Originally posted by PostflopWizard
And pretty sick to start the blog with 3 FTs and 2 Wins Congrats!
Hi PostflopWizard,
It is a little known fact in the poker world that blog equity is a real thing 
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PokerStars, $3.92 + $0.48 - Badugi Pot Limit - 20/40 - 7 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 2,940 (74 bb)
MP: 4,025 (101 bb)
MP+1 (Hero): 3,545 (89 bb)
CO: 3,000 (75 bb)
BU: 1,845 (46 bb)
SB: 3,140 (79 bb)
BB: 3,135 (78 bb)
Deal: (60) Hero is MP+1 with 5♣ 9♦ A♥ 3♠
UTG raises to 80, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets to 200, 1 fold, BTN 4-bets to 740, 3 players fold, Hero 5-bets to 2,360, BTN calls 1,105 (all-in)
Draw One: (4,345) 5♣ 9♦ A♥ 3♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP+1 (Hero) stands pat, BU stands pat
Draw Two: (3,830) (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP+1 (Hero) stands pat, BU stands pat
Draw Three: (3,830) (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP+1 (Hero) stands pat, BU stands pat
Total pot: 3,830
Showdown:
MP+1 (Hero) shows 5♣ 9♦ A♥ 3♠ (a Badugi: 9,5,3,A)
BU shows 8♦ 7♠ 3♣ 2♥ (a Badugi: 8,7,3,2)
BU wins 3,830
This was a close judgment call, I think. Unfortunately, it didn't work out here, and it spelled the beginning of the end in the Badugi.
Made some clear blunders in the 2-7 Triple Draw, this is definitely the game I'm least confident with so far. Some more reading about it might be in order, and it could make sense to skip the $11 Weekend Special tomorrow. I'll see how I feel about it tomorrow night.
Luckily, though, the Five Card Draw ended up carrying the session yet again, with around $50 for a 6th place. My strategy in there is still pretty basic, playing some standard ranges, going for a bunch of small pots with marginal hands and trying to milk the big hands for all they're worth. So far, it seems to work out all right, which is all that matters, but it does leave me at the mercy of the deal. It remains to be seen whether the amount of pat hands and good dealt trips that can be expected in the course of the tournament is high enough to make such a straightforward strategy viable in the long term.
I can certainly use a day off tomorrow (from work, not from poker). Looking forward to some non-mixed drinks and a good night's sleep tonight.
Hi Harrier,
Thanks for sharing some Badugi hands.
I played a lot of 8-Game, but have almost no experience in Badugi. One thing I was wondering (especially in a tournament) is: Can't you just call the hand above because it's an UTG raise and see whether he draws?
If he draws, you are fine and get some value for sure. If not, you can play more carefully in position.
What's your thought about that?
Thank you and cheers.
kev
Glad that you blog about drinks and not food! 
:mdr: :mdr:
:sifflote::sifflote::sifflote::sifflote::sifflote::sifflote::sifflote::sifflote::sifflote:
Originally posted by Primrose6789
Glad that you blog about drinks and not food!
Looks like someone over here doesn't approve of my gourmet cooking...
Spoiler
Originally posted by PostflopWizard
One thing I was wondering (especially in a tournament) is: Can't you just call the hand above because it's an UTG raise and see whether he draws?If he draws, you are fine and get some value for sure. If not, you can play more carefully in position.
What's your thought about that?
No, that is not advisable. The key to Badugi, especially Pot Limit, is to get your chips in with your good hands while your opponents are still guessing about your hand strength. Even the worst Badugi (KQJT) is facing about a coinflip against the best three card hand (32Ax), so the rule I've always been advocating for is: If you have a Badugi, either play it fast or not at all.
Most players who would have raised from UTG would have called as well against any moderately sized 3-bet (as expected, he found a fold against the 4-bet here, though). As soon as we stand pat on the next draw, the cat is out of the bag anyway. Obviously, we would bet, and our opponent is likely to fold any hands that didn't improve to a Badugi, unless they have a 1-card draw to a good hand, in which case it is very important to make it expensive for them to chase it. By building a good pot with what is very likely to be the best hand, we either made the most out of it before our opponent would find their fold, or we put them into a position where they are more likely to commit with a draw (always an underdog vs a 9-Badugi) or a worse made hand.
Against the 4-bet, it was a very close judgment call, as I mentioned. It heavily implies a pat Badugi, and quite likely not one of the worst ones either. Typical ranges include a good mixture of hands we can beat and hands that beat us. I decided to go for it mostly because of the bounty potential, since this was a PKO tournament.
I hope this made sense. I do have a lot to say about PL Badugi strategies, but I was kind of in a hurry because I'm about to leave for work now. If you still have questions and/or objections, I may be able to get to them later.
Originally posted by Harrier88
No, that is not advisable. The key to Badugi, especially Pot Limit, is to get your chips in with your good hands while your opponents are still guessing about your hand strength. Even the worst Badugi (KQJT) is facing about a coinflip against the best three card hand (32Ax), so the rule I've always been advocating for is: If you have a Badugi, either play it fast or not at all.
This implies you're against one opponent -- against more than 1, it gets worse and worse the more players are drawing against you
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
This implies you're against one opponent -- against more than 1, it gets worse and worse the more players are drawing against you
Yes, very true. Which gives us another reason to raise before the first draw. You want to give as few opportunities to draw out on you as possible.
Since my recent tournaments didn't give me a lot of things to talk about, let's have a look at another cocktail. Remember the allspice dram that I mixed a while ago?
Well, I found some use for it. This is the Lion's Tail:
It is mostly based on bourbon whiskey, with added allspice dram, lime juice and a few dashes of Angostura bitters. Also some sugar syrup, if you prefer.
It may seem like an unusual combination, but the end result is an interesting drink that contains spicy, sweet, sour and bitter flavors, all at the same time.
Getting your hands on some ingredients might be a challenge, but here's how it goes:
2 oz (55 ml) bourbon
0.75 oz (20 ml) allspice dram
0.50 oz (15ml) lime juice
1-2 dashes Angostura bitters
up to a teaspoon of simple syrup (to taste. I used about half a teaspoon. the drink will probably do without it as well)
As usual, shake the ingredients up with ice and strain the cocktail into an appropriate glass. Again, martini glasses should do fine, but I used a champagne saucer this time for variety.
That sounds tasty!
Are the bubbles caused by the lime juice -- or is that part of the Allspice Dram characteristics?
It's not a bubbly drink, at least. The foam on top is usually just a result of the shaking. But I noticed that the original allspice mixture got quite foamy as well whenever I shook it, back when I was making it, and it took longer than usual to subside as well. So it's possible that the allspice dram contributed a little to the foamy head as it is seen in the picture.
I did come across some versions of this drink which call for egg whites as well, which should lead to thicker and creamier foam.
I've never heard of egg whites being used in cocktails, but then I never paid much attention to cocktail recipes
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I've never heard of egg whites being used in cocktails, but then I never paid much attention to cocktail recipes
It is a popular choice for some drinks - optional in some, obligatory in others - and it requires a certain technique called the "dry shake", which is basically shaking the ingredients without any ice.
I have personally never tried it, but I'd like to get to it one day.
Feral Cow Poker Hand Converter
PokerStars Limit Triple Draw ($6.69+$0.81) t800/t1600 - 5 players
CO: t18,690 (Hero)
Button: t4,350
SB: t4,470
BB: t26,800
UTG: t10,090
Dealing Hands: (t1,200) 
(5 players)
UTG raises to t1600, Hero raises to t2400, 3 folds, UTG calls t800
First Draw: (t6,000) (2 players)
UTG discards 2, Hero discards 1,
|| 
UTG checks, Hero bets t800, UTG raises to t1600, Hero raises to t2400, UTG raises to t3200, Hero calls t800
Second Draw: (t12,400) (2 players)
UTG stands, Hero stands,
UTG bets t1600, Hero raises to t3200, UTG raises to t4490 and is all-in, Hero calls t1290
Third Draw: (t21,380) (2 players)
UTG stands, Hero stands
Hero showed , Lo: 7,5,4,3,2
UTG showed 
, Lo: 8,5,4,3,2
Hero won t21380
Just what you like to see, especially when you're approaching the bubble.
FTs tonight in the Badugi (finished 5th) and the 2-7 Triple Draw (finished 6th). This sounds nice and it was indeed a winning session, but the result in the 2-7 TD was a little disappointing. Those games are 6-max, with 7 players paid tonight, which made the 6th place little more than a mincash. If I remember correctly, I had entered the FT as the chipleader too, so as you can tell, not much went right at the final table. Pretty much the opposite of the hand above.
Late regged the SCOOP Five Card Draw event for $11 and got off to a promising start, but another long card dead stretch hit me just when I was looking for the double-ups that were needed to keep me alive and get the ITM ranks back in sight. It wasn't meant to be. And neither was the usual $7.50 5CD, where I was at the wrong end of a trips vs pat hand situation this time.
I'll leave you guys with another little warning about the dangers of limping in this game:
Milked from the teat of a feral cow
PokerStars Pot Limit 5 Card Draw ($6.69+$0.81) t60/t120 ante t30 - 5 players
UTG: t2,890
CO: t1,736
Button: t2,700
SB: t3,836
BB: t3,231 (Hero)
Dealing Hands: (t330) 
(5 players)
UTG calls t120, 3 folds, Hero checks
First Draw: (t450) (2 players)
Hero discards 1, UTG discards 1,
||
Hero bets t300, UTG calls t300
UTG mucked
Hero showed , a straight, Ace to Five
Hero won t1050
For the first time in ages, I went for a jog today after getting up. I almost had trouble fitting into the shoes because they were covered with dried mud after lying around unused for so long. They are all cleaned up now, so I will hopefully get into a habit of using them on a regular basis again.
Exercising is one of the things I kinda neglected ever since the Corona restrictions put a stop to my usual organized sports activities, which include American football, ballet (odd combo, I know), aqua-jogging and soccer. It's a tough schedule, so I originally didn't even mind having a bit of a break. However, a few weeks in, I got a little too used to it, especially with the added focus on my new job, which at least involves a lot of walking as well, to be fair. I got employed by a rural town for light police duties towards the end of March. A typical work day involves around 10 km (a little over 6 miles) of walking.
Summer is approaching, and I noticed in the last two years, which both featured some pretty brutal heat waves, that I had a tendency to enter a "Summer Slump" on and off the tables. Both summers involved some nasty downswings at poker, and also long stretches of unproductive days with a seriously disturbed sleep schedule that more often than not had me sleeping until the afternoon. Of course, one thing can lead to the next. Heat leads to low levels of energy, which leads to sleeping late, which leads to a lack of productivity, which leads to bad mood, which leads to bad poker sessions, which leads to worse mood, which leads to worse productivity and levels of energy, which leads to worse sleep schedules.
So far, there are no signs of it, but I am aware of the possibility, so I will hopefully be able to prevent another Summer Slump this year. Having a decent job for the time being (my employment will last until September), should help matters as well, unlike last year, where I made an unsuccessful attempt to get into a freelancing career instead - something I still haven't completely given up on yet, but it is on the back burner.
In my experience, having a decent sleep schedule is extremely important to avoid slumps like this, as is a decent waking up routine. In terms of levels of energy and productivity, leaving the bathroom at 1 PM well-showered after a bout of outdoor exercise is a huge difference to dragging yourself out of bed and finishing a basic bathroom routine at 1 PM, even though the time is the same.
It was not surprising that I tired myself out very quickly during today's jog after such a long break, but following it, I was quite happy with all the things I managed to get done today. If I can keep at it, I should be able to make sure that there will be no Summer Slump for me in 2020. ♠_drink:
3rd place in the 2-7 Triple Draw for $42 was the session saver this time. I still make costly mistakes in there, but I'm beginning to get a little more confident in my game. I'm slowly starting to identify proper value bet spots and opportunities to bluff and bluffcatch at times.
I'd say the building blocks for a solid strategy are mostly there, I just need to gain some more experience to start putting it all together. But a little more theoretical knowledge still wouldn't hurt.
While Badugi was a double-bust, Five Card Draw showed some promise. This time I ran trips into a drawn straight, which is potentially even harder to get away from. It wasn't completely over yet, but the blinds were high and my stack was short. And look what happened when the stack got really short:
Converted by the cows of Feral Cow Poker
PokerStars Pot Limit 5 Card Draw ($6.69+$0.81) t350/t700 ante t175 - 5 players
Button: t10,434
SB: t531 (Hero)
BB: t15,015
UTG: t14,405
CO: t5,674
Dealing Hands: (t1,925) 
(5 players)
2 folds, Button raises to t1400, Hero calls t6 and is all-in, BB folds
First Draw: (t2,631) (2 players)
Hero discards 1, Button discards 3
Button showed 
, a pair of Kings
Hero showed , a straight, Seven to Jack
Button won t688
Hero won t1943
Nice to hit it, but bad timing, right? Imagine how clutch this would have been if I had managed to run it back up, though...
And guess what? It almost happened. Shortly later, after picking up some blinds, I pushed AAxxx vs the same player drawing 3 and improving to KKQQx. The pot would have been big enough to get the ITM ranks back in plain sight.
But with a nice session saver like this, I won't complain.
Today, let's talk a bit about what goes into making a cocktail.
One thing that almost certainly gets into it is ice. Lots of it. It may go without saying, but some people might not be aware of this yet. Just the other day, my colleague asked me if some of the cocktails I make at home are mixed with ice too. Well, sure. Pretty much all of them are. Cocktails are supposed to be served ice cold.
Whether you shake or stir them, the purpose of the technique you're using remains the same: To chill and dilute the drink. One thing to keep in mind is that if your recipe calls for a shake, it almost always means shaking it with ice, unless it specifically calls for a "dry shake". Dry shaking means shaking the ingredients without ice, and as far as I know, it is only ever used if you're using egg whites in your drink. Even then, you would usually give it another shake with ice later on.
If your recipe measures the amount of ingredients in parts (something I never really liked), note that the ice will usually account for about a third of your drink's total volume, so keep that in mind when you do the math for the measurements.
I assume everyone has some version of ice cube trays at home, but I found it useful to keep some packs of crushed ice around as well (pictured below). The problem with these store-bought ones is that once you get home, you usually have to crush the ice all over again because it tends to freeze into lumps. This is not usually a problem, though, because many drinks are strained anyway. And even if they aren't, lumps of ice will do just as good a job chilling your drinks as chips of ice would do.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the glasses are supposed to be chilled as well. Suppose you just add some ice cubes to chill your drink, what is going to happen? The ice will float to the top, of course, but what about the bottom of the glass? It will get chilled to some degree, but not as much as we want to. We will get much better results if we already chill the glasses themselves, before serving our drinks.
There are multiple techniques to achieve this. Busy bars may have an entire bucket of ice ready, in which case you can just put your clean glasses inside it. Others may put glasses in the freezer, and some bars and restaurants may have some freezers specifically prepared for this. Chances are, you won't have space for it at home, though.
So here's what I do: A few minutes before I mix the drink, I simply fill the glass I'm going to use with ice, as seen below. By the time I get ready for mixing, the ice should have done a fine job chilling the glass. You're not usually supposed to re-use your ice, so some barkeepers may want to slap me for it, but I usually simply add the ice from the glass to the shaker as well, or simply pour the ingredients on top in the case of stirred or built drinks. I found that it works just fine, and it makes sure that you have the appropriate amount of ice for the mixing part as well.
In my next post, we will try to put all of this into practice...
To put our ice cold knowledge to the test, let's make an espresso martini, a cocktail which involves a shot of actual espresso - not usually the kind of ingredient you may expect in a chilled drink. I assume most people will have an espresso machine at home. If not... how on earth are you getting through your daily life?
Other ingredients include vodka and coffee liquor. Kahlúa is a popular brand, but there are others available. I personally use a quite affordable one by Giffard, which also gives good results. If you absolutely can't find anything, you could also try making your own. Simple syrup or sugar is optional. I usually drink my coffee without sugar as well, so I left it out. You will also need a shaker, ideally with a strainer. Otherwise, you will have to find another way to strain your drink.
With the ingredients gathered, use a jigger or any other kind of measuring cup to transfer 50 ml (around 1.75 oz) of vodka and 10 ml (around 0.35 oz) of coffee liquor into your shaker.
The espresso will already be measured by your espresso maker, so just pour it on top.
With all the ingredients being thrown together, add the ice to the shaker to get ready to mix it. As you can see, the ice got quite lumpy. That's okay.
Notice the glass after the ice is removed. Nice and chilly, isn't it?
Cover up the shaker and give it a good shake. I usually just count to 20 and add a few more seconds. It might not even be necessary to do it for so long. You will feel the shaker getting cold and icy on the outside as well, a sign that your drink is getting ready.
Now, simply strain it into the chilled martini glass, leaving the ice behind.
If you're feeling fancy, you can add some coffee beans as a garnish. Mocha beans may be even better, but I didn't have any at home.
And there you go. A nice new way to enjoy your coffee.
With the use of some ice and a good shake, we have transformed a steaming hot cup of espresso into a chilly cocktail. It's as easy as that.