Filthy Rich Fish

Before Black Friday I was grinding 200NL Full Ring Rush poker. As a European I'm not directly affected by recent events but 200NL Rush poker sort of disappeared together with the US players...  I've been playing 100NL regular cash games lately (multi-tabling a mix of 6max and full ring tables) on Full Tilt. 

Dude, those games are soft and sweet! 

Of course, it sucks big time for all US players and yes, I know that, at this time, Full Tilt is probably not the most safe place to play. But it's hard to say bye-bye to 30 months of Iron Man Challenge, rakeback and super-smooth software when hands like these come up quiet often:

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1300121
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (CO): $121.55
BTN: $43.40
SB: $203.05
BB: $116.30
UTG: $53.50
MP: $101.50

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with 7 7
1 fold, MP raises to $3.50, Hero calls $3.50, 2 folds, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($11.00) 9 K 7(3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets $8, BB calls $8, MP folds

Turn: ($27.00) 3(2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $22, BB calls $22

River: ($71.00) 6(2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $88.05 all in, BB calls $82.80 all in

Final Pot: $236.60
Hero shows 7 7 (three of a kind, Sevens)
BB mucks 2 9
Hero wins $233.60
(Rake: $3.00)

*

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1300122

DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $138.50
BB: $132.85
UTG: $100.00
CO: $40.10
Hero (BTN): $100.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BTN with Q J
1 fold, CO calls $1, Hero raises to $5, 2 folds, CO calls $4

Flop: ($11.50) J J 2(2 players)
CO bets $5, Hero raises to $10, CO calls $5

Turn: ($31.50) 3(2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $18, CO calls $18

River: ($67.50) 8(2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $8, CO calls $7.10 all in

Final Pot: $81.70
CO mucks T Q
Hero shows Q J (three of a kind, Jacks)
Hero wins $78.70
(Rake: $3.00)

Only hours away from leaving Brussels. The reasons are unclear. 

Unlocked my Full Tilt Year End Bonus and made over +$3K grinding 100NL FR Rush Poker extensively for the past two weeks. Good start of the year. But now it's time to go....

One final trip to Cambodia, brags, beats and variance at my blog FilthyRichFish.org 

My very last hand of my last 100NL Rush poker session of 2010 went like this...

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 1097686
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $100.00
BB: $67.80
UTG: $237.30
UTG+1: $136.50
UTG+2: $243.40
MP1: $104.65
Hero (MP2): $211.95
CO: $100.00
BTN: $147.30

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is MP2 with A A
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $3, 1 fold, Hero raises to $10, 4 folds, UTG+2 calls $7

Flop: ($21.50) 4 6 Q(2 players)
UTG+2 bets $21.50, Hero calls $21.50

Turn: ($64.50) 7(2 players)
UTG+2 bets $64.50, Hero calls $64.50

River: ($193.50) 4(2 players)
UTG+2 bets $147.40 all in, Hero calls $115.95 all in

Final Pot: $425.40
UTG+2 shows T T (two pair, Tens and Fours)
Hero shows A A (two pair, Aces and Fours)
Hero wins $422.40
(Rake: $3.00)

Alas, the rest of the year didn't go as smooth. It was pretty rough. Made some money playing poker but nothing to get excited about... Got a lot to learn. Need to put in a lot more time playing hands. I guess I might be a bit lazy... But hey, at least there's room for improvement in 2011!

Wrote a full length post about the past year here at my blog Filthy Rich Fish

Happy New Year!

I'm not the kind of player who likes to donk flops. But playing 4 tables of Rush Poker can get a bit confusing at times... The villain in this hand is a solid regular 11/10. But when the table pops up all I see are my pretty sixes and a favorable flop... 

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 961672

DeucesCracked Poker VideosHand History Converter

BTN: $57.45
SB: $101.40
Hero (BB): $71.00
UTG: $49.90
UTG+1: $60.70
UTG+2: $74.90
MP1: $68.65
MP2: $50.00
CO: $53.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 6 6
3 folds, MP1 raises to $1.75, 4 folds, Hero calls $1.25

Flop: ($3.75) 4 4 2(2 players)
Hero bets $2.40, MP1 calls $2.40

Turn: ($8.55) J(2 players)
Hero bets $5, MP1 calls $5

River: ($18.55) T(2 players)
Hero bets $11, MP1 folds

Final Pot: $18.55
Hero wins $17.65
(Rake: $0.90)

Lately I've been struggling to get my mind set on poker again... A new month, a new start, an excellent time to set some goals:

• Play at least 20K hands in cash games (full ring Rush poker and regular 6max)
• Focus on improving. Making a profit is always nice but monetary goals are nothing but a shortcut to monkey tilt...
• Stick to a tight schedule. Bad beats are a part of poker and life. It's the time spend being upset about them that really hurts. Recover and move on!
• Take up breathing exercises again. I really liked that part of 'The Eightfold Path To Poker Enlightenment' but somewhere along the way I stopped putting it into practice...
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle with lots of workouts and a peaceful mind.
• Try to get in a positive frame of mind before playing ('I'm going to play my A+ game today!')

If I can combine these goals and resolutions with some positive variance, It's going to be a great autumn! 

The last month or so I hit a bumpy stretch in the road. Nothing went my way. At least, that's how it felt. Anyway, after watching the first episode of Rush it to NL I decided to take a fresh start. Dropped all the way down to 50NL and started playing Full Ring Rush... After trying to beat the same 40 or so regs at 6max Rush 200NL it's quite refreshing to play against weaker competition. My confidence is on the rise. For the first time in a long time I enjoy playing poker again. Sometimes moving down is the best way to move up...

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 938605

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $20.25
UTG+2: $50.00
MP1: $83.50
MP2: $53.20
CO: $59.75
Hero (BTN): $78.60
SB: $84.40
BB: $50.00
UTG: $4.60

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with K K
4 folds, MP2 raises to $1.75, CO raises to $5, Hero calls $5, 2 folds, MP2 calls $3.25

Flop: ($15.75) 5 4 7(3 players)
MP2 checks, CO bets $9, Hero calls $9, MP2 calls $9

Turn: ($42.75) 9(3 players)
MP2 checks, CO requests TIME, CO checks, Hero checks

River: ($42.75) 7(3 players)
MP2 checks, CO checks, Hero bets $25, MP2 calls $25, CO requests TIME, CO folds

Final Pot: $92.75
MP2 mucks 3 4
Hero shows K K (two pair, Kings and Sevens)
Hero wins $89.75
(Rake: $3.00)

*

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 938614

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $53.35
MP1: $43.85
MP2: $56.25
CO: $50.50
BTN: $54.25
SB: $38.90
Hero (BB): $138.40
UTG: $12.25
UTG+1: $22.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with Q Q
2 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.50, 5 folds, Hero raises to $2.20, UTG+2 calls $1.70

Flop: ($4.65) J Q A(2 players)
Hero bets $3.40, UTG+2 calls $3.40

Turn: ($11.45) A(2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+2 bets $5, Hero raises to $15, UTG+2 calls $10

River: ($41.45) 2(2 players)
Hero bets $40, UTG+2 calls $32.75 all in

Final Pot: $106.95
UTG+2 mucks 9 A
Hero shows Q Q (a full house, Queens full of Aces)
Hero wins $103.95
(Rake: $3.00)

*

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 938616

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $53.70
SB: $182.50
BB: $38.55
UTG: $84.40
UTG+1: $181.85
UTG+2: $50.00
MP1: $37.95
MP2: $40.55
Hero (CO): $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with A K
4 folds, MP2 calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.50, 3 folds, MP2 calls $2

Flop: ($5.75) 4 2 9(2 players)
MP2 bets $2.50, Hero raises to $6, MP2 calls $3.50

Turn: ($17.75) A(2 players)
MP2 bets $10, Hero calls $10

River: ($37.75) 3(2 players)
MP2 bets $16.50, Hero raises to $31.50 all in, MP2 folds

Final Pot: $70.75
Hero wins $67.75
(Rake: $3.00)

In January I started playing 25NL 6max Rush Poker. I lost countless buy-in's day after day. So in spring I joined DC and worked hard on my game. Pretty soon I was beating 100NL Rush... My bankroll got bigger and bigger. At the start of summer I moved up to the next level. The first 20000 hands were my best days in poker. But it was only a matter of time before I fell deep into the valley of unhappiness...

200NL Rush Poker took my money and crushed my soul

The full story of my Summer of Rush here (at my blog FilthyRichFish.Org)

Set over set over set…

Completely irrelevant but
(being on the happy side of it)
a beautiful, rare run of cards…

Getting it in as a 91% favorite sure feels good ;-)

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold’em – 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP: $119.50
Hero (CO): $108.05
BTN: $65.00
SB: $163.85
BB: $283.40
UTG: $80.70

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is CO with Q Q
2 folds, Hero raises to $3, 1 fold, SB calls $2.50, BB calls $2

Flop: ($9.00) 4 Q 7 (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $5, SB raises to $12, BB raises to $45, Hero raises to $105.05 all in, SB raises to $160.85 all in, BB calls $115.85

Turn: ($435.75) J (3 players – 2 are all in)

River: ($435.75) 2 (3 players – 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $435.75
Hero shows Q Q (three of a kind, Queens)
SB shows 4 4 (three of a kind, Fours)
BB shows 7 7 (three of a kind, Sevens)
BB wins $111.60
Hero wins $321.15
(Rake: $3.00)

There are those times when it’s so hard to resist
My brain on hold, my eyes glued to the screen.
One single thought remains
‘Top Pair and a flush draw! Get it in! Get it in! Get it in’
I played SNG’s for a long, long time before moving to cash games. Some old habits are difficult to abandon…
Anyway, the villain is a tight regular. He’ll never play for stacks unless he has me crushed. So chechk/call the flop would be fine. Instead I go for this silly bet/shove scheme…

Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold’em – 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $104.15
Hero (UTG): $100.50
MP: $100.00
CO: $104.00
BTN: $128.20
SB: $53.40

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is UTG with T Q
Hero raises to $3.50, 1 fold, CO calls $3.50, 3 folds

Flop: ($8.50) Q 8 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $5, CO raises to $15, Hero raises to $97 all in, CO calls $82

Turn: ($202.50) J (2 players – 1 is all in)

River: ($202.50) 8 (2 players – 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $202.50
Hero shows T Q (two pair, Queens and Eights)
CO shows 7 7 (a full house, Sevens full of Eights)
CO wins $199.50
(Rake: $3.00)

The path is long, got a lot to learn…

Last night I gave BlazingStars I try at the micro-stakes. It’s a cool little app for Mac Os X that allows you to assign hot keys when using the PokerStars clients.
Mac poker software really has been catching up lately (interested? Macpokersoftware.com has all the answers)
So I was happy clicking the hot keys and adding more tables when this hand came up:

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold’em – 5 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN): $24.55
SB: $26.70
BB: $25.35
UTG: $11.70
CO: $18.40

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with T 9
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.75, SB calls $0.65, 1 fold

Flop: ($1.75) 9 Q 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1.75) 2 (2 players)
SB bets $0.75, Hero calls $0.75

River: ($3.25) 7 (2 players)
SB bets $7.25, Hero calls $7.25

Final Pot: $17.75
Hero mucks T 9
SB shows 9 9 (three of a kind, Nines)
SB wins $16.90
(Rake: $0.85)

What the hell happened here?
While the villain made the overbet on the river, I was typing in a player note on another table… hitting the ‘c’-button in the process.
C as in snap call.