Burning the CD Oil

I'm on the laptop. I've finally got fed up with the desktop crashing on me in the middle of a hand. It's getting worse and it needs a reinstallation of Windows, I'm sure of it. It probably needs an uninstallation of Norton and a total clean-up. There's so much shit on it.

I managed to get fourth out of 66 yesterday on Betfair, despite being crashed out twice and taing 10 minutes (in total) to get back in. Clearly I work better with a short stack! And a sixth place out of 78 today meant back-to-back final tables.

Unfortunately the progress at Pokerstars is not so good. Basically, poor cards and some poor results. I also played a couple of hands badly, but since it was limit, neither can be called fatal.

The trouble with deposit bonuses is that at times they are rather like tax-efficient investments. Saving 40% tax on an investment that does not provide a positive return is not that good a deal. I'm about $120 down at Stars, and only halfway to my, er, $120 bonus. Ah well, things will be better later...

I made an inspired fold of QQ preflop in the big blind. Hell, i thought, this is stars. If the tight rock on my right can make it three bets from the small blind, he has either kings or aces. He had aces.

But the previous day I made a bad fold. OK, I was in a bad run, and this can slightly cloud your judgement (kind of a "reverse tilt"). I got KK, made it two bets. Some good aggressive players made it three bets on the button and capped it from the Small blind. The flop came A62 all clubs (needless to say, neither of my kings was a club). Small blind bets, and I fold.

This goes to a showdown and small blind has 99 (one club) while called has QQ (one club).

Was I right to fold my KK on the flop? In retrospect, no. What hands am I losing to? AA, or AK. Small blind isn't going to cap with with KQ of clubs. And even if he did, he wouldn't bet out with it. He's much more likely to have KK,QQ,JJ, or TT (as it happened, he had 99!) than AK or AA (combined likelihood, I mean). I should raise the guy back straight away. Hell, I am the only player who MIGHT have two clubs off the bat.

Who knows how the hand might pan out from that point. QQ on my left will be worried that I have KK with a club (or that the guy on his left has it). He may lay his QQ down. And now 99 can call on the grounds that a 9 or a club might win it for him, but he is unlikely to call my continuation on the turn.

And, suppose I AM up against AA or AK? Well, at this level, most of the players would reraise straight away, so I can et a good clue of how things are progressing straight away.

I'm burning MP3s onto CD-Rs and stuff onto my Rio Karma in preparation for Vegas. It's bloody time-consuming filling up 20GB.

Plus I actually found on Oink a collection of concerts from The Sound. I had the album Jeopardy (one of the masterpieces of the Joy Division era) but it was stolen in the late 1980s. I saw The Sound once, at the Venue in Victoria. Gene Loves Jezebel and another band (from Wales?) who later became quite well-known, supported them. Ah yes, The Alarm. Simon Billenness was there too.

Anyway, apparently Adrian Borland committed suicide a couple of years ago. This seems to indicate a worrying trend in that the singers I like tend to kill themselves (Curtis, MacKenzie, Borland) and the actresses/comediennes I fancy tend to be lesbians (Ellen DeGeneres, er, and a few others it might be considered libellous to mention, but the initials of Marks & Spencer come into play.)

A couple of limit hands

I really ought to go to bed.

I'm defrosting the freezer. I've never done this before. Never. Anywhere. And I've been here (in this house) for over five years. It's quite fun, watching the ice fall away as if it's part of some global warming disintegration.

I wrote about a limit hand that I got wrong earlier, so here's a couple that I got right. Actually, on one of them, I'm not sure that I did get it right, since I played it rather unusually (for me, and for the level). But hell, it worked.

Here's one where I used my experience of the online game to good effect.

Mexico City ($2/$4 Hold'em)
Started at 13/Mar/05 12:48:22

Foe 1 is at seat 7 with $148.25
Foe 2 is at seat 0 with $87.50.
Foe 3 is at seat 1 with $35
Birks is at seat 2 with $248.25.
Fish is at seat 3 with $26.75.
The button is at seat 4.

Birks Ks Kd
Fish Ac Td --

I'm telling you what Fish had at the start because it makes things a bit clearer

Foe 1 calls. Foe 2 calls. Foe 3 calls Birks raises to $4. Fish calls. Foe 1 calls. Foe 2 calls. Foe 3 calls.

The important thing here is that Fish's call came through instanteneously. I had already marked this player as loose, but here was clearly a case of clicking "call any". Now, NO experienced player checks that box. No player with any understanding of the game's subtleties checks that box. So, Fish is not only loose, but he is BAD loose. This is important to the development of the hand.

Flop (board: Th 6d 2c):

Well, about as good a board as KK could want.

Foe 1 checks. Foe 2 checks. Foe 3 checks. Birks bets $2. Fish calls. Foe 1 calls. Foe 2 calls. Foe 3 folds.

OK, so we know that all three players had calling hands pre-flop. Since the pot is already a decent size, they could be willing to play any pair, any gutshot, maybe even any Ace.

Turn (board: Th 6d 2c 3s):

My only danger out there is five-four (presumably suited). But the range of hands that my opponents could have make me willing to punt something here. Note that the board is a rainbow and that no-one can have an open-ended straight draw (they can have a made straight, but not an open-ended draw).

Foe 1 checks. Foe 2 checks. Birks checks (I'm trying to represent AK here. Since Fish has had "call any" and since Fish has not raised on the flop, I'm hoping that he has something like 99, maybe JT suited, maybe T9 suited. As you know from above, he actually has AT, which is great, for me).
Fish bets $4 . Foe 1 calls. Foe 2 calls.

The other point about this very deep check on the turn is that, if Fish bets, I get to see whether there is 45 out there or not, because I can't see 45 flat-calling in this spot. A check-raise would be what they were planning, and a check-raise is what they will do. Therefore, neither Foe 1 nor Foe 2 have made a straight. Neither does either of them have a set, because they would have check-raised with that as well.

So, Birks raises to $8. Now they are trapped.

Fish calls. Foe 1 calls. Foe 2 folds (at least he has sussed out what is going on).

River (board: Th 6d 2c 3s 2d):

Another present for Pete. Unless someone is playing a madness on A2, I've pissed this.

Foe 1 checks. Birks bets $4. Fish calls. Foe 1 folds.

Showdown:

Birks shows Ks Kd for two pair, kings and deuces.
Fish mucks cards. (Fish has Ac Td.)

$3 is raked from a pot of $67.

The interesting thing is, my entire play of the hand was predicated on that checking of the "call any" box. If Fish had paused before calling, I wouldn't have risked this play, but would instead have bet on the turn. But the check-raise gained me an extra $12 at least.

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Here's the second one that won for me, that also included an unusual move.
Mexico City ($2/$4 Hold'em)

Birks is at seat 2 with $236.
Dutchman is at seat 4 with $56.50.
Foe is at seat 9 with $62.75.
The button is at seat 8.

Foe posts the small blind of $1.

Birks: Qc Ac

Birks raises to $4. Dutchman calls. Foe calls.

Flop (board: 2d Ts Ah):

OK, I like this board, but earlier I put in an early raise with KQ and a similar board came. Instead of pushing on, I checked, because I had noted that the caller of the raise was a great fan of Aces. I folded to his bet. I hoped that the other players remembered this.

Foe checks. Birks checks. Dutchman checks.

This is a dangerous slowplay and I have only done it because the board is a rainbow and straights or two-pairs look unlikely.

Turn (board: 2d Ts Ah 4d):

I quite like that turn card. It may tempt a bluff from a four-flush, but (unless there is 44 or A4 out) is unlilely to improve my opponents' hands enough to beat me.

Foe bets $4. Birks raises to $8. Dutchman folds. Foe calls.

River (board: 2d Ts Ah 4d 4h):

This is a good river card for me. It makes A4 less likely and a 4 with anything else is very unlikely.

Foe checks. Birks bets $4. Foe calls.

Showdown:

Birks shows Qc Ac for two pair, aces and fours.
Foe mucks cards. (Foe has Td Jh.)

Birks wins $36.25 with two pair, aces and fours.

So, the slow play of the ace tempted Foe into a bet with second pair on the turn, and he decided to stick with it for another two big bets. Really he ought to throw it away on my raise on the turn, but a number of people will call down a "lively" player (i.e., me) because they think that I might be trying it on. Sometimes, of course, I am, but not as often as they think.