Poker and Golf

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Location: Lansing, Michigan, United States

I play my poker at Full Tilt, Poker Stars and Absolute Poker as LZFSB3. I golf at Prairie Creek Golf Course and carry an 11 handicap.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Good and the Not So Good

The Good:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Button ($9.85)
SB ($4.20)
BB ($3.60)
UTG ($8.45)
UTG+1 ($10.10)
Wolverine Fan ($5.35)
MP2 ($17.70)
CO ($11.80)

Preflop: Wolverine Fan is MP1 with As, Ad.
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.10, Wolverien Fan raises to $0.4, MP2 calls $0.40, 4 folds, UTG+1 calls $0.30.

Flop: ($1.35) Ac, 9d, 3d (3 players)
UTG+1 bets $1, Wolverine Fan raises to $3, MP2 calls $3, UTG+1 calls $2.

Turn: ($10.35) 8c (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Wolverine Fan bets $1.95 (All-In), MP2 calls $1.95, UTG+1 calls $1.95.

River: ($0) 7c (3 players, 1 all-in)
UTG+1 checks, MP2 checks.

Final Pot: $16.20

Results in white below:
UTG+1 has Ah 5s (one pair, aces).
Wolverine Fan has As Ad (three of a kind, aces).
MP2 has Td Qd (high card, ace).
Outcome: Hero wins $16.20.


The Not so Good:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Wolverine Fan ($4.20)
BB ($25.35)
UTG ($4.85)
MP ($14.40)
CO ($11.40)
Button ($5.50)

Preflop: Wolverine Fan is SB with Qh, Qd.

1 fold, MP calls $0.10, 1 fold, Button raises to $0.3, Wolverine Fan raises to $0.5, 1 fold, MP folds, Button raises to $1, Wolverine Fan calls $0.50.

Flop: ($2.20) 5c, 2h, 3h (2 players)

SB bets $1, Button raises to $4.5, Wolverine Fan calls $2.20 (All-In).

Turn: ($8.60) Kd (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($8.60) 5d (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $8.60
Results in white below:

Wolverine Fan has Qh Qd (two pair, queens and fives).
Button has As Ad (two pair, aces and fives).
Outcome: Button wins $9.90.

The main thing is I am learning and sometimes the lessons are hard.

I'm Back

Well, I'm back for a few more posts. My Micro Limit/No Limit challenge at Poker Stars is like a roller coaster ride. Sunday, I did very well and managed to triple up my buy-in and I was very happy with my play. Monday was a different story. It seemed like my good hands were always second best to a better hand. I ran pocket nines and queens into aces and that really hurt. Overall, I fell back to a little under what I had started with on Sunday so I am down a buy-in or so. Seems like everything that went right on Sunday went wrong on Monday.

I am learning quite a bit and I am finding out that I am not really that bad but the biggest thing I am learning is to keep my fucking mouse away from the all in. The pocket nines was just dumb. I put the villain on A/Q or A/J but going all in with nines against any A/rag is just a horse race and not a +EV play in the long run. As it was, against pocket Aces I didn't have a prayer. When I think about it, it was like an out of body experience and my head was saying call and see the flop and my mouse hand was saying, "Motherfucker, I want all your stack!!"

I wasn't on tilt or anything I was just stupid. I am smarter now.

The funny thing is I thought I made some pretty good laydowns but the two I didn't make cost me dearly. Oh well, that's poker and I am learning. I'll be at it again this week and see how I do.
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My golf is winding down. I did play 9 holes on Monday and shot pretty good but the weather is getting colder and I am ready to put the clubs up. I have been out power walking with my Ipod on and Mrs. Wolverine and I have been eating some delicious salads as I am attempting to lose quite a bit of weight.

The base of our salad is Romaine Hearts and then we go from there. Grilled chicken, onions, feta cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, tomatoes, crutons, peppers, radishes, etc. etc. have all been in our salads. We have a wonderful produce store in Lansing called Horrocks Farm Market where we get all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables at an excellent price. We are going to have some golden acorn squash, some sweet potatoes, more salads and loads of other healthy food for our dinners in the coming days. I can feel the pounds just melt away.

I am working on eating healthier and exercising more so that I can get my blood pressure and cholesterol down to normal levels. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Playing Short Stacks in No Limit Holdem

I mentioned in my earlier post that I am going to attempt to transition from Limit Holdem to No Limit Holdem. I'll be playing the microstakes (.05/.10) to begin with and I am going to buy in with the minimum amount. I am intentionally playing shortstacked for several reasons.

1. I don't have the bankroll to play Big Stack Poker. I can't afford to play with over 10% of my Bankroll when I am just beginning. The variance alone would kill me, let alone the bad decisions I will invariably be making from time to time.

2. Short stacks may help reduce the number of tough decisions that I'll be faced with.
3. Losing a shortstack will be easier emotionally for me as opposed to losing a Big Stack and seeing my bankroll be in jeopardy.
So far I have a played a very limited amount of hands but have been quite happy with how things have gone. I have been sucked out on to lose some nice pots and I have been the suckee where I have hit the miracle river card to take down a big pot. I am going to stick with this through the month of November and then reevalutate how it is working and if my game is improving at all.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Coaching and videos

2 + 2 Forums has a Coaching/Training category on their site now and I have been watching a couple of videos made by DeucesCracked.com and am really enjoying them. I am hoping to transition my Limit Holdem to No Limit Holdem. I am taking it slow by just playing the .05/.10 No Limit tables so far and I buy in for the minimum amount as I can't afford to lose too much in the early going. Check them out and I'll let you know how my transition goes.

Winter is coming to Michigan so I am planning on playing a lot more poker. I am going to cut back on the SitNGos in favor of low stakes No Limit and see how I do.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

It would be a Horse Race

53%

Thanks to Pii from Drowned at the River for the Zombie test. Check out his blog, it is pretty cool.

It looks like my chances of surviving a Zombie Apocalypse would be the same as my pocket Jacks going up against A/K suited for all the marbles. I usually lose that race.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Donkish Play Wolverine Style

Chipper had an interesting writeup on his blog regarding Recognizing Donkish Betting Patterns and how he was able to exploit a player who's "betting style soon turned into a recognizable pattern that you could almost predict with some certainty to what he was holding." (Chipper's words).
Chipper was able to exploit this donkey for quite a bit of money.

I ran into a similar situation with a player who played every hand, bet if he got any piece of the flop and was almost impossible to get off a hand. And he kicked my butt. I was dealt the most beautiful hands for a short session of Limit Holdem on Full Tilt and he won every one of them.

The worse was when he had A/5 vs my A/Q (he was out of position and he called my preflop raise) and an ace came on the flop which also brought 2 clubs , the turn was a club and river a club and his shitty kicker, the 5 is a club and he wins with a flush. I raised his flop bet and after that he just check called until the river when he led out with a bet and I knew he had a club and I was beat but made the crying call anyway.

It was not a good day for me.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Royal Flush or Hole In One

I mentioned yesterday that I joined Poker Weblogs in hopes that I would get more people to view my blog. One of the people that stopped by and left a comment asked what would I rather get, a hole in one or a royal flush. This is like comparing apples to oranges but, still, it is a good question.

I would much rather get a hole in one as I think the hole in one would outweight the royal flush by quite a bit. For the most part the Hole in One is much more rare than the royal flush and is a product of what may possibly by years of playing in pursuit of that one swing that brings everything together and sends that ball on a flight to immortality. Many hole in ones are the result of a terribly hit golf ball that just happens to roll onto the green and into the hole. Many other hole in ones are the results of a well struck golf ball that heads right for the green, maybe even right at the pin, and then is in the hole. No matter how it happens it is the rarest of feats. The odds of getting a hole in one are 10,000 to 15,000 to 1.
Your chances of getting one of the four possible Royal Flushes dealt to you are 1 in 649,740. Now, your chances of actually getting a royal flush in a game of poker depends largely on the game you are playing. In draw poker, if you are dealt four of the cards needed your chance of picking up the final card are actually pretty good, 1/47. These odds look to be a lot harder to obtain than a hole in one but, again, they are like comparing apples and oranges. If you play online poker and multi-table then you have a better chance of getting the royal flush because you are putting yourself in a position to see a lot more hands dealt. You have the ability to increase the chance of you getting a royal flush.

In golf, there are only so many holes that give you a chance for a hole in one. There are the 4 par 3 holes on a typical 18 hole golf course and maybe a couple of par 4 holes are short enough to be able to make it to the green in one stroke. Thus you have about 6 to 8 chances per round of getting a hole in one. Even if you only played a 9 hole par three course all your life you would still not have that many chances in a lifetime to make a hole in one.
I have been dealt a royal flush once so far at PokerStars. I have been 6 inches away from a hole in one.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Ramblings

I just joined PokerWeblogs.com. It looks like a lot of Poker Bloggers are joining up. I just hope it helps get me more readers to my blog.
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Big story about cheating at Absolute Poker. This is the shits. Basically some higher up at Absolute Poker goes out and cheats to win high stakes games. Read all about it here: N 82 50 24's BlogM. And there is a thread at 2+2 to check out: Cheating at AP - Updated cliff notes
Absolute was the first poker room I signed up to play real money with so it has always been kind of a favorite of mine but this is just rediculous. This is what fuels the Republicants and Puritans in our society to say, "See, that is why you need us to look out for you." Give me a break.
_______________________
Compare what AP is doing to what PokerStars did when if found what was believe to be cheating: WCOOP Main Event Winner Disqualified After Lengthy Investigation>/a>. This is impressive by PokerStars.
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Johnny Chan has his own Poker room, ChanPoker. It is part of the OnGame Network. I don't know if USA Players are allowed or not. I'll check it out more in the near future. OnGame Network is one of the largest network of pokerrooms and is mostly in the European market.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Big Day gone bad

My big day of Poker on PokerStars didn't end up quite like I expected Sunday. I made it through the first hour of the PokerStars World Blogger Championships until this hand set me back quite a little bit.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

MP2 (t10000)
MP3 (t31025)
CO (t12950)
Wolverine Fan (t18250)
SB (t20500)
BB (t16620)
UTG (t16200)
UTG+1 (t55350)
Zagga (t16045)

Preflop: Wolverine Fan is Button with Ac, Kh.
2 folds, MP1 raises to t3000, 3 folds, Wolverine Fan raises to t10000, 2 folds, Zagga raises to t16045, Wolverine Fan calls t6045.

Flop: (t32990) 9d, 6s, 6h (2 players)

Turn: (t32990) Th (2 players)

River: (t32990) Jc (2 players)

Final Pot: Zagga has 9s 9c (full house, nines full of sixes).
Wolverine Fan has Ac Kh (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: Zagga wins t32990.

I reraised Zagga in hopes of getting him to fold and taking down the blinds plus his raise. I really don't like A/K that much as it is a drawing hand (a very good drawing hand) but when he went all in I was good with that as my hand was better than average. This really was the end of my game. I did chip up just a bit but lost everything a little bit later.

My Brittbloggerment tourney didn't last very long as my all in with pocket queens ran into this:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Wolverine Fan (t1370)
BB (t705)
UTG (t1870)
UTG+1 (t1270)
MP1 (t2110)
MP2 (t1805)
MP3 (t1350)
CO (t3065)
Button (t1305)

Preflop: Wolverine Fan is SB with Qs, Qd.
2 folds, MP1 raises to t120, 2 folds, CO raises to t420, 1 fold, Wolverine Fan calls t405, 1 fold, MP1 raises to t2110, CO raises to t3065, Wolverine Fan calls t950 (All-In).

Flop: (t6575) Qc, Ts, Jh (3 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t6575) 8c (3 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t6575) Ac (3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t6575

Results:
Wolverine Fan has Qs Qd (three of a kind, queens).
MP1 has Ad Kc (straight, ace high).
CO has Ks Kd (straight, ace high).
Outcome: MP1 wins t3287.50. CO wins t3287.50.

I probably should have folded when two players went all in ahead of me. I would have been left with $900 in chips and, as it was very early in the tournament, had a good chance to chip up and finish well. However, I didn't and when the Queen fell on the flop I was dancing in the streets. I was typing No, No when I saw that an Ace on the river would beat me and, sure enough, the 3 outer bit me in the butt and GG me.

Freaking 3 outer on the river. That's poker.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

How'd I play this hand?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Wolverine Fan (t5360)
MP1 (t6785)
MP2 (t1495)
CO (t910)
Button (t2085)
SB (t4315)
BB (t1580)
UTG (t4470)


Preflop: Wolverine Fan is UTG+1 with Tc, Ac.

1 fold, Wolverine Fan raises to t400, 4 folds, SB calls t350, 1 fold.

Flop: (t900) 6c, Ad, Ah (2 players)

SB bets t500, Wolverine Fan raises to t1500, SB calls t1000. I was raising here to see if he had an ace with a better kicker than me. When he just called I pretty much figured I had it.

Turn: (t3900) As (2 players)

SB bets t900, UTGB raises to t1800, SB calls t900. Them's Quad Biotches!! Now all I want is to try and get the most money out of him.

River: (t7500) 3s (2 players)

SB bets t615 (All-In), Wolverine Fan calls t615. He obliges and goes all in and its all over but the crying.<br>
Final Pot: t8730

I went on to finish 3rd in this 2 table SitNgo. I was card dead for a while after being top 2 in chips for most of the way and then had my pocket pairs beat by A/Q and A/10 when aces flopped and IGHN. This feels good as I was losing to some extraordinay suckouts. I was 4-flushed a couple of times and was at the point that I decided it wasn't worth going in with the best hand because I was always losing to lesser hands that would get great flops.

Hopefully things are turned around now.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Play Blogger World Championship and British Blogger Tourney at Stars

As long as you are planning on playing the PokerStars Blogger World Championship at 3PM Sunday, how about investing $5.50 and playing the British Bloggerment 30 at 4PM Sunday at PokerStars? It is open to all bloggers and password is Donkament. It is good fun. This is another chance to play against Bloggers. There is some excellent poker and good fun in the chat box.

Let's see if we can't bring this trophy back to the U.S. of A.

Poker Tournament

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9070924

Monday, October 08, 2007

Please Critique my Play

Microstakes No Limit. I really don't have a read on anyone as I have only played about 30 hands. Nobody strikes me as being a donkey at this point.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.Com (Format: HTML)

Hero ($2.70)
Button ($5.25)
SB ($17.05)
BB ($4.90)
UTG ($5.40)
UTG+1 ($10.15)
MP1 ($13.70)
MP2 ($9.90)
Preflop: Hero is HERO with Qd, Ts. I am just looking to steal the blinds here from the Cutoff. If I get called I am in O.K. position.

4 folds, HERO raises to $0.3, 1 fold, SB calls $0.25, 1 fold.

Flop: ($0.70) 2c, 4d, Qc (2 players) SB calls but I flop TP/GK. Two clubs on board I want to take this pot down right now so I bet to eliminate odds for the flush.

SB checks, HERO bets $0.4, SB calls $0.40.

Turn: ($1.50) Qs (2 players) Bingo! Now I have trip queens and I really don't want to get beat by a flush so I go all in.

SB checks, HERO bets $2 (All-In), SB calls $2.

River: ($0) 7c (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $5.50

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Hope to be there

Poker Tournament

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9070924

Friday, October 05, 2007

Feast or Famine

It was feast or famine on the Poker Front today.

The feast was when I managed to win a 2 Table SitNGo on PokerStars. I was chip leader for most of the time on the final table until one other player went on a heater and took out two others to take over the chip lead. We were on the bubble for what seemed like a half hour until it burst and then the 4 of us were in the money and I was second high in chips. After another good stretch it was I was finally heads up and he had me outchipped by about a third.

It was a great heads up match and I found out pretty early that he was a better postflop player than I was so I had to change my strategy. I started to push all in with even the remotest chance of winning and I think this took him by surprise as he folded a lot of hands early. He started to play back at me but luck would have it I ran into a stretch of some nice hands and I would reraise him all in and he would fold his hand. He did double up once when my A/J off went up agianst his K/Q off and he flopped a king. I stuck with my strategy and I really think he began to get frustrated as he finally went all in with a less than premium hand against my A/10. He didn't improve and I take down the tournament.

The Famine was when I dropped a buy-in at Full Tilt playing $1/$2 Limit Texas Holdem. I started out great when I rivered a flush to win a nice size pot but it went down hill from there. Part of it was my play and part of it was just running into great hands when I only had good hands. I lost to Quad Queens, Trip Kings and an A/K off (limped in with it) when the King hit the river. I wasn't too upset because I know I can play at this level and that the cards were just against me today.

One thing I have to do is get into the correct mindset at this level because the play is so much better here than at the lower levels. I'm going to keep at this level for a bit longer and see how it goes. I use to play this level at Titan Poker before the UIGEA was passed and I was a successful player there so I'm pretty sure I can do all right at Full Tilt. I'll keep you posted.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Oktoberfest, Wolverine Fan Style

One of the Blogs you should be reading regularly is Chipper's World and today he is posting about Oktoberfest. I don't mean to hijack his post but I was going to post about the variety of beers I have been drinking this summer. I am not a big drinker but in the past I pretty much stuck with the regular domestic beer fare but this summer I started to buy a better grade of beer (IMHO).

Right now I am drinking LeinenKugel's Oktoberfest and am liking it. Some of the reviews for this beer haven't been that great but I like it. I do want to try Sam Adams Octoberfest as I have heard good things about it.

I have partaken in Foster's Lager and Corona and a lot of J.W. Dundee's Honey Brown Lager this summer. I usually will have one beer a day after golfing or just around dinner time and all of these beers have made for a very nice summer in Michigan.

One of the beers I have really enjoyed this summer is the Leinenkugels Red. That was one of my favorites for the summer.

I use to always be a Lite beer drinker but I have forsaken all Lite beers and am now really enjoying the taste of a full bodied beer. It may not have helped my waist line very much but my pallate is appreciative of my new taste in beers.

Poker Stars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker

Texas Holdem Poker

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9070924

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Stuff

I got this from Katitude's blog.

NerdTests.com says I'm an Uber Cool Light-Weight Nerd.  What are you?  Click here!

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If you're not reading Short-Stacked Shamus' blog at Hard Boiled Poker then you are missing out on some of the finest writing on the internet. Shamus covers everything poker and more, from Podcasts to Politics to some obsure literature, Shamus covers it all. If you don't have this site bookmarked and aren't reading it regularly then you are missing out on some Damn fine writing.
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The Big Ten Network is driving me crazy!! The Big Ten Network and Comcast Cable are in a pissing match and I can't sit home and watch my Michigan Wolverines play. When I was a young man you would only see about 3 Michigan games a year and then with ESPN and Cable I could see every game my beloved Wolverines played. Now the Big Ten Network and Comcast are ruining my fall.

Personally, I think the Big Ten Network is at fault. They are trying to shove their programming down everyone's throat. All I want to do is watch Michigan Football and Basketball. I could give a shit about Indian, Penn State, Ohio State, etc. and their sports. Am I going to sit down and watch Minnesota's Field Hockey team play against Iowa?? I don't think so!! This is such bullshit and its pissing me off.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

PokerTek PokerPro Poker Table

Our cruise ship had a PokerTek PokerPro Poker Table and it was really neat. It played just like being online but you could see your opponents and see any tells that were there. There was table talk and everything. I thought it was really cool. The Cruise ship played $3/$6 Limit and $1/$2 No Limit Texas Holdem games. The players were really loose with at least 4 or 5 players seeing the flop every hand, even after a preflop raise.

This information is from the PokerTek PokerPro Poker Table website: PokerPro® is the revolutionary poker table that shuffles, deals, splits pots and generates side pots instantly. It's the fastest and most accurate dealer in the world. And PokerPro® increases poker room revenue by dealing 50-60% more hands per hour than a manual table. The Electronic Shuffler has been certified by the Gaming Laboratories International as a mathematically random process with equal probability for each card. In addition to the Shuffler, PokerPro® burns a card before each round of betting.
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I'm all better now after my tirade yesterday about the donkeys playing shit hands and beating my good hands. I realize we need this type of player to keep playing because they will lose in the long run but sometimes it just builds up and you need to vent. Part of my way to correct this problem is to move up in stakes and, hopefully, this will weed out this really bad fish.

Monday, October 01, 2007

The Fat Lady has Sung - Challenge is over


My poker.com challenge is over. I waited until after my vacation to give the challenge another try in hopes I would get better cards. Well, that didn't happen. I was still getting shit for cards when I was down to my last .69 cents and I went all in with A/K off suit. One caller with K/2 of diamonds. Now I am feeling pretty good when the flop comes up with all rags and one diamond. The turn brings another diamond and then the the river is inevitable. I knew what it was going to be before it even showed .......................... another diamond and GG me. End of challenge.
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Poker has been really hard lately because of people 3 betting with 3/7 suited then getting rewarded when they river the straight against my Pocket Queens. How can you win with people playing like that? Why do they always seem to get rewarded when playing such shit hands? Sure, you say they will lose in the long run but in the meantime I am seeing only 17% of the flops and losing with the best hand going in. That is what makes poker so hard. Assholes get paid off with the worse hands. Over and over. Always a different asshole. You may win some but then a different asshole plays shit and gets rewarded.

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