Hero plays and not tilting - a suprise correlation!

Over my poker playing career I've seen a lot of shitty play - we all have. We all hate losing obviously but there are definitely different levels of losing, and losing to shitty play may be the worst.

Sure getting it all in with KK vs AA preflop hurts a bit but really, who cares? Its just a setup that you can't avoid going broke in - easily shrugged off. Even when a fish sucks out on you after calling bet after bet to hit his gutshot to crack your set of aces, you can take solace in the fact that you will make money vs him and his kind in the long run. But the third type of loss for me is the worst.

Its closely related to tilting, but doesn't necessarily require tilt as a prerequisite. Tilt is merely a catalyst for this type of loss, and usually a result of it as well. When a fish makes a strange play, like overbetting the river or just open pushing the flop, without the nuts you always have to take a moment to try to figure out their puzzle. You go through all the hands he could have and all the hands he may think you have. You run the possibilities through your mind over and over and do super awesome poker player calculations to come up with the right answer - call! You are a hero! Clearly this fish is just overbetting the river with a missed flush draw, ace high must be good! Then the truth sets in - hes got you beat. This fish just "outplayed" you for your whole stack.

Depression...
Anxiety...
Anger...
Regret...
Monkey tilt...

They set in. Your hero call failed. You lose. Good day sir.

Its the worst feeling in poker because you've expended every amount of poker brain energy to make this call, and you were way off. And not only that, you lost to the worst player at the table who made a level 1 - "I can only consider my own cards" play.

For me, doing a play like this, even if its not for my entire stack, really sets the tilt train in motion. Even if my reasoning was sound, and I was being offered sufficient pot odds, it doesn't matter because my chips are in XxPOKERPROxX's stack. It's also applicable when a decent player does it because they've probably gone one level above you and tricked you into calling.

But its all part of the learning process of poker. Its important to not let these types of plays bother you. Use the information you've gained from your terrible call and adjust appropriately. The fish who took your stack has no clue how hard you thought to make that call. Hes basically a button pushing monkey on a typewriter, and we know what they can accomplish given enough time. I'm probably the worst person on earth to be even saying this type of advice as I tend to take poker losses personally, but I can occasionally rise above my ego and recognize what I'm doing. Before making a hero play, always take a second to consider the likely hood of you being right in regards to the odds that you are being offered. Poker 101.

And as I say this, there is still money to be made from hero calls, so don't ignore them.

Seat 1: DBOBBARKER ( $282.08 USD )
Seat 2: Canuckguy88 ( $374.56 USD )
Seat 6: CuteGirly18 ( $204.30 USD )
Seat 4: tokenblak ( $338.35 USD )
Seat 3: tk1505 ( $202 USD )
Seat 5: Gan777 ( $100 USD )
tk1505 posts small blind [$1 USD].
tokenblak posts big blind [$2 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to tokenblak [ Ks Ad ]
CuteGirly18 folds.
DBOBBARKER folds.
Canuckguy88 raises [$9 USD]
tk1505 folds.
tokenblak raises [$29 USD]
Canuckguy88 calls [$22 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4s, 4h, Qd ]
tokenblak checks.
Canuckguy88 bets [$20 USD]
tokenblak calls [$20 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 6h ]
tokenblak checks.
Canuckguy88 bets [$50 USD]
tokenblak calls [$50 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ Qc ]
tokenblak checks.
Canuckguy88 is all-In.
tokenblak is all-In.
tokenblak shows [ Ks, Ad ]two pairs, Queens and Fours.
Canuckguy88 shows [ 8s, Ts ]two pairs, Queens and Fours.
tokenblak wins $675.70 USD from the main pot with two pairs, Queens and Fours with Ace kicker.

Seat 1: Th4niR ( $1,702.60 USD )
Seat 2: Emmico55 ( $972.41 USD )
Seat 3: tokenblak ( $1,269.73 USD )
Seat 4: RystyRyan ( $394 USD )
Seat 5: x_Megatron_x ( $394 USD )
Seat 6: celusi ( $121.40 USD )
Th4niR posts small blind [$2 USD].
Emmico55 posts big blind [$4 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to tokenblak [ Kd As ]
tokenblak raises [$16 USD]
RystyRyan folds.
x_Megatron_x folds.
celusi folds.
Th4niR folds.
Emmico55 calls [$12 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Kc, 2c, Qs ]
Emmico55 bets [$8 USD]
tokenblak raises [$32 USD]
Emmico55 raises [$48 USD]
tokenblak calls [$24 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7s ]
Emmico55 bets [$132 USD]
tokenblak calls [$132 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ 2s ]
Emmico55 is all-In.
tokenblak calls [$768.41 USD]
Emmico55 shows [ Qc, 8c ]two pairs, Queens and Twos.
tokenblak shows [ Kd, As ]two pairs, Kings and Twos.
tokenblak wins $1,943.32 USD from the main pot with two pairs, Kings and Twos.

Seat 1: TwistedEcho ($332.05 in chips)
Seat 2: djj6835 ($398 in chips)
Seat 3: dest- ($348.60 in chips)
Seat 4: billyzzz ($547.70 in chips)
Seat 5: RikkiDee ($196 in chips)
Seat 6: TheLife ($422.70 in chips)
TheLife: posts small blind $1
TwistedEcho: posts big blind $2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RikkiDee [Ac Kc]
djj6835: folds
dest-: folds
billyzzz: calls $2
RikkiDee: raises $8 to $10
TheLife: folds
TwistedEcho: folds
billyzzz: calls $8
*** FLOP *** [Qh Jd Qd]
billyzzz: checks
RikkiDee: checks
*** TURN *** [Qh Jd Qd] [8c]
billyzzz: bets $14
RikkiDee: calls $14
*** RIVER *** [Qh Jd Qd 8c] [2c]
billyzzz: bets $246
RikkiDee: calls $172 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
billyzzz: shows [Kd 4c] (a pair of Queens)
RikkiDee: shows [Ac Kc] (a pair of Queens - Ace kicker)
RikkiDee collected $392 from pot

Just some hands

Just when you thought online poker was dead...

***** Hand History for Game 6517721446 *****
$200 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Monday, November 19, 20:51:39 ET 2007
Table Table 125893 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: tokenblak ( $294.92 USD )
Seat 3: fluffy67 ( $465.32 USD )
Seat 6: MrDr0v3r ( $407 USD )
Seat 1: Jacdaw ( $186 USD )
Seat 4: GermackXX ( $228 USD )
Seat 5: ceilalti ( $50 USD )
Jacdaw posts small blind [$1 USD].
tokenblak posts big blind [$2 USD].
ceilalti posts big blind [$2 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to tokenblak [ Kd Kc ]
fluffy67 raises [$4 USD]
GermackXX folds
ceilalti calls [$2 USD]
MrDr0v3r folds
Jacdaw folds
tokenblak raises [$28 USD]
fluffy67 raises [$52 USD]
ceilalti folds
tokenblak raises [$108 USD]
fluffy67 calls [$82 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, 9h, 7s ]
tokenblak is all-In [$156.92 USD]
fluffy67 calls [$156.92 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 7d ]
tokenblak shows [ Kd, Kc ]a full house, Sevens full of Kings.
fluffy67 shows [ Qs, Js ]three of a kind, Sevens.
tokenblak wins $591.84 USD from the main pot with a full house, Sevens full of Kings.

***** Hand History for Game 6517805209 *****
$200 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Monday, November 19, 21:54:30 ET 2007
Table Table 126786 (No DP) (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 1: Tankalanka ( $198.15 USD )
Seat 4: shadowmf20 ( $186.52 USD )
Seat 5: lose_2_learn ( $372.39 USD )
Seat 6: mmcessa ( $198 USD )
Seat 3: tokenblak ( $279.97 USD )
mmcessa posts small blind [$1 USD].
Tankalanka posts big blind [$2 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to tokenblak [ Kc Jd ]
tokenblak raises [$8 USD]
shadowmf20 calls [$8 USD]
lose_2_learn folds
mmcessa folds
Tankalanka folds
** Dealing Flop ** [ Jc, Qd, 3c ]
tokenblak bets [$14 USD]
shadowmf20 calls [$14 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kh ]
tokenblak bets [$38 USD]
shadowmf20 calls [$38 USD]
** Dealing River ** [ Td ]
tokenblak bets [$60 USD]
shadowmf20 calls [$60 USD]
tokenblak shows [ Kc, Jd ]two pairs, Kings and Jacks.
shadowmf20 doesn't show [ Qh, Tc ]two pairs, Queens and Tens.
tokenblak wins $241 USD from the main pot with two pairs, Kings and Jacks.
>You have options at Table 131199 Table!.
>You have options at Table 125383 (No DP) Table!

This hand illustrates the importance of putting your opponent on a range, and value betting when you are ahead of that range. And note the bet sizing here, $60 into a $120 pot. If he raises that river, even a min raise, its an easy fold. $60 into $120 is small enough for this bad player to call with worse hands.

***** Hand History for Game 6517975168 *****
$200 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Tuesday, November 20, 01:17:23 ET 2007
Table Table 126832 (No DP) (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: Cchubbins ( $69.60 USD )
Seat 2: trapeza2000 ( $284.46 USD )
Seat 3: dwonlog ( $441.03 USD )
Seat 6: ICatchdaBigfish ( $239 USD )
Seat 5: tokenblak ( $242.55 USD )
Seat 4: VodkaUser ( $200 USD )
ICatchdaBigfish posts small blind [$1 USD].
Cchubbins posts big blind [$2 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to tokenblak [ Jc Kc ]
trapeza2000 folds
dwonlog folds
VodkaUser folds
tokenblak raises [$7 USD]
ICatchdaBigfish calls [$6 USD]
Cchubbins folds
** Dealing Flop ** [ 3c, 2d, 3s ]
ICatchdaBigfish bets [$10 USD]
tokenblak raises [$25 USD]
ICatchdaBigfish raises [$42 USD]
tokenblak calls [$27 USD]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 6d ]
ICatchdaBigfish checks
tokenblak bets [$75 USD]
ICatchdaBigfish folds
tokenblak wins $192 USD from the main pot with a pair of Threes.

And this hand may just be spew, but its still cool. Every single fish on the planet will bet a 323 flop with nothing trying to take it down. And the only hand that has even a legitimate reason to min-3 bet the flop is a hand containing a 3, which he is definitely never ever betting the flop with to begin with. Calling the flop lets him know that I have an overpair (hopefully he can read that) and when he checks the turn he confirms to me that he did have nothing, and the pot is mine for the taking.

New Career on the Horizon

Screw poker, sports gambling is where the real money is at.

I mean lets compare the pros and cons of poker and sports gambling:

	Poker	Sports Betting	Advantage?
Pros	Potentially unlimited source of income with major time investment	Potentially unlimited source of income with no time investment	Sports
Cons	Downswings with potentially life-altering emotional and financial consequences	None	Sports

So according to my calculations switching to sports betting as a profession is a no-brainer choice.

I'll be the first to admit that I am a sports betting noob. I don't know how to properply bankroll myself, how to watch line movements or know any complicated formulas to apply to games - yet this year I have managed to go 24-6 against the spread for a total of +$1461.66. Now imagine how much I would win if I knew what I was doing? I'd be almost a millionaire by my calculations.

And now I will share my betting tips that I have learned throughout the 2007 NFL season:

#1: Always bet on New England Patriots to cover the spread
#2: ????
#3: Profit

I hesitated to share this information to the public, but I figure the risk is worth the potential fame/book deals/playboy model blowjobs I may receive from this potentially groundbreaking strategy.

So from this day forth, you won't see me grinding away mindlessly for hours on end at the poker tables. Instead you'll see me making it rain in my basement every Sunday night.

New Vid

This one is much shorter at about 45 minutes. I stack a few guys and also get stacked so it should be interesting.

To answer a question from the last video about reraising preflop with weak holdings. The question was would I do this at lower stakes? And I would answer with no probably, or at least less frequently. I only reraise tight players preflop because I know they have the ability to lay down hands like KQ, AT, etc. As you move down in stakes, even the "tight" players will still call there, making it a much less profitable move. However there are still players at lower stakes that you can reraise light, you just have to know who they are.

Enjoy.











Click picture or click HERE for the direct link.

Life on the downswing

Damn poker sucks when you lose. I mean, it may be the least enjoyable thing on the planet - worse than super-AIDS.

If anyone was a budding poker player that has experienced some success and was considering playing full time, I would advise them to reconsider strongly. Poker really doesn't take up that much time. I mean, honestly, who can play day in day out for 8+ hours a day? I sure as fuck can't, although I don't love the game as much as I once did. However, it takes a really fucked up person with ridiculous drive/ambition/whatever to play "full time". Even with a job, you can still play as much as you'd like, and weekends (aka juicytown) are always available for binge sessions.

Whats interesting about most successful small-mid stakes grinders is they tend to be alike in almost every way. They think alike, have similar brain patterns, etc. Most of us have a fairly risk-averse way about things, which is one of the reasons why we've been successful. We make sure we are properly rolled, don't make stupid risks, don't chase losses, don't play over our head, etc. These are all solid and good things, but the very nature of poker variance will lead to inevitable swings - some in which are nauseating. Risk averse people aren't familiar with these types of swings and I think a lot of grinders have real problems when in a downswing because they try to live their life safely. When bills are due, and you are in a downswing, bad thoughts keep you up at night.

Gambling, in its true sense, isn't in a grinders vocabulary. All bets are +EV and we all know and accept the long run meaning of that. But try telling that to a grinder in the midst of a soul crushing, never ending downswing.

So if you are like me, and hate uncertainty and risk, don't play poker full time. Get a job. It not only stabilizes your bankroll, it also stabilizes your life. You'll get up the same time every day, eat regularly, sleep regularly, and your mind will be much clearer. You have no idea how many times a week where I have no idea what day or time it is. Its not the greatest way to live. And with a job you can always supplement your income nicely as well with poker.

I got another video made from tonights session. Still working on trying to find a better way to share it. Till then, keep your stick on the ice.

New Video

Heres a video I made on the weekend. Its about an hour and 20 minutes long. For some reason the vid-capture software didn't pick up my AceHud, so there are many times where I'm referring to certain stats that I could see. It shouldn't be too much of an issue when watching though. Enjoy the vid and any feedback is greatly appreciated.



and CLICK HERE for the direct download link