We once received an espresso machine as a gift.
It made great espresso, but after a few weeks it sat idle and after a few months we gave it to one of our kids.
We then went back to our drip coffee maker.
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2nd place in the Five Card Draw. Got quite close to shipping it, but didn't quite get the luck in the decisive spots in the HU phase. I managed to put my opponent all-in with almost equal stacks while holding trip fives, which got beaten by his trip nines. Overall, though, I have very little reason to complain about bad luck, I managed to get the hands that mattered when I got short and approached the ITM ranks.
One highlight hand from earlier in the tournament can be found in Hand of the Day.
Thank you, Vorpal!
These games are very luck-dependent in my experience, especially considering that the ones I play are Turbos. Most deep runs seem to require at least one risky bluffcatch - or just getting a string of great hands at the right time. So far, it has been going well.
I have played enough Five Card Draw tournaments by now to see the stats on my go-to tracking site. Over 24 games, I would now have a recorded profit of $352.76, amounting to an ROI of 195.98%. This is vastly inflated through the meaninglessly small sample size, of course, but I believe that a long-term ROI of at least 50% should definitely be realistic. Keeping it above 100% would be amazing in my book, and anything in-between these two values would be very good.
With 2-7 Triple Draw, I would currently have an ROI of 54.38% over 34 games ($138.68 profit), which is respectable, but I have my doubts that it could be sustained if I keep playing the same way. Again, I'd be more than happy with that value if it sticks, but in order to maintain, or ideally increase it, some improvements are in order.
Note that neither of these stats include the $11 weekend specials. I should be in profit there in both games, but they would probably drag down the stats a bit if they were included.
And speaking of weekends, I didn't play today, and probably won't be playing tomorrow either. My brother is visiting with his family, so the mixed drinks have priority over the mixed games in the evenings. And of course we like to just hang out a bit as well.
My brother loved the homemade allspice dram. My sister-in-law didn't. And neither of them were a big fan of the Lion's Tail cocktail.
But don't worry, my home bar had plenty of stuff for everybody. For example, my sis-in-law ended up having a Midori-based cocktail called the Japanese Slipper, which has always been a big hit with the ladies in the family. I will get to that one eventually.
Last night's poker session was a brick. The last few times I played, I found out how the games can go when you get the right hands at the right time. This time, I found what happens when you don't get them.
That's not to say that I didn't ever get a lucky hit. Check out this Badugi hand for example, where I decided that my high Badugi was probably not good enough anymore - and ended up getting one that clearly was good enough:
PokerStars, $3.92 + $0.48 - Badugi Pot Limit - 200/400 - 7 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG: 18,658 (47 bb)
MP: 20,024 (50 bb)
MP+1 (Hero): 2,297 (6 bb)
CO: 13,158 (33 bb)
BU: 2,129 (5 bb)
SB: 25,043 (63 bb)
BB: 24,080 (60 bb)
Deal: (600) Hero is MP+1 with A♥ J♣ 4♠ 2♦
2 players fold, Hero raises to 800, CO 3-bets to 3,000, 3 players fold, Hero calls 1,497 (all-in)
Draw One: (5,897) A♥ J♣ 4♠ 2♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP+1 (Hero) stands pat, CO stands pat
Draw Two: (5,194) (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP+1 (Hero) draws Jc, CO stands pat
Draw Three: (5,194) (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP+1 (Hero) draws As, CO stands pat
Total pot: 5,194
Showdown:
CO shows 4♦ 7♣ 5♥ 6♠ (a Badugi: 7,6,5,4)
MP+1 (Hero) shows A♥ 4♠ 2♦ 3♣ (a Badugi: 4,3,2,A)
MP+1 (Hero) wins 5,194
Sadly, it couldn't change the outcome of the tournament for the better either.
Due to an inconvenient change in my work schedule, I will now usually work from late afternoon to evening, usually until around 9 PM. This will very likely affect my poker sessions, which typically start around 9:45 PM, and it probably had a negative effect in last night's session already. I'll see how it goes, and work is obviously a priority. Maybe it might be a good idea to skip sessions on certain days.
Originally posted by Harrier88
The last few times I played, I found out how the games can go when you get the right hands at the right time. This time, I found what happens when you don't get them.That's not to say that I didn't ever get a lucky hit. Check out this Badugi hand for example, where I decided that my high Badugi was probably not good enough anymore - and ended up getting one that clearly was good enough:
When I was playing the $5.50 on 888 the other day, I found myself hoping for the short stacks to win, which is weird, because if they bust, it puts me closer to the $.
I found myself getting rather repetitive saying, "Wow! Nice hand to get when you really need it"
I asked my daughter what sort of alcoholic drink she would like us to have at her party.
I know she's not into beer or coolers, but she mentioned a "Lemon Crush".
Do you know of this drink?
The only on-line recipes I can find involve citrus vodka, and Sprite
One involves Grand Marnier, but I'm pretty sure I can get away with Triple Sec
What do you think?
VS
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I asked my daughter what sort of alcoholic drink she would like us to have at her party.
I know she's not into beer or coolers, but she mentioned a "Lemon Crush".
Do you know of this drink?
The only on-line recipes I can find involve citrus vodka, and Sprite
One involves Grand Marnier, but I'm pretty sure I can get away with Triple Sec
Orange curaçao would be a better substitute for Grand Marnier, if you can get some. Triple sec is usually more of a substitute for Cointreau. It's all orange liquor, though, so you should be able to get away with triple sec, if the color doesn't matter.
I'm not familiar with the Lemon Crush, and I had a hard time finding any recipes for it too. I found some called "Orange Crush", though. Also, while I was searching, I stumbled across recipes for a drink called "Blue Lagoon", involving vodka, blue curaçao and lemonade, which sounds quite interesting because I have made some lemonade earlier today. Other recipes substitute the lemonade with lemon juice and Sprite.
I do know a recipe for a "Lemon Drop Martini", which has similar ingredients:
30 ml vodka citron
20 ml triple sec
15 ml lemon juice
Shake and strain into a martini glass. Ideally, you would rim the glass with some sugar as well. I didn't bother with it back when I took that photo.
FTs in the Five Card Draw (6th) and 2-7 Triple Draw (5th). The 5CD Turbo, which also includes antes, really seems like a completely different game as soon as you reach the later phases. While you could gradually build your stack earlier on, any pot is potentially decisive starting near the end of late reg, and they don't even have to be big pots - the blinds and antes just take care of the rest.
I've marked a few hands from the game to discuss some strategy:
Spoiler
1. "Da Pot"
A pack of feral cows chewed their cuds for .0043 seconds to convert this hand
PokerStars Pot Limit 5 Card Draw ($6.69+$0.81) t40/t80 ante t20 - 5 players
Button: t4,003 (Hero)
SB: t2,882
BB: t2,322
UTG: t2,820
CO: t3,988
Dealing Hands: (t220) 
(5 players)
UTG calls t80, CO calls t80, Hero raises to t200, 2 folds, UTG calls t120, CO calls t120
First Draw: (t820) (3 players)
UTG discards 3, CO discards 3, Hero discards 3,
|| 
UTG checks, CO bets t820, Hero raises to t3280, UTG folds, CO calls t2460
Hero showed , three of a kind, Aces
CO mucked
Hero won t7380
CO seems very confident with his pot-sized bet (this is PL) after drawing three. Quite clearly, he has hit trips. So did we, but we have the best possible ones. It is important to get the most value out of lucky spots like this, or it will be missing later, when we don't get the cards we need. And since villain seems so confident, there's no need to mess around with arbitrary betsizes. Just bet the pot for max value, he is unlikely to give up anyway. And if he did get some super-lucky boat or quads, then so be it, accept the cooler.
Btw, CO had trip queens.
Spoiler
2. No Pot...
Feral Cow Poker Hand Converter
PokerStars Pot Limit 5 Card Draw ($6.69+$0.81) t250/t500 ante t125 - 5 players
Button: t9,134 (Hero)
SB: t3,500
BB: t17,203
UTG: t4,150
CO: t4,155
Dealing Hands: (t1,375) 
(5 players)
2 folds, Hero raises to t1000, SB folds, BB calls t500
First Draw: (t2,875) (2 players)
BB discards 3, Hero discards 1,
|| 
BB checks, Hero bets t1500, BB raises to t3500, Hero calls t2000
Hero showed , three of a kind, Kings
BB showed 
, two pair, Aces and Nines
Hero won t9875
This time, we don't have the best trips. Villain's check raise looks strong, and aces are clearly in his range. He could have plenty of hands that we can beat, but trip aces are a possibility now. Let's call the raise, but avoid risking the entire tournament to a quite possible cooler.
Spoiler
3. Not this time
Feral Cow Poker
PokerStars Pot Limit 5 Card Draw ($6.69+$0.81) t400/t800 ante t200 - 6 players
BB: t10,809
UTG: t7,395
UTG+1: t17,512
CO: t15,402 (Hero)
Button: t27,919
SB: t16,928
Dealing Hands: (t2,400) 
(6 players)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to t1600, Hero raises to t2400, 3 folds, UTG+1 raises to t9600, Hero folds
UTG+1 collected t7200
Trips vs pat hands are a common game-changing situation in these tournaments, and I've been on both sides of it before. Maybe a flat call would have been better in the first place, but after this aggressive line, I expect a straight or flush. Sucks to fold trips predraw, but that's what I did, based on what I've seen in similar spots in previous tournaments.
Spoiler
4. Cat Hop
Feral Cow Poker Hand Converter
PokerStars Pot Limit 5 Card Draw ($6.69+$0.81) t600/t1200 ante t300 - 5 players
Button: t26,374
SB: t42,221
BB: t7,802 (Hero)
UTG: t15,819
CO: t22,228
Dealing Hands: (t3,300) 
(5 players)
3 folds, SB calls t600, Hero raises to t2400, SB calls t1200
First Draw: (t6,300) (2 players)
SB discards 2, Hero discards 2,
|| 
SB checks, Hero bets t3150, SB folds
Hero collected t6300
For those who don't know, a "cat hop" is when you draw 2 to a flush or straight. Something you don't normally do.
I've been surprised how easily many players in this tournament seem to fold to the smallest bit of resistance from BB in blind vs blind spots. I was hoping that my raise would have taken down the pot predraw already, but after the call, I decided to go for the cat hop to represent trips after my raise, while keeping the small possibility of actually hitting the flush. It worked, and villain most likely had some smallish pair plus kicker. Maybe we even could have won a showdown.
Originally posted by Harrier88
For those who don't know, a "cat hop" is when you draw 2 to a flush or straight. Something you don't normally do.I've been surprised how easily many players in this tournament seem to fold to the smallest bit of resistance from BB in blind vs blind spots.
I had always used cat hop only for a 2-card draw to a straight flush, but now I see that the wider term is correct.
A lot of times in 5-Card Draw BvB the SB is trying for an outright steal, based on the fact that AQ9xx is exactly half way between the worst and best hands.
So if they are the kind of player that likes to steal wide, you can 3Bet them and make money
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I had always used cat hop only for a 2-card draw to a straight flush, but now I see that the wider term is correct.
A lot of times in 5-Card Draw BvB the SB is trying for an outright steal, based on the fact that AQ9xx is exactly half way between the worst and best hands.
So if they are the kind of player that likes to steal wide, you can 3Bet them and make money
Actually, I've learned the term "cat hop" from you, so you may be correct about that.
Also, noticed how I discarded the higher kicker in one of the hands where I had trips? That's a move I like to call "The Vorpal", because I've seen you do it a lot on stream. I tried it myself, because I thought that if my opponent calls or raises, they are more likely to hold one of the higher cards themselves, therefore reducing my outs. Then again, all those opponents who have folded may be more likely to hold the lower cards, but it's something I wanted to try, at least. I guess it won't make much of a difference either way.
I have found myself raise-folding a lot as well in the SB during the later stages, where any called 3-bet would more or less commit my stack. What surprised me so far was the amount of limp-folding that I have seen from other SBs. That's also what I was going for in the cat hop hand.
Originally posted by Harrier88
Also, noticed how I discarded the higher kicker in one of the hands where I had trips? That's a move I like to call "The Vorpal", because I've seen you do it a lot on stream.
I rather think it's a comfort move, where you imagine that you're improving your odds. If the higher card is a broadway card, you're likely right.
The other think it does it take away a decision moment -- "do I throw the 4 or the deuce?" -- it likely doesn't matter, but you decided a long time ago to throw the higher card, so away it goes without another wasted though.
Originally posted by Harrier88
What surprised me so far was the amount of limp-folding that I have seen from other SBs
I agree -- I'm starting to see this in NL 5-Card Draw cash as well.
I've always come in for a raise -- almost always 3x -- with any hand I would enter a pot with.
I do need a limping range though, and it would be very polarized.
Some would be limp/shove and some would be limp/fold
I've just never taken the time to construct those ranges.
I limped quad aces once -- I can't remember what happened though. NARF
Converted by the cows of Feral Cow Poker
PokerStars Pot Limit 5 Card Draw ($9.80+$1.20) t400/t800 ante t200 - 6 players
Button: t9,350
SB: t12,796
BB: t30,358
UTG: t8,800 (Hero)
UTG+1: t14,629
CO: t9,270
Dealing Hands: (t2,400) 
(6 players)
Hero raises to t1600, UTG+1 calls t1600, 3 folds, BB raises to t8000, Hero raises to t8600 and is all-in, UTG+1 calls t7000, BB calls t600
First Draw: (t27,400) (3 players)
BB discards 1, Hero stands, UTG+1 discards 1,
BB bets t21558 and is all-in, UTG+1 calls t5829 and is all-in
BB showed 
, three of a kind, Queens
Hero showed , a straight, Deuce to Six
UTG+1 showed 
, a full house, Aces full of Kings
UTG+1 won t39058
Heartbreaking exit hand in the $11 Five Card Draw tonight, shortly before the bubble...
Ran trip kings into trip aces twice before that in the tournament too.
Badugi went somewhat well and resulted in an ITM finish, then this hand happened:
PokerStars, $3.92 + $0.48 - Badugi Pot Limit - 700/1,400 - 6 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG (Hero): 25,900 (19 bb)
MP: 28,031 (20 bb)
CO: 2,200 (2 bb)
BU: 37,394 (27 bb)
SB: 53,728 (38 bb)
BB: 18,949 (14 bb)
Deal: (2,100) Hero is UTG with 3♣ A♦ 6♥ 4♦
Hero raises to 2,800, 2 players fold, BTN calls 2,800, SB calls 2,100, BB calls 1,400
Draw One: (11,200) 3♣ A♦ 6♥ 2♠ (4 players)
SB draws 2, BB stands pat, UTG (Hero) draws 1, BU draws 1
SB bets 2,800, BB folds, Hero raises to 7,000, BTN calls 7,000, SB calls 4,200
Draw Two: (32,200) 3♣ A♦ 6♥ 2♠ (3 players)
SB draws 2, UTG (Hero) stands pat, BU stands pat
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets 7,000, SB folds, Hero calls 7,000
Draw Three: (46,200) 3♣ A♦ 6♥ 2♠ (2 players)
UTG (Hero) stands pat, BU stands pat
Hero bets 9,100 (all-in), BTN calls 9,100
Total pot: 64,400
Showdown:
UTG (Hero) shows 3♣ A♦ 6♥ 2♠ (a Badugi: 6,3,2,A)
BU shows 4♠ A♣ 2♦ 5♥ (a Badugi: 5,4,2,A)
BU wins 64,400
So what can I say? Cooler-city tonight...
Had one 5th place in Five Card Draw since my last update, and some decent Badugi scores with good bounties. It has been a while since my last really big score in Badugi, though, which is disappointing, considering that it's still supposed to be my main game.
Five Card Draw is still going pretty well overall, despite a few bustouts lately, including the very unlucky one tonight. 2-7 Triple Draw has shown some promise, but there have always been some neckbreaking hands at one point. I'll stay at it, but I decided to skip the weekend specials in this game for now.
After tonight's session, we are just above breaking even for the month. Weekends are always pretty busy for me with work, but I'll have off-days next week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Let's see if we can pick up some steam tomorrow and get back on the right side of those coolers.
You need "good luck"-trolls! 
Will be back at the tables very probably next Sunday or Monday, too bad we can´t play our freeroll together anymore due to your work schedule. ♠_cry:
By the way: Bought an interesting vegetarian "Schnitzel" - made with soy and corn *trolololol* ♠_ugly: Will eat it without sauce ♠_tongue: of course. ♠_tongue:
How could things possibly go wrong with such a lovely good luck doggy? 
Thank you very much. And feel free to keep playing that "troll freeroll" on Saturdays. It's a shame I can't make it anymore, but you could still bag some cash for yourself and I should usually make it back in time for some railing.
Given my past experiences with vegetarian meat supplements, that schnitzel you mentioned should be quite something... It would need some good toppings at least to make it enjoyable. May I suggest bolognese sauce and cheese?
Spoiler
I missed my chance yesterday to try the "Lime Crush" but I still have the Triple Sec so I'll give it a go later on.
Heartbreaking exit hand in the $11 Five Card Draw tonight, shortly before the bubble...
Heartbreaking? Tragic even!
Not much you can do with those...
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I missed my chance yesterday to try the "Lime Crush" but I still have the Triple Sec so I'll give it a go later on.
"Lime Crush" sounds like something that requires some muddling. We'll get to those drinks soon...
I can't believe I spent over an hour on today's shopping trip... I'll have takeout for sure on Wednesday.
No cashes to report in last night's session, so let me show you another drink instead. I mentioned this one cocktail the other day that has been a hit with the ladies in the family. It is based on Midori, a muskmelon-flavored liqueur, originally from Japan (midori means "green" in Japanese, for those who don't know).
As you can tell by how much is left of it in that picture, it has been in demand over here.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of it. The smell is almost sickeningly sweet, and while the taste is better, it's not something I could really see me drinking on its own. Still, it makes for some interesting mixed drinks.
The most popular one here at home so far is the Japanese Slipper. I didn't make it recently, so here's an older photo of it:
30 ml of Midori
30 ml of triple sec
30 ml of lemon juice
Shake it with ice and strain it into a martini glass.
If you like fruity stuff, then this sweet and sour (but mostly sweet) cocktail should be for you.