November Nine

Obviously, the November Nine are set. I'd love to see Ivey cap off his tremendous World Series with a win, but don't think it's likely. The lines I've seen of 6-1 seem about right given his chip stack. I still hate that they take months off. I think it's only good for TV and not for the intrinsic game play and certainly not for pro's as it gives time for amateurs to get coaching, etc. I'm not going to lie though, I always am a little glad that the WSOP is over...well, at least for now.

Interview with Jeffrey Pollack about WSOP Sellout

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Hand of the Day

Here's a hand from a couple weeks ago. There are probably two things worth noting. First, I missed some value, obviously. After checking the flop, a turn bet would have probably gotten two callers. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Second, I gained some value. By checking down TPTK, I got to see the other two players hands. While I would have preferred to have their money, knowledge is not without its rewards. When you get these opportunities, even after playing too passively or not going for value, you have to note them. It's helpful to know that the Button 3bet A10s and didn't fire a cbet on a dry-ish board and that neither the CO or Button bet the turn. Know your opponents, get their stacks.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($7.90)
MP ($14.50)
CO ($10.55)
Button ($12.35)
SB ($10)
BB ($12.45)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q, A
Hero bets $0.30, 1 fold, CO calls $0.30, Button raises to $1, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.70, CO calls $0.70

Flop: ($3.15) Q, 8, 7 (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks

Turn: ($3.15) 3 (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks

River: ($3.15) 6 (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks

Total pot: $3.15 | Rake: $0.15

Results:
Button mucked A, 10 (high card, Ace).
Hero had Q, A (one pair, Queens).
CO mucked 9, 9 (one pair, nines).
Outcome: Hero won $3

Poker, Hold'em, 6max

Dealing With A Maniac

I was playing a $100NL session with a maniac (who was also a complete toon) on my left who would raise most of his hands and barrel with seemingly any two cards. Of course, there are several ways of dealing with this such as tightening up, trapping, and being willing to call down light. Against some players, who will fire one barrel and shut down, floating, even out of position can be effective. Being out of position against someone who will continue to fire makes calling down light an expensive proposition and after having to fold a couple pots to the villain earlier, I started playing him more aggressively. In the first hand, floating the flop only to fold the turn ends up being a huge leak. In the second and third hand, once I had him short stacked, I was happy just to put as much pressure on him as possible even on the thinnest of value lines.

In the first hand, I limp/called because I wanted to see a flop with this hand and knew the villain would raise, but didn't want to be calling a 3bet out of position with this hand. On the flop, an 8 is in his range, but unlikely. I assume that he'd raise pre-flop with any strong broadway cards or a pocket pair, but his range is much wider than that. A four is certainly a possibility, but decided to float and jam any card that paired me or gave me additional outs.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($101.40)
BB ($151.70)
UTG ($100)
MP ($101.50)
CO ($175.45)
Button ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 7, 10
4 folds, Hero calls $0.50, BB bets $4, Hero calls $3

Flop: ($8) 8, 8, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $5, Hero calls $5

Turn: ($18) J (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $10, Hero raises to $92.40 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $38 | Rake: $1.85

Results:
Hero didn't show 7, 10 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $36.15

Again, the same situation. Normally, I'd raise a hand like this from the button or SB, but thought I'd let the short-stacked BB bet to limit the amount of money going in pre-flop. My 3bet is, of course, somewhat ridiculously sized, but I was happy to get it in with middle pair (for value) against this opponent when I was pretty sure I was ahead and also wanted to discourage the flush draws in his range. Obviously, donkeys still exist at $100NL.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($125.85)
BB ($30.20)
UTG ($107.75)
MP ($191)
CO ($172.45)
Button ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, 7
4 folds, Hero calls $0.50, BB checks

Flop: ($2) K, 7, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $4, Hero raises to $22, BB raises to $29.20 (All-In), Hero calls $7.20

Turn: ($60.40) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($60.40) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $60.40 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 9, 7 (one pair, sevens).
BB mucked Q, 3 (one pair, threes).
Outcome: Hero won $57.40

Thinner still...and the last hand played with the villian:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($182.75)
BB ($8.75)
UTG ($106.75)
MP ($201)
CO ($169.45)
Button ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 6, 4
4 folds, Hero calls $0.50, BB checks

Flop: ($2) Q, 4, K (2 players)
Hero bets $1, BB raises to $5, Hero raises to $9, BB calls $2.75 (All-In)

Turn: ($17.50) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($17.50) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $17.50 | Rake: $0.85

Results:
Hero had 6, 4 (one pair, fours).
BB mucked 2, 6 (high card, King).
Outcome: Hero won $16.65

Sometimes all you can do is shake your head and take the money.

Poker, Hold'em, 6max