I goofed up in AC, but not at 2 / 4 (I think?)! I have DATA this time.

So, alright, I'll come clean about it right away, I lost something like $220 at Atlantic City (AC) this weekend. But, I had a great time. And, I lost $80 playing blackjack in 5 minutes, which was, in terms of hourly rate, the worst decision I made all weekend. I lost another $140 playing 4 / 8 Hold 'Em after I got brutally assaulted by missing flush draws and overplaying pocket aces... but, I have no data concerning that since it was 2am at the time and I was exhausted / shouldn't have been playing any more. Anyhoo, I did ok at 2 / 4 coming out up $20 after a max up of $132... I took a break from playing 2 / 4 for 5 hours and then waited like 30 - 45 min for my friends who never showed up and then decided to sign up for 4 / 8 since I was tied down to the poker room. My friend's cell phone wasn't working inside the Tropicana and so I had to stay there and got enticed to gamble more. My fault entirely.

It turns out, though, that this time I have real data! My girlfriend gave me a Moleskin notebook for Christmas that conveniently fits into my back pocket. As such, while I was playing 2 / 4, I kept semi-meticulous notes (which also kept me focused, I think) and now I can present you with actual hands and other stats. This way, I won't be writing that, "Oh, I think I played well." Rather, I can show you what actually happened and you can judge for yourself:

Total Hands seen: 149, Total Hands played: 50, % played: 33.55%, Total Time played: 5h 42min

Below I'm going to post all of the hands that I played / what happened during those hands. Assume that position 1 = SB, position 2 = BB and position 10 = dealer.

1. Qs-3s (BB), checked on BB, folded to a bet on the flop that missed me.
2. 8c-3c (BB), checked on BB, ".
3. 6h-4h (SB), called SB, ".

4. K-J (position 9), called pre-flop raise... won with 2 pair by the river... hmm should've taken better notes here.

5. Qc-Jc (5), called for $2 pre-flop, folded at flop.
6. K-7 (BB), checked pre-flop, folded flop.

7. 5-5 (SB), called pre-flop and I beat some guy who was holding 4-4.. He bet the flop of 7s - 7c - 10s. Everyone else folded and I called. He and I both checked the turn (6s) and the river (Jc).

8. A-10 (7), called a raise pre-flop. Flop came down: 9 - 10 - J everyone checked the flop. Turn came down: 2 (I called a bet), River came down: 2 (I called another bet). I'm not sure what I lost to, but I suspect it was a Jack. Not quite sure what I was thinking here.

9. Ad-8d (6), called a raise pre-flop with 8 players in the pot. Flop: 3d - ? - ?. I called a $2 bet here figuring I had 16 : 1 odds for the runner - runner flush. Turn: Ac I bet the turn. River: 8c and I bet the river and won with two pair. I really wish I had written down what the flop was.

10. 5h-6h (BB), checked pre-flop, folded flop.
11. 3-3 (10), called pre-flop on button. Missed the flop and folded.
12. Ac-7c (5), called pre-flop and missed the flop.
13. A-10 (3), called pre-flop and missed the flop.

(It's kinda looking like I'm a calling station at this point, but let's read on).

14. 2-4 (BB) checked pre-flop and folded flop.

15. A-10 (9) called pre-flop and called bets down to the river and got beaten by A - A, wish I had written down the board here.

16. A-J (4) called pre-flop and flopped A - J - ?. Presumably I bet through to the river and won since I didn't write anything except for a check mark.

17. 8h-9h (BB) presumably checked pre-flop and folded when I missed the flop.

18. 8-8 (9) called a pre-flop raise. Flop: 6 - Q - 4 someone bet and I raised. Turn: Q and I called a bet. River: 10 Someone bet and I (finally) folded. One guy was carrying pocket 2s and the other guy had Q - rag (interestingly, he was the same guy who raised pre-flop from, I think, the big blind).

19. 7-7 (3) called pre-flop. Flop: J - 6 - 9 and I folded to a bet. I'm not sure if this was the correct move here.

20. 9h-10h (1) called re-raised pre-flop (was this a wise decision?). Flop: 10 - 8 - Kh Called a bet @ 6 : 1 odds (I'm assuming this was crazy wrong with a runner-runner straight and runner-runner flush). Turn: A and called another bet (this was mad wrong). River: K and finally folded to a bet. What was I thinking here?

21. K-K (10) I know I raised pre-flop and won from there... but not sure what the board was.

22. Kc-10c (9) called pre-flop and missed flop most likely.
23. J-7 (SB) I won, but otherwise, no idea. I think I hit a straight.
24. J-10 (10) I won again, but apparently by betting on the river and causing some dude to fold when all I had was 10s. Next time I need to be more diligent with writing down the board.

25. Q-J (BB) checked pre-flop and folded on the flop: 8 - K - 6. Was this a good call?

26. Ad-2d (9) called a pre-flop raise most likely. Hit the flush on the turn and won a huge pot (~$70). (This point was my max up of like $132).

27. 7-7 (SB?) called pre-flop but folded to a flop of: 10 - ? - J.

28. 10d-9d (SB?) called pre-flop and flew of the handle when I flopped 2 pair: 10h - 9h - 7. Unfortunately, some dude was holding J - 8 in his hand. I'm pretty sure there were maybe 3 or 4 of us in the pot pre-flop. Should I raise this hand in general at SB?

29. A-9 (BB) checked the flop and then folded.

30. Ac-Qc (SB) raised pre-flop and some guy called with K - 3. Flop came: J - 9 - 3 . I bet the flop, turn and river and he held on with the 3s... I don't know if this was the right move.

31. 6-6 (8) called pre-flop and folded to a 4 : 1 bet on a flop of : 4 - 5 - 5. I think this was the right move.

32. J-2 (BB) checked and folded the flop.

33. J-9 (SB) Called pre-flop. Flop came: 10 - 8 - 5 and I called a $2 bet. Turn: 3, I called a $4 bet. River: 7 with no flush and I bet and was called / won. I'm pretty sure this was an o.k. play since I had 4 : 1 odds to call on the flop and turn.

34. 6-6 (7) called pre-flop and checked a flop of: 7 - 7 - ?. Folded to a bet on the turn.
35. (10-2) (BB) checked and then folded to a bet on the flop.

36. Qs-Js (3) called pre-flop fold on flop 8d - Kh - 6h. Folded with 5 : 1 odds on flop.

37. K-8 (BB) check pre-flop fold on flop with 7 : 1 odds : 4c - 6s - 3d.
38. 4-4 (6) called pre-flop then folded to 5 - 6 - K flop.
39. Ac-9c (7) called pre-flop then folded to a flop of Ks - 6d - 10s

40. A-Q (6) raised pre-flop flop: J - 3 - ?, bet and called raise on flop and folded on turn. I assume "nothin'" means that I didn't catch the turn at all...

41. Ac-Jc (5) called pre-flop raise, called $2 on flop and folded the turn. 8 - 8 -7 - 5 - 2 (I presume there was one club on the flop).

42. 8c-2c (SB) called $1 and then folded on flop bet.

From this point on my notes on position get shoddy presumably because it was getting kinda late.

43. A-Q : Called pre-flop, checked the flop and raised the turn and the guy folded... no idea what was on the board... man this isn't useful.

44. 8s-9s Called pre-flop with 4 flush on the flop... didn't make it by the river.

45. A-J called pre-flop, flop and turn, but folded river. I guess I'm a calling station :). Flop was
7 - 8 - 9. My guess is I was chasing a gutshot?

46. 8-5 (BB) check then fold.

47. J-J (7) Called pre-flop raise. Flop came: Qd - K - Kd so I folded to a bet here. Turn was 4d and river was 5s. Some dude made a flush.

48. Jd-10d (6) called pre-flop and folded on flop bet of 7s - Qc - 10c then turn of Ad...

49. 9-9 (5) called pre-flop folded on flop bet on: 3 - Q - K.

50. K-K (3), I raised pre-flop, some dudes called. The flop came down 10 - 8 - ? and some dude was carrying 10s - 8s so he hung on until the river despite me betting the flop and the turn. (I called his river bet).

So, having written all this down it seems like I'm calling station / I fly off the handle... maybe someone can email me tips? / I should post some of these hands on the twoplustwo forums...

Foxwoods! once again

Went to Foxwoods again yesterday. This time it was Drew, myself, Tyler and Brannon. We left around 1130am and got there at about 1pm and stayed until like 730pm. I had a great time and did a little bit more learning. Essentially, I need to stop flying off the handle on hands. I ended up down about $100, which sucked (granted I was dealt absolute garbage for about 4 hours straight). I think if I discount my retarded moves, I probably would've been down more like $40 or $50. But, hopefully, I can iron these things out and eventually move up to $4 / $8 again. The big hands where I got crazy were basically when I got dealt pocket pairs and then saw overcards on the board. I tried to shake the other one or two players, but they just kept calling no matter what I bet. I also lost my patience after awhile and started playing crap hands like Q / 9 off-suit. Anyways, more sessions and more focus will help and I'll keep working at it. :)

Foxwoods!

Nick, Drew and I decided to go again to Foxwoods tonight. I did way better than I did last time and learned some more warning signs, etc to look for. This time I came out up $94. I started out playing 2 / 4 and doubled money to being up $114. Then, since I was holding $224, I decided to give 4 / 8 a whirl. I ended up having a max up of about $164 while I was playing 4/8. But, a combination of 3 - 4 rounds of blinds plus a missed flush dropped me back down to $94. At that point, I was getting very tired and we had already been there for about 4 hours (this went down at 11pm). So, we decided that it was time to leave and I left up about $94. Based on tonight's performance, I think that my greed definitely makes me play a bit longer than I should. I should have really left when I was up $160, but decided that I might win more if I kept playing. But, at that point the table started getting tighter and I started getting tired, which made it harder to keep playing. Thus, it was a good decision for me to leave. Anyways, combined with my $20 from last time, I'm now up to $114 of made money. I'm looking forward to going agian.

Adventures since Foxwoods.

Well, it's been awhile since Foxwoods... but I've decided to start playing online for lower stakes than I could play in a Casino. This way, I figure I can improve my game and when I earn enough money, move up to the next bracket. I'm starting out at 0.04/0.08 and 0.10/0.20 Limit Hold 'Em (basically the type of stakes I would play with friends). Currently, I'm up almost $11. I figure that once I earn $30 this way, I'll move up to the next stake level since I'll be playing on profit. I will most likely invest in an online poker tracker at some point so that I can really improve my game / potentially actually make money. I'll keep you folks updated on my progress. Below I've posted some interesting hands from the night.

Lots of the stuff I figured out worked. Foxwoods!

Last night at Foxwoods went much better than last week. I had a max up of $75 and I ended the night up $20. Basically, I would've ended up a bit higher, but I decided to kind of fool around a bit with bluffing at the pot and playing a bit more aggressively than I usually do. I found that if there were few players in the pot and that if I didn't do it too often, then I could successfully bluff the pot. I took down a good $80 or so worth of pots that way. It was only once I thought I could just do it repeatedly that people caught a whiff of my BS and started calling me down. Then, I kept pressing it a bit too much and started losing my profits. However, my observation from last week that I don't play well when it gets late and tired was a good one. Once I went down to $20 up, I woke up and saw that my playing had partially been crap because I was just getting too tired. Thus, stopping was awesome and I ended up leaving with money I didn't have when I sat down. :) I hope to go again soon and keep trying at 2 / 4.

I had a great time at Foxwoods and figured some stuff out.

So, I had a great time at Foxwoods last night. Nick, Dru and I went to play some 2/4 while some friends of mine from home played slots and drank for free until their livers became foie gras. Anyways, 2/4 is definitely my speed and the swings are more in price range for right now. I think that based on how things went I will go more often and play 2/4 until I get good enough / have enough money to start playing 4/8. Granted, I did lose the $120 I ended up bringing, but I actually only lost half playing 2/4. I had a bunch of ups and downs with two four (I was up $40 then down $40 etc etc). It's really different than 4/8 in that the game is kind of like a sandbox while 4/8 is like the monkey bars. You can get hurt playing in the sandbox but you have to be like really stupid. I goofed around and straddled and then bet into everyone at the table blind... that was funny since people were getting pissed at me. :) And it only really cost me $20. I did take down a bunch of hands on runner-runner draws, which also made the peeps at the table love me. Actually, though, one of the players at the table was telling Nick and Dru when I sat down to play at their table. He thought I was a really good player since I was "appearing to be wild", yet I had the sense of when to call / fold. I made like $60 at their table and then started getting tired... which is the reason I think I end up losing a lot when I go. I do well at first because my head's on straight and then I get tired and just make stupid ass decisions. The reason I did ok with Tyler and Jason back in June was because I got really lucky / we left before I had a chance to get friggin stupid. I think that next time I go back I want to go earlier and leave earlier because I really need to be sharp to play. All in all, I lost $120, Nick came out up $40 and Dru was the big winner and came out up $120! :)

But, when I got really amused was when I said to myself, "Look, I'm playing badly right now, if I sit here and keep playing 2/4 I'm going to lose the $60 I got left, so I might as well stop playing." That was a really good decision. I then said to myself, "Well, since this money is basically going in the garbage anyways [as it's a Foxwoods tradition], I might as well sit down to some No-Limit and just get a feel for what's up with it." That was actually a good use of the money. I got to see sort-of how people were playing and what kinds of bets people were making. Basically, No-Limit is erratic and crazy. I sat down to a 1/2 No-Limit table and pre-flop people would just casually throw in $10 or $20 as a raise. Sort-of like what we do with dimes and nickels. Typical large bets were like $50 - $75. This means that this game will not be in my price range for quite some time. Although, I will say, that if you know what you're doing, you can make a lot more money a lot faster than in Limit Hold 'Em given the stakes and the buy-in.

Funny story, I said screw it after losing a bit and then just went all-in on an A-4 off-suit just to mess around. I got like 4 calls ($40 bet) and caused some guy with an Ac-6c to fold. Turns out if he had stayed in he would've hit a flush on the turn and knocked everyone out. He was really pissed at me and was glaring at me the entire time, which made that my "Degree all-in moment". I was giggling at the table while his arms were practically around my throat. I had such a good time. Best $60 I ever spent.

Figured I should update this sucker.

Wednesday night was another magical night of poker for me. I ended up more than doubling my original stack of 500 chips to 1200 chips! Then we played a tournament where we bought in for 300 chips and I came in 3rd out of 7. Not bad I guess considering I suck at tournaments real bad. My big mistake was calling an all in with Ac - Kc and a board of A - 8 - 8. It just didn't occur to me that my worthy opponent was holding an 8... Eh, whatev. I'm going to start updating this blog more often with hands, etc once I put together a simple form to fill out for each hand. Something must exist like this on the internet somewhere. :)