0.16
poulp105 folded
258456753159abc called - €0.16
ouekas called - €0.16

Dealing the flop: Js, 5c, Qs
258456753159abc checked
ouekas bet - €0.12
Burrfoot raised to €0.56
omusty went all-in - €4.26
258456753159abc folded
ouekas went all-in - €2.00
Burrfoot called - €4.26

was pretty sure I was ahead, maybe guy has flush draw or KQ/AQ..

** Dealing the turn: 8c

Dealing the river: Qh THE CASE QUEEN !!

omusty shows: Ad, Qc
Burrfoot shows: As, Ah
ouekas mucks: Qd, 10c
omusty wins €6.90 from the main pot
omusty wins €4.28 from side pot 1

HOWEVER.. LIKE I SAY A GREAT TABLE ON THE WHOLE, LARGELY PASSIVE, LOOSE AND CALLING STATIONS... SO I SAT BACK AND CALLED WEAK BETS WITH DRAWING HANDS AND RERAISED HUGELY WITH ANYTHING BETTER THAN TOP PAIR...

CLOSING BALANCE: £75.67

After a very hard but enjoyable days graft chopping down trees (two more to go) a working my way through a reasonably priced box of miller..

.. lol fill in the blanks.. suffice to say I went to bed deciding to bet on Chicago Bulls 'cos I used to like watching Micheal Jordan!...

anyhows woke up this morning to the good news that they won and I must of had a few winning hands that i forgot about cos Ive got £39.10 in sports account and £33.98 in poker

Might keep them separate and give myself two chances of reaching my target (or going broke)...

SPORTS: £39.10
POKER: £33.98

TOTAL: £73.08

Just up and my legs are aching!!!!

A wee run of bad cards and worse bluffs saw me blowing a buyin on cash before wisely retiring with a closing balance of £22.54...

Fared better in Sports... just missed the footy double... had a few pound on Viel Gluck.. and the mighty Raptors managed a rare victory while i slept so that I now have a balance of £50.35

SPORTS: £50.35
POKER: £22.54

TOTAL: £72.89

what will the day bring.... good luck folks


Ahem... not the best day for my footy bets ...

SPORTS: £14.85

Came a couple of 2nds and 3rds in a few STTs

POKER: £26.51

TOTAL: £41.36


Not a good streak....

None from 3 on patent

Sports: £10

poker not much better, only good thing coming from it is plenty of notes... bad beats.. mumble.. bad beats.. grumble.. moan.. whine.. dominating but 3 outters hitting... seem to be a fair % of new players on Lads that like to gp allin as often as possible from level 1 onwards... not sure its a winning strategy, but its beating me at the mo...

Poker: £17.24

TOTAL: £27.24

might be time to call a halt on the sports betting for a while to bring over the tenner into poker... cant run this bad this long? can i? lol yes i can


siiigggghhhhh...

was with heavy heart i bought into my twice weekly game and bought into a cash game...

3 handed to start and was doing ok, then the villain appeared raising evrything while I clung on feebly to my £3 odd... got fed up and went allin with Ak... he hit a set of 3's on the flop with his 38

I sunk my last few bob in and continued to get outdrawn..

He continued in this manner, not sure if he is drunk or just a ****....

Then the inevitable happened:

x sitting in seat 1 with £1.97[Sitting out]
x sitting in seat 2 with £4.23
x sitting in seat 3 with £1.00[Dealer]
HA1969 sitting in seat 4 with £4.70
Burrfoot sitting in seat 5 with £0.73
x sitting in seat 6 with £4.06
HA1969 posted the small blind - £0.02
Burrfoot posted the big blind - £0.04

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: Ad, 10s
x folded
x folded
x raised to £0.12
HA1969 raised to £0.44
Burrfoot went all-in - £0.69
x folded
HA1969 called - £0.73

Dealing the flop: 9s, 8c, 5d

Dealing the turn: 6c

Dealing the river: 3h
Burrfoot shows: Ad, 10s
HA1969 shows: 3c, As
HA1969 wins £1.48 from the main pot



ach well... first time in months ive reloaded so Im pretty chuffed tbh and thats subsidised a little sports betting that Ive cashed in along the way... gotta take the rough with the smooth, and its been pretty rough recently.... somewhere over the rainbow...

Maybe this time...


ooo... and just to add, was lying 3rd in reg game wit 5 left when i decided my top pair was good enough but ran into a str8... doh lol

Having started this thread in Jan with £31, its been a bit of a roller coaster.... Ive deposited another £30 so I guess for this thread thats £61 invested so far.....

and likely to be more pretty soon... in fact its only by a massive effort of will that Im still able to type this inside my house, as opposed to out in the garden where my computer nearly ended up via the window...

getting a little fed up getting called down by 2nd or 3rd pair (which Im usually delighted to see) only for them to hit trips on the river...

Balance of the recent £30......

£5.48

Keep telling myself to punish these players by betting hard into them and they cant always get lucky.. unfortunately enough of them do, enough of the time.. its a funny ole game

dontcha love it

Was looking forward to saying something positive after a nice days play/pay today in the .02/.04 where i moved back up to £30 odd... then this chancer sat down with me while I wait for the monday game.. think it was 3 handed during this

ooOHo sitting in seat 2 with £1.04
fatsmoore sitting in seat 3 with £4.00
Burrfoot sitting in seat 5 with £3.98[Dealer]
ooOHo posted the small blind - £0.02
fatsmoore posted the big blind - £0.04

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: 8h, 8d
Burrfoot raised to £0.12
ooOHo folded
fatsmoore went all-in - £3.96
Burrfoot went all-in - £3.86

Dealing the flop: Qh, Ac, 10d

Dealing the turn: Jh
Dealing the river: 4c
fatsmoore shows: 4h, Ah
Burrfoot mucks: 8h, 8d
Burrfoot mucks: 8h, 8d
fatsmoore wins £7.88 from the main pot

He has sat down for 3 hands and went allin preflop every time so I reload..

again hes allin every turn preflop.. and Im folding.. folding..

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: 8c, Jc
ooOHo called - £0.04
fatsmoore raised to £0.16
Burrfoot called - £0.16
ooOHo folded

Dealing the flop: Kd, 3d, 9c
fatsmoore checked
Burrfoot checked

Dealing the turn: 10c
fatsmoore bet - £0.16
Burrfoot went all-in - £3.84
fatsmoore called - £3.84
OPEN ENDED STRAIGHT FLUSH... I KNOW HES NOT GONNA FOLD BUT IM STEAMING AND WILLING TO GAMBLE..

Dealing the river: 9s
Burrfoot shows: 8c, Jc
fatsmoore shows: Kc, 5s
fatsmoore wins £7.94 from the main pot

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

** Hand # 3277704417 starting - 2010-04-19 19:20:20
** Toad in the Hole [Hold'em] (0.02|0.04 NL - Cash Game) Real Money

ooOHo sitting in seat 2 with £1.57
fatsmoore sitting in seat 3 with £11.46
m0nd sitting in seat 4 with £4.00
Burrfoot sitting in seat 5 with £3.70[Dealer]
stout-850 sitting in seat 6 with £1.95
stout-850 posted the small blind - £0.02
ooOHo posted the big blind - £0.04
m0nd posted to play - £0.04

Dealing cards to Burrfoot: Kc, Js
fatsmoore went all-in - £11.46
m0nd folded
Burrfoot went all-in - £3.70
stout-850 went all-in - £1.93
ooOHo folded

Dealing the flop: 2d, Kd, Ad

Dealing the turn: 7c

Dealing the river: 9s
fatsmoore shows: 2s, 2h
Burrfoot mucks: Kc, Js
stout-850 mucks: 5c, Qc
Burrfoot > lol
fatsmoore wins £5.83 from the main pot
fatsmoore wins £3.50 from side pot 1

THEN HE LEAVES

SO IF ANYONE EVER MEETS HIM, PLEASE GET MY MONEY BACK LOL

Right... Ive blown that reload... doubled up within first level of Monday game and still managed to come 6th

Im seeing ghosts and my confidence is shot... running scared of 3 outters on one hand and making tilt calls on the other....

Guess the cycle has come full circle (again), happens a fair bit... I play well and make the right decisions.. win a bit then get lazy and lose the discipline, then play bad... so its time to take a break and hit the hand history and books...

Will only be playing games you guys come up with

so come on!!!

shut up and deal

got one more tourney from the player points first tho

The hand history is very revealing... basically the winning hands usually bring in some chips, while my losing hands throw away loads!

Being very critical of myself and trying to make myself a guide, will get some stuff down here, hand reviews and prob article threads in due course...

In the meantime one of the first things Im looking at is Pot Control...

In general, in the middle stages of STT or MTT a 2.5 raise preflop will do the same job as x3 and a C-bet of half the pot will normally have the same effect.. might want to adjust it occasionally, depending upon reason for bet, but for consistency and disguise, these seem the best way to go the majority of the time...


working my way through hand history.. hard to believe some of the junk Ive lost with I play suited connectors and gap connectors FAR TOO much and for too many chips.. they are by far my biggest leak...

middle pocket pairs seem to be the biggest winners..

The trawl of my hand history continues... with some interesting and glaring mistakes either spewing chips or not getting enough value.. and fair few bad beats lol...

but what is puzzling me is that Ive noticed the blind structure...

I play 5 seater 'normal' at Lads..

their structure is: 20/40; 30/60; 50/100; 100/200; 150/300; 200/400; 300/600

10 hands per level and a 1500 starting stack... so within 3 levels its almost a fold/push feast...

Am i goin mad or was there once a 75/150 level? (not too mention the 10/20 which is available elsewhere) Or is it like the Starbar and Wagonwheel (other quality chocolates available) which in order to keep profits up and the customer in tow has shrunk?

May have to look for another structure...

EDIT...

so im a little confused with the hand history... its says 'stakes' as above, but when i click into it to see the action the blinds are half the stakes

anyhow, there has been no conspiracy to secretly make 'normal' games turbos.. levels are still

10/20; 15/30; 25/50; 50/100; 75/150; 100/200; 150/300; 200/400

im only looking at where ive lost and gained most chips mostly compared to the blinds, so im not really looking at the steals of blinds etc... so far ive only sorted the early stages gains...

A dip sample of where Ive won loadsa chips...

these are 5euro, 5 seaters, early levels (1-3)..

839 chips, level 2, I get AA in Small Blind. Its folded to me and i raise x4.. .BB calls.. Q high flop and Q on turn BB calls my bets to showdown with JJ

1779, level 2, 88 in SB. UTG open calls and i raise x3... he calls.. 6 high flop with 2 hearts. I get min reraised and i go all in.. he calls with 2nd pair and flush draw.

1589, level 2, AKs in Button.. cut off open calls, then calls my x5 raise to go heads up.. J high flop & 4 to the flush. He calls my pot sized bet. Blank turn and he calls my allin with a gutshot..

2719, level 1, 99 in BB.. button open raised x5 and SB calls.. as do I.. 9 hits flop and I check.. Bet, call, I go allin & both call.. Button with QQ and SB with open ended str8 draw..

1529, level 1, QQ UTG.. open raise x3.. BB reraises x4... i push and he calls with 99

1204, level 2, 99 in BB.. UTG open raises x3. I call.. 795 rainbow flop... I check he bets half pot and I min reraise. He calls.. 2 on turn.. i bet half pot & he goes allin with A7...

1384, level 2, 910o in BB.. SB open calls, I check... QsJs8 flop, he bets, I raise he goes allin with Q3..

1234, level 2, 77 in SB.. Button open raises x3. I call.. Ah7d2h.. I check, he bets small & I call.. 4c - he bets half pot, I min raise and he goes allin with A10o...

949, level 1, AdKc in BB.. cut off open raises x5, I reraise & he calls... Kh10h6c - I bet half pot and he goes allin with Qd10d..

1454, level 3, Ah8d in BB.. UTG open calls, SB calls and I check and hit 2 pair on flop.. UTG bets pot, I raise and he calls.. 9s turn and he calls my allin with A2...

1044, level 3, QQ in cut off... raise x4. Button goes allin with KJo

1905, level 3, AhQc in SB.. I open raise x3. BB calls... 5sAdks - BB calls my half pot bet. 10c turn and he calls my allin with As8s..

1094, level 3, AKo in cutoff.. UTG open raises x3, I double that and SB pushes with 10Jo...


All the big winners have been pocket pairs or strong aces, mostly played aggressively preflop and occasional traps on post flop... a few weak aces seeing flop cheaply.. no suited connector type hands in this bracket!

So, I will play pocket pairs hard..calling raises preflop with little - medium ones.. If I hit trips then get them pot commited by turn.. if not then get out of there, unless its an overpair.. and reraising with big pocket pairs..

look out for those calling with top pair rag kicker and dont play easily dominated hands with them (play the reverse) and make them pay when their A 6 soooted hits top pair...

Most have also been heads up seeing the flop, which helps avoid the bad beats and can only be done by preflop raising, thus saving chips post flop.. think it must be better using the chips preflop to get it headsup than waste them post flop? At least it will be easier to judge where I stand..

Kinda spouting off the top o me head tbh.... looking at the medium wins at early levels next...

something might be re-clicking into place... came 30th out of 514 runners in the weekly invite at Ladds...

reraised all in with jacks... unfortunately the other guy had queens

enjoyed it tho

Following on from the tenner won in the freeroll... Ive managed to move on to £32.18... still not playing very often and concentrating on going through my hand history to better define my STT strategy in my head...


What follows is a dip sample of when I win average amount of chips in the early levels.. still looking for examples of best hands to see flops with & when or raise with and play on later streets and when I should get more value..

level 1.. JJ on the button.. open raise x3 & called by SB.. flop = 4c 4h Ah.. I bet pot and SB folds. Position, aggression and C-Bet (having a decent hand helped, even with a scary flop).

level 2... As 9c on button.. open raise x3 & called by BB.. 2/3 bet on rainbow 9 high flop & BB folds.. aggression in position and C-Bet (plus I had a hand).

level 1.. 88 in Small Blind.. 2 limpers to me so I raise by pot & first limper calls.. flop = 2d 6d Kh.. I bet the pot and he folds.. aggression and C Bet..

level 1.. Ac 10c in cut off.. one limper & i raise x4 & limper calls.. flop = 7h Qs 10d.. I bet 2/3 pot and take it.. aggression in position, with decent hand and C Bet.

level 2.. 9h 9c in SB.. cut off open raises x3 & I call.. flop = As Qs 4h.. both check so I bet on turn (4c) when he again checks, showing weakness and he folds

level 1.. Ah Jd in SB.. cut off min raises and I call.. flop = 10d Ac 7s, we both check.. turn = Jc and I bet half pot and he calls.. river = Qd & we both check.. he shows 10h Qc... I dont mind not betting the flop, but to check the river was a mistake, even though I was prob scared of the King..

level 2.. Jc Ah in BB.. UTG open limps and I check.. flop = 5d As 8c, I check he bets pot and I call.. turn = 6h we both check.. river = 3s i bet half pot and he folds... I should of raised preflop, which would either of ended the hand or made him bluff the river with more chips.

level 2.. 10c 8d in BB.. button and SB call and I check.. river = 10d Jd As.. blinds check and button min bets, SB folds and I call.. turn = 3c, I check and button min bets again & I call.. river = Qc and I bet half pot & he folds.. min bets are weak he either had a flush draw or weak pair so when the flush misses and 4 to a straight rivers then its good to bet. I should of raised on the turn?

level 1.. Ah Qd on button.. limped to me, I raise x4 UTG calls.. flop = 7s Jd 5c, I bet the pot and he folds.. good hand + postion + aggression + C Bet.

level 2.. Qc 9C on button.. cut off min raises and I call.. flop = Kc 8d 2s, he min bets and I call.. turn = 4s, he checks and I bet 2/3 pot & he folds.. position + float + aggression in reply to weakness.

level 2.. Qs Ks in SB.. button limps and I raise x3 & he calls.. flop = 7s 9c Kh I bet out half pot and he folds.. decent hand + aggression in reply to weakness and C Bet. Having a hand helped this time!

level 1.. 6s 7d in SB.. UTG & I limps and BB checks.. flop = 8s 5d 7c I led out half pot, they both call.. turn = 9h i bet half pot, BB min raises and button calls as do I.. river = Js, I check BB min bets and we all call.. BB shows 6c 7s to split and UTG mucks 9d Ah.. prob should of rereraised turn and raised river..

level 1… 5c 7c in SB.. 2 callers to me and I call, BB checks… flop = 6c Qc 10s UTG bets half pot and button calls, as do I, BB folds.. turn = As, I lead out half pot and they all fold… don’t be afraid to float with a draw and bet a scary turn. One must have had top pair the other a draw or similar so Ace scared us all.

Level 2.. Qh 2d in BB.. SB calls and I check.. flop = 7h 9h 2c SB min bets & I call.. turn = 3s SB min bets & I call.. river = Jd, SB min bets and I call, he mucks 6s 8d for the busted open ended straight draw… Min bets are weak and I should of raised on turn or river.

Level 2… 4c 4s in cut off.. I open raise x 3 & SB calls.. flop = 5h 3d 7d, SB min bets (notes on him that he does this with no hand) and I raise the pot.. he folds. Pocket pair in position + aggression + notes on players use of min bets.

Level 1.. 7d 5d in SB.. cut off raises x3, button calls as do I.. flop = Ad 2d 9c, I check, cut off checks and button min bets, we all call.. turn = 2h & we all check.. river = 3d and we all check… cut off had JJ, buton had 3c 5c for inside straight. Enough weakness was shown on flop for me to lead out on turn with draw, but when I hit it on river I def should of bet something!

Level 2.. 7h 5h on button.. cut off min raises I call as does BB… flop = 8h 5c 7c, BB bets out ¼ pot, cut off folds and I raise the pot & he folds. He shows weakness but my bet is too big. On one hand Im happy to take the pot because its mighty draw heavy, but I could possible got some more value out of it?

Level 2.. 4h 4s in BB.. button min raises, I call.. flop = 3h 10d 2d, button bets half pot and I call.. turn = 8c both check.. river = 3d I lead out 2/3 the pot & he folds. Floating C Bet and acting on the weakness shown on turn, combined with the flush hitting that I might have been calling to hit.

Level 1.. 5h Ks in BB.. UTG calls, as does button and SB and I check.. flop = 4c 7d kd, SB min bets, I call as does button.. turn = 9d, SB checks, I bet half pot they both call, river = 5c and we all check, SB had Ah 4d for bottom pair, button mucks Kc Jh for top pair decent kicker. I should have bet the river when I hit my two pair!

Level 1.. 9d 7d in button.. cut off calls, as do I and SB. BB raises x4.. I have notes on this player and he likes to squeeze and is aggressive preflop, but passive post flop.. I call as does SB.. flop = 7h 9h 5s blinds check and I bet 2/3 the pot & they fold. Maybe I lost value, but I really wanted this to be heads up, I think too many draws for multiway action. But my bet was consistent with my bluff bets, so at least its balancing them out?

Level 1.. Ks Kh in SB, button min raises and I reraise x3 & he calls.. flop = 4c 4h Kd, I bet ¼ pot and he calls.. turn = 6c and we both check… river = Jd I bet 2/3 pot and he folds. My river bet should be less, maybe half pot or slightly less to give him a chance to bluff if not call as Ive shown weakness post flop?

Level 2.. 7d 7s in BB.. UTG calls, cut off raises x4 and I call.. flop = 9c 9s 2s, he min bets and I call.. turn = 2h I check and he min bets & I call.. river = 4h, both check and he mucks Ad Qc. That sort of raise preflop followed by weakness usually signifies AJ+… should be raising the min bets!

Level 2.. Kh Js in button.. I open raise x3 and BB calls… flop = Qs 5c Ad, he checks and I C Bet half pot, he calls.. turn = 10h & we both check.. river = 2s he checks, I bet 2/3 pot and he folds. Should of bet when I hit on turn to build the pot.

Level 2.. Js Jd on button.. I open raise x3 & SB calls.. flop = Jc 2s 2h, BB min bets and I min raise, he calls.. turn = Ah, he min bets and I min raise.. river = 5d, he min bets and I raise half pot & he folds. Should have been building pot more on turn.

Level 2.. 7d 9h in BB.. button and SB call & I check.. flop = 9c Kc 7s, SB min bets and I raise x4 & they both call.. turn = 4h, SB checks & I bet 2/3 pot & they both fold. Probably couldn’t do much more with this as one will have top pair the other a flush draw. If I bet cheaper and they both called, one of them would most likely sucked out?

Level 1… 6c 6h in cut off.. UTG & I limp, SB raises x4 & I call.. flop = 6d Ad Qh,. SB min bets and I call.. turn = Qd & we both check.. river = 9c he checks, I bet half pot and he calls, mucking KK. Should have used my position on turn to build the pot.

Level 1.. Jc Ks in button, I open call, SB calls and BB checks.. flop = 9c Kd 5d, SB chcks, BB min bets and I call, SB check raises x3 we both call.. turn = 5c, blinds check and I bet half pot, SB folds and BB calls.. river = Js, I bet ¼ pot and he folds. Don’t think I could have done anything else to get more chips, guess he missed his flush!

Level 2.. Ks Ah in button.. open raise x3, SB folds and BB min reraises & I min rereraise… flop = 4d 9c 10h, he checks and I bet 2/3 pot & he folds.. Im the aggressor so have to CBet to his weakness. He either had AQ or AK?

Level 1.. 3d 3c in button, UTG min raises and I call as does BB… flop = 3h 4c 9c, BB checks, UTG min bets and I raise x3 & he calls.. turn = 5d, UTG checks and I bet half pot & he calls.. river = 4h, he checks and I bet half pot & he folds. Made him pay for missing his draw.

Level 3.. 8h 8 s in BB.. UTG limps, SB calls and I check.. flop = 9d Kc 4h. SB & I check and UTG min bets, SB folds and I call.. turn = 8d, I check and UTG bets min, I raise x2 and he calls.. river = 2c, I lead out half pot and he folds. Wasn’t going to fold to the min bets on flop and turn and if I hadn’t hit my 8 should still be thinking of raising.

Level 3… 6d 8d in BB.. cut off min raises, SB and I call… flop = 3c 6h Kd, SB & I check, cut off min bets, only I call.. turn = 5s, I check and he min bets.. river = 8h, both check and he mucks Ah 4h. I was leading the whole way, his weak C Bet resulted in him landing a gutshot on turn. When Im fishy and hit my 6 outters I really have to bet something!

Level 3.. Ac Jc in button.. cut off open limps and I raise x4, BB & cut off call… flop = 2d 2c Ad, they check and I go all in & they fold. Any other bet on flop would leave me more or less pot committed anyway and with flush draw and 2 opponents I don’t mind ending it here.

Level 3.. Kh Kc UTG.. open raise x4, cut off and BB call… flop = 8c 3h 4s.. I bet half pot and they fold. Again, no need to slow play, better off to be C Betting big hands as well as those missed. Perhaps different if it had of been heads up?

Level 2.. Qs Qh in BB.. cut off open limps (with only 5 BBs left behind), button raises x3, I call and so does short stack.. flop = Jc 8c 4h I check and so does cut off, button bets just under half pot, I check raise x2 and short stack calls allin (with only enough to cover button’s bet), he shows 3c Ad. I should not of check raised so strong, we were always going to have short stacks chips in there so I should just build the pot with button.

Level 3.. 5s 5d in BB.. cut off open raises x4 and only I call.. flop = Js 5c Qs, I check and he bets under half pot, I check raise allin and he folds. Close, but maybe I could let him peel another card before getting the chips in, but then again happy to take down a good pot.

Level 2.. Ah 4h in BB… SB open limps and I check.. flop = 3h 4s Qd, he min bets and I call.. turn = As, bets half pot and I double his bet & he calls.. river = Jc, he checks and I bet 2/3 pot and he calls and mucks Ad 7d. Pot built when I hit my suck out.

Level 1.. 6h 5h in BB.. cutoff and button limp and I check.. flop = 3d 7h 4s, I check and cutoff bets the pot and only I call.. turn = Qd I check and he bets ¼ pot & I raise just over minimum… river = 2d, I lead out half pot and he calls, mucking 9d 9c. I sensed his scared bet on turn so raised him to put doubt in his head, I had intended to bet river most times regardless. Luckily for me I hit my open ended straight as he called with 2nd pair!

Level 1.. Qc 3c in BB… cut off (notes that he bets if he hits anything) open limps, SB calls and I check.. flop = As 2h 4c, SB & I check and cut off bets half pot, only I call.. turn = Jc, I check and he bets half pot & I call.. river = 2c he bets half pot and I call, he mucks Qs 4s for bottom two pair, why I didn’t raise the river I don’t know!

Level 1.. Qd Ks in cut off.. UTG open min raises, I call as do both blinds.. flop = Kd Qc Qs, we all check.. turn = 10c, SB bets half pot and only I call.. river = 3h, SB bets just under half pot and I raise x2, he calls mucking Ad Jd for the straight. I missed a bet on the turn, and he prob would of called, then been committed on river for all his stack.

Learning outcomes..
Very few of the hands Ive won with are trash or anything like it.
Pocket pairs are worth seeing cheap flop.
If I reraise preflop then have to C Bet the flop regardless of cards and if first raiser the C Bet most times.
Try and stay in position and when Ive hit a hand then bet all streets to build pot, and make them pay for their draws & don’t be afraid to value bet my medium hands.
The turn seems to be the place to start getting the money in and making the opponent committed to the pot.
Use similar bet sizes for bluffs, monsters and value bets (@ 2/3 pot).
Float and don’t be scared to bet when weakness shown next street instead of wasting the chips invested in the move by replying with weakness.
Check/Call with 22 – 88; Suited Broadway cards; suited connectors and Ax suited (in other words see flops cheaply and preferably in position).
Call/Raise with 99 – JJ & AJ – AQ (position still preferable, but not so important, put in the first raise, otherwise call or consider folding depending on previous action and by what players).
Raise & ReRaise with QQ – AA & AK (regardless of cost and position).
If theres a pair on the board reraise any opponent’s C Bet 9 outta 10 times.
Identify player types at table and adjust rules accordingly depending upon their style.
Plenty of hands that just were absurd and not included with ppl calling down with bottom pair.. suffice to say – indentify and bet into the calling stations!

Moving onto the middle levels.. Levels 4 & 5... Quite often this will be down to 4 players (if not 3 by the end of level 5) and on the bubble due to a couple of other players being over aggressive or two big hands colliding, which is good news if Im still in..

At this point Im hoping I have around my starting stack or more… the majority of time 1700 - 2000 chips will make it through the bubble and will be in a fair position to steal chips… again notes are invaluable to identify what players will start changing gears among other clues..

Heres the relative big wins..


Level 5... 4 players left.. Chip leader has 3k in SB, BB has 2k and I have 1.8k UTG and dealt AKo… 12 big blinds , on the bubble I push not really minding either way if im called or not…short stack to my left calls with AQs
And I take it..

Level 5.. 3 players left..Im short stack with 1.2k the other two have @ 3k each… dealt 66 in BB.. SB raises x3 & I go allin, he has to call and shows AK.o.. he doesn’t hit and I double up..

Level 4.. All 5 players left…me and UTG are chip leaders on 2k each.. Im dealt 99 in hijack.. UTG min raises and I call, headsup to flop = 8c 7d 7h, UTG min bets and I raise x3 & he calls.. Turn = As, he bets 1/3 of pot and I call, river = 3c and we both check & he mucks 10s Qd… was notes on him min C Betting when weak & also I like to raise any bet on paired flop… call on turn was dodgy tho, as he could easily have had the ace..

Level 4.. 4 players left, on bubble & Im short stacked on @ 1.1k, dealt Ad Qd in BB, the Big Stack UTG raises x4 and folded to me, I go allin and he calls showing Kd 10s.. He doesn’t improve and I double up.. Gotta defend the blinds and with hands like that it’s a cert… on his part its prob not a good hand to commit to UTG even when big stack..

Level 4.. 5 players still in it & Ive just under starting stack with 1.3k in BB and Ks Jh, button open calls and I check.. Heads up to flop = 8c 6c jd, I bet out 2/3 pot and he calls.. Turn = 6d & I go allin, he calls with 10s Jc and I double up.. Thought he maybe had flush draw.. If he had raised pre I would be thinking of folding.. At this stage Im not sure I would of limped or even got involved when I didn’t have to waste money with speculative hand..

Level 5.. 4 players left and Im short stack with 1k and dealt Ad 5d in hijack… UTG limps so with 425 chip in pot I push trying to steal them.. Im called by SB who has KK… luckily for me I hit my Ace and double up.. If he hadn’t KK its likely I would of stolen the chips and added 50% to my stack, but as it was I got lucky with my soooted ace..

Level 5.. 5 players still in it, Im doin ok with 1.7k in BB.. Dealt 66 in BB.. Folded to button who open pushes with and 8 Big Blinds… close, not sure what the right answer is, but hes gonna do that with a lot of hands and Im prob ahead, but it always gonna be a race… I call, it’s a close game and to win this I will be big chip leader.. He shows Ad Jd… a 6 lands on flop.. Race over…

Level 4... 5 players still in it, im huge chip leader with 3k and dealt 7h 9h UTG.. BB is hanging in with 8 Big Blinds.. I open raise x3 and the hijack on my left pushes for 1.4k and its folded back to me.. 1.9k in pot and 1.6k to call… I make a horrible call.. He shows Ad Kd.. But the flop = 6c 7s 5d and he doesn’t hit so I suck out on him and now in a position to bully my way to heads up.. Still a terrible call tho!

Level 4.. Down to 3 players.. Im big chip leader with 4.5k in BB with Ad Qh.. Button with 1.6k min raises, SB folds and I put him allin.. He calls with Ah 4h… he doesn’t improve and is knocked out and SB rubs his hands.. He was unlucky I had a big hand, but I would have called a min raise at this point with any two and none of the board hit his hand, so theres every chance I would of knocked him out with rags anyway! Allin is prob the best way to play in his shoes?..

Level 4... 4 left and im ok in SB with 1.7k and dealt 88.. Chip leader UTG raises x4, folded to me and I push.. He calls with 44 and doesn’t improve and I double up.. Try and bully as chip leader, but be willing to lay down in face of resistance… a x2.5 raise would give same info and if it doesn’t result in stealing of blinds first attempt its prob cos they have big hand, try it next time it will prob work then again and again and again… without actually risking an allin call (unless when they are whittled down so much that a call wont hurt or I actually have a big enough hand to call)..

Level 5.. 3 left, im 2nd with 2.5k in BB and dealt Jd Qc.. SB (chip leader) min raises and I push.. He calls with A7o but I hit a Queen on river… again min raise will work a lot of times, but its also looking for information… I gave him all the info he needed but he called anyway… if he was willing to call, why not go allin in the first place? I prob would have folded…

Level 5.. 3 left, Im chip leader with 3.3k, on button with 55.. I raise x3, SB (2.8k) min reraises and I call.. Flop = Js 7s 7c.. He goes allin and I call.. Again the paired flop.. If he was that strong he would have trapped, aye he could have a bigger pocket pair, but so be it… he shows As Qd and is out..


Learning outcomes:

Be aggressive with pocket pairs & don’t be afraid to reraise allin if its against someone possibly on the steal.. Listen to others’ allin and don’t get tied to a hand.. don’t go crazy with speculative hands such as suited connectors which are not worth much at this stage, prob only useful if in BB in unraised pot or against a very tight player who will prob fold to my raise.. Punish limpers and use a big stack.. don’t let stack dip too low and don’t min raise unless holding a monster.. Move from a more reasonably tight/passive approach to tight aggressive.. It seems that some may start to panic and play weaker broadway hands etc too strong, take notes and identify these players and play back at them with strong hands…

Just got the other wins at middle levels and then high level hands to look at… then its time to balance the thinking with the losing hands!!!

Im taking it for granted at the mid - high blind levels that Im trying to steal as many blinds as I will get away with in late position with average hands (like sooted and connecting cards or better, that I prob wouldn’t call with) and Im trying to figure out how cheaply my opponents will let me get away with it. Theres no point risking a x2.5 bet to a reraise if they often fold to a minraise…

These are hands Ive won a little with, but not really just blind steals and Im discounting those that have reached heads up already… also 5 players started with 1500 chips each.. So after bubble the average chip stack should be 7500/3 = 2500 so if there or there abouts there aint much point in risking too much too soon… like ive said before between 1700 - 2k will normally make it and have a shot..

Level 5.. 3 players left, Im chip leader with 3k, SB has 2k and BB has 2.5k.. Im on button with 10h 9s and min raise, BB calls.. Flop = Kc 2h 3s, BB checks so I bet a little over half and he folds..

Level 4.. 4 players left, I have 1.7k in SB and chip leader in BB has 3k, the other 2 have @ 1.3k.. UTG open calls and its folded to me and I check my As 7d.. Flop = 7c Ks 5h, I check and he min bets & I call.. .turn = Ac & we both check.. River = Qs, I bet half pot and he calls, mucking Qd 5d

Level 4.. 4 players left, I have 1.7k, chip leader has 3.2k and the other have about 1.3.. Im in BB with 55.. Button (1.3k) min raises and I call, flop = 8s 8h 3d, I check, he bets just under half pot and I checkraise allin, on the usual principle that it is very rare for someone that hit’s a paired board to bet out and he doesn’t want to go out on bubble.. He folds

Level 4.. 4 players left and Im very short stack with 4 big blinds left on button… its folded to me, id have to push regardless of my cards.. But just so happens I have 66.. BB calls with 5d 3s and doesn’t improve and I double up with decent chance to at least get my money back in this one

Level 4.. 3 players left and Im chip leader with 3.6k and dealt QQ in SB… UTG (2.1k) open limps so I raise x3.5.. UTG calls… flop = 5h 5c 3d, I bet the pot and he folds.. Probably should of let him bluff it.

Level 4.. 4 players left and Im leader with 2.6k and dealt AK in SB.. The button (1.6k) open limps and I raise x4 and he calls.. Flop = Qd 5c 7h.. I put him allin and he folds.. Punish limpers and don’t be feared to Cbet as they would not usually limp if strong and they don’t want to go out on bubble and havent thought through what they are going to do on flop..

Level 4.. 5 still in.. Im UTG with 1.6k and dealt 55... SB is small stack with 0.5k and BB has 1.2k.. I open min raise and only the blinds call.. Flop = 9d 9s 6s, SB goes allin for about quarter of pot so I have to call.. And would prob raise otherwise.. He shows Jh Kh and doesn’t improve

Level 5.. 5 still in it.. Im SB with 1.5k and dealt Ah 6h.. The short stack has 0.5k (about 3 B.B.s).. he is UTG and pushes, its folded to me and I call, BB folds.. He shows Ac 4s… I hit my 6 on flop and he hits his 4 on river.. He would be big blind next hand so had to go allin with any two and Im getting about 2/1 so cant fold even though it would of hurt my stack.

Level 5.. 4 left.. Im chip leader with 2.7k and on button with Ah 5s, BB is short stack with 1.3k so its pretty even at the bottom.. I open raise x3 and BB calls, flop = 10s 7d kd, he checks, I put him allin and he folds.. Must times weakness shown at this stage represents weakness..

Level 4.. 4 players left on bubble.. Ive got 2.7k, big stack has 3.3k, other two have under 1k each.. Bib stack UTG limps and SB calls and I check in BB with 8s 10c.. Flop = 8c 7c 6s, SB min bets 100 and raise putting him allin, UTG folds.. SB shows 8d 2d and is out… only reason he must of called preflop was to get it all in on any flop… but he didn’t have enough chips IMHO to try it.

Level 4.. 4 players left.. Im short stack with 0.7k in SB and dealt JJ, folded to me and I min raise.. BB who is chip leader on 4k calls.. Flop = Qd, 9s, 8h.. I push and he calls with 33 and I double up… I should probably push preflop there..

Level 4.. 4 players and Im short stack with 0.8k and in SB with Qd Kd. The other short stack on 1k in UTG open limps so I push and he calls with Ah 10c.. I hit a Queen and double up.. .don’t know if he was scared or slow playing what he thought was a big hand? But I had to push against the limper and had the right hand to do it with.

Level 4.. 4 players and Im ok with 1.8k in button with Ac 8s, BB is short stack with 0.8k… folded to me so I raise x3 and BB shoves.. I call and he shows KQ… he doesn’t improve.. Steal from short stacks who either will fold when they are still in the game (as this guy was) or make mistakes and shove… course sometimes they will have me beat! However more often they will fold, and like this time he shoved and I couldn’t fold, so another portion of the time I will be in front, so it’s a small minority of the time I will be behind and even then I could get lucky..

Level 5.. 4 players, im chip leader with 4.5k on button & dealt 10c Jc, the small stack (0.9k) is in BB.. Folded to me so I raise x3.. BB pushes and I call, he shows Js 8s and doesn’t improve.. Same as above really..

Level 5.. 4 players left & im short stack (0.9k) on button with As 8c.. BB is chip leader.. Folded to me and I push & he calls with Q9 and doesn’t improve… I must make a move and the chip leader will call with weak hand in this spot.. Push against chip leader with decent hands and shorter stacks with lesser hands.. If there is a choice!

Learning points:

Controlled aggression.
Punish limpers, especially when big stack.
Steal blinds from mid stacks on bubble.
Figure out how cheap you can get away with it.
Don’t dip below 5 big blinds at worse.
When short stacked, try to push against big stacks with good hands and smaller stacks with lesser hands.
Don’t risk too much and react to the table dynamics.
Cbet half pot as bluff or with made hands.. Be prepared to fold the bluffs, but when raising with the better hands it should rarely end up being a complete bluff and may result in odds to call..
Use bubble to put pressure on folks Cbetting with air & reraise them.
Steal from short stacks relentlessly, first couple usually get through because Ive been so tight up to now, by the time they realise ive put them allin 3 times in a row, they are either too short to do much or ive actually got a hand.
Notes notes notes

High blinds (level 6 upwards)..

Chances are that in reaching these levels the bubble has burst.. If not its all about putting pressure on with half decent hands in position and again knowing the villains.. Raising limpers gets a bit costly from here, so best to limit it to decent holdings against players that are capable of folding or have the chip stack to fold or would be worried by my chip stack.. Some may limp with ace rag cos they don’t really like their hand, but will end up then calling allin raise preflop with it too!

One profitable scenario is with a decent stack.. 3 handed with a short stack at table… other player min raises or calls, short stack folds.. Put the other guy allin… will he really risk his place to the short stack to call this bet? Only with premium hands.. So notes on if he will slow play monsters at this stage is beneficial..

Heads up can become push or fold… but not as quick as a lot of players will make it.. See how cheap you can steal, don’t play rags unless theres a decent chance of getting a fold.. If short stacked allin with any two (almost) preferably sooted or connecting at worst..in earlier levels if other guy is rarely raising preflop then see how he reacts to a raise.. see flops and take a stab then.. tend to fold if possible to his raises… don’t slow play..
Against aggro players push with strong hands and call with better than average hands.. Prob sooted, or indeed any aces , pocket pairs and broadway etc when the blinds go through the roof… attack on the button with hands that you cant call on the big blind…

Level 6.. 4 players left.. 3 of us with @ 2.2k and a short stack in SB with 0.8k.. Im BB with Ac 2h.. Folded to Sb who pushes… Im getting better than 2/1 so cant fold with chance of knocking him out, when he will have any two.. He shows Kc 8C and doesn’t improve.. Take good odds to knock out small stacks.

Level 7.. 3 left.. Im short stack with 1.1k on button & dealt Ks 10h.. I go allin 7 they fold… result with 450 in the pot, but a call wouldn’t be terrible.

Level 6. .3 left, short stack only has 600 chips left, I have 2.3 & big stack has 4.6.. Shorty folds UTG and I min raise with Kh 10c in SB & BB calls.. Flop = 4d 9h 6c I bet half pot and he folds.. didn’t think he would risk much more when he missed and I should fold to reraise.. He prob would have reraised pre with a pocket pair to good ace.

Level 6.. 3 left.. Short stack is in BB with 800 chips left, big stack in SB with 5k and I have 1.7k on button.. Dealt Jc Kc and raise x4 putting BB allin.. BB folds.. Big enough raise to tell SB I have something and a good enough hand to risk heads up against short stack who prob should have called

Level 6.. 3 left.. Short stack in SB has 1k, I have 1.8k on button and BB has 4.7k… Im dealt As 9h and raise x3 & they both fold… would have called SB and folded to reraise from BB, unless Ive noticed hes playing too many hands.. SB is about 5 Bbs and should be thinking about pushing.. But as long as hes folding Im pushing.

Level 6.. 3 left. Shorty has 1.7k on button and BB has 2.6, Im in SB & big stack with 3.2k.. Folded to me so I raise x3 with ace rag, BB calls and flop = 8s 4d 10s and bet just over half, but looks like I wouldn’t fold to an allin (I might).. He folds, again he will be looking at shorty and not wanting to risk too much unless he has a good hand.. Best not calling a raise preflop unless with a decent hand..

Level 6.. 4 left.. Im short stack with 800 in SB and BB isn’t much better than me on 1k.. Folded to me and I push with Kd 7s, he calls with Qs 10h & doesn’t improve. I double up and hes just about out next hand on the bubble.

Level 6.. 4 players left, 3 of us all have about 1k each and Im in SB with 8d 10d & its folded to me so I push and BB calls with 4h Jh.. But I hit a 10 and double up and knock him out on bubble. I might of folded, but the hand was good enough at this stage to risk a call against two random cards and I only had 5 big blinds left so it was now or never.

Level 7.. 3 players.. Im chip leader with 4.5k and the other 2 have about 1.5 each.. Im in SB with 10d 7d, folded to me so I raise, basically putting BB allin.. He reraises allin and I have to call.. He shows Kd Qd.. Flop = 7c 7s 2d and I get lucky, knocking him out.. He might of folded to try and stay in for 2nd, but it wouldn’t have ruined my stack if he had of won.

Level 7.. 3 left, im in BB with 2k and Sb has 1.4... He open mineralised and I push with AK.. He calls with K8 & busts out.. With any above average hand Im reraising, he had committed more than half his stack with the minraise so why not go allin? I would of called, but if you know you will call an allin - better to do it first..

Level 6.. 4 left & im shorty with 1.2 in BB and dealt Ac 10d.. The button (2k) open pushes and I call.. He shows 88 but I hit a 10 on flop.. With only 5 B.Bs after this hand theres no way I can fold a hand this strong.

Level 6.. 4 left… I have 1.5 and BB is small stack with 1k.. I open push and he calls with Ad 4d but I hit my lady and burst the bubble.. it’s the average hand and gave myself 2 goes at winning the hand to get the much needed chips.

Level 6.. 3 left ive got 2.5k in BB and SB is chip leader with 3.5k.. Im dealt 10s 6c and SB open limps.. I cant make a move as he may well call and has me covered so I check… flop = 6h 8h 8s, SB min bets and sticking to my raising any bet on paired flop I go allin and he calls with 55 and I double up & cripple him.. He must of thought he was slow playing… don’t slow play! I would have folded to a raise preflop..

Level 7.. 3 left.. Im short stack with 1.7 in BB with 7s 8s, the other 2 have just under 3k each.. SB goes allin and I call… after this hand Im down to 4 Big Blinds and that’s beyond hope.. This may just be the best Im going to get so have to take it when I can with a hand that has some chance.. He shows Ad 9h.. But the turn is 8 and I double up..

Level 7.. 3 left.. Im shorty with 1.5 in SB, dealt KQ.. Big stack on button raises x3 and I have to push and he has to call.. He has Kh 10c.. Played itself, I have only 4 Bbs, theres 300 extra chips in there and Big stack is piling on the pressure. I would have called with any king and prob any queen, I double up.

Plenty of other hands to show that with high aces and pocket pairs you have to get as much money in the pot preflop as possible!!

HEADS UP

Level 7.. Ive got 1.7k, villain has 6k on button and limps.. I push with Jc Kh & he calls, showing 72 and I double up.. He limps, but willing to call my allin, noted, although he was never going to fold cos of my stack, but a push first might of made me fold one more time with a worse hand..

Level 7.. Ive got 1.5 & hes got 6k in SB and limps, I push with Ac 2s and he calls with 56 and I double up.. Same as above.

Level 7.. I have 2k & villain has 5.5... Im SB with Kh 3h so push and he calls with Q3 and I double up and we’re about evens..

Level 6.. I have 6k and he has 1.5 in BB.. Im dealt 77 and push he calls with 55 and I win. Don’t slow play..

Level 7.. I have 5.8k in SB and he has 1.7k.. Im dealt Ks 7s and push.. He calls with k5 and I win. He was down to about 5 Big Blinds after that hand so had to call with the king.

Level 8.. I have 2k and he has 5.5.. Pretty much a push fest at this level and see who breaks first.. Im dealt Jh 9s and push, he calls with J6 and ive got the edge, till nest hand!

Learning outcomes:

Punish limpers with decent holdings.. Otherwise call/check and have a stab on flop, as they will often call a reraise preflop, but fold to a bet on flop if they miss.

Bully with big stack.

If the opportunity arises and the small stack folds preflop then put pressure on remaining player as he will not want to give the small stack a free ticket to second place unless he has good hand, or is loose (notes).

When offered good odds against a small stack allin, take them with rags.

Don’t go below 5 big blinds & push with suited connectors; pocket pairs, Q high and better and may the poker gods be with you.

Don’t slow play pockets pairs or good aces/kings at regardless of stack sizes.. Get as much money in preflop as possible.. Takes the pressure off if you miss the flop and face a bet tempting you to fold, but when allin you will see all 5 cards and may hit..

In heads up, level 4 or 5 - don’t panic, theres loads of play left and enough time to wait for reasonable hands to call the maniacs allins with.. If he is a maniac then minraise and call his allins with reasonable hands also..
level 6 theres still ability to minraise steal or slow play (not slow playin by calling or checking!) and also scope to fold BB..
Level 8 - never fold BB.. maybe you might be able to fold 23o once if on SB and on big stack..

If going to call an allin, then do it first.

Don’t slow play any worthy hand.

Before 5 big blinds are reached.. Push every button.

Now the bit Im not looking forward to, where Ive lost chips....

should of done that first to finish on a high note

gl

Righty-o.. thats me up to date(ish) been awhile since Ive put fresh notes down for various reasons as told in the now first post of this blog (a bit time travellerish)... been doing ok playing the odd bit of 5 seater poker, varying from $2.50 and $5... now at a balance of

£66.55

will update the rest of my handhistory shananigoats and then back to the grind

Heres where it went really wrong in the early levels, but Im not including times where I just got plain unlucky….

Level 3.. 4 players left and Im in SB with 1.7k and BB is small stack with 755 chips… folded to me with Ad 3d, so I raise x4 & he calls… flop = 5d Kc 7d, I push and he calls with KQ and I don’t hit and he doubles up and Im small stack.. didn’t need to raise so much preflop to see where he was and then would not have been tempted to push with draw on flop.. At level 3 sooted ace isn’t really a hand to push it with..


Level 2.. Still 5 left, Im one of two chip leaders with 1.8k, in the hijack & dealt 9d 10d and open limp, button calls as does BB, flop = 10c As 5c and we all check.. Turn = 2d, BB bets half pot and we all call.. River = 9h, BB bets half pot and I raise just over double with my two pair… he reraises x3 and I call and he shows 3d 4d for the turned straight… I could of bet on flop, the raise on river was ok but the call to his huge reraise was just stupid, going from top two to short stack with middle two pair..


Level 2.. 5 in it.. Im short stack already with 800 chips and dealt 3h 4h on button, the blinds call & check.. Flop = 8h 5d 2c giving me open ended straight draw… SB bets the pot, BB & I call… turn = 9d, SB min bets, BB calls and I raise all in & called by SB who shows 7c 6h for the made straight.. He was aggressive on flop with his draw and slow played on turn when he hit.. Notes were made.. I don’t think I could have got him off the hand, but with a small stack I prob shouldn’t have wasted chips entering the pot in first place.

Level 1.. 5 in it..Im chip leader with 1.7k.. In SB with KK.. UTG limps and I raise x4 and he calls.. Flop = As 6c Qc.. Both check.. Turn = 5h & he bets pot & I call.. River = 7h & again he bets pot and I call.. He shows AK… Be ready to muck a 2nd best hand.. Given his check on flop then strong bets hes more than likely got the Ace, possibly the Queen and sometimes the flush draw.. But considering its first level and Im coasting, theres gonna be better spots..

Level 2.. 5 in it.. Im shorty with 900 chips.. Dealt 99 UTG and open raise x3.. UTG +1 reraises 3 times my bet and folded to me.. I go allin… he shows KK and Im out… again listen to the bets of others.. Make notes on them, is this realy likely to be from a worse hand than 99?? At best I maybe could have seen a flop hoping that hes making a move with a good ace (even then im unnecessarily risking it all on a 50/50 at level 2) and misses but get ready to bail out then with enough chips and time to recoup..

Level 3.. 5 in it.. Ive got 1.1k and in hijack with 10 10.. I open limp, SB calls and BB checks.. Flop = 8s 10h 7d.. SB leads out with pot bet BB folds and I call.. Turn = Js, SB bets just under half pot and I call.. River = 6s and he bets half pot and I call.. He shows 9h Qc for the turned straight.. I should not be limping preflop with tens.. I should not be slow playing trips on the straightning board and should have put him allin then and been happy to take it or lose to a bad call..

Level 3.. 4 left.. Im shorty with 1.1k and dealt 8c 7c in SB folded to me and I limp.. Flop = 4d 8d 7h for top two pair and I bet half pot and BB calls.. Turn = Jc and I push and he calls showing 9c 10c for the straight.. Maybe a raise preflop, but a stronger bet needed on the very scary flop.. Otherwise im not sure I was getting away from this..

Level 3.. 4 in it and I have 1.5k in button with Kd 8d, BB in big stack with 3.2k.. I open limp, Sb calls and BB checks.. Flop = 9d Kh Qs, SB checks, BB bets pot and I call then SB check raises allin and I call, he shows AA… His check raise is massive, im not pot commited and no way should I call with top pair weak kicker.. shouldn’t of been in hand in first place and def not by limping..

Level 1.. We’re all still about starting stack and Im dealt 10d 8d in hijack and open raise x2.5, button and BB call.. Flop = 6h 3d Ad BB bets the pot and I call, button folds.. Turn = 10h, he bets pot again and I call.. River = 7h and he pushes and I call.. He shows Ah 5h for top pair/weak kicker on flop, turned nut flush

Level 2.. 5 in it ive got 1.4k on button with 8d 7d, hijack minraises and double his bet, SB calls as does hijack.. Flop = 8h 3c Ks SB checks, hijack bets half pot and I call.. Turn = 5h.. He bets half pot and I push and he calls with KQ.. I should be seeing cheap flops with suited connectors, I didn’t hit the flop hard enough and only had 2nd pair.. A call maybe on flop but after that I should be done with the hand unless I improve..

Level 2.. 4 left.. Im button with QQ and open raise x3.. BB reraises trebling my bet and I call.. Flop = Ks 7s 7c.. He bets half pot and I push.. He calls with AK.. Would have been happier getting it all in preflop, maybe get away from it on flop… I was only beating AQ AJ and JJ or worse.. All possible tbh so this one is debatable..

Level 1.. 5 in it, IM BB with KK.. UTG min raise, UTG +1 calls as does SB, I reraise x 5.. UTG & UTG+1 both call.. Flop = 8h Jc 7s.. I lead, push and they both call! UTG shows 77 for trips and UTG+1 shows J9!.. couldn’t have done anything different..

Level 3.. 5 in it.. Im SB with 77.. I open raise 2.5 and BB calls.. Flop = 8h Jh Ad and I Cbet half pot and he calls.. Turn = 7c and I min ¼ pot and he calls.. River = 10s, I bet just under half, he pushes and I call and he shows 8s 9c for 3rd pair on flop, gutshot on turn and straight on river.. Cbetting flop is good, not a good call by him.. When I hit turn my bet is crap and that’s where I lost this hand..

Level 2.. 5 in it.. Dealt Ac 7c on button.. Hijack limps and I raise x3, blinds fold and hijack calls.. Flop = 2h Kd 2d.. Hijack bets pot and I go allin on my paired flop principle.. He calls with KJ.. This is a pointless bluff.. I have next to no chips invested and have misse completely, the paired board thing should not apply to pot sized bets when reraising will destroy my stack and I have no outs and when its possible that the unpaired flop card is paint making it likely he has at least hit this.. Plus given my preflop raise its very unlikely I have a 2.. Possibly a better King, so notes on player to say whether he could fold a weak king or not and also how my image is in the game so far and if they are even paying attention..


Level 3.. 4 left.. Im in BB with Qc 9c.. SB open raises x2.5 and I call.. Flop = Kd 10h 4c.. He checks and I bet half pot and he min raises & I call. Turn = 2c he bets half pot and I push the few chips extra into pot and he calls showing K4 for flopped two pair.. The check-minraise is sign of strength that I should listen to and not chase a gutshot, on flop but when it turns into flush draw also Im trapped..

Level 2.. 5 in it.. Dealt 8h 10h UTG and limp, button calls and BB raises x3 & I call.. Flop = Js 10d 2c, he leads out half pot and I push and he calls showing Qs Jh.. Maybe call preflop ok, but not very often.. Better to wait for better spot.. The push with 2nd pair, no draw was awful..

Level 1.. 4 players left.. BB is chip leader wit h3k already playing a very loose aggro game.. Im on button with Ks Qs and open raise x4.. BB pushes and I call.. He shows AK.. Even with notes on his play I cant be favourite very often and this is a def fold every time!!!! I Might have been drunk??

Level 3.. 4 left.. Im chip leader with 2.9k UTG with Ah 10s and raise x3.. SB reraises, doubling my bet and I call.. Flop = Qh 2h Ac, he checks and I bet half pot.. He pushes and I call.. He has AK… I shouldn’t get carried away with easily dominated hands such as weak aces or kings.. Listen to opponents bets and be wary of check raises.. No need to get involved when such a chip leader..





LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Keep it tight and see flops cheaply with drawing hands and only continuing with them when I hit the flop strong and either be aggressor with draws (once) or continue cheaply.. In face of action this early, better to back down..

Broke the £100 for the first time in ages... hopefully something is clicking and its not just positive variance... and must resist playing £10 & £20 tables and deviating from my strategy and playing more junk hands overconfidently...

Balance:

£123.77