I married TPTK but things are kinda rocky between us...

[BeatMeBad]

First off, I want to say thanks for all the great posts. I am new to the site and have been reading quite a bit the past few weeks. I've learned a lot but it's clear to me that I have much more to learn. I prefer to play brick and mortar games but since I can't get into those as frequently as I would like, I play PP on occassion. I have a hand here that I would like feedback on. Where did I go wrong?

Some observations: UTG+1 is EXTREMELY loose. By his own admission he see's 70% of the flops and by watching him, I'd say that was accurate. He limps with about everything,calls with any face card, raises with connectors, and raises big with pp and suited connectors. Post flop I put him on J rag so I figured I had him beat. I got overzealous because he had a big chip stack and I knew he was ripe for the picking . I think that was my BIGGEST mistake . Any thoughts?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) converter

MP1 ($45.39)
MP2 ($15)
MP3 ($30.48)
CO ($24.6)
Button ($25.25)
Hero ($26.45)
BB ($26.1)
UTG ($24.2)
UTG+1 ($55.58)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J, A.
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.25, 2 folds, Button calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.75, MP2 calls $0.75, Button folds.

Flop: ($3.50) 5, J, 2 (3 players)
Hero bets $3, UTG+1 raises to $6, MP2 folds, Hero calls $3.

Turn: ($15.50) T (2 players)
Hero bets $10, UTG+1 raises to $20, Hero calls $9.45 (All-In).

River: ($54.95) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $54.95

[Fnord]

JT?

Well, it's certainly hammer time, I'm just torn between dropping the hammer on the flop or turn.

[BeatMeBad]

Yeah, J10o. Had the correct read on him (for the most part) but, as is the case for me more often than not, someone hits that 2nd pair or set on the turn or river. The problem with this hand is, even had I dropped the hammer after the flop, I think he would have called with his top pair 10 kicker. This exact situation is why I am so "gun shy" about dropping the hammer in the first place since it seems to happen to me so frequently.

[Radix]

I would have put him on JT after his raise on the turn. If I were in your situation, I would have dropped the hammer on the flop. You had TPTK, make him pay dearly for it IMHO

[Fnord]

If you're gunshy, then maybe you don't have a deep enough bankroll?

Scared money in poker doesn't get the money unless the game is really good. Even then, scared money doesn't beat the game for the max.

[BeatMeBad]

That's probably accurate. It's not so much that the bankroll isn't deep enough, it's more that the wife thinks that I should be able to deposit $50 or $100 and end up winning a WPT event. I play "gun shy" because I know if I lose, I have to hear her yammer on. Where do you recommend playing for an intial $50 or $100 deposit? I can't stand limit because of all the chasers. SNG seem to be rather low return on time spent. I mainly play $25 NL and hope to not get busted. Guess that's not a real good strategy huh?

[ilikeaces86]

Against a player that plays any 2 cards you have to be willing to push top pair on the flop. For example this guy had been seeing upwards of 75% the flops and calling with bottom or middle pair for huge bets on the flop...so I decicided that most the time I would be ahead so I went ahead and pushed. Most the time I woudl never ever push top pair this hard but vs some opponents you have too.

Party Poker Pot-Limit Hold'em, $ Hero (10 handed) converter

CO ($302)
Button ($978)
SB ($1772.5)
Hero ($1302)
UTG ($2819.75)
UTG+1 ($945)
UTG+2 ($600)
MP1 ($943.75)
MP2 ($1052)
MP3 ($2125)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, Q. SB posts a blind of $5.
7 folds, Button raises to $30, SB (poster) calls $25, Hero calls $20.

Flop: ($90) 2, 6, Q (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $70, Button folds, SB raises to $140, Hero raises to $325, SB calls $185.

Turn: ($740) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $300, Hero raises $947 (All-In), SB calls $647.

River: ($2634) T (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $2634

Results in white below:
SB has 7h 6h (one pair, sixes).
Hero has Jc Qc (one pair, queens).
Outcome: Hero wins $2634.

[Fnord]

That's probably accurate. It's not so much that the bankroll isn't deep enough, it's more that the wife thinks that I should be able to deposit $50 or $100 and end up winning a WPT event. I play "gun shy" because I know if I lose, I have to hear her yammer on. Where do you recommend playing for an intial $50 or $100 deposit? I can't stand limit because of all the chasers. SNG seem to be rather low return on time spent. I mainly play $25 NL and hope to not get busted. Guess that's not a real good strategy huh?

You're under-bankrolled, playing scared and don't yet appreciate the chasers. You have a long way to go grasshopper...

[BeatMeBad]

Tell me where to begin then? Say I deposit $100 tomorrow on PP, where should I play to A) get some confidence back and B) build my bankroll? Honestly, I know the mechanics of the game. Watching others play, I can read people like open books and tell you exactly how to play a hand. However, that all seems to change dramatically when I have two cards in front of me...

[Fnord]

You need at least $200-$300 to play any game on Party.

[BeatMeBad]

See my previous post but substitute $200 in for $100. Now what do I do?

[Fnord]

It's close, but enough for the Party $10 SnG, $25 NL or .5/1 limit.

You just have to realize that a winning player could drop $100 in a day playing any one of these games, and you probably don't have a track record of beating these games.