Hot Times in Brooklyn

Boy is it hot outside. A heater wave has settled over Brooklyn the last few days, so what’s a guy to do?

Turn on the air conditioner and play some online poker.

So I settle in, pop on my laptop and cruise FullTilt looking for a game.

I warm up with a low limit 9 man SNG. That was a mistake. I bust out in 7th. Oh well the cash games are where it’s at anyway.

So I find a seat at a full ring 50NL table and buy in for $25 to start (1/2 a full buy-in). Almost everybody at the table has me covered so I figured if I get sucked out on, I can re-buy again for $25 instead of losing a whole buy-in on one badbeat.  Also I feel that since I’m used to buying for $25 it’ll someway feel normal for me and I can play my game.

I’m mixing up my play, being aggressive at times and limping in with good cards in EP at other times (hoping for a raise so I can re-pop). I do get a few A/K suited but I’m not getting any help from the board so I’ve just been on cruise control. I do lose much but I don’t win much also.

After 100 hands or so, I start to settle in and figure out my table. I begin to notice some tendencies of some of the players such as who likes to steal the blinds, who likes to take a shot at the flop but chickens out on the turn and slows it down after a call things like that, who likes to bet out on a draw and who I can steal pots from.

That’s the thing about playing online. There are no physical tells, the only tells I can use to my advantage is their betting patterns and how they play certain hands. Their tendencies are what I’m trying to exploit.

My image is set. I’ve been playing fairly ABC poker the first 100 hands or so and I’ve been a bit passive. The players are starting to feel like they can bulldoze me but now I’m ready to start playing my game.

Another reason I’m doing this is that I know there are players who are using programs like Poker Tracker, Poker Office or some other statistical poker program to help their game. The have a head’s up display that shows a player’s tendencies such as how many times they put money into pots, how many times they’ve raised in which position, how many times another player has bet the flop (continuation bets) and how aggressive a certain player is on what street based on his/her aggression factor.  They even keep records of the hands you’ve held during showdowns.

I figure after 100 hands or so they have a solid profile of the type of player I am. And it’s probably tight agressive or even tight passive. I have only played about 20-25% of the hands I’ve been dealt if you take away the times I’ve played the SB and BB, I’m probably under 20%.

I’m down to about $20.  I start to ramp up my aggression. I start to raise PF more often. I’m raising pots with more frequency. My bets and re-raises are getting larger.  I’m defending my blinds more.  My hand range starts to open up.  After 250 hands I’m up to $50, positive territory.

200 hands usually is a decent session for me when I get a chance to play. I can leave now and I’d be fine but tonight I’m feeling good, my reads are good, I’m timing my bluffs well and I’m just starting to get my mojo, most importantly I feel that I’m due for some monster hands sooner or later. I’ve basically grinded my way to a profit but I haven’t really been involved in a monster pot. I’ve folded some hands I felt I was ahead but I haven’t hit many sets or hit a big draw for a monster pot yet. 

My patience finally gets rewarded with this hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6759027782: Table Owl Clan – $0.25/$0.50 – No Limit Hold’em – 16:35:20 ET – 2008/06/09

Seat 1: Clonehead ($61.70)

Seat 2: antonio-mendosa ($61.20)

Seat 3: YelloMenace ($44.90)

Seat 4: woidmoaster ($10)

Seat 5: DadeoInOmaha ($24.35)

Seat 6: APK123 ($52.50)

Seat 7: -rpg-dealer- ($10)

Seat 8: mgibbymsu ($23.45), is sitting out

Seat 9: boegs79 ($52.15)

antonio-mendosa posts the small blind of $0.25

YelloMenace posts the big blind of $0.50

The button is in seat #1

*** HOLE CARDS ***

Dealt to YelloMenace [Ac Ah] <———-woohoo!, big blind special. I hope somebody raises.

DadeoInOmaha folds

APK123 raises to $3 <————— I get my wish.

boegs79 raises to $9.75 <———– Even better a re-raise of an earlier raise.

Clonehead folds

antonio-mendosa folds

YelloMenace raises to $44.90, and is all in <- Nobody is getting in this hand cheaply. Any takers?

APK123 has 15 seconds left to act

APK123 folds

boegs79 calls $35.15 <—————— Bingo. I’m in business.

YelloMenace shows [Ac Ah]

boegs79 shows [Jc Js] <—————- Dominated. I just need to dodge 2 outs.

*** FLOP *** [Td 7s 5c]

*** TURN *** [Td 7s 5c] [3d]

*** RIVER *** [Td 7s 5c 3d] [6d]

YelloMenace shows a pair of Aces

boegs79 shows a pair of Jacks

YelloMenace wins the pot ($90.05) with a pair of Aces

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $93.05 | Rake $3

Board: [Td 7s 5c 3d 6d]

Seat 1: Clonehead (button) didn’t bet (folded)

Seat 2: antonio-mendosa (small blind) folded before the Flop

Seat 3: YelloMenace (big blind) showed [Ac Ah] and won ($90.05) with a pair of Aces

Seat 4: woidmoaster is sitting out

Seat 5: DadeoInOmaha didn’t bet (folded)

Seat 6: APK123 folded before the Flop

Seat 7: -rpg-dealer- is sitting out

Seat 8: mgibbymsu is sitting out

Seat 9: boegs79 showed [Jc Js] and lost with a pair of Jacks

My luck with Aces hasn’t been that good lately. The last few times I’ve gotten Aces, I’ve run up against a player who also had Aces not one but TWICE!!! (that’s just plain horrible), and lost to a donkey who called with A/8 and hit a runner runner for a straight (we were both all-in but he was short stacked so it didn’t hurt that much). This time they held up for a nice pot.

I leave after playing my 350th hand (it was getting late) with a little over $96 for a $71 profit.

Not too bad, I hope my hot streak lasts as long as this heat wave in Brooklyn.