Cardsman's Grind for Education Part Deux

Haven't written for a bit, it's been a busy week or so. My wife booked us a couple of nights at the Casino Lumiere in St Louis, and we had a good time. If I get a chance I will post a TR, but I can tell you that the room was great, each suite had 2 huge flatscreen TVs and the beds had down comforters and feather pillows....this must be what it feels like to live the good life. Only bad thing was the view--we were looking out over the Mississippi, which would be fine, except you look into EAST ST LOUIS LOL....and we had a great view of the MLK bridge. I'm sure that the people driving by get to see some fun things on a pretty regular basis LOL.

I played in the poker room at Lumiere, and at Ameristar. I prefer Ameristar. Both places I played I saw some of the most aggro live play I have ever seen for $1/3 NL. I also got complimented by a guy for checking behind on the turn and river with KK on a QQ98X board with 3 diamonds. I thought it was standard but this dude thought I was some sort of poker god....JEESH.

So anyway, my Oct has only 7K hands so far, and we are halfway through. I have played pretty well the last couple of days though, up 5 BI in 2 days. Here are a couple of hands.

I posted earlier about a hand where 3bet size came into question. In this hand, the SB is 12/8/2 and UTG is a 93/2 drooler that I have not seen before tonight. I got my stack by getting lucky against him, rivering a 2 outer. Action in that hand was PF limp/call, flop c/minraise, turn minbet that I just call (puts a flush out there), and after I river my set, and drooler minbets again, I push and he calls with his smaller set. So then this hand happens. PF 3bet size comments please....I didn't really want to lose SB, but I think this 3bet size is better. Flop is standard obv.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 ($100.70)
CO ($53.50)
Hero (Button) ($201.50)
SB ($191.95)
UTG ($86.20)
UTG+1 ($37.50)
MP1 ($116.75)
MP2 ($87.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
5 folds, Hero raises to $4, SB raises to $12, UTG calls $11, Hero raises to $40, 1 fold, UTG calls $28

Flop: ($92) 8, 3, K (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $47, 1 fold

Total pot: $92 | Rake: $3

Both villains here are unknowns. Comments on every street appreciated.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($118.25)
MP2 ($195.90)
Hero (CO) ($99.50)
Button ($161.10)
SB ($70.70)
BB ($64.15)
UTG ($119.20)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 6, 6
3 folds, Hero raises to $4, Button calls $4, SB calls $3.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($13) J, 8, 7 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, Button checks

OOP, this seemed like a wet enough flop to check.

Turn: ($13) 5 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $8, 1 fold, SB raises to $22, Hero calls $14

Not sure about my call here......

River: ($57) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Auto check, no?

Total pot: $57 | Rake: $2.85

And for the "tales of poker" hand of the night.....No commentary necessary, this seems standard enough with 11 outs.... this is royal #6 for me. Why can't this be against a full stack!?!?!?!??!

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($134.15)
SB ($23.50)
BB ($94.05)
UTG ($147.30)
UTG+1 ($53.15)
MP1 ($29.70)
MP2 ($21)
MP3 ($13.50)
CO ($51.65)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
2 folds, MP1 calls $1, 1 fold, MP3 calls $1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $6, 1 fold, BB calls $5, MP1 calls $5, 1 fold

Flop: ($19.50) A, Q, 8 (3 players)
BB checks, MP1 bets $23.70 (All-In), Hero calls $23.70, 1 fold

Turn: ($66.90) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($66.90) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $66.90 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
Hero had K, J (unknown hand FFFFF8ED).
MP1 had 8, A (two pair, Aces and eights).
Outcome: Hero won $63.90


BR is back up in the mid-$8K range. I may pull some money out to pay some credit cards off, not sure yet. It will affect my goal for the year but so be it. I want to be debt free more.....

Think I may use some points to get a bigger monitor from the FT store....seriously thinking about adding a table or two.

I have gotten to the point where I can handle 8 tables almost on autopilot. How hard is the jump to, say, 10?

hand 1: 3-bet size is fine. Any smaller and you're running into set odd problems vs sb cos you're so deep - you look like a steak though, so sb is likely folding most of the time here regardless.

hand 2: pre-flop standard. flop c-bet here often against unknowns, but check-fold is fine too. Turn is a better time to check than the flop was. The call is $14 into $57 and you got 8 murky outs so fold is better, especially cos you're drawing to the idiot straight. River check is smarter than me - you got showdown value, AJ/88 are not calling, and you're not calling a c-r = well played.

hand 3: you iso kinda light here after that many limpers without reads. flop is standard. nh.

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

BR is back up in the mid-$8K range. I may pull some money out to pay some credit cards off, not sure yet. It will affect my goal for the year but so be it. I want to be debt free more

zero credit card debt is far better than having too much money online. If it takes you a month longer to move up to $200nl, that's not such a big deal, right?

Regarding buying a monitor from the FT store - do it during a week when you're not planning on playing much, cos the value of the points purchase is deducted from your MGR. I'm not sure of the finer details. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my points, 250k just sitting there...

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

I have gotten to the point where I can handle 8 tables almost on autopilot. How hard is the jump to, say, 10?

If you're tiling there isn't much difference. I think the best way to do it is to drop two limits and try to handle playing 13 tables for a session. After that ten will be a breeze.

LOL the last time I posted the 3bet question badgers said $36 was okay.

Hand 2 I would like to hear why the flop is okay to cbet into two players in your mind, but the turn, where I pick up my draw, is worse (I realize the FD has a bit to do with it). However, I don't think I can be put on 66 here, may have some FE by looking like a missed c/r? Dunno, still torn.

Hand 3 I loves me some position ba-bee!!!!

If you buy something and have it hit your MGR, and your MGR doesn't cover it in one RB payment, wouldn't they just take out of your MGR unitl you were "current"? Dunno.

How many tables can fit on a 24' monitor like the one in the FT store (Samsung SyncMaster 2443BWX)? Do I need a new video card? I am SO not a techie......

Just got done with a couple hour session, +633 for the night, ran insanely hot and got paid for it too....I will have to find a few hands to post tomorrow. I'm tired right now. I will say that the BR is temporarily just under $9000 again. WOOOT!

8500 hands $100NL this month, +7.26 ptbb/100 and this was with a couple of stinkers in there.

GN all.....

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

If you buy something and have it hit your MGR, and your MGR doesn't cover it in one RB payment, wouldn't they just take out of your MGR unitl you were "current"?

It depends on your affiliate, but most will not roll over negative MGR balances. So if you took the month off from playing after buying some big item, you'd really get it for free. Now that they're paying weekly it might be different. Just ask your affiliate.

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

How many tables can fit on a 24' monitor like the one in the FT store (Samsung SyncMaster 2443BWX)? Do I need a new video card? I am SO not a techie......

Full Tilt tables are resizeable so... as many as you want. I don't like them too small and 6 fit nicely on my 24". You almost certainly won't need a new video card, but you can check the specs and make sure it supports 1920x1200 resolution (and dual monitors if you plan on keeping your old one going).

How small do you get your tables before your HUD becomes unreadable?

I'm playing 8 on my 17", overlapping and moving my avatar to the side/corner that's closest to the edge. I am not resizing at all. Since the tables pop up automatically, I don't lose much track of anything this way, but I have had a 9th table up before and it's a lot tougher because the spots you click on to fold, etc, can overlap if the table pops up at the wrong time....

I would think 9 would fit comfortably on a 24 without sacrificing legibility but not sure.



I checked my 3 month stats at $100, and I am going at 6.03 ptbb/100 over almost 40K hands. How long have any of you sustained a rate like that? I saw a couple of things that may point to this dropping at some point--like winning 95% of all hands I play with AA, which is 5 % points high, and 87% of straights, which seems awfully high too. Just trying to gain some perspective on this hot streak.

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

How small do you get your tables before your HUD becomes unreadable?

I have no idea. As I said I don't like mine too small and I can't play with overlap and 6 work well on a 24". I struggle to play my A game with 6 tables (and often only play 4 or 5) so no way I'm adding more.

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

I checked my 3 month stats at $100, and I am going at 6.03 ptbb/100 over almost 40K hands. How long have any of you sustained a rate like that? I saw a couple of things that may point to this dropping at some point--like winning 95% of all hands I play with AA, which is 5 % points high, and 87% of straights, which seems awfully high too. Just trying to gain some perspective on this hot streak.

You're almost certainly running above expectation but who knows how far. If you're running above AI EV then you should do some leak plugging but if you're just flopping a lot of sets and coolering people then enjoy the ride

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

How small do you get your tables before your HUD becomes unreadable?

I would think 9 would fit comfortably on a 24 without sacrificing legibility but not sure.

turn off avatars. I tile 9 without overlap on my 22" widescreen, then vary how I use my laptop by how I feel, sometimes 4 tiled without overlap, sometimes 7 tiled with overlap - downside of 7 is that the HUD stats sit over the top of each other so i spend a lot of time moving tables around depending on where the action is.

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

I checked my 3 month stats at $100, and I am going at 6.03 ptbb/100 over almost 40K hands. How long have any of you sustained a rate like that?

25k hands at 8ptBB/100. But that was the start of what has turned out to be a 3ptBB/100 run (although I am down on EV)... check your allin EV - if you're about even, then enjoy the heater! I think that 5ptBB/100 is sustainable at 100nl if you're good enough. I'm not, but that's the goal...

Anyone know if Poker EV with work with PT3?

I haven't checked my AI ev since I stopped using PT2....

I don't know if I can sustain 5 ptbb/100, but I think 3-4 is pretty doable, now that I have been in that range for 60K hands.

I sit and reflect this morning, as I have reached a mini-goal I had. It seems as if $9K BR was a ceiling I couldn't break through, getting close but never quite getting there. I need to pull money out this week for gymnastics class for my daughter, plus some upcoming bills, so I really wanted to hit this goal before I did that.

I got there, finally. My BR before I cashout sits at $9085 (career earnings nudged over $14K too, fwiw....). Didn't think I was going to get there last night either, after losing a 125BB pot with AA vs KK, I 4bet PF, get it in on safe flop, and villain turns a K. Luckily, I hit some sets of my own and made that back fairly quickly.

I did botch the hand below pretty badly, though. I had two opportunities to play this better and messed them both up. This I attribute to the subtle form of tilt I encounter when I play $200 NL that causes me to play in ways I wouldn't at $100. Villain in this hand is 22/12/4.5 (this table is the first I have seen of him), goes to SD 32% of the time, but has won 75% of them and has shown the goods each time I have seen him go to SD.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($200.40)
UTG+1 ($240.35)
Cardsman (MP1) ($284)
MP2 ($204.10)
MP3 ($203)
CO ($200)
Button ($702.20)
SB ($247)
BB ($40)

Preflop: Cardsman is MP1 with J, J
2 folds, Cardsman raises to $8, 3 folds, Button calls $8, 2 folds

Flop: ($19) A, 8, J (2 players)
Cardsman bets $12, Button raises to $36, Cardsman calls $24

First screw up. I could raise again here, I didn't--thinking he would fold.

Turn: ($91) 5 (2 players)
Cardsman checks, Button bets $60, Cardsman raises to $240 (All-In)

Stacks are pretty awkward here. I obv want all the money in the middle, but don't want him to draw cheaply. Hopefully he has a 2 pair type hand or a smaller set, as opposed to a draw, but I can't discount a draw. I think my shove sucks and I should have gone maybe to $150, leaving no decision on the river but allowing him to hang himself with me having only $100 behind. Thoughts?

Cashing out approx $1K I think. Anyone having trouble getting $$ off FT now? I know checks were a bit dicey earlier in the year. I haven't checked to see if I have the Bank transfer option yet.

I have no idea how I pulled a win out tonight. I finished up $200 after being down almost $500 at one point. Didn't play horribly either, just ran second best a couple of times. I would estimate I spewed MAYBE $100 of it. This hand here hurt pretty bad and it was as close to tilt as I have been for a while. I think it's a cooler, but maybe I should see it coming. I crush his range for what I figure. Villain is Suigin406, I have him at 12/7/2 over 2200 hands, goes to SD 22% of the time and wins 61% of the time. Doesn't 3bet more than any normal TAG does. Folding bottom set here, 230 BB deep? I wasn't....

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($100)
UTG+1 ($247.90)
MP1 ($99.25)
MP2 ($325.55)
CO ($91.20)
Button ($298.45)
SB ($206.70)
cardsman (BB) ($237.85)

Preflop: cardsman is BB with 8, 8
3 folds, MP2 raises to $5, CO calls $4, Button calls $5, 1 fold, cardsman calls $4

Flop: ($20.50) J, A, 8 (4 players)
cardsman checks, MP2 bets $14, 2 folds, cardsman raises to $48, MP2 raises to $320.55 (All-In), cardsman calls $184.85 (All-In)

Turn: ($486.20) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($486.20) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $486.20 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
cardsman had 8, 8 (three of a kind, eights).
MP2 had A, A (three of a kind, Aces).
Outcome: MP2 won $483.70

So the BR is at $9280 while I await my cashout.....

Been a rough last couple of days. Back down to just under $9K, been getting coolered quite a bit and spewing some at $200. Stupid mental block at that level IMO. These three hands are indicative of how I ran last night, surprised I didn't finish down more than the $75 I did.....The first one is a suckout I know, the second is not played horribly by villain. The third one is against a 15/10/3 who I have tangled with here and there. I didn't consider folding the river (though maybe I should have), but my god I have the 2nd nuts and the only hand that beats me is 3c!! OTOH, what other hand raises the river I guess....but the odds were just too good to fold. Being OOP sux.....

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($48)
UTG+1 ($185.10)
MP1 ($204.10)
MP2 ($206.35)
CO ($101.70)
Button ($45)
cardsman (SB) ($199)
BB ($331.50)

Preflop: cardsman is SB with A, A
UTG raises to $3, 1 fold, MP1 calls $2, 1 fold, CO raises to $11, 1 fold, cardsman raises to $40, 1 fold, UTG raises to $48 (All-In), 2 folds, cardsman calls $8

Flop: ($111) 4, 10, K (3 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($111) 7 (3 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($111) 9 (3 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $111 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
cardsman had A, A (one pair, Aces).
UTG had J, Q (straight, King high).
Outcome: UTG won $108.50


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($83)
CO ($100)
Button ($43.40)
SB ($103.35)
cardsman (BB) ($100)
UTG ($20)
UTG+1 ($120.40)
MP1 ($108.85)

Preflop: cardsman is BB with A, A
6 folds, SB calls $0.50, cardsman raises to $5, SB calls $4

Flop: ($10) J, 9, 10 (2 players)
SB checks, cardsman bets $7, SB calls $7

Turn: ($24) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, cardsman bets $15, SB calls $15

River: ($54) 8 (2 players)
SB checks, cardsman checks

Total pot: $54 | Rake: $2.70

Results in white below:
SB had Q, J (straight, Queen high).
cardsman had A, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: SB won $51.30


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 ($145.50)
MP1 ($179.85)
MP2 ($197.10)
CO ($148)
Button ($108.95)
SB ($64)
BB ($101.50)
Cardsman (UTG) ($322.75)

Preflop: Cardsman is UTG with K, A
Cardsman raises to $5, UTG+1 calls $5, 6 folds

Flop: ($12.50) A, 5, 2 (2 players)
Cardsman bets $10, UTG+1 calls $10

Turn: ($32.50) 4 (2 players)
Cardsman bets $20, UTG+1 calls $20

River: ($72.50) 6 (2 players)
Cardsman bets $50, UTG+1 raises to $110.50 (All-In), Cardsman calls $60.50

Total pot: $293.50 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
Cardsman had K, A (flush, Ace high).
UTG+1 had 3, 3 (unknown hand FFFFF854).
Outcome: UTG+1 won $291

Off to a home game tonight....Happy Sat to all!!

Haven't updated in a while, but I hve been playing a lot. Have a trip planned for Vegas in May over my birthday, so I'm excited about that. My reason to post tonight though, was to say that after a nice $650 win in a home game, and a nice night tonight, I have my BR over my goal of $10K again! And this is after making a $1K withdrawal to pay for the Vegas trip! Still not playing $200, every time I try I don't play well. Not beating $100 for the rate I would like, but I also know my EV graph is far below expectation too. So anyway, for one night, I have met my goal!!

10k nh

Haven't seen as much of you at the FT tables, daven, you switch to stars on me?

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

Haven't seen as much of you at the FT tables, daven, you switch to stars on me?

i figured it's cos you're avoiding me
>25k hands of 100nl at tilt so far in april. Still no stars account