PokerSharing & You Decide #33
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The greatest thing about PokerShare is that the name really does indicate the style of play. Whenever I sit down, especially at No Limit cash tables, my opponents insist on sharing their hard-earned money with me. I wish I could say that I have gotten into this spirit of giving, but Christmas isn't till December, and I'm a Jew anyway.
Let's get down to the bare facts. I started the night with a feeling that my $260 night would necessarily be followed by a bad evening. I started out at a $50NL table, buying in for the max. I'm sure people have their own opinions, but I like me a table with a bunch of shortstacks. It allows me to do one of two things in any given hand: (1) force a player to give me all of his chips when I have him dominated because, hell, he only has $10 behind him and my overbet of $12 into a $4 pot means I'm scared (PSYCHE!) and (2) gamble a bit more when they bet big and I have a draw because, hell I know my exposure right away and it's not like he can price me out on the turn and make me fold.
So, I win $45 at the NL cash game, and then the table breaks. No problem for me, as I had entered a $10 10-person turbo on PokerShare and those turbos go fast. I was able to eke into the money by stealing when the blinds got silly-high. Two players were knocked out in one hand and I'm ITM. At that point, I begin stealing more. I didn't have much of a choice. The blinds were 200/400 and I had about 1200 at most, and at one point, under 900. So steal, steal, steal with my All-Ins with Ace-high, King-high, whatever-high. I convince all of the players that I'm always going all-in, which is true, and they start folding their blinds to me. Then they start pushing all-in too. I finally called one with 88 vs his JT. I take him down. I'm now heads up and the chipleader. I get T8s and decide to see a flop. The flop is TT9. I check, and my conditioned opponent, used to my betting and my all-in precedent, pushes all-in. I call right away, and he shows QJ. Blank, blank, and I win. Booya!
I then decide to try another one, but lose when I push all-in with TT on an all-under board (235) and get called by A4, who had foolishly called my preflop raise. It was still early in the game, so I didn't know he'd play such crap. 9 times out of 10 though, he misses the flop and folds to my continuation bet (assuming no Ace, because if there is an Ace on the flop, I slow down). But this was that tenth time.
I switch back to Noble, my old standby, and take down a Rio SNG after being as low as 300 in chips very early on. I then try another and lose. Still, it's a net profit. Later in the night, I returned to PokerShare, where I eked out a meager $1.50 profit while two-tabling for 20 minutes or so.
Overall, I'm more than 30% done with the PSO bonus at PokerShare. If I stick around, I can also earn my initial deposit bonus of $300, but that would require 3000 points, instead of the 500 that PSO requires. In other words, it's not looking likely, seeing as how PokerShare's traffic, or lack thereof, still annoys me. Still, I have to thank PSO. I've turned $300 into $700 in three days at PokerShare, and that ain't too shabby.
I'm playing poker at the I Had Outs tournament tonight in beautiful Brooklyn. Wish me luck, because it'll be an all-star blogger crowd. Game report tomorrow...if you're lucky.
You Decide #32
It's been a while since I've had a "You Decide" post. For newbies, basically, I'll go through a hand and give you all an opportunity to mock my play. If you want to see some prior examples, take a look at the You Decide Index. So here goes:
I actually discussed this hand with Waffle, and I hope to remember it well, but I promise nothing. Jordan and Recall aren't necesarily a winning combination. Actually it is coming back to me. I held Ad9c made my usual (for this table) preflop raise to $1.50. I wasn't overly aggressive yet , but I had been moving toward aggressive from my initial tight play, during which I get a feel for the table. I figured that the bet would get the pot started and maybe I'd pick up the blinds right away. If not, a post-flop bet could probably take the hand down.
So I bet $1.50 UTG+1 in a 5-person game and the Button calls. I didn't have a perfect read on the Button yet, but I had a feeling he was playing loose with his call. All others fold. I miss the flop, but it's all diamonds and I have the nut diamond draw. I decide to check and the button obliges. I figure the best move is to get a free card if I can, since if I make my flush, I might be able to maximize value against a weaker flush. I also feared a flush at the time, and lost to any pair. The idea of my opponent holding an AJ was another possibility, of course. Bottom line was that I wasn't sure if I was ahead.
The turn is the King of hearts and I check again. To my surprise (or not) the Button decided to bet $1.50. I don't totally get the bet at the time, but I know that it is a mere pittance compared to my stack, and I have great implied odds. It occurs to me that he might be trying to buy the pot. The other possibility is that he has a King, and hopefully the King of diamonds.
The river comes down and its a 9d. I've rivered my nut-flush and have to decide on a strategy. The Button only has about $28 in front of him and the pot is approximately $6. I decide to overbet, and bet $15 into the $6 pot. My opponent pushes all-in. I call. He has KdJx, for the second nut straight, and I look like a genius.
The overbet is a new strategy for me, but one that I am finding increasingly profitable against semi-intelligent players. I used to believe that overbets always meant that my opponent was scared or was trying to push me off of my winning hand (with either a crappier hand or an outright bluff). Unfortunately, this caused me to call several nut hands. My impression at the time was that these players were donkey morons who thought, "I have the best hand, so let me get as many chips into the pot as I can" without regard for getting value for their hands. I'm sure that was the case some of the time, but now I know that there is a different type of person who overbets. That guy overbets because he knows that the overbet looks like a bluff and wants to induce action. Hence, my play.
It's hard to argue with the results of the play. I maximized my profit, without a doubt. But could I have played it better in a way that wouldn't have relied on hitting the flush, but would have still been smart and profitable. You tell me, cause hell if I know!
posted by Jordan @ 7:53 AM,
8 Comments:
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At 12:21 PM,
said...
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The overbet is something I was seeing while playing 1-2 NL on CityPoker, and it was usually the case that the person making the overbet had the nuts or a very strong hand and was making the play for the reasons you stated, especially if they were first to act on the river - because it looks like a buy or a stone bluff. I haven't really seen it used at all on the $50 max buy-in Noble tables, and I use it myself sometimes if I have a flush or a boat on boards that are coordinated enough for other people to have strong hands.
Sounds like you're running goot lately. Keep it up! -
At 12:23 PM,
said...
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I've been doing the overbet with the nut hand lately as well. For me, it works about 1/2 the time. If you have a well disguised nut straight, or a low set, it can work like a charm.
In the instance above, the guy had to call, having the second nuts. I'm sure he figured the odds against you having the Ad was miniscule. I don't know that I really blame his play.
Nice work at the tables overall, yo. Hit me up on the girlie chat tonight if you want to do a Dirty Dozen or sit down at the donkeyfest known as the Swanseas.
BP -
At 1:20 PM,
said...
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I love the overbet and use it regulary. Whether you bet 1/2 pot or pot or big bet.. The results are normally the same. If they are going to call you with a 1/2 pot bet then they are probably going to call any bet. Plus, now you give the potential illusion that you are bluffing and wanting to buy the pot.
Nice bet and rake. -
At 1:43 PM,
said...
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I haven't been as successful yet with the overbet, probably due to the other guy's hand not being strong enough to call. I also probably bet that flop rather than let a free card come, but that's probably why I suck at NLHE.
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At 2:31 PM,
said...
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Yeah, checking that flop is a very good move since the other guy will have no clue if you hold a diamond, and if he happens to hold a high one, you're getting paid off unless he's uber tight.
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At 2:42 PM,
said...
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Betting the flop, though, wouldn't be an aweful move. In fact, it is the move that I would generally use, at least in the recent past.
The benefits for betting the flop:
(1) Win the pot right away, without any significant hand.
(2) Get called and build the pot that I will take with my flush if it comes.
(3) Get called and build the pot that I might win on the turn if I miss the flush but still bet out and scare away a drawing opponent.
(4) You get a feel for what your opponent has.
The shortcomings:
(1) The pot size is small-ish so winning on the flop won't be a significant win.
(2) If you are re-raised on the flop, you are on a tough decision. He may already have the flush, in which case you have even less outs.
(3) If you miss on the turn and don't bet out, your opponent may bet at you, taking your post-flop feeler bet with him.
In the end, I think that checking was the right move. You are losing some potentially small immediate profits for a chance to hit a monster hand and potentially win a larger pot (or lose without putting any more money in).
I think if my opponent bet more on the turn, I may have folded. However, in this situation, I really did feel like I had massive implied odds.
Any more thoughts? -
At 5:34 PM,
said...
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Hey man, I appreciate the info...As far as the low traffic is concerned, they would have to get another 5k to be considered low...I signed on today at lnuch for the first time, which is not prime time, and the had about 1100 people on, so...But it seems like a good deal, and I will be giving it a solid(shitty) effort soon...What kind of montior set up do you have? It seems you have been checking out my blog lately, and I am seriously in need of a new monitor or two, any suggestions??? Also, give me some info on all these damn blogger events ya'll have on stars...other than the DADI...Late
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At 6:38 PM,
said...
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Dornie, you inspired me next post. Check it out for details on Blogger events.
And I don't know dookie about monitors. I'm used to all the overlapping. Sorry, dude. Good luck.
