Feb 28 Poker Journal
My complete Feb 28 poker journal is available at www.CanadianPoker.com. The new update also features photos of Vegas showgirls painted up as playing cards and a new edition of the Amateur Poker Player.
Feb 28 Content
General Interest
Non-poker related television content: I spent three days on the set of Canadian Idol during their audition stop here in Saskatoon. I have some exposure to how TV is made. In the case of Canadian Idol I was impressed by its legitimacy. There was nothing staged, and there were no re-shoots. The cameras simply filmed what they saw. I was very impressed.
I don’t really watch TV, but I have always been a Survivor viewer. I think it would be a fascinating game to play and watching always fires my game-brain. Lesson to would be Survivor contestants: cardio fitness matters more than brute strength. There was a challenge in which contestants had to swim down ten feet and pull on a rope to haul a trunk along the seabed. One team, laden with roid-monkeys couldn’t do it. The other team had little problem. The reason? The roid-monkeys had no cardio. They could swim down to the rope, but they could not remain on station long enough to haul on it. The other team has one very fit NYC firefighter who (I suspect) is a runner. He could stay down hauling on the rope for a long time. Is there an application to poker? Occasionally, poker can feel like an endurance sport. I suspect that a high level of cardio fitness will help a person through those long days at the WSOP.
Poker Nerd Content
Last Saturday’s final table – hand-by-hand (I came second in a tournament online last week). Here are my hand-by-hand notes.
Level 16 $2000-4000 Average $51,000 My stack $33,187
As soon as the final table starts I lose my internet connection. Fortunately, after a few moments (two hands) and few choice words, it comes back and I am in the game. Whew.
Hand #1: In the bi- blind with A-9o. It is folded to the small-blind who puts in a standard raise to $10K. I move in. I reasoned that there was probably a wide range of hands he might have and I couldn’t give up A-9o. Oops. He has A-To. Good news for me, I hit a 9 and double through to $64K
Hand #2: The very next hand in the small-blind I limp in after one limper. I have K-6s. Flop K-9-8 all diamonds. I check and call a small bet. Turn is another diamond. I fire a small-ish bluff. Both fold. Woohoo. $82K in second chip position.
Hand #3: This is the hand that I have been spending A LOT of brain-space on. In the cutoff I raise to $25K. This was enough to put the big blind all in. I a steal raise is not that much smaller than putting the BB all in then I will often make this move. I want there to be NO MISTAKE in the mind of the BB that he is playing for all of his chips. Bad luck for me, the SB moves in over the top. I call $27K into a $75K pot. He has KK and I lose. Moving my stack down to $27K. Ugh. From second chip position to bottom chip position armed only with an overzealous steal attempt and a thin draw.
Hand #4: J-J no action. Stack now $33.5K
Level 17 $3000-6000 Average $51,000 My stack: 33,691
Hand #4: Despite my small stack, I fold 4-4 facing a raise and a flat caller. It’s a good fold (one guy had QQ) but I, of course, would have won.
Hand #5: Jam with A-To and win.
Hand #6: The trickiest player at the table moves in from middle position. I am the button with A-To. I felt this was a good spot. I felt there was a wide range of hands he might have so I called (he was very slightly bigger than I was). He has 2-2 and I win with A-Y on flop.
Hand #7: A-K wins blinds. (now at $73K)
Level 18: $4000-8000 Average $64,800. Me $67,382
Hand #8: A-Qs and I jam. I do not want action and I will be pot committed. All fold.
Hand #9: I get a walk in the big blind. I note this only because the BIG stack was on my left. Everyone else was little stacks. So, I got a lot of walks in the big blind. All the little stacks were reluctant to pick on me, and the big stack had too many to go through.
At this point there were 6 players left. One BIG stack, me, and four small stacks.
Hand #10: Walk in the big blind.
Hand #11: All fold to me. I limp in the SB. Flop is 6-5-2. I check-raise the BB and he folds. Stack now $107,382.
I was in good shape. I wanted to make sure that I did not get down among the little stacks: “Play small pot poker.â€
Level 19 $5000-10000 Average $102K. My stack: $107,382.
My chips count felt better than average because there was one BIG stack and three tiny stacks. I also thought that the big stack has some major leaks that might be exploited heads up if I could get there. He made several very questionable calls at the final table and I felt that he overvalued a lot of hands. Heads up, with a little luck, I might be able to get it all-in with an edge. So, I was happy to play “maintenance†and let the small stacks get picked off by the monster – he was still playing a lot of hands.
Hand #12: Walk the BB.
Hand #13: I raise on the button with K-Jo and fold to a re-raise from the monster. Now at $87K
Hand #14: Walk the BB
Hand #15: UTG with 4-4. Raise to $35K and all fold. Whew. I did NOT want action.
Hand #16: Walk in the BB – wow was this string lucky.
At this point we got heads up. $102K for me, $408K for monster.
Fold back and forth a couple of hands and then play one hand.
Hand #17: He raises on the button. I call A-Js. I was basically “hunting foxes in the dark†since I thought I would simply fire on the flop no matter what came. Flop Q-J-6. I decided to check-raise. I was confident that he would bet and I wanted to get some more of his chips. If he had me beat, so be it. He obliged and bet, I raised, and he moved me in. Doh! No wait. He had K-J. Woohoo. Now we’re rolling.. “Not so fast Mr lucky-pants.†K on turn and he wins.
Feb 28 Content
General Interest
Non-poker related television content: I spent three days on the set of Canadian Idol during their audition stop here in Saskatoon. I have some exposure to how TV is made. In the case of Canadian Idol I was impressed by its legitimacy. There was nothing staged, and there were no re-shoots. The cameras simply filmed what they saw. I was very impressed.
I don’t really watch TV, but I have always been a Survivor viewer. I think it would be a fascinating game to play and watching always fires my game-brain. Lesson to would be Survivor contestants: cardio fitness matters more than brute strength. There was a challenge in which contestants had to swim down ten feet and pull on a rope to haul a trunk along the seabed. One team, laden with roid-monkeys couldn’t do it. The other team had little problem. The reason? The roid-monkeys had no cardio. They could swim down to the rope, but they could not remain on station long enough to haul on it. The other team has one very fit NYC firefighter who (I suspect) is a runner. He could stay down hauling on the rope for a long time. Is there an application to poker? Occasionally, poker can feel like an endurance sport. I suspect that a high level of cardio fitness will help a person through those long days at the WSOP.
Poker Nerd Content
Last Saturday’s final table – hand-by-hand (I came second in a tournament online last week). Here are my hand-by-hand notes.
Level 16 $2000-4000 Average $51,000 My stack $33,187
As soon as the final table starts I lose my internet connection. Fortunately, after a few moments (two hands) and few choice words, it comes back and I am in the game. Whew.
Hand #1: In the bi- blind with A-9o. It is folded to the small-blind who puts in a standard raise to $10K. I move in. I reasoned that there was probably a wide range of hands he might have and I couldn’t give up A-9o. Oops. He has A-To. Good news for me, I hit a 9 and double through to $64K
Hand #2: The very next hand in the small-blind I limp in after one limper. I have K-6s. Flop K-9-8 all diamonds. I check and call a small bet. Turn is another diamond. I fire a small-ish bluff. Both fold. Woohoo. $82K in second chip position.
Hand #3: This is the hand that I have been spending A LOT of brain-space on. In the cutoff I raise to $25K. This was enough to put the big blind all in. I a steal raise is not that much smaller than putting the BB all in then I will often make this move. I want there to be NO MISTAKE in the mind of the BB that he is playing for all of his chips. Bad luck for me, the SB moves in over the top. I call $27K into a $75K pot. He has KK and I lose. Moving my stack down to $27K. Ugh. From second chip position to bottom chip position armed only with an overzealous steal attempt and a thin draw.
Hand #4: J-J no action. Stack now $33.5K
Level 17 $3000-6000 Average $51,000 My stack: 33,691
Hand #4: Despite my small stack, I fold 4-4 facing a raise and a flat caller. It’s a good fold (one guy had QQ) but I, of course, would have won.
Hand #5: Jam with A-To and win.
Hand #6: The trickiest player at the table moves in from middle position. I am the button with A-To. I felt this was a good spot. I felt there was a wide range of hands he might have so I called (he was very slightly bigger than I was). He has 2-2 and I win with A-Y on flop.
Hand #7: A-K wins blinds. (now at $73K)
Level 18: $4000-8000 Average $64,800. Me $67,382
Hand #8: A-Qs and I jam. I do not want action and I will be pot committed. All fold.
Hand #9: I get a walk in the big blind. I note this only because the BIG stack was on my left. Everyone else was little stacks. So, I got a lot of walks in the big blind. All the little stacks were reluctant to pick on me, and the big stack had too many to go through.
At this point there were 6 players left. One BIG stack, me, and four small stacks.
Hand #10: Walk in the big blind.
Hand #11: All fold to me. I limp in the SB. Flop is 6-5-2. I check-raise the BB and he folds. Stack now $107,382.
I was in good shape. I wanted to make sure that I did not get down among the little stacks: “Play small pot poker.â€
Level 19 $5000-10000 Average $102K. My stack: $107,382.
My chips count felt better than average because there was one BIG stack and three tiny stacks. I also thought that the big stack has some major leaks that might be exploited heads up if I could get there. He made several very questionable calls at the final table and I felt that he overvalued a lot of hands. Heads up, with a little luck, I might be able to get it all-in with an edge. So, I was happy to play “maintenance†and let the small stacks get picked off by the monster – he was still playing a lot of hands.
Hand #12: Walk the BB.
Hand #13: I raise on the button with K-Jo and fold to a re-raise from the monster. Now at $87K
Hand #14: Walk the BB
Hand #15: UTG with 4-4. Raise to $35K and all fold. Whew. I did NOT want action.
Hand #16: Walk in the BB – wow was this string lucky.
At this point we got heads up. $102K for me, $408K for monster.
Fold back and forth a couple of hands and then play one hand.
Hand #17: He raises on the button. I call A-Js. I was basically “hunting foxes in the dark†since I thought I would simply fire on the flop no matter what came. Flop Q-J-6. I decided to check-raise. I was confident that he would bet and I wanted to get some more of his chips. If he had me beat, so be it. He obliged and bet, I raised, and he moved me in. Doh! No wait. He had K-J. Woohoo. Now we’re rolling.. “Not so fast Mr lucky-pants.†K on turn and he wins.