Mind Games

PokerStars, $9.80 + $1.20 - 5 Card Draw No Limit - 100/200 (50 ante) - 6 players

UTG: 25,650 (128 bb)
MP (Hero): 27,152 (136 bb)
CO: 29,550 (148 bb)
BU: 25,250 (126 bb)
SB: 26,268 (131 bb)
BB: 24,648 (123 bb)

Deal: (600) Hero is MP with T♥:5♥:A♠:K♦:A♦:
1 fold, Hero raises to 580, 3 players fold, BB calls 380

Draw One: (1,560) A♠:K♦:A♦:6♦:J♥: (2 players)
BB draws 3, MP (Hero) draws T♥:5♥:
BB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: 1,560

Showdown:
MP (Hero) mucks A♠:K♦:A♦:6♦:J♥: (a pair of Aces)
BB shows 3♦:3♣:2♥:2♠:3♥: (a full house, Threes full of Twos) <<< 100:1 approximately to hit a boat drawing 3 [1]
BB wins 1,560

[1] Just checked — 97.27:1

Just at the end of Late Reg
PokerStars, $9.80 + $1.20 - 5 Card Draw No Limit - 1,000/2,000 (500 ante) - 6 players

UTG: 61,889 (31 bb)
MP: 34,796 (17 bb)
CO: 36,408 (18 bb)
BU: 53,249 (27 bb)
SB: 33,344 (17 bb)
BB (Hero): 30,507 (15 bb)

Deal: (6,000) Hero is BB with A♣:6♠:7♦:A♦:A♥:
4 players fold, SB raises to 4,000, Hero 3-bets to 6,000, SB 4-bets to 8,000, Hero 5-bets to 30,007 (all-in), SB calls 22,007

Draw One: (63,014) A♣:A♦:A♥:J♣:9♣: (2 players, 1 all-in)
SB draws 2, BB (Hero) draws 6♠:7♦:

Total pot: 63,014

Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows A♣:A♦:A♥:J♣:9♣: (three of a kind, Aces)
SB shows 4♣:4♥:4♦:T♦:6♣: (three of a kind, Fours)
BB (Hero) wins 63,014

Lovely!

5CD is so much fun when the cards are coming your way.

Originally posted by Harrier88
Lovely!

5CD is so much fun when the cards are coming your way.

Yeah — even so I busted out short of the money with about 3BB left.
Could I have held on?
Who knows.
I open shoved my KK for 2.6 BB on the BU, but called by AA in the big blind, which held.
So it goes

In such a freeroll, I would have called anything on that flop.

888Poker, Hold'em No Limit - 15/30 (3 ante) - 9 players

UTG (Hero): 3,000 (100 bb)
UTG+1: 3,000 (100 bb)
MP: 3,000 (100 bb)
MP+1: 3,000 (100 bb)
LP: 3,000 (100 bb)
CO: 3,000 (100 bb)
BU: 3,000 (100 bb)
SB: 3,000 (100 bb)
BB: 3,000 (100 bb)

Pre-Flop: (72) Hero is UTG with J♦:T♠:
UTG (Hero) folds, UTG+1 raises to 90, MP 3-bets to 225, 4 players fold, SB calls 210, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls 135

Flop: (732) J♠:7♥:J♣: (3 players)
SB bets 366, UTG+1 calls 366, MP calls 366

Turn: (1,830) A♦: (3 players)
SB bets 30, UTG+1 calls 30, MP calls 30

River: (1,920) 8♠: (3 players)
SB bets 30, UTG+1 raises to 660, MP raises to 2,376 (all-in), SB folds, UTG+1 calls 1,716 (all-in)

Total pot: 6,702

Showdown:
MP shows 8♣:8♥: (a full house, Eights full of Jacks)
UTG+1 shows J♥:A♣: (a full house, Jacks full of Aces)
UTG+1 wins 6,702

and would have busto on first hand

No, not just double my stack in a tournament
I doubled my income for this month on 888
On the last Saturday of each month there are two freerolls that pay quite well. They're restricted to players who've reached Level 60 and Level 80 respectively. In each I had a top 3% finish — for a total of $18. Previously this month I had won $19 — so nearly doubled for the month.

One of my favourite PLO8 hands is having the nut low as well as the six-high straight.
In that case, you get 3/4 of the pot, and opponents will frequently call down with a naked nut low.
In this case, though, the six is on the board, promoting my 7

888Poker, Omaha H/L Pot Limit - $0.02/$0.05 - 8 players

UTG: $10.91 (218 bb)
UTG+1 (Hero): $5.00 (100 bb)
MP: $1.00 (20 bb)
MP+1: $1.04 (21 bb)
CO: $3.09 (62 bb)
BU: $3.09 (62 bb)
SB: $6.36 (127 bb)
BB: $7.55 (151 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.07) Hero is UTG+1 with 2♣:4♥:A♥:7♣:
UTG raises to $0.10, Hero calls $0.10, 2 players fold, CO calls $0.10, 1 fold, SB calls $0.08, BB calls $0.05

Flop: ($0.50) 5♣:Q♣:3♠: (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets $0.16, Hero calls $0.16, 3 players fold

Turn: ($0.82) 6♦: (2 players)
UTG bets $0.82, Hero raises to $3.28, UTG calls $2.46

River: ($7.38) K♠: (2 players)
UTG bets $0.05, Hero raises to $1.46 (all-in), UTG calls $1.41

Total pot: $10.30 (Rake: $0.60)

Showdown:
UTG+1 (Hero) shows 2♣:4♥:A♥:7♣: (HI: a straight, Three to Seven; LO: 6-5-3-2-A)
UTG shows 7♦:8♥:A♦:2♠: (HI: high card, Ace; LO: 6-5-3-2-A)
UTG+1 (Hero) wins $7.28
UTG wins $2.42

That's a nice last hand and cost villain a lot of money to only call for the low

The 888 daily freebie

I watched three players trading chips back and forth, open raising then drawing 2 and suchlike shenanigans, so I thought — what the heck, let's do it.
This is the highest stakes I've ever played at any game. I went two full orbits (so down $60) before getting a playable hand.

I topped up, then this:
PokerStars, 2-7 Triple Draw Limit - $10/$20 - 5 players

UTG: $243.50 (24 bb)
CO (Hero): $200.00 (20 bb)
BU: $723.63 (72 bb)
SB: $352.38 (35 bb)
BB: $126.00 (13 bb)

Deal: ($15) Hero is CO with 8♠:2♠:T♦:7♣:T♥:
1 fold, Hero raises to $20, BTN 3-bets to $30, 2 players fold, Hero calls $10

Draw One: ($75) 8♠:2♠:7♣:3♥:2♦: (2 players)
CO (Hero) draws T♦:T♥:, BU draws 2
Hero bets $10, BTN calls $10

Draw Two: ($95) 8♠:2♠:7♣:3♥:8♦: (2 players)
CO (Hero) draws 2♦:, BU draws 1
Hero bets $20, BTN calls $20

Draw Three: ($135) 8♠:2♠:7♣:3♥:T♠: (2 players)
CO (Hero) draws 8♦:, BU draws 1
Hero bets $20, BTN calls $20

Total pot: $175 (Rake: $3)

Showdown:
CO (Hero) shows 8♠:2♠:7♣:3♥:T♠: (T-8-7-3-2)
BU mucks 8♣:3♠:7♥:4♦:K♠: (K-8-7-4-3)
CO (Hero) wins $172

The odds against hitting a gutshot are 11:1 against, but playing lowball, I hit 'em Waaay more often!

PokerStars, $2.94 + $0.36 - 2-7 Single Draw No Limit - 125/250 (60 ante) - 6 players

UTG: 5,948 (24 bb)
MP: 11,319 (45 bb)
CO: 10,397 (42 bb)
BU: 22,468 (90 bb)
SB: 4,762 (19 bb)
BB (Hero): 5,702 (23 bb)

Deal: (735) Hero is BB with A♠:6♦:5♣:8♥:4♥:
2 players fold, CO raises to 1,235, 2 players fold, Hero calls 985

Draw One: (2,955) 6♦:5♣:8♥:4♥:7♣: (2 players)
BB (Hero) draws A♠:, CO stands pat
Hero checks, CO checks

Total pot: 2,955

Showdown:
CO shows K♥:2♠:9♠:5♥:8♣: (K-9-8-5-2)
BB (Hero) shows 6♦:5♣:8♥:4♥:7♣: (a straight, Four to Eight)
CO wins 2,955

That's to bad. Maybe you could bluff villain of the hand.
Not sure that would work.

Originally posted by SDK1987
That's to bad. Maybe you could bluff villain of the hand.
Not sure that would work.

Sometimes I do, and sometimes it works.
This is a PKO tournament though, so it works much better if you have a bit stack

When I see people play like this, I often wonder how they got their stack to begin with.

888Poker Snap, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players

UTG: $2.21 (111 bb)
MP: $2.68 (134 bb)
CO (Hero): $3.23 (162 bb)
BU: $2.79 (140 bb)
SB: $1.49 (75 bb)
BB: $3.33 (167 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero is CO with 5♥:5♣:
UTG calls $0.02, MP raises to $0.06, Hero calls $0.06, 2 players fold, BB calls $0.04, UTG calls $0.04 <<< I had been playing 3Bet-or-fold, flat calling only with small pocket pairs, and bailing OTF with anything but a set. Here I made an exception

Flop: ($0.25) 4♠:3♥:6♠: (4 players)
BB bets $0.12, UTG folds, MP calls $0.12, Hero raises to $0.48, BB calls $0.36, MP calls $0.36 <<< I wanted to narrow the field — fail. I don't really want to see a 5 now either

Turn: ($1.69) 7♣: (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets $0.84, BB folds, MP calls $0.84 <<< OK heads up now, but now I don't have the nuts any more. 85 beats me, but it seems unlikely

River: ($3.37) 9♦: (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $1.85 (all-in), MP calls $1.30 (all-in) <<< I might still get called by AA, KK etc and of course better straights, but the way he played it seems unlikely.

Total pot: $5.97 (Rake: $0.37)

Showdown:
CO (Hero) shows 5♥:5♣: (a straight, Three to Seven)
MP shows J♦:K♥: (high card, King) <<< I expected he had a worse hand when he called, but I never expected *that* much worse
CO (Hero) wins $5.60

Probably he got tired and donate his stack. Such a players cant sleep in peace if they dont spew

decent bluff catcher against Q♠ T♠ and J♠ T♠

Originally posted by MrRobot
decent bluff catcher against Q♠ T♠ and J♠ T♠
I haven't played NL 2 in a while, but I would think that 2 overcards against an aggressive bet-bet-bet line would not win often

Originally posted by VorpalF2F

Originally posted by MrRobot
decent bluff catcher against Q♠ T♠ and J♠ T♠
I haven't played NL 2 in a while, but I would think that 2 overcards against an aggressive bet-bet-bet line would not win often

Pretty optimistic call down. I don't think a random villain will bluff like that with Q♠ T♠ and J♠ T♠, but it was a nice donation for you

Could also be titled "Desperation Equity FTW"
Less than 1 BB and less than 5 players to the money, and UTG + 1
What could possibly go wrong?

888Poker, Hold'em No Limit - 1,000/2,000 (200 ante) - 8 players

UTG: 2,852 (1 bb)
UTG+1 (Hero): 1,524 (1 bb)
MP: 17,287 (9 bb)
MP+1: 6,353 (3 bb)
LP: 7,289 (4 bb)
CO: 12,540 (6 bb)
BU: 22,846 (11 bb)
BB: 4,752 (2 bb)

Pre-Flop: (3,600) Hero is UTG+1 with T♦:T♣:
UTG calls 2,000, Hero calls 1,324 (all-in), 2 players fold, LP calls 2,000, 2 players fold, BB raises to 4,552 (all-in), UTG calls 652 (all-in), 1 fold

Flop: (10,228) 8♥:6♥:7♦: (3 players, 3 all-in)

Turn: (10,228) 8♦: (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: (10,228) 8♠: (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: 10,228

Showdown:
BB shows K♠:T♥: (three of a kind, Eights)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 26%, Flop: 23%, Turn: 12%, River: 0%)

UTG shows 3♥:A♣: (three of a kind, Eights - higher kicker)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 29%, Flop: 12%, Turn: 7%, River: 0%)

UTG+1 (Hero) shows T♦:T♣: (a full house, Eights full of Tens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 45%, Flop: 64%, Turn: 81%, River: 100%)

UTG wins 3,332
UTG+1 (Hero) wins 6,896