December 5k - Session 19

Bankroll: $334
Level: $2/4
Hands: 3680

I fought the LAG and the LAG won. Both times I had an overpair against him and got many bets in on the flop and turn, only to be sucked out on at the river.

December 5k - Session 18

Bankroll: $499
Level: $3/6 (Moving down to $2/4)
Hands: 3526

I'm going to move back down to $2/4 next session and build back up to $600. I did three things wrong this session.

1) I got frustrated by a couple suckouts
2) I didn't stop when I started to lose focus
3) I didn't play well

This adds up to taking a break and moving back down for a little while. I'm still aiming at 5000 hands, but it still looks too far away to reach in the next couple days.

December 5k - Session 17

Bankroll: $793.50
Level: $3/6
Hands: 3336

I have my doubts about making 5000 hands before Monday. However, thanks to a couple awesome suckouts I'm still going strong. They turned an average session into a great one.

December 5k - Session 16

Bankroll: $636.00
Level: $3/6
Hands: 3163

I played a slightly extended one-tabling session this morning. I seem to be doing okay and I'm now feeling pretty comfortable with the level, so I'll dive into two tables next time. I've only got $236 to lose at this level, which is just a little under what is needed to run two tables at 40 BB, but if I forget to buy in a touch short at one table, it's no big deal.

December 5k - Session 15

Bankroll: $617.50
Level: $3/6
Hands: 3049

I played a very unfocused session. I'm actually surprised that I'm down so little given how poorly I think I played. I'll probably stay at one table for the next session (which might be later tonight if I become less tired).

December 5k - Session 14

Bankroll: $652.50
Level: $2/4 (Moving up next session)
Hands: 2874

I ran so hot that I didn't even realize that I was anywhere close to having the bankroll to move up to $3/6. I think I'm going to start off with one table and then add the second table once I get comfortable. The last time I took a shot at $3/6, I ran ice-cold and dropped $300 in a few hundred hands. I'm on a shorter leash this time. If I lose $252.50, then I'm moving back down again.

December 5k - Session 13

Bankroll: $349.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 2401

I could have been up more if that one LAG had not kept hitting his hands. He 3-bet me with Q3o and J4s, but each hand he caught up by catching all sorts of stuff. But I still ended up with more than what I started with.

December 5k - Session 12

Bankroll: $310.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 2177

I'm nearing the halfway point and I'm running out of days before I go home. The Vegas snow is going to keep me at home tonight, which means I'll have time later to run up some more hands.

December 5k - Session 11

Bankroll: $231
Level: $2/4
Hands: 2076

I played a short morning session and lost about $100. I got stubborn in a couple spots and got trapped in a couple others by erratic players.

December 5k - Session 10

Bankroll: $332.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 1965

I caught a massive upswing in tonight's session. Flopped set after flopped set and hitting draws makes the game super easy to play. But even after all of this, I'm still below the $400 mark. But that's okay. I'm quite happy to be close.

December 5k - Session 9

Bankroll: $277.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 1692

I played a short session this morning where I was actually up much higher than where things ended. I'll probably play more tonight after I take care of some work stuff.

December 5k - Session 8

Bankroll: $246.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 1565

It feels good to be catching an upswing after nearly going busto. I've noticed myself in a few spots getting stubborn with my hand and calling down when I shouldn't be, so I'm going to have to be more aware of those situations. The good thing is that I don't ever really feel uncomfortable with too many decisions, and I think I'm a long-term winner at this level. I just need to wait for that long term to come around.

December 5k - Session 7

Bankroll: $168.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 1391

I'm glad the variance is settling down a little bit and that the bankroll is a little more robust. I went back to two tables in the middle of this session. Hopefully, I will not need to drop back down to one table again. I think at this rate, I'll reach my 5000 hands goal after all.

December 5k - Session 6

Bankroll: $110.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 1100

Today's session went better. I had worked it up as high as $150, but it slipped back down and I'm stuck playing 1-tabling sessions still. This constant 1-tabling is going to keep me from making my goal of 5000 hands.

December 5k - Session 5

Bankroll: $88
Level: $2/4
Hands: 934

I have been reduced to one table due to lack of funds in this project. So I'm racking up half as many hands as I want to. I ran pretty flat tonight even though the first table I was at was going completely bonkers. It's too bad I couldn't hit anything because I could easily have been way up. Instead, it's roughly even with 4000 hands to go.

December 5k - Session 4

Bankroll: $75
Level: $2/4
Hands: 797

Hmmmmm... I don't think I want to talk about this session.

December 5k - Session 3

Bankroll: $176
Level: $2/4
Hands: 545

Running worse than 10 BB/100 is bad news when you take a shot with 100 BB. I was at a table with a showdown-monkey LAG, and couldn't get the cards to keep up with him. The rest was standard variance stuff.

December 5k - Session 2

Bankroll: $286.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 277

I play a little bad and run really bad in a session that lasted less than 100 hands.

December 5k - Session 1

Bankroll: $484.50
Level: $2/4
Hands: 183

I don't think I have anything exciting to say about tonight's session. It was a short session, and I may play more later tonight after I take care of some business. No hands really stood out to me.

December 5k

With live limit hold'em going down, I've decided to invest some more time focusing on moving up in the online world. I may also pick up low stakes NL, but that's another story.

I'm taking 100 BB at 2/4 and I'm going to move up/down according to when I have 100 BB for the next level up or down, except I'm never going to play below 2/4. I've long believed that I'm at least 5/10 6-max caliber, but simply lacking in playing time. My goal is to play 5000 hands like this by the end of December (which comes sooner than expected because I'm flying home for Christmas).

ASB - Session 10

This session: 133 hands, ASB 60 (15/25)
Total: 2471 hands, ASB 53 (257/484)

Light CO steals: 1
Light Bu steals: 2

I ended up at a table with a raving LAG. He cold-capped from BB with T7o and that sort of stuff. Unfortunately, I got hit by the unhappy end of the variance stick and lost a bunch of money. Oh well. I decided to quit after villain left with a lot of my money and before I got tilty.

I accidentally missed a steal from the cutoff. It was a small suited king.

ASB - Session 9

This session: 159 hands, ASB 50 (16/32)
Total: 2338 hands, ASB 53 (242/459)

Light CO steals: 3
Light Bu steals: 1

I played a short session tonight. I was a bit tired, and I think it showed. There are at least a couple spots where I couldn't even remember what the action was preflop. I had also moved up to 3 tables, but I don't really think that made the difference.

ASB - Session 8

This session: 266 hands, ASB 43 (30/63)
Total: 2179 hands, ASB 54 (317/745)

Light CO steals: 2
Light Bu steals: 2

I think I'm going to move back up to 3 tables again next time. I'm feeling pretty comfortable with how things are going, and I think can increase the number of hands by 50% without losing much. It's surprising to me how little overall change there is after increasing the ASB, even with it being 10 higher than the goal. This is probably because I failed to account for the effect of SB steals. I'm only up to 36 extra hands played over about 2200. In other words, I'm playing a mere 1.6% more hands than I otherwise would have. This is very close to a negligible change.

However, an internal trend that I'm facing is that I now have to start holding myself back from raising. The most noticeable place that this happens is two off of the button, where I'm still trying to play as closely to my original hand range as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if extra hands are starting to creep up there, causing me to play more hands overall than I intended. After all, I started with a VPIP of 25, and according to my calculations I've only added 1.6 to my VPIP, yet my VPIP is a little above 30. It could be nothing more than variance over a mere 2000 hands, but I suspect it's not. I won't know until I've reached about 5000 hands and can compare the position-by-position numbers.

ASB - Session 7

This session: 173 hands, ASB 43 (12/28)
Total: 1913 hands, ASB 54 (196/364)

Light CO steals: 3
Light Bu steals: 1

I've only put in about 2000 hands, so it's a little early to check my light steal statistics, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I've got 10 total light button steals for a loss of $12.50 and 22 light cutoff steals for a profit of $5.50. So I'm currently losing money with these extra steals. But again, it's really too early to say a whole lot.

ASB - Session 6

This session: 200 hands, ASB 72 (31/43)
Total: 1740 hands, ASB 55 (184/336)

Light CO steals: 2
Light Bu steals: 4

I was a stealing machine this session. My light steals from the button went well, winning 3 of 4, and the last one I lost to a short-stacked player who hit his flush when I hit my straight. The cutoff steals weren't interesting, though I did lose them both.

I finished ahead, but only by a small margin. I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been, which was part of the problem. I was also against slightly more aggressive players this time, as I was 3-bet more often than I usually am.

ASB - Session 5

This session: 295 hands, ASB 48 (30/62)
Total: 1540 hands, ASB 52 (153/293)

Light CO steals: 3
Light Bu steals: 1

I accidentally misread the chart and raised 96s from the CO. I ended up getting 3-bet by QQ, flopping top pair 633 (which I raised), and rivering a boat to win.

Nothing else interesting happened with respect to raising light. I folded all three of the remaining hands on the flop. I was 3-bet twice and the third was I was donked into on a flop that completely missed me.

ASB - Session 4

This session: 196 hands, ASB 44 (11/25)
Total: 1245 hands, ASB 53 (123/231)

Light CO steals: 3
Light Bu steals: 1

I suppose I was due for a losing session after being on such a hot run the first three times out. The cards were dead, and I was tired, and that's not a good combination ever.

Nothing much to say here except that I called in a couple spots that I knew I should have folded.

ASB - Session 3

This session: 299 hands, ASB 43 (20/47)
Total: 1049 hands, ASB 54 (162/361)

Light CO steals: 4
Light Bu steals: 0

Nothing much to say today. These hands played themselves. Bet-fold a total whiff flop, get 3-bet, and fold 3-handed on a whiff flop, flop a pair and turn trips, and one more flop whiff bet-fold.

ASB - Session 2

This session: 344 hands, ASB 61 (45/74)
Total: 406 hands, ASB 57 (92/159)

Light CO steals: 8
Light Bu steals: 3

With the light CO steals, I won two with no flop. Here is a hand which I think was interesting:

PokerStars 1/2 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 7s, Kc.
1 fold, Hero raises, Button calls, 1 fold, BB calls.

Flop: (6.50 SB) 6c, 8s, 9h (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, Button raises, BB folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.25 BB) Kd (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

River: (5.25 BB) 5c (2 players)
Hero bets, Button folds.

Final Pot: 5.25 BB

When he checked the turn, I figured him for 9x or 8x, and that he would call a river bet. But his fold there would be incredibly weak, as this was a good bluffing card (even though I really had it). My best guess is that he went for the free card with QJ or maybe JT and chose not to bet the turn (he would have been check-raised).

Here's one where I think paying off the river was a terrible mistake.

PokerStars 1/2 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.comFlopTurnRiver.com (Format: Plain Text)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Qs, 6s.
1 fold, Hero raises, 2 folds, BB calls.

Flop: (4.50 SB) Jc, 5d, Ad (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

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

River: (3.25 BB) 6c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 5.25 BB

Flush draws generally check-raise the flop, so I should have stuck with my gut that I was behind on the turn and just walk away even though I paired up.

ASB - Session 1

This session: 406 hands, ASB 55 (47/85)
Total: 406 hands, ASB 55 (47/85)

Light CO steals: 3
Light Bu steals: 1

I wish I had something useful to say about those four hands, but there's nothing to say. Most of my raising hands were ones I would have raised anyway.

ASB 45

This is my latest poker project (well, besides grinding 10/20 live so that I can move up to 15/30 and 20/40).

In the meantime, one of the areas of my game that is lacking is a very high aggression game. I made a couple twoplustwo posts about it (Micros and Small Stakes Short-Handed) which will provide some background thoughts.

After spending some time reflecting on how I might extend my play to include a high-aggression game, I have decided to start the ASB-45 project. My current ASB is at 35, which is a little too low given that I'm only playing 1/2 6-max. I *should* have an edge on these players which would allow me to play more hands. My goal is to get it up to 45, which is an increase of 30%.

My current steal range looks a lot like that in Stox's book:

CO: 22+, A2s+, A5o+, K7s+, K9o+, Q9s+, QTo+, J8s+, T8s+, 97s+, 87s, 76s = 28.5%
Button: 22+, A2s+, A3o+, K2s+, K9o+, Q5s+, Q9o+, J7s+, J9o+, T7s+, T8o+, 97s+, 98o, 86s+, 75s+, 65s = 40.0%

I must be looser than this as one expects to have more CO steal opportunities than Button stealing opportunities, implying that your ASB should be closer to the CO value than the Button value. Here's how the numbers break down (out of 34242 total hands):

CO steals: 1022/3435 = 29.8%
Button steals: 998/2287 = 43.6%
Overall: 2020/5722 = 35.3%

How can I push my ASB up to 45%? We will start with the assumption that the CO steal to Button steal ratio remains at 3:2. This will help me to balance the two types of steals. I would like my button steal range to be about 50%, which implies that my CO steal range needs to be about 41.7%.

Using the Stox ranges at a platform, I have decided to go with the following ranges:

CO: 22+, A2s+, A2o+, K2s+, K7o+, Q5s+, Q9o+, J7s+, J9o+, T7s+, T8o+, 97s+, 98o, 86s+, 76s = 37.6%
Button: 22+, A2s+, A2o+, K2s+, K5o+, Q5s+, Q7o+, J7s+, J8o+, T7s+, T8o+, 96s+, 97o+, 86s+, 87o, 75s+, 76o, 65s = 50.2%

I am not intentionally going to make any other changes to my game. I'm not going to change how I think about blind defense, overlimping, or iso-raising. Those things will come later.

World Series of Poker (after)

I only lasted about 4 hours at the WSOP. I was at a tough table (one European online pro, three mid/high stakes players, and an aggressive amateur), so I needed things to break my way more than average to have a chance. There were a couple tough spots I was in, but it was otherwise a fairly standard evening in the poker sense.

At the finish line

Live: 18.5 hours
Online: 1611 hands
Bankroll: $3,822.10

I formally reached the finish line this afternoon. I also bought my seat to the tournament.

Bankroll: $2,322.10

I'm (essentially) done!

Live: 18.5 hours
Online: 1256 hands
Bankroll: $3,806.85

Well, I did it. At least the "hard" part of it. I can easily run off the remaining 250 hands online to complete that part of it. But the bankroll is there, so I'm in the WSOP.

Hot hot hot!

Live: 15 hours
Online: 1256 hands
Bankroll: $3,301.85

I ran very very hot tonight, and in just 5 hours I picked up most of my losses from last week. I could be nearly $100 closer if I had played a couple hands a little differently, but just being back within reach is a major victory for me.

Break-even live session

Live: 10 hours
Online: 1256 hands
Bankroll: $2,556.85

After a 7 hour session, I ended up down about 4 BBs, which is too bad because now the chances of me reaching my bankroll goal are almost completely gone. I've got the extended weekend, so I'm not completely out of it yet.

Quick morning session

Live: 3 hours
Online: 1256 hands
Bankroll: $2,644.85

I played 30-40 minute session and ran pretty hot. Of course, I'd much rather run hot in a live game, but I'll take my wins when they come.

Squeezing in a few more hands

Live: 3 hours
Online: 1033 hands
Bankroll: $2,619.25

I played another session this evening, as I had a bit of free time. As I was quitting, I found my way to this thread on twoplustwo which brought a semi-well known scandal back into the light. It's a long read, and it's both scary and infuriating. I don't play at either site (never have, never will), and while the threat of online cheating does exist (and does happen), my risk is relatively small as I play for small amounts.

A quick online session brings a rebound

Live: 3 hours
Online: 804 hands
Bankroll: $2,593.30

Running hot online is nice, but because of the difference in bet sizes between live and online (30 BB online = 1.5 BB live), having a monster run online will not help me to reach my goal.

It's getting worse

Live: 3 hours
Online: 631 hands
Bankroll: $2,567.60

Tonight was a crushing blow to my chances of playing in the WSOP this year. Too many runner-runner draws came in to beat me, and I dropped ~35 BB in 3 hours. I've still got time, but I will need to be lucky to make up that much lost ground.

Too tired to play live

Live: 0 hours
Online: 631 hands
Bankroll: $3258.60

I had intended to go out to the Mirage tonight, but I felt too tired to play so I just ran off a couple hundred hands online instead. I'll try to get out tomorrow afternoon.

Off to a bad start

Live: 0 hours
Online: 339 hands
Bankroll: $3258.40

I sat down to 4-table for the first time tonight, and things ran really poorly. It was a -65 BB swing over a period of less than an hour, mostly due to running into bad spots. I'm going to be lazy and not post hands during this run and just post the running totals.

Taking a shot at the WSOP

Thanks to a bankroll infusion from the government (economic stimulus package), I think I am close to having enough funds to take a shot at the $1500 limit hold'em event in the World Series of Poker. The event will run from Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8.

I plan to enter the tournament if the following conditions are met between now and June 4:

1. At least 15 hours of live play at 10/20 (Mirage)
2. At least 1500 hands of online poker
3. Bankroll > $3500

Right now, the bankroll stands at $3322.70, so variance will have a large role to play in this. If I'm running well, I will easily be over $3500. If I run poorly, the money won't be there and I'll sit out this year.

3103 Hands @ 11.04 BB/100

I reached my 3100 hands goal, and even reached my pseudo-goal of running hotter than 10 BB/100.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ad, Ah.
UTG raises, MP calls, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, UTG calls, MP calls.

Flop: (10 SB) 4h, 2d, Qd (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls, MP calls.

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

River: (9.50 BB) Jh (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls, MP raises, Hero calls, UTG folds.

I took a long time before calling here. I'm beat very very often here, but the way that it played out, I didn't really think Qx was a likely hand to see, unless it was QJ. Backdoor flush draws are a little bit sparse as MP would probably have needed a combo draw like A3s or A5s. So after thinking for a while, I decided to go ahead and look him up. It turns out I got beat by JJ.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (3 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ad, Kd.
Hero raises, SB 3-bets, 1 fold, Hero calls.

Flop: (7 SB) Ac, 6c, 7d (2 players)
SB checks, Button bets, SB calls.

Turn: (4.50 BB) 3c (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

River: (6.50 BB) Qh (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

I don't always cap AKo HU in position, though in a 3-handed game I probably should have. Villain's flop play confused me, and I was wondering if he flopped a set on me, which is why I only called on the turn and the river. In retrospect, since I underplayed my hand preflop, I have a little more latitude to put in an extra bet postflop simply because villain will not read my hand quite right.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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

Flop: (10.40 SB) 5d, 8h, Ad (3 players)
UTG checks, MP bets, Hero calls, UTG folds.

Turn: (6.20 BB) 8d (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

River: (8.20 BB) 8s (2 players)
MP bets, Hero raises, MP 3-bets, Hero calls.

Looking back at the experiment, I'm quite amazed at how much money I made because villain put in far too many bets with a second place hand. I thought about raising the flop donk, but with AJ facing an coldcall of an UTGraiser, I figured myself to be in decent shape, but not good enough to face lots of heat. It turns out that villain flopped a flush draw with K4s and caught up on the turn. But the river was odd as anyone can plainly see the trip 8s on the board, so that any pair beats his flush. But he felt it necessary to put in the extra raise (I probably could have raised again expecting to chop often, but I didn't want to feed extra to the rake).

Fatigue is kicking in right now because once again I'm posting this at the end of a work day. So that's all.

2697 Hands @ 11.66 BB/100

I'm coming close to my 3100 hand goal, and because I'm going to be busy this weekend, I've got to finish this up during the week. I am hoping to squeeze in most of it in tomorrow night.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is CO with As, Jd.

UTG calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, 3 folds, UTG calls.

Flop: (5.40 SB) 4h, 5s, Td (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, UTG raises, Hero calls.

Turn: (4.70 BB) Js (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero raises, UTG 3-bets, Hero calls.

River: (10.70 BB) 3s (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

These are spots where I call down even though I often expect to lose (I lost to J4s in this hand). The turn raise is completely standard as many players with Tx or even 5x/4x/medium pocket pairs will call down. Getting 3-bet is unfortunate, but unless the player is particularly passive (in which case it would call into question the turn raise), the pot is large enough that I don't mind going to showdown.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (3 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ad, 6h.
Button calls, Hero raises, BB calls, Button

Flop: (6 SB) Ah, 2c, Kc (3 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, Button calls.

Turn: (4 BB) Jc (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (6 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

Against a player who sees too many flops, this out of position isolation raise is quite standard for me. BB called, which is unfortunate, but it still isn't terrible. Flopping top pair in a 3-handed pot means that I'm going to showdown, and if I get raised anywhere I simply go into calldown mode. In this hand, Button called down with T2o. Players who open-limp that hand on the button are prime candidates for isolation both in and out of position.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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

Flop: (5.40 SB) 4c, Td, 3c (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets, MP calls.

Turn: (3.70 BB) 3s (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets, MP calls.

River: (5.70 BB) As (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

Villain's river donk here puts me to an interesting decision between raising and calling. Folding is clearly not an option. Given that villain has gotten this far the way that he has, it's not clear what his hand range is. Potentially, he has been chasing Ax, in which case he will call if I raise. Alternatively, he is donk-bluffing some overcard type hand. Other possibilities include a strangely played 3x and 25 for the flopped straight draw (though this is discounted because of hand selection).

I tend to play this spot a little more passively than some and simply call. The reason is that much of his hand range simply cannot call a raise (however, if he's known to be calling the river with all sorts of weak hands, then raising again becomes an option). Most pocket pairs will bet/fold this, as would 4x and sometimes even Tx hands. In this case, villain had Q8s for a flopped no pair and no draw, and I have very little sense of why he would call the flop and turn with that hand. But again, I'm not responsible for knowing why they do things the way they do.

Hand #4:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Kh, Ks.
Hero raises, 3 folds, BB calls.

Flop: (4.40 SB) Qc, 4d, Jd (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.20 BB) 2s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.


River: (7.20 BB) 3h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

This is a spot where I play a weaker game than I should. In the more aggressive environment of 6-max games, an overpair is worth a 3-bet on the turn in a heads up pot. Once villain checked the river to me, it once again becomes an easy value bet.

Hand #5:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)



Preflop: Hero is Button with Kd, Jc.

2 folds, CO calls, Hero raises, 1 fold, BB calls, CO folds.

Flop: (5.40 SB) Tc, Ks, Th (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.70 BB) Jd (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

River: (5.70 BB) 8c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

This is another type of hand where passive play rules over aggressive play. The board is moderately scary, but not scary enough to fold. The connectedness of the board opens up semibluffing opportunities, which is why I need to keep calling, but my hand strength on this paired board is not enough to withstand a lot of action, so I need to make sure I limit the number of bets that go into the pot. I won this hand against A5o, which is a bit of a surprise because that's about the weakest type of hand I can imagine getting involved here.

Hand #6:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Qs, Qh.
UTG calls, 1 fold, CO raises, Button 3-bets, Hero caps, 1 fold, UTG calls, CO calls, Button calls.

Flop: (17 SB) 6h, Ts, Qd (4 players)

Hero bets, UTG calls, CO raises, Button 3-bets, Hero caps, UTG calls $0.75 (All-In), CO calls, Button calls.

Turn: (15.50 BB) 3c (4 players, 1 all-in)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button calls.

River: (18.50 BB) 2d (4 players, 1 all-in)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button calls.

This hand was my first at the table, so I had no read on the aggression of the other players. However, capping preflop is completely standard in unknown situations, and flopping the nuts is clearly a bet/raise situation. I find this to be somewhat funny because UTG called all-in with 33 and turned a set. I don't know if I won more or less than I would have if he had a deep stack because he may not have called the flop if he had lots more money behind.

I'd post more, but I'm too tired.

2461 Hands @ 11.17 BB/100

I was fortunate enough to find myself at a table with a maniac at it, and even though I was on the opposite end of the table from him, I was able to capitalize on it and take a good number of bets off of him.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Td, Ts.
UTG calls, Hero raises, 2 folds, SB 3-bets, 1 fold, UTG calls, Hero calls.

Flop: (10 SB) 2s, Kd, 7s (3 players)
SB bets, UTG calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) Ad (3 players)
SB bets, UTG calls, Hero calls.

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

One of the advantages to not being directly next to the maniac is that you have position on the rest of the table since the maniac will be leading the action most of the time. I am definitely playing for a cheap showdown with my marginal hand, and I probably do not overcall if UTG calls in front of me. The reason is that this flop offers very little for him to hit that doesn't beat me. The turn card made it worse for me against his hand range as now even a hand like A2 or A7 is better than mine. But as soon as he folds, this becomes an easy call. Maniac shows 93o and loses.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)



Preflop: Hero is Button with 7h, 7d.

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

Flop: (13 SB) 2h, 5d, 2s (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero raises, SB folds, UTG 3-bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (9.50 BB) Td (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

River: (11.50 BB) Ks (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

The preflop 3-bet is a standard isolation 3-bet, and when SB comes along to the flop, I have to also raise the flop to knock him off of his overcards. Once that happens, I have no problem just calling down again. He had 83s this time and lost again.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)



Preflop: Hero is MP with 7d, 7s.

1 fold, Hero raises, 1 fold, Button 3-bets, SB caps, 1 fold, Hero calls, Button calls.

Flop: (13 SB) 2d, Td, Ts (3 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, Button folds, SB 3-bets, Hero calls.


Turn: (9.50 BB) 9d (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

River: (11.50 BB) Ad (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

Knowing the results, I missed a value bet here, but I'm not sure if a 7-high flush is enough to bet and call a raise. I am definitely showing down any reasonable hand here, so the question is whether I think it's worth two bets on the river or not. And even though I might be good, paying off a river check-raise probably loses more money than what I make from making value bets and having him call with random pairs. He had a good preflop hand this time with AKs, but he still lost.

Hand #4:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Qh, Ks.
Hero raises, 2 folds, Button 3-bets, 1 fold, BB calls, Hero calls.

Flop: (9.40 SB) Ad, 5h, Jd (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, Button bets, BB folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.70 BB) 8d (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets, Hero calls.

River: (7.70 BB) 2h (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

This hand highlights something rather subtle about this maniac. He didn't bet the river with his weak made hand (53s), but he's 100% willing to bluff his nothing hands. In a certain sense, this hurts him because now he fails to collect on hands when he actually has something, but then he loses money when he has nothing. It's rather strange, but some players simply do not think through their actions enough (and that's perfectly fine with me).

2293 Hands @ 10.50 BB/100

I just played a short session that got interrupted by an offer to play some backgammon. No hands will be posted.

2000 Hands @ 9.95 BB/100

I may try to squeeze in a late session late tonight. I happened to stop precisely at the 100 hands/day rate, but given that my weekend will be occupied, I should probably get those hands in sooner rather than later. Sadly, I ran into a lot of sets in this 200 hand session, so I'm down from where I was before, but still overall running quite hot. I'm only going to post one hand.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Kh, 2h. UTG posts a blind of $0.35.
UTG (poster) checks, MP calls, Button calls, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (5.80 SB) 2c, 3s, Kd (5 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, UTG calls, MP folds, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, UTG folds, Button calls.

Turn: (6.40 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (8.40 BB) 5c (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

Given the action, button is sitting on a king most of the time. What this means is that on the river, I have been counterfeited and I lose. At the time, I decided to bet hoping to see a medium pocket pair or something, but in retrospect that was highly erroneous. I should definitely check, and while I would like to think I can check-fold, most likely I end up check-calling in hopes to catch a bluff from said medium pocket pair. But really, I would prefer to get to showdown for zero bets.

1777 Hands @ 11.68 BB/100

I played a short 40 minute session this afternoon and ran super-hot. I'll probably play again this evening.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Kd, Js.
UTG calls, Hero raises, 2 folds, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls.

Flop: (8 SB) 3d, Kh, Ah (4 players)
SB checks, BB bets, UTG folds, Hero calls, SB calls.

Turn: (5.50 BB) 9d (3 players)
SB checks, BB bets, Hero calls, SB calls.

River: (8.50 BB) 3s (3 players)
SB checks, BB bets, Hero calls, SB folds.

I was quite close to raising this guy on the flop. He was pretty aggressive and I was trying to figure him out. I decided to take the more cautious showdown route instead of the more aggressive raising and folding route. He had 63 of hearts and caught me on the river.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Jh, Js. MP posts a blind of $0.25.
1 fold, MP (poster) checks, 2 folds, Hero raises, BB 3-bets, MP calls, Hero caps, BB calls, MP calls.

Flop: (12 SB) 8h, 7h, Jc (3 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, MP 3-bets, Hero caps, BB calls, MP calls.

Turn: (12 BB) 8c (3 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, MP 3-bets, Hero caps, MP raises, Hero calls.

River: (20.50 BB) 4c (3 players)
Hero bets, MP calls $0.30 (All-In).

This hand is being posted more for amusement value. The preflop 3-bettor had T6s and the unfortunate poster had J8s for the brutal cooler. One hand and busto is not a fun experience.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ts, Tc.
1 fold, MP calls, CO calls, Hero raises, 2 folds, MP calls, CO calls.

Flop: (7.40 SB) 2d, 2h, 7s (3 players)
MP checks, CO checks, Hero bets, MP calls, CO calls.

Turn: (5.20 BB) Kc (3 players)
MP checks, CO checks, Hero bets, MP folds, CO calls.

River: (7.20 BB) 6c (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.

This is a thin value betting spot that some players miss. It is possible that CO has Kx here because of a loose flop peel. However, he also often has Ax and will show it down, or has 7x or a pocket pair. I'm probably best about 2/3 of the time when he calls, which means about 1/3 of the time, I expect him to turn over Kx and win. But winning 2/3 of the time and losing 1/3 of time is still a profit.

Hand #4:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (4 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 6h, 7c.
UTG calls, 1 fold, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (3 SB) 8h, 5s, 6d (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, UTG raises, SB folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (3.50 BB) 9c (2 players)
Hero bets, UTG raises, Hero 3-bets, UTG calls.

River: (9.50 BB) 5c (2 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls.

The flop bet is standard with an OESD and pair in a limped pot. When I hit my hand on the turn, I believe that leading is better than checking. Villain has lots of reasons to check behind. The turn is an overcard and there is a 4-straight on the board. His turn raise here is awful given that he has A6. But what is even worse is that he called down.

1563 Hands @ 10.64 BB/100

I have once again stumbled into the realm of running insanely hot. The actual session stats were 163 hands @ 42.45 BB/100. Most of the profit was from unusually aggressive players who lacked restraint.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Ad, As.
1 fold, Hero raises, Button 3-bets, 1 fold, BB caps, Hero calls, Button calls.

Flop: (12.40 SB) Qh, Qd, Th (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, Button folds, BB calls.

Turn: (7.20 BB) 8s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

River: (7.20 BB) 8c (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.

I didn't have a lot to work with on BB this hand. Against all but the uber-tricky players, it's reasonably easy to conclude that AA is best here (but not strong enough to 3-bet because I may not get called and I can't fold to a cap). The flop check from BB is somewhat scary because slowplayed hands often start this way. It would take a very tricky player to do this with Qx or JJ because of the high probability that this is getting checked behind by all of my A-high hands. Therefore, betting is correct, as is calling the raise. In this hand, he held A2 of clubs for a really strange line with a weak hand.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Kd, Ah.
1 fold, MP raises, 1 fold, Button calls, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, MP calls, Button calls.

Flop: (10 SB) As, 8s, 3s (3 players)
Hero bets, MP raises, Button calls, Hero 3-bets, MP folds, Button calls.

Turn: (9 BB) 8d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (11 BB) 9h (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

Some might argue that the river should be a value bet. However, I disagree that this is the best play except in the case where villain calls with a very very very wide range of hands. Most missed flush draws are going to fold. A hand like 8x might find a value raise because the flush didn't come in (and I would also call a raise because the flush didn't come in on the chance that villain is bluffing his missed flush draw -- but I wouldn't like it). A weaker ace may also try to value bet on the river once I check as well. There are many more things that go well when I check than when I bet. This makes checking and calling better than betting.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ks, Kd.
1 fold, MP raises, 1 fold, SB 3-bets, Hero caps, MP calls, SB calls.

Flop: (12 SB) Ts, Jc, Kh (3 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, MP folds, SB calls.

Turn: (8 BB) Qd (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

River: (8 BB) 4s (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.

Villain in this hand was a known aggressive player. This made the turn check even easier than usual. But in general, I don't want to put in too many bets with my hand because it's quite likely that I'm beat. Ideally, I would like to put in exactly one bet, but I'll settle for two if it happens. A check here dramatically alters villain's hand range and skews it so that it includes many many more bluffs. I'll also get a lot of value bets from worse hands such as smaller sets and two pairs.

Hand #4:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Jh, Jd.
UTG raises, 2 folds, Button calls, Hero 3-bets, BB calls, UTG calls, Button calls.

Flop: (12 SB) 4d, 7d, 5c (4 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG calls, Button folds.

Turn: (7.50 BB) 3d (3 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, UTG calls.

River: (10.50 BB) 7s (3 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, UTG folds, Hero calls.

I probably should not have bet this river, though calling the raise is right against this player. He has already shown down more than a few river bluffs, so I was intent on showing down my overpair. But the problem with betting is that this takes awaysome of his bluffing opportunities because sometimes he'll decide that he doesn't want to bluff and just fold. In this hand, he trapped me with KK.

Hand #5:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 5h, 7d.
UTG calls, 3 folds, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (3 SB) 4d, Js, 5s (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, UTG calls, SB calls.

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

River: (5 BB) 7c (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.

This hand was against the same opponent as the previous one. I got this one right. In this hand, he bluffed with QTo on the end, and I have no idea why he called the turn bet. But I don't really need to understand why he decides to play the way he does, I need to know how to take advantage of those situations. Check-calling instead of betting is one of those ways.

1400 Hands @ 6.94 BB/100

After taking a break in the afternoon and doing some other enjoyable activities, I sat down for another short session.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 2s, Td.
UTG calls, 1 fold, Button calls, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: (4 SB) 8h, 6s, 6c (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, Button checks.

Turn: (2 BB) 6h (4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, Button checks.

River: (2 BB) Ts (4 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, UTG folds, Button raises, SB folds, Hero calls.

In this hand, villain slowplayed his quads all the way until the end and milked an extra 2 BB out of me for his efforts. It happens sometimes, and it's not a big deal when it does unless you put in a 3rd bet on the river. Then you're spewing.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9h, 9s.
1 fold, MP calls, 2 folds, Hero raises, BB calls, MP calls.

Flop: (6 SB) 2h, 3c, 3h (3 players)
Hero bets, BB calls, MP calls.

Turn: (4.50 BB) Qd (3 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, MP raises, Hero calls.

River: (8.50 BB) 4s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks.

I noticed that villain was a bit on the loose-aggro side, so I was prepared to show this down as long as another overcard did not fall. Instead, he gave me the pleasure of seeing the showdown. He had Q2o, which is an example of how loose he was.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 8s, 8h.
Hero raises, MP calls, CO calls, Button calls, SB calls, 1 fold.

Flop: (11 SB) 2s, 7c, 9c (5 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, MP calls, CO calls, Button folds, SB folds.

Turn: (7 BB) 5h (3 players)
Hero bets, MP calls, CO calls.

River: (10 BB) 9s (3 players)
Hero bets, MP calls, CO calls.

This is a standard value betting hand, especially when the river pairs the top card. I have to fold to a raise from anyone here because this table was quite loose-passive. At loose-passive tables, the value bet is the most important tool to have. I got called down by T7s and A2o here.

Hand #4:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 6s, 7s.
1 fold, MP calls, Button calls, SB completes, Hero checks.

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

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

River: (5 BB) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, Button calls.

Here is a slowplay gone wrong for villain. He limped AA from the button after two players were already in the pot instead of raising. That let me in for free, and I flopped the nuts. Fortunately for him, his passive play also saved him bets on the flop and turn.

1240 Hands @ 7.98 BB/100

I cut my session short this afternoon because my focus wasn't there. I made a couple really bad bets and a couple really stupid calls. I still picked up a few more BBs, but I could have done much better. Here's the hand that signaled the immediate end to my session:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Jc, Ac.
Hero raises, MP calls, 3 folds.

Flop: (5.40 SB) Qc, 9h, Kc (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

Turn: (3.70 BB) 3d (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

River: (5.70 BB) 6d (2 players)
Hero bets, MP raises, Hero calls.

1068 Hands @ 8.71 BB/100

Tonight's session features one of my favorite types of opponents to play against when you have position: The maniac. This is the type of player who players 80% or more of his hands, and 50% or more of those are for raises. I have to admit I only did a mediocre job. I wasn't aggressive enough postflop.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ad, Td.
UTG raises, 3 folds, Hero 3-bets, UTG caps, Hero calls.

Flop: (8.40 SB) 3c, Kd, 7d (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.20 BB) 4h (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.

River: (7.20 BB) 4s (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 9.20 BB

Now in general, ATs is a 3-betting hand in my book. Against this player, I would go significantly lower. How low? A2s seems pretty good to me. And I'm willing to simply check-call to the end unimproved out of position. He bets 100% of the time when checked to, especially if he has the lead. I lost in this hand to KJo. Loss of 4.5 BB. That's how it goes.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Kd, Qd.
1 fold, MP raises, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, BB calls, MP caps, Hero calls, BB calls.

Flop: (12.40 SB) 5d, Qs, As (3 players)
BB checks, MP bets, Hero calls, BB calls.

Turn: (7.70 BB) 4c (3 players)
BB checks, MP bets, Hero calls, BB calls.

River: (10.70 BB) 8h (3 players)
BB checks, MP bets, Hero calls, BB calls.

Final Pot: 13.70 BB

This was a more interesting hand because of the presence of the third player. Everybody is going to adjust to the maniac. Not everyone knows how to adjust. You raise more preflop to isolate when you can, and you call down more often with your mediocre hands, and you try to extract as much value as possible postflop with your made hands (top pair and above). This particular player seemed to be doing okay. I was more worried about being behind him than I was the maniac.

The seat to the left of the maniac is best because it gives you the first shot at his money, but what it also means is that you're going to have to make tougher decisions in multiway pots. In this case, my hand is strong enough to call and hope I beat the other player. The ace is very worrisome because lots of the hands that would call a 3-bet from the big blind contain aces. The rest of the range is something like pocket pairs and broadway (though I wouldn't generally recommend calling with the weaker offsuit broadway). We both lost in this hand to 54s. Another 4.5 BB gone.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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

Flop: (9.40 SB) 5s, Ad, Ks (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.70 BB) 2s (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

River: (7.70 BB) Td (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 9.70 BB

QTo looks like a weak hand, and it is. But against a player who is raising nearly 70% of his hands, it stands up quite well because I very often have two overcards to his hand, and even when I don't I have two overcards to his bottom card. Given position as well, this is worth playing. Postflop is a little more dicey in this case. I'm not quite as comfortable going to the end with Q-high as I am with A-high. On this board, given my draw, I would make a sort of "game-theoretic" calldown unimproved (because I do beat enough bluffs). I'll often lose to some random pair and sometimes I'll lose to a stronger hand, but that's how it goes. In this case, the river ten saved me from his 66. 4.5 BB coming my way.

Hand #4:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 9c, Qc.
1 fold, MP raises, Hero 3-bets, 3 folds, MP calls.

Flop: (7.40 SB) 7d, 9s, Tc (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (4.70 BB) 6d (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

River: (6.70 BB) Ah (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 8.70 BB

Even though QTo is a hand I'm willing to play and Q9s is somewhat better than QTo, I don't think I would go much below Q8s. The reason is that the suitedness does not significantly help your hand. You will sometimes flop flush draws that you'll be forced to chase (and miss 65% of the time). So I'm really looking for hands that can help me get to showdown. This also means that hands like 98s also go down in value.

I lost to T5o. 4 BB going his way.

Hand #5:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 9d, 9s.
Hero raises, 4 folds, BB 3-bets, Hero calls.

Flop: (6.40 SB) Th, 9h, 6c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero raises, BB 3-bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (6.20 BB) 5h (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

River: (8.20 BB) Kd (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 10.20 BB

This hand is more interesting because I'm the first one to raise the pot. 99 would often be a value capping hand, but in this case, I simply call the 3-bet. The reason is that I'm already thinking about getting to showdown, and I would much rather have him take the lead and bet whatever garbage he has instead of trying to take his initiative away and be stuck with the question of whether to value bet. Also, if I cap and he still leads into me, this is more often a value bet than a pure bluff.

At this point, I had enough information to put in another raise on the turn and still call down. My failure to do so cost me at least 1 BB, but more likely 2 BB. One psychological aspect of playing a maniac is that you hate to put in extra bets with the worst hand and reward him for his screwy play. You don't mind calling down, but you hate when he gets in a value raise on you and you're still calling down. I would raise this turn almost all the time against a regular player, so why not do it with a very aggressive player? It's all in my head.

I won this one against KQo. I win 5 BB. Notice that I win more than I lose. This is one of the key elements of playing against a maniac. You will get more wins than losses because you're more selective. But when you win, you must make sure that you win at least as much (if not more) than you lose when you have a strong hand than when you have a weak hand.

Hand #6:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)


Preflop: Hero is UTG with 5d, 5h.
Hero raises, 2 folds, Button calls, 1 fold, BB calls.

Flop: (6.40 SB) Qs, 7d, 2h (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, Button folds, BB calls.

Turn: (4.20 BB) 3c (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

River: (6.20 BB) 2c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 8.20 BB

This was somewhat earlier in the session. I already knew he was a maniac, but the rest of the table didn't know me. Their HUD stats were pretty tight, and I was taking advantage of that by raising this hand to try to get heads up with the maniac. It worked. This is a bad play in a setting where players are too willing to see flops with the maniac. You won't get the isolation and you won't be in good shape with your small pair.

This was one of the few hands where the maniac was on the passive side. I'm not sure why. There is no reason on the river donk to think he has trip 2s. However, what this means is that he is often bluffing and will not call if I raise. But he might 3-bet if I raise, and I don't want to put in 3 bets on the river with my tiny pair. So the call on the end is standard. Another line to take is to value check the turn and call a river bet blindly.

There were a few other hands, but they were all pretty straight-forward. I think these are the more interesting ones.

836 Hands @ 10.23 BB/100

Another video attempt was aborted due to a horseament invitation. This one was going better than the previous one, but I still need to do a lot of practice with the simultaneous talking, playing, and observing. My brain processes words faster than I can say them, so I find I'm sometimes stumbling around with my words because I have so much going on at once. I think I need to take more time in general with my actions (even if I know precisely what I'm going to do) so that I can say what I want to say and not feel rushed.

798 Hands @ 9.71 BB/100

I played a short one-tabling session as I was practicing making a video about developing reads. The video wasn't going that well and the session was interrupted with an invitation to play a horseament. So I abandoned the practice video and went to play and win the tournament.

I'm not going to post any hands from the session because none were all that interesting.

761 Hands @ 9.97 BB/100

I'm keeping on the 100 hands/day pace, which is nice. Tonight's session featured a lot more donking and random aggression from my opponents than in my previous few sessions. It was also the first session for which I had my HUD running the way I wanted to, so that I could spend more mental energy paying attention to the action.

Hand #1

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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

Flop: (10.40 SB) Ah, Jd, 7d (3 players)
UTG checks, MP bets, Hero calls, UTG folds.

Turn: (6.20 BB) 9s (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

River: (8.20 BB) 3c (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

Part of me thinks I played this hand right and part of me thinks I played it wrong. The reason I think I played this right is because from villain's flop donk onward, I think a raise lets him get away from his worse hands and that a call allows him to keep firing with whatever he has. In this case, he had TT and a raise at any point would probably have made him fold. But looking at the board texture, it's possible that there are enough worse hands that would get stuck calling at least the flop and turn raise, as KQ/KJ/AQ and whatever suited diamond hands he might raise preflop would be stuck. Also, a raise is a more effective way to shut out UTG from the pot in case he's chasing a 5-outer. Sometimes I think there is too much weight put on knocking out other hands in short-handed pots.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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

Flop: (13.40 SB) 3s, Ac, 9c (3 players)
UTG bets, MP folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (7.70 BB) Jc (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

River: (9.70 BB) Ks (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

At the time this hand went down, I didn't have any relevant stats on villain. But this is a standard WA/WB line that I take very often when I'm against aggressive players (or players who might tip towards being aggressive) that I don't have a decent read on. Just as in the previous hand, raises may allow villain to get away from his hand if its worse. In this case, villain had QTs of the wrong suit and caught the runner-runner straight.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)


Preflop: Hero is BB with As, Jc.
1 fold, MP calls, 2 folds, BB raises, MP calls.

Flop: (4.40 SB) 4d, 6c, 7s (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

Turn: (3.20 BB) 3d (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

River: (5.20 BB) Jh (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.

To me, the turn bet here with ace-high is pretty standard. Even though the board is very connected, it's also very low and unlikely to have hit MP's hand range very well. The low flop is also a good opportunity for worse hands like Q9 to peel one off. This makes my bet a value bet against a lot of hands. Rivering top pair turns this into a value bet on the end. I would often just check-fold UI here, but in some spots a check-call is better if I think villain is the type to bluff K/Q-high. This hand, villain limped in with the mighty 84s and I was actually chasing all the way to the end.

Hand #4

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ac, Td.
2 folds, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, BB calls, CO calls.

Flop: (9.40 SB) Th, 9c, 2s (3 players)
BB checks, CO bets, Hero calls, BB calls.

Turn: (6.20 BB) 7c (3 players)
BB checks, CO bets, Hero calls, BB calls.

River: (9.20 BB) Qs (3 players)
BB checks, CO bets, Hero calls, BB folds.

Some players are a little hesitant to 3-bet with ATo. I think ATo is a very close 3-bet, as A9o is not a 3-betting hand. I messed up on the flop in this hand. Unlike the other top pair hands that came before this one, I have a vulnerable top pair hand. I would really like to see a hand like KQ go away. A flop donk here is much less likely to represent an overpair due to the lack of a preflop cap. Sometiems QQ/JJ might play timidly like this, but that's probably the exception. I took this hand down against KTo.

Hand #5

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Th, Ad.
UTG calls, Hero raises, 2 folds, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls.

Flop: (8 SB) Jh, 6d, 3c (4 players)
SB bets, BB folds, UTG calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.50 BB) Td (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero calls, SB calls.

River: (8.50 BB) Js (3 players)
SB bets, UTG calls, Hero calls.

This hand was played at one of the more aggressive tables I was at. Aggressive tables are harder because you will often be stuck making lots of marginal decisions.

The flop peel getting 10:1 is a tiny bit on the loose side, but based on the table read at the time, SB's donk didn't necessarily mean a J, nor did UTG's call. Having position on everyone is a helpful part of this hand as I wouldn't be able to check-call this if I were somehow in SB's position postflop.

The turn check by SB made me think he was on some sort of medium pocket pair, but then UTG's lead had me thinking for a while. There simply aren't a lot of Tx hands that UTG is likely to hold here. Running the hand through my head, it was conceivable that UTG was playing against SB's weakness. I was running low on time and decided that if I could get to showdown for two bets, I would do so.

The lead by SB didn't bother me at all. And when UTG flat called instead of raising, I knew I likely had the best hand, but probably not enough of a hand to raise for value. The reason is that a value raise here doesn't always get called, especially if villains are holding pocket pairs or hands of similar strength.

The results are really wacky as it was 64s and 54o against my ATo at showdown. Those hands would be in the bottom 99% of hands I was anticipating here.

Hand #6:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (4 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ac, 7d.
Hero raises, 2 folds, BB 3-bets, Hero calls.

Flop: (6.40 SB) Jh, As, 6s (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (4.20 BB) 9c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

River: (6.20 BB) 6h (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

This was early in the session, and I had a tentative read that BB was a bit of a random-LAG. He seemed to put in bets in odd spots and his lines often didn't seem to add up to anything rational. Even at the point of the preflop call, I was considering whether I should just call down. I decided that my read wasn't strong enough that blindly calling down would be appropriate, but I did decide that any pair was getting to showdown, including if the board were paired. BB showed a mighty 82o and my random-LAG read was confirmed.

Hand #7:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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

Flop: (7 SB) 3h, 5d, Ah (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls, CO folds.

Turn: (4.50 BB) 9s (2 players)
Hero bets, UTG raises, Hero calls.

River: (8.50 BB) 8d (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.

This was a bad calldown. In general, the flop call/turn raise line is scary and implies strong hands unless there is a read that would suggest otherwise. No such read existed, so I should have folded my not-top-pair hand to the turn raise. But instead, I called down and lost to a set of 5s.

Hand #8:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Kc, Qd.
1 fold, MP raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, MP calls.

Flop: (7.40 SB) Jh, Th, 3h (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (4.70 BB) 9s (2 players)
MP bets, Button raises, MP calls.

River: (8.70 BB) 7h (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks.

The river check is very standard here. MP's flop lead and turn bet-call is usually an indication of some sort of high heart. The ace of hearts is often found playing this way, though sometimes it's the K or Q of hearts. I would have value bet any non-heart. Villain surprised me this time around with QTo, which was the first loose raise I saw from him at this point in the session. I am inclined to believe that he would have called a river bet.

Hand #9:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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

Flop: (10 SB) 4d, Ks, As (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets, CO folds, Button raises, SB folds, BB folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (7 BB) Qc (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, Button calls.

River: (13 BB) 5h (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

I don't often donk the turn like this, but it is a good spot for a bet/3-bet as there are many Ax hands who will think their hand is still good and raise, then be unable to fold. The turn check-raise line is also acceptable, but if you think you can squeeze a bet/3-bet you should go for it.

Hand #10:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Jh, Kd.
1 fold, MP calls, CO calls, Hero raises, 2 folds, MP calls, CO calls.

Flop: (7.40 SB) 6d, 9h, 9c (3 players)
MP checks, CO checks, Hero bets, MP folds, CO calls.

Turn: (4.70 BB) Qs (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.

River: (6.70 BB) Th (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.

The more I think about this hand, the more I think that this should have been a turn check, but it's close. It is often the case that A-high hands and medium pairs that call the flop are looking to show down. Also, the 99x flop does hit a moderate amount of the limping ranges, so I think a check-raise happens here somewhat often. I was ahead of KTo the whole time in this hand, and that was probably the best case scenario for me.

Hand #11:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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


Flop: (6 SB) 2d, 7s, 3d (3 players)

SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks.

Turn: (3 BB) 4c (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks.

River: (3 BB) 2h (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks.

I have to admit that I probably c-bet too often. But I found a good spot for a check behind because in order for me to win this, I would likely have to bet twice, and sometimes I would have to bet three times to fold out the wide range of A-high and K-high hands that would call to chase. So I decided to just check behind and give up UI. Strangely enough, I won against two Q6o hands here.

Hand #12:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 9h, Jh.
UTG calls, 1 fold, Hero calls, 1 fold, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (4 SB) 4c, Th, 2h (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets, Hero calls, SB calls, BB folds.

Turn: (3.50 BB) 4d (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks.

River: (3.50 BB) Qh (3 players)
SB bets, UTG folds, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, Hero caps, SB calls.

Sometimes I raise this preflop when the blinds are tight, but in this case they were too loose for me to isolate against a player with lots of dead money in the pot. At higher level games, I probably don't cap the river, but at this level players very often overvalue their hands and put in too many bets with strong hands despite scary boards. He lost with K4o in this hand.

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 6h, 6c.
Hero raises, 1 fold, Button 3-bets, SB calls, 1 fold, Hero calls.

Flop: (10 SB) 5s, 3c, Th (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, Button bets, SB calls, Hero calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) 6s (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB calls.

River: (9.50 BB) Qd (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB folds.

If SB had not called the flop, I would have check-raised. I'm ahead of overcards most of the time here, but when the third player comes along I need to treat carefully. When the good turn card fell, I went for a bet/3-bet because a hand like AK is often going to check through and I lose too much value. Even if I just get called, it's better than not getting any bets at all. This hand is a pretty easy win, but I was surprised by what I beat. Button 3-bet me with A5s.

468 hands @ 2.46 BB/100

I played a one hour session this evening. I spent a little more time trying to customize my HUD and I think I've finally gotten everything the way I want it... almost... I'm still have some issues getting PAHUD to do the preferred seating correctly, and I'm not sure what the deal is. I think I'll have to one-table for a while and mess around with the settings to see if I can get it right. I feel like it should be straight-forward, so maybe I'm just overlooking something obvious.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Qc, Ac.

UTG calls, MP calls, 2 folds, SB raises, Hero 3-bets, UTG calls, MP folds, SB calls.

Flop: (10 SB) Jd, Qd, Th (3 players)
SB bets, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Turn: (6.50 BB) 7s (3 players)
SB bets, Hero calls, UTG calls.

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

Final Pot: 11.50 BB

This is a pretty awful flop for me even though I have TPTK. The calldown is in the desperate hope to see KQ or 99 or maybe AJ/KJ. Since it went for 3 bets preflop, the pot is large enough that folding TPTK is essentially out of the question. I lost to JJ in this hand.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Js, Ac.
2 folds, CO raises, 2 folds, Hero 3-bets, CO calls.

Flop: (6.40 SB) Jc, 3h, Ts (2 players)
Hero bets, CO calls.

Turn: (4.20 BB) 5h (2 players)
Hero bets, CO calls.

River: (6.20 BB) 8d (2 players)
Hero bets, CO calls.

Final Pot: 8.20 BB

This is a pretty standard 3-bet preflop, and postflop play is obvious. What is more intersting in this hand is that I got called down by K9s. This isn't the first K-high calldown that I've seen at this level, which is an indication of just how soft the games are at these stakes. It also means that I need to be aware of who is calling down light, so that I don't try to bet them out of the pot and so that I make sure to value bet a little lighter.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Ts, Ah.
UTG calls, MP calls, CO raises, 1 fold, SB calls, 1 fold, UTG calls, MP calls.

Flop: (9 SB) Th, 2d, 5c (4 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Hero bets, SB calls, UTG calls, MP folds.

Turn: (6 BB) Jd (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, SB calls, UTG calls.

River: (9 BB) Kc (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks.

Final Pot: 9 BB

This hand stands as an example of the types of loose flop peels I've been seeing a lot of at this level. The villain who won the pot had J6s. The other player flopped middle pair with A5o.

Hand #4:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ad, Ts.
UTG calls, 2 folds, Hero raises, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls.

Flop: (8 SB) 7c, Jh, 6h (4 players)
SB bets, BB folds, UTG calls, Hero raises, SB calls, UTG folds.

Turn: (6.50 BB) 6d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, SB folds.

Final Pot: 6.50 BB

This hand was a misclick that went well for me (for a change). I thought the action was checked to me, and I was suprised and a bit annoyed to see that I had just raised a bet. When it was heads up on the turn, I decided to go ahead and treat this hand like a pure bluff, betting the turn and the river. But wait! Didn't I just say that I was getting called down somewhat lightly? Yes. But I also said that not every player was playing that way.

Hand #5:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7d, Ad.
2 folds, CO raises, 2 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (4.40 SB) Ks, 8d, 6d (2 players)

Hero checks, CO bets, Hero raises, CO 3-bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.20 BB) Qs (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks.

River: (5.20 BB) Ah (2 players)
Hero bets, CO calls.

Final Pot: 7.20 BB

Here is a bit of hand reading. When a player who generally aggressive player goes for 3 bets on the flop but then checks behind on the turn, he was either playing a draw or playing a medium-strength hand and wants to showdown for one bet. I believe it is more often the medium-strength hands because an aggressive player will hope to bluff you off your hand by betting the turn. So on the end, you shouldn't be bluffing very often, but you should be value betting anything from flopped middle pair with a strong kicker and up. In this hand, he had 98o.

Hand #6:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 6d, As.
UTG calls, MP calls, 1 fold, Hero calls, 1 fold, BB checks.

Flop: (4.40 SB) Qs, Ah, 8c (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Hero bets, BB raises, UTG folds, MP folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (4.20 BB) 7h (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

River: (6.20 BB) 7c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 8.20 BB

This table was playing pretty loose preflop and pretty bad postflop, so I decided to go ahead and take a flop with a weak ace. Against one limper, I would decide between raising and folding.

In this hand, BB had Q8o for flopped two pair and played it pretty badly. You should be leading your strong hands out of position because check-raising minimizes the amount you can win from weaker hands when the bet comes from late position. And in a 4-person pot, there's no particular reason to believe that someone will even bet it for you.

And yes, I sucked out.

Hand #7:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

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

Flop: (16.40 SB) 8s, 8h, 9d (4 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, MP bets, Button calls, BB folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (9.70 BB) 3c (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, Button calls, Hero calls.

River: (12.70 BB) 9c (3 players)
Hero checks, MP checks, Button checks.

Final Pot: 12.70 BB

Here's a big pot that I nearly won, but the board didn't cooperate with me. The preflop 3 bet was far more worrisome than the preflop cap. The cap comes from a player who plays a lot of hands, and could be capping for no reason other than he wants to cap. Usually, coldcall cap hands are not strong hands, but those medium-strength drawing hands and pocket pairs.

Looking at the flop size and texture, I felt there was a pretty reasonable chance I was ahead, plus I had a couple outs for which I was almost getting immediate odds to chase. On the turn, there was no reason to think that anyone's hands changed, so I called another bet, looking for the river to tell me what to do. I would check-fold to an A or K on the river and I would often check-fold if it were bet and called in front of me. I lost to ATo (3-bettor) and A3s (capper).

I would post a couple more, but it's getting late and I should go to bed.