This is the personal blog of ashmc2

I have had a good year so far. I am up $1794. I made $800 with my old style. I changed my game up and made the $1100. First off I read both HOH cash game books. That really helped my game. Also I have gotten quite agro in late position. I downloaded the Poker Tracker 3 60 day trial. I will buy this for sure. I have also played a lot this month due to buying a laptop and being on a winning streak. Next month should be a profitable month also, due to Tilt having a mid-year Iron Man bonus. I will get a $250 bonus to work off next month.

Also I got rid of my EP and early MP limps with A-rag-suited and SC’s and gappers and sometimes KQ, which has helped my bottom line. This has helped greatly saving small amounts of money. I had a bad habit of limping in from any position and if it was raised to $1 or less I would call. As you know you don’t hit often enough to make this a +EV play. Plus, when you hit it is usually a draw, thus loses more money because I will chase the flop without odds due to OK implied odds and the small amount for the flop bet. I still only play the right odds for the river card. I fold KQ to a raise PF if the raiser is tight. Now I wait until LP position to either raise with these hands to make it less likely for a raise plus I with be in position on the flop. I don’t play too many gappers. I will cold-call PF raises with SC’s if there are a few callers.

My poker Tracker stats are awesome at the moment. I downloaded it 13 days ago and I have played every day so far. I am up $700. I am on a 13-day winning streak. 28 max buy-ins at the $25 NL tables. I have played close to 40 hours in that time. I have seen 16000 hands. My BB/100 is 8.74. I am averaging $18.48/hr and 53.90 a day. 2 buy-ins a day is very nice. I played a lot yesterday and made $175.

FT started having deep stack tables. At the $25 tables you can buy-in for $50. I always try to get on the deep tables to eliminate the short stack factor at the regular tables. I buy-in for $25 at the moment and with all the big stacks I usually have a chance to double-up if we get all-in. I will ride this streak out before I try to move up to the $50’s. The Hud stats are really helping me pull in some nice pots and fold some hands that I would normally play, not knowing how tight the raiser was due to playing so many tables. (8). I currently have $850 online and hope to not cashout any time soon.

Live I am up over $800 for the year. I have only been to a B&M casino once this year.

I am doing OK in the FT fantasy poker this year also. I have already qualified for 6 $2000 freerolls.

I’ve cashed-out $500 since my recent post on 8/15 for various reasons. I am doing well though. I currently have $1000 on Tilt and $50 on WPEX, $40 on stars, and $9 on Poker.com even though I haven’t played on those sites in awhile. I gave up my aggressive BR strategy and opted for a little more conservative one; the swings were just too volatile with a mere 8 buy-ins. I am currently playing at the $50 tables. When I hit $1200 I will move up to the hundred tables and give it a shot, but if I hit $1000 again I will drop down at that juncture. I am presently up $1300 for the year; that is a damn far cry from being down $400 a few months ago.

I have stopped playing the SnG’s for $26 tokens. I currently have 5 and that’s enough for the time being. I had 8 but used 3. I wish regular SnG’s for just money would fill up. I would rather have cash in-hand instead of unredeemable tokens. 1 token that I used I got into the same structured SnG but for a $75 token I won that tourney. (Well in the tokens anyways.) I got into $9000 guaranteed tourneys with the other 2. (Bitch time.) 1st tourney I couldn’t really get anywhere. When the blinds started getting too high I reraised all-in with Big Slick and got called by AQ and you I’ll give you one guess what came on the flop. The next tourney I chipped-up nicely early on with a stack of 6000. I have AA with a raise PF before me. I reraised only to be surprised when a guy with around 2000 2 seats to my left pushes. The original raiser also pushes with about 5000. I obviously call. Guy to the right has AKs and the OR shows-up KQs. Mister KQ runs a straight on my. I slowly work it back up to 2000, but can’t get over the hump. When the blinds get big I put my money in with the worst hand while trying to push the blinds and late position players out with J10s. It happens and I’ll get over it. I have 5 chances left and a teir 2 token to try making some nice coin. Rant over.

I am sticking with my pact with the wife and am only putting in around 2 hrs a day.

I am really becoming more aggressive. I will go through a few examples here illustrating my new moves. They are really adding tons of small pots to my stack while I patiently wait for my big hands. My aggression also gets me more calls when I do have a real hand. Most of these advantageous plays are probably already in your arsenal, but as you all know I am a little slow at incorporating aggression into my Rocky style. I find myself even or above my original max buy-in stake on at least 4 of my 8 simultaneous played tables with-in the first 45 min of my session. And close to even on probably 2 others. So if you aren’t currently using these bets and raises, give them a shot and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the results. I am playing at the $.25/.50 stakes. My bets are always pot-sized PF and pot-sized on the flop. I use pot-sized flop bets because they aren’t usually portrayed as Continuation Bets. It must also be stated that this is my online Full-ring cash-game strategy. I haven’t really tried it in tourneys yet so I don’t know how it will work in these more aggressive situations and/or at which stage they might be profitable.

1 – If it is folded around to me in the cut-off through the SB. I’m a little more conservative with the PF raise from the cut-off. Often I wait for paint or suited cards with an Ace or King. On the button if it is folded around to me I will bet pot with just about any 2 cards, unless I have very recently made this same move, because then I am more likely to get called or smacked with a re-steal. If it is folded around to me in the Small I definitely raise with any 2. If reraised I drop. If I get called by the Big, I will bet pot out of position regardless of the texture of the board. At this point they think I wasn’t just stealing and fold usually. 2/3 of the time they miss anyway. And often even if they hit it is mid or bottom pair and fold to my aggression. Another move that I have incorporated from the SB is when the button just limps. With almost any cards I will bet pot here. The button has shown weakness and the Big likely has naught. This is usually enough to take the pot PF, scooping an extra $.50 for my effort. This sandwich effect works well because I look strong by betting with 2 to act and the limper already he has a little somethin’-somethin’. Lastly from the Big I will always raise the SB. If I have 2 nice cards I will raise the SB and a Button or Cut-off limper.

2 - If it is folded around to me with 2 left to act before the blinds and I’m sitting on pockets (no matter if it is 2’s or A’s) I will bet pot. It looks less like a steal from this position so I usually pick up the blinds and with mid to small pockets I want to win the hand before the flop. Plus my pair is likely the best at the moment anyways. If I am reraised here I will usually fold here or call if it isn’t too much more and try to hit my set. I have only invested a$1.50 to $1.75 is this situation, which only equates to between 2%-4% of my stack anyways. If I get 1 caller and I am out of position on the flop I usually bet anyways and take it down. If I get 1 caller and end up with position on the flop I get info if they check. Some times they are slow-rolling to the aggressor, but more often than not they caught air and my pair is still best and win the pot. If my flop bet gets called I am pretty much done with the hand because more often than not they are slow-playing a monster or just smooth-calling top pair. In position I will usually get to set-farm the turn card as they check to me again as the aggressor, likely hoping for the check-raise. I will also make this bet with AK or AQ.

3 - In most cases from early and mid-position I will simply limp with mid and small pockets. If someone raises I will usually call and set-farm the flop unless they way overbet. Another likely scenario is when I end up the only limper with the blinds completing. If they check to me on the flop, I always bet no matter the flop. The majority of the time they fold here especially if an Ace or King is on the board. I pick up a lot of these pots.

4 – If I’m in the blinds and there is one late position limper. If I pair any part of the flop or get a draw I will throw out a pot-sized bet. The other blind likely missed or is worried about a kicker fight in the least. The late LP limper will miss 2/3 of the time and I usually take down the pot. If the flop pairs or is real ugly I will often bet, especially if I’m in the Big and it is checked to me. I will often make these plays even with 2 limpers other than the other blind. And as always, if the SB checks and then calls or raises my bet I am pretty much done with the hand. Sneaky bastards.

Later, Ash out…

I noticed the poker tip section on the main page today and because I was bored at work I decided to read them. Most were very generalized but this one made me smile. Just read #4 and notice that you are nodding as you read. What a douche!

Poker Peeves

I have long been an impatient person by nature; those close to me will contest to that. Time is of the essence and I cannot stand when people waste mine. Impatience is easily my worst character trait, not to mention one of my fiercest adversaries at the poker table. Though I do love the game, I often find myself furiously tapping my feet underneath the table, impatiently waiting for a playable hand. The hulking hours and repetitive nature of the game make it easy for its players to develop pet peeves, which, for impatient people like me, can simply drive you nuts. I’ve given the matter considerable thought and put together a list of my top five poker peeves, most of which are strongly driven by impatience. Perhaps you can relate.

1. Tournament players asking for a count when the bet they’re considering to call clearly puts them all in. I typically see this one at least twice throughout the course of a multi-table poker tournament. Usually on the turn or the river, after a majority of the hand has already been played, one player makes a large bet that puts another player all in. After some mysterious deliberation, the player facing the decision asks “how much is it?” when it’s apparent to everyone else at the table that he will be all in if he decides to call. The question bothers me for two reasons: the first, it’s a monumental waste of time! Unless you have terrible vision or are color blind, you should be able to infer from eyeing the size of your opponent’s chip stack and comparing it to your own that you will be all in if you call. Secondly, asking the dealer for a count at this point in the hand is a likely indication that the player neglected to consider his opponent’s chip stack at the beginning of the hand, which is one of the most important factors to consider in tournament poker.

2. Players in a limit poker game who consistently ask questions like: “how much is it to me?” or “how much can I bet?” Now that I exclusively play no-limit or pot-limit games, I no longer have to deal with these ever-annoying questions. Years ago, however, when I first started playing poker, this one never failed to blow my mind. Limit poker games are called limit for a reason. That reason, as I hope all or most of you reading this already know, is the simple and easy-to-understand concept (or so I thought) that the game has predetermined, fixed betting amounts that, with the exception of kill games, NEVER change. In a $4-$8 game, for example, the most anyone can bet on the flop, EVER, is four dollars. No more, no less. Four. Why then, is there always one ignoramus at the table who insists on asking “how much can I bet?” It would be one thing if this player was new to the game and simply needed to know its structure. That’s fine. Ask once, maybe twice if you need reminded, but when you ask the dealer every single stinking time you play a hand, it makes me want to find all of the people responsible for your education and let them know what a fine job they did teaching you how to learn, comprehend and apply the most basic of concepts. Perhaps if teachers were paid more than cocktail servers and garbage men, we wouldn’t have this problem.

3. Poker dealers who average 25 hands per down when dealing a cash game, but no more than half of that when dealing a tournament. I am not generalizing here, as this does not apply to all dealers; only those lazy few who are content with trudging through their tournament downs because they do not get paid per hand like they would in a cash game. These dealers assume that their tips from a tournament will remain the same, no matter how they decide to pace the game, failing to consider that the average poker player is extremely perceptive and often will tip according to a dealer’s performance. Poker dealers who also play the game, tournaments specifically, understand that the more hands you see per round, the better, as the blinds are always on the rise. Fewer hands per level means fewer opportunities to apply your poker skills, instead leaving your fate to chance, in hopes that you will land a couple of premium hands before the blinds raze your chip stack. Tournament directors should ultimately be held responsible for ensuring that their dealers do not take on-the-job vacations during tournaments, especially when you take into consideration the substantial amount of fees subtracted from tournament buy-ins. Shame on you, lazy poker dealer!

4. Jamie Gold and his blueberry fetish. Although this one has nothing to do with my own impatience, it certainly speaks to the issue of wasting peoples’ time. Sure, we know that your “mentor,” Johnny Chan, kept an orange on the table during his back-to-back (almost three peat) main event victories, but he did so to use the scent of a peeled orange to alleviate the smell of cigarette smoke, not to try and add some self-produced, only semi-interesting and utterly extraneous tidbit of personality to his legacy. You don’t need to remind us that those who came before you left their mark on the World Series with character; Chris Moneymaker with his Oakley sunglasses and proper last name, Greg Raymer with his trademark fossils and holograph lizard glasses and Joe Hachem, forever immersed in accented chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie…Oy, Oy, Oy!” I can accept that you needed the blueberries during the marathon sessions you put in at the World Series, but don’t stop the flow of a five hour, six player Poker After Dark sit’n’go, or a heads-up match on national television to try and infuse the name Jamie Gold with a bowl of blueberries. Sadly, your WSOP legacy has already been created for you, in the form of your endless and often senseless table chatter, coupled with the deal you reneged on with Crispin Leyser to share half of your main event winnings. A gambler’s word is his livelihood, perhaps second only to his bankroll, and once it’s broken, it can rarely be salvaged. Sorry, Jamie, but if this was a credibility contest, you’d be out like the fat kid in dodgeball. Please. Enough is enough. Leave the blueberries alone.

5. Set-ups! Topping my list of poker peeves, without question, is the superstitious old guy at the table who asks for a “set-up” when facing a cold deck. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a “set-up” is a brand new set of cards, still in the box, and still neatly arranged by suit. Unfortunately, most card rooms have a policy of honoring any player’s request for a set-up, in order to maintain the integrity of the game. The policy is in place to protect the deck from visible wear and tear or from suspected markings made by cheats. Instead, these disgruntled old men abuse this privilege and ask for a set-up anytime they feel the cards have not been falling in their favor. In other words, when Pops McGrumpypants feels as though his luck is worse than everyone else’s, so much so that no one in the history of poker has ever seen such a terrible run of cards, the game gets put on hold while the dealer spreads, examines and shuffles the new decks for the eye in the sky. Players like Pops fail to recognize that streaks of cold cards come with the territory of playing poker. Sitting out a hand, changing seats or calling it a day (which is probably the best way to deal with a cold deck) are all reasonable methods of “affecting” the cards, if you will, without slowing down the game and subsequently cutting into the dealer’s earnings for the down. What usually happens to players who ask for set-ups? Their “bad luck” continues through the new cards and they eventually find themselves storming out of the poker room, mumbling expletives under their breath, with much lighter pockets. For peeves’ sake, say no to set-ups!

“When superstition is allowed to perform the task of old age in dulling the human temperament, we can say good bye to all excellence in poetry, in painting, and in music (and poker!).” (Denis Diderot)

By Gary Gates
- Poker Expert

The value of small flop bets. Lately I have been becoming a more aggressive player pre- and post-flop.

Here are a few examples that are bringing me a much needed small pot game.

In position in an unopened pot I will often bet pot with my normal limp hands. Often I will throw out a small half pot CB in a 2- or 3-way flop or smaller CB on a 4-way flop whether I hit the flop or not. I am taking down a lot of these hands both preflop and on the flop.

Lately I will also limp in preflop from position (Co or Button) with any 2 cards. I am hoping to get called only by the blinds when in the CO so I retain position on the flop. Most of the time the blinds both miss the flop or only hit it lightly and both check. I will go for the steal every time they check it to me, because normally they only held their hands because it was free or cheap in the first place. Usually I come in with a pot-sized bet because that is enough to get maximum scare value and also because anything smaller will often induce a call because the pot call ratio for them with overs or bottom-pr. They figure I have some kind of hand anyways for limping in anyways. I take down a major majority of hands in this situation.

Also if it is just down to us in the blinds and I’m in the BB I will often now bet pot and take the blinds with any 2 cards. If he originally tried to limp he likely didn’t have much to begin with. If he calls, whether because he thinks I’m bullying or because he figured he’d just see a flop because he had already put in some money anyways, I usually take down the pot when I throw out my small CB on the flop. If not I am through with the hand and C/F if I missed with my junk. He is going to miss his hand 2/3 of the time and if he hits mid- or bottom-pr he often will sometimes even let it go to my aggression.

Another situation is when I go to the flop from the blinds and see the flop 3- or 4-handed. If a pair is flopped I bet out half pot even without position with any 2 cards. Often everyone folds and I drag the pot. They know that I could hold anything in the blinds. Also betting half pot looks like I want a call. Plus betting out of position looks stronger than I used a position raise. And who wants to fight for a pot if I might be holding trips. They often fold nice hands here because they can’t beat trips. If I get a call I know that I’m beat and fold to the first bit of aggression, especially if the SB smooth calls after originally checking the flop. This play also usually gives me a free card that might help my stance.

Another way that I’ve been tinkering with a small raise is when I hit a mid- or bottom pair or a draw on a 3- or 4-way flop after limping in and the board is scary. Often this small informational probe will take the pot right there or at least give me a free card if I get any takers. If I get reraised I can get out cheaply or now get OK odds on a call with my draws, especially if they have a big stack. I am happy with how this has been working.

These steals are working out nicely. And added advantage is this runs with the Hellmuth small-ball theory. The pot is staying smaller until I hit my turn monsters and I am also getting a chance to take a lot of smallish pots outright or by outplaying opponents with my reads on later streets. This also works congruent with my TAG style of play. By playing these extra hands it conceals that I am mostly a tight player and gets me some added playback when I get premium holdings. These extra small pots are helping to keep me even or above the blinds and rake while I wait for my big hands.