Thursday, December 27, 2007

2008 poker goals

Well 2007 is winding up so I should set some goals for 2008. These were my 2007 goals. There were 9 of them and I did around 5. Not great but not terrible either.

So these are my 2008 poker goals.
  • move up in no limit cash from current $5 NL through to $50 NL
  • move up in 2 table turbo sit 'n go from current $6.50 to $16.50
  • in MTT get up to the $11/180 level
  • get and read Harrington on cash games
  • invest in software tools including PokerTracker and PA HUD
  • play $200 NL live at the local casino
  • join the small group of people who make a withdrawal off a site
  • continue to enjoy playing
That list looks ambitious. I may not do all of these things. That's OK if I don't. I hope to do at least some of them.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Overpair still no good

In micro level no limit cash, when a passive player raises a strong bet then he almost always has a strong hand. In this case strong means 2 pair or better, i.e. beating an overpair or TPTK.

There isn't much bluff at this level so when a passive player or an unknown raises a strong postflop bet then the correct move is generally to reluctantly fold top pair or an overpair. Here's an example where I chose a poor spot to donate over 80 BB to a bad player.


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed)

MP1 ($3.70)
MP2 ($2.74)
MP3 ($4.20)
CO ($6)
Button [Ts 3s] ($4.92)
Hero [Qd, Qs] ($7.90)
BB ($1.67)
UTG ($3.27)
UTG+1 ($10.85)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Qd, Qs. CO posts a blind of $0.05.
5 folds, CO (poster) checks, Button calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.35, 1 fold, CO folds, Button calls $0.30.

Flop: ($0.80) Th, 3c, 6d (2 players)
Hero bets $0.50, Button raises to $1, Hero raises to $7.55, Button calls $3.57 (All-In).

Turn: ($9.94) 2s (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($9.94) Kh (2 players, 1 all-in)

Results:
Hero has Qd Qs (one pair, queens).
Button has Ts 3s (two pair, tens and threes).
Outcome: Button wins $9.94.


I've written about this before at $2 NL and it is still the same story here. I need to find better situations to play big pots and find some more folds.