Playing NL50 Headsup - Pokerstar's Challenge (97.4% complete)

Well, I am almost complete my Pokerstar's challenge. 2924 of 3000 FPP points finished. So far I am up $851 plus $150 when I unlock the pending bonus. It's been a rollacoaster ride lately and I haven't been able to find my groove in the $25 NL 6-max games. I just swtiched to Holdem Manager poker software because my trial ran out for PokerTracker. Here is my graph for the last 3 days:


Note, right at the end I switched to $.25/$.50 headsup and I was killing it! I basically won 6 stacks for $110 total in like 30 minutes. Basically, I just looked for players who bought in short for like $10-$30. I was aggressive, I was making moves at the right time and I got lucky too. Here is one hand from one of the headsup matches, I got a straight flush:) He had 5,9 off suit. Notice, he never raised once preflop so it was an easy match.


The thing I don`t like about Holdem Manger is that it does not record the first 30 hands before you sit at the table like PokerTracker does... Maybe I`ll try PokerOffice free trial too before I buy.

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Anyway, here are a couple hands, one a $77 pot!

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed)

saw flop | saw showdown

Button ($3.40)
SB ($25.80)
BB ($25.25)
UTG ($15.20)
MP ($25)
Hero (CO) ($24.85)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 3, 5
UTG calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.25, Button calls $0.25, 1 fold, BB checks

Flop: ($1.10) 6, 4, 7 (4 players)
BB checks, UTG bets $0.25, Hero calls $0.25, Button calls $0.25, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.85) 6 (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $1.25, 1 fold, UTG raises to $5, Hero raises to $15.75, UTG calls $9.70 (All-In)

River: ($31.25) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $31.25 | Rake: $1.55
Main pot: $31.25 between UTG and Hero, won by UTG

Results:
UTG had K, 6 (four of a kind, sixes).
Hero mucked 3, 5 (straight, seven high).
Outcome: UTG won $29.70

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PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed)

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG ($15)
MP ($32.65)
CO ($14.80)
Hero (Button) ($32)
SB ($25.45)
BB ($32.65)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
UTG (poster) checks, MP bets $0.85, CO raises to $1.45, Hero raises to $4.25, 1 fold, BB calls $4, 2 folds, CO calls $2.80

Flop: ($13.95) 8, 6, 6 (3 players)
BB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $4.50, BB calls $4.50, CO raises to $10.55 (All-In), Hero calls $6.05, BB calls $6.05

Turn: ($45.60) 9 (3 players, 1 all-in)
BB checks, Hero bets $16.75, BB raises to $17.85 (All-In), Hero calls $0.45 (All-In)

River: ($80) 3 (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: $80 | Rake: $3
Main pot: $45.60 between CO, Hero and BB, won by Hero
Side pot 1: $34.40 between Hero and BB, won by Hero

Results:
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and sixes).
BB had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and sixes).
CO mucked Q, 4 (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $77

Bonuses:
- Free $100 Bankroll at Pokerstars
- 100% Deposit Bonus at Pokerstars

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Pokerstars NL25 (Fast - 6 max) - Video

Here is my first video of cash game. It was right at the end of my session and I was about to leave the table but there was a player, "ccc53" and he was overbetting almost every pot. The funny thing was, he was winning every hand. He went from $20 to $65 in just a few hands. I wasn't sure if this guy was a total donk or if he was just getting lucky.



I started recording and I picked up a lot of hands! Unfortunately I couldn't stack "ccc53" and maybe I should have slow played the 2 sets I got against him. I skipped a bunch of hands because the video was getting long and I wanted to keep it under the Youtube maximum length of 10 min, 57 sec.

Sorry, no commentary. My microphone doesn't work on Vista. I added a couple songs though. I have to pick up a new mircophone/webcam.

Bonuses:
- Free $100 Bankroll at Pokerstars
- 100% Deposit Bonus at Pokerstars

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When Passive Plays - Chris Ferguson

There's no question that aggressive poker is winning poker. If the world's top players have only one thing in common, it's that they take control of the hands they play with bets and raises. Usually, among the world's poker elite, calling is the least attractive option.

For this tip, however, I thought I'd talk about a couple of instances when playing passively - just checking and calling bets - may be the preferred option.

Top Pair, Favorable Board

Say I'm in the early stages of a tournament and I have an ample stack. I find Ace-Jack in middle position and raise to three times the big blind. A player in late position, who I know to be solid but fairly aggressive, calls my raise, and everyone else folds. The flop comes As-4d-8h. I've got top-pair, with a decent kicker.

First, I want to think about the hands my opponent might hold. It's likely he called my raise with an Ace or a pocket pair, maybe in the range of 66-99. He may have also called with two high cards like KQ, KJ or QJ.

In this situation, I'm likely very far ahead or hopelessly behind if my opponent hit a set or has a bigger Ace. If he's got an Ace with a worse kicker, he's drawing to only three outs. If he's got a pocket pair like 77, he has only two outs. With just two face cards, he's almost drawing dead. And on this board (As-4d-8h), I don't need to be especially worried about straight or flush draws. Because of this, I don't mind giving my opponent a free card.

If I bet my top pair and my opponent holds a pocket pair, he's likely to fold, and I'll have failed to get any additional value out of my hand. If I check, however, I give this player the chance to bluff or bet his lesser Ace, and I can then call.

Ideally, I want to get one decent-sized bet in over the course of this hand and by checking, I prevent my opponent from giving me more action than my hand can handle.

Say the turn is 3c. The situation hasn't changed much. I'm still either way ahead or very far behind. I can check again, and allow my opponent to bluff.

On most river cards, if we have checked the hand down, I will generally bet. If we've put one bet in, I'll probably check-call, and if we've put in two, I'll likely check and fold. Playing the hand in this manner provides three advantages. It allows me to get good value out of a strong hand, and it also keeps me from losing more than I need to against a hand that has mine beat without too much risk. Additionally, playing this way gives my opponent the opportunity to bluff, which is the only way to get any money out of him if he holds a hand like QJ.

Decent Hand, Scary Board

Here's another early tournament situation where my opponents and I have relatively deep stacks. Say I'm holding pocket 8s in middle position and a player has raised pre-flop from early position. I call the raise and a player in late position calls as well. The three of us see a flop of Jd-Jc-4s.

There's a decent chance that my 8s are good, but I want to proceed cautiously, as either of the other players in the hand could hold a Jack.

Say that all three of us check this flop. I really haven't learned too much, because someone could be slow playing trip Jacks.

The turn comes 6h. This doesn't look like it would have helped anyone's hand, but the pre-flop raiser bets from early position. This is a spot where I'd likely just call. There are a couple of advantages to just calling in this situation. First, it doesn't over-commit me to the pot. If the player in late position raises, I can muck having lost a minimum number of chips. Secondly, the call is going to look very scary to my opponents. They might be thinking that I'm the one slow playing trip Jacks. So, even if the early position player holds a higher pocket pair, he's likely to check on the river no matter what card hits. At that point, I can show down my 8s and see if they are in fact the best hand.

The problem with this play relative to the last one is that I am probably giving my opponent six outs to catch up and beat my hand if he has two over-cards, as opposed to two or three outs in the previous example.

I don't play passively often, but under the right circumstances, just calling bets can provide good value while minimizing risk.

For another perspective on passive play, be sure to read the lesson entitled In Defense of the Call by Gavin Smith.

Bonuses:
- Free $100 Bankroll at Full Tilt Poker
- 27% Rakeback at Full Tilt Poker

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Durrrr and Ziigmund Play $3,000-$9,000 PLO

Last week, Tom "Durrrr" Dwan and Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies were playing deep-stacked heads-up $500/1,000 PLO when Ziigmund proposed $3,000/9,000 "blinds" to Dwan. Dwan accepted to play for 10 hands but they played much longer.


Here is the conversation they had:

Ziigmund: lets make deal
Ziigmund: always have to raise and reraise
durrrr: what type?
durrrr: lol
Ziigmund: ok?
durrrr: ill do for 10hands ok?
Ziigmund: before flop
durrrr: next 10hands
Ziigmund: ok next 10 hands
durrrr: god
durrrr: lol
durrrr: so sick
Ziigmund: then u can do what u want
Ziigmund: rereraise
durrrr: ya obv
Ziigmund: or whatever
durrrr: ya
durrrr: 10 hands
Ziigmund: but raise and reraise before flop
durrrr: ya

They played some huge pots, 3 pots over $400k including one for over $577k! In the $577k pot, Durrrr flopped the nut straight where Ziigmund flopped the nut flush draw. Ziigmund hit his flush on the turn and collected the massive pot!

Another big pot was a $433k pots won by Durrrr. He flopped top set of queens against Ziigmund's massive straight draws. Ziigmund doesn't hit and Durrrr drags the pot. Here's a picture of the hand, Ziigmund isn't that far behind with his open ended plus double gut shot straight draws.


At the end of the session, Durrrr finished ahead of Ziigmund by only $160k. 2 days later, Sahamies wanted to play some more $3,000-$9,000 PLO! Dwan said it was too much at the moment but later accepted after winner a big pot.

The biggest hand they played was a $477,912 pot that Ziigmund won. Durrrr flopped a set but Ziigmund turned a straight. Durrrr did not hit his full house and Ziigmund collects the pot.

After the second session, Ziigmund won back his 160k from the first session and now they are tied for the $3,000-$9,000 stakes.

Session 3 coming up?

Bonuses:
- Free $100 Bankroll at Full Tilt Poker
- 27% Rakeback at Full Tilt Poker

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Free Poker Bankroll at Players Only - $50 No Deposit Bonus

-$50 free in Tournament tickets at Players Only.
-Eligible to: USA and Canada only.
-Network: CakePoker Network (Average traffic, 1700 Players playing on Average)


To get $50 free no deposit from Players Only, follow these instructions;
1) Sign up at the BankrollMob
2) Request the bonus and follow the instructions
3) Wait 1-2 days to receive the bonus

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$2-$4 Limit Hold'em Video - "Sharkfisherman"

Join "Sharkfisherman" as he plays $2-$4 full ring limit hold'em on Titan Poker.


(For full screen, click bottom right)

Bonuses:
- Free $150 Poker Bankroll at Titan Poker

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Playing with John D'Agostino - Jay Greenspan

As a writer covering the poker circuit, I wasn't surprised to see that John D'Agostino took second in the Borgata Winter Open, netting more than half a million dollars. John is widely considered one of the great, young, all-around players in the game. He's equally comfortable playing limit and no-limit, cash games, and tournaments.

I got a particularly close look at John's play a week prior to Borgata, when we shared a table in Tunica at the $10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour event. John didn't cash in that event, but during the hours we played together, I witnessed many qualities that make him a great player - here are three of them.

Overcoming a Tough Stretch

In Tunica, the players started with 20,000 chips. Within the first blind level, almost half of John's stack was gone. In a key hand, John made a tough lay down when he deduced that his high pocket pair hand had not survived to the river. A couple of difficult hands followed soon after.

It was the kind of tournament start that dispirits others. After such a difficult opening, it's not uncommon to see even very good players overwhelmed with resignation. I've heard players utter "It's not my day." At that point, they're sealing their fate.

John, however, settled in. He didn't make unneeded moves that would decimate his stack. On his way to his second-place finish at Borgata, John was able to deal with a far greater level of adversity. With 25 players remaining, John was the chip leader, holding nearly one million in chips. A few tough hands and four hours later, John held only 280,000 chips and was in twelfth place with 16 players remaining.

Despite these setbacks, he didn't tilt - he focused and made good decisions. He waited for his spots and was able to build his stack back.

During Tunica, John was keenly aware of his own stack and the stacks of others. After the tough early hands, he was quiet while waiting for a spot to double up. He didn't rush it. He knew that he held more than 20 big blinds in his stack and could wait for the right opportunity. He wasn't forced to push in on Ace-Nine or a pair of 3s.

Once he managed to build himself back, he was on the hunt, looking for stacks to attack. Sadly for me, he noticed that I had become the table short stack. John was in late position when I had the big blind, and he let no opportunity go by to attack my blind. With only 20 big blinds, I couldn't afford to fight back without a premium hand, as any decision I'd make would be for my tournament life. John was the only one at the table (other than me) who seemed fully aware of the situation. Others were far more focused on their own cards, rather than on the other factors that would give them opportunities to pick up pots.

Inscrutable Behaviors

In Tunica, most of the players at my table offered a treasure trove of information. They varied their bet sizes pre-flop - a little higher when they didn't want action, a little lower when they welcomed it. Their arm and hand movements varied wildly from hand to hand. With time, one could draw fairly accurate conclusions based on such tells.

John, however, offered nothing. When he open-raised, he did so for three times the big blind every time. His motions seemed nearly identical to me time after time. If I tried to read his facial expression, I got only a view of his downcast eyes as he stared vacantly at the felt. As far as I could tell, there was nothing to learn.

The Tunica event didn't go well for me, but I leaned a lot from watching John. Without question, observing the pros is one the easiest ways to improve one's game.

Bonuses:
- Free $100 Bankroll at Full Tilt Poker
- 27% Rakeback at Full Tilt Poker

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