Mind Games

Cashed the $5.50 PLO8 on the 3rd rung for $13.28
Two bullets though.

On the first bullet I played solid hands, but fell short massively just once -- and thus crippled I tried to hang in there.
This was the hand that ruined my stack

PokerStars - 3000/6000 PL Hi/Lo (6 max) - Omaha Hi/Lo - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 187,553
MP: 263,100
CO: 38,105
BTN: 123,460
SB: 338,599
Hero (BB): 67,825

SB posts SB 3,000, Hero posts BB 6,000

Pre Flop: (pot: 9,000) Hero has A♠:3♦:6♠:A♦:

fold, fold, CO raises to 21,000, fold, fold, Hero raises to 66,000, CO calls 17,105 and is all-in

Flop: (79,210, 2 players) 8♣:J♥:J♠:

Turn: (79,210, 2 players) 9♠:

River: (79,210, 2 players) 6♥:

Hero shows A♠:3♦:6♠:A♦: (Two Pair, Aces and Jacks)
(Pre 71%, Flop 83%, Turn 88%)
CO shows 7♥:5♦:A♥:7♣: (Straight, Nine High)
(Pre 29%, Flop 17%, Turn 13%)
CO wins 79,210

On the second bullet, I came out swinging, and got called by bigger stacks that just figured I was deperate.
(at least I think that's why they called -- they certainly didn't have the hands for it)

Some people just pure gamble in PLO, even regulars. Yesterday saw a hand in high stakes twitch streamer, when a player coldcall 4bet all in versus 2 players and showed Q9J6 ds and rivered the nuts and sucked out AAxx and KKxx ds ♦

PokerStars, 5 Card Draw No Limit - $0.10/$0.25 - 5 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

UTG: $78.64 (315 bb)
CO: $28.71 (115 bb)
BU: $12.30 (49 bb)
SB: $4.64 (19 bb)
BB (Hero): $26.95 (108 bb)

Deal: ($0.35) Hero is BB with 3♦:8♣:9♦:2♥:Q♠:
2 players fold, BTN calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero checks

Draw One: ($0.60) 3♦:9♦:6♦:K♦:Q♦: (2 players)
BB (Hero) draws 8♣:2♥:Q♠:, BU draws 3
Hero bets $0.39, BTN raises to $1.75, Hero raises to $5.94, BTN calls $4.19

Total pot: $12.48 (Rake: $0.56)

Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows 3♦:9♦:6♦:K♦:Q♦: (a flush, King high)
BU mucks K♥:K♣:T♠:7♦:K♠: (three of a kind, Kings)
BB (Hero) wins $11.92

Originally posted by VorpalF2F

Punishing Limpers for Fun & Profit

PokerStars, 5 Card Draw No Limit - $0.10/$0.25 - 5 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

UTG: $78.64 (315 bb)
CO: $28.71 (115 bb)
BU: $12.30 (49 bb)
SB: $4.64 (19 bb)
BB (Hero): $26.95 (108 bb)

Deal: ($0.35) Hero is BB with 3♦:8♣:9♦:2♥:Q♠:
2 players fold, BTN calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero checks

Draw One: ($0.60) 3♦:9♦:6♦:K♦:Q♦: (2 players)
BB (Hero) draws 8♣:2♥:Q♠:, BU draws 3
Hero bets $0.39, BTN raises to $1.75, Hero raises to $5.94, BTN calls $4.19

Total pot: $12.48 (Rake: $0.56)

Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows 3♦:9♦:6♦:K♦:Q♦: (a flush, King high)
BU mucks K♥:K♣:T♠:7♦:K♠: (three of a kind, Kings)
BB (Hero) wins $11.92

When it shows the cards, I assume it keeps the order dealt (it seemed to for your hand)? So he limped with pocket kings... bahaha - nice hand!

Originally posted by Ramble
When it shows the cards, I assume it keeps the order dealt (it seemed to for your hand)? So he limped with pocket kings... bahaha - nice hand!

Before Aurora, I'm pretty sure that the cards displayed were not in order -- but I cannot confirm that.

There are players that limp a very polarized range -- usually smaller pairs, straight or flush draws at the one end, and pat hands at the other. I don't generally do this. This player in particular plays about 40/5 so if he ever raised anything, he would just get folds.

I was up before 7:00 and doing all kinds of non-poker things.
It is just after 16:30, and I just woke up from a nap

A friend had his 70th birthday party today.
I feel that old sometimes

When we go to the place, the parking lot was full, except for one space reserved for plug-in electric vehicles.
Nifty! I haz me one of those, so he had lunch, charged the car for free.
Bonus was that it was in a region with no transit tax on gasoline so we filled up the car for cheap also

In this hand, I'm BvB with a player who has open shoved, and has been playing a ton of hands (50% VPIP)

I was willing to pay two bucks just to see what this goof actually had.
Against a sane player, this would be a check/fold OTF

Pacific Poker - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: $0.58
BTN: $2.11
Hero (SB): $2.07
BB: $2.06

Hero posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has 3♥:3♠:

fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.05, BB calls $0.03

Flop: ($0.10, 2 players) 9♠:6♥:7♦:
Hero checks, BB bets $0.02, Hero raises to $0.08, BB raises to $0.14, Hero raises to $2.02 and is all-in, BB calls $1.87 and is all-in

Turn: ($4.12, 2 players) 4♣:

River: ($4.12, 2 players) 7♥:

Hero shows 3♥:3♠: (Two Pair, Sevens and Threes)
(Pre 65%, Flop 83%, Turn 93%)
BB shows 2♣:A♣: (One Pair, Sevens)
(Pre 35%, Flop 17%, Turn 7%)
Hero wins $3.87
Rake paid $0.25

Hey Vorpal,

Glad to see that you are trying at HoldEm.
I will not comment your hand as probably you have already made your conclusion. Just one remark - always open 3BB from SB, you are giving good odds for BB to widen his range if you open smaller ( I usually play any two if SB open 2BB).

One might say that was thin value line with 33...

Originally posted by ghaleon
One might say that was thin value line with 33...


I recognize that it was a rather foolish play, however considering what opponent called with ...

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

UTG: $9.09
CO: $4.91
BTN: $7.37
SB: $4.46
Hero (BB): $19.39

SB posts SB $0.05, Hero posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has 6♠:J♥:J♦:6♣:

fold, fold, fold, SB calls $0.05, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.20, 2 players) J♣:J♠:2♦:
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.20, 2 players) Q♠:
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($0.20, 2 players) 9♦:
SB bets $0.19, Hero raises to $0.76, SB calls $0.57

Hero shows 6♠:J♥:J♦:6♣: (Four of a Kind, Jacks)
(Pre 51%, Flop 92%, Turn 100%)
SB mucks 9♣:8♦:7♦:9♠: (Full House, Nines full of Jacks)
(Pre 49%, Flop 8%, Turn 0%)
Hero wins $1.65
Rake paid $0.07

Rule #1 Don't Chase!

That rule is meant for reminding me to not try for draws where the odds are too much against me.
I broke the rule a little for this hand...

PokerStars - $0.02 PL Hi/Lo (6 max) - Omaha Hi/Lo - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $0.46
SB: $1.38
Hero (BB): $1.91
UTG: $2.42
MP: $3.73
CO: $2.60

SB posts SB $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has 6♠:5♥:3♠:7♦:

UTG calls $0.02, MP calls $0.02, CO calls $0.02, fold, fold, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.09, 4 players) 4♣:8♠:J♦:
Hero bets $0.03, UTG calls $0.03, fold, CO raises to $0.21, Hero calls $0.18, fold

Turn: ($0.54, 2 players) K♦:
Hero checks, CO bets $0.52, Hero calls $0.52

River: ($1.58, 2 players) 5♣:
Hero bets $1.16 and is all-in, CO calls $1.16

Hero shows 6♠:5♥:3♠:7♦: (High: Straight, Eight High, Low: 86543)
(Pre 40%, Flop 53%, Turn 33%)
CO shows 3♣:4♥:7♠:J♥: (High: Two Pair, Jacks and Fours, Low: 87543)
(Pre 60%, Flop 48%, Turn 68%)
Hero wins $3.77
Rake paid $0.13

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
That rule is meant for reminding me to not try for draws where the odds are too much against me.
I broke the rule a little for this hand...

It's ok to narf once in a while

Originally posted by RedsYNWA

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
That rule is meant for reminding me to not try for draws where the odds are too much against me.
I broke the rule a little for this hand...

It's ok to narf once in a while
Well, no, I didn't forget it -- I just had too many outs to fold.

Also I realized that outs to the high hand are worth more than outs to the low hand.
First off, you don't often split the high hand, so if you split the pot, you are more likely to get half, not just a quarter.
Secondly, if opponent has no low, you get the whole thing, whereas if you just have low hand outs, you often just donate 3/4 of every bet

And in this hand a low was also possible -- remotely possible, but still possible.

Quite an amazing difference between this site and 888

In the first hand, opponent has stats like 84/45/100 (V/P/3bET)
Also, his is playing 72% post-flop aggression frequency and his AF is 5
I figured him for Aces, since at low stakes that is often what a raise over limpers means.

OTF I have two pair, and not worried that much about him having pocket nines.
There is no point at which it makes sense to raise,

PokerStars - $0.02 PL Hi/Lo (6 max) - Omaha Hi/Lo - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (MP): $1.89
CO: $1.66
BTN: $2.30
SB: $1.37
BB: $1.18
UTG: $2.66

SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has 4♣:8♠:2♣:3♠:

fold, Hero calls $0.02, fold, BTN raises to $0.06, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.04

Flop: ($0.15, 2 players) 9♥:4♠:3♦:
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.07, Hero calls $0.07

Turn: ($0.29, 2 players) Q♥:
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.28, Hero calls $0.28

River: ($0.85, 2 players) K♦:
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.06, Hero calls $0.06

BTN shows 2♥:6♥:T♠:A♥: (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 56%, Flop 51%, Turn 39%)
Hero shows 4♣:8♠:2♣:3♠: (Two Pair, Fours and Threes)
(Pre 44%, Flop 49%, Turn 61%)
Hero wins $0.94
Rake paid $0.03

Same opponent...
PokerStars - $0.02 PL Hi/Lo (6 max) - Omaha Hi/Lo - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): $2.89
UTG: $1.16
MP: $1.39
CO: $1.24
BTN: $0.96
SB: $3.19

SB posts SB $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has 2♥:5♣:4♠:8♥:

UTG calls $0.02, MP calls $0.02, CO calls $0.02, fold, SB calls $0.01, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.10, 5 players) J♥:A♥:3♦:
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, MP bets $0.05, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.05, fold

Turn: ($0.20, 2 players) 4♦:
Hero bets $0.10, fold

Hero wins $0.19
Rake paid $0.01

Ya think he's learning?

The river when you say to yourself, I hope he has a worse boat!
PokerStars - $0.05 PL Hi/Lo (6 max) - Omaha Hi/Lo - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $4.60
SB: $3.15
Hero (BB): $6.73
CO: $1.90

SB posts SB $0.02, Hero posts BB $0.05

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.07) Hero has A♣:J♥:3♥:3♠:

fold, BTN raises to $0.15, SB calls $0.13, Hero calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.45, 3 players) 5♠:A♥:T♥:
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: ($0.45, 3 players) A♦:
SB checks, Hero bets $0.22, BTN raises to $0.55, fold, Hero calls $0.33

River: ($1.55, 2 players) J♣:
Hero bets $0.52, BTN raises to $1.85, Hero raises to $6.03 and is all-in, BTN calls $2.05 and is all-in

Hero shows A♣:J♥:3♥:3♠: (Full House, Aces full of Jacks)
(Pre 54%, Flop 44%, Turn 8%)
BTN shows T♦:4♦:7♣:A♠: (Full House, Aces full of Tens)
(Pre 46%, Flop 56%, Turn 93%)
Hero wins $8.99
Rake paid $0.36

Opponent says, Nice Q♥:
He's right, too -- any other heart he might not have called
He's playing 71 VPIP, so I didn't give him much credit for a hand...

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): $2.46
SB: $1.98
BB: $2.05
UTG: $3.61
MP: $1.35
CO: $3.06

SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has 9♥:A♥:

fold, MP calls $0.02, fold, Hero raises to $0.06, fold, fold, MP calls $0.04

Flop: ($0.15, 2 players) J♠:T♥:2♥:
MP checks, Hero bets $0.07, MP calls $0.07

Turn: ($0.29, 2 players) 6♦:
MP checks, Hero checks

River: ($0.29, 2 players) Q♥:
MP bets $0.14, Hero raises to $0.72, MP calls $0.58

Hero shows 9♥:A♥: (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 29%, Flop 47%, Turn 27%)
MP mucks A♣:Q♣: (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 71%, Flop 53%, Turn 73%)
Hero wins $1.67
Rake paid $0.06

We've put my Mum's old place up for sale...
My brother and I spent several hours packing stuff of hers that was still left in the place.
We found many items that brought back fond memories -- and some fascinating papers and other stuff we never even knew about.

It was a sad day, but a feel-good day all the same.
At lunch, we picked up the 3rd brother, and we all had a delightful lunch at a local brewpub -- keeping the beer consumption low enough to drive

totally not what I expected...

When I need to get a whole pile of PokerStars points in a hurry, I look for the highest stakes PLO8 Limit game I can find.
The reason? You pretty much can't lose much due to pot-splitting, and the rake mounts up real fast.
Oh yeah, occasionally you scoop a big pot...

PokerStars - $3/$6 Hi/Lo (6 max) - Omaha Hi/Lo - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: $37.53
Hero (UTG): $105.39
CO: $110.48
BTN: $54.42
SB: $52.38

SB posts SB $1.00, BB posts BB $3.00

Pre Flop: (pot: $4.00) Hero has 2♦:K♣:3♦:K♦:

Hero raises to $6.00, fold, BTN calls $6.00, SB calls $5.00, BB calls $3.00 <<< No point in not raising

Flop: ($24.00, 4 players) 4♠:4♥:J♦:
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $3.00, fold, BB calls $3.00, Hero calls $3.00 <<< x/c flop -- tons of outs even if some are back-door

Turn: ($33.00, 3 players) T♠:
BB checks, Hero bets $6.00, BTN calls $6.00, fold <<< This bet should get anyone who had been chasing a low to fold

River: ($45.00, 2 players) 7♣:
Hero bets $6.00, BTN calls $6.00 <<< no draws get there, nobody has raised ever, so maybe get a fold and scoop

Here is where the Spanish Inquisition part comes in -- opponent had just a plain J OTF and no real draws.
Hero shows 2♦:K♣:3♦:K♦: (Two Pair, Kings and Fours)
(Pre 60%, Flop 83%, Turn 90%)
BTN mucks J♣:6♥:T♥:3♣: (Two Pair, Jacks and Tens)
(Pre 40%, Flop 17%, Turn 10%)
Hero wins $55.29
Rake paid $1.71

[1]

It's time for some desperation equity!
I started saying this just as a joke, but since then I've noticed more and more that down to my last few chips, I win a hand that either gives me another rung or two up the ladder, or gets me into the money.

Here's today's...
This got me from less than 1 ante, to less than 1BB -- but I got AA next hand
Pacific Poker - 25000/50000 Ante 5000 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP+1: 13,597
CO: 14,906
BTN: 186,902
SB: 36,220
BB: 8,200
Hero (UTG): 3,612
UTG+1: 38,050
MP: 20,929

7 players post ante of 5,000, Hero posts ante 3,612 and is all-in, SB posts SB 25,000, BB posts BB 3,200

Pre Flop: (pot: 66,812) Hero has 8♥:7♠:

fold, fold, fold, fold, BTN calls 50,000, SB calls 6,220 and is all-in

Flop: (104,252, 4 players) 7♥:T♥:6♥:

Turn: (104,252, 4 players) 9♥:

River: (104,252, 4 players) Q♦:

BTN shows 4♠:A♥: (Flush, Ace High)

Main Pot [28,896]: (Pre 15%, Flop 33%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#1 [19,316]: (Pre 23%, Flop 46%, Turn 100%)
Side Pot#2 [56,040]: (Pre 60%, Flop 86%, Turn 100%)

SB shows 3♦:Q♠: (One Pair, Queens)

Main Pot [28,896]: (Pre 26%, Flop 6%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#1 [19,316]: (Pre 34%, Flop 12%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#2 [56,040]: (Pre 39%, Flop 14%, Turn 0%)

BB shows A♠:9♠: (One Pair, Nines)

Main Pot [28,896]: (Pre 29%, Flop 15%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#1 [19,316]: (Pre 44%, Flop 43%, Turn 0%)

Hero shows 8♥:7♠: (Straight Flush, Ten High)

Main Pot [28,896]: (Pre 30%, Flop 47%, Turn 100%)

Hero wins 28,896
BTN wins 19,316
BTN wins 56,040

Later I had KJs that held for a Quadruple-up
So rather than finish with a $0.05 min-cash I wiggled my way to a 24th place finish for $1.80 (7004 runners)

I could have gone even deeper, but I folded 73o ♠_cry:
See: https://forums.pokerstrategy.com/forum/thread.php?postid=3270050#post3270050