PokerStars currently has their "Road to 100 Billion" promotion going on, which makes grinding seem more worthwhile even though I have bricked like 4 of these promos before (for those who are unaware of what I'm talking about, read the details here:http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/100-billion/).
FORTUNATELY, I can no longer say that I've bricked em' all because tonight I was dealt into hand #69,739,000,000! FORTUNATELY, the hand happened to land on my ONLY 200nl table running at the time (the rest were all 100nl) AND I had been there for a while now, meaning that I would indeed have plenty of VPP's to multiply. FORTUNATELY, I was dealt POCKET KINGS!! DEM COWBOYS, KING KONG, KRISPY KREME, GORILLAS, BROKEBACK! Yes, it seemed as all of the stars had aligned and I called upon my PS Pro powers for a strong hold but alas, they could not hold in dramatic riverstars fashion.
Poker Stars $200.00 No Limit Hold'em- 7 players
Hero (MP): $200.00
CO: $178.10BTN: $95.40
SB: $80.00BB: $206.00
UTG: $200.00
UTG+1: $375.80
Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is MP with K
K
UTG raises to $200,
UTG+1 raises to $375.80, Hero calls $200 all in, CO calls $178.10 all in, BTN calls $95.40 all in, SB calls $79 all in,
1 foldFlop: ($955.50) 2
7
9
(6 players - 4 are all in)Turn: ($955.50) 6
(6 players - 4 are all in)River: ($955.50) 4
(6 players - 4 are all in)Final Pot: $955.50
Hero shows K
K
CO shows 2
4
BTN shows A
5
SB shows 8
3
UTG shows Q
T
UTG+1 shows 2
T
CO wins $479.00
(Rake: $3.00)
First of all, LOL @ 1 fold. Yes, everytime a milestone hand hits there is usually at least 1 clueless customer that has no idea what is happening despite the crystal clear instructions that are posted on the table by the Host. There is also about 3 minutes to read everything and let it sink it. Regardless, one table mate thought that his time would be better spent folding to grab a beer than winning thousands of dollars but hey, that helped my chances!
It was a tough beat but let's face it, I don't like my chances with any hand in a 6-way all-in pre. You won't hear my complaining about it, as the hand still netted me a bonus of $1,104!
Man oh man, this month has just been BRUTAL. I actually feel like I'm playing some of the best poker ever and yet am having awful results. I kinda needed that milestone bonus hand to hold because even after the score, I'm still down about $1k for the month (again, pretty much nothing but the games have actually been pretty good so it's frustrating). Maybe I'm just playing badly and not aware of it, as all of this heavy volume could be fogging my perception of reality but I mean I've been checking my losing hands after sessions and they all seem standard/bad beats. 5 biggest losing pots from last session:
1. This is against a villain that I initially thought was a fish (hence the 3bet pre with QQ for value) but later saw him on a bunch of tables so maybe he's a reg or regfish. Beat.Poker Stars $200.00 No Limit Hold'em- 8 players
UTG: $203.00
UTG+1: $246.00
MP1: $220.55MP2: $60.35
CO: $155.20
BTN: $200.00
Hero (SB): $206.90
BB: $187.05
Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is SB with Q
Q
2 folds,
MP1 raises to $4,
3 folds,
Hero raises to $18,
1 fold, MP1 calls $14
Flop: ($38.00) Q
T
7
(2 players)Hero bets $26.00,
MP1 raises to $202.55, Hero calls $162.90 all in
Turn: ($415.80) 2
(2 players - 1 is all in)River: ($415.80) A
(2 players - 1 is all in)Final Pot: $415.80
MP1 shows A
A
Hero shows Q
Q
MP1 wins $399.15
(Rake: $3.00)
2. UTG is a fish, I figure that after he raises me on the flop he probably limped with AA or KK...instead of pot controlling it I figured that I would 3bet and possibly have some fold equity or just take my 55% equity as the favorite. Beat.Poker Stars $200.00 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
UTG+1: $200.25
MP1: $200.00
MP2: $97.00
CO: $214.55
BTN: $200.00
Hero (SB): $200.00
BB: $206.00
UTG: $103.65Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is SB with 8
K
UTG calls $2,
5 folds, Hero calls $1, BB checks
Flop: ($6.00) 9
6
7
(3 players)Hero bets $6.00, BB folds,
UTG raises to $14,
Hero raises to $45,
UTG raises to $101.65, Hero calls $56.65
Turn: ($209.30) J
(2 players)River: ($209.30) 6
(2 players)Final Pot: $209.30
Hero shows 8
K
UTG shows A
A
UTG wins $206.30
(Rake: $3.00)
3. Seems super standard against a reg with a high 3bet and squeeze %. Cooler.Poker Stars $100.00 No Limit Hold'em- 9 players
UTG+1: $106.85
UTG+2: $111.70
MP1: $97.35
MP2: $103.60
Hero (CO): $100.00BTN: $94.50
SB: $137.45BB: $100.00
UTG: $82.00
Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with Q
Q
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $1,
1 fold, MP1 calls $1, MP2 calls $1,
Hero raises to $6,
1 fold,
SB raises to $19,
4 folds,
Hero raises to $100, SB calls $81
Flop: ($204.00) 2
7
K
(2 players)Turn: ($204.00) 6
(2 players)River: ($204.00) 2
(2 players)Final Pot: $204.00
Hero shows Q
Q
SB shows A
K
SB wins $201.00
(Rake: $3.00)
4. This one could have probably been avoided. First, I hate my open pre. After that though, I think it's not too bad...the river seems like an obvious fold because some nits just won't ever bluff this spot but at the time I thought for sure the villain would bet this river with a flush. With that read, I thought that he was more likely just spazzing out trying to rep a flush that made no sense. Nits gunna nit though. SPEWY.Poker Stars $200.00 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players
CO: $178.55
BTN: $288.45
SB: $164.40BB: $223.70
UTG: $225.40
UTG+1: $200.00
Hero (MP): $258.70Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is MP with 8
9
2 folds,
Hero raises to $6, CO calls $6,
1 fold, SB calls $5,
1 foldFlop: ($20.00) 9
2
3
(3 players)SB checks,
Hero bets $12.00, CO folds, SB calls $12
Turn: ($44.00) T
(2 players)SB checks, Hero checks
River: ($44.00) 8
(2 players)SB checks,
Hero bets $25.00,
SB raises to $78, Hero calls $53
Final Pot: $200.00
SB shows A
5
Hero mucks 8
9
SB wins $198.00
(Rake: $2.00)
5. This particular villain was a spewy fish, he had just lost half his stack the previous hand in spewtastic fashion. When he min-raises me on the flop I am licking my chops rather than looking for a pot-controllish line because the min-raise=the nuts. I chose to flat to induce more bluffs and snapped him off on the river. My read may have been way off but regardless folding at any point here would be pretty atrocious. Cooler.Poker Stars $200.00 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
SB: $90.00
BB: $200.00
UTG: $95.30UTG+1: $270.20
UTG+2: $300.00
MP1: $205.15
MP2: $458.15
CO: $200.00
Hero (BTN): $427.00Pre Flop: ($3.00) Hero is BTN with A
A
UTG calls $2,
5 folds,
Hero raises to $8,
2 folds, UTG calls $6
Flop: ($19.00) 3
6
Q
(2 players)UTG checks,
Hero bets $12.00,
UTG raises to $24, Hero calls $12
Turn: ($67.00) 7
(2 players)UTG checks, Hero checks
River: ($67.00) 8
(2 players)UTG bets $63.30, Hero calls $63.30
Final Pot: $193.60
UTG shows 6
6
Hero shows A
A
UTG wins $190.60
(Rake: $3.00)
So yeah, I mean I feel like I'm playing well so hopefully things can turn around for me over the next few days. I'll be playing a ton so we'll see.
I'd like to write up about the two Halloween parties that I attended this year because both were a ton of fun but it's 3am right now and all I wanna do is sleep...so I'm off to hit the hay. I'll try and write something up when I get some more free time.
Gl at the tables!
