A 2nd place in a SNG provided some minor relief today. Otherwise, really bad week, only OFC went well. It was a tough week off-the-felt too, so I guess it was understandable.
Next week should be better. I will finally get a full weekend too - an extended one, even. Might be just what I need.
If I have the time, I may also start brushing up on some additional mixed games, I think there is a lot of untapped potential to be found in the MTT lobby.
- "I have four aces!! I have four aces!! Can you believe it?"
- "Whatever, Bill... will you finally deal the cards now?"
PokerStars, $1.76 + $0.24 - 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - 25/50 (5 ante) - 6 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 1,530 (31 bb)
MP (Hero): 860 (17 bb)
CO: 1,095 (22 bb)
BU: 1,425 (29 bb)
SB: 1,355 (27 bb)
BB: 2,735 (55 bb)
Deal: (105) Hero is MP with A♠ Q♣ 3♠ A♦ A♣
1 fold, Hero raises to 100, 2 players fold, SB calls 75, BB calls 50
Draw One: (330) A♠ 3♠ A♦ A♣ A♥ (3 players)
SB draws 2, BB draws 2, MP (Hero) draws Qc
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets 165, SB calls 165, BB folds
Total pot: 660
Showdown:
MP (Hero) shows A♠ 3♠ A♦ A♣ A♥ (four of a kind, Aces)
SB mucks 8♦ 8♥ 8♣ T♠ 3♦ (three of a kind, Eights)
MP (Hero) wins 660
Also, a fun freeplay, later in the same game:
PokerStars, $1.76 + $0.24 - 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - 150/300 (30 ante) - 4 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 3,385 (11 bb)
BU: 2,150 (7 bb)
SB: 245 (1 bb)
BB (Hero): 3,220 (11 bb)
Deal: (570) Hero is BB with 9♠ K♦ 5♥ 6♥ 8♣
2 players fold, SB calls 65 (all-in)
Draw One: (635) 9♠ K♦ 8♦ A♥ 7♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)
SB draws 3, BB (Hero) draws 5h 6h 8c
Total pot: 550
Showdown:
SB shows A♦ K♠ 9♦ 3♦ 4♣ (high card, Ace)
BB (Hero) shows 9♠ K♦ 8♦ A♥ 7♦ (high card, Ace - higher kicker)
BB (Hero) wins 550
At least that finally puts 5CD back on track, with a 1st place in the SNG shown above. The losing streak in Badugi continues... but with hands like this, can I be blamed?
PokerStars, $3.92 + $0.48 - Badugi Pot Limit - 40/80 - 5 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 6,761 (85 bb)
CO: 3,000 (38 bb)
BU: 2,880 (36 bb)
SB: 2,922 (37 bb)
BB (Hero): 2,460 (31 bb)
Deal: (120) Hero is BB with A♠ 4♦ 5♠ 2♣
UTG raises to 160, 3 players fold, Hero calls 80
Draw One: (360) A♠ 4♦ 2♣ 6♥ (2 players)
BB (Hero) draws 5s, UTG draws 2
Hero bets 180, UTG calls 180
Draw Two: (720) A♠ 4♦ 2♣ 6♥ (2 players)
BB (Hero) stands pat, UTG draws 2
Hero bets 400, UTG raises to 920, Hero raises to 2,120 (all-in), UTG calls 1,200
Draw Three: (4,960) A♠ 4♦ 2♣ 6♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)
BB (Hero) stands pat, UTG stands pat
Total pot: 4,960
Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows A♠ 4♦ 2♣ 6♥ (a Badugi: 6,4,2,A)
UTG shows 3♥ A♦ 2♠ 4♣ (a Badugi: 4,3,2,A)
UTG wins 4,960
A bluff that turned into a bluff catch? Either way, a brave decision by our opponent here.
PokerStars, $1.76 + $0.24 - 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - 15/30 - 6 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 1,641 (55 bb)
MP: 1,490 (50 bb)
CO: 1,560 (52 bb)
BU: 1,111 (37 bb)
SB: 1,803 (60 bb)
BB (Hero): 1,395 (47 bb)
Deal: (45) Hero is BB with A♣ A♦ K♣ 5♠ 8♦
UTG calls 30, MP raises to 135, 1 fold, BTN calls 135, 1 fold, Hero calls 105, UTG calls 105
Draw One: (555) A♣ A♦ K♣ A♠ K♥ (4 players)
BB (Hero) draws 5s 8d, UTG draws 1, MP draws 2, BU draws 1
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP bets 555, BU folds, Hero raises to 1,260 (all-in), UTG folds, MP calls 705
Total pot: 3,075
Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows A♣ A♦ K♣ A♠ K♥ (a full house, Aces full of Kings)
MP shows 9♣ 9♥ 8♥ Q♠ 4♣ (a pair of Nines)
BB (Hero) wins 3,075
Originally posted by Harrier88
A bluff that turned into a bluff catch? Either way, a brave decision by our opponent here.
All-in-all, a nice hand.
It's hands like this that make one wonder, "What was opponent thinking?"
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
It's hands like this that make one wonder, "What was opponent thinking?"
A bluff of sorts to take down the multiway pot, turning into a bluff catch after my check/raise is still my best guess, but it's a long shot.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Originally posted by Harrier88
A bluff that turned into a bluff catch? Either way, a brave decision by our opponent here.All-in-all, a nice hand.
It's hands like this that make one wonder, "What was opponent thinking?"
He might just consider a pair of Nines a good enough hand to shove 50bb on $2 level.
Originally posted by taavi1337
He might just consider a pair of Nines a good enough hand to shove 50bb on $2 level.
There are no higher levels. Not now, at least.
Originally posted by Harrier88
Originally posted by taavi1337
He might just consider a pair of Nines a good enough hand to shove 50bb on $2 level.There are no higher levels. Not now, at least.
Yes what I'm thinking, if there was $200 or $500 at stake for him, he maybe wouldn't do that move, but now he's like, "it's only $2" and he wastes his stack lol
Thanks for the running training plan you sent me, works wonders! 
I love combining running with walking, when I didn't have this plan, I thought it is correct to push only running to max.
Originally posted by taavi1337
Thanks for the running training plan you sent me, works wonders!
I assume you mean that plan I linked you to last year, which aims at preparing you for a 5K run within six weeks?
It's pretty good to get you into running, I used it myself three years ago. Do you plan to do a full 5K run at the end too? Possibly even a timed one?
Originally posted by Harrier88
Originally posted by taavi1337
Thanks for the running training plan you sent me, works wonders!I assume you mean that plan I linked you to last year, which aims at preparing you for a 5K run within six weeks?
It's pretty good to get you into running, I used it myself three years ago. Do you plan to do a full 5K run at the end too? Possibly even a timed one?
Yes I love the overall approach of enjoyable pace that it offers. I have tuned that plan a bit down for my needs, not moving on faster; I have really enjoyed now training running+push-ups+abs for two weeks 3x/week (Mon,Wed,Fri in mornings).
I want to be ready to do the full 5K run if it is needed ♦ I don't have that big of a running goal at the moment, I was thinking maybe more training in those outdoor gyms that are in forest and parks. When I was 18-20 years old (I'm 34 now); I think I have done 5km running in forest around a lake, then I believed one has to push himself to do that and must not stop.
Originally posted by taavi1337
Yes I love the overall approach of enjoyable pace that it offers. I have tuned that plan a bit down for my needs, not moving on faster; I have really enjoyed now training running+push-ups+abs for two weeks 3x/week (Mon,Wed,Fri in mornings).
Those kinds of plans almost always need some adjustments to fit your own schedules. Stay at it, though - a little consistency and persistence can lead to results you wouldn't even have thought possible before.
Originally posted by Harrier88
Originally posted by taavi1337
Yes I love the overall approach of enjoyable pace that it offers. I have tuned that plan a bit down for my needs, not moving on faster; I have really enjoyed now training running+push-ups+abs for two weeks 3x/week (Mon,Wed,Fri in mornings).Those kinds of plans almost always need some adjustments to fit your own schedules. Stay at it, though - a little consistency and persistence can lead to results you wouldn't even have thought possible before.
Thanks!
Prim and I met up to take a small break yesterday... but not from Lent, which is why our next all-you-can-eat buffet will have to wait until after Easter. We still made the most of it, with a variety of simple but tasty seafood.
This also marked the first of our meetups at home without any alcohol whatsoever - even when we were still getting to know each other, I would at least serve one of my famous cocktails when Prim came over. Well, I kind of did the same yesterday, but without any alcohol. These drinks are called "Davis Cup": 60 ml orange juice, 20 ml lemon juice and 10 ml grenadine, topped off with 100 ml bitter lemon.
They served as our "placebo drinks" during our classic Mario Party drinking game. 
Playing the game without booze is not quite the same, but still enjoyable.
Instead of spending all day at home with alcohol-free video gaming, however, we also decided to welcome the season of Spring with a nice casual walk, an appreciated change of pace from the marathon training. Pictures coming up next...
A Christmas tree decorated with Easter eggs? 
Sure, why not? It could be found near the starting point of the "Easter path" in a nearby village. You may remember that I recently ran past a sign pointing towards it during one of my long Sunday runs. Today, we decided to finally visit it together.
It's a very simple concept. People just displayed various kinds of Easter decorations along a path at the edge of a forest.
I believe they are doing a similar thing with nativity scenes along that path during Christmas time. You can see that they recycled the concept with some of those exhibitions.
Even a hollow tree trunk can make for a fine display.
Or just trees in general.
When I was waking up in the morning, I surely didn't expect to see a bunny riding a duck that day...
A bit deeper into the path, the handwritten text on this sign warns us that we enter the forest at our own risk. This almost sounds like something from Grimms' fairy tales. Will we encounter an evil witch who tries to eat us, I wonder?
We did not, but we found a nice game for Monty Python's Royal Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things.
Basically, there were a bunch of stones on a wooden bench, and we were challenged to stack as many of them on top of each other as possible. This was the best we could do:
Despite this being "Station 2" and even pointing to a later station down the line, we were not able to find any further games like that. But we enjoyed our walk enough to extend it a little beyond that path, taking in the peaceful rural landscape.
A nice and relaxing day overall... but we are both looking forward to our next meetups, when anything goes! 
Found out that I´m doing much better with booze in the Mario Party Minigames! 
:f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly:
"Great hand for a freeplay", I thought, when the cards were first dealt out. When I did get that freeplay, I realized how great a hand it really can be.
PokerStars, $1.76 + $0.24 - 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - 200/400 (40 ante) - 2 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
SB: 5,512 (14 bb)
BB (Hero): 3,488 (9 bb)
Deal: (680) Hero is BB with J♦ T♥ 9♣ Q♠ 5♠
SB calls 200, Hero checks
Draw One: (880) J♦ T♥ 9♣ Q♠ K♦ (2 players)
BB (Hero) draws 5s, SB draws 2
Hero bets 400, SB raises to 1,240, Hero raises to 3,048 (all-in), SB calls 1,808
Total pot: 6,976
Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows J♦ T♥ 9♣ Q♠ K♦ (a straight, Nine to King)
SB shows A♦ A♠ K♠ J♠ K♥ (two pair, Aces and Kings)
BB (Hero) wins 6,976
A misclick pat? Most likely . But you still gotta "sell" it! There's no way I would have even considered calling here.
PokerStars, $3.92 + $0.48 - 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - 30/60 (15 ante) - 5 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 3,686 (61 bb)
CO: 1,420 (24 bb)
BU: 2,408 (40 bb)
SB (Hero): 4,821 (80 bb)
BB: 2,588 (43 bb)
Deal: (165) Hero is SB with K♦ 9♦ Q♠ 3♦ 7♦
UTG calls 60, 1 fold, BTN calls 60, Hero raises to 150, 1 fold, UTG calls 90, 1 fold
Draw One: (495) K♦ 9♦ 3♦ 7♦ 7♣ (2 players)
SB (Hero) draws Qs, UTG stands pat
Hero checks, UTG checks
Total pot: 495
Showdown:
SB (Hero) shows K♦ 9♦ 3♦ 7♦ 7♣ (a pair of Sevens)
UTG mucks A♦ 3♣ K♣ 6♥ 8♥ (high card, Ace)
SB (Hero) wins 495
After the lack of success last week, we now got another lovely streak going in Five Card Draw SNGs, currently with four 1st place finishes in a row.
Those results have motivated me to give Five Card Draw MTTs another shot, to supplement the struggling Badugi grind. I played one game earlier on Wednesday, where I could only secure a minimal bounty, but today went a lot better:
I got another great freeplay in that one, earning me a bounty and an FT:
PokerStars, $3.92 + $0.48 - 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - 700/1,400 (350 ante) - 4 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 7,602 (5 bb)
BU: 4,830 (3 bb)
SB: 77,536 (55 bb)
BB (Hero): 7,871 (6 bb)
Deal: (3,500) Hero is BB with 9♣ 6♠ J♣ 5♣ A♣
UTG calls 1,400, 1 fold, SB calls 700, Hero checks
Draw One: (5,600) 9♣ J♣ 5♣ A♣ 8♣ (3 players)
SB draws 3, BB (Hero) draws 6s, UTG draws 3
SB bets 2,800, Hero raises to 6,121 (all-in), UTG calls 5,852 (all-in), SB calls 3,321
Total pot: 23,694
Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows 9♣ J♣ 5♣ A♣ 8♣ (a flush, Ace high)
SB shows 4♣ 4♦ 9♠ 4♥ K♥ (three of a kind, Fours)
UTG shows A♦ A♥ 5♦ 5♥ 2♦ (two pair, Aces and Fives)
BB (Hero) wins 23,694
That wasn't all tonight. I also gave a satellite for the $22 Snowman (Stud Hi-Lo) a shot, intending to unreg and collect the T$ in case I win. I did win, but the tournament had already started at that point, though I didn't even mind playing it too much.
In the end, we had to settle for an A for effort. Decent run, it went well for a while, even with an early chip lead, but I got out a few places short of ITM.
This was the exit hand. Nice starting hand, and good draw on 4th, but nothing helpful showed up afterwards.
PokerStars, $20 + $2 - 7 Stud H/L Limit - 800/1,600 (320 ante) - 5 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
Seat 4: 84,634 (53 bb)
Seat 5: 19,061 (12 bb)
Seat 6: 16,360 (10 bb)
Seat 1: 31,830 (20 bb)
Seat 2 (Hero): 5,474 (3 bb)
Third Street: (1,600) Hero is in Seat 2
5♠ 2♥ 6♣ Hero bring-in 480____Hero raises to 3,200____Hero 4-bets to 5,154 (all-in)
Xx Xx 8♠ UTG folds
Xx Xx T♥ MP folds
Xx Xx J♠ CO folds
Xx Xx 8♣ BTN raises to 1,600____BTN 3-bets to 4,800____BTN calls 354
Fourth Street: (11,908) (2 players, 1 all-in)
A♣ K♥ 8♣ 3♦ - Seat 1
5♠ 2♥ 6♣ 4♠ - Seat 2 (Hero)
Fifth Street: (11,908) (2 players, 1 all-in)
A♣ K♥ 8♣ 3♦ Q♥ - Seat 1
5♠ 2♥ 6♣ 4♠ 9♥ - Seat 2 (Hero)
Sixth Street: (11,908) (2 players, 1 all-in)
A♣ K♥ 8♣ 3♦ Q♥ 2♣ - Seat 1
5♠ 2♥ 6♣ 4♠ 9♥ Q♣ - Seat 2 (Hero)
Seventh Street: (11,908) (2 players, 1 all-in)
A♣ K♥ 8♣ 3♦ Q♥ 2♣ 3♠ - Seat 1
5♠ 2♥ 6♣ 4♠ 9♥ Q♣ J♦ - Seat 2 (Hero)
Total pot: 11,908
Showdown:
Seat 2 (Hero) shows 5♠ 2♥ 6♣ 4♠ 9♥ Q♣ J♦ (HI: high card, Queen)
Seat 1 shows A♣ K♥ 8♣ 3♦ Q♥ 2♣ 3♠ (HI: a pair of Threes)
Seat 1 wins 11,908
Still, the good run with the successful satty and all was encouraging enough to at least make me want to consider giving Stud Hi-Lo another chance.
