Wave of Mutilation

I’m gearing up to move in January. First it was going to be Vegas, but for now it’s probably going to be upstate NY to be closer to family for a while. I have a few things that could use settling before I truck out to the desert.

I’m up listening to Johnny Cash right now, trying to decide what Xbox and games to get. I haven’t had a 360 in a couple of years because I was deathly afraid of the RROD but meh, I’m going to have to get over it. I need a couple of lazy outlets outside of poker. Drafting on modo (Magic The Gathering Online) is fun but honestly it can tilt you more than poker. I can lose flip after flip after flip and it doesn’t bother me one bit. I can 3 barrel total air into the nuts time after time (hopefully not!) and it doesn’t bother me one bit. If I get mana screwed in round 2 of an 8-4 I want to tear my hair out haha. I guess it’s not that bad but it’s pretty funny how good my poker tilt control and mental management is, and it totally goes out the window when I’m not pokering.

Speaking of 3 barreling air :/ I played this hand a while ago at 3/6 deep. Villain was definitely bad but hadn’t shown himself to be any sort of a calling station. I had him pegged on weak 1 pair hands and even though draws missed I really didn’t think he’d be able to look me up. He tanked, oh how he tanked, and finally called. He left soon after which really sucked :(

Full Tilt Poker $3/$6 No Limit Hold’em $1 Ante – 5 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $582.00
CO: $1178.30
BTN: $1260.00
Hero (SB): $1538.00
BB: $2689.40

Pre Flop: ($14.00) Hero is SB with K A
1 fold, CO raises to $26, 1 fold, Hero raises to $82, 1 fold, CO calls $56

Flop: ($175.00) 3 8 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $110, CO calls $110

Turn: ($395.00) J (2 players)
Hero bets $260, CO calls $260

River: ($915.00) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $1085 all in, CO calls $725.30 all in

Final Pot: $2365.60
CO shows 6 3 (a pair of Threes)
Hero shows K A (Ace King high)
CO wins $2362.60
(Rake: $3.00)

I gave the deep tables a break for a bit after this, just to let the plague of thinking about that hand non-stop dissolve a bit. I just wanted to share it because it’s pretty sick lol.

So yeah if anyone has any good suggestions for Xbox 360 games that’d be sweet. I was considering Mortal Kombat vs. DC, GTA 4 obv, Prince of Persia because I’ve been playing that game since it was on the SNES, Tenchu Z?, Pure, some other stuff looks cool. Fight Night Round 4 seems awesome, I was always a fan of the original Xbox game. What’s the best NHL/NBA/NFL game?

For all you SSNL cats – Lately I’ve been reinforcing the amount of attention my students pay to detail. One of the most common things we’ve been talking about is positional tells. Players at SSNL have very obvious positional tells, and they never balance (most often rightfully so). For example, if someone 3b’s a UTG raiser, they probably have QQ+ AK like 99% of the time. Obviously there are people that 3b light there, but they are more the exception rather than the rule. Think about it like this…. Do they 3b hands like 77-JJ or AQ-AJs? Unless it’s a very specific circumstance/opponent heeeeellll no. So that means they’re polarized to air/QQ+ AK. How many times in your session do you 3b a UTG raise with 73s, 85s, T6s, or something similar. Probably not that many. There are tons of multitabling players out there that never 3b med. strength hands, and have like zero bluffing frequency. Sooooo face up. Another position they have huge tells in is the sb. First of all, they aren’t peeling with a lot of suited connectors in the blinds (multiway action increases likelihood etc.) and almost NEVER in the sb itself. So when a tighter player you see on 6+ tables flats your raise in the sb they have med. strength hands like all day long. They know enough to not flat small pairs most of the time, maybe sometimes if you’re UTG for some of them, but generally they don’t flat small pairs or suited connectors, and they don’t slowplay monsters like QQ+ (sometimes they flat AK but mostly they 3b) so what does that leave them? Generally they’re going to have like 77 or 88 to JJ, AJs KQs and AQ. Some have a slightly wider range, but not generally. This turns their hand pretty damned face up. Here’s an example from 2/4 vs. a CR instructor, where he’s representing hands that he just never has in his range….

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 No Limit Hold’em – 5 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $293.30
Hero (CO): $414.00
BTN: $872.60
SB: $452.00
BB: $505.10

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is CO with 8 A
1 fold, Hero raises to $12, 1 fold, SB calls $10, 1 fold

Flop: ($28.00) 3 Q 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $20, SB calls $20

Turn: ($68.00) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $40, SB raises to $110, Hero raises to $382 all in, SB folds

Final Pot: $288.00
Hero wins $285.00
(Rake: $3.00)

Basically he’s telling me he called preflop with 56s, 22, 33, or turned 66. He never plays a Q like that, and rarely has those small pairs because they aren’t profitable to flat there, they make good 3b bluffs though. So basically he’s telling me his value range is all hands that he’d never have, save for 3 combo’s of 66 and that’s super slim so I jam on him. Next time someone raises you, ask yourself if the story makes sense. Figure out whether or not they can actually have the hands their play claims they do, and use any other variables you have to make a better decision. Don’t just give someone credit for the nuts or a very unlikely hand for THIS player in THIS position based on what you know about them.

Anyway rambling at this point. Going to drink some warm cider & cinnamon and take a nap.