SNG Experiment HH - Hands 1 to 25

[taipan168]

OK, this is going to take some time to put together, so I thought I would feed it out 25 hands at a time. That's all the forum can take anyway. Comment as a reply to this thread.

Thanks to bjsaust for automating the collation of everybody's hole cards.

Pre-game comments:

Another one of these experiments. I know that TLR will play LAGGy because he will expect the table to be squeaky tight. Detroit (th1986) is a turbo SNG player so I expect to see some push/fold action here. Same with bjs. Not sure how kmind, bonaparte and elitemob will play and Jack Sawyer is providing some overlay. Gogogo!

Interestingly I think these experiments have matured past being the 'learning' experience they started off as. The first couple people tended to play like they would normal sng's, but people have realised this and adjusted. Where it gets interesting is how individuals adjust. Do they open up their PF range? Do they call looser and play post flop poker? Do they 3-bet more? Last experiment saw a LOT of restealing, much more than you'd see in a normal SnG, will this one be the same, or will it be another dynamic this time? Me, I plan to stick basically to my normal game, especially early, try to get reads on people and adjust if neccessary as we go along.

Ok, so this is it then, my first SnG experiment. If you ask me then I would say that I am definitly the least experienced player of all the guys at the table. Since I am a cash table player my only slight advantage will be post flop play, let's hope I can use that somehow. I've got Detroit and BjsAust to my immediate right which is pretty bad, because from what I've see them post on the forums I'd say they're both very good. Skeeno and taipan are to my left. I don't know much about skeeno, but I know that taipan is extremly experienced and one of the most active members of the SnG forums.

Okay so here we go, checked out as much as possible of the opponents via sharkscope and OPR, not much to be gleaned all seem very decent, I'm going in very blind as I've no stats against anyone plus I have been playing limit ring all day lol. I'm guessing all are pretty solid, no ones going to want to make a fool of themselves at any least!

Anyways here to confidence and just to play aswell as normal (I'll come 9th lol)

Edit - the majority of these notes are after the game, although early hands I noted things as I went. Later on I pretty much did away with notes, so it's from memory.

Pregame thoughts: I assumed it would be a tight game, and I had a feeling Tai will play a bit looser then usual, my plan was to play looser and try to build a big stack early, figuring that big stack will have a lot of respect on this table.

Hand 1

PokerStars Game #14437372617: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/01/09 - 15:10:34 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (1510 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1490 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1500 in chips) is sitting out
Forty2u: posts small blind 10
BjsAust: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Qh Ac]
Dealt to taipan168 [9c Qs]
Dealt to skeenobeener [7s Jd]
Dealt to Forty2u [5s 6s]
Dealt to roofkid [Kh 7h]
Dealt to th1986 [3s 6d]
Dealt to mjcongleton [9h 5c]
Dealt to BjsAust [Qd 6c]
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: calls 10
BjsAust: checks
*** FLOP *** [8h 3c Th]
Forty2u: checks
BjsAust: checks
*** TURN *** [8h 3c Th] [3d]
Forty2u: bets 40
BjsAust: folds
Forty2u collected 40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 40 | Rake 0
Board [8h 3c Th 3d]
Seat 1: toddanderson (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u (small blind) collected (40)
Seat 3: BjsAust (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Early blinds I have no interest in playing around. Happy to fold this.

I was a little confused at first if we're REALLY going to start now or not, since Jack was still sitting out. Additionally I was pretty overwhelmed by the speed of the game at first and didn't really think or play the first 3 hands. I had this impression all of you think like 10 times faster than me.

No real idea on seat positioning, i.e whether its favourable, I'm pretty sure everyone is really competent and decent, no standard clowns anyways aside from me lol. To the right of Roofkid and th1986. I'm really unsure as to who anyone is, Taipan on my right and I'm aware he's a very decent player so I'm not overly joyed at that. 7J not worth worrying about.

Folded to me in the SB, I thought I would try to limp and see if BjsAust will let me
When flop was checked and a meaningless card on turn I thought I will try to pick up the pot

Hand 2

PokerStars Game #14437388733: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/01/09 - 15:11:14 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (1530 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1470 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1500 in chips) is sitting out
BjsAust: posts small blind 10
th1986: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [6s Kh]
Dealt to taipan168 [9s 9c]
Dealt to skeenobeener [7d 5c]
Dealt to Forty2u [4s Jd]
Dealt to roofkid [Ah 7c]
Dealt to th1986 [Qh Ac]
Dealt to mjcongleton [2s Jh]
Dealt to BjsAust [Tc 2h]
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: raises 40 to 60
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
taipan168 collected 50 from pot
taipan168: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 50 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: th1986 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 collected (50)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Normally I would just limp this from MP but I'm sure this table will play tight and they won't try to resteal this early.

Wonder what he had here? I would say his range early is JJ+AQ+ to raise , so easy folds.

3X raise from Taipan takes the pot from button, could well be anything as Avi is sitting out.

Hand 3

PokerStars Game #14437400501: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/01/09 - 15:11:43 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (1530 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1460 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1480 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1530 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1500 in chips) is sitting out
th1986: posts small blind 10
roofkid: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Jd Kh]
Dealt to taipan168 [3s 4c]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Jc Th]
Dealt to Forty2u [9s 5h]
Dealt to roofkid [4h Qc]
Dealt to th1986 [2d 4s]
Dealt to mjcongleton [5c 7s]
Dealt to BjsAust [6d 9c]
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: raises 46 to 66
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
toddanderson collected 50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 50 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson collected (50)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: roofkid (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

JT UTG not worth its salt

Hand 4

PokerStars Game #14437414940: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/01/09 - 15:12:18 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1530 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (1530 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1460 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1480 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1530 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1500 in chips) is sitting out
roofkid: posts small blind 10
skeenobeener: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [6c 2h]
Dealt to taipan168 [Ah 3s]
Dealt to skeenobeener [2s 4s]
Dealt to Forty2u [Qc Jc]
Dealt to roofkid [9d 7s]
Dealt to th1986 [9c Jh]
Dealt to mjcongleton [Js 6h]
Dealt to BjsAust [2d 4d]
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: raises 40 to 60
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
Forty2u collected 50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 50 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u collected (50)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: skeenobeener (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Ditto 24 BB - no point completing out of position, nothing out of the ordinary so far. Forty's raised twice

OK hand in an OK position, table seems tight, raised and picked up the pot

Hand 5

PokerStars Game #14437427473: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/01/09 - 15:12:49 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1530 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (1560 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1460 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1480 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1530 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1500 in chips) is sitting out
skeenobeener: posts small blind 10
taipan168: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [5h Qh]
Dealt to taipan168 [7d 4h]
Dealt to skeenobeener [8d 3d]
Dealt to Forty2u [3h 5s]
Dealt to roofkid [7h 6h]
Dealt to th1986 [5d 4c]
Dealt to mjcongleton [Js 2h]
Dealt to BjsAust [Ah Ac]
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: raises 60 to 80
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
BjsAust collected 50 from pot
BjsAust: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 50 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust collected (50)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: taipan168 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

No surprise here, but no point getting tricky. Lets hope I get nice hands later.

4x raise from Bjs, possible bigger hand who knows, worth nothing. My SB is rubbish again no point worrying about

Hand 6

PokerStars Game #14437438262: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/01/09 - 15:13:15 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1530 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (1560 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1490 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1470 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1510 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1500 in chips) is sitting out
taipan168: posts small blind 10
mjcongleton: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Kc Kh]
Dealt to taipan168 [5d 2c]
Dealt to skeenobeener [9c Tc]
Dealt to Forty2u [5s Qd]
Dealt to roofkid [8d Kd]
Dealt to th1986 [As 9d]
Dealt to mjcongleton [7s 8s]
Dealt to BjsAust [2s 9h]
Avi_Tristan: folds
BjsAust said, "pay my rockets fools!"
toddanderson: raises 46 to 66
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: calls 66
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jd 5h 8c]
toddanderson: bets 122
skeenobeener: calls 122
*** TURN *** [Jd 5h 8c] [Ah]
toddanderson: bets 233
skeenobeener: folds
toddanderson collected 406 from pot
toddanderson is sitting out
toddanderson: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 406 | Rake 0
Board [Jd 5h 8c Ah]
Seat 1: toddanderson collected (406)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (button) folded on the Turn
Seat 7: taipan168 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: mjcongleton (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I would've called that hand if there weren't any raises in front of me.

This hand seems kind of interesting to me. I obviously raise this pre. I had a few comments on my bet sizing so I will explain why I do the "weird" numbers. For two reasons, mainly because you can bet slightly less than what most people bet and get the same amount of folds. This makes this play more +EV when betting smaller. I also like to play a lot of hands so getting to flops cheap is something I love. I also think my cash game play helps me play well enough postflop. Flop looks good for me. Any Jx hand is going to call, as well as 76 or T9. Of course sets or slow played rockets can as well, but these will usually raise. Turn is an interesting card. AJ has me crushed but would probably raise flop. Me betting meant I wanted to see where I was at and I also bet barely over half because I think this bet does the same as a higher bet. He either folds most J hands or calls with hands that should have me beat. That thinking isn't too good though when I look at it, you want to get as much value from a worse hand as you can. Holding complete trash in my hand is much better than me having KK when I bet the turn because now my hand with showdown value is turned into a bluff. Bad move on my part.

Have the button here and attempt an early move, again 3x raise from todd (kmind) I'm really putting him on a pretty wide range, I feel his raise his more of one to test the blinds than anything else, anyways I'm quite happy to play this sort of hand early with position. The flop gives me an OESD so not bad, his bet on the turn again strikes me as a pretty standard cont bet 3/4 of the pot, chances are he may have a monster, but anyways I flat call again - I guess in hindsight I could raise here, but I'm more than happy to call, probably a bad move and try and take it away if he checks the turn. The turn is an Ace, good card if he checks alas todd double barrels and I'm done with the hand. Guess in hindsight a pretty rubbish move but there you go

Hand 7

PokerStars Game #14437468612: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/01/09 - 15:14:30 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1748 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: Forty2u (1560 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1490 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1282 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1480 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1500 in chips) is sitting out
mjcongleton: posts small blind 10
Avi_Tristan: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Tc 4h]
Dealt to taipan168 [Th Kc]
Dealt to skeenobeener [6c 3h]
Dealt to Forty2u [8c Ad]
Dealt to roofkid [4s Jc]
Dealt to th1986 [Ah 6h]
Dealt to mjcongleton [Js 2s]
Dealt to BjsAust [8d 4d]
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: raises 40 to 60
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
Forty2u collected 50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 50 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u collected (50)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (big blind) folded before Flop

TLR is probably stealing here, but KTo isn't good enough to resteal and I can't call if he shoves over.

So lost a few chips, however nothing to worry about with blinds at 10/20. Forty takes another pot unopposed

I wanted to test the waters with EP raise, see how the table reacts to it, as expected everyone folded

Hand 8

PokerStars Game #14437478613: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2008/01/09 - 15:14:55 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1748 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: Forty2u (1590 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1490 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1282 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1480 in chips) is sitting out
Avi_Tristan: posts small blind 10
toddanderson: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Kd 6h]
Dealt to taipan168 [9h Qs]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Jh Ks]
Dealt to Forty2u [Ah As]
Dealt to roofkid [4h 2h]
Dealt to th1986 [5s 6d]
Dealt to mjcongleton [7s 5h]
Dealt to BjsAust [3s Ts]
Forty2u: raises 40 to 60
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u collected 50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 50 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Forty2u collected (50)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (small blind) folded before Flop

And again

Limping UTG will set up warning bells in everyone's heads, since I raised the previous hand from EP I hoped to get some action, no such luck

Hand 9

PokerStars Game #14437490630: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:15:25 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1728 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: Forty2u (1620 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1490 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1282 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1470 in chips) is sitting out
toddanderson: posts small blind 15
Forty2u: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Js 4s]
Dealt to taipan168 [8c 2d]
Dealt to skeenobeener [8d 9c]
Dealt to Forty2u [9s 9h]
Dealt to roofkid [Qd 6h]
Dealt to th1986 [4c 3d]
Dealt to mjcongleton [3c 8h]
Dealt to BjsAust [3h Ts]
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u collected 30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 30 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Forty2u (big blind) collected (30)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

The little one's crying nightmare.

Hand 10

PokerStars Game #14437497714: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:15:44 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1713 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: Forty2u (1635 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (1490 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1282 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1470 in chips) is sitting out
Forty2u: posts small blind 15
BjsAust: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Jc 8d]
Dealt to taipan168 [2c 9s]
Dealt to skeenobeener [4d 7h]
Dealt to Forty2u [2d 5s]
Dealt to roofkid [Tc Qh]
Dealt to th1986 [8c 2s]
Dealt to mjcongleton [3c Qs]
Dealt to BjsAust [2h 6d]
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
skeenobeener is sitting out
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: calls 15
BjsAust: checks
*** FLOP *** [4c 5c 5d]
Forty2u: checks
BjsAust: checks
*** TURN *** [4c 5c 5d] [3d]
Forty2u: bets 60
BjsAust: raises 90 to 150
Forty2u: calls 90
*** RIVER *** [4c 5c 5d 3d] [Qc]
Forty2u: checks
BjsAust: bets 230
toddanderson has returned
Forty2u: raises 370 to 600
BjsAust: calls 370
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Forty2u: shows [2d 5s] (three of a kind, Fives)
BjsAust: shows [2h 6d] (a straight, Deuce to Six)
toddanderson said, "sorry"
BjsAust collected 1560 from pot
toddanderson said, "kmind here"
Forty2u said, "nh"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1560 | Rake 0
Board [4c 5c 5d 3d Qc]
Seat 1: toddanderson (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u (small blind) showed [2d 5s] and lost with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 3: BjsAust (big blind) showed [2h 6d] and won (1560) with a straight, Deuce to Six
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Lol, BB special! Not terrible for tlr to complete there, he knows if I let him complete I have crap and he can take it post flop most times.

Retrospect: Why didn't I at least call this one. I suppose I was still very intimidated.

Missed this hand first time as I was upstairs, goes to show limping with the likes of 25 doesn't always work. Awkward flop aswell as I'm sure Forty feels he's miles ahead after the turn it pretty much plays itself

I tried to limp again, as long as the blinds are low and I can complete without being raised automatically I will do so.
On the flop I decided to check it to maybe get BjsAust to bet, which did not work out
Turn put a 3 str8 on board, so I decided to bet it, the reraise surprised me, but I though it could be 1 pair, some sort of pair + draw or combo draw
River - I misplayed the river, I should have checked-called it, but went for a check-raise because I thought he was trying to represent a bigger hand then he has

This was a costly hand, mainly due to my mistake on the river, now I needed to adjust the strategy a bit, usually when I am short stacked I am looking for a good spot to double up, however here I knew it will be very hard to double up, so I needed to start building my stack by winning small-medium pots

Hand 11

PokerStars Game #14437520432: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:16:40 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1713 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (855 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2270 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1282 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1470 in chips) is sitting out
BjsAust: posts small blind 15
th1986: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [5c Jh]
Dealt to taipan168 [8s Ac]
Dealt to skeenobeener [9c Th]
Dealt to Forty2u [Js 8h]
Dealt to roofkid [Kc Td]
Dealt to th1986 [4h Jd]
Dealt to mjcongleton [3c 5h]
Dealt to BjsAust [4c 9s]
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
BjsAust said, "thks"
th1986 collected 30 from pot
th1986: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 30 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: th1986 (big blind) collected (30)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Retrospect: Another lost hand I normally would call. Still being very intimidated by all those pros sitting around me.

Hand 12

PokerStars Game #14437531199: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:17:08 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1713 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (855 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1485 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1282 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1470 in chips) is sitting out
th1986: posts small blind 15
roofkid: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Td 6c]
Dealt to taipan168 [4c 8h]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Qs 2c]
Dealt to Forty2u [5s Ah]
Dealt to roofkid [Ac 7h]
Dealt to th1986 [Ad 3h]
Dealt to mjcongleton [9s Qh]
Dealt to BjsAust [7s Ts]
skeenobeener: folds
skeenobeener has returned
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
Forty2u said, "TLR"
toddanderson: folds
th1986 said, "detroit"
Forty2u: raises 60 to 90
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
Forty2u collected 75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u collected (75)
Seat 3: BjsAust (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: roofkid (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

looked like a good spot to pick up some chips

Hand 13

PokerStars Game #14437543269: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:17:39 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1713 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (900 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1440 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1282 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1470 in chips) is sitting out
roofkid: posts small blind 15
skeenobeener: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [6d Qd]
Dealt to taipan168 [Ad 7h]
Dealt to skeenobeener [4c Js]
Dealt to Forty2u [Tc 2s]
Dealt to roofkid [Kc Qc]
Dealt to th1986 [Th 6h]
Dealt to mjcongleton [2c 8s]
Dealt to BjsAust [4s 9c]
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: raises 90 to 120
skeenobeener: folds
roofkid collected 60 from pot
roofkid: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 60 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid (small blind) collected (60)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

That was a pretty cash-tablish raise, but I think it was ok, even from early position. Too bad everyony folded to me (and after me). That would have been an ideal chance to put my post flop experience into play.

4x raise from SB rooftop, 4J not worth seeing a flop with even in position, I'll give him credit for a much better hand

Hand 14

PokerStars Game #14437556249: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:18:12 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1713 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (900 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1252 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1470 in chips) is sitting out
skeenobeener: posts small blind 15
taipan168: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Ad 3s]
Dealt to taipan168 [6h 4d]
Dealt to skeenobeener [5s 8d]
Dealt to Forty2u [3c 7c]
Dealt to roofkid [As 4c]
Dealt to th1986 [Th 7h]
Dealt to mjcongleton [2h 2d]
Dealt to BjsAust [9h Qc]
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168 collected 30 from pot
taipan168: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 30 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: taipan168 (big blind) collected (30)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I didn't limp here because I didn't believe this table would follow my limp in lead. In looser games I might limp this.

Too marginal for my taste, especially being up against superiour opponents.

Again not overly interested in playing oop with a couple of low cards, blinds not worth worrying about

Hand 15

PokerStars Game #14437568949: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:18:44 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1713 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (900 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1237 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1515 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1470 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1470 in chips) is sitting out
taipan168: posts small blind 15
mjcongleton: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [5s Kd]
Dealt to taipan168 [6h 2c]
Dealt to skeenobeener [As 3d]
Dealt to Forty2u [3h Ks]
Dealt to roofkid [2d 4s]
Dealt to th1986 [Qc Ad]
Dealt to mjcongleton [Jh 9h]
Dealt to BjsAust [8d Th]
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: raises 90 to 120
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
th1986 collected 75 from pot
th1986: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 collected (75)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: mjcongleton (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Another 4x raise - this early not much action on any hands, so it will be interesting to see if any of them are decent hands, I'm guessing more times than not they are.

Hand 16

PokerStars Game #14437580127: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:19:13 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1713 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (900 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1515 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1237 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1440 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1470 in chips) is sitting out
mjcongleton: posts small blind 15
Avi_Tristan: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [2h 5h]
Dealt to taipan168 [2s Ac]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Kd Ad]
Dealt to Forty2u [2d 5d]
Dealt to roofkid [8h Jh]
Dealt to th1986 [3d 6d]
Dealt to mjcongleton [7h 8c]
Dealt to BjsAust [9s 3h]
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: raises 60 to 90
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: raises 180 to 270
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
Forty2u: folds
skeenobeener collected 225 from pot
skeenobeener: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 225 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener collected (225)
Seat 7: taipan168 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (big blind) folded before Flop

If skeeno hadn't re-raised, I might have re-popped TLR here since he has been playing LAGG.

Ok Forty's been relatively quiet since his 25 SB hand, but I've seen him open raise 5/6 times already and I've yet to raise so I feel a raise will get some respect here. I could flat call but if I miss the flop which I will 33% of the time, I'm loathe to attack if he cont bets. Hence the raise which takes the pot.

Again decided to go with EP steal, once I got reraised I am out

Hand 17

PokerStars Game #14437593390: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:19:46 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1713 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (810 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1515 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1372 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1425 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1440 in chips) is sitting out
Avi_Tristan: posts small blind 15
toddanderson: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Ac Th]
Dealt to taipan168 [9h 8d]
Dealt to skeenobeener [5c Jc]
Dealt to Forty2u [6d 3c]
Dealt to roofkid [4d 2s]
Dealt to th1986 [Ts Qh]
Dealt to mjcongleton [As Tc]
Dealt to BjsAust [9d Qc]
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: raises 120 to 150
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: raises 262 to 412
mjcongleton: calls 262
*** FLOP *** [4s Ah 9c]
toddanderson: checks
mjcongleton: bets 1013 and is all-in
toddanderson: calls 1013
*** TURN *** [4s Ah 9c] [7d]
roofkid said, "lol"
*** RIVER *** [4s Ah 9c 7d] [Kd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
toddanderson: shows [Ac Th] (a pair of Aces)
mjcongleton: shows [As Tc] (a pair of Aces)
toddanderson said, "wtf man"
toddanderson collected 1433 from pot
mjcongleton collected 1432 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2865 | Rake 0
Board [4s Ah 9c 7d Kd]
Seat 1: toddanderson (big blind) showed [Ac Th] and won (1433) with a pair of Aces
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (button) showed [As Tc] and won (1432) with a pair of Aces
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (small blind) folded before Flop

Wow, that's quite some call with AT on the flop! I would have expected bonaparte to shove over preflop however.

Worth noting, these two are playing loose aggressive.

I did what I thought was a decent raise here, maybe a little too much. I was a little suprised when the BB raised, but my hand warrented a call. I put all in because I figured it would probably get me a fold, and if not I still had a pair of aces. In retrospect now, it was probably a bad idea to go all in as I faced a raise pre-flop which should mean BB has a really good hand.

To myself: Why is it that I get the EXACT same crap hand two times (almost) in a row? lol ... On the hand: WoW, they go all in with ATo ?!

This hand was also interesting because of the big bet sizing. I don't have much of a read but I don't want him to trying to steal my BB when I have ATo, which is like the nuts to me. So I think calling sucks because we can't be sure we were are at and if we are against AJ+ then weeeeee we are getting in a bad postflop position being OOP and if an A flops. Of course I yell at him in frustration because I don't like putting that much of my stack on the line with a hand I'm not sure about. After he calls my RR I think his range is actually like A9-AJ, 88-JJ, random crap. The flop isn't the greatest but I hit top pair in a reraised pot. That's usually very good. I check to induce a bunch of crap because if I bet this anyways I am committed and mostly no worse hands will call. I'm actually not pumped about calling this but I think he pushed pretty quickly, which usually means a bluff or a not so great hand because most people have to think about how to get their villain's stack when flopping monsters. I then proceed to say "wtf man" because my heart can't take my confusion before calling and I am just relieved.

Interesting this one. First off the Button raise of 5x is a lot, strikes me as weird as Todd pointed out, however I think saying that it's a half decent hand most of the time, blinds are still not worth worrying about, say 77-JJ; AQ/AJ/KQ etc bigger hands I feel he'll raise less, junk he'll fold. Anyways the raise from Todd is reasonable if he's playing the hand I'd raise. I think MJ's call oop gives off the vibe its more likely a 77-JJ type hand than high Ace kicker say AK. AK here I would move over the top of Todd's raise. Anyways I'm not overly excited about the shove with A10. I think the call meh, I'd need to run it through Pokerstove but again I think you can input the likes of middlish pairs into mjcongleton's range, that's certainly the type of hand I had him on. Interesting to see other takes on it as I'm no expert by any means

Hand 18

PokerStars Game #14437633463: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:21:30 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1721 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (810 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1515 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1470 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1372 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1432 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1425 in chips) is sitting out
toddanderson: posts small blind 15
Forty2u: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [4s Tc]
Dealt to taipan168 [9d 3d]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Ac 4h]
Dealt to Forty2u [4d 9h]
Dealt to roofkid [Ad 2d]
Dealt to th1986 [Qh Jh]
Dealt to mjcongleton [Ks Kd]
Dealt to BjsAust [Jc 7c]
toddanderson said, "nh"
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: raises 60 to 90
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: raises 120 to 210
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
roofkid: folds
mjcongleton collected 225 from pot
mjcongleton: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 225 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Forty2u (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton collected (225)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I wanted to isolate roofkid here with me KK. He probably watch the last hand and figured it wasn't worth the risk of an all in situation by some crazy better.

I'm getting a liiiittle more comfortable, I've got a lot of options post flop with this hand but I would not fare well if I only get an A pair going. I'm getting out here after being reraised since my hand is probably beat.

mj straight back on the attack, re-raising Roofkid's range who has been quiet so strikes me as a good pair/AQ/AK from mj.

Hand 19

PokerStars Game #14437654104: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:22:22 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1706 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (780 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1515 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1380 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1372 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1567 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1425 in chips) is sitting out
Forty2u: posts small blind 15
BjsAust: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [6d 3c]
Dealt to taipan168 [Jh Th]
Dealt to skeenobeener [8s 4d]
Dealt to Forty2u [6c 7c]
Dealt to roofkid [3s Tc]
Dealt to th1986 [Js Ks]
Dealt to mjcongleton [7s Qs]
Dealt to BjsAust [4h Jc]
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: raises 60 to 90
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: raises 120 to 210
BjsAust: folds
taipan168: folds
Forty2u collected 210 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 210 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u (small blind) collected (210)
Seat 3: BjsAust (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Meh, maybe a bit of a misplaced steal from MP. Table had been tight so I thought I might get away with it, and I have big implied odds if somebody just calls and I flop a big hand. TLR could be restealing but not sure I want to go to the felt with JTs this early! Problem is that if I call here TLR is pot committed and will likely shove any flop.

Again, early blinds even if TLR didnt get feisty I wouldnt call this with crap. Not many hands Tai would raise from MP and fold like that... I wonder if TLR was playing Tai there, knowing Taipan would see that as a very strong move in this type of game.

Another early pos raise, Forty raises the SB and gets respect for a hand

I thought Tai can raise preflop with a pretty wide range, but he cannot call the reraise, even a small rerraise, becuase he will figure I am pretty much commited to the hand

Hand 20

PokerStars Game #14437668603: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:23:02 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1706 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (900 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2225 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1515 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1380 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1372 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1410 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1567 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1425 in chips) is sitting out
BjsAust: posts small blind 15
th1986: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [4d 2c]
Dealt to taipan168 [Js Ac]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Qh 6d]
Dealt to Forty2u [9h Td]
Dealt to roofkid [5s 6h]
Dealt to th1986 [9d Qs]
Dealt to mjcongleton [Qd 8d]
Dealt to BjsAust [8h Kd]
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: raises 60 to 90
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
taipan168 collected 75 from pot
taipan168: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: th1986 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 collected (75)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Normally I'd dump AJo from early MP, but again on a tight table I think I'll get away with it. ALso because I got caught stealing the previous hand people may think I need to have a real hand to raise here.

Hand 21

PokerStars Game #14437681198: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:23:31 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1706 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (900 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2210 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1485 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1380 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1372 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1455 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1567 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1425 in chips) is sitting out
th1986: posts small blind 15
roofkid: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [6d Qh]
Dealt to taipan168 [7h Kd]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Ac Th]
Dealt to Forty2u [4d 8h]
Dealt to roofkid [2c Ks]
Dealt to th1986 [7s 2h]
Dealt to mjcongleton [9s 5c]
Dealt to BjsAust [Ts 8d]
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: raises 69 to 99
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
toddanderson collected 75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson collected (75)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: roofkid (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

This hand isn't interesting but I think it goes to show that you can basically bet ATC when you feel you have a good shot at the blinds. I had this feeling as everyone seemed pretty tight. You obviously can't do this much or recklessly.

AT UTG again this early not worth worrying about, imo

I am getting annoyed of the wierd raises by kmind

Hand 22

PokerStars Game #14437694733: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:24:05 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1751 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (900 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2210 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1350 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1372 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1455 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1567 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1425 in chips) is sitting out
roofkid: posts small blind 15
skeenobeener: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Kc 7d]
Dealt to taipan168 [Ac 5d]
Dealt to skeenobeener [6h 8d]
Dealt to Forty2u [2c Qh]
Dealt to roofkid [9s Qc]
Dealt to th1986 [2d 5s]
Dealt to mjcongleton [2s Qs]
Dealt to BjsAust [4h 4d]
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: raises 60 to 90
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
BjsAust collected 75 from pot
BjsAust: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust collected (75)
Seat 4: th1986 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: skeenobeener (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: taipan168 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Normally I'd limp, but that screams low PP to these guys so raise to disguise in case I hit.

Hand 23

PokerStars Game #14437711029: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:24:47 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1751 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (900 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1470 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1335 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1342 in chips)
Seat 7: taipan168 (1455 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1567 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1425 in chips) is sitting out
skeenobeener: posts small blind 15
taipan168: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [2h Qs]
Dealt to taipan168 [Jc 7s]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Ks 2s]
Dealt to Forty2u [Qd Kd]
Dealt to roofkid [3c As]
Dealt to th1986 [Ad Ac]
Dealt to mjcongleton [6d 6h]
Dealt to BjsAust [3s 8s]
mjcongleton: calls 30
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: calls 30
BjsAust: folds
th1986: raises 140 to 170
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
skeenobeener is sitting out
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: folds
Forty2u: folds
th1986 collected 135 from pot
th1986: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 135 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 collected (135)
Seat 5: roofkid (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: taipan168 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: mjcongleton folded before Flop
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Fairly strong play from DH there with two limpers. AK or AQ?

I figured I'd limp preflop, as I expected a raise followed and I jumped out.

Dissapointing...

No way I'm calling this, even though this feels like a steal attempt.

What's this limping? Amazing I didn't remember any limp, anyways nice sized bet from th who again I'm putting on a pretty decent top 10% type hand

If it was folded to me I would raise KQs, but with UTG limper I decided to limp and try to see a cheap flop, with the raise I thought there is very little chance I am ahead, most likely flipping or dominated, I thought coming over the top is a bit too dangerous, especially if I run into AK, AA-QQ which are all in his range ofcourse, so I folded

Hand 24

PokerStars Game #14437735342: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:25:49 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1751 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (870 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1575 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1335 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1327 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 7: taipan168 (1425 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1537 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1425 in chips) is sitting out
taipan168: posts small blind 15
mjcongleton: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [2s 9d]
Dealt to taipan168 [5c Jd]
Dealt to skeenobeener [Kd 8s]
Dealt to Forty2u [3c Qc]
Dealt to roofkid [Qd 9s]
Dealt to th1986 [Tc 5d]
Dealt to mjcongleton [Td 7h]
Dealt to BjsAust [4s 3d]
Avi_Tristan: folds
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton collected 30 from pot
mjcongleton: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 30 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: mjcongleton (big blind) collected (30)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan folded before Flop (didn't bet)


Hand 25

PokerStars Game #14437749324: Tournament #73077444, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/01/09 - 15:26:25 (ET)
Table '73077444 2' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: toddanderson (1751 in chips)
Seat 2: Forty2u (870 in chips)
Seat 3: BjsAust (2255 in chips)
Seat 4: th1986 (1575 in chips)
Seat 5: roofkid (1335 in chips)
Seat 6: skeenobeener (1327 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 7: taipan168 (1410 in chips)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (1552 in chips)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (1425 in chips) is sitting out
mjcongleton: posts small blind 15
Avi_Tristan: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to toddanderson [Qh 3h]
Dealt to taipan168 [9s 3c]
Dealt to skeenobeener [6c 6d]
Dealt to Forty2u [Kd 6s]
Dealt to roofkid [7c 2s]
Dealt to th1986 [5h 4h]
Dealt to mjcongleton [Jh Ts]
Dealt to BjsAust [7s 9h]
toddanderson: folds
Forty2u: folds
BjsAust: folds
th1986: folds
roofkid: folds
skeenobeener: folds
taipan168: folds
mjcongleton: raises 30 to 60
Avi_Tristan: folds
mjcongleton collected 60 from pot
mjcongleton: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 60 | Rake 0
Seat 1: toddanderson folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Forty2u folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BjsAust folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: th1986 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: roofkid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: skeenobeener folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: taipan168 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mjcongleton (small blind) collected (60)
Seat 9: Avi_Tristan (big blind) folded before Flop

Meh maybe I'm too tight here, from the CO and should be raising, still too late to worry about it

[taipan168]

I'll have a first shot (I have an advantage since I put the comments together )

Hand 6 - Skeeno: I wouldn't call an EP raise with T9s, if there were lots of limpers obv fine but not against an EP raiser. Flop is kind of marginal too, I don't think you have odds to call here, even with implied odds
- kmind: I don't think you really have to worry too much about the A on the turn, skeeno would raise AJ and would probably fold A5/A8, if he has AA he has you pwned already, I think turn bet is fine.

Hand 10 - TLR: I would bet flop with the flush draw out there, but on this table I guess checking is not so bad since bjs has ATC. Turn is fine, but I would lead river because if bjs checks behind you lose value, as played I think I would call his bet rather than raise, I would be worried about the flush or straight here.
- Bjs: I would raise a little more on the turn with two potential flush draws out there, probably 180 to go.

Hand 13 - elitemob: Raise is absolutely fine, you are only in EP postflop not preflop, blind vs blind I raise this every single time

Hand 16 - TLR: I would not raise such rags from EP, if you get re-raised you have a hopeless spot and have to fold
- Skeeno: Re-raise obviously worked nicely here but usually against a good player raising from UTG I would usually just call and play position with AKs, particularly on this table because you won't get lots of callers.

Hand 17 - bonaparte: I would raise to 120 rather than 150, no need to raise so much here. I would definitely not call the re-raise with ATo without a very solid read, you are dominated by a lot of hands that kmind would re-raise here. On the flop, I think shove is fine after kmind checks.
- kmind: That is a ballsy flop call after bonaparte raised from the button and called your re-raise, you must be worried about AQ/AJ here (AK would shove over preflop). Guess you were trying to C-R AI but bonaparte went AI first.

Hand 18 - elitemob: I would not raise A2s from early MP, too much chance of getting re-raised on this table and the blinds are not worth stealing yet.

Hand 19 - myself: Bleh should not have bothered with JTs this early.
- TLR: That was a ballsy re-raise, interesting example of thinking on several levels deep here since you knew I would know you were pot committed. I guess it is pretty much independent of cards, you could do this with 32o for the same effect.

Hand 21 - kmind: Blinds really aren't worth stealing yet, although the table is tight if you get re-raised you burned 99 chips for nothing, and if you get all folds you in 45 chips, big deal...

Hand 25 - skeeno: I would definitely raise 66 here, you are effectively on the button because Avi is sitting out.

[Skeeno]

Sweet great stuff guys, didn't realise I posted so much random tripe. I'll have a look laters at everything.

[fjuanl]

Hand 6 - I originally agreed with taipan that leading the turn was fine, but I'm having second thoughts. I dont know how the person with T9s plays, but I generally don't rule out AJ after the flop. I justified his turn bet by arguing that he's protecting his hand, but there really aren't hands besides T9 (which should be a rare holding) or Jxh that have draws. I would guess his range on the flop would be QJ/KJ/AJ/TT/99/55/88. I doubt QJ/KJ and 99-TT hands call a turn bet, so maybe checking for pot control becomes better. I'm still not sure about what the best play is though...

[bjsaust]

Hand 10 - TLR: I would bet flop with the flush draw out there, but on this table I guess checking is not so bad since bjs has ATC. Turn is fine, but I would lead river because if bjs checks behind you lose value, as played I think I would call his bet rather than raise, I would be worried about the flush or straight here.
- Bjs: I would raise a little more on the turn with two potential flush draws out there, probably 180 to go.

From memory I put TLR on pure bluff (or not much better) here. Smaller raise was aimed to either extract value from a weak hand, or induce a 3-bet/push from an aggressive player who likely puts me on a bluff more than a solid hand, especially after he's stolen on turn from me already this game.



general note to newer players

On one hand, all those hands you wished you'd played if you werent intimidated, you were correct to fold, they were crap at a full table with low blinds. On the other hand, always bring your A game. Dont be intimidated, just play your game the best you can. Dont let your opposition rattle you.

[bjsaust]

...Additionally I was pretty overwhelmed by the speed of the game at first and didn't really think or play the first 3 hands. I had this impression all of you think like 10 times faster than me.

Its not that we're thinking faster (in fact I think a weakness of mine is that my mind isnt as fast as others on here), but especially in these early stages, these are automatic decisions we're making. Theres little in the way of 'thinking' going on early. Even TLRs move would have been automatic for him, not something he put a lot of thought into.

[taipan168]

Hand 6 - I originally agreed with taipan that leading the turn was fine, but I'm having second thoughts. I dont know how the person with T9s plays, but I generally don't rule out AJ after the flop. I justified his turn bet by arguing that he's protecting his hand, but there really aren't hands besides T9 (which should be a rare holding) or Jxh that have draws. I would guess his range on the flop would be QJ/KJ/AJ/TT/99/55/88. I doubt QJ/KJ and 99-TT hands call a turn bet, so maybe checking for pot control becomes better. I'm still not sure about what the best play is though...

I think you have a point here, it is a WA/WB situation unless skeeno has two hearts or T9. I guess the reason I suggested betting again is that it is unlikely that the Ah helped skeeno, I guess AJ is really the only hand that could still be in here but that would be foolhardy to call a raise from EP with an easily dominated hand like AJ.

Still, the pot control point is a good one, skeeno could well be slowplaying a monster by just flat calling the flop.

[TLR]

Hand1: ToddAnderson folded Aq from the button which is wierd

Hand2: is there a law vs playing Aq in this Sng? th1986 (Detroit?) folded from the BB, way too tight IMO

Hand14: bonaparte is dealt 22 UTG, knowing how the table will react to UTG limping I am very tempted to limp it here

Hand18: I would not raise A2 from this position, A2 is just too easily dominated if you get a call, I perfer raising 86 to A2 here

[taipan168]

Hand1: ToddAnderson folded Aq from the button which is wierd

Agreed, I think he was still sitting out from when the tables joined

Hand2: is there a law vs playing Aq in this Sng? th1986 (Detroit?) folded from the BB, way too tight IMO

If Detroit thinks my range here is JJ+, AQ+ (which would usually be my raise range from early MP) then folding AQ from OOP is fine. Of course he doesn't know that I have opened up my range because I expect the table to play tight

Hand14: bonaparte is dealt 22 UTG, knowing how the table will react to UTG limping I am very tempted to limp it here

Agreed, I would limp too and call a raise of up to 120 chips.

Hand18: I would not raise A2 from this position, A2 is just too easily dominated if you get a call, I perfer raising 86 to A2 here

I wouldn't raise either hand but I do see your point

[elitemob]

(Just so you know ... roofkid here, in case some of you've forgotten)

First of all, thanks for the vote of confidence bjsaust, even though it's easier said than done not feeling a little overwhelmed since I only started learning SnG (or tournament poker in general) 3 weeks ago.

I totally see now, that I shouldn't have raised with A2s here. If I remember correctly I realized that as well, after I got reraised, I was like "wait ... if you only hit an A pair and another player has one too you'll loose (almost) everytime, and a pair of twos is worth nothing as well."

[kmind]

I folded AQ because I wasn't sure if we were all starting since Jack was sitting out. I'll definitely chime in a little about more hands.

[TLR]

Hand2: is there a law vs playing Aq in this Sng? th1986 (Detroit?) folded from the BB, way too tight IMO

If Detroit thinks my range here is JJ+, AQ+ (which would usually be my raise range from early MP) then folding AQ from OOP is fine. Of course he doesn't know that I have opened up my range because I expect the table to play tight
[/quote]
If that was the range he was putting you on then yes, I was putting you on a much wider range

[TLR]

Hand 16 - TLR: I would not raise such rags from EP, if you get re-raised you have a hopeless spot and have to fold
- Skeeno: Re-raise obviously worked nicely here but usually against a good player raising from UTG I would usually just call and play position with AKs, particularly on this table because you won't get lots of callers.

I felt like I need to build the stack back, and the table was tight, but yeah, in retrospect it was waaaaaaaay too loose

Hand 19 - myself: Bleh should not have bothered with JTs this early.
- TLR: That was a ballsy re-raise, interesting example of thinking on several levels deep here since you knew I would know you were pot committed. I guess it is pretty much independent of cards, you could do this with 32o for the same effect.

Yeah, I would do it with any 2 cards, I put you pretty wide raising range, and I dont think you would have called with less then JJ+/AK, and maybe even fold JJ.
I find it pretty nice that we were able to predict pretty accuratly how the other player will deviate from their normal game

[DetroitHusling101]

I don't think there's anything wrong with folding AQ early on when your gonna have to play the hand OOP , i thought it was pretty standard. It's not a hand you want to play to a raise IMO. How much wider is his range there really????? 99+ AQ+? Best chance scenario is i win a small pot when i flop top pair , or lose a big one when he has me dominated (AK when a A flops , AA/KK , when a Q flops).

[TLR]

I don't think there's anything wrong with folding AQ early on when your gonna have to play the hand OOP , i thought it was pretty standard. It's not a hand you want to play to a raise IMO. How much wider is his range there really????? 99+ AQ+? Best chance scenario is i win a small pot when i flop top pair , or lose a big one when he has me dominated (AK when a A flops , AA/KK , when a Q flops).

I dont think it is bad generally speaking, but I need to knw villian is tight, knowing Tai I think his range in this sng was much wider then 99+, AQ

1. Tai knows you are tight and so is the most of the time (he correctly predicted I will be much looser)
2. In such a tight table it is much harder to get paid for big hands so you need to open up your game a bit

[bonaparte]

Hand14: bonaparte is dealt 22 UTG, knowing how the table will react to UTG limping I am very tempted to limp it here

Agreed, I would limp too and call a raise of up to 120 chips.

Hummm..... I need some education here. I thought the idea behind a low pocket pair was to hit a set or fold while early in the tournament. Could you expand on why you would limp this pair, and even call a raise? What are you looking for on the flop to determine if you will continue the hand?

[bjsaust]

Stacks are approximately 1500 each still. You hit your set about 1 in 8 times, but you wont always get opps stack, so we average out to say you need to expect effective stacks of 15x your bet. Now a limp for 30 only needs effective stacks of 450 to achieve that, so if the table will allow you to limp this is a great spot to limp. Even if you're raised to 120, then technically you'd need effective stacks of 1800, but since theres an aggressor in the pot (who will likely c-bet) and the fact we only need to call 90 (1350 effective stacks for this call), it makes it a good call PF.

If you miss your set on the flop you fold, but as mentioned around 1 in 8 times you'll hit your set and hopefully get paid.

[taipan168]

Hand14: bonaparte is dealt 22 UTG, knowing how the table will react to UTG limping I am very tempted to limp it here

Agreed, I would limp too and call a raise of up to 120 chips.

Hummm..... I need some education here. I thought the idea behind a low pocket pair was to hit a set or fold while early in the tournament. Could you expand on why you would limp this pair, and even call a raise? What are you looking for on the flop to determine if you will continue the hand?

Basically you limp small-medium pocket pairs (say 22-TT) from EP early in the tournament to try to see a cheap flop. You flop a set 1 time in every 8.5 roughly so if opp gave you their whole stack every time you did flop a set you could call a raise provided that the amount you need to call is >8.5x the chips you can win.

However, because opps won't stack off every time you hit a set you need to be able to win more than 8.5x the chips you need to call. A reasonable rule of thumb is the 15x rule - if you can win 15x the chips you need to call that should give you enough buffer to justify calling the raise.

[bjsaust]

To expand on this further, against thinking opps, this limp/call line is fairly transparent. If you look at my play in hand 22 (and to a lesser degrees Taipan in hand 2), I discount the limp as being too obvious and choose to raise myself. If I hit a 4 on the flop, its almost impossible for anyone to put me on a hand, whereas if I limped/called and then played the flop aggressively theres a fair chance they'd work it out.

Interestingly, I used the same logic in reverse last experiment to pretend I'd hit a set. I limp/called PF, missed entirely (dont think I even had a PP, it was a badly played QJ or something I think), but the c/r'd the flop because at that table they'll put me 90% on a set. Dont think I'd try that in most tables though, because you need an opp switched on enough to read it for what it would normally mean, and for them to know your play enough to know what it normally means.

[bonaparte]

Interesting. I always though you would want to play smaller PP against a field of players to help you get to the 8x bet point. I think it would be hard to get the players at the experiment to go all in though. That's the idea right, get them to put their money in the pot once you hit your set?

Also what is OOP and pwd? I can't seem to find these abbreviations anywhere.

[bjsaust]

OOP = Out Of Position. Basically being In Position is being last to act (so button is perfect), that lets you evaluate your move after everyone else has acted. Being OOP is riskier because you dont know how the people behind you will act which has you at a disadvantage.

pwd - dunno. To me it means password, but I doubt thats the context you heard it in.


Yeah, whenever you hit a set your goal is to get someones stack . Lets say you limp and someone raises you with AKo and the flop comes AJ2 rainbow. Here you have a great chance of getting him AI. He has TPTK (the nuts at low level in most peoples minds) so he'll happily put all his chips into the middle if you build him up to it.

[TLR]

From FTR poker lingo

pwn/pwned - Slang from own/owned. When someone outplays or otherwise outclasses someone else. "You got pwned."

[bjsaust]

Yeah, I was just wondering if he meant pwnd. Good catch .

[bonaparte]

Yeah, whenever you hit a set your goal is to get someones stack . Lets say you limp and someone raises you with AKo and the flop comes AJ2 rainbow. Here you have a great chance of getting him AI. He has TPTK (the nuts at low level in most peoples minds) so he'll happily put all his chips into the middle if you build him up to it.

Thanks for the slank link. As I said earlier, I don't know if I could have gotten the players at the experiment to go all-in on my set. I think they would see a limp out front and then watch me try to build a pot and that would put an end to their aggression. I guess I'll nevet know (until the next experiment). Thanks for showing me the way.

[TLR]

normally I would not limp 22 from UTG, I would muck it, but this table is a bit different, since nobody expects you to limp low PP from UTG then limping there at least makes people wonder if you have a really big hand, it may prevent someone from raising with otherwise raising hand, and it may allow you to pick up the pot after the flop more easily regardless of whether or not you hit your set.
This arguement can be done ofcourse for any 2 cards, but low PP has the added value of flopping a strong and made hand on the flop as well

[karnouk]

So nice to read the HH of this experiment. Thans guys, that is great reading.

I cant wait to read the next 25 hands.

I appreciate very much being able to see how you play all your hands, and your thinking process. It makes me realize I should force myself to think deeper. It is so easy to go in "auto pilot".

The AT against AT hand was wild !

[elitemob]

Hey Karnouk,

here are the links to the other 2 threads posted (more still to come) just in case you didn't see them:

Hands 26-50
Hands 51-75

[FlyingSaucy]

Pardon if I am covering old ground. Here's the stuff that popped out at me.

Hand 1
Button fold AQo with no one in yet? Seriously.

Hand 6
Skeenos comments interest me. How is an UTG raise testing the blinds? These experiments mess with my head!

Hand 10
I really think TLRs river cr is good. The club hitting gives ample reason for bjs to rep the flush, as it is very conceivable that his range includes one the way the hand was played.

Hand 19
I like.

Hand 23
bonaparte - was it the fact that TLR was left to act that made you not call pre? It might not be +EV to limp call here with the standard set mining logic (what is it, like 10% of the stack left) but if you can be pretty sure he's on a big pair then you have a good chance to stack him. I can see folding though with TLR left to act I suppose.

Hand 25
skeenobeener: folds
Surprised me there, I'd be raising every day in that position on this table.

[kmind]

Hand 1
Button fold AQo with no one in yet? Seriously.

I assume you haven't read our responses...so I'll let it slide.

[FlyingSaucy]

Ya sorry, didn't read a thing!

[kmind]

Ya sorry, didn't read a thing!

all good all comments are welcome anytime so much appreciation for those outside of the experiment chiming in.

[bjsaust]

I enjoy Saucys take. He's a winning LAGG SnG'er, of which there arnt many so its good to get his take on things.

[Skeeno]

Hand 6
Skeenos comments interest me. How is an UTG raise testing the blinds? These experiments mess with my head!

Lol I've no idea myself why I said that, as I say most of my comments in the thread are ramblings of a mad man. :P

[FlyingSaucy]

bjs - So I'm lagg now. hehe. sng players are such nits that maybe relatively speaking that is true. Never thought of myself that way. I'll be checking out the next set today hopefully.

[bjsaust]

Thats straight from your mouth FS. When I used to rail you, you'd refer to yourself as laggier than most SnG'ers. Maybe Laggier doesnt equal LAGG though .

[FlyingSaucy]

ah touche'
lagg against nits, my friend. 3 betting early game from CO or Button against a nit MP raiser is good stuff.