Attacking that Poker Stars bonus
I played a little bit of $50 NL at Party Poker yesterday morning, and I played it really really well. I won $40 or so in a really short time period (maybe 50 hands? Probably not even that many!), but I felt myself lose my focus so I decided to quit the game. This was, without a doubt, one of the best poker moves that I've made in a long long time. Playing no limit, for me anyway, is a mental drain and I just get killed if I am not focused. So, after that, I decided to play limit, which I played at Poker Stars and UltimateBet. I played two-tables at Poker Stars because I still needed to clear 250 FPP's (or so) to get a $110 bonus. I also played a single table at UltimateBet (both games were $0.50/$1.00 hold em).
It's hard to believe that my Poker Stars bankroll was once $250 but at certain points yesterday... it was a mere $40. Nothing like a short bankroll to force you to play better, right? So, I played tight-aggressive and I basically hung around even for about 2 hours, all the while racking up FPP's. I was too loose or too aggressive at UltimateBet, however, and I very quickly lost $20 (out of a $70 bankroll!). I started playing tight-aggressive there too, and slowly clawed my way back to even for the night.
For whatever reason, virtually all of the action at Poker Stars happened to me in the last 10 minutes of the night. I was in the big blind with 77 when three people limped and the button raised. Without even thinking, I called. Although this was probably the correct play, I literally called without thinking and so I literally said outloud "that was a mistake", referring to the lack of thought rather than the play itself. After my thoughtless call, all of the limpers called and five of us saw the flop, which was Q Q 7.
Most low limit players like to slow play full houses, but I think that this is a HUGE mistake, especially when you flop the underfull. There are alot of bad limit players who will call a bet on the flop here with over cards or a smaller pocket pair. I suppose that they assume that you would slow play a queen. Furthermore, with the underfull, anyone with a naked queen will NOT fold EVER. In fact, they'll be convinced that they're hand is invincible and they'll raise you on the turn and river. The biggest worry, in my opinion, with flopping the underfull is when your opponent pairs his/her kicker and make the overfull. So, I play all underfulls VERY aggressively.
Anyway, in my hand, the flop and turn were both 4-bet. I bet out on the river and was raised so I simply called. I was worried that I was beat... I would have raised at Party Poker where the play is not as good, but at Poker Stars... I figured that there was a decent chance that my opponent had paired his kicker. Luckily, he had not and I took down a $22 pot. That pot represented 70% of my winnings for the night.
So, what did I learn? I learned that patience is the key. Hanging around even is a good thing because sooner or later, you'll catch that big pot and your overall session will be a good one. Loosely looking at the math, I played 300 hands at Poker Stars and I won $20-$25. That's 6-8 big bets per 100 hands, which is a very good win rate. I also have fewer than 90 FFP's to get that $110 bonus! So, it was a very good night.
Note: I used to know that patience was the key... I am trying really hard to relearn this.
It's hard to believe that my Poker Stars bankroll was once $250 but at certain points yesterday... it was a mere $40. Nothing like a short bankroll to force you to play better, right? So, I played tight-aggressive and I basically hung around even for about 2 hours, all the while racking up FPP's. I was too loose or too aggressive at UltimateBet, however, and I very quickly lost $20 (out of a $70 bankroll!). I started playing tight-aggressive there too, and slowly clawed my way back to even for the night.
For whatever reason, virtually all of the action at Poker Stars happened to me in the last 10 minutes of the night. I was in the big blind with 77 when three people limped and the button raised. Without even thinking, I called. Although this was probably the correct play, I literally called without thinking and so I literally said outloud "that was a mistake", referring to the lack of thought rather than the play itself. After my thoughtless call, all of the limpers called and five of us saw the flop, which was Q Q 7.
Most low limit players like to slow play full houses, but I think that this is a HUGE mistake, especially when you flop the underfull. There are alot of bad limit players who will call a bet on the flop here with over cards or a smaller pocket pair. I suppose that they assume that you would slow play a queen. Furthermore, with the underfull, anyone with a naked queen will NOT fold EVER. In fact, they'll be convinced that they're hand is invincible and they'll raise you on the turn and river. The biggest worry, in my opinion, with flopping the underfull is when your opponent pairs his/her kicker and make the overfull. So, I play all underfulls VERY aggressively.
Anyway, in my hand, the flop and turn were both 4-bet. I bet out on the river and was raised so I simply called. I was worried that I was beat... I would have raised at Party Poker where the play is not as good, but at Poker Stars... I figured that there was a decent chance that my opponent had paired his kicker. Luckily, he had not and I took down a $22 pot. That pot represented 70% of my winnings for the night.
So, what did I learn? I learned that patience is the key. Hanging around even is a good thing because sooner or later, you'll catch that big pot and your overall session will be a good one. Loosely looking at the math, I played 300 hands at Poker Stars and I won $20-$25. That's 6-8 big bets per 100 hands, which is a very good win rate. I also have fewer than 90 FFP's to get that $110 bonus! So, it was a very good night.
Note: I used to know that patience was the key... I am trying really hard to relearn this.
posted by frazwood at 10:11 AM
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