Tournament Borenament Snorenament.

I played sit n' gos and several large buy in tourneys. My day was slow and a little unsatisfying monetarily. However, I did book a winning day and made a deep run in a 400 person tourney. It exhausts my patience so quickly.

I lose track of the fact that in a tournament, the later decisions are worth, far far more money. I need to have some sort of ritual for ramping up for the end. They way I busted was quite vexing - I decided to make a marginal shove and went headfirst into an overpair.

I'm reading a Schoonmaker's book "Your Best Poker Friend". When I bought it, I thought it sucked. After a few months of thinking about it, this book is right up my alley- it is systematic and thoughtful about the process of self improvement, it relates everyday life things to poker and vice versa, and talks about how to be realistic about plans and data evaluation. Neat.

Check out an awesome example of good poker from a limit hold 'em scenario. I think my opponent played very well and was likely bluffing high hearts the whole way. Also, see my worst misclick of the day on the hand below.

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HAND 1

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$0.25/$0.50 Limit Hold'em Cash Game, 4 Players

Poker Tools by Stoxpoker - Hand Details

Replay This Hand



CO: $6.20 (24.8 bb)

BTN: $26.65 (106.6 bb)

SB: $19.45 (77.8 bb)

Hero (BB): $23.30 (93.2 bb)



Pre-Flop: Hero is BB with A 9

2 folds, SB raises, Hero 3-bets, SB calls



Flop: ($1.50) 5 5 4 (2 players)

SB checks, Hero bets, SB raises, Hero calls



Turn: ($2.50) 8 (2 players)

SB bets, Hero calls



River: ($3.50) 6 (2 players)

SB bets, Hero raises, SB folds



Results: $4.50 pot ($0.20 rake)

Hero mucked A 9 (a pair of Fives) and won $4.30 ($2.05 net)







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HAND 2

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$0.25/$0.50 Limit Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

Poker Tools by Stoxpoker - Hand Details

Replay This Hand



BB: $19.25 (77 bb)

Hero (UTG): $21.25 (85 bb)

MP: $5.35 (21.4 bb)

CO: $25.10 (100.4 bb)

BTN: $10.45 (41.8 bb)

SB: $4.25 (17 bb)



Pre-Flop: Hero is UTG with A 9

Hero raises, MP calls, CO folds, BTN calls, 2 folds



Flop: ($1.85) 9 T 9 (3 players)

Hero bets, MP calls, BTN calls



Turn: ($2.60) Q (3 players)

Hero bets, MP calls, BTN calls



River: ($4.10) 8 (3 players)

Hero checks, MP checks, BTN bets, Hero folds, MP calls



Results: $5.10 pot ($0.25 rake)

MP mucked A 3 (a pair of Nines) and lost (-$1.75 net)

BTN showed 7 7 (two pairs, Nines and Sevens) and won $4.85 ($3.10 net)

Every day is like Sunday

Today I played a little bit of poker. In the morning, I signed up for several KO tourneys. Tournament poker sucks for one reason above all: when you lose to a terrible player, you cannot buy-in and take a shot at them. By and large, it is a frustrating experience until the day is over and the money is counted. I was also playing sit n gos. There is no game more easily multitabled than tournament poker. My results were solid and I felt productive.

After football, I played some limit hold 'em. I started off ok, but could not settle into a groove. I suspect I was playing bored- exactly what I have been afraid of. This was classic C-game. Not tilt, but still not tightly resolved decision making. Blargh. So, I took a break from the grind to play up a level. It was satisfying and refocused my energy. Focus is not my strong suit.

I need to figure out how to limit this liability as I move up.

Nonetheless, a winning day with more challenges ahead!


Other interesting poker gems.

-I watched a video from "code7654321" about hand ranges. Not the best I've ever seen, but his description of hands as notes- some hard to hit, some easy- was clever. His description of CTS as "The Mariah Carey" of poker is what sealed the deal. Charming simile.

-I watched a second video from pokey about blind defense. I liked its simplicity, but I disagree fundamentally with the notion that three betting simplifies pots. What needed to be said and wasn't is this: "Only sophisticated play can overcome the difficulty of playing out of position. That is not something you develop overnight. Here are some techniques to use." I recall the first moment I realized that TAG blind stealing was impossible to get the best of. The only reassuring fact is that you can stop calling tight raisers with ace eight offsuit.