Mind Games

Well, I decided that since a $55 tournament is not within my BRM, I would play if I won a satellite.

Well this hand got me close to a ticket:
A pack of feral cows chewed their cuds for .0043 seconds to convert this hand
PokerStars No Limit 5 Card Draw ($5.00+$0.50) t250/t500 ante t100 - 6 players

UTG+1: t7,880
CO: t9,585
Button: t6,760
SB: t6,816
BB: t13,195
UTG: t10,684 (Hero)

Dealing Hands: (t1,350) 9♠:Q♠:2♣:Q♥:9♣: (6 players)
Hero raises to t1000, UTG+1 folds, CO calls t1000, 2 folds, BB calls t500

First Draw: (t3,850) (3 players)
BB discards 3, Hero discards 1, CO discards 1,
9♠:Q♠:Q♥:9♣: || Q♦:
BB checks, Hero bets t750, CO calls t750, BB raises to t3434, Hero raises to t9584 and is all-in, CO folds, BB calls t6150

BB showed 4♠:7♠:4♦:4♥:7♦:, a full house, Fours full of Sevens
Hero showed 9♠:Q♠:Q♦:Q♥:9♣:, a full house, Queens full of Nines
Hero won t23768

but unfortunately, I made a stupid call later on that killed me.
In another satellite I got as close as picking up the leftover $, but still no ticket.

Maybe by next year my skills and bankroll will permit me to play.

Peace,
VS

sometimes its okay to play above your bankroll as a hobby player of course. Im entering the $55 Fixed Limit one. even though is what 1/6th of my roll. But as a hobby player you gotta take a shot at something sometimes and since 5cd is your game. Go for it!

Originally posted by Avataren
sometimes its okay to play above your bankroll as a hobby player of course. Im entering the $55 Fixed Limit one. even though is what 1/6th of my roll. But as a hobby player you gotta take a shot at something sometimes and since 5cd is your game. Go for it!

Perhaps -- that is why I decided to have a shot at the satellites.

I thought I might try for a stake amongst friends, but not enough of my friends are comfortable with poker really.

So I might try to enter the 2-7 triple draw to see where that goes.

It is a bit more expensive, but could be interesting.

Cheers,
VS

I played a 2-7 TD tournament this morning. This is a limit game, so it takes a bit of patience.

One think I've never really done in this game is snow -- snowing is when you pretend to have a pat hand.

So I thought I'd give it a try...
Cows play poker with cow chips
PokerStars Limit Triple Draw ($2.00+$0.20) t300/t600 - 5 players

BB: t6,150 (Hero)
UTG: t1,350
CO: t8,385
Button: t8,005
SB: t8,070

Dealing Hands: (t450) 9♠:2♠:T♣:4♥:6♠: (5 players)
2 folds, Button raises to t600, SB folds, Hero calls t300

First Draw: (t1,350) (2 players)
Hero discards 2, Button discards 1,
2♠:4♥:6♠: || 2♥:2♣:
Hero bets t300, Button calls t300

Second Draw: (t1,950) (2 players)
Hero stands, Button discards 1,
2♠:4♥:6♠:2♥:2♣:
Hero bets t600, Button calls t600

Third Draw: (t3,150) (2 players)
Hero stands, Button discards 1,
2♠:4♥:6♠:2♥:2♣:
Hero bets t600, Button folds

Hero collected t3150

At the point I did this, I had never shown down a hand worse than 8-lo, so I had table image on my side.
The only other thing I could do here is discard 2 for the second time -- which basically means that villain can pat a Q-lo and have an even chance of holding -- or snow himself.

I did this one other time when I made a 6-high straight, which is worthless in lowball.
I got away with it that time, but I drew one at the start, and villain folded after the first draw.

There are two of these a day, and they're only $2.20 so why not?

Oh -- my finish?
I bust out in 8th (of 32) by with 7♣:6♠:2♥: that just kept pairing

So it goes...
VS

Oh too bad! Very nice hand on the 5-card draw. And then one gets tired and makes some stupid move :f_ugly:,. This happens to me when I play long hours. Everything fine and then....when I get tired ....ooopsi!

I play Spingos when I need a few more points to use up a boost, or to get a chest.

Today I needed 200 points to get my 4th blue chest and get an upgrade. To do that in the time allotted, I needed to play two $15s

No big -- I'm pretty much BE overall.

The first one was a 6x, and right away I noticed how absurdly tight the other two were playing, so I kinda ramped up the aggression, and hit a few flops and hey -- nice addition to the BR

The next was a 4x, and same thing. So I played the same way -- raising hands I'd normally fold, 3Betting pre-flop more often and so on.
Same result.

So I wonder -- is this universal? Do spingo players tighten up as the prize value increases?

These two wins were nice, because now my ROI is on the plus side for all buy-ins except $0.25.

I think that this is a mental game issue -- I just don't care about quarters, so I play far too loose.

I think I'll play a couple hundred $0.25 Spingos just to see if it is just me, or if the other players are being spewy too.

Other than that I've been having fun playing 2-7 triple draw -- both cash and tournaments. It is a great game. I've started to build a spreadsheet to calculate the drawing odds for this game.

There are a lot of things to consider:
 What are the odds of improving a 3-card draw to a made hand for a smooth 7-lo, 8-lo and 9-lo? This information doesn't appear to be available online. It is important, too, because since this is a limit game pot odds are extremely important. In the NL 2-7 game you have implied odds if you hit -- in limit triple draw, you have only 1 or two Big Bets to get.
 Card removal: If you have a 7234 drawing 1, how likely is it that you have 8 outs? The more players in the pot, the more likely it is that your 5 or 6 is already gone. I've decided that I will discount 1 out for each player in the hand.
 What do you stand on? I'll stand on an 86 on first draw, 96 or better on second, and 97 on third. This might be too tight, so I want to develop a table that shows the equities of each hand.

Wish me luck -- there is a TON of money to be made playing lowball, and few players are actually any good at it.
Unfortunately, I'm not one of those few -- but I'm workin' on it!

Cheers,
VS

I play Spingos when I need a few more points to use up a boost, or to get a chest.

Today I needed 200 points to get my 4th blue chest and get an upgrade. To do that in the time allotted, I needed to play two $15s

No big -- I'm pretty much BE overall.

The first one was a 6x, and right away I noticed how absurdly tight the other two were playing, so I kinda ramped up the aggression, and hit a few flops and hey -- nice addition to the BR

The next was a 4x, and same thing. So I played the same way -- raising hands I'd normally fold, 3Betting pre-flop more often and so on.
Same result.

So I wonder -- is this universal? Do spingo players tighten up as the prize value increases?

These two wins were nice, because now my ROI is on the plus side for all buy-ins except $0.25.

I think that this is a mental game issue -- I just don't care about quarters, so I play far too loose.

I think I'll play a couple hundred $0.25 Spingos just to see if it is just me, or if the other players are being spewy too.

Other than that I've been having fun playing 2-7 triple draw -- both cash and tournaments. It is a great game. I've started to build a spreadsheet to calculate the drawing odds for this game.

There are a lot of things to consider:
 What are the odds of improving a 3-card draw to a made hand for a smooth 7-lo, 8-lo and 9-lo? This information doesn't appear to be available online. It is important, too, because since this is a limit game pot odds are extremely important. In the NL 2-7 game you have implied odds if you hit -- in limit triple draw, you have only 1 or two Big Bets to get.
 Card removal: If you have a 7234 drawing 1, how likely is it that you have 8 outs? The more players in the pot, the more likely it is that your 5 or 6 is already gone. I've decided that I will discount 1 out for each player in the hand.
 What do you stand on? I'll stand on an 86 on first draw, 96 or better on second, and 97 on third. This might be too tight, so I want to develop a table that shows the equities of each hand.

Wish me luck -- there is a TON of money to be made playing lowball, and few players are actually any good at it.
Unfortunately, I'm not one of those few -- but I'm workin' on it!

Cheers,
VS

A good result today -- made the FT and finished 3rd.

I frequently make a big deal about limping. I figure it shouldn't be done -- except perhaps in exceptional circumstances.

Most times people limp in draw games, they get only the blinds.
A huge portion of the remaining times they limp, they lose.

Here's a hand in that category:
Feral Cow Poker Hand Converter
PokerStars Limit Triple Draw ($2.00+$0.20) t150/t300 - 5 players

Button: t2,300
SB: t8,675
BB: t5,325 (Hero)
UTG: t3,400
CO: t1,395

Dealing Hands: (t225) 9♠:4♥:Q♥:5♥:6♥: (5 players)
UTG folds, CO calls t150, Button folds, SB calls t75, Hero checks

First Draw: (t450) (3 players)
SB discards 2, Hero discards 2, CO discards 2,
4♥:5♥:6♥: || 6♣:K♥:
SB checks, Hero checks, CO checks

Second Draw: (t450) (3 players)
SB discards 2, Hero discards 2, CO discards 1,
4♥:5♥:6♣: || 8♣:3♥:
SB bets t300, Hero raises to t600, CO folds, SB calls t300

Third Draw: (t1,650) (2 players)
SB stands, Hero stands,
4♥:5♥:6♣:8♣:3♥:
SB checks, Hero bets t300, SB folds

Hero collected t1650

I was tempted to check back for information, but since so many worse hands can call I decided to bet.

The main point though, is that CO probably had the blinds with a bet pre-draw.
Not likely SB wants to play a D2 hand OOP -- and I certainly don't want to draw 2 to a possible flush or straight.
On first draw, CO again could have bet after both SB and I draw 2 then check -- I'm pretty sure that a bet here takes the pot for CO.

Roolz to follow:
 If you're going to play a hand, play it like you want to win it.
 Don't be passive -- unless you're slow playing the nutz. I wish I could follow this rule. Passive play is my big-ass leak <ewww>
 Know the odds. If you're in the CO with two folds before you, what are the chances that you will win. I think that this is where most people fail. The Russians win by being hyper-aggressive with small edges -- but they have the edge, and the know it. If they don't have the edge, or if they get behind, they're outta there. Once they get a stack though, they just mow the field down. Knowing the odds allows you to defend against them.

I'll be playing PLO8 this afternoon -- or maybe some 5-Card Draw if there are any decent cash tables.

Peace,
VS

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I frequently make a big deal about limping. I figure it shouldn't be done -- except perhaps in exceptional circumstances.

Limping seems to be super common in my regular PL Badugi tournaments, and I agree that it should be considered a mistake - as long as we're talking about open limping. Overlimping, on the other hand, is not only permissible, but often even the correct response to open limpers in this game, in my opinion, unless you want to isolate a fish or a short stack.

I guess the same can apply to 2-7, but to a lower degree (and even less so in Triple Draw, since it's FL). In both games, though, there is a very thin line between amazing hands and complete trash, so the dynamics are quite different to "normal" games like Hold'em and 5CD, where even overlimping is usually a bad move. Regardless, the only time you should ever see me open limp in any of these games is when I pressed the wrong button by accident.

Congrats on your 3rd place finish!

What !? Vorpal plays Stud?!

No I don't -- almost never in fact, and then only as part of HORSE or 8-game.
Tonight I entered a triple stud tournament for the fun of it, expecting to bust out early and go have dinner.
4 hours and 41 minutes later...

At one point I had a 4:1 lead over 2nd place, and everytime I raised, everyone else folded. It was bizarre.
I have never in any game or format run this good.

On the last hand, I kept calling vs villain thinking I'd try to bluff on 7th street since I had 3 hearts showing.
I hit trips.

Here it is:
I'm not saying it is well played or anything, but ...

Your converted hand, now with more cowbell.
PokerStars Limit Stud ($1.00+$0.10) t1000/t2000 ante t200 - 2 players

Seat 2: t16,693 [J♦: J♠: ] 8♣:A♥:3♦:6♣: [K♥: ]
Seat 7: t40,307 [4♦:9♣: ] 7♥:4♥:8♥:Q♣: [4♠: ] (Hero)

3rd Street: (t400) (2 players)
Hero brings, Seat 2 raises to t1000, Hero raises to t2000, Seat 2 raises to t3000, Hero calls t1000

4th Street: (t6,400) (2 players)
Seat 2 bets t1000, Hero raises to t2000, Seat 2 raises to t3000, Hero calls t1000

5th Street: (t12,400) (2 players)
Seat 2 bets t2000, Hero calls t2000

6th Street: (t16,400) (2 players)
Seat 2 bets t2000, Hero calls t2000

River: (t20,400) (2 players)
Seat 2 bets t2000, Hero raises to t4000, Seat 2 raises to t6000, Hero raises to t8000, Seat 2 calls t493 and is all-in

Seat 2 showed, a pair of Jacks
Hero showed, three of a kind, Fours
Hero won t33386

Hi vorpal!! my english its not the best where i cand find badugi material? good result!!!

Hi kingambito,
Let's start here:
https://www.pokerstrategy.com/strategy/7-card-stud/fl-badugi-introduction/

There is also some badugi discussion in this forum thread:
https://forums.pokerstrategy.com/forum/thread.php?threadid=284208&page=2

You could also do an internet search for this as well.

Cheers,
VS

Vorpal sorry keep bother you, do you use any hud or tracker for this type of games?

The free hud fpdb does badugi.

Just google it -- it is free to download, but it is definitely not trivial to use.

All the best,
VS

TY!! same for you.

This hand went just about as well as one could hope

PokerStars - $0.10 PL Hi/Lo (6 max) - Omaha Hi/Lo - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: $29.82 (39.99/13.68/2.68/2,031 (V/P/3/H)
BTN: $7.90 (38.25/19.12/2.31/441 (V/P/3/H)
SB: $7.36 (59.52/7.14/0.00/44 (V/P/3/H)
BB: $17.42 (33.33/7.41/0.00/54 (V/P/3/H)
Hero (UTG): $13.76

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has 9♣:A♠:3♠:J♣:
This hand has both Hi & Lo potential, and has two-suits one with the Ace -- they don't come much better
Hero raises to $0.25, fold, BTN calls $0.25, SB calls $0.20, BB calls $0.15

Flop: ($1.00, 4 players) 7♠:K♥:T♠:
SB checks, BB bets $0.96, Hero calls $0.96, BTN calls $0.96, fold
OTF I have 9 spade outs to the nut flush, 3 more Q outs to the nut straight and 3 8s to fill the double gutshot so easy call

Turn: ($3.88, 3 players) 8♦:
BB checks, Hero bets $3.39, BTN calls $3.39, BB calls $3.39
I have the nut straight on this board -- A Q might mean a chopped pot, and I don't want to see the board pair, but for now...

River: ($14.05, 3 players) 4♠:
BB checks, Hero bets $9.16 and is all-in, fold, fold
Nice River

Hero wins $13.45
Rake paid $0.60

Well that was fun...
I was sitting at my desk, when suddenly a table opened -- I had forgotten about the Saturday Discord freeroll -- 50 $11 tickets -- so well worth the effort.

Didn't take much effort -- I ran like the wind, and pushed real hard nearing the bubble.
I played the game to the end just for practice...

Not your usual Vorpal chip graph, I must say...

Peace,
VS

Hey Vorpal, have you seen the changes in the MTT schedule for mixed games on Pokerstars?

What do you think about them? Generally, I like the changes, it's just a shame that the $2.20 2-7 TD is gone now.

I didn't know that the $2.20 2-7 TD had gone, but I did notice that there is now a $3.30.
I don't play that tournament much. Also, it appears that several other $2.20 tournaments have been replaced by the $3.30.
A lot of these are re-entry tournaments too. I rarely fire the second bullet, so that doesn't matter that much to me.

I'm starting to understand the PKO tournaments too -- in these it is really important to have a big stack, and hammer the short stacks hard.
The "implied odds" that the bounty represents is huge.

If you mean mixed game as in 8-game and HORSE, I don't play those usually due to the fact that I completely suck at stud and PLO.
PLO8 is fine, but PLO is a black art.

Cheers,
VS

I usually refer to anything other than Hold'em and Omaha as "mixed games". But PLO and Stud (including Stud8) are also normally the sections I dread the most in 8-game, especially PLO. On the other hand, FLO8 and Razz tend to be among my more hopeful parts of the tournament. Luckily, they introduced a $1.10 8-game MTT now.

The $3.30 2-7 TD is probably one of the tournaments in your time zone. When it comes to my usual grinding times, there's only a $7.50 one, with a massively improved guarantee (you may remember that the $2.20 only had a $50 guarantee). I'd like to give it a shot some time, but it would essentially double the cost of my usual grind, so I'll leave it for now.

I'm quite excited about the $4.40 PL Badugis, though.