Day 33-9: +$36.25 (+18 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$131.00 in 1170 table minutes (+66 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$234.15 in 4817 table minutes

I decided to back down to one table for this session just to change things up a little bit, and I chose the right time. I found myself at a table with crazy LAGs moving in and out of it often enough that I really needed to pay attention to who was who. This resulted in a nice solid up session. It also helped that I picked up good hands.

Hand 1: This was a planned calldown against a completely erratic player. I was ready to see the showdown as soon as I saw it would be heads up.

Preflop: Hero is BB with 4d, Ah.
1 fold, MP raises, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) 7h, 9s, 8h (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks.

Turn: (2.25 BB) 2h (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, Hero calls.

River: (4.25 BB) 8s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks.

Results:
Hero has 4d Ah (one pair, eights).
MP has 3c Jc (one pair, eights).

Hand 2: The turn bet was likely a value bet. I probably would have check-called the river UI because villain might be more inclined to bluff than to pay off with a weak hand.

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Jd, As.
Hero raises, 1 fold, CO calls, 3 folds.

Flop: (5.50 SB) 9h, Qc, 9c (2 players)
Hero bets, CO calls.

Turn: (3.75 BB) 2c (2 players)
Hero bets, CO calls.

River: (5.75 BB) Js (2 players)
Hero bets, CO calls.

Results:
Hero has Jd As (two pair, jacks and nines).
CO has 4s Ac (one pair, nines).

Hand 3: Villain was pretty aggro preflop and always c-bet when he raised. I really should have bet-folded the river instead of planning to check-call. I don't know why I do that sometimes.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Tc, Kc. CO posts a blind of $1.
UTG calls, MP raises, CO (poster) calls, 1 fold, Hero calls, BB calls, UTG calls.

Flop: (10 SB) Ac, 8d, Ks (5 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP bets, CO folds, Hero raises, BB calls, UTG folds, MP folds.

Turn: (7.50 BB) 4s (2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (9.50 BB) 2s (2 players)

Hero checks, BB checks.

Results:
Hero has Tc Kc (one pair, kings).
BB has Qc Qh (one pair, queens).

Day 32-8: +$8.00 (+4 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$94.75 in 1107 table minutes (+47 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$197.90 in 4754 table minutes

It was a roller coaster day today that ended up slightly ahead. I made an observation about my game that may or may not require a little tweaking. I've noticed that I'm a little hesitant to 3-bet a little light. This is something that will need to be overcome at a higher level, but who says it needs to wait until then? Well, it depends on who is raising, of course. I may want to splash around with the extra aggression now while it's a cheap game and while I have time to make adjustments on it.

Hand 1: I played against this villain in the previous session. He seems like a mid-level TAG preflop, but his postflop play is a little weak. This made me more inclined to 3-bet preflop to try to put the maximum pressure on him to fold.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ks, 6s.
2 folds, SB raises, Hero 3-bets, SB calls.

Flop: (6 SB) 3h, 3d, 5c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB calls.

Turn: (4 BB) Qd (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB folds.

Hand 2: I didn't know how much of a calling station villain was at the time of this hand. The river bluff is pretty standard in my book because I know that he can be peeling twice with missed overcards, many of which include A-high and K-high hands. Of course, against this particular player, it would be better to just give up on the river.

Preflop: Hero is CO with Qd, Td.
2 folds, Hero raises, Button calls, SB calls, 1 fold.

Flop: (7 SB) 4h, 9d, 2c (3 players)
SB folds, Hero bets, Button calls.

Turn: (4.50 BB) 2s (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (6.50 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

Results:
Hero has Qd Td (one pair, twos).
Button has Jc Ks (one pair, twos).

Hand 3: This was interesting because the flop capper was nearly all-in and looked like he could be stacking off. I used this information to 3-bet the turn to isolate instead of folding. Generally, I think can give up on this one on the flop getting 20:2 to draw to 3-4 outs with some reverse-implied odds. If not there, the turn is the place to do it. But it turns out that I still lost even though I accomplished my goal.

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ks, Qd.
UTG raises, MP calls, CO calls, Hero calls, 1 fold, BB calls.

Flop: (10.50 SB) Kc, 2s, 9d (5 players)
BB checks, UTG bets, MP folds, CO calls, Hero raises, BB folds, UTG 3-bets, CO caps, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (11.25 BB) 6d (3 players)
UTG bets, CO raises, Button 3-bets, UTG folds, CO caps, Hero calls.

River: (17.50 BB) Ts (2 players)

Results:
CO has 9c Kd (two pair, kings and nines).
Hero has Ks Qd (one pair, kings).
Outcome: CO wins 17.50 BB.

Hand 4: I think I blew this gutshot. I think I should have check-raised the turn because I know that the PFR is likely to bet again (most hands he would have raised preflop will have hit this hard enough) and the other player might peel two off for the gutshot with ace-high.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Td, 9d. CO posts a blind of $1.
UTG calls, MP raises, CO (poster) calls, 1 fold, SB calls, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Flop: (10 SB) Qs, 7c, Kh (5 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, MP bets, CO folds, SB folds, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) Jh (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG folds, MP calls.

River: (8.50 BB) 9s (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

Results:
Hero has Td 9d (straight, king high).
MP has As Kd (one pair, kings).

Day 31-7: -$3.75 (-2 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$86.75 in 972 table minutes (+43 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$189.90 in 4619 table minutes

After coming back from my Christmas Vegas Trip, playing online today felt a little dry. But that's okay. I don't feel like posting hands, so I won't. I can't think of too many hands that were interesting, except for a couple places where I called when I knew I should have folded (and made similar plays).

Day 30-6: +$15.00 (+8 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$90.50 in 792 table minutes (+45 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$193.65 in 4439 table minutes

I played a very long and distracted session today. I wasn't paying too much attention to the action, but instead was reading and posting while I played. This has two effects:

1. My play is more straight-forward. I don't try to hard when I play a more readless style of poker. I simply play the cards and the situations and don't factor in extra information about my opponents.
2. I play tighter. I steal less because I don't pay attention to the preflop tightness of my opponents, so I don't know whether I can get away with a steal with 98o from the button and be able to outplay them postflop if I get called.

But that's fine. Sometimes it's okay to let the auto-pilot take over for a while.

I'm flying home tomorrow, which means that I won't be playing poker online for the next week or so. I'm hoping to remember to export a couple hundred hands to carefully review (and add to the Hand History Project), but we'll see if that happens.

Hand 1: This is a standard value bet on the river. Yes, I chop a bunch, and knock out a bunch of naked club hands that were chasing the flush, but I also get called by 9s, 4s, and pocket pairs. Getting check-raised would make me very unhappy, but I think I call it.

Preflop: Hero is MP with 9s, As.
1 fold, Hero raises, 1 fold, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: (6 SB) Ac, 4c, 9c (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets, SB folds, BB calls.

Turn: (4 BB) Jh (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (6 BB) Jd (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Results:
BB has 6h Ad (two pair, aces and jacks).
Hero has 9s As (two pair, aces and jacks).

Hand 2: I had stats on villain that indicated that he was over-aggro (something like 80/50 stats at the time). I decided I was going to showdown AQ UI and get to showdown cheaply. But since I improved, I decided to give action on the street where he may give too much action (as opposed to giving action on the turn, where he is less apt to give bonus action). I was suprised to see him check the river, but that might have been something I could have picked up on if I had been paying attention.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ad, Qs.
1 fold, MP raises, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) 6h, 7h, Qd (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, Hero raises, MP 3-bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.25 BB) 9s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, Hero calls.

River: (7.25 BB) Kd (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks.

Results:
Hero has Ad Qs (one pair, queens).
MP has Qh Jc (one pair, queens).

Day 29-5: +$42.50 (+21 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$75.50 in 616 table minutes (+38 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$178.65 in 4263 table minutes

I had an interesting session, with one table playing a crazy-LAG game and the other table playing weak-tight-passive. The play was pretty straight-forward today, as far as I can remember.

Hand 1: Yes, I slowplayed a flopped boat. This was at the crazy-LAG table, but surprisingly he didn't bite on it. I was ready to check-raise him and expect to be 3-bet. The river was just unfortunate, but I had to check-call to give him a chance to bet a worse hand.

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8c, 5s.
3 folds, Button calls, 1 fold, Hero checks.

Flop: (2.50 SB) 5h, 8h, 5c (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

Turn: (1.25 BB) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (3.25 BB) Ad (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has 8c 5s (full house, fives full of aces).
Button has 3d Ac (full house, aces full of fives).

Hand 2: Maybe I could have let this go on the turn. Villain was aggressive, but he has shown himself capable of giving up when he's bluffing.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Jc, Jd.
2 folds, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, Button calls.

Flop: (7 SB) 5h, 6h, 9d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, Button calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) Ac (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero calls.

River: (10.50 BB) 6s (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Jc Jd (two pair, jacks and sixes).
Button has 5s Ad (two pair, aces and sixes).

Hand 3: Here's some interesting OOP play at the crazy-LAG table. I think I will post this one to the forums.

Preflop: Hero is SB with 4d, Ad.
2 folds, CO calls, 1 fold, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (3 SB) Ac, 6d, Kd (3 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, CO calls.

Turn: (3 BB) Kh (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets, CO raises, Hero calls, BB calls.

River: (9 BB) 2s (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO checks.

Results:
Hero has 4d Ad (two pair, aces and kings).
BB has Td Qd (one pair, kings).
CO has Js Jc (two pair, kings and jacks).

Hand 4: I wasn't watching my stack, but it turned out to be for the better. I might have folded on the turn if raised with only a T-high one card flush draw.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Td, Ts.

UTG calls, 2 folds, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, UTG calls, Button calls.

Flop: (10 SB) 7h, 7d, 6d (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls, Button calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) Ad (3 players)
Hero bets $1.25 (All-In), UTG calls, Button calls.

River: (8.37 BB) 4d (3 players, 1 all-in)
UTG bets, Button folds.

Results:
Hero has Td Ts (flush, ace high).
UTG has 4h Ah (two pair, aces and sevens).

Hand 5: Standard suckout hand against an aggressive player. The flop peel is standard and doesn't even qualify as a loose peel.

Preflop: Hero is CO with Qh, Ks.
UTG raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 3 folds, UTG caps, Hero calls.

Flop: (9.50 SB) 4h, Js, 7s (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.75 BB) As (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

River: (7.75 BB) Ts (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero raises, UTG calls.

Results:
UTG has 9s Ad (flush, ace high).
Hero has Qh Ks (flush, ace high).

Day 28-4: +$4.50 (+2 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$33.00 in 477 table minutes (+17 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$136.15 in 4124 table minutes

Horray for the Christmas break that allows me to play more poker than usual! Another two session day is finished, and this second session could have been fantastic. But it wasn't. I got beat up on the rivers but managed to pull out a positive session.

Hand 1: Lousy 2-outer on the river. I very carefully considered folding, but the pot was too big and the chances of chopping with another 8 or beating some funky bluffing hand was too great. Of course, I was the lucky one on the turn, but that would have been one of the easiest bet-folds possible when he check-raised it.

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8s, Ks.
3 folds, Button raises, 1 fold, BB calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) 8h, 9d, Ac (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.25 BB) 8d (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero 3-bets, BB calls.

River: (9.25 BB) As (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
BB has Ah Qh (full house, aces full of eights).
Hero has 8s Ks (full house, eights full of aces).

Hand 2: Here's a top pair hand getting smacked on the river.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Tc, Ac.
4 folds, SB raises, BB calls.

Flop: (4 SB) 8h, Qs, As (2 players)
SB bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3 BB) 3h (2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (5 BB) Kd (2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Tc Ac (one pair, aces).
BB has Jc Td (straight, ace high).

Hand 3: River flushed.

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8h, 7s.
UTG calls, MP calls, CO calls, 1 fold, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (5 SB) 8d, Qc, 7d (5 players)

Hero bets, BB folds, UTG folds, MP raises, CO calls, Hero 3-bets, MP calls, CO calls.

Turn: (7 BB) 6c (3 players)
Hero bets, MP calls, CO calls.

River: (10 BB) 2d (3 players)
Hero checks, MP checks, CO bets, Hero calls, MP calls.

Results:
Hero has 8h 7s (two pair, eights and sevens).
MP has Qd Js (one pair, queens).
CO has 6d Jd (flush, jack high).

Hand 4: This was just bad luck. BB is not known for his aggression, so I was a little wary of raising with this hand, especially if I can't fold to a raise (which I didn't want to do). So I chose the showdown-calldown route.

Preflop: Hero is MP with Jd, Qh.
UTG calls, Hero calls, Button raises, 1 fold, BB calls, UTG calls, Hero calls.

Flop: (8.50 SB) 8s, 7h, 5d (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks, Button checks.

Turn: (4.25 BB) Js (4 players)
BB bets, UTG folds, Hero calls, Button folds.

River: (6.25 BB) 5h (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
BB has 8c 8d (full house, eights full of fives).
Hero has Jd Qh (two pair, jacks and fives).

Day 27-3: -$35.25 (-18 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$28.50 in 327 table minutes (+14 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$131.65 in 3974 table minutes

I was a little tired today, so my recollection wasn't so great. I think I played decently, and just hit some really dry runs of cards. For example, I dropped $65 at one table, but was only 17% VPIP. This means I probably wasn't over-stealing or anything like that. I don't think I'll post any hands here today.

Day 26-2: -$3.25 (-2 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$63.75 in 159 table minutes (+32 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$166.90 in 3806 table minutes

Truncated midday session. I don't have anything special to say except that I check-folded two pair on the river, and it felt good.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Qd, 2s.
UTG calls, Button calls, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (4 SB) Ts, Qh, 2h (4 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, UTG folds, Button calls, SB calls.

Turn: (3.50 BB) Ad (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB calls.

River: (6.50 BB) Jh (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, Button bets, SB raises, Hero folds, Button 3-bets, SB caps, Button calls.

Results:
SB has 9s 8s (straight, queen high).
Button has Kc 4s (straight, ace high).

Day 25-1: +$67.00 (+34 BB at $1/2)

Level: +$67.00 in 70 table minutes (+34 BB at $1/2)
Overall: +$170.15 in 3717 table minutes

I decided to start off with one table at the new level. I picked up an incredible rush of cards. In 114 hands, I had AA 3 times, JJ once, TT twice (flopped sets both times), two nut one-card flushes that went for 3 bets on the turn, and two other winning flushes. The game itself didn't feel all that different, which is a good thing. I don't really anticipate any major problems until maybe $3/6 or $5/10, so I hope to breeze past this level quickly (faster than the first level, if negative variance stays out of my way).

Hand 1: I'm posting this hand because I think it's a pretty standard turn check. When you raise preflop and get called on a 3-broadway flop, you are very likely chasing and a turn bet does little to help. In this case, villain allowed me to get away from his monster hand and come away with a larger monster. This is particularly unsafe board because a queen makes him lose and hearts could be out against him. He should have check-raised the flop and hoped I had something like AA/KK/AK/KQ/QQ/JJ/TT/KJ/KT and would try go to war with him.

Preflop: Hero is CO with 6s, As.
2 folds, CO raises, 2 folds, BB calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) Kh, Ts, Jh (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.25 BB) 4s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

River: (3.25 BB) 2s (2 players)
BB bets, Hero raises, BB calls.

Results:
BB has Qc 9c (straight, king high).
Hero has 6s As (flush, ace high).

Hand 2: Usually I bet out in this spot. But on a dry board and a small pot, I'm not so concerned about giving up a free card if I'm ahead. Once it comes back to me for two bets, top pair with a weak kicker isn't going to cut it. I wish they had gotten to showdown. I don't have any idea what Button was chasing.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Kh, 5h.
UTG calls, 1 fold, Button calls, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (4 SB) Kc, 2h, 7s (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG bets, Button raises, Hero folds, BB folds, UTG calls.

Turn: (4 BB) 9d (2 players)
UTG bets, Button calls.

River: (6 BB) Qs (2 players)
UTG bets, Button folds.

Hand 3: I'm trying to wrap my mind around this one. I guess this is just added aggression that comes when you step up in levels. But villain's play makes absolutely no sense. Surely, if I had an ace, I would have him crushed if I 3-bet the turn. I was very sure he had AK and boated on the river when he bet out like that.

Preflop: Hero is Button with Jh, Qh.
2 folds, Button raises, SB calls, 1 fold.

Flop: (5 SB) Ac, Ah, 4h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB calls.

Turn: (3.50 BB) 8h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB raises, Hero 3-bets, SB calls.

River: (9.50 BB) Kc (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Jh Qh (flush, ace high).
SB has Tc Ad (three of a kind, aces).

Hand 4: The river bettor was viewed to be an aggressive player. Against two players, I don't like to bet this turn given all the preflop action. I'd like to get to showdown for one bet, if possible. Given my relative position, I can check and call one bet on the river, or if it's bet behind me I can see how villain in front of me plays it. Although, in retrospect, I should probably bet-fold this turn and not worry so much about getting bluffed off my hand. At least for now, I shouldn't worry so much about turn check-raise bluffs.

Preflop: Hero is MP with Jc, Jd.
UTG raises, Hero 3-bets, Button calls, 2 folds, UTG calls.

Flop: (10.50 SB) 6s, Kd, 6d (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, Button calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (6.75 BB) Tc (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks, Button checks.

River: (6.75 BB) Th (3 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls, Button folds.

Results:
UTG has Ad 9d (two pair, tens and sixes).
Hero has Jc Jd (two pair, jacks and tens).
Outcome: Hero wins 8.75 BB.

Hand 5: I don't know why I didn't bet the turn. Once the turn was check-raised, I asked myself whether I wanted to chase down a pot with two aggressors to play for a chop with another ace. My answer was "no". I should have bet the turn.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Tc, Ac.
2 folds, Button calls, SB completes, BB raises, Button calls, SB calls.

Flop: (6 SB) Ah, 4h, Qc (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB calls.

Turn: (4.50 BB) 4s (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, Button bets, SB raises, Hero folds, Button folds.

Stats: $.50/1 (12/14/2006)

The first level is complete. My BB/100 is lower than what I expect is my "true" winrate, but that's fine. I've enjoyed playing 6-max much more than full ring, mostly because it's a different game. I'm a little surprised that my stats are 25/17 and not 25/20, but I guess this means I'm limping in behind a little bit more than iso-raising. This could be good or bad. I don't think the 3% raising makes a huge difference in my bottom line, but it will almost certainly increase the variance.

I see that I did, in fact, clear the 100 BB mark earlier, but it happened in the middle of a session. I don't watch the totals very closely as I play, so I didn't really know that I was over the top until after the fact. There were four somewhat substantial downswings during this 5000 hand run. Horray for variance.

I'm not sure how to make these images appear in full size, but that's okay. Click on them and they should pop up nice and big.

General Stats:
Graph:
Details Page:
Position Tab:

Other observations:

There are so many little nuances to this game. An interesting situation is what happens postflop when you open-raise preflop. Of the 5243 hands that I played, 569 of them were open-raised (Raised First In filter), winning $231.00 (0.41 BB/hand). Here are some stats regarding those hands:

• 242 hands (42.5%) were won before showdown, winning $336.15 (1.39 BB/hand)
• 90 hands (15.8% of all hands, 37.2% of win before showdown hands) were won without a flop, winning $58.25 (0.65 BB/hand)
  
• 187 hands (32.9%) went to showdown, winning $147.35 (0.79 BB/hand)
• 138 hands (24.3%) were folded before showdown, losing $250.50 (-1.82 BB/hand)
• 40 hands (7.0% of all RFI hands, 29.0% of FBSD hands) were folded on the river, losing $99.00 (-2.48 BB/hand)
• 370 hands (65.0%) were "Chance to Steal and Raised", winning $93.50 (0.25 BB/hand)

The first two points together show that there were 152 hands (26.7%) where I open-raised and took a flop, but won before showdown. A quick calculation shows that these hands won $277.90 (1.83 BB/hand). Since you expect about .7 BB from the blinds preflop, this suggests that postflop play collected roughly 1.1 BB. This implies that the action often gets to the turn and river, for otherwise this number would be about 0.8 BB or so (0.5 BB from the flop if it's heads up). This strongly suggests that it is often important to bet the turn after betting the flop.

Of course, as a consequence of betting the turn, there is a question of what to do on the river. Out of position, I do a lot of check-folding with junky hands (notice that the folded on the river hands are very close to -2.5 BB/hand -- This corresponds to 1 BB preflop, 0.5 SB on the flop, 1 BB on the turn, then check-folding the river).

What about folds before the river? Another caluation shows that I lost $151.50 in 98 hands (-1.55 BB/hand, 17.2% of all hands). This represents a lot of betting the flop and checking on the turn. This could be both giving up out of position and checking behind on the turn to improve cheaply. I believe there are a number of flop folds to donk bets, too, and those are usually with pocket pairs that flopped overcards and weaker stealing hands.

Here is another batch of RFI stats:

• 271 hands (47.6%) were heads up on the flop, winning $50.65 (0.19 BB/hand).
  
• 170 hands (29.9%) were 3-handed on the flop, winning $49.65 (0.29 BB/hand).
  
• 40 hands (7.0%) were 4-handed or more on the flop, winning $70.45 (1.76 BB/hand).
• 88 hands (15.5%) were won before the flop, winning $60.25 (0.68 BB/hand).
  

I was a little confused by PokerTracker because it gave me two different values for winning hands before the flop. In this situation, I used the "Between x and y players on the flop" filter and in the previous case, I clicked the "There Was No Flop" box. Further inspection showed that there have been two situations where I've raised first in, but folded preflop after it came back to me capped.

For the 271 heads up flops:

• 115 hands (42.4%) were won before showdown, winning $169.90 (1.48 BB/hand)
• 42 hands (15.5%) were won at showdown, winning $131.15 (3.12 BB/hand)
• 63 hands (23.4%) were folded before showdown, losing $113.00 (-1.79 BB/hand)
• 49 hands (18.1%) were lost at showdown, losing $135.40 (-2.76 BB/hand)

I don't really know what these numbers mean. I guess it means that I win before showdown about twice as often as I have to give up before showdown, which is good. It also shows that I'm actually losing a little bit of money when I go to showdown, but it's close.

I think I'm done with this analysis now.

Day 24: +$39.80 (+40 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$103.15 in 3647 table minutes

This is actually the same day as the previous session, but I started the precedent of taking each session as its own day, so I'll continue using that. It doesn't matter so much, anyway.

I finally ended a session at better than +100 BB, so I finally move out of the $.50/1 game and on to the $1/2 game. It took a little while longer than expected, but I blame variance. Bad variance took me down a couple times, but today's good variance kicked me over the top. I had the fortunate luck to be at a table with a very bad aggressive player who kept giving me money.

Hand 1: This hand was against the aggro villain. I considered calling the flop and raising the turn, but I decided that he was more likely to overplay if I hit him at the start than if I hit him on the turn.

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Js, Ah.
Hero raises, 3 folds, BB calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) 5h, Ac, 3d (2 players)
BB bets, Hero raises, BB 3-bets, Hero calls.


Turn: (5.25 BB) 3c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

River: (7.25 BB) 6d (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
BB has 7s As (two pair, aces and threes).
Hero has Js Ah (two pair, aces and threes).

Hand 2: This is how I started off one of the tables. This was okay, it's bad luck.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Kd, Ks.
UTG calls, 1 fold, Button calls, Hero raises, BB calls, UTG calls, Button calls.

Flop: (8 SB) 6c, 3s, 5c (4 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, UTG calls, Button calls, Hero 3-bets, BB calls, UTG calls, Button calls.

Turn: (10 BB) 2h (4 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG calls, Button raises, Hero calls, BB calls $0.80 (All-In), UTG calls.

River: (17.80 BB) 4d (4 players, 1 all-in)
Hero checks, UTG checks, Button bets, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Results:
Hero has Kd Ks (straight, six high).
BB has 3c Js (straight, six high).
UTG has Tc 7c (straight, seven high).
Button has As 4c (straight, six high).

Hand 3: This was one or two hands after Hand 2. This was frustrating. You can say I got sucked into it with the preflop limp instead of raising, but against two posters, I don't think I'll get myself isolated often enough to make raising with such a medium-strength hand a good play. However, I can limp in and often play well postflop. Notice BB's raising hand... That was my friend for the evening.

Preflop: Hero is MP with As, 7c. UTG posts a blind of $0.75. CO posts a blind of $0.50.
UTG (poster) checks, Hero calls, CO (poster) checks, Button calls, 1 fold, BB raises, UTG calls, Hero calls, CO calls, Button calls.

Flop: (11 SB) 3d, 5s, 7d (5 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, CO calls, Button calls, BB calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (8 BB) 6s (5 players)
BB bets, UTG calls, Hero calls, CO calls, Button folds.

River: (12 BB) Ac (4 players)
BB bets, UTG folds, Hero calls, CO calls.

Results:
BB has 4d 4h (straight, seven high).
Hero has As 7c (two pair, aces and sevens).
CO has 7h Kd (one pair, sevens).

Hand 4: Of course, you can't win them all... I thought about capping the turn, but I surmised he wasn't so crazy as to 3-bet a wait-for-the-turn raise with junk. Also, by just calling here, I encourage him to bet the river, which saves me from getting check-raised and putting in 2 extra BB into a hand that is often losing.

Preflop: Hero is BB with 3h, Td.
2 folds, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (2 SB) 8d, Ts, 3c (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (2 BB) 5h (2 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, Hero calls.

River: (8 BB) Kd (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has 3h Td (two pair, tens and threes).
SB has 5d 5s (three of a kind, fives).

Hand 5: I normally don't do this with a made hand. However, since ther were two aggressors in front of me and 80% of the time a non-flush card hits the turn, I figured that I would be able to get in at least a turn raise and trap both players for two bets. However, it looks like one of them figured out what I was up to (but only after he put in his 1 BB on the turn). The other guy was stuck.

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ac, 2c.
UTG calls, MP calls, Hero calls, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (5 SB) 8c, 3c, Jc (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets, MP raises, Hero calls, SB folds, BB folds, UTG calls.

Turn: (5.50 BB) 9s (3 players)
UTG bets, MP raises, Hero 3-bets, UTG folds, MP caps, Hero calls.

River: (14.50 BB) 7d (2 players)
MP bets, Button raises, MP calls.

Results:
MP has 9c 7c (flush, jack high).
Hero has Ac 2c (flush, ace high).

Hand 6: One more hand with aggro villain. On the river, I think he's calling with hands I beat and raising his flush. However, if I check, he's betting just about anything. I love to check-call to induce bluffs. As I said, he's not a very good player. There are very few hands that would 3-bet the flop but fold on the river to a single bet.

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8d, 7c.
UTG calls, 2 folds, Button calls, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (4 SB) 9d, 6c, Tc (4 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, UTG calls, Button raises, SB folds, Hero 3-bets, UTG folds, Button calls.

Turn: (5.50 BB) Jd (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (7.50 BB) Ac (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has 8d 7c (straight, jack high).
Button has Ts 7d (one pair, tens).

Day 23: +$16.05 (+16 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$63.25 in 3503 table minutes

Even though it was an up day, it was a furstrating one. There was a very loose, very aggressive player at one of the tables, and I patiently waiting for strong hands that never came. It was unfortunate. Everything else rolled along quite smoothly, so I won't complain much.

Hand 1: The turn raiser in this hand is a known loose-aggressive player. In fact, when he called the flop, I was anticipating a turn raise and was already thinking ahead to how I would handle it. I was intending to 3-bet him, but the coldcall from the last player froze me up a little bit. I couldn't convince myself to pull the trigger and 3-bet it anyway.

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ah, Qh.
Hero raises, 1 fold, CO calls, Button calls, 1 fold, BB calls.

Flop: (8.50 SB) 7c, 5s, Ad (4 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, CO calls, Button calls, BB folds.

Turn: (5.75 BB) 3h (3 players)
Hero bets, CO raises, Button calls, Hero calls.

River: (11.75 BB) 5h (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

Results:
Hero has Ah Qh (two pair, aces and fives).
CO has 7d 8d (two pair, sevens and fives).
Button has 9c Ac (two pair, aces and fives).

Hand 2: This is another aggressive villain. I suspected him capable of flop raises with overcards, followed by a turn bet UI. My hope was that he could find a fold to the turn check-raise. I think the added wheel outs made him hang around to chop it up with me. Looking back, I should have check-called the turn instead of getting aggressive. The turn check-raise should be saved for hands like KJs where I might fold an ace on the river (here, I only really benefit from folding AK).

Preflop: Hero is UTG with As, Qc.
UTGA raises, 1 fold, Button calls, 1 fold, BB calls.

Flop: (6.50 SB) 5d, 7c, 2d (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, Button raises, BB folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.25 BB) 3s (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets, Hero raises, Button calls.

River: (9.25 BB) 4h (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has As Qc (straight, five high).
Button has Td Ah (straight, five high).

Hand 3: Sometimes my desire to get to showdown is a little to large and I miss value out of hands like this one. Because of all the draws, I should have 3-bet the flop and bet out on the turn. I gave him too much of an opportunity to take a free card to draw out on me, and I'm lucky that he had a hand.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ah, 8d. UTG posts a blind of $0.50.

UTG (poster) checks, 2 folds, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (3 SB) 8h, 4d, 4h (3 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, UTG raises, Hero calls.

Turn: (3.50 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.

River: (5.50 BB) 9d (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.

Results:
UTG has 8s 3h (two pair, eights and fours).
Hero has Ah 8d (two pair, eights and fours).

Hand 4: Here's another hand with trips. I'm torn between 3-betting and calling down because of the flush that got completed. With the extra player in the pot, I probably could have gotten away with a 3-bet.

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7c, Ac.
Hero raises, MP calls, Button calls, 2 folds.

Flop: (7.50 SB) 7s, 4d, 7d (3 players)
Hero bets, MP calls, Button calls.

Turn: (5.25 BB) Qd (3 players)
Hero bets, MP calls, Button raises, Hero calls, MP calls.

River: (11.25 BB) Kc (3 players)
Hero checks, MP checks, Button checks.

Results:
Hero has 7c Ac (three of a kind, sevens).
MP has Th Ad (one pair, sevens).
Button has Qc Ts (two pair, queens and sevens).

Hand 5: This could have been one of those spots to bluff K-high on the river.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ks, Qs.
UTG calls, 2 folds, Button calls, Hero raises, 1 fold, UTG calls, Button calls.

Flop: (7 SB) 6d, 2h, 2s (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls, Button folds.

Turn: (4.50 BB) 3s (2 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls.

River: (6.50 BB) 7d (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks.

Results:
Hero has Ks Qs (one pair, twos).
UTG has 4s Ac (one pair, twos).

Hand 6: Villain in this hand seems to be stealing somewhat often, but his postflop play seemed a little weak. The decision to just call preflop was to try to take advantage of this weak tendency postflop.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Qh, Kc.
2 folds, Button raises, 1 fold, Hero calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) As, Td, 6h (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets, Hero raises, Button calls.

Turn: (4.25 BB) 4h (2 players)
BB bets, Button folds.

Hand 7: Against a limp-cap, I'm ready to showdown my pocket pair UI as long as it's heads up and there are no aces or kings on the board. I might still call down against a king or an ace alone, but with both I'm too often sunk.

Preflop: Hero is Button with 7d, 7h.
UTG raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, BB caps, UTG folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (10.50 SB) 3c, Jd, Jh (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (6.25 BB) 8h (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

River: (8.25 BB) 6s (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
BB has Ac Kc (one pair, jacks).
Hero has 7d 7h (two pair, jacks and sevens).

Day 22: -$3.50 (-4 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$47.20 in 3282 table minutes

This was a truncated session, so there's not a whole lot that happened. There were 108 hands played in the session, and there are a few spots that are interesting, but I'll post them to the forums first for some feedback.

Day 21: -$23.25 (-23 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$50.70 in 3214 table minutes

I probably crossed the +$100 mark at some point during this crazy variance session. Things were up for a while, then it just came tumbling down quickly. Today will just be a collection of hands where bad luck got the better of me. I should be glad, as there are many situations where I could have lost a lot more than what I did. Horray for passive players and FPS. These six hands cost me $32.

Hand 1:

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ah, Kh.
2 folds, CO calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, BB 3-bets, CO folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (7 SB) 9h, Tc, As (2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks.

Turn: (3.50 BB) 6h (2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (5.50 BB) 4s (2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Ah Kh (one pair, aces).
BB has Ts Td (three of a kind, tens).

Hand 2:

Preflop: Hero is BB with Kc, Ad.
UTG calls, 2 folds, Hero raises, UTG calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) Qs, Ac, Jh (2 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls.

Turn: (3.25 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, UTG raises, Hero calls.

River: (7.25 BB) 8h (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Kc Ad (one pair, aces).
UTG has Qh Qc (three of a kind, queens).

Hand 3:

Preflop: Hero is BB with As, Kc.
UTG calls, MP calls, CO calls, Button raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, UTG folds, MP folds, CO calls, Button calls.

Flop: (11.50 SB) Ah, Qs, 6d (3 players)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button calls.

Turn: (7.25 BB) 8s (3 players)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button calls.

River: (10.25 BB) 5h (3 players)
Hero bets, CO folds, Button calls.

Results:
Hero has As Kc (one pair, aces).
Button has Qc Ad (two pair, aces and queens).

Hand 4:

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ac, Qh.
UTG calls, MP calls, 2 folds, Hero raises, BB calls, UTG folds, MP calls.

Flop: (7 SB) 4h, 5c, Ts (3 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, MP folds.

Turn: (4.50 BB) Kh (2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (6.50 BB) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Ac Qh (one pair, aces).
BB has 2h 6h (flush, ace high).

Hand 5:

Preflop: Hero is BB with As, 3d.
UTG calls, MP calls, 2 folds, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (4 SB) 5h, 3s, 3c (4 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, UTG folds, MP folds, SB calls.

Turn: (3 BB) 4d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB raises, Hero 3-bets, SB caps, Hero calls.

River: (11 BB) 5s (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
SB has 4s 4h (full house, fours full of fives).
Hero has As 3d (full house, threes full of fives).

Hand 6:

Preflop: Hero is CO with Td, Th.
UTG raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG calls.

Flop: (10 SB) Qc, Tc, Ks (3 players)

SB bets, UTG raises, Hero 3-bets, SB caps, UTG calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (10 BB) 5d (3 players)
SB bets, UTG raises, Hero calls, SB 3-bets, UTG caps, Hero calls, SB calls.

River: (22 BB) 8h (3 players)
SB bets, UTG calls $1 (All-In), Hero calls.

Results:
SB has Js Ah (straight, ace high).
UTG has Jd Ac (straight, ace high).
Hero has Td Th (three of a kind, tens).

Day 20: +$36.50 (+37 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$73.95 in 3002 table minutes

This was a good upswing day for me. Lots of hands were simply value bets with good hands, and the other players paid them off. There were only a couple hands that I felt were interesting.

Hand 1: I pumped a pair plus flush draw OOP by checking and waiting to evaluate the action. It worked out well, except for the draw not coming in for me. The turn card also killed my hand two pair/trips outs.

Preflop: Hero is SB with 3d, 4d.
UTG calls, MP calls, CO calls, Button calls, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (6 SB) Qd, 9d, 4h (6 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG bets, MP calls, CO folds, Button calls, Hero raises, BB folds, UTG calls, MP calls, Button calls.

Turn: (7 BB) Qh (4 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Button checks.

River: (7 BB) 3h (4 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Button bets, Hero folds, UTG folds, MP calls.

Hand 2: I feel as if I should have pumped this on the flop because my implied odds are smaller when the flush card hits for me.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ad, 6h.
UTG calls, 1 fold, Button calls, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (4 SB) 3d, 6d, Jd (4 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG raises, Button calls, Hero calls, BB calls.

Turn: (6 BB) Ah (4 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, UTG calls, Button calls.

River: (9 BB) 6c (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG folds, Button calls.

Results:
Hero has Ad 6h (full house, sixes full of aces).
Button has 2c Ac (two pair, aces and sixes).
Outcome: Hero wins 11 BB.

Hand 3: I posted this at the Two Plus Two Microlimit Forum. The general feeling is that this play would be better at higher stakes where players tend to be more aggressive. I think it can go either way, and that neither line is significantly better than the other. In this case, the other villain would likely have called down anyway.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Qd, Jh.
1 fold, MP calls, 1 fold, Button calls, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (4 SB) Qc, Ac, Ad (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP checks, Button bets, SB calls, Hero calls, MP calls.

Turn: (4 BB) 2s (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP checks, Button bets, SB folds, Hero calls, MP calls.

River: (7 BB) 5h (3 players)
Hero checks, MP checks, Button bets, Hero calls, MP folds.

Results:
Hero has Qd Jh (two pair, aces and queens).
Button has 4h 4c (two pair, aces and fours).

Hand 4: This hand is posted merely to laugh at my own stupidity and poor luck. Betting this river is terrible. Calling the raise is pretty bad, too. I was better than a 16:1 favorite on the flop and better than a 5:1 favorite on the turn.

Preflop: Hero is SB with 7s, 7h.
1 fold, Button calls, Hero raises, 1 fold, Button calls.

Flop: (5 SB) 8c, 7c, 4d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

Turn: (3.50 BB) 8h (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, Button caps, Hero calls.

River: (11.50 BB) 4h (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero calls.

Results:
Button has Th 8s (full house, eights full of fours).
Hero has 7s 7h (full house, sevens full of eights).

Day 19: +$3.40 (+3 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$37.45 in 2881 table minutes

After not playing for about two weeks, it feels good to sit down and to play again. I think I did quite well, holding back some aggression in spots that were bad, and being willing to make folds that I know are good folds (most of them, anyway). I don't have a whole lot to say except that I reached 6000 posts at Two Plus Two. I don't want to post many hands today because many of them are uninteresting.

Hand 1: AA gets cracked, but I believe I played it the best possible way. I had seen nothing unusually aggressive about SB so far, so the preflop 3-bet was significant. I was very concerned with the QJx flop because that gives two likely 3-betting hands (QQ/JJ) a better hand than mine. If he has KK, he might overplay it if I cap him, but I think the flop cap often slows down opponents, and I'll not extract much more money from them.

Preflop: Hero is BB with As, Ac.
UTG calls, MP raises, 1 fold, SB 3-bets, Hero caps, UTG folds, MP calls, SB calls.

Flop: (13 SB) Jc, 3s, Qh (3 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, MP calls, SB 3-bets, Hero calls, MP calls.

Turn: (11 BB) 6c (3 players)
SB bets, Hero calls, MP calls.

River: (14 BB) 5s (3 players)
SB bets, Hero calls, MP calls.

Results:
SB has Qs Qc (three of a kind, queens).
Hero has As Ac (one pair, aces).
MP has Qd Ad (one pair, queens).

Hand 2: What? AA cracked again? Yeah. Lousy variance. I suppose I could have bet/folded the river, but I hate to do that with an overpair.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ac, Ad.
UTG calls, Button calls, SB raises, BB calls, UTG calls, Button calls.

Flop: (8 SB) 3h, 9d, 4d (4 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG calls, Button folds.

Turn: (5.50 BB) Th (3 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG calls.

River: (8.50 BB) 4s (3 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, UTG folds, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Ac Ad (two pair, aces and fours).
BB has 4h 5s (three of a kind, fours).

Hand 3: I say that I think I could have folded the overpair in the previous hand, but here I fold a set on the river, and I don't really like it that much. I think this is a bad fold due to the number of two pair combinations this could be.

Preflop: Hero is MP with Js, Jc.
1 fold, Hero raises, Button calls, SB calls, 1 fold.

Flop: (7 SB) Jh, Qc, 3h (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, Button folds, SB calls.

Turn: (4.50 BB) Kd (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB calls.

River: (6.50 BB) 9c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB raises, Hero folds.

Hand 4: Here's what I think a standard turn fold with KK should look like. The flop coldcall and turn check-raise is a very scary combination. The ace only makes it worse.

Preflop: Hero is CO with Kd, Ks.
UTG calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, 1 fold, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG calls.

Flop: (7 SB) Jd, 6h, 8d (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, SB raises, UTG calls, Hero 3-bets, SB folds, UTG calls.

Turn: (7.50 BB) Ac (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, UTG raises, Hero folds.

Hand 5: Here's an odd one. Villain is a multi-tabler (sitting at both tables with me, in fact), and has pretty solid TAG stats. I think he might be a 2+2er, and if he is then he likely knows I'm one, too. Getting capped preflop indicates to me a strong hand. If he 3-bets my check-raise on the flop, I'm done. I played it this way to knock out one of many pocket pairs lower than a K that potentially doesn't want to go to an expensive showdown. When he just called, but then popped the turn, something felt really odd. There was a bit of a timing tell as well, but I let that take less meaning because he's multi-tabling. With 6 outs, this is a super-easy call. Fortunately, he checked behind, because I was folding to a river bet.

If he knows anything about me, then his turn raise is bad. There aren't many hands I would play this way. For example, I wouldn't play QQ-TT this way, as I would just check-call to get to showdown with those against an aggro player. If I have AK/AA/KK/77/44, he's not bluffing me off my hand. If I had a naked ace, I would have continued to bet if he had given me the chance (which means the turn raise would have made me fold, and then he doesn't collect the extra bet from me on the river). So I think FPS-ego might have gotten the best of him.

Preflop: Hero is BB with 6c, 6s.
1 fold, Button raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, Button caps, Hero calls.

Flop: (8.50 SB) 7h, 4d, Ks (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets, Hero raises, Button calls.

Turn: (6.25 BB) 3d (2 players)

Hero bets, Button raises, Hero calls.

River: (10.25 BB) 2c (2 players)

Hero checks, Button checks.

Results:
Hero has 6c 6s (one pair, sixes).
Button has Ah Qs (high card, ace).

Day 18: +$4.10 (+4 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$34.05 in 2610 table minutes

I squeezed in a quick session this evening because I had a little free time on my hands. It turned into a small win with a couple hands which I thought were interesting.

Hand 1: PokerTracker lists AA at the top, and I can't help but feel a little glad that villain was all-in on the flop.

Preflop: Hero is MP with Ac, Ah.
UTG raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG caps, Hero calls, SB calls.

Flop: (13 SB) Qd, 6h, 8s (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero raises, SB folds, UTG 3-bets (All-in), Hero calls.

Turn: (9.50 BB) Td (2 players)
River: (9.50 BB) 2c (2 players)

Results:
UTG has Qc Qs (three of a kind, queens).
Hero has Ac Ah (one pair, aces).

Hand 2: I donked up this flopped flush. I don't have anything in particular about MP. He raises some preflop and plays too many hands. I figure that this is a decent semi-coldcall with a hand that can flop well in so many ways. I played it poorly by check-raising instead of betting out.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Qc, Jc.
UTG calls, MP calls, CO raises, 1 fold, Hero calls, BB calls, UTG calls, MP folds.

Flop: (9 SB) 6c, 7c, 9c (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, CO bets, Hero raises, BB folds, UTG folds, CO calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) Tc (2 players)
Hero bets, CO folds.

Hand 3: This was a failed steal attempt. BB didn't seem particularly loose or tricky, so I decided that if he called a flop bet, he must have the best hand, which is why I check-folded the turn. Maybe he has a heart draw or a queen, but there are far too many ways I'm beat now, and those hands against which I have the lead, they all have many outs on the river to win, and I don't want to fire three barrels into this board with this hand.

Preflop: Hero is SB with 7c, Ac.
3 folds, SB raises, BB calls.

Flop: (4 SB) Jh, Th, Ks (2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3 BB) 2d (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets, Hero folds.

Hand 4: Villain is a LAG. I would have 3-bet him except that CO is a fairly readable player. He's tight enough that I know he's calling with at least a decent hand and I know that he knows that villain is a bit overaggro. I'd rather keep the pot small preflop so that I don't have a bloated pot to contend with postflop. On the flop, CO's call means a weak hand (except if he had 55 or 22 or A2s), and his call is a loose peel to snag a pair with two overs to the board. I check-raised here for value, and CO's fold is a little surprising given that he closes the action and is getting monster odds. He must have made a very loose peel on that first bet. I thought about throwing a screwplay on the turn with the aggro villain, but decided to just value bet instead.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ac, Qs.
1 fold, MP raises, CO calls, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (6.50 SB) 5d, 2s, 2h (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, CO calls, Hero raises, MP calls, CO folds.

Turn: (5.75 BB) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

River: (7.75 BB) 4h (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

Results:
Hero has Ac Qs (two pair, aces and twos).
MP has As Td (two pair, aces and twos).

Hand 5: Here's another hand with the same two villains. I could have only called the 3-bet preflop, but my table image was pretty solid at the time as I had been showing down solid hands and taking a number of pots uncontested. I suspected that aggro-villain was playing back at me a little bit. On the flop, I went back to playing the relative position game. With the predictable player in the pot, I knew I could count on him to tell me what he has. Sadly for him, CO caught a nice flop.

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ks, Ad.
Hero raises, 1 fold, CO 3-bets, Button calls, 2 folds, Hero caps, CO calls, Button calls.

Flop: (13.50 SB) 9d, 7c, Tc (3 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Button calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (8.25 BB) Qh (3 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Button raises, Hero folds, CO 3-bets, Button calls.

River: (14.25 BB) 5h (2 players)
CO bets, Button calls.

Results:
CO has Ts 9c (two pair, tens and nines).
Button has Qd Ah (one pair, queens).

Hand 6: I think I played this perfectly. A turn raise is bad because it allows better hands to raise me, and if he has a worse hand, it's either much worse (so that he may not pay me off) or not much worse (and could chop on a range of cards on the river). Since it's heads up, there's no point in pumping the pot.

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9d, Ad.
UTG calls, MP calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls, MP calls.

Flop: (10 SB) 5c, Jh, 5h (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Hero checks.

Turn: (5 BB) As (5 players)
SB bets, BB folds, UTG folds, MP folds, Hero calls.

River: (7 BB) Qd (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Results:
SB has Ks 5s (three of a kind, fives).
Hero has 9d Ad (two pair, aces and fives).

Day 17: -$28.90 (-29 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$29.95 in 2510 table minutes

Sometimes, the cards are out to get you. Today was one of those days. It could have been worse, I guess. I only played 81 hands, and when 6 of those hands (7.4% of all hands, 27.3% of VPIP hands) account for -25 BB, it's very hard to have a positive session.

Hand 1:
Preflop: Hero is BB with Kd, Ac.
2 folds, CO raises, 1 fold, SB 3-bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

Flop: (9 SB) 9d, 6d, 8d (3 players)
SB bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

Turn: (6 BB) 4s (3 players)
SB bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

River: (9 BB) 5d (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, CO raises, SB folds, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has Kd Ac (flush, king high).
CO has Ad 7d (straight flush, nine high).

Hand 2:
Preflop: Hero is BB with Qs, Qd.
2 folds, CO calls, Button raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, CO calls, Button caps, Hero calls, CO calls.

Flop: (12.50 SB) Qc, 8c, Ad (3 players)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, CO calls, Button calls.

Turn: (10.75 BB) 7c (3 players)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button raises, Hero calls, CO calls.

River: (16.75 BB) Tc (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button bets, Hero calls, CO calls.

Results:
Hero has Qs Qd (three of a kind, queens).
CO has Ah Th (two pair, aces and tens).
Button has Ks Ac (flush, ace high).

Hand 3:
Preflop: Hero is SB with 6s, 6c.
UTG calls, MP calls, 2 folds, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (4 SB) 6h, Qc, Js (4 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG folds, MP calls.

Turn: (3.50 BB) Kh (3 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, MP folds, Hero 3-bets, BB caps, Hero calls.

River: (11.50 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

Results:
Hero has 6s 6c (three of a kind, sixes).
BB has 9h Ts (straight, king high).

Hand 4:
Preflop: Hero is BB with As, 5s.
1 fold, MP calls, 1 fold, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (3 SB) Ts, 5h, Qs (3 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, MP 3-bets, SB calls, Hero caps, MP calls, SB calls.

Turn: (7.50 BB) Kd (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP checks.

River: (7.50 BB) Ah (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, MP calls, SB folds.

Results:
Hero has As 5s (two pair, aces and fives).
MP has Js 7s (straight, ace high).

Hand 6:
Preflop: Hero is SB with 3d, 3h.
1 fold, Button calls, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (3 SB) 2s, 3c, Jd (3 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, Button calls.

Turn: (2.50 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (4.50 BB) 4s (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero calls.

Results:
Hero has 3d 3h (three of a kind, threes).
Button has Ah Jh (straight, five high).

Day 16: -$22.35 (-22 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$58.85 in 2452 table minutes

Today's feature is titled "Losing the value bet war." I was playing against a player who was calling down with a wide wide range of hands. The lowest I saw was Q2o with queen high. On the other hand, he was also calling down with hands like a flopped set and trips. He never bluffed (and almost never bet). I did my best to isolate against him, but unfortunately, the cards didn't come my way. I did a lot of value betting with hands like top pair, overpairs, and the like, but ended up down because he kept turning over monsters. I'm glad that he didn't raise these hands, because if he were aggressive and catching cards the way he was, I'd be down much much more than I am. No detailed hand posts today.

Day 15: +$22.45 (+22 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$81.20 in 2307 table minutes

Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving! I had just over 20 people at my place last night for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was great. About half of them were members of Graduate Christian Fellowship at UCSD, and the other half were friends and family of GCF members. I ended up making two turkeys, one baked in the oven and one semi-smoked over the grill. (I say semi-smoked because the first smoke bomb I put in there turned into a fireball, so I don't know how much smokey flavor was actually picked up by the meat.)

I went back up to two tables today for no particular reason. I would really like to develop the ability to switch between two lines of thinking with ease, and I know that if I want to develop this, I should start sooner (low stakes) rather than later (not quite as low stakes). I do notice that when I play two tables, I remember fewer hands that I played. I'm also going to try posting hands via the FTR Hand Converter to see if I like the format better.

Once again, I'm within reach of the next level...

Hand 1:

Preflop: Hero is CO with Ah, Ad.
UTG calls, 1 fold, CO raises, Button calls, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG calls.

Flop: (9 SB) Ac, 8c, 9d (4 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) 3s (4 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, Button folds, SB calls, UTG calls.

River: (9.50 BB) 7c (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, SB calls, UTG folds.

I guess this is a bad beat. I lost to 52 of clubs. I'm posting this hand simply because after I lost, I had to remind myself that it was a good value bet against a wide range of hands.

Hand 2:

Preflop: Hero is CO with Jh, Ah.
1 fold, MP raises, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, SB calls, BB calls, MP caps, Hero calls, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: (16 SB) Js, 4s, 2c (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, MP bets, Hero raises, SB folds, BB calls, MP 3-bets, Hero calls, BB calls.

Turn: (12.50 BB) Qh (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero checks.

River: (12.50 BB) 8c (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets, BB calls, MP folds.

The turn play really had me confused. MP is a known aggressive player. His preflop raising range is quite wide, but this is the first time that he capped. Given that he capped in a multi-way pot, I assumed that this meant he was more likely to have a legitimate hand. The flop 3-bet seemed to point in this direction as well. But when he checked on the turn, I became concerned that he might have QQ. Aggro players tend not to slow down suddenly unless they have hit a strong hand. I intended to check behind and call a single river bet, but it was checked to me again. BB paid off with T8o and to the best of my knowledge, MP had AK of spades and decided it wise to get to the river cheaply instead of semi-bluffing.

Hand 3:

Preflop: Hero is SB with Kd, Kc.
UTG calls, MP calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, BB calls, UTG calls, MP calls.

Flop: (8 SB) 8d, 7h, 3s (4 players)
SB bets, BB raises, UTG calls, MP folds, Hero 3-bets, BB calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (8.50 BB) 7d (3 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG calls.

River: (11.50 BB) 5h (3 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, UTG raises, Hero calls.

I thought about folding to this river check-raise. Villain in this hand was not particularly aggressive and I had no reason to think he would pull a monster bluff here on the end. But I hate folding overpairs and paid him off. He had 96 of hearts for the OESD.

Hand 4:

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ts, 5s.
2 folds, SB raises, Hero calls.

Flop: (4 SB) As, Qh, Ah (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (3 BB) 3h (2 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, SB folds.

Villain in this hand was an aggro-stealer. He was an aggressive player already, and in blind situations he seemed to turn it up even more. But he also knew how to fold when it's fairly clear that he's beat. Because his preflop range is so large here, I think this play works very very very often. If he were a showdown monkey (like me), then I think it would be harder to pull this off, as he would be showing down pocket pairs like 55 to win. I might not be playing this hand against such a player... at least not at my current skill level.

Hand 5: I'm posting this one to 2+2 for some feedback.

Preflop: Hero is SB with Tc, 9c.
2 folds, CO calls, Button calls, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (4 SB) Kh, 4h, 9s (4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets, CO calls, Button calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (4 BB) Kd (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO checks, Button checks.

River: (4 BB) Kc (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets, Button folds, Hero calls, BB folds.

This one gets put in the "I played it strangely" file. From SB, I don't always donk this flop with my hand. I think I would from BB with only two players behind me to act, but with three players it becomes much more marginal (especially if the players are aggressive or otherwise hard to read). I don't recall anything special about BB (a consequence of playing two tables, I think). I'm not quite sure how to handle the turn play. My instinct says that betting is best, but with all the callers and the broadway draws, I'm not sure if I can get away reliably on the river. Once the river gave me a boat, I decided to check-call because I'm pretty sure not many worse hands will call and that the chances of there being only worse hands out there is just too small. But I can check-call because after the turn action there is a decent chance that someone wakes up and tries to bluff the missed draw, especially after some checks.

Day 14: +$31.65 (+32 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$58.75 in 2150 table minutes

Finally, after running bad for 5 sessions in a row, I have a decent upswing to pull me up and make me feel good about my playing again. I played a little distracted tonight, chatting online with a friend and on the phone, but it was okay.

Hand 1: I raise A4s UTG, the next player coldcalls, SB calls, and BB folds. The flop is A77 and it's checked to me. I bet, get called, and SB check-raises. SB is a somewhat known aggressive player. His check-raise can be an ace, a worse pocket pair, or total junk. It's rarely a 7. If it's an ace, I run a slight risk of being outkicked and not having the board bail me out. In both other circumstances, I have him drawing very thin. I'm not sure if he would fold if I put more pressure on him, and since this is a way ahead type of situation and since I have position, I decided to let him try to buy the pot from me and just call down. After I called, the coldcaller folded. The turn was a 9, the river an 8, and I lost to JTs hitting runner-runner straight (less than 4%).

Hand 2: This one makes me a little disappointed because I misread the board. I raise KK preflop and flop top set on a flush draw board. I bet and get called in two spots. The turn is an offsuit card, I bet and get called by one player. The river is a flush card, I bet and get check-raised. Sadly, I failed to notice that this card also paired the board, so I missed out on a likely two more BBs to add to my collection.

Hand 3: There is one limper and I raise KJs from the cutoff. The small blind and the limper call, giving us a 3-handed flop. The flop is Q64 with a flush draw for me. It's checked to me and I bet. SB calls and the limper check-raises. At this point, I can either 3-bet (for value and often a free card) or just call and look to raise a turned flush. I decided to go with the 3-bet and got called in both spots. The turn was an offsuit T, giving me the OESD. I took my free card because there was no way I had the best hand and there was no way I was going to make them both fold. The river brought another T, giving me the flush. The flop check-raiser bet into me and I raised. I thought about trying to get an overcall out of the other villain, but the chances of getting a call out of the aggressor are far greater than the chances of getting a call out of the other guy, so I clicked raise. The last player folded out and the aggressor called. He showed Q2o for flopped top pair.

Hand 4: I have K5s in the big blind and it's a 6-handed family pot. The flop is KQ7 giving me top pair and the flush draw. I lead out, get raised, get 3-bet, and I choose to cap it because the players in this hand are a little LAGgy. The turn is my flush card, and it gets capped again, although one player ended up all-in halfway through. The river is a 2 of bonus flush and I bet, hoping not to run into the the A. It was called and I laugh at the button limper's KK and the all-in's Q6o.

Hand 5: There's an early raise, a few callers, and I call with QJs. There are 5 of us to the flop. It comes down Q98 with a backdoor flush draw for me. It's checked to me and I check, anticipating that the aggressor would bet so that I could evaluate the action from the rest of the table. Instead, it gets checked around. The turn is a 3, and I bet it, getting called in two spots. The river is a 5, I bet again, and get called once. I win the pot.

Day 13: -$2.00 (-2 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$27.10 in 2049 table minutes

I probably only played a B game today. There are a number of spots where I should have folded, knowing I was beat, but decided to call.

Hand 1: I raise AJs from the small blind after three limpers. The flop is a 5-handed J53 with a flush draw and I lead out. There's one caller and an aggressive player raises. The aggressive player has been playing pretty erratically, pushing weaker hands and nothing hands and so on. I 3-bet him and get heads up. The turn is an ace of flush, and I continue to push. Now villain raises. I'm not folding top two here, so the question is whether I should continue to push for value or aim to get to showdown. After some deliberation, I decide the get-to-showdown route is better because he's not all-crazy-all-the-time. I check-call the meaningless offsuit 6 on the river and he turns over AK with the K of flush and I take down the pot.

Hand 2: I raise AJo UTG and get coldcalled in two spots plus BB. The flop is KQ8. It's checked to me, I check, and watch it get checked through. This is not a good spot to c-bet because the coldcalls are very bad news for me on this board. I'm actually a little surprised it got checked through. THe turn is an A and it's checked to me again. This time, I bet and called in two spots. The river is a 3 and I bet again, getting called in both spots again. I beat a worse ace (A4o) and a K (BB's hand).

Hands 3-4: From the "keeping me down" file. I have J3s in the BB and flop two pair. Value bet, value bet, and got checked-raised on the river by someone hitting a gutshot. In another hand, I raise AJo and flop my ace. Value bet, value bet, river a jack that gives villain a gutshot straight.

I'm a little tired, so I won't post any other hands tonight.

Day 12: -$12.90 (-13 BB at $.50/1)

Overall: +$29.10 in 1953 table minutes

I played a second session today, and it went worse than the first. I like one-tabling much more than two tabling, but I'm not doing so well at it. At least, the results are going down even though I feel my play is going up. I call it variance. It's only 4 losing sessions in a row and I'm still up overall, but it's a little bit annoying.

Hand 1: I open-raise A7o from CO and get called by SB. BB 3-bets it, I call, and SB caps. BB is an aggressive player, but not stupid, but SB is a bit crazy. The flop is AJ9 and crazy leads out. BB raises and I make the easy fold to avoid AJ going nuts against J9.

Hand 2: Here's an interesting KK hand. It's raised ahead of me and I 3-bet from the button. We see the flop heads up. The flop is AQ2 with a flush draw. Villain donks into me. He is an aggressive player who can be donking a lot of hands. It could be an ace, a queen, a flush draw, a straight draw, or maybe even JJ. I decide that it's often enough not an ace that I can proceed with the hand. The debate was between calling and raising. I decide to go with the "free showdown" option of raising the turn because he's not crazy. If he has a draw, he'd be forced to call the raise, but if he 3-bets me I can easily dump my hand. So the I raise the offsuit 7 turn card and check behind on the ace river. He turned over QJo. I wonder if a river value bet could have been a good play...

Hand 3: I raise JTo from the button against a poor playing opponent. Sadly, both blinds call and it's 4 to the flop. Happily, I flop 978 for the nut straight, though there's a flush draw. The poor playing villain donks into me, there's a caller, and I raise. The poor playing villain 3-bets and the guy in the middle coldcalls. At this point, it's appropriate to say a couple words about poor playing villain. I have seen him completely overplay draws (gutshot and flush draws) on both the turn and the river. He may also overplay weak made hands, but I haven't had much verification on this just yet. The reason I wanted to isolate with him is because I know he's capable of spewing a whole lot of chips my way if I flop anything decent (like a pair of tens). I decide that it's likely that any hand he's betting now will also be bet on the turn if I just call, so I call intending to raise any non-flush card. Sadly, the turn is a 4 of flush and he leads (as expected). The middle player folds and I just call down. He turns over K7s and I lose another hand.

Hand 4: I raise 88 from the small blind against a limper and we a 3-handed flop. It comes down 982 with a flush draw. Bet-call-call. The turn is a 6 bringing a second flush draw. Bet-call-call. The river is a 3 of the first flush and I bet and get raised. The phone rang and I accidentally clicked raise while reaching for the phone. Fortunately, he only calls and shows me a J7s for the flush, instead of capping me (I'd probably fold to the cap at least 75% of the time...).