A Change of Pace
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Last night, I had my first winning day in a while. I don't know how long, but it's been a long time coming. The results weren't anything particularly amazing. I think I won probably $45 or so. But a win is a win, and I'm glad for it.
This won't be an uber-post of Iggian proportions, but I definitely plan on hitting a lot of topics, so bear with me.
In continuing my in depth coverage of 88, aka the Crazy 88s, I provide you with this hand from a Party Poker: I am one off of the button with 88. I follow my commentors lead and only call the minimum raise from early position. Several of the players before me have called as well. The QT5 flop comes out. Someone bets in mid position. I fold.
Yep. You saved me some money. I don't think I would've raised here anyway, facing a pre-flop raise and all of those callers. The only move was call or go all-in pre-flop to win all of the small bets and possibly face a 50/50 coinflip with AK or something. Hell, with Party players, I'd probably be facing three callers with AK, QJ and 9T. Either way, my point is, obviously limping (or making a small call) with the hope to make a set or fold is a viable and smart option. But enough with this hand analysis crap. Let's move along...
New Year's Eve is coming up! Are you excited? I'm not. Damn. Every year, its a slowly building anticipation, coupled with the ever present issue: what to do? One friend, Platinum, wants me to throw a soiree at my apartment. My new furniture and hosting duties persuade me otherwise. One of Wifey Kim's friends wants us to go to Conneticut. This is the enclave of friends who have purchased homes and have settled into marriage domesticity. I enjoy going out there, but for New Year's Eve? No thank you! If I had it my way, Wifey Kim and I would go to dinner and enjoy each other's company alone. Here's crossing my fingers.
So, let's talk about poker yesterday! Hollywood Poker = Fish. This is nothing new. I mean, I've played with Party fish before. But these Hollywood Fish are a new breed. Just check out my last post in which my Snowmen whooped some fishy ass.
What is new? I'm starting to win on Hollywood. The trick is to avoid the limit tables. These fish call down with anything, and they keep on hitting. At limit, I was getting hurt as a result. At POT limit (yep, Pot Limit, don't know why, just started there and have been successful), I've been playing a LOT more hands, which is important because Hollywood's bonus points are based on the amount of money YOU put into the pot. Other sites, like Titan, Absolute, and Bodog (at least formerly), count any had that is raked where you are at the table, even if you fold pre-flop. So, my new strategy is limp with any two suited gap cards, minimum raise with any decent cards, and raise large with any good to great cards. If I hit, I keep at it. If I miss on the flop, I fold. So suddenly, I limp with Qd6d and hit a 669 board. See how it works? I'm acting all fishy. But it works. Mikey Aps once told me the strategy. I think the key is that I can outplay them post-flop. So any two cards will do most of the time. As a result, I doubled my bankroll at Hollywood from $40 to about $80. Now, if I can get that to $300, I'll be about even there. Ugh!
Oh, and just so you know, it wasn't all peaches and cream. The swings have been huge. I started with $40, reached $70 and was down to $10. But sure enough, I was able to get some great value out of mediocre hands, including one in which my middle pair held up against two players who were calling down huge bets. Par for the course with these yahoos.
After that, I played a 6-person SNG with TripJax at Ultimate Bet. I placed 2nd for a $4 profit and Trip bubbled. My biggest hand was against Trip when I was shortstacked. There were four players left and I held AA. I minimum raised (to $200) on the button. The player before me had already folded. The SB folded too. Trip, in the BB, called. The flop was K-high. He bet $400. I re-raised all-in for my last $410 or so. He called with K8 and I doubled up. This was one of those instances where a normally donkey move, min raising with AA, worked out because of table conditions. Any more and Trip would've folded, leaving me with little profit from my Rockets.
The game reminded me of the SNG Challenge we held a while ago, when Trip, GCox, DNasty, SteelerJosh, Kipper and myself played only SNGs for a month to see who could make the most profit. GCox won, Trip placed 2nd. During the Challenge, though, there were often times when two or three or four of us would sit in the same SNG. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Online poker is a good time. Online poker with friends is a great time. Thanks again, Trip, and thanks to the rest of that ole SNG crew.
It's time to start looking for a new VPP or PSO promotion. If you don't know about these sites, you are hopeless. Just click one of the links and you'll see what you are missing.
The plan is to start VPP's new promotion at Poker Time. The promotion should be a good one. You get an automatic $10 bonus, and up to a $1000 bonus for a simple $20 deposit (although I think a $50 deposit is required for the VPP promo. Of course there is a trick to the $1000. It only lasts for 90 days, during which the release $20 for every 500 points you earn. Good thing is, you get points for every raked hand at your table, regardless if you put any money into the pot. So, for all you newbie Bonus Whores, open about 3 windows. Play one for real, and just fold away at the other two, earning your bonuses. You gotta work the system, or it'll work you.
I know GCox is looking for a new promo. So, are you in?
I've gotten word from VPP that I have finished the Hollywood bonus through them. I'll keep my eye open for the $50 gift certificate to BestBuy coming in the mail. I love me some free stuff. I reask the question though...I earned over $400 in BestBuy gift cards through VPP and PSO. Should I consider that $400 in winnings or not? I mean, realistically no. But in evaluating whether poker was worth it this year, how could I not consider the residual "comps". Opinions?
I have to do some big pimpage. It's not my usual thing, but there are a couple of highly deserving people/blogs out there. Check out Lady Falcon. She is a friend of Dr. Pauly. I've even met her before at her home game right before Pauly left for his WSOP 2005 Vegas stint. See that classic post here. I really appreciate her recent posts about the 21 people you'll meet in a poker room. It's an instant classic. Support her new blog, damnit!
And, let me give mad props yo to Cmitch and Loopy at Opoker. They've created a Heads-Up Challenge format that is a clever twist. It's an individual challenge. You play a HU match. If you win, you play another one. If you win 2 in a row, move up a level. If you win two at that level, move up another one. If you lose at any point, drop back to the start. They put it a lot more eloquently. I'm looking forward to trying this out myself in the near future.
Um, I think I am running out of steam. So, let's call this a blog. If you are looking for some good reads, I
What are your Prime Directives?
Serve the public trust, protect the fish, uphold the bankroll.
posted by Jordan @ 9:31 AM,
3 Comments:
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At 11:10 AM,
said...
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Can you explain what you mean by the amount YOU put in. I thought it was basically if you were sitting at the table (not in SitOut mode) and there was a rake, then you get whatever amount in points as specified in their points structure (i.e. .10 rake equals .07 points or whatever it might be).
Are you saying if you fold preflop and two people get involved in a huge pot that results in a $1 rake you don't get the full credit? Just want to make sure I understand...
And I had a good time at the tables last night. Did you see my recent post? You'll like... -
At 11:38 AM,
said...
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I'm not 100% sure, but from watching my play and constantly refreshing my Points at Hollywood, it seems like you only get points if you put money into the pot. It also seemed like when I limped and folded I got miniscule points, whereas if I made big bets, the points went up faster. On other sites, if you fold and two people go at it and rake more than .25, you get points. But apparently that is not the case at Hollywood. Can anyone verify this?
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At 1:47 PM,
said...
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Thanks for the props. I think you actually nailed the heads up steps description a lot better than I did. I went on and on explaining it and you put it in simple terms that make sense. If you win twice, you move up. If you lose, you start over. Basically, if you win 3 in a row or more you show a profit.
