So today was an interesting day; I spent 9+ hours at the poker table playing $3-$6 limit.  The day actually started at the blackjack table, where I counted cards for about an hour, until I got a seat at one of the poker tables.  I was up by just over $100 when I sat down at the table.

For the first 4-5 hours at the poker table, I couldn’t make a hand to save my life.  On one hand, I held pocket Jacks, and flopped another Jack for trips.  I lost to trip Queens.  The good news is that I (correctly) folded a few really good hands (straights & flushes) when I had good evidence to know that they were beat.  Still, I was down almost $200 at that point.

So during about the last 4-5 hours, my hands started picking up.  I didn’t let my luck cause me to start playing too loose; in fact, I used the fact that I was down cause me to tighten up and only play really great hands.  At least tight in early positions, and looser in late positions.  Eventually I had found that I was on the kill button for a couple of hands in a row – people started to say that I was on the hot seat.

During one hand, I flopped two pairs, which turned into a full house on the turn.  There were two diamonds on the board, and I raised – only one person hung in there with me to the end, and I won the pot.  He mentioned that he thought I was on a flush draw with diamonds – the person next to him said “She would never raise on the turn with a flush draw.”  I started to realize that my luck, combined with the fact that I had only shown really great hands when I played strong, made for a great table image.  People feared me, and I started to relish the groans I heard when people saw me reach for more chips.

So I realized that under the right conditions, this was a good time to bluff a little, and try to pick up some smaller pots.  I pushed – probably a little too much, but won several pots in a row whenever I paired pretty much anything on the board.

Eventually,  people started calling me down to the river just to test me.  I realized that I had pushed my luck a little too much, and damaged my table image somewhat.  Still, I had won enough by that time to make up for my losses.  So I went back to playing only quality hands again.  I eventually walked away dead even – I was up by one dollar, which I gave to the dealer.

It was fun – and I realized that I had managed to change my play fairly significantly when appropriate – in other words, I had become a megalomaniac – at least in part, when it seemed right to do so.

So tonight was an interesting night.  I sat down at the $3-$6 table (again) with $100 in chips.  My friend’s words of advice were still present in my mind, and I decided I would play solid poker – based on what I’ve read and learned so far.  After about an hour or so of play, I’m getting into my groove.  I feel that I’ve established a fairly solid table image, as I overhear a couple of people talking about being intimidated by me.

As has become my style, I play pretty tight in early positions, and I loosen up in the late positions.  I mean, isn’t that kind of fundamental poker theory?  But as usual, hands come up where I bust somebody with two pair because I hit my 3 of a kind on the river.

So here’s what happened:  I’m on the button, and everyone past the blinds limps in – a fairly nice pot is building up.  The action is on me, and I look down at 8 of Clubs, Queen of Spades.  I call, or limp in.  I’m in late position, and the pot is a nice size, so why not?  Little blind, who is next to act, raises, and again everyone calls.  I figure the pot was big enough to call the first time -and, I am in late position – I call again.  I’m now in for $6, but there is $60 in the pot.  I’m not uncomfortable just yet.

The flop comes 2 of Diamonds, 9 of Hearts, 8 of Spades.  I’m thinking to myself, I’m in late position and I have top pair with a decent kicker.  Little blind, who is first to act bets out and several people call.  I decide to push it a little bit to see how people react – I raised it, making it two bets to go.  Little blind reraises, making it 3 bets.  Now people start to fold.  Only one other person (who bets wild, and calls a LOT of hands) stays in the hand – and I call.

The turn was a Jack of Clubs, which didn’t seem to bother the little blind very much.  He bets out, making it $6 to go.  The calling station calls, and so do I.

On the river comes the 8 of Diamonds.  The little blind bets $6, the calling station does the unthinkable and folds (maybe he missed his straight draw?).  I looked at the little blind apologetically and said, I raise.  Little blind calls me, and I show my 3 8s with a Queen.  Little blind fusses angrily at me showing his 9-2 offsuit, making sure to point out that he had me until I CAUGHT the river card.

Yes it was a lucky catch – but geez, I was in late position and caught top pair on the flop!  It wasn’t like I was overly aggressive with a terrible hand – and besides, what in the world was HE doing playing 9-2 offsuit in early position, anyway?

I decided that sometimes, people will complain when they’re losing.  This person likes to believe he’s better than the other players – and complains a lot about even coming to play poker at this casino.  Almost every time I sit down at a $3-$6 table, I hear somebody claim that this is “Bingo Poker” – where it doesn’t matter how you play, it’s all luck – but then turn right around and complain even louder when you win with something like 8-Q offsuit. 

Well, I believe that I have a lot to learn – even at a low limit table like this one.  I’m humble enough to know that I’m not a great poker player, but I can say that I am trying.  And this blog is evidence that I like to look at my play critically and learn from my mistakes.

In this case – I could have lost the pot – but it had grown nicely preflop – and became a pot I was willing to go after.  It might not have been a great play – but I’m not convinced that it was foolhardy.

I did do something wrong though – I apologized to the little blind for catching the 8 on the river.  D warned me about that – and I knew immediately that I shouldn’t have done that.  I also revealed my hand after the same player folded to me – mostly because he simply said “Come on, roll it over.”  I could very easily have said “You didn’t pay – you don’t get to see it.”  Actually I should have said that.  I’m sure that my table image decreased because of a couple of moves like that.  Still, I managed to come out $200 ahead tonight, and I had fun. 

Friday night was an interesting night for me.  I decided to play some $3-$6 limit poker at the card room near my home.  Almost immediately I get a seat at table #2, seat 7.  Sitting across from me next to the dealer is somebody I’ve played with quite a bit – and have a lot of respect for.  She’s a solid player who, when she shows her hand, has something good.  The very first time I played at the Caribbean tournament, on a Sunday morning more than a year ago, I was dealt pocket Queens.  I raised to $300, and she called.  The flop was a bunch of small cards – I felt comfortable, so I bet into her and she called me again.  I put her on a straight draw – and when the turn came, and it didn’t appear to help her, I decided to go all-in.  She called me and showed two Aces.  I was out the very first hand of my very first live tournament!  I walked away knowing that I had a lot to learn!

Since then, I’ve played with this person several times – and learned a lot from her.  So Friday night was kind of a strange night.  I’ve been reading more of “Super System” and trying to apply the lessons in that book.  When I mentioned this to my friend across the table from me, the guy next to me told me that the “books” are no good at a $3-$6 game.  In spite of that, my friend (let’s call her “D”) told me to keep reading – that the information is good, and that there are also books about low-limit poker.

It was an interesting night – but the hand that came up which was the most interesting to me was this:

I was dealt Queen , Jack offsuit and I was in late position – one seat to the right of the button.  I can’t remember if I raised or not – I think I just called, limping in pre-flop.  The board comes Ace, Ten, and something else.  “D” who was in early position bets out and I called.  At this point there were only 3 of us in the pot:  the “books don’t matter” guy, and my friend “D.”

The turn was a Queen – no possible flush at this point, so the queen made me feel marginally better, but still vulnerable to the Ace.  “D” bets out – I’m nervous – she usually has something good.  “Books” calls – he had been a calling station all night – he must not have read about that in the books.    As I mentioned, I’m nervous of “D’s” hand, but for $6 I decide to see the river.

The river gives me two pair, with a Jack.  Now here’s where it gets interesting.  I didn’t think that “D” had a King which would have made an Ace high straight.  I figured (hoped) she had an Ace.  “Books” called (again!) and I state “I sucked out on the river – I raise.”  Both “D” and “Books” fold, and I show my hand.  (BIG MISTAKE)

“D” looks at me in shock and says “You didn’t have the King???”  It turns out, “D” had 3 of a kind, and my bet (and announcement that I sucked out on the river) caused her to fold the winning hand.  I ended up taking down a fairly nice sized pot – and I apologized profusely to “D.”  Other people at the table said that they thought I didn’t even see the straight on the board – I did, but based on everything I saw, I didn’t really think they had it.  I honestly believed that two pair was the best hand when I bet.  Of course saying that after the fact is kind of hard to prove – and honestly I may be kidding myself anyway.

So today – Saturday morning, I show up at The Caribbean and buy in for the morning tournament.  “D” is there, and she asked me to take a walk with her – that she was hoping I would be there because she wanted to talk to me.  What happened next was really great.  She wanted to take me aside as one older woman to a  younger woman, and she told me, basically, that I needed to pay attention to my table image.  It was great advice, from somebody I respect.  She said that I had played that hand with Queen Jack great – that I had caused her to fold the winning hand – but I ruined my table image by both showing the hand after, as well as apologizing for it.  She talked about table image – that she tries hard to maintain a table image of somebody who plays solid poker – even to the point of revealing great laydowns – which buy her some leeway later on.  And after she said what she had to say, she said that I had the makings of a great poker player – that if I could get past this issue, it would help to improve my game and my table image tremendously.

I was honored to have had that talk with her – she’s a great person, so today when I played in the live $3-$6 game, I just imagined that she was looking over my shoulder, watching me play.  It made it easy to play strong hands, and really play the best poker I know how to play at this point in my life.

Oh – I made it to the final table in the tournament, but not to a paying position.  Here’s the thing – I lost the tournament, but I knew that I had played solid poker, and it felt great.

I’m really writing this for my own purposes, but thought somebody else out there might enjoy reading. By typing out my thoughts it helps me to think through a problem, to help me learn. I have become very interested in, and enjoy poker quite a lot. I also want to improve my game, so I would like to use this blog to document some of the interesting hands I’ve played – in order to learn from them. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

So here goes. I play a weekly poker tournament at The Caribbean casino – usually Sundays, but this Sunday I played at a Ladies tournament at Tulalip. I didn’t get to a paying position, but my best friend and I had a really great time. Monday morning, with a day off, I decided to play the 11:00am tournament at The Caribbean in Kirkland, WA. They host a No-Limit tournament every day at 11:00am.

I had been reading the book “Super System” by Doyle Brunson, and I realize that one of my weaknesses is not being aggressive. I think possibly I had been playing limit ($3-$6) poker for too long. Anyway, during the Ladies tournament, and of course the tournament this morning, I worked on finding the right timing to be aggressive. As is often the case with me, I will usually go a little overboard while trying to learn a new technique, and then come back to a more reasonable middle ground.

So I was in middle position, third hand of the tournament at my table. I was dealt Ace of Spades, King of Clubs. The blinds were $25, $50, and everybody folded before me. I came in with a raise for $300. Everybody else folded except the one person to the right of the dealer button, who hesitated for more than a couple of seconds, and finally called. He looked to me like he thought he was making a mistake, but called anyway. In retrospect (I can’t remember actually thinking this) I think I may have put him on a small pair or maybe suited connectors.

The flop came 2 of diamonds, 3 of diamonds, 4 of diamonds. The action was on me. I was first to act and felt that I needed to show strength – I needed to be aggressive in order to take this pot. I had a straight draw, but decided to bluff having a flush or even a straight flush draw with either the Ace of diamonds or the five of diamonds.

My opponent called me – so fast, I think he may have called before I even finished saying “I’m all-in.” I knew immediately I was beat. He turned over Queen of diamonds, King of diamonds.

I was beat even before the turn and river.

So after thinking about this hand, here is my analysis:

• In my peripheral vision, I believe my opponent was looking right at me, watching me bet – I don’t remember him ever looking at his cards even once. In retrospect, he was clearly happy about the flop and I didn’t even try and read him. I was so focused on trying to show strength that I didn’t even try to watch him. It’s good to show strength, but so much more effective when your opponent shows signs of weakness. I have to remember to watch my opponent and make a decision that is influenced by any signs my opponent is providing.
• The flush crossed my mind but only briefly. I hadn’t given it enough consideration – ESPECIALLY considering that a straight flush was on the board! I was definitely trying to represent a straight flush, but my opponent didn’t believe me.
• I was out of position – I could have gained more information by checking to him and watching him react. He would have bet out into me and then I could have used that information to decide what to do.

The turn was a 6 of clubs, and the flop was the Ace of clubs.

My choices were:

1. Check to my opponent and watch him carefully.
2. Bet into him for a smaller amount, like $300, and watch him carefully. If he raises me I could fold my hand right then and there. If he just calls, I might have taken his call as a sign of weakness and lost even more money.
3. What if, based on information from Phil Hellmuth, I went all-in pre-flop? My opponent might have folded. He was very hesitant in calling my $300 bet. It was early in the tournament, and I was a little hesitant to put all my chips in the pot pre-flop – although in retrospect that is probably an even better play than to to attempt a terrible bluff after the flop.

I’m inclined to say that the best I could have done would have been to check to him – but I’m a little torn – betting into him would have caused me to lose more money, but probably gained more information. I can only assume that he would have bet into me had I checked, and THEN – I would need to be smart enough to know to fold. I highly doubt I could have bluffed him out of the pot – the only thing that could have beat him was an Ace of diamonds, and then I would have needed another diamond to hit on he turn or the river.

A part of the reason for such overly aggressive behavior has to do with two things – one, I’ve been reading some books that talk about being aggressive. Two, in the tournament yesterday, I was rewarded several times for such aggressive behavior, and selectively ignored the fact that I was seriously out on a limb several times. During one hand, I was again in early position, and looked down at a pair of Jacks. I was down to $2000 (we started with $10000 at the beginning of the tournament) and felt I needed to do something now or suffer a slow death. I went all-in and one person called me with pocket 7s. On the flop another 7 came, giving her a set and I thought I was done. The river gave me another Jack and I doubled up. I couldn’t believe my eyes when that happened – it was an amazingly lucky river card.

Today, what I had not remembered were the painful plays when, for instance, I went all-in with pocket Kings after the flop came King, Ace, 9. I was called by my opponent who showed pocket Aces. The whole table groaned. Again, I hadn’t watched my opponent at all – I hadn’t watched to try and see whether she liked the flop or not. I don’t believe that was an entirely reckless play – (except for not paying attention to my opponent) – in that case, both my opponent and I had limped in pre-flop. We were both slow-playing each other, trying to trap the other opponent. I thought I had trapped her, when I had actually walked right into the trap myself.

So – what lessons can I take away from this? I need to temper my aggressiveness with information gained from my opponents. I need to keep from making any decisions until I get as much information from them as I can, including:

• How do my opponents appear? Happy? Hopeful? Fearful? Tentative? Thoughtful? Are they trying to put on an act that I can see through? Are they studying their cards, or are they studying me?
• Based on the above information, can I make any decisions about what cards my opponent is likely to hold?
• What do my opponents think I have? Do I think they care?
• Position is important! These hands have tended to happen when I’m in bad position.
• Bluff with discretion. If I come in bluffing with a significant bet or raise, do so only after I’ve considered everything, and have a very strong feeling that my opponent will fold.

Here’s the thing – I’m very new to poker, but love playing. So if you’ve read this and are thinking, “Geez – what a newbie!” you’re right. But I want to improve my game. When I’m on my game and I am paying attention to my opponents, I’m usually right about what they hold. That observation skill isn’t that difficult for me – and when I’m not involved in a hand I am able to figure out fairly accurately what people are holding, and who will win the pot – usually after the flop. So I think if I can use that skill, and apply lessons I’ve learned from my mistakes, I’ll get significantly better.  I also feel it is important to make mistakes like this in order to learn from them. 

After I wrote this post, I went back and reconsidered the idea of going all-in pre-flop. I’m not sure I would have had the guts to do that with Ace King offsuit, but based on reactions from everybody at the table, I think it would have stolen the blinds. In retrospect, I think the that may have been the correct decision based on the information I had gained pre-flop. Still, I was out of position – so had I been in late position it would have been a much easier decision to make.