Mind Games

Still playing the $0.02 990 man hypers.
Only cashed in 1 today so far, but man oh man are they a laugh riot.

Poker Stars, $0.02 Buy-in (25/50 blinds, 10 ante) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 9 Players

SB: 1,430 (28.6 bb)
BB: 1,480 (29.6 bb)
UTG+1: 3,120 (62.4 bb)
UTG+2: 1,480 (29.6 bb)
MP1: 1,480 (29.6 bb)
Hero (MP2): 1,405 (28.1 bb)
MP3: 3,055 (61.1 bb)
CO: 1,405 (28.1 bb)
BTN: 1,455 (29.1 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with T♠: A♠:
UTG+1 raises to 3,110 and is all-in, 2 folds, Hero calls 1,395 and is all-in, 5 folds

Flop: (2,955) A♣: 8♠: 9♥: (2 players, 2 are all-in)
Turn: (2,955) 3♠: (2 players, 2 are all-in)
River: (2,955) J♠: (2 players, 2 are all-in)

Standard of play is no different to a 180 man at times!

That is very encouraging, Gary,
I assume that you mean the hypers, though.
I can't imagine the regular speed games being such a spew-fest.

Maybe I'll watch a few...

VS

Nope there is plenty of fish in the turbos as well!

I'll get my pole and go dig some wurmz!

hey Vorpal yes those 900 mans look crazy! Enjoying reading your blog

OK, I've finished the 2nd and 3rd Challenge Puzzles.
It took over 1000 hands to get the last 3 JJ wins. I lost on two of the 5 JJ hands I had.
Both to KK as it turns out.

But today was weird. Really weird.
I steal a lot, so maybe it is expected, but I was 3Bet a TON today.
In almost all cases, by people I'd never seen before -- is there a scouting report out there on me?

I'm not paranoid -- in one case, I had 9 hands on a player, and he had 3Bet 66%.
Yes it is possible he had 6 hands in his 3Betting range when facing a raise.

In this hand, BU has 3Bet 25% over 13 hands.
He just happens to 3Bet when I'm holding a hand in my very small 4Bet bluff range.
Poker Stars, $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players

SB: $2.03 (101.5 bb)
BB: $2.07 (103.5 bb)
UTG: $2.35 (117.5 bb)
MP: $2.45 (122.5 bb)
Hero (CO): $2 (100 bb)
BTN: $4.25 (212.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with T♥: A♦:
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.06, BTN raises to $0.18, 2 folds, Hero raises to $0.52, BTN folds

Easy Game -- btw, that is a 4Bet/fold I'm an idiot, not a spewtard

Oh, on second thought...
In this case SB has a 75% 3Bet range on 8 hands.
It has not been going well for him, either, since he's down a stack at this point. (Yes, it is in my HUD).
So I had a go with a hand that is definitely NOT in my 4Bet range bluff or otherwise.
Bastard calls me. :facepalm::deadhappy:
However ...
Poker Stars, $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players

SB: $2.49 (124.5 bb)
BB: $1.75 (87.5 bb)
UTG: $4.05 (202.5 bb)
MP: $2.07 (103.5 bb)
Hero (CO): $4.57 (228.5 bb)
BTN: $2.40 (120 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A♣: 5♣:
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.06, BTN folds, SB raises to $0.20, BB folds, Hero raises to $0.66, SB calls $0.46

Flop: ($1.34) T♣: 2♣: 5♥: (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.86, SB folds

It is a nice flop in a way -- you rep trip Tens, as well as overpairs.

My third foray into the realm of the spewtard jungle...
I'm pretty sure that this one is badly played.
3hands on BU. 100% 3Bet. I'm OOP and 55 is rock-bottom of my UTG open-raising range.
Poker Stars, $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players

SB: $0.23 (11.5 bb)
BB: $7.38 (369 bb)
Hero (UTG): $4.13 (206.5 bb)
MP: $0.89 (44.5 bb)
CO: $6.17 (308.5 bb)
BTN: $6.32 (316 bb)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 5♠: 5♣:
Hero raises to $0.06, 2 folds, BTN raises to $0.21, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.45) 2♣: Q♦: 7♥: (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.20, Hero raises to $0.70, BTN folds

I figured that if I CBet, which would be a reasonable thing to do on such a dry board, such an aggro player could raise me and I'd have no option but to fold. This way -- especially since i 4Bet from UTG I could make a good case for check-raising.

Interestingly, I merely called the 3Bet 5 times -- 3 times with legitimate hands in my 3Bet calling range.
On two of those I lost a stack hitting 2nd best hand post-draw. The other two I bluffed the turn and got a fold from probably the worst hand anyway, but why let 'em see a free river?

I folded 10 times to 3Bets out of 18 occurrences.

I don't have any real conclusions, but I think I may need to 4Bet from the Button more, rather then calling 3Bets from the blinds.

Just a thought...

Have a great weekend...
VS

Well, the Dream Team challenge is complete.
I spent part of Sunday and almost all of yesterday reading the articles and watching the videos on Spingo (rhymes with Bingo) format.

In 63 games, I lost less than $63.00, so I did better than expected.
I won less that $3000.00, so not as good as I hoped.

My finishes:
 1 -- 23
 2 -- 27
 3 -- 13

Net loss $11.00, but almost made up for that by winning $10.00 in the Challenge Puzzle promo.
HM2 doesn't keep track, but I won few (maybe 2) of the $4 and $6 tournaments. You need to win those to keep a +ve ROI. Apparently, you only need to be ITM 37% of the time and I was just a tad under that, but in only 63 games, that is no big deal.

I rarely got it in bad, but man oh man the suckouts drive ya crazy.

Mind you, I can suck out with the best of 'em...

These ones I really hate:

I probably should have shoved this flop...

All in all, it was a fun promo.
$35 and 21 tickets.
Now all I need to do is ship 1 or the tournaments.

Peace,
VS

Oh dear, I'm having another downswing.
One of the really ugly ones where all your big hands lose big pots.

Like this:

Well, I said I was in a downswing, but it seems to be over for now, having a decent session today.

Remember how I said I *so* hate it when people draw 3 and a boat?

Don't mind so much when I do it

All the best,
VS

Do you ever wonder, "What on earth was he thinking?"

Check this out:
GTECH G2 (Boss) - C$0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): C3.91
BB: C4.00 (VPIP: 11.90, PFR: 10.48, 3Bet Preflop: 3.51, Hands: 211)
UTG: C1.11 (VPIP: 63.57, PFR: 12.09, 3Bet Preflop: 10.67, Hands: 404)
CO: C8.68 (VPIP: 36.79, PFR: 1.90, 3Bet Preflop: 2.13, Hands: 212)
BTN: C0.49 (VPIP: 57.14, PFR: 2.60, 3Bet Preflop: 2.70, Hands: 77)

Hero posts SB C0.02, BB posts BB C0.04

Pre Flop: (pot: C0.06) Hero has 2♦:K♦:

fold, fold, BTN calls C0.04, Hero calls C0.02, BB checks

Flop: (C0.12, 3 players) 6♦:2♥:9♦:
Hero checks, BB bets C0.04, fold, Hero raises to C0.20, BB raises to C3.96 and is all-in, Hero calls C3.67 and is all-in

Turn: (C7.86, 2 players) 2♠:

River: (C7.86, 2 players) Q♦:

Now before you go all "Yeah, but what where you thinking by calling a flop shove?" let me explain.

This particular player ALWAYS leads on the flop. I have seen him bet air before, but this is the first time I ever say him shove nearly 100 BB. My notes say he is "trappy, but can bet air".

If he is all that trappy, he doesn't have trips. Probably would have raised an A pre-flop.
So barring small pairs, I have the best hand, an overcard, and a draw to the 2nd nut flush.
And I didn't need it.

I'm posted a tournament hand for discussion.

I'd be interested in your opinion...

Peace,
VS

4bet only if you could invest =< 25% of your stack. If more - just shove.

Just a fun one today.

C$0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: C2.16 (33.01/1.94/1.11/625 (V/P/3/H)
SB: C2.34 (63.22/4.98/1.56/265 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (BB): C4.00
CO: C2.16 (34.21/1.97/0.00/156 (V/P/3/H)

SB posts SB C0.02, Hero posts BB C0.04

Pre Flop: (pot: C0.06) Hero has 9♥:J♣:

fold, fold, SB calls C0.02, Hero checks

Flop: (C0.08, 2 players) 4♠:T♥:8♥:
SB checks, Hero bets C0.04, SB calls C0.04

Turn: (C0.16, 2 players) Q♥:
SB checks, Hero bets C0.12, SB calls C0.12

River: (C0.40, 2 players) J♥:
SB checks, Hero bets C0.20, SB calls C0.20

Had a fun day today.
I was 4th in the freelancer, and I said to Mrs Vorpal, "Well, I'll cash if I don't do something stupid".
Guess what?
Another player induced me to "value bet" the 2nd nut flush, and took a chunk, then QQ < KK took the rest.
<sigh>

I then entered one of those 250 FPP hyper satellites to the Sunday Storm intending to take the T$ if I won.
The !#$!#^#$ thing took so long I ended up auto-regged into the Storm and lasted about an hour and a half.

I played NL 4 the rest of the day, and ended up nearly 3 BI, which felt nice.

These two hands were one after the other:

C$0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: C2.23 (29.81/13.33/4.58/2960) (V/P/3/H)
SB: C4.06 (86.11/45.45/0.00/37 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (BB): C6.17
CO: C3.86 (39.16/4.44/1.94/386 (V/P/3/H)

SB posts SB C0.02, Hero posts BB C0.04

Pre Flop: (pot: C0.06) Hero has Q♦:A♣:

fold, fold, SB raises to C0.08, Hero calls C0.04

Flop: (C0.16, 2 players) Q♠:8♦:K♣:
SB bets C0.20, Hero calls C0.20

Turn: (C0.56, 2 players) 5♣:
SB bets C0.20, Hero calls C0.20

River: (C0.96, 2 players) 5♠:
SB bets C0.36, Hero calls C0.36

I expected perhaps :Kx:, :8x:, a weaker or perhaps a straight draw.

In fairness, though I do fold 2nd pair a huge amount -- not that he'd know, but he seemed to want to bet, so...
This almost could be click bait: "I called down with 2nd pair. What villain showed will shock you!"

The very next hand villain is now BTN, and we get to do it all over again...
Immediately before calling his flop bet, I typed: Do you wanna try again?

C$0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: C3.79 (45.38/1.68/0.00/120 (V/P/3/H)
CO: C2.23 (29.82/13.35/4.58/2,963 (V/P/3/H)
BTN: C3.22 (86.49/47.06/0.00/38 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (SB): C6.85
BB: C3.86 (39.06/4.43/1.94/387 (V/P/3/H)

Hero posts SB C0.02, BB posts BB C0.04, UTG posts penalty blind C0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: C0.08) Hero has Q♦:J♣:

fold, fold, BTN calls C0.04, Hero calls C0.02, BB checks

Flop: (C0.14, 3 players) 2♦:5♦:7♣:
Hero checks, BB checks, BTN bets C0.08, Hero calls C0.08, fold

Turn: (C0.30, 2 players) A♠:
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (C0.30, 2 players) A♦:
Hero checks, BTN checks

I would probably have folded my overcards -- I just wanted to twist his nose a bit.

Have a good week, everyone!
VS

5-Card Draw
I rarely (if ever) keep a kicker when holding a pair.

I did it this time because I (correctly for once) thought that it was most likely that UTG held AA (if he drew 3) so if he did, then the K would rule if he did not improve.
This player can raise UTG holding KK as well, and even QQ if he has an A or K.
However I have Kings and Aces blocked, leaving it rather likely he is not raising QQ and somewhat less likely he has KK.

Also, if either of the other two draw 1, I am drawing to the best chance of beating them.

Worked out this time.

Dont have a cow, heres your converted hand
PokerStars Limit 5 Card Draw $0.10/$0.20 - 6 players

CO: $3.53
Button: $2.38
SB: $2.90 (Hero)
BB: $3.01
UTG: $6.01
UTG+1: $2.70

Dealing Hands: ($0.15) A♥:3♥:A♠:K♣:6♥: (6 players)
UTG raises to $0.20, 2 folds, Button calls $0.20, Hero calls $0.15, BB folds

First Draw: ($0.70) (3 players)
Hero discards 2, UTG discards 3, Button discards 3,
A♥:A♠:K♣: || J♣:T♥:
Hero checks, UTG checks, Button checks

Button mucked T♣:K♥:K♠:5♠:7♥:
Hero showed A♥:J♣:A♠:K♣:T♥:, a pair of Aces
UTG mucked 5♥:T♠:A♦:3♣:A♣:
Hero won $0.67
(Rake: $0.03)

I like guessing right...
VS

5-Card Draw
Both regular readers of this blog will have heard me whine (or whinge, for the UK reader) about how much I hate hitting a decent hand when some clown draw 3 and hits a boat.

Sometimes Even I Get Lucky
(but don't get paid off)

Sometimes Villain Gets Lucky
(and I manage to not pay him off)

Somtimes I Draw 3 to a Boat
(and get paid off handsomely)

Almost forgot...
Sometime I Get Ridiculously Lucky
(and still fold the hand)

In actual play, I took a royal pounding at FL $0.25/$0.50 until Harrier88 showed up and shared his rungood.
I more than made up for that with a strong showing at FL $0.10/$0.20 and FL $1/$2

I only needed a few VPP to get to 1K and my next VIP reward.
Wrong again! You need 1500 for the 2nd VIP reward in a year.

Well, there's always tomorrow

Peace,
VS

A real treat
I grew up in Britannia Beach, British Columbia, Canada
When our family first moved there, the only way in or out was by boat.
In 1958 the railroad was completed to Vancouver, and in 1959 the highway was completed.

This highway:
http://tranbc.ca/2015/09/10/bc-road-trip-time-machine-highway-99-from-horseshoe-bay-to-squamish/#sthash.2B3qZzaU.dpbs
It is a video assembled from still photos showing the highway I learned to drive on.
The road in this video is only 7 years old until about 2:42 -- at that point you see Britannia Beach. After that, the road is a paved cart track. I started high school the year this was taken.

Enjoy.
VS

It is often said (at least by me) that the best of hands is worthless unless someone has slightly worse. How many times have you flopped a flush and all fold to your first bet?

This one was a wee bit different...
C$0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: C3.12 (81.40/16.28/9.52/43 (V/P/3/H)
MP: C3.23 (57.14/17.86/11.11/28 (V/P/3/H)
CO: C3.77 (41.04/19.40/3.23/134 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (BTN): C4.52
SB: C2.07 (47.21/13.13/0.00/161 (V/P/3/H)
BB: C3.50 (47.74/2.74/0.53/1,184 (V/P/3/H)

SB posts SB C0.02, BB posts BB C0.04

Pre Flop: (pot: C0.06) Hero has J♣:A♣:

UTG calls C0.04, fold, CO raises to C0.16, Hero calls C0.16, SB calls C0.14, BB calls C0.12, UTG calls C0.12

Flop: (C0.80, 5 players) 9♣:T♣:8♣:
SB bets C0.40, BB raises to C0.80, fold, fold, Hero calls C0.80, SB calls C0.40

Turn: (C3.20, 3 players) 6♥:
SB bets C1.11 and is all-in, BB calls C1.11, Hero raises to C2.22, BB calls C1.11

River: (C8.75, 3 players) Q♦:
BB bets C0.32 and is all-in, Hero calls C0.32

I just realized that 7♣: OTR would have made this hand far more interesting.
All the money is in by then but still...

Bullshit Poker
In another post today, I mentioned this Canadian bar game. It may be played elsewhere, too, but I've not encountered it elsewhere.

Bullshit poker is played with dollar bills -- or was when whe had dollar bills. Now I guess we'd have to play with 5s.
All the players have a bill in their hand, folded so that only they can see the serial number.

In turn, you call out a poker hand. "Three 3s" means that you bet that all the bills on the table will have at least three 3s among all the digits of all the serial numbers.

The next player in turn must call a higher hand -- higher in quantity or higher in rank -- or call "Bullshit"

The calling continues until someone calls "Bullshit"
At that point all the bills are laid on the table.
If the last call was, say "9 Aces" and there are only 8, the player who called "Bullshit" wins a dollar from each player. In the old days, it was a requirement that it had to be the bill you were playing with. Now I don't know what they do -- unless they play $5 a round which can get expensive.

If the caller can actually produce the called hand, he wins the pot. There are no runners-up.

The reason for the requirement that you forfeit your bill is because people would scrutinize their money for good bills. I once had a bill with 7 1s in the serial number. The thing is, if you win, you not only get to keep your bill, you get everyone else's pet bill. I had that bill for a long time, but finally lost it. We were at some horrendous number of Aces, and I couldn't produce.

I found a similar game mentioned on The Straight Dope so it isn't that uncommon.

Peace,
VS

Real Life
I took my gas powered weed whacker in hand today, and whacked away at an overgrowth of blackberrry bushes that encroach my yard from the neighbouring ravine.

When all whacked (both the bushes and myself), I then had to get the debris into waste bins for pickup.
Did I mention that blackberry canes are long, stiff and prickly?

I put the bulk of them in the bins, and in the process got my arms all scratchied up.
I then thought -- "I sure wish I had one of those tree-chipper things".
The light came on! -- why don't I just run the lawn mower over the canes as they lie on the ground!

At first I used the mulching attachment. That worked well.
Now I said, "I'll just get the rake and gather all these chopped-up bits into a pile and shovel 'em in the bin"

On comes the light again!
I put the grass catcher on the back of the mower, and ran over the pile a few times, turning my mower into a fancy-ass vacuum cleaner.

Dump the catcher in the bin and job done!.

What a hoot!

Even better, I ran the mower over the driveway a few times, and up came all the dirt into the bag.

My lawn mower is a sweeper too!

Woot!
VS

Basic Blunders

Well maybe even more basic than that.

C$0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: C4.87 (46.67/0.00/0.00/15 (V/P/3/H)
CO: C7.22 (38.10/0.00/0.00/21 (V/P/3/H)
BTN: C8.99 (39.36/16.14/5.95/412 (V/P/3/H)
SB: C18.95 (29.82/7.02/5.56/58 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (BB): C11.33

SB posts SB C0.05, Hero posts BB C0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: C0.15) Hero has 9♦:J♣:

UTG calls C0.10, CO calls C0.10, fold, fold, Hero checks

Flop: (C0.35, 3 players) 4♠:Q♦:8♠:
Hero checks, UTG checks, CO checks

Turn: (C0.35, 3 players) 7♣:
Hero bets C0.17, UTG calls C0.17, CO calls C0.17

River: (C0.86, 3 players) T♦:
Hero bets C0.43, UTG raises to C0.86, CO raises to C2.36, Hero raises to C11.06 and is all-in, fold, CO calls C4.59 and is all-in

OK:
 Villains don't have full stacks, but aren't playing a short-, mid-, or any-stack strategy
 I'm never even this pot at all if either of them raises 3BB or 4BB to raise over the limper
 I have a gutshot, but I'm OOP, so I'm not leading any flops with a gutshot in a multi-way unraised pot.
 OTT, CO hits his straight and just calls. To make money, you must put it in the pot, water it, and watch it grow.
 OTR, I hit the nuts for this board. I was expecting to chop the pot, so just bet half thinking "why just feed the rake monster". But nooo, CO decides the bottom end of the straight is the juicy end, and donates his stack to the Vorpal Retirement Fund. Sorry, CO, I don't give tax-deductible receipts.

Easy game.

Please don't ask about my foray into NL 10 on Party...

Cheers,
VS