Feelings of a Tourney Donk
There are a lot of great feelings that poker gives you.
If you can't tell, I did this tonight. My night started comically bad. Within the first 75 hands I was down $400. Now while this isn't a huge amount in an absolute sense - I've lost more faster before - it is still very significant.
For the past week or so, I've been struggling with my cash game. Most of the days would consist of me playing cash games for a few hours, dropping a few hundred, then playing a few SNGs to make the money back. I was funding my cash game with my tournament winnings. In essence, I was the epitome of a tournament donk.
I was starting to lose hope. Last night was one of the worst nights, where I would just consistently lose with no glimmer of even the possibility of success in the future. Finally, I stopped playing, and just went through my database, going over every hand in which I won or lost more than 1/4 of a buyin ($50). A disturbing trend became evident. For the big pots I lost, I was either bluffing, got sucked out or simply a matter of 2 strong hands colliding. I rarely lost a big pot with a marginal holding at showdown. Conversely, every big pot I won, I simply had a big hand. There was only one big pot I won where I got it in on the flop and sucked out. And more importantly, there were almost no big pots where I won it by bluffing. Not to say it didn't happen, but the pots I won by bluffing were outweighed by the ones I lost by bluffing.
So as much as I hate to admit it, the 1/2 game on Stars seems like it just takes basic ABC poker skills to win. Not that I didn't know it, but I still thought there were some avenues for bluffing. But there aren't. Bluffing is -EV, even against "solid" regulars. I think that most good players know enough about 6-max aggression that they will just have to pay off sets and other big hands from time to time to balance out the over aggression and "outplaying" that goes on.
So all that leads us to tonight. With my new found "no bluffing" strategy, I was sure to dominate the tables. Alright here are, no joke, most of the hands within the first 10 minutes of sitting down to play.
Dealt to RikkiDee [Qs Kd]
RikkiDee: raises $6 to $8
Edakaeh: folds
PrinceJulez: calls $8
kevy34: folds
Acid Fire: folds
rossii-1: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [2d 4d Qd]
rossii-1: checks
RikkiDee: bets $18
PrinceJulez: calls $18
rossii-1: calls $18
*** TURN *** [2d 4d Qd] [6s]
rossii-1: checks
RikkiDee: bets $64
PrinceJulez: calls $54.10 and is all-in
rossii-1: calls $64
*** RIVER *** [2d 4d Qd 6s] [9h]
rossii-1: bets $155 and is all-in
RikkiDee: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
rossii-1: shows [Kc Kh] (a pair of Kings)
rossii-1 collected $19.80 from side pot
PrinceJulez: shows [Ad Td] (a flush, Ace high)
Dealt to RikkiDee [Qc Qs]
stall$on: folds
rake3: folds
RikkiDee: raises $5 to $7
farha: calls $5
*** FLOP *** [7s 8d 2h]
RikkiDee: bets $8
farha: calls $8
*** TURN *** [7s 8d 2h] [6h]
RikkiDee: checks
farha: bets $10
RikkiDee: raises $44 to $54
farha: calls $33.20 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [7s 8d 2h 6h] [5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RikkiDee: shows [Qc Qs] (a pair of Queens)
farha: shows [5h 8h] (two pair, Eights and Fives)
farha collected $114.40 from pot
Dealt to RikkiDee [Jh Js]
csulki: calls $2
ClvrNickname: folds
IKnewwwIt: raises $4 to $6
jdi23: calls $6
Reefypoopoo: folds
RikkiDee: raises $18 to $24
csulki: raises $21.95 to $45.95 and is all-in
IKnewwwIt: folds
jdi23: folds
RikkiDee: calls $21.95
*** FLOP *** [6h 8c 9h]
*** TURN *** [6h 8c 9h] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [6h 8c 9h 6d] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RikkiDee: shows [Jh Js] (two pair, Jacks and Sixes)
csulki: shows [7h Qh] (a straight, Five to Nine)
Dealt to RikkiDee [8c 8s]
Acid Fire: folds
rossii-1: calls $2
RikkiDee: raises $8 to $10
Edakaeh: folds
PrinceJulez: folds
kevy34: calls $8
rossii-1: folds
*** FLOP *** [5s 5d 6d]
kevy34: checks
RikkiDee: bets $18
kevy34: calls $18
*** TURN *** [5s 5d 6d] [4c]
kevy34: checks
RikkiDee: bets $44
kevy34: calls $37.05 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [5s 5d 6d 4c] [Ah]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kevy34: shows [4d 4h] (a full house, Fours full of Fives)
Dealt to RikkiDee [Kd Kh]
kmoneyk: folds
runner85: raises $6 to $8
RikkiDee: calls $8
kuddel27: folds
Dr. T Leary: folds
mscell: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [8s 2d 7d]
mscell: checks
runner85: bets $14
RikkiDee: calls $14
mscell: calls $14
*** TURN *** [8s 2d 7d] [Ks]
mscell: checks
runner85: checks
RikkiDee: bets $50
mscell: folds
runner85: raises $140.05 to $190.05 and is all-in
RikkiDee: calls $125 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [8s 2d 7d Ks] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
runner85: shows [7s 7h] (four of a kind, Sevens)
RikkiDee: mucks hand
And a few other smaller ones. I was dumbfounded. Completely lost. I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry. Keep in mind my mindset. I was all gung-ho about playing for like the first time in a year, and BOOM - ASS RAPE. GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE TOURNEY DONK.
But I wasn't really that mad. I was pretty shocked, but I hadn't been playing enough to get tilted yet. So I just kept playing. Who knows, maybe I'll be on the good end of quads vs a full house for once in my fucking life (it's happened 3 motherfucking times this week). And you know what? It worked. A few hours later, I was up $211 total. And while that alone is cause for boners, I did it without the aid of sick coolers. No set over set for me, just good old fashioned value betting and, not bluffing. It was tough at times to avoid bluffing, but I figured, without a good read, this bluff is almost certainly -EV. And if this night is any indication, I think I'll be just fine.
And yes, its only a 3 buy-in recovery, but its significance to my psyche is off the charts.
And I think I'm starting to really enjoy the benefits of raising in position with weak cards
Dealt to RikkiDee [9d Th]
Mikey11: calls $2
mmmbillski: folds
cheddarmon: folds
RikkiDee: raises $8 to $10
Reefypoopoo: folds
xtiger: folds
Mikey11: calls $8
*** FLOP *** [Jc Qc Ks]
Mikey11: bets $20
RikkiDee: raises $40 to $60
Mikey11: raises $136.35 to $196.35 and is all-in
RikkiDee: calls $127 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Jc Qc Ks] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [Jc Qc Ks 3c] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Mikey11: shows [Kh Ad] (two pair, Kings and Threes)
RikkiDee: shows [9d Th] (a straight, Nine to King)
RikkiDee collected $394 from pot
Dealt to RikkiDee [5h 6h]
Evergrey: folds
ClvrNickname: folds
Evergrey leaves the table
RikkiDee: raises $6 to $8
tonypokerman: calls $7
Y0URMOTHER: folds
*** FLOP *** [8s 7s 4c]
tonypokerman: checks
RikkiDee: bets $10
tonypokerman: raises $106.15 to $116.15 and is all-in
RikkiDee: calls $106.15
*** TURN *** [8s 7s 4c] [Jc]
*** RIVER *** [8s 7s 4c Jc] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
tonypokerman: shows [4s Ad] (two pair, Eights and Fours)
RikkiDee: shows [5h 6h] (a straight, Four to Eight)
RikkiDee collected $248.30 from pot
A graph of the night:
- When you have a sick session bringing in 5+ buyins, you feel good
- When you bluff your way out of a big pot, you feel great
- When you stack that faggot who keeps reraising you, you get a shorts splitting boner
If you can't tell, I did this tonight. My night started comically bad. Within the first 75 hands I was down $400. Now while this isn't a huge amount in an absolute sense - I've lost more faster before - it is still very significant.
For the past week or so, I've been struggling with my cash game. Most of the days would consist of me playing cash games for a few hours, dropping a few hundred, then playing a few SNGs to make the money back. I was funding my cash game with my tournament winnings. In essence, I was the epitome of a tournament donk.
I was starting to lose hope. Last night was one of the worst nights, where I would just consistently lose with no glimmer of even the possibility of success in the future. Finally, I stopped playing, and just went through my database, going over every hand in which I won or lost more than 1/4 of a buyin ($50). A disturbing trend became evident. For the big pots I lost, I was either bluffing, got sucked out or simply a matter of 2 strong hands colliding. I rarely lost a big pot with a marginal holding at showdown. Conversely, every big pot I won, I simply had a big hand. There was only one big pot I won where I got it in on the flop and sucked out. And more importantly, there were almost no big pots where I won it by bluffing. Not to say it didn't happen, but the pots I won by bluffing were outweighed by the ones I lost by bluffing.
So as much as I hate to admit it, the 1/2 game on Stars seems like it just takes basic ABC poker skills to win. Not that I didn't know it, but I still thought there were some avenues for bluffing. But there aren't. Bluffing is -EV, even against "solid" regulars. I think that most good players know enough about 6-max aggression that they will just have to pay off sets and other big hands from time to time to balance out the over aggression and "outplaying" that goes on.
So all that leads us to tonight. With my new found "no bluffing" strategy, I was sure to dominate the tables. Alright here are, no joke, most of the hands within the first 10 minutes of sitting down to play.
Dealt to RikkiDee [Qs Kd]
RikkiDee: raises $6 to $8
Edakaeh: folds
PrinceJulez: calls $8
kevy34: folds
Acid Fire: folds
rossii-1: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [2d 4d Qd]
rossii-1: checks
RikkiDee: bets $18
PrinceJulez: calls $18
rossii-1: calls $18
*** TURN *** [2d 4d Qd] [6s]
rossii-1: checks
RikkiDee: bets $64
PrinceJulez: calls $54.10 and is all-in
rossii-1: calls $64
*** RIVER *** [2d 4d Qd 6s] [9h]
rossii-1: bets $155 and is all-in
RikkiDee: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
rossii-1: shows [Kc Kh] (a pair of Kings)
rossii-1 collected $19.80 from side pot
PrinceJulez: shows [Ad Td] (a flush, Ace high)
Dealt to RikkiDee [Qc Qs]
stall$on: folds
rake3: folds
RikkiDee: raises $5 to $7
farha: calls $5
*** FLOP *** [7s 8d 2h]
RikkiDee: bets $8
farha: calls $8
*** TURN *** [7s 8d 2h] [6h]
RikkiDee: checks
farha: bets $10
RikkiDee: raises $44 to $54
farha: calls $33.20 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [7s 8d 2h 6h] [5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RikkiDee: shows [Qc Qs] (a pair of Queens)
farha: shows [5h 8h] (two pair, Eights and Fives)
farha collected $114.40 from pot
Dealt to RikkiDee [Jh Js]
csulki: calls $2
ClvrNickname: folds
IKnewwwIt: raises $4 to $6
jdi23: calls $6
Reefypoopoo: folds
RikkiDee: raises $18 to $24
csulki: raises $21.95 to $45.95 and is all-in
IKnewwwIt: folds
jdi23: folds
RikkiDee: calls $21.95
*** FLOP *** [6h 8c 9h]
*** TURN *** [6h 8c 9h] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [6h 8c 9h 6d] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
RikkiDee: shows [Jh Js] (two pair, Jacks and Sixes)
csulki: shows [7h Qh] (a straight, Five to Nine)
Dealt to RikkiDee [8c 8s]
Acid Fire: folds
rossii-1: calls $2
RikkiDee: raises $8 to $10
Edakaeh: folds
PrinceJulez: folds
kevy34: calls $8
rossii-1: folds
*** FLOP *** [5s 5d 6d]
kevy34: checks
RikkiDee: bets $18
kevy34: calls $18
*** TURN *** [5s 5d 6d] [4c]
kevy34: checks
RikkiDee: bets $44
kevy34: calls $37.05 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [5s 5d 6d 4c] [Ah]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kevy34: shows [4d 4h] (a full house, Fours full of Fives)
Dealt to RikkiDee [Kd Kh]
kmoneyk: folds
runner85: raises $6 to $8
RikkiDee: calls $8
kuddel27: folds
Dr. T Leary: folds
mscell: calls $6
*** FLOP *** [8s 2d 7d]
mscell: checks
runner85: bets $14
RikkiDee: calls $14
mscell: calls $14
*** TURN *** [8s 2d 7d] [Ks]
mscell: checks
runner85: checks
RikkiDee: bets $50
mscell: folds
runner85: raises $140.05 to $190.05 and is all-in
RikkiDee: calls $125 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [8s 2d 7d Ks] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
runner85: shows [7s 7h] (four of a kind, Sevens)
RikkiDee: mucks hand
And a few other smaller ones. I was dumbfounded. Completely lost. I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry. Keep in mind my mindset. I was all gung-ho about playing for like the first time in a year, and BOOM - ASS RAPE. GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE TOURNEY DONK.
But I wasn't really that mad. I was pretty shocked, but I hadn't been playing enough to get tilted yet. So I just kept playing. Who knows, maybe I'll be on the good end of quads vs a full house for once in my fucking life (it's happened 3 motherfucking times this week). And you know what? It worked. A few hours later, I was up $211 total. And while that alone is cause for boners, I did it without the aid of sick coolers. No set over set for me, just good old fashioned value betting and, not bluffing. It was tough at times to avoid bluffing, but I figured, without a good read, this bluff is almost certainly -EV. And if this night is any indication, I think I'll be just fine.
And yes, its only a 3 buy-in recovery, but its significance to my psyche is off the charts.
And I think I'm starting to really enjoy the benefits of raising in position with weak cards
Dealt to RikkiDee [9d Th]
Mikey11: calls $2
mmmbillski: folds
cheddarmon: folds
RikkiDee: raises $8 to $10
Reefypoopoo: folds
xtiger: folds
Mikey11: calls $8
*** FLOP *** [Jc Qc Ks]
Mikey11: bets $20
RikkiDee: raises $40 to $60
Mikey11: raises $136.35 to $196.35 and is all-in
RikkiDee: calls $127 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Jc Qc Ks] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [Jc Qc Ks 3c] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Mikey11: shows [Kh Ad] (two pair, Kings and Threes)
RikkiDee: shows [9d Th] (a straight, Nine to King)
RikkiDee collected $394 from pot
Dealt to RikkiDee [5h 6h]
Evergrey: folds
ClvrNickname: folds
Evergrey leaves the table
RikkiDee: raises $6 to $8
tonypokerman: calls $7
Y0URMOTHER: folds
*** FLOP *** [8s 7s 4c]
tonypokerman: checks
RikkiDee: bets $10
tonypokerman: raises $106.15 to $116.15 and is all-in
RikkiDee: calls $106.15
*** TURN *** [8s 7s 4c] [Jc]
*** RIVER *** [8s 7s 4c Jc] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
tonypokerman: shows [4s Ad] (two pair, Eights and Fours)
RikkiDee: shows [5h 6h] (a straight, Four to Eight)
RikkiDee collected $248.30 from pot
A graph of the night:
posted by RikkiDee at 11:08 PM
2 Comments:
Good to see you were able to recover. I think the fact is that playing cash you should use position more than the cards to win big.
The first hand you showed with the KQ should have been a fold and saves you a lot of cash.
I also think your flop bets are too small vs. the pot size when you have a strong hand. In the 2nd hand there is the potential that you are against an OESD and you bet so small that only good drawing hands call. Against a short stack but I would watch for the way you bet your monsters vs. cbets. I do see that you were against a shortstack so that might have altered your thinking somewhat.
The rest are just a couple bad beats and you move on. Love the Q7 guy... I think that you hunt for him for the next while as he has to be good for a few buyins shipped your way.
How many hands of PT history do you feel you need to have a read on someone? I think I need a minimum of 60 to have any idea of the style a person plays.
thanks for the comment guin
I had somewhat of a hisory with the villian in hand 2, plus he was short so I just wanted all his chips and was pretty sure he would donk them to me as long as I didn't scare him off.
For Cbets, I generally bet something like 3/4ths of the pot. I just can't do a pot sized bet, just seems like too much sometimes. It all depends on board texture and my opponent tho.
To have a basic read on someone, as to what type of player they are (tight/aggressive, loose/passive, etc) I don't think I need many hands, probably something like 50. But for more specific reads, as knowing if they will float, or check raise with air, I think I'd need a good thousand if not more. At least thats what I've been trying to do.
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