Does it get better than this

I just want to post this winning hand that i played in

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1429587

Amen: Poker Players Get No Respect

Did anyone ever notice that when they mention poker to someone outside the poker community they get a weird look or a bad vibe. People outside of the poker arena assume that we are all just degenerate gamblers and have zero skill. I tried explaining it to my friends and family but most of them just assume its a dopey hobby and assume every gambler is a loser. Its come to the point that if i have a good day at the tables or i cash nicely in a tournament i dont even tell ppl anymore, because ive heard "well if you won that much today , i can imagine how much you lost in the past. I basically keep my mouth shut about my poker.


I came across this post on a blog i just subscribed to, The Grind , and he seems to feel the same way i do, I guess we Grinders think alike
( my blog and the blog i reference in this post have similar names , but we are not the same)

Wish me luck

World Series of Poker Main Event 2007 Hand Analysis

By: The Monster Stack (Guest Blogger)

Hello,

Who am I to argue with an 11 time world champion and Hall of Famer Phil Hellmuth? I'm not exactly near his level and despite what I think of the way he acts at the table - he needs to stop crying about be re-raised when he has nothing - he has proven for nearly two decades that he is the best No Limit Hold 'Em tournament player. His results tell quite the story.

Before I get to the hand in question I want to prefix it with a little tidbit on Hellmuth's game. He likes to play small pots with marginal hands and get it all-in with the nuts. When he has what he believes to be the best hand, but not the best possible hand, he throws out a small bet. On the flop. On the turn. And then on the river. If he wins, he wins a reasonably sized pot. If he loses, he berates his opponent's play but only loses a relatively small pot. If he gets re-raised along the way he has the awesome ability to throw away a monster, albeit with quite the tantrum. He likes to trap a lot and does it masterfully. He also seems to know the exact right time to throw in a bluff.

I do, however, have a bone to pick with Hellmuth on the way in which he played this particular hand during the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event. I don't know what the blinds and antes were at the time but the action went something like this (according to Phil as the ESPN cameras came to the table). Phil limped with Ah-Ks in late position, a typical trap by the 11 time bracelet winner. He got raised by either the button or by the player to his right (who had apparently also limped) and Phil re-raised to $3,000. Both players called with the button holding 4s-4c and the middle position player holding 3h-3d.

The flop came down 7s Kc 7h, a perfect flop for Hellmuth's hand. There was $12,400 in the pot and it was checked to Hellmuth who bet out $2,000. I believe that this is mistake number one for Hellmuth. What is the purpose of a bet this size? Is he trying to take down the pot? If he is $2,000 is probably not going to do it. With so much in the pot he is likely to get a caller being that the bet is so small. His opponents are getting more than 7-1 on the call. Now I know Hellmuth likes to keep the pot small but he re-raised pre-flop and got two callers. The time for small pots has passed. On top of that, the pot size represents nearly all of Hellmuth's stack. He can almost double up without a showdown by taking down this pot. If he intended to play a small pot he should not have put in a re-raise pre-flop. One of the reasons to do that, in addition to taking it down right there, is to build a pot with a big hand.

The turn was the Js. Now this is where Hellmuth simply gave the hand away. He checked. What can he possibly be trying to accomplish with this check? Is he going for the check-raise all-in? That is not very likely to work anyway since his opponent would have to be on a stone cold bluff to fold with so few chips left. Or, his opponent would have to have the exact type of hand he happened to have, however it is extremely unlikely that he would bet that on the turn anyway. There is absolutely no benefit to checking here. Hellmuth had less than less than $11,000 chips left with over $16,000 in the pot. He absolutely must bet the turn here. It is pretty hard for him to be beat here.

The river brings the absolute worst card for Hellmuth and a beautiful card for his opponent, the 4d, giving him fours full of sevens. Now Hellmuth decides to bet. He bets $3,000 into a $16,000 pot. With what hand could his opponent have that would call the flop, check the turn, and then call the river? My best guess is that Hellmuth put his opponent on a medium pair and was hoping that the guy would look him up because the pot was so big. This has to be the worst value bet ever, particularly since he had the worst hand. He essential gave his opponent two free cards to draw out. After betting the river Hellmuth was moved all-in at which point he bemoans his back luck, berates all the players at the table, complains that he never gets any cards and folds, leaving himself with just about $5,000 in chips.

Had Hellmuth bet bigger on the flop, or even made a sizable bet on the turn he would have doubled up and proclaimed his greatness for a few more hands, or maybe all the way to the final table. Big hands are meant to be played strongly. Slow playing only gets one into trouble and, although his opponent had just two outs to win, Hellmuth allowed his opponent to get there and has only himself to blame. He simply outplayed himself on this hand and attempted to get too fancy at the wrong time. He created a big pot, something which he does not like to do, and did not protect his hand with so much at stake. I believe that he played this hand wrong on every street from the flop onward.

So remember to respect your big hands and treat as they should be treated. Like a rare commodity. They don't come along often so you need to make the most of them when they do.

See you on the felt,
The Monster Stack

Don't Give it Away: Talking at the Poker Table

By: The Monster Stack (Guest Blogger)

Hello,

Here is a quick tip regarding table talk, whether you are playing online or live poker. Talking during a hand can more often than not be a detriment rather than an advantage. However, there is a form of table talk that is almost always a negative and should be avoided at all costs. Many times there will be discussion about the way in which a hand was played when it reaches showdown. I urge you to avoid joining in these discussions at all costs, even if you participated in the hand and your opponent comments - negatively or positively - on your play.

The reason for this is that while you think you are having friendly table conversation and simply discussion some poker, the astute player will take note of what you say and use this information when playing future hands against you. For example, even a simple comment such as "I put you on a flush draw the whole way down" can be disastrous for you later on. The pro will use that information to play a monster the same way he played his drawing hand earlier, only when you call him down he will show you the goods.

Keep table conversation to a minimum and when playing online, comment such as ty, yw, nh, etc. (thank you, your welcome and nice hand respectively) will do just fine. Anything more will be giving away precious information regarding your play and could cost you deeply. If you must talk, talk about the weather. Talk about sports. Talk about anything but how you play. But no matter the subject, be careful what you say. The really good pros, and I suspect this type is rare, will learn something from just about everything you say. They will learn something about the nature of your personality and apply that to your play. So don't give it away. Make them earn it.

Addendum: I feel I must add one more thing to this discussion for completeness. There will be times when you make a play at a pot, or perhaps even make a bad play and get lucky and take down a big pot. Oftentimes this will be followed by the chat box filling up with statements of how you are a huge donkey or how you are the reason that online poker sucks... Don't get sucked into these conversations. They are not worth it and can, at times, frustrate you as much as the one who lost the pot. In addition, when you are on the opposite end of this scenario, don't be the one filling up the chat box with obscenities berating your opponents' play, especially if you play at those stakes often or plan to rebuy at the same table. There are those who will use your poor state of mind to their advantage. Be calm. Simply type "nice hand" into the box and continue as though nothing has happened. Doing so provides two benefits: one, your opponents will notice that the beat didn't seem to bother you and will help solidify your reputation as a solid player who understands that this has to happen in poker. And two, you will play better because of it. Acknowledging that your opponent has indeed one the hand will help you to get past the fact that you did not.

See you on the felt,
The Monster Stack

Just One of The Reasons I Play Poker

IMG_1099
Originally uploaded by stevenwein

I want to make money to support this kid ( oh, and my wife and myself)

I see commercials on tv for years that i can support my kid for less than a cup of coffee a day . I wonder which coffee they referring to

PokerStars Now Accepts eCheck

I was doing a bit of blog reading yesterday and after reading Lou Krieger's Blog , which is great and a must read, And he mentions that PokerStars is offering eCheck deposits for its USA customers !! This is great for all of you who had tried to make deposits using epassporte or western union and hated all the fees involved. I logged into PS and went to the deposit option in the cashier, and lo and behold isee that Im approved for the eCheck option . Luckily for me i dont need to make a deposit, but i tried it anyways for $100 and i got instant credit!!

Im not sure how this is allowed or why this is now being done , but im glad to know there are options for deposits that dont cost a crapload in fees.

New Day, Hopefully More Profits

Sux, but at least i didnt lose any money,

I woke up refreshed and decided to hit the tables on Cake Poker , After about an hour of play i was down 2 buyins and then back to even. I was extremely distracted beacuse iw as dealing with some day-job issues over the phone. So i blame my bad early play on the fact that i was distracted and after i got off phone i was able to resume normal play and had a good run and got lucky on a a few hands. My day-job issues are still on my mind so im hoping my play doesnt get affected. My only saving grace was that my bank was very helpful to me in helping me deal with my crisis, so i just want to make a shout out that Commerce Bank is awesome , and anyone living in the northeast should definitely bank with the

s
Since overall i have been doing good at the cash tables i decided to play a few orbits at a higher stakes table than i have been playing the last few days . I put myself on a few waitimg lists and a 1/2 NLHE popped up first. I bought in with $100 and planned on playing super tight-aggresive. I played 1 orbit and cashed out $241 !!!!

1st hand on the BB i was dealt KK
2nd hand was dealt AK
3rd or 4th hand i made very inconspicious straight on the turn
UTG almost lost it all on a bluff, but i CB'ed ( continuation bet ) till the river till he folded

I almost lost it all on that last hand, but i guess even i get lucky

I havent played any tourneys lately, and i dont miss it. Although i still want to satellite into a big live event. Next week the WPT ( World Poker Tour ) is coming to my neghborhood, The Borgata, and Im 99% percent definitely going to be there. Im going to play in some of the smaller events and will defnitely try to satellite into the $10k buyin event.

On a side note, my buddy was in Atlantic City last night , and after playing poker all night and being down $2100 , he walked to his room frustrated and dumped the remaing $200 into a $50 slot machine , on th elast pull he won , he freakin got paid $48k . I cant freakin believe it. Congrats !!!

Update: Been playing for past few hours

Ive been playing on Cake Poker for the past few hours. I really wasnt up at all for most of my play. I am actually proud of the way i played , eventhough i am down 2.5 buyins ( $250 ) , i played very well but had about 4 or 5 bad bad beats and that killed me. I know noone wants to hear any bad beat stories , but ill just give you a real QUICK summary.

AA vs. KK ( all in preflop )
Nut flush vs straight flush ( at the river we both went crazy )
nut flush vs full house ( this happened twice )

All in all , i do enjoy the play on cake poker very much.

On a positive note , I am up about $600 in the past week and have had no problem cashing out. I want to make more than $600 a week in poker, but i am going to take it slow and be happy with any positive cash flow. I am still new to cash games and need lots of imporvement.

wish me luck

Poker Tracker: Should I Buy It ?

Im not sure if i should buy poker tracker. Im not the most tech savvy person but im hearing rave reviews. Let me know what you guys think,

Wish me luck
-
from blackberry

A Little Bit of Game Theory

By: The Monster Stack (Guest Blogger)

Hello,

I do not profess to be an expert in game theory - far from it. In fact, I am still struggling to understand its basic concepts. However, a situation came up recently while watching a friend play Pot Limit Omaha that was a classic example of game theory in action. When applied correctly to poker, game theory can be a tremendous asset and pros such as Chris Ferguson do it masterfully.

The game is $5-$10 Pot Limit Omaha and my friend, a very aggressive player we'll call John, was sitting in front of about $740 when the following situation arose. He was holding 8h 9d Jh Jd in the small blind, a very good hand for Omaha, particularly when you flop a big draw. A middle position player raised to $30, the button called as did my friend. The big blind folded. With $100 in the pot, the flop came down 6d 7h 2h. John was first to act and led out with a bet of half the size of the pot, $50. The pre-flop raiser raised $100 more. The button folded over to John, who was at this point, even against a set, a coin flip to win the pot. He smooth-called the bet bringing the pot to $400. The turn was the As keeping John's outs the same but still giving him a 37% chance at winning the pot, assuming all his outs were live (that is, if his opponent didn't have something like 2s 2c Kh Qh, which would still give John a 20% chance at taking down the pot).

John checked and his opponent bet the pot and John called. When the river was a blank for John he pushed in his remaining $160 and to my great surprise his opponent folded and John took down a huge pot without a showdown. His play left me with many questions. Why did he not press his big draw on the flop? With a flush draw, straight draw and an over pair he had to know he was in good shape no matter what. Why did he not push his last $160 in when his opponent bet the pot on the turn? It's not as though he was planning on folding after putting nearly $600 into the pot.

He explained it as follows. Once he sees this flop he is going to see the next two cards no matter what. In Omaha, or even Hold 'Em for that matter, you are going to play a draw this big for all your chips if you have to. So, if he pushes the flop and his opponent has a set or two pair John is going to have to hit one of his many outs to win the pot. On the turn, if he comes over-the-top for his last $160 he is going to get called as his opponent is getting the right price to call with just about any reasonable hand. The only chance he has to win on the turn is if his opponent was on a complete and total steal, but even then, with so much in the pot and one card to come, he might have to call and hope for miracle. Since John's money is going in anyway he wants to have the greatest chance of winning the pot.

If he hits one of his outs on the river he can push in, and if he gets called, he will win the pot that way. But, if he misses the river, as he did, and pushes there is the small chance that his opponent too was on a big draw and missed and can't call. Throughout the hand John gave himself the best chance to win the pot. Leaving a small amount of bluffing chips behind is ideal since betting the missed draw on the river in this manner only has to work a small percentage of the time to be profitable. As a matter of fact, it has to work less than 14% of the time to be profitable.

So here is how the hand played and the options John had on each street. Once we examine it in this way we can see that each decision gave John the best possible chance of winning the pot. It is important to keep in mind that John is playing this hand from out of position. Although this could work in position, you actually control more of this situation from out of position.

Flop:
A) John goes all-in. Opponent has a big hand. Opponent calls. John must hit to win.
B) John calls and see the turn. John hits. Bets. Wins by opponent folding or wins when opponent calls.
The best option here B is to call and see what develops.

Turn:
A) John hits. Wins by betting whether or not opponent calls or folds.
B) John misses. Goes all-in. Same result as on the flop. John must hit.
C) John check-calls. John hits the river. John bets and wins if his opponent calls or folds.

If John misses the turn the best option is C. If he hits, the best option is A.

River:
A) John hits. Wins by betting whether or not opponent calls or folds.
B) John misses. Goes all-in and wins the pot if opponents folds. Wins the pot if opponent calls and John has the best hand. Loses if opponent calls and has him beat.

Notice that losing on the river by betting and getting called is the same result as getting all-in on the flop or turn and then missing his outs. The difference is that John gave himself some extra chances to win along the way. Remember that this is a perfect example. I have seen hands that he has played in this same manner and lost, however this is to be expected. The difference is that each time he gave himself the greatest chance to win and combined, this proposition is a winning one. Before committing chips to a pot ask yourself if it is the best way to win the hand. Sometimes a passive approach works best. Other times aggression is vital. Knowing your opponents' tendencies is key. An aggressive opponent might call you down here simply because he can't stand the thought of all that money being out there rather than in his stack. Don't be surprised when he rolls over a weak hand on the river that just narrowly beats yours. Your opponent is getting the right price to call you even if he has one pair. He too only has to be right less than 12% of the time for this call to be profitable. But remember, you gave yourself the best chance to win the hand every step of the way. Do that every time and you will be a winner.

One more thing. Watch out for this tactic when it is being used against you. John is an aggressive player and this passive mode of play is out of character for him. When you see an aggressive player playing a hand like this, perhaps he is just giving himself the best chance if winning the hand. Picking off the bluff a small percentage of the time will be a profitable play.

See you on the felt,
The Monster Stack

Enjoying my Rakeback Programs

I've been playing on Full Tilt and Cake Poker and earning rakeback. Ill tell you, sitting by the table and folding a crapload of hands and playing patiently is alot more fun and profitable with rakeback. Im glad i signed up and urge you guys to sign up for rakeback as well. I prefer that you sign up via me this way i can get a referral fee as well. Send me an email or post a comment and ill email you some details.

Wish me luck

-
from blackberry

EDIT: I added links to the words full tilt and cake poker int his post and to all my previous posts as well , If you sign up to Cake Poker or any other poker room using this link you will be able to get the Rakeback and deposit bonuses, So please, if you do want rakeback and deposit bonuses , please sign up via this link ( and i will get a referral fee as well )

thanks in advance

Update: Cash Games & 500 Hands a day

First, playing 500 hands a day is not an easy feat, especially while playing just 1 tables at a time, so i have been playing about 300 hands a day in sessions of about 100 hands each.
If i do well right after i sit down then i tend to end my session early. I dont like to play with such a big stack and be vulnerable. I like to 'bank my profits right away usually.
For the past week I've been focusing solely on cash game play. I have been playing $0.50/$1 NLHE and buyin with the max allowed, $100. I've averaged about $150 a day since I last posted on the blog and I'm very excited about that.
Im not so proud of the $150 a day ( although thats extra sweet too ), but more proud of the fact that I'm playing cash games and playing very patiently and making very good lay downs. I havent been getting too lucky and alot of my wins are without me having to show my cards. My table image is excellent as most tables i play at assume im very tight,conservative and only play the nuts.

My most profitable hand was me cracking a guys aces, it was beautiful. I was small blind and dealt 3 5 suited and sitting with about $180 behind me. UTG raises to 4.50 and by the time it gets to me 4 other players have called so naturally i call and big blind calls right behind me leaving about $26 in the pot pre flop. Flop comes 3 K 5 rainbow and im first to act with 5 ppl behind me. I was about to slow play and check but decided there was enough money in the pot, and didnt mind taking it down right there, so i bet 1/2 the pot , big blind folds and UTG/original raiser doubles my bet and everyone folds it to me. I thought for a second as to what could UTG have, and i come to the conclusion that he has A K and he betting bec he hit the flop. I decide to reraise and he quickly puts me all in and i decide to instacall. He shows pocket aces and sees my 2 pair and curses. The turn and river bring no help to him and i take down the big pot. i quickly left table and thought of the phil helmuth quote ' i can dodge aces baby!! '

All in all , im happy with my cash game play and still going to take a haitus from playing tourneys. I will still play a few satellites, but the Sng's and the sunday tourneys are going to take a back seat for right now.

I need the consistent income that a cash game can provide.

Ill post the hand later on when im at a computer, im posting today from my phone

Wish me luck


-

from blackberry

I'm gonna play 500 hands a day

Im going to try to play a minimum of 500 hands a day in a $0.50/1 NLHE and will try to get a better feel of how i do. I will not be multitabling so this will be pretty hard and time consuming. I need alot alot of practice when it comes to my cash games and really feel the need to improve. I want consistent income from my poker playing and the tournament route is much harder than i thought.

I will still defnitely spend time with tournaments, but i will cut back and play very few a week and some satellites.

 

I guess with my new plan in play I am now an official poker grinder.

 

wish me luck

New Goals and New Experiments

After a few weeks of this blog and a few more weeks of playing poker , i realized that my goals and aspiriations are a bit different now. My main goal is not even to build my bankroll, but more importantly i want to be able to make constant withdrawals from my poker bankroll, while still playing and maintaining a safe cushion.

2 days ago i made a deposit making the balance an even $2000, my main goal is that i obviously want to play great poker, but i also need a daily goal or a weekly goal of how much i want to withdraw. For now it seems like the best way to really make some CONSISTENT money is to be a grinder. I will sit at .50/1 NLHE tables with max buyin of $100 and just grind away and really try to stay away from crazy draws, or getting caught with middle pairs. I will work on being extremely patient and not in a rush like i usually am. I will keep my bankroll at an even 2k, and only withdraw when it goes above 2k.

I will be paying very careful attention to my session stats and making sure that im extremely patient.

My first day of grinding went pretty well, i made a profit of $196 by doing a max buyin at a .50/1 NLHE for $100. I played about 250 hands at the first table and my stats were pretty impressive, i won 100% of showdowns. and saw very little flops. I didnt try to steal uneccessary blinds or try to defend any of my blinds either.

However, I was playing on pokerstars and the thought of rakeback kept on entering my mind, especially since i sat there for soooo many hands, i prob couldve made another $25 or so.
Maybe ill put some $$ into my cakepoker account and finish up with my deposit bonus as well as rakeback. I feel a daily grinder should definitely be rewarded by sitting there through so many hands, rakeback seems like a no brainer

wish me luck

Update on my new Rakeback Tryout

I've been playing a little on Cake Poker lately because of the sign up bonus and rakeback agreements they offer.
I was offered a 100% bonus for all first time deposits up to $500, and they have a 33% rakeback agreement which seems pretty cool.
At first i hated the site , but after a while i finally got used to it and enjoyed it , they have very few players, and at most times it seems the avergae player count is about 2000 players.
They have some interesting satellites to the WPT Turks and Caicos event, and their tourney structures are interesting, allowing for late registration un until the first break after an hour. So it brings in alot of donkey players just trying to double up real fast so theyre always going all in within 2 or 3 hands.
I have set up a pretty cool arrangement with Cake Poker where i can refer my readers to sign up and get the same 33% rakeback that i get, so defintiely email me asap ( i have a blackberry so i always get my email within minutes ) and ill hook you up with a specific link to sign up for Cake Poker this way i can make a referral fee as well

I havent played enough on cake poker to get my full bonus , they release the money in $10 increments after i earn about 160 cake poker points. each point is earned after a $1 rake is taken , give or take . So if your playing cash games $2/$4 nl it should be pretty easy to get your bonus in no time.

ill post a little more updates later on , i gotta go

wish me luck

Bad Call, Good Result: No Limit Hold 'Em

By: The Monster Stack (Guest Blogger)

Hello,

In a previous post I mentioned that I hit a two outer against aces to scoop a nice pot. The game is $5-$10 NLHE and it's been playing pretty loose. A pretty solid player limped from under the gun (UTG) behind the $20 straddle and I looked down at jacks in middle position. I was about to raise when I thought about the limp from the UTG player and, realizing that he would not limp with a weak hand in hand in that position, I opted to flat call and see what developed on the flop.

The flop came down 9-4-2 rainbow and it was checked to the UTG player who led out with a fairly small bet of $40. This bet was very suspicious considering there was $100 in the pot and this seemed to be a pretty bland flop. Needing to know where I am before continuing on in the hand I raised to $110. Everyone folded back to the UTG player who quietly raised his thumb in the air indicating that he was going to re-raise. He then gatherer his stacked of a $450 and slid it in front of him, putting himself all-in.

I immediately told him that I liked the way in which he had slowed played his aces. He then said "why, A-9's no good?" at which point there was no doubt in my mind that he had aces. I thought for about a minute while counting out his raise and finally said "nicely played" as I slid the call in the middle. "Now show me those aces" which he promptly did. I rolled over my jacks and of course declared that one was about to come. And, believe it or not, a jack fell on the river and I took down a sweet pot.

There is a lesson here (I'm sure there is but it's hard to find it after taking down that pot). Oh, I know what it is. If you know you are beat, and I knew I was, don't make the call "just to keep them honest" or just to find out if you were right. If you feel you have good instincts, go with them. I have played a lot of poker with this particular player and there was no reason for me to call to know that I was right. I knew he had aces as sure as I knew I had jacks. Next time I muck them. I leave the suckouts for everyone else.

See you on the felt,
The Monster Stack

Big Hand During Live Action $5-$10 No Limit Hold 'Em

By: The Monster Stack (Guest Blogger)

Hello,

A few nights ago I was playing at a local card room in a $5-$10 No Limit Hold 'Em (NLHE) game. The game was full of action right from the start and the stacks at the table quickly became very big. At one point there was a double straddle on making the game $5-$10-$20-$40 (even going to $80 on one hand!), so you can only imagine how loose this game was. Just the way a tight-aggressive player like me likes it.

I bought in for $1,000 and by the time the following hand came up I had about $2,700 in front of me. To get to that point I hit a two outer on the river with jacks against aces, but that's a story for another time. I held 7-7 in middle position and there was one limper in front of me. He was a very loose-aggressive player (LAG) with a stack that covered mine so I limped right behind him so as to avoid being re-raised out of the pot. I hoped to flop big and win a nice pot from him. The small and big blinds folded and the two straddles saw the flop.

The flop came down 9s-6d-7s giving me a set. It was checked over to the $40 straddle who led out with a bet of $100. The LAG called and I called as well. I didn't raise here for two reasons. One, if the LAG held anything worth while, even a draw, he would have raised. I felt he was weak and didn't want to bet him out of the pot. I figured if the pot got big enough he would bluff at it and I could come over the top and take down a nice pot. The original bettor was a very straight-forward (weak) player who would not have led out without a big hand. I had seen him play two draws earlier and he classically check-called and folded when he missed. I put him on either a made straight or two pair, as I felt he certainly would have raised with an overpair pre-flop. The $20 straddle folded and three of us took the turn.

The turn was the 2c and the the straddle, who now had about $500 behind, checked. This was an odd move and inconsistent with his earlier play. Perhaps he was hoping to check-raise the turn with a made straight or had actually tried to bluff at the pot on the flop and was now slowing down. When the LAG checked I had a strong feeling that I had the best hand. I checked as well, which would normally be a terrible play but if the right card fell on the river I knew that the LAG would have no choice but to bluff at the pot. In almost any other situation I would have bet out here but I risked letting him catch something on me to win a bigger pot. If the river was a scare card, for example a spade or card making a four card straight on the board, I could get away from it. Risk to reward, I decided checking to exude weakness was the better option.

The river was the beautiful 6s giving me sevens-full and putting the flush on the board. The straddler instantly declared himself all-in and counted for about $500. The LAG thought for about 5 seconds and proceeded to declare himself all-in, which, in reality, put me all-in for more than $2,500. Normally this would be an instacall as this is one of the cards I was looking for since the flop. I paused and studied the board to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I was not worried about the straddle because if he had me beat and I had the LAG beat, I would profit anyway.

What beats me? The board reads 9s-6d-7s-2c-6s. 10s-8s, pocket sixes and pocket nines. I ruled out the latter two because there is no way he would not have raised pre-flop with either of those hands. If he had the straight flush he would have probably raised on the flop with a big draw like that. Why else does one play 10s-8s? After deciding that I had the best hand (and if I'm beat by either of those hands then so be it) I called and rolled over my sevens. The straddle showed 9-6 for sixes full of nines and the LAG showed me only a six and mucked.

The table then spent the next half and hour wondering why I took so long (30 seconds) to think about the call. But let them wonder. No matter how much of a lock a hand may seem to be I always take the extra second or two to run through my opponents' possible holdings. As soon as the six fell on the river I had thought to myself that there is no way I am going to lay this one down. All I could think about was how much I was going to get paid. But when I was faced with such a large bet I had to stop and think. His huge overbet took me out of the driver's seat and caused me to call him down. I had expected to be the one raising here but suddenly, things changed. So after taking the time to quickly study the situation I realized that I certainly had the best hand and made the correct decision.

When playing a hand I like to think a few moves ahead. This way, when a opponent does something differently from the way that I had planned on playing the hand I can see his move more clearly. Now I have a train of thought which allows me to counter his move by asking myself why he decided to do that instead of what I had thought he was going to do. I adjust accordingly and allow myself to see the hand from multiple perspectives thereby making better decisions. Those who instacall what is technically the fourth nuts need to rethink their playing strategy. You can call the fourth or fifth or tenth nut hand, as long as it is thought out and you have come to the conclusion that your hand is indeed the first nuts, even if it's queen high.

See you on the felt,
The Monster Stack

First Post from The Monster Stack

By: The Monster Stack (Guest Blogger)

Hello,

I am a guest author for the Poker Grind blog. This post is to test out the blog and see how it all works. Keep an eye out for me. And watch your chips. I'm eying them.

See you on the felt,
The Monster Stack

Took a beating yesterday !!

I played some cash games yesterday and lost about $200. Im not really pissed off because they were just bad beats, perhaps i didnt belong in the hand to begin with, but after flops i was usually ahead! ... I'll post some details later on

Wish me luck
-
from blackberry

My Goals are Different Now

I guess my goals and my way of attaining those goals have changed significantly. I am playing larger buyin games and feel that i need to produce weekly income from my poker playing. So building a large bankroll is great, but i also want to be able to withdraw money on a weekly basis. 
 
And i feel that i really need to focus and practice on my cash games, since thats where the consistent money is. I have not mastered multiple table game play while playing Sng's, so in order to have the consistent income it seems cash games are the way. 
 
I will still play tournaments and i love playing the $27 , 45 person Sng. And i will play in some of the larger MTT's but i will defnitely be grinding at the cash tables. 
 
Wish me luck
-
 from blackberry
 

1st place finish !! I love Satellites

Last night i entered a $20 Rebuy Tournament and first prize was a $530 entry into the weekly Sunday morning APPT entry tourney. There were 18 players and plenty of rebuys, but still not enough money in prize pool for 2 spots. There was 1st prize, $530 entry , and about 8 different $62 prizes . During bubble time i was extremely shortstacked and very card dead, and at that point i was just hoping to make the $62 since i only did 1 buyin and 1 addon , so i was in the hole already for $42 and was looking forward to my $20 profit and more importantly, not a loss.
The bubble came and went and i was in it with about 6 ppl left. My blind steals were working every attempt so this was making me get really excited. At this point there was 1 major major chip leader who had about 70% of all the chip, but for some reason he was playing so tight, every raise against him sent him mucking , which made the steals alot easier since everyone else was about even chip stacked.

We finally got to 3 way action, and i was even with another guy at about 20k in chip each, and chip leader had about 35k. After a few min I was able to eliminate the other shortstack, but unfortunately he had donked off like half his chips to the chip leader a hand before. Entering Heads up I had about 25k and opponent had about 50k. This chip leader guy was still the same guy who was chip leader early at the start of the final table so i knew he was a very tight player and was obviously waiting for good cards , and he would fol to almost any raise. This made my job of chipping up so much more easier. After about 20 hands or so we were almost even in chip and i had a slight lead.
This hand that came next is what really put me over the top and allowed me to win the game a few hands later,
Im not neccesarily so proud of this hand, but im proud of the way it worked out obviously, I just bluffed a little pre flop and made continuation bets all the way till river until he folded leaving him with about 15k in chip to my 60k+
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1376309

Im happy with the way i played over all and extremely happy with the winning prize

Finally, A nice profit and a 1st place finish !

Im finally happy to to make a blog post !!!

I entered a 45 person Sng, $27 buyin and i freakin won !!!! . Im pretty stoked and it renewed my confidense , not to mention a nice $325 profit.
i played hti slast night so i dont remember every detail , although there was one hand, when it was about 10 ppl left ( top 7 get paid ) and i was chip leader and i lost a big hand bec of my stupidity, and i remember thinking to myself that this is the hand that will make me lose tourney or barely ITM,
I shouldve never called all the way till the end , but i reallythought he was bluffing , Sometimes i wish i wouldnt get dealt AK , http://www.pokerhand.org/?1372092

Luckily i was able to rebound and this hand didnt end up costing me too much , and im happy i didnt tilt.
When we got to Heads Up , i was a clear favorite to win so it wasnt too difficult.
All in all, im happy with my paying , i didnt get any lucky suckouts, my bluffs worked at the right time , my steals went uncontested and my good hands held up, Good old fun poker!!

I also decided to take advanatge of some of the RakeBack offers and 1st time deposit bonuses. I made a deposit of $350 into Cake Poker ( cakepoker.com ) and tested the waters with a small $5 single table Sng, i quickly busted out !! . I then headed to a cash gane 1/2 NL and bought in with the min buyin , $40. within an hour it was up to $215 and i decided to cash out.
Some thoughts about Cake Poker, Very few players, and the graphical user interface sux. I especially dont like that you cannot resize the windows , so i wasnt able to make it smaller to help with muiti-tabling and couldnt maximize window size either, just horrible. I also didnt like that i cant choose which seat i sit in. On Pokerstars and Full Tilt i can always click on a specific seat and click 'put me here' and it reshuffles the whole table so im in my favorite seat, with cake poker i had to sit in a seat that i just wasnt used to.

Im not sure how much longer ill play with cake poker, for now i'm there until my deposit bonus comes through, and ill see how good the rakeback is. I also noticed that there were no players playing any Pot limit Omaha , NONE!!! all tables empty!!!

i gotta step out, later
good luck

what do you do while playing poker

Since 99% of my poker is done online, i feel that my chip tricks are lacking.

Every once in a while i do play in a home game and feel like an idiot while trying to shuffle my chips. Ive tried playing with chip while playing online , but if im multi tabling then its definitely impossible.

maybe ill practice with my left hand while right hand is on mouse


Edit: one of my readers sent me this . Its an excellent video tutorial on how to shuffle chips like a poker pro

Rakeback.. I know i should be getting it

I recently discovered rakeback. its a shame i didnt know about this much earlier on but i guess late is better than never.

After a little research, i found out that my favorote poker site, Pokerstars does not offer any rakeback deals. However, Full Tilt Poker does offer a generous rakeback, although they dont advertise this and you have to find an affiliate of theirs and sign up a new account through a special customized weblink. Theres a host of other poker sites that offer, alot of them are not open to USA players. I also noticed Cake Poker has the most generous rakeback agreement and are open to USA players, and they use Epassporte as well.

Im not sure what i wanna do , I enjoy pokerstars alot and im happy with their VIP programs. But everytime i read some other dude's blog and he mentiones his monthly rakeback it makes me cringe with jealousy.

And i dont even wanna rely on a rakeback , Im here to play freakin poker and make money. Im not supposed to care about Iron Man Status or FPP freerolls but i consume myself with that BS .....

I made money yesterday , But im still pissed off

hey guys , sorry i didnt post at all over the weekend, i was sick in bed and didnt really play much

last night i finally got back into things and fired up a $27, 45-man SnG on pokerstars. After a good start i was within the top 5 all the way down to about 15 people, after a bad beat i was really trailing behind up until bubble time where i finally made a comeback and ended up in 4th place, top 7 got paid , so i made about $120 , not bad!

Then i decided to play a $20 rebuy satellite tournament to win a seat in the APPT event #2 , i played so well , up until literally the bubble , i was 2nd in chips and went against the chip leader and lost, top 7 got a prize and i came in 8th , it was the worst play i ever made , there were 2 or 3 real short stacks who were about to be blinded out and like an idiot i had to go up against the chip leader with a marginal hand ,

im still too pissed to even talk about it , ill edit this post later with the
details i guess

EDIT: i uploaded the hand , here you go http://www.pokerhand.org/?1370901 , try not to make fun of me

Check out the newest poll

I forgot to mention this in my earlier posts, but i recently added a poll on my site ( right there on top right part of page ) . Please take a second ( yes, it literally takes a second ) to vote in the poll.

After reading so many blogs and comments I am just trying to grasp which atmosphere most people enjoy playing poker
the poll is

Where do you prefer to play poker most?

Online Casino ?

Live Casino ?

Home Game ?

Please vote

thanks in advance

wish me luck

I didnt play that much today, but overall I did well

Today i played 4 different tourneys, I played a $27 turbo 45 person Sng, and i came in 2nd place, and i won $241.88. I am extremely proud of the way i played this tourney, I was extremely shortstacked most of the game, and when it came to bubble time i had less than the big blind , i played very patiently as to not just throw it away , and finally when i was UTG i was dealt a beautiful pair of 33 , and it held up and i was able to triple up , the very next hand i doubled up and all of a sudden there were 6 players left ( top 7 got paid ) and i was in 3rd position. I dont really recall any other hands nut i was definitely impressed with myself

I also played 2 separate 70 FPP tourneys , with 10 players each and only 1 winner would win a $11 entry into another tourney. I was multi tabling and literally won the first and then like 2 minutes later i won the 2nd. i was on a roll

I also played the $20 R rebuy to win a satellite into the APPT ( Asia Pacific Poker Tour ) but i lost that and came in 15th place out of 45

all in all i was happy with my playing and im up about $200 for the day.

wish me luck

Another win, And my 3rd blog post today !!

This is my 3rd post today , i was all depressed a few hours ago bec i had zero in my account because i went above and beyong my proper bankroll,

The previous post explains that since i was broke i was forced to play a FPP tourney , luckily i won that and was able to get T$215 ( $215 to use in any poker tournament ) .......

Well well well, i decided to play one more tourney, i entered a $27 Sng with 45 players. After the first 3 hands i was in last place, I made some desperate moves and doubled up to about average. I then decides to play very very tight and try not to see too many showdowns. My strategy was to really try to take alot of small uncontested pots. This strateg worked out for me up until the final table. On the final table i found myself in 2nd to last place. My plan was to just fold until 2 more players got knocked out and i would be In The Money. After 9 and 8 were knocked out i was gpoing to play a little more agressive and try to steal some blinds against the right people. 2 more were knocked out shortly and i found myself in 3rd position with 5 players left. Then in a hand with the chip leader and 2 shortstacks, the chip leader sucked out and knocked out 2 people in 1 shot. NICE !!!!

I was then extremely shortstack with 3 aggressive players left, i wasnt sure if i should wait for good cards or just try to play any ace or something , the other 2 players were constantly raising, finally pocket Jacks were dealt to me and i was big blind, the button raised all in and i called , he showed K Q suited vs my J J , and i won when the flop, turn and river showed just low cards. This double up really put me in contention to win or def come in 2nd place.

The final hand was pretty good, after the turn i had nut flush and i checked it with other player checking behind me, the river came and i bet a small valuebet, and he re-raised me all in. At first i thought he was bluffing, but for some reason i had put him on a straight , anyways i called and it was all over. I just added about $350 to my broker bankroll. i guess tomorrows deposit will be even smaller

yes !!!!

heres the winning email !!

--------------------

PokerStars Tournament #57693498, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $25.00/$2.00
45 players
Total Prize Pool: $1125.00
Tournament started - 2007/08/08 - 00:58:10 (ET)

Dear stevenwe,

You finished the tournament in 1st place.
A $348.76 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 161.15 tournament leader points in this tournament.
For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at
http://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.html


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

------------------------------------
wish me luck

I just won a Satellite!! With my FPP points !!

Its about 3 hours since my last post , and as you all know my account is running on empty,

I decided to play a FPP satellite , it was a 400-R FPP and winner(s) get a $215 entry to The Sunday Guaranteed Million on PokerStars, i guess i shouldve taken a screen shot , but i did amazing , i barely had to play the last 30 minutes i was so ahead!!

I had about 79,000 chips and nearest guy had maybe 40k, it was great , i played very well , My hands held up and i cant recall any suckouts, i folded alot of hands and played really really well , im happy

ill paste the congratulatory email below

---------------------------

PokerStars Tournament #57349469, No Limit Hold'em
Super Satellite
Buy-In: 400 FPP
129 players
Total Prize Pool: $1368.00
Target Tournament #57270953 Buy-In: $130.00
10 tickets to the target tournament

Tournament started - 2007/08/07 - 23:05:00 (ET)

Dear stevenwe,

You finished the tournament in 1st place.
You qualified to play in Tournament #57270953 and are automatically registered for it.
See Tournament #57270953 Lobby for further details.

If you choose to unregister from this tournament your account will be credited
with $215.00 Tournament dollars. Tournament dollars can be used to buy into
any tournament.
Visit our web site at http://www.pokerstars.com/tournaments.html for more details.



Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

------------------------------------

i will probably unregister for the tourney and just use it as part of my bankroll , or maybe ill only deposit $1800 tomorrow , nevertheless im happy !!

wish me luck

Dang'it , I busted out of my bankroll, Because i didnt behave

Im so pissed , the reason i have this freakin blog is so i stay focused and disciplined, i played higher limits than i shouldve , and i lost a few games and now im broke. damn!!

And as a slap in the face to me ( although i cant complain) I actually did play 3 separate 45 person SnG's yesterday and placed in 2 of them. im happy for that, but i tried playing some higher staes cash games and 1-2-3 i was out like a light

It seems playing within my bankroll is gonna be the hardest chore i have in poker.

Tomorrow i will be deposting $2,000 and i better behave

wish me luck

Decided to play a larger stakes SnG

I woke up today and decided to play a $114 STT , i know im not supposed to play games that are out of my bankroll , but i had an itch , and it paid off , i came in 2nd place , im not complaining since i was short stack most of the game , but when we got to heads up , we were almost even and we both went all in and he sucked out and won
heres the hand history

---

*********** # 55 **************
PokerStars Game #11273470919: Tournament #57193750, $105+$9 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2007/08/02 - 16:22:07 (ET)
Table '57193750 1' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: stevenwe (4490 in chips)
Seat 8: Bas Mackey (9010 in chips)
stevenwe: posts the ante 25
Bas Mackey: posts the ante 25
Bas Mackey: posts small blind 100
stevenwe: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to stevenwe [8s As]
Bas Mackey: raises 8785 to 8985 and is all-in
stevenwe: calls 4265 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [Td Qc Jd]
*** TURN *** [Td Qc Jd] [9s]
*** RIVER *** [Td Qc Jd 9s] [5h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
stevenwe: shows [8s As] (a straight, Eight to Queen)
Bas Mackey: shows [Ks 8d] (a straight, Nine to King)
Bas Mackey collected 8980 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8980 | Rake 0
Board [Td Qc Jd 9s 5h]
Seat 1: stevenwe (big blind) showed [8s As] and lost with a straight, Eight to Queen
Seat 8: Bas Mackey (button) (small blind) showed [Ks 8d] and won (8980) with a straight, Nine to King

-------------------------

but i guess 2nd place is better than losing

wish me luck

Still My First Day

I havent really began to grind today , i woke up feeling like playing a MTT , i entered the PS $22 buyin that started at 12pm ,
1199 entrants and i cashed , i barely made any money , but i guess its better than a loss
---------------
PokerStars Tournament #56616745, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $20.00/$2.00
1199 players
Total Prize Pool: $23980.00
Tournament started - 2007/08/01 - 12:00:00 (ET)

Dear stevenwe,

You finished the tournament in 79th place.
A $50.35 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 89.85 tournament leader points in this tournament.
For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at
http://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.html


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

-------------------------------------------

I love the MTT , but sometimes im not sure if its worth my time unless i really make it to a final table, i guess ill continue to plug away.

My best game is still the single table Sng's, but im probably going to just play some cash games later on tonight

wish me luck

Just placed 5th in a 45 person SnG

its 3:45 am here in NYC , and i just finished playing poker for the day . Todays poker hasnt been all that good , but i ended off the night by placing 5th in a 45 person $25 Sng , so my first day didnt even really start yet and im up about $45 , hey , its better than losing

heres the email from PS

----

PokerStars Tournament #57068859, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $25.00/$2.00
45 players
Total Prize Pool: $1125.00
Tournament started - 2007/08/01 - 02:44:34 (ET)

Dear stevenwe,

You finished the tournament in 5th place.
A $101.25 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 72.07 tournament leader points in this tournament.
For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at
http://www.pokerstars.com/tlb_tournament_rankings.html


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

------------------------------------

wish me luck

First Day

I played alot of unprofitable poker tonight,
I came in 1st place in a single table Sng , buyin was $25 , i also played a 2nd game and very disappointed , i came in 4th on the bubble , sux!!

I also played some .10/.25 NLHE and didnt do too well , i played 4 tables at once , and ended up losing about $30 total, i suck at cash games , but i really need to learn quick , it seems as if i always get a bad beat when i play cash , not sure what im doing wrong

I also am trying very hard to win a seat to the PokerStars APPT event in Manilla. everysunday theres a $500 + 30 buyin tourney , and im trying very hard to win a seat into the weekly tourney by winning a super satelite, i dont know why PS doesnt have any good tourneys for this event , it looks like ill be using my FPP points to try to win an entry

wish me luck