Always ITM, never deep ITM

[ThomasBB]

Hi, my first post!
Firstly, I've been reading here for a long time, and I have to thank you all for making my game much much better!

Well, i have a problem I hope someone more experienced than me can help me with.
I've been only playing MTTs since 2 months and poker since 4 months so please excuse my lack of knowledge

Here we go, my last 5 MTTs were:
6$ Buy In: Place 27 (60 paid) -> + $ 4.4
6$ Buy In: Place 57 (xx paid) -> + $ 31.5
11$ Buy In: Place 16 (30 paid) -> + $ 10.25
11$ Buy In: Place 22 (30 paid) -> + $ 7.75
11$ Buy In: Place 13 (10 paid) -> - $ 11

As you can see, my ITM is very high (I know it won't always be like that and it's a ridiculously small sample size), but I never manage to get deeper ITM, where the real money waits.

I'm playing tight at the first hour, and therefor I'm always bubbling with a very small stack when close to the money (although my M is usually above 10 then). I never have a big stack after 2 hours or so, and so I'm pretty fast out of the tourney when one or two blindsteals fail and I'm forced All In 'cause my M's below 5. Altough I'm trying to be more loose when the Blinds get higher, it seems that the Blinds are increesing more rapidly than I can akkumulate (sp?) chips.

Can anyone make suggestions what could be wrong with my game? What should I change to gain a higher stack? I'd love to put a HH of one of my touneys here, but that's a lota work to analyse and so I'm not demanding for anyone to do so.

Thank you very much for your help and please excuse my bad English!

[fjuanl]

id be happy to look at your hand histories. it would be easier if you downloaded the touranment trimmer [i think you can find a link from the homepage] and then post the trimmed version.

if you felt like you had any reads on any of the players post as many as you can

[ThomasBB]

id be happy to look at your hand histories. it would be easier if you downloaded the touranment trimmer [i think you can find a link from the homepage] and then post the trimmed version.

if you felt like you had any reads on any of the players post as many as you can

Thank you! I'll do that tomorrow.
Gotta go to bed now, it's already 6:30 in the morning here in europe

I'm looking forward to your analysis!

Greetings, ThomasBB
-----------------------------------

[Snapman]

Hey Thomas, I'm also a fairly new player too, and I'm having the same problems as you. Like you, my ITM % is quite high, but I never seem to be able to make a push for the final table. I also play tight for the first hour and normally end up having a small stack when it comes to the bubble. I've tried loosening my play for that first hour, but it doesn't seem to work, and I end up throwing chips away.

Anyone got any tactics for building a stack during that first hour?

[swiggidy]

Anyone got any tactics for building a stack during that first hour?

Get good hands

[ThomasBB]

Ok, here it is.
After reading this HH I've recognised some heavy leaks in my game and i will comment on them after each hand. I do hope you also add your comments on the hands and my game overall.


PartyPoker, 11$ BuyIn, 99 Entrants, 10 places paid;

The Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) was developed by JeffreyGB at http://www.FlopTurnRiver.com.

---Statistics---
Data for 153 hands.
You played 26 hands (16.99%).
You raised 16 times preflop (10.46%).


[5c 3d] MP1 (M=50.00; c+f+f+F)
[9h 7d] UTG+2 (M=50.00; c+f+F)
[Ad 2c] UTG+1 (M=50.00; f+F)
[4d 7h] UTG (M=50.00; F)

-----Hand 1-----
Hero's M = 50.00
***** Hand History for Game 4578973759 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:1 Blinds(20/40) - Friday, June 23, 19:43:54 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #8 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: javidpatel ( $2920 )
Seat 2: krismp_81 ( $3000 )
Seat 3: osubuckAA ( $2270 )
Seat 5: Strukes ( $2900 )
Seat 6: RadioActive9 ( $6720 )
Seat 7: Chilln868 ( $2900 )
Seat 8: Hero ( $3000 )
Seat 9: eazye05 ( $3430 )
Seat 10: tj81303 ( $2860 )
Blinds(20/40)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Qh 4d ]
eazye05 calls [40].
tj81303 folds.
javidpatel calls [40].
krismp_81 calls [40].
osubuckAA folds.
Strukes folds.
RadioActive9 folds.
Chilln868 calls [20].
Hero checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 5c, Qd, 3h ]
Chilln868 checks.
Hero checks.
eazye05 checks.
javidpatel checks.
krismp_81 checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kd ]
Chilln868 checks.
Hero checks.
eazye05 bets [400].
javidpatel folds.
krismp_81 folds.
Chilln868 folds.
Hero folds.
eazye05 does not show cards.
eazye05 wins 600 chips

COMMENT: Well, obviously I should have bet the flop. I didn't do so 'cause I like to play a bit more passive in the first hour of a tourney.
After all checked I would have bet the turn if it was a lower card but the King was just too scary. Did I lose the pot here on the flop? FossilMan always used to say: "Play the first stages of a MTT like you play a Ringgame" Well, in a ringgame i'd have bet the flop, but here with four limpers i may would have been called and i don't wanna be called with a small kicker and absolutely no reads. Should I be more aggressive even at the beginning of a MTT and take the risk of being kicked out early?


[8d 4h] SB (M=49.33; c+f+c+f+f+f+r+F)
[3c 8h] BU (M=49.00; f+c+f+f+f+r+F)
[Qh 9d] CO (M=49.00; f+f+r+f+f+F)
[Qs 2c] CO-1 (M=49.00; f+f+f+f+F)
[Kc 2h] MP2 (M=49.00; c+f+f+F)
[6c As] MP1 (M=49.00; f+c+F)
[Tc 8s] UTG+1 (M=49.00; f+F)
[Kc Jh] UTG (M=49.00; F)
[4s 3s] BB (M=49.00; f+f+c+c+f+f+r+c+f+F)

-----Hand 2-----
Hero's M = 32.22
***** Hand History for Game 4579056625 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:2 Blinds(30/60) - Friday, June 23, 19:54:26 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #8 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: javidpatel ( $2879 )
Seat 2: krismp_81 ( $2550 )
Seat 3: osubuckAA ( $2470 )
Seat 5: Strukes ( $2273 )
Seat 6: RadioActive9 ( $6379 )
Seat 7: Chilln868 ( $2670 )
Seat 8: Hero ( $2900 )
Seat 9: eazye05 ( $3750 )
Seat 10: tj81303 ( $4129 )
Seat 4: CARDUR ( $1765 )
Blinds(30/60)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Kh Ac ]
tj81303 folds.
javidpatel folds.
krismp_81 folds.
osubuckAA folds.
CARDUR folds.
Strukes folds.
RadioActive9 calls [60].
Chilln868 folds.
Hero raises [150].
eazye05 calls [120].
RadioActive9 calls [120].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 3h, Ah, 6s ]
Hero bets [400].
eazye05 calls [400].
RadioActive9 calls [400].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kc ]
Hero checks.
eazye05 checks.
RadioActive9 bets [1000].
Hero is all-In [2320]
eazye05 folds.
RadioActive9 calls [1320].
** Dealing River ** [ 3c ]
RadioActive9 shows [ 9h, Th ] a pair of threes.
Hero shows [ Kh, Ac ] two pairs, aces and kings.
Hero wins 6380 chips from the main pot with two pairs, aces and kings.

COMMENT: RadioActive9 was very loose since he became chipleader, calling almost everything with any pair. I knew I had him beat. Did I raise enough here preflop? I like to keep the pots small in the beginning.


[Ks 7s] BU (M=70.89; f+f+f+c+f+f+c+F)
[6h 7h] CO (M=70.89; c+f+f+c+f+f+F)
[Jd 2c] CO-1 (M=70.89; f+f+c+f+r+F)
[Qh 2h] MP2 (M=70.89; f+f+f+c+F)

-----Hand 3-----
Hero's M = 70.89
***** Hand History for Game 4579109678 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:2 Blinds(30/60) - Friday, June 23, 20:01:08 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #8 (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: javidpatel ( $928 )
Seat 2: krismp_81 ( $7834 )
Seat 3: osubuckAA ( $2410 )
Seat 5: Strukes ( $2767 )
Seat 6: RadioActive9 ( $3479 )
Seat 7: Chilln868 ( $2026 )
Seat 8: Hero ( $6380 )
Seat 9: eazye05 ( $261 )
Seat 10: tj81303 ( $3765 )
Seat 4: CARDUR ( $1915 )
Blinds(30/60)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Qc Ad ]
Strukes folds.
RadioActive9 calls [60].
Chilln868 folds.
Hero raises [180].
eazye05 is all-In [261]
tj81303 folds.
javidpatel folds.
krismp_81 folds.
osubuckAA calls [231].
CARDUR folds.
RadioActive9 calls [201].
Hero calls [81].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qh, 2c, Tc ]
osubuckAA checks.
RadioActive9 checks.
Hero checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9d ]
osubuckAA checks.
RadioActive9 bets [300].
Hero calls [300].
osubuckAA folds.
** Dealing River ** [ 6c ]
RadioActive9 bets [500].
Hero calls [500].
RadioActive9 shows [ Kd, Jc ] a straight, nine to king.
Hero doesn't show [ Qc, Ad ] a pair of queens.
eazye05 doesn't show [ Qs, As ] a pair of queens.
RadioActive9 wins 1600 chips from side pot #1 with a straight, nine to king.
RadioActive9 wins 1104 chips from the main pot with a straight, nine to king.
Player eazye05 finished in 84 place

COMMENT: Well, I gave RadioActive9 a free card here. I though we could do some cooperation-play here to kick eazye05 out. After he bet the turn I put him on a pair, maybe a T or a 9, as I still had the read that he'd go for it with any pair. I missread him here.


[8s 7d] MP1 (M=59.10; f+c+F)
[3s 7s] UTG+1 (M=59.10; f+F)
[6h 7c] UTG (M=59.10; F)
[4h 9d] BB (M=59.10; c+f+f+c+f+r+f+f+c+F)

-----Hand 4-----
Hero's M = 58.43
***** Hand History for Game 4579152904 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:2 Blinds(30/60) - Friday, June 23, 20:06:38 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #8 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: javidpatel ( $868 )
Seat 2: krismp_81 ( $7654 )
Seat 3: osubuckAA ( $2299 )
Seat 5: Strukes ( $3199 )
Seat 6: RadioActive9 ( $5212 )
Seat 7: Chilln868 ( $3668 )
Seat 8: Hero ( $5259 )
Seat 10: tj81303 ( $3585 )
Seat 4: CARDUR ( $21 )
Seat 9: g3181 ( $2903 )
Blinds(30/60)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Th Qs ]
tj81303 folds.
javidpatel folds.
krismp_81 folds.
osubuckAA folds.
CARDUR folds.
Strukes folds.
RadioActive9 calls [60].
Chilln868 folds.
Hero calls [30].
g3181 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qh, 5d, 6s ]
Hero checks.
g3181 checks.
RadioActive9 bets [100].
Hero raises [300].
g3181 folds.
RadioActive9 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 580 chips

COMMENT: Is limping OK here as I'm the small blind with QTo?


[9c 7c] BU (M=60.88; f+f+c+p+f+f+f+F)

-----Hand 5-----
Hero's M = 60.88
***** Hand History for Game 4579165329 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:2 Blinds(30/60) - Friday, June 23, 20:08:14 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #8 (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: javidpatel ( $868 )
Seat 2: krismp_81 ( $7654 )
Seat 3: osubuckAA ( $2039 )
Seat 5: Strukes ( $3199 )
Seat 6: RadioActive9 ( $5052 )
Seat 7: Chilln868 ( $3668 )
Seat 8: Hero ( $5479 )
Seat 10: tj81303 ( $3465 )
Seat 9: g3181 ( $3244 )
Blinds(30/60)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Th Ts ]
krismp_81 folds.
osubuckAA raises [120].
Strukes folds.
RadioActive9 folds.
Chilln868 folds.
Hero calls [120].
g3181 folds.
tj81303 folds.
javidpatel will be using his time bank for this hand.
javidpatel folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ks, 9d, 4s ]
osubuckAA checks.
Hero bets [200].
osubuckAA calls [200].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Kh ]
osubuckAA checks.
Hero checks.
** Dealing River ** [ 2c ]
osubuckAA bets [500].
Hero calls [500].
osubuckAA shows [ Ac, Ah ] two pairs, aces and kings.
Hero doesn't show [ Th, Ts ] two pairs, kings and tens.
osubuckAA wins 1730 chips from the main pot with two pairs, aces and kings.

COMMENT: Lost a lot here. Should I've re-raised here preflop? I had no idea with what kind of hand he'd raise 2xBB here, since that player hardly ever played a hand at all. I though of AK, AQ, AJ here (maybe he'd be getting impatient, wanting some action), but wasn't sure at all. After he called my probe bet I was worried about the King so I checked the turn. When he bet the river, I though he may be stealing. I was wrong. Comments?


[4h 8d] CO-1 (M=31.06; f+f+f+c+F)
[Kc 4s] MP2 (M=31.06; r+f+f+F)
[7s 9d] MP1 (M=31.06; f+f+F)
[6d 8d] UTG+1 (M=31.06; f+F)
[Jc 9c] UTG (M=31.06; F)
[9s 6h] BB (M=31.06; c+f+c+r+f+f+f+f+F)
[9d 2h] SB (M=30.39; f+f+r+f+f+f+F)
[Jc 7h] BU (M=30.06; f+f+f+f+f+f+F)
[Tc 5h] CO (M=30.06; f+f+f+c+c+F)
[8s 6c] CO-1 (M=30.06; f+f+f+f+F)
[2c Ts] MP2 (M=30.06; r+f+f+F)
[Qs 3c] MP2 (M=30.06; c+f+f+F)
[Qc Ks] MP1 (M=30.06; f+c+F)
[6d Ah] UTG+1 (M=30.06; f+F)
[3d Ac] UTG (M=30.06; F)

-----Hand 6-----
Hero's M = 30.06
***** Hand History for Game 4579268914 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:3 Blinds(50/100) - Friday, June 23, 20:22:21 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #5 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: betmhard ( $5323 )
Seat 2: LittleJo3 ( $9487 )
Seat 3: Ariel214 ( $13900 )
Seat 5: LifesABreez ( $3704 )
Seat 6: acceptable ( $6547 )
Seat 7: TVtruckGUY ( $3604 )
Seat 8: tk333111 ( $1358 )
Seat 9: Hero ( $4509 )
Seat 10: EyeDotter ( $1620 )
Blinds(50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 9d 8d ]
EyeDotter folds.
betmhard folds.
LittleJo3 calls [100].
Ariel214 calls [100].
LifesABreez folds.
acceptable folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
tk333111 calls [50].
Hero checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4c, Jh, 3s ]
tk333111 checks.
Hero checks.
LittleJo3 bets [100].
Ariel214 calls [100].
tk333111 folds.
Hero folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ah ]
LittleJo3 bets [100].
Ariel214 raises [200].
LittleJo3 calls [100].
** Dealing River ** [ Kh ]
LittleJo3 bets [100].
Ariel214 raises [1025].
LittleJo3 folds.
Ariel214 does not show cards.
Ariel214 wins 2125 chips

COMMENT: Not much to do here.


[Tc 6s] SB (M=14.70; f+f+f+f+c+f+f+F)
[4s 3h] BU (M=14.36; c+c+f+c+f+c+F)
[Tc 6d] CO (M=14.36; f+f+r+r+f+F)
[9c 6s] CO-1 (M=14.36; f+f+f+f+F)
[6h As] CO-1 (M=14.36; r+f+f+f+F)
[Ah 3d] UTG+2 (M=14.36; f+f+F)
[3d Kc] UTG+1 (M=14.36; f+F)
[5h 8c] UTG (M=14.36; F)

-----Hand 7-----
Hero's M = 14.36
***** Hand History for Game 4579312719 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:4 Blinds(100/200) - Friday, June 23, 20:28:54 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 1: g3181 ( $4094 )
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $3592 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $4652 )
Seat 5: KINGJAY8219 ( $7886 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4309 )
Seat 7: macgerb ( $6748 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $6014 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $3911 )
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 4c 6d ]
macgerb folds.
droid105 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
winterbrooke has joined the table.
Player winterbrooke has been moved from table 4 to this table
g3181 calls [200].
rocketj111 folds.
Superfly8 folds.
KINGJAY8219 calls [100].
Hero checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4s, 5h, 7c ]
KINGJAY8219 checks.
Hero bets [400].
g3181 folds.
KINGJAY8219 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 1000 chips

COMMENT: Again, nothing special. I'm not getting any hands, my M decreasing rapidly.


-----Hand 8-----
Hero's M = 15.70
***** Hand History for Game 4579317087 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:4 Blinds(100/200) - Friday, June 23, 20:29:35 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: g3181 ( $3894 )
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $3592 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $4652 )
Seat 5: KINGJAY8219 ( $7686 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4709 )
Seat 7: macgerb ( $6748 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $6014 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $3911 )
Seat 3: winterbrooke ( $1203 )
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Kc Ks ]
droid105 folds.
rodman6648 calls [200].
g3181 folds.
rocketj111 folds.
winterbrooke calls [200].
Superfly8 folds.
KINGJAY8219 folds.
Hero raises [500].
macgerb folds.
rodman6648 calls [400].
winterbrooke calls [400].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2d, 7s, As ]
Hero checks.
rodman6648 checks.
winterbrooke checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4s ]
Hero checks.
rodman6648 bets [1138].
winterbrooke folds.
Hero folds.
rodman6648 does not show cards.
rodman6648 wins 3138 chips

COMMENT: My preflop raise is definitly too less here, i think. At this point with the higher blinds, I'm often worried about waisting too many chips. What should I have raised here? Also, should I've bet the flop here? I was relativly new at the table and didn't have much reads.


-----Hand 9-----
Hero's M = 13.70
***** Hand History for Game 4579323099 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:4 Blinds(100/200) - Friday, June 23, 20:30:33 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: g3181 ( $3894 )
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $3592 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $4652 )
Seat 5: KINGJAY8219 ( $7686 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4109 )
Seat 7: macgerb ( $6548 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $6014 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $5311 )
Seat 3: winterbrooke ( $603 )
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Ac 9c ]
rodman6648 folds.
g3181 folds.
rocketj111 folds.
winterbrooke folds.
Superfly8 folds.
KINGJAY8219 folds.
Hero raises [600].
macgerb folds.
droid105 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 900 chips

COMMENT: Steal.


[9s Qs] CO (M=14.70; f+f+c+f+f+F)
[Tc 8d] CO-1 (M=14.70; c+c+f+f+F)
[5c 7h] MP1 (M=14.70; f+f+F)
[Qd 5s] UTG+1 (M=14.70; c+F)
[9d 7h] UTG (M=14.70; F)
[6h 5c] BB (M=14.70; f+r+f+c+f+f+f+f+F)
[9h 4c] SB (M=14.03; f+c+c+f+f+r+f+F)
[7c Kc] BU (M=13.70; f+f+f+f+f+f+F)
[9s 5h] CO (M=13.70; f+c+f+f+f+F)
[6c 7s] CO-1 (M=13.70; c+c+f+f+F)
[Ks 5c] CO-1 (M=13.70; f+r+f+f+F)
[6c Qh] MP1 (M=9.13; f+r+F)

-----Hand 10-----
Hero's M = 9.13
***** Hand History for Game 4579416574 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:5 Blinds(150/300) - Friday, June 23, 20:45:12 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 1: g3181 ( $3844 )
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $5523 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $9372 )
Seat 5: KINGJAY8219 ( $7636 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4109 )
Seat 7: macgerb ( $6063 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $4914 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $7966 )
Blinds(150/300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Jd Ad ]
KINGJAY8219 folds.
Hero raises [850].
macgerb folds.
droid105 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
g3181 folds.
rocketj111 folds.
Superfly8 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 1300 chips

COMMENT: Again, nothing to say.


[Kc 2d] UTG (M=10.13; F)
[7h 6d] BB (M=10.13; f+f+c+c+f+r+f+f+F)
[7h 3c] SB (M=9.46; f+f+c+f+f+r+f+F)

-----Hand 11-----
Hero's M = 9.13
***** Hand History for Game 4579435901 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:5 Blinds(150/300) - Friday, June 23, 20:48:29 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: g3181 ( $1744 )
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $6423 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $10572 )
Seat 5: KINGJAY8219 ( $7186 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4109 )
Seat 7: macgerb ( $7113 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $4914 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $7366 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $35248 )
Blinds(150/300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Ts Ah ]
rodman6648 folds.
g3181 calls [300].
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 folds.
KINGJAY8219 folds.
Hero raises [800].
macgerb folds.
droid105 folds.
g3181 is all-In [1444]
Hero calls [944].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9h, 8h, Ac ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 4d ]
Hero shows [ Ts, Ah ] a pair of aces.
g3181 shows [ Kd, Qc ] high card ace.
Hero wins 3938 chips from the main pot with a pair of aces.
Player g3181 finished in 34 place

COMMENT: Nice pot for me here


[Ah 2c] CO (M=14.01; f+f+r+f+F)
[Ks 5s] CO (M=14.01; f+f+f+F)
[4h 5d] MP1 (M=14.01; f+f+F)
[5d Js] UTG+1 (M=14.01; r+F)

-----Hand 12-----
Hero's M = 14.01
***** Hand History for Game 4579460024 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:5 Blinds(150/300) - Friday, June 23, 20:52:09 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $6273 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $17685 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $6303 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $5064 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $6916 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $42434 )
Blinds(150/300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Kh Ac ]
droid105 folds.
rodman6648 calls [300].
rocketj111 calls [300].
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 folds.
Hero checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9s, Js, 4d ]
Hero checks.
rodman6648 checks.
rocketj111 checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ad ]
Hero bets [500].
rodman6648 folds.
rocketj111 calls [500].
** Dealing River ** [ Jh ]
Hero bets [500].
rocketj111 raises [1000].
Hero calls [500].
rocketj111 shows [ Jc, Tc ] three of a kind, jacks.
Hero doesn't show [ Kh, Ac ] two pairs, aces and jacks.
rocketj111 wins 4050 chips from the main pot with three of a kind, jacks.

COMMENT: Again I was afraid of raising here, since I could see the flop for free. Comments? My bet on the turn was OK I think. When he called, I was sure he was on a flush draw, since I've seen him chasing against all odds before. When he miniraised me on the flop I think it was a huge mistake to call, I should have known it better then. Lost a lotta chips. Comments?


[9c Th] BU (M=10.01; f+f+c+c+c+r+f+F)

-----Hand 13-----
Hero's M = 9.67
***** Hand History for Game 4579477358 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:5 Blinds(150/300) - Friday, June 23, 20:54:38 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $8223 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $17535 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4353 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $5064 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $6316 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $45952 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $8172 )
Seat 5: peter1524 ( $4850 )
Seat 8: Italian007 ( $1434 )
Blinds(150/300)
There is no Small Blind in this hand as the Big Blind of the previous hand left the table.
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Ad Jd ]
droid105 calls [300].
rodman6648 calls [300].
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 folds.
peter1524 folds.
Hero raises [900].
Italian007 folds.
droid105 calls [600].
rodman6648 folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Jc, 8s, 6s ]
droid105 checks.
Hero bets [1200].
droid105 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 3600 chips

COMMENT: Perfect


[Th Kh] CO (M=13.01; r+f+f+f+c+F)
[Qh 3h] MP2 (M=13.01; c+f+f+F)
[As 8d] MP2 (M=13.01; f+f+f+F)
[Qd Ts] MP1 (M=9.76; r+f+F)
[7d 6d] UTG+1 (M=9.76; f+F)
[7s Th] UTG (M=9.76; F)
[9d 6h] BB (M=9.76; f+c+r+f+f+f+f+F)
[6d Td] BU (M=9.09; f+f+f+f+f+F)
[8c 5d] CO (M=9.09; f+f+f+c+F)
[5d 4h] CO (M=9.09; f+f+f+F)
[6d Qc] MP1 (M=9.09; f+f+F)
[Ah 6s] MP1 (M=9.09; f+c+F)
[Qh 8s] UTG+1 (M=9.09; f+F)
[9h Jd] UTG (M=9.09; F)
[4d 3s] BB (M=9.09; f+f+c+c+f+r+f+F)

-----Hand 14-----
Hero's M = 8.42
***** Hand History for Game 4579553173 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:6 Blinds(200/400) - Friday, June 23, 21:06:02 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $8423 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $17335 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $5053 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $4616 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $14916 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $49379 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $7472 )
Seat 5: PT_CRUISER02 ( $9325 )
Blinds(200/400)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Qd 8c ]
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 calls [400].
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 folds.
PT_CRUISER02 folds.
Hero calls [200].
droid105 raises [400].
rocketj111 calls [400].
Hero folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 8h, 8s, Kd ]
droid105 checks.
rocketj111 checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7h ]
droid105 bets [400].
rocketj111 calls [400].
** Dealing River ** [ 9d ]
droid105 bets [400].
rocketj111 calls [400].
droid105 shows [ Th, Ts ] two pairs, tens and eights.
rocketj111 doesn't show [ 9c, As ] two pairs, nines and eights.
droid105 wins 3600 chips from the main pot with two pairs, tens and eights.

COMMENT: I folded here against good odds just for missing a HUGE opportunity. Again I was afraid of wasting chips. I think this is a huge leak.


[Kh Js] BU (M=7.75; f+r+f+f+f+F)
[4h 6c] CO (M=7.75; f+f+f+f+F)

-----Hand 15-----
Hero's M = 7.75
***** Hand History for Game 4579567092 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:6 Blinds(200/400) - Friday, June 23, 21:08:10 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $7423 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $17335 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4653 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $6416 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $13316 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $49379 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $8672 )
Seat 5: PT_CRUISER02 ( $9325 )
Blinds(200/400)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 5d 5c ]
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 folds.
PT_CRUISER02 calls [400].
Hero is all-In [4653]
droid105 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.
PT_CRUISER02 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 5653 chips

COMMENT: Well, that hand followed the missed hand and I think I was a bit tilting. No need for going all in here, I think. What amount should I've raised?


[7s 2d] MP1 (M=9.42; f+f+F)
[6d Js] UTG+1 (M=9.42; f+F)
[5h 3s] UTG (M=9.42; F)
[5c 2s] BB (M=9.42; f+f+f+r+f+f+F)
[8s 7c] SB (M=8.76; f+c+f+f+f+F)
[4s 4d] BU (M=8.42; c+r+f+f+F)
[7c 8d] CO (M=8.42; f+r+f+F)
[Ac 4h] MP1 (M=8.42; f+c+F)
[Tc 8c] UTG+1 (M=5.61; c+F)
[8d 5d] UTG (M=5.61; F)
[6h 3h] BB (M=5.61; f+f+f+f+f+r+F)
[Jc 3s] SB (M=4.95; c+f+f+f+f+F)
[Tc 7h] BU (M=4.61; f+r+f+f+F)

-----Hand 16-----
Hero's M = 4.61
***** Hand History for Game 4579618137 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:7 Blinds(300/600) - Friday, June 23, 21:15:59 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 7
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $3623 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $14335 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4153 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $13616 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $55679 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $9072 )
Seat 5: PT_CRUISER02 ( $9625 )
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Td Jd ]
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 folds.
PT_CRUISER02 folds.
Hero raises [1600].
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 2500 chips

COMMENT: Blind steal.


[3c 5s] MP1 (M=5.61; f+c+F)
[5c Js] UTG+1 (M=5.61; f+F)
[7d 3d] UTG (M=5.61; F)
[6d 4s] BB (M=5.61; f+c+r+f+f+f+f+f+c+F)

-----Hand 17-----
Hero's M = 4.95
***** Hand History for Game 4579637020 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:7 Blinds(300/600) - Friday, June 23, 21:18:56 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $4823 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $14335 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4453 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $13016 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $55679 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $8772 )
Seat 5: PT_CRUISER02 ( $7225 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $9744 )
Seat 8: mike4422 ( $5947 )
Seat 9: LittleJo3 ( $7267 )
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 4s Ad ]
mike4422 folds.
LittleJo3 calls [600].
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 calls [600].
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 calls [600].
PT_CRUISER02 folds.
Hero is all-In [4153]
krismp_81 folds.
LittleJo3 folds.
rocketj111 folds.
Superfly8 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 6853 chips
volatility is sky high at the final table

COMMENT: That was dangerous. As you can see, I'm calculating my M very exactly while playing. I'm good at math You think it was right to go all in here?


[2s 4s] BU (M=7.61; f+f+f+f+f+f+f+F)
[Ts Qd] CO (M=7.61; c+f+f+r+f+f+F)
[5d 6d] CO-1 (M=7.61; f+f+f+f+f+F)
[2h 9d] MP2 (M=7.61; f+f+f+f+F)
[9s 2d] MP2 (M=7.61; f+f+f+F)
[3d 9c] MP1 (M=7.61; f+f+F)


-----Hand 18-----
Hero's M = 7.61
***** Hand History for Game 4579687722 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:7 Blinds(300/600) - Friday, June 23, 21:26:17 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $4523 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $13735 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $6853 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $14083 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $61579 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $7572 )
Seat 5: PT_CRUISER02 ( $7225 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $9144 )
Seat 8: mike4422 ( $6547 )
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Qd Ks ]
PT_CRUISER02 folds.
Hero raises [1800].
krismp_81 calls [1800].
mike4422 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 5c, 7d, 4d ]
Hero checks.
krismp_81 bets [900].
Hero folds.
krismp_81 does not show cards.
krismp_81 wins 5400 chips

COMMENT: I think he stole that one, but also I think I was behind at that point. Should I've raised him here? Or should I've made a c-bet?


[3h Qh] UTG (M=5.61; F)

-----Hand 19-----
Hero's M = 3.61
***** Hand History for Game 4579699622 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:8 Blinds-Antes(400/800-25) - Friday, June 23, 21:28:57 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $4523 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $5053 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $27818 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $61279 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $7572 )
Seat 5: PT_CRUISER02 ( $6625 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $11844 )
Seat 8: mike4422 ( $6547 )
Blinds-Antes(400/800-25)
All Players post ante [25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Th 6s ]
krismp_81 folds.
mike4422 calls [800].
rodman6648 calls [800].
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 calls [800].
TVtruckGUY folds.
PT_CRUISER02 calls [400].
Hero checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2s, 8h, Kc ]
PT_CRUISER02 checks.
Hero checks.
mike4422 bets [800].
rodman6648 folds.
rocketj111 folds.
PT_CRUISER02 is all-In [5800]
Hero folds.
mike4422 folds.
PT_CRUISER02 does not show cards.
PT_CRUISER02 wins 10800 chips

COMMENT: Not much to do, I guess.


-----Hand 20-----
Hero's M = 3.02
***** Hand History for Game 4579712385 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:8 Blinds-Antes(400/800-25) - Friday, June 23, 21:29:51 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $3698 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $4228 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $26993 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $61254 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $7547 )
Seat 5: PT_CRUISER02 ( $10800 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $11819 )
Seat 8: mike4422 ( $4922 )
Blinds-Antes(400/800-25)
All Players post ante [25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Jc Ks ]
mike4422 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth calls [800].
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
PT_CRUISER02 calls [800].
Hero calls [400].
krismp_81 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2c, Tc, 4d ]
Hero checks.
krismp_81 checks.
Zereth bets [800].
PT_CRUISER02 folds.
Hero folds.
krismp_81 folds.
Zereth shows [ Kd, Kc ] a pair of kings.
Zereth wins 4200 chips from the main pot with a pair of kings.

COMMENT: This time, I called for the odds. I missed the flop. I had no idea he was slowplaying his kings. I think I shouldn't have called preflop with a M that low. How do you play a hand like that preflop? I think all in or fold, but not calling.


[Jh Th] BU (M=2.43; c+f+f+f+f+F)
[4s 9c] CO (M=2.41; f+f+r+f+F)
[Ac 3d] CO (M=2.44; c+f+c+F)
[Tc 5h] MP1 (M=2.42; f+c+F)

-----Hand 21-----
Hero's M = 2.40
***** Hand History for Game 4579740284 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:8 Blinds-Antes(400/800-25) - Friday, June 23, 21:33:59 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 7
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $9923 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $3303 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $29468 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $63776 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $8422 )
Seat 5: PT_CRUISER02 ( $5875 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $10494 )
Blinds-Antes(400/800-25)
All Players post ante [25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 9h Ad ]
PT_CRUISER02 raises [1600].
Hero is all-In [3278]
krismp_81 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
PT_CRUISER02 calls [1678].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4s, 7c, 2h ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 3h ]
PT_CRUISER02 shows [ Tc, Ks ] a pair of fours.
Hero shows [ 9h, Ad ] a pair of fours.
Hero wins 7931 chips from the main pot with a pair of fours with ace kicker.

COMMENT: He only raised 2xBB so I found that to be a good opportunity, since I knew he'd have to call and I read him very well on king high.


[Qc 7h] UTG (M=5.77; F)
[2s Js] BB (M=5.86; f+r+f+f+f+F)
[2d 2h] BU (M=5.25; f+f+f+F)
[3d Kc] CO (M=5.23; f+f+F)
[Th 4d] MP1 (M=5.21; r+F)
[8d 2s] UTG (M=5.19; F)

-----Hand 22-----
Hero's M = 5.17
***** Hand History for Game 4579779980 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:8 Blinds-Antes(400/800-25) - Friday, June 23, 21:40:17 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $18871 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $6981 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $30393 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $52228 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $10169 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $12619 )
Blinds-Antes(400/800-25)
All Players post ante [25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 3d 3s ]
krismp_81 folds.
rodman6648 calls [800].
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY calls [400].
Hero checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, Jc, 8h ]
TVtruckGUY bets [2500].
Hero folds.
rodman6648 calls [2500].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Td ]
TVtruckGUY bets [10420].
rodman6648 calls [10420].
** Dealing River ** [ Tc ]
TVtruckGUY bets [3060].
rodman6648 is all-In [16648]
TVtruckGUY will be using his time bank for this hand.
TVtruckGUY folds.
rodman6648 does not show cards.
rodman6648 wins 48098 chips

COMMENT: Would you push here with 33? Didn't think they were on very strong hands.


-----Hand 23-----
Hero's M = 4.56
***** Hand History for Game 4579795945 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:8 Blinds-Antes(400/800-25) - Friday, June 23, 21:42:23 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $18846 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $6156 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $48098 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $35423 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $10144 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $12594 )
Blinds-Antes(400/800-25)
All Players post ante [25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ As Kc ]
rodman6648 calls [800].
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
Hero is all-In [5731]
krismp_81 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
Hero shows [ As, Kc ] high card ace.
Hero wins 7881 chips from the main pot with high card ace.

COMMENT: Looking back, I think I could have raised here to 2000 and I could get more chips from him that way. He was a high stacker and surely would have called, but I would have commited myself. What do you say?


[2c Tc] BU (M=5.84; f+f+f+F)

-----Hand 24-----
Hero's M = 3.73
***** Hand History for Game 4579835307 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:9 Blinds-Antes(600/1200-50) - Friday, June 23, 21:48:50 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $18771 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $7831 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $48123 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $35348 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $10069 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $11119 )
Blinds-Antes(600/1200-50)
All Players post ante [50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 7d Ac ]
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
Hero is all-In [7781]
krismp_81 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 9881 chips

COMMENT: Stealing again.


[4c 4d] MP1 (M=4.71; f+F)
[8s 6d] UTG (M=4.68; F)
[Ad 7c] BB (Folded to Hero.)

-----Hand 25-----
Hero's M = 5.06
***** Hand History for Game 4579870466 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:9 Blinds-Antes(600/1200-50) - Friday, June 23, 21:54:51 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $16771 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $10631 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $47323 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $33348 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $11369 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $11819 )
Blinds-Antes(600/1200-50)
All Players post ante [50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Qs 9c ]
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY folds.
Hero raises [2400].
krismp_81 folds.
Hero does not show cards.
Hero wins 4500 chips

COMMENT: Is that raise enough here? I've never stealed against krismp_81 before and didn't know how she would react to a 2xBB raise from the small blind. Raising more would have lowered my stack extremely, but seeing a flop with Q9 is not what I want here.


[3h Kd] BU (M=5.75; f+f+f+F)
[7d 9s] CO (M=5.73; f+f+F)
[Qs Ad] MP1 (M=5.71; r+F) THAT HAND WENT LIKE THIS:

#Game No : 4579888769
***** Hand History for Game 4579888769 *****
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:9 Blinds-Antes(600/1200-50) - Friday, June 23, 21:57:15 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $16621 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $11981 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $44773 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $33198 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $10019 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $14669 )
Trny:25146926 Level:9
Blinds-Antes(600/1200-50)
Zereth posts ante [50].
rocketj111 posts ante [50].
TVtruckGUY posts ante [50].
Hero posts ante [50].
krismp_81 posts ante [50].
rodman6648 posts ante [50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Qs Ad ]
TVtruckGUY raises [3700].
Hero folds.
krismp_81 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
rocketj111 folds.

TVtruckGUY does not show cards.
TVtruckGUY wins 5800 chips

COMMENT: That guy had lost a huge hand some time before but I didn't think he'd be tilting 'cause he was talking happily on the chat box. Also he had rarely ever raised that much preflop, so I put him on a very strong hand, maybe AKs. With high pair, I think he would have limped, but a small pair like 77 or 88 would also fit that bet. I don't wanna go for a flip where I'm the underdog here or worse be dominated by AK here. There were only 13 players left at that moment, so three to go for the final table and the money. So I fold here. Was that too tight?


[7h 9c] UTG (M=5.68; F)
[4s 7s] BB (M=5.66; f+f+r+f+f+F)
[Js 2c] SB (M=5.06; f+f+f+r+F)
[6h 2c] BU (M=4.75; f+r+f+F)

-----Hand 26-----
Hero's M = 4.73
***** Hand History for Game 4579905377 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:9 Blinds-Antes(600/1200-50) - Friday, June 23, 22:00:31 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $16671 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $9931 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $43323 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $35348 )
Seat 1: Zereth ( $13369 )
Seat 7: krismp_81 ( $12619 )
Blinds-Antes(600/1200-50)
All Players post ante [50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Ac Kh ]
rocketj111 folds.
TVtruckGUY raises [2400].
Hero is all-In [9881]
krismp_81 folds.
rodman6648 folds.
Zereth folds.
TVtruckGUY calls [7481].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Th, 9s, 2c ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Qc ]
** Dealing River ** [ 5h ]
TVtruckGUY shows [ Ks, Qd ] a pair of queens.
Hero shows [ Ac, Kh ] high card ace.
TVtruckGUY wins 21862 chips from the main pot with a pair of queens.

COMMENT: That 2xBB raise looked weak to me, and so it was. I was surprised he called my all in, but was also glad about that when I saw the hand I expected and hoped to see. It was not a mistake here to go all in I think, although we were so close to the money.


Player Hero finished in 13 place


That's it, i'm looking forward to you analysis. I really don't see that much opportunities for increasing my stack in the first hour. What should I work on? Thank you.

Greetings, ThomasBB
--------------------------------

[fjuanl]

hand 1 - with a board with no straight or flush draws, leading and trying to take down the pot on the flop would be ok. imo checking the flop and leading any non k/a turn would be ok also [to try to make a small pot]

hand 2 - i would make it to 180, but imo it doesnt really matter, they'll call you the same amount of times

hand 3 - big mistake in checking behind on the flop. there are flush draws and straight draws out there in a huge pot, you really need to protect your TPTK by betting around 2/3 of the pot

hand 4 - its ok if you can safetly get away from top pair when you're beat. check raising is kind of dangerous here, if he does have something like QJ and calls, your in a tough spot on the turn. i would just lead out and play it from there

hand 5 - this is a hand where having a read is key. on the flop you can assume he either has AK, a pocket pair below king, or a flush draw. its hard to tell where you stand on the turn because all of those hands check the turn king. since losing 500 chips wont hurt you too much, and because party micro tournies are full of fish, i think calling the river is ok

hand 7 - good

hand 8 - i wouldnt be too worried about 'wasting' chips with KK. you might get the orignal limper to call if you make it 800. 600 works fine if you feel like going into a 3 way pot

hand 12 - definetly a raise, probably 4xbb. from what i can see, you don't have much confidence playing postflop; that often happens to tight players. i was in this situation too and what helped was focusing on figuring out my opponents styles, betting patterns, etc. focusing on figuring out the hands of your opponents makes it a lot more confortable playing lots of flops [as played, I would pay off the river minraise…its just too unlikely someone checks behind on the flop with a pair of jacks there]

hand 14 – don’t be results oriented when you analyze a hand. Would you have thought twice about folding if the flop came AKx? Before I looked at the flop, I was thinking you made a mistake by folding with the huge pot odds offered to you [5/1], but then I looked at your stack size. With a comfortable stack, calling based on the pot odds is ok here, but with 5k at 200/400, you don’t have many chips to toss around. Completing the SB is fine, but even with the 5/1 odds your being offered, I think tossing it is still ok. You don’t want to be playing with 1/6 of your chips in the pot with Q8 out of position. This isn’t a huge leak…imo the biggest leak is probably [just guessing] your postflop play. Your afraid to get lots of chips in preflop because you aren’t confident playing postflop

hand 15 – standard

hand 16 – with 6 bb’s you should be all in or fold for the most part. I would be ok with pushing preflop here on the cutoff

hand 17 - I hope you had strong reads on the limpers before you did that

hand 18 – I actually might fold preflop with 11BB’s UTG+1. you don’t have many chips to move around postflop. a flat call directly behind you when your UTG+1 is pretty strong, but it still depends on your opponent. If he was a loose caller and has a good chance of having an unpaired hand, go ahead and c-bet representing a big pair

hand 20 – if I felt I had a lot of fold equity if I pushed, I might do that.

Hand 21 – its hard to fold A9 when you have so few chips, but I don’t know if this is so smart if you don’t have a read on the original raiser [if you knew KT and other trash was being raised there, its ok]

Hand 22 – I probably would have; if I remember right rodman was limping into a lot of pots. Use your fold equity and take the pot down with a push. The only bad thing is that rodman has 30k and might call you with some questionable hands…but you’ll probably be in a coinflip [and you need to double up soon]

Hand 23 – very standard push. Don’t get tricky; remember unpaired hands against AK are still 40% against it

Hand 24 – this is actually close to a fold for me. I generally don’t like pushing little aces, but with the cutoff here and how short you are, I think its not a problem

Hand 25 – I would have just pushed preflop

AQ hand – really hard decision here. You pretty much have no chance of him folding if you pushed. At a full table it wouldn’t be so hard to fold, but your 6 handed. Running into AK here would be pretty unlucky imo. Someone with a 33k stack here should have a big enough range for AQ to be a little ahead. Before you decide, look at the stacks to your left and consider how often you’ll have a chance for late position steals. Right now you have stacks of 30k and 40k to your left, which means you’ll get called more. With that in mind and the fact that its 6 handed, I think I would push

Hand 26 – Standard, tough break


General advice: play some heads up to work on postflop play [or play some really small sng’s and play for a lot of flops] you aren’t going to build a stack if your afraid to get your chips in and see a flop

[ThomasBB]

from what i can see, you don't have much confidence playing postflop; that often happens to tight players. i was in this situation too and what helped was focusing on figuring out my opponents styles, betting patterns, etc. focusing on figuring out the hands of your opponents makes it a lot more confortable playing lots of flops

...

General advice: play some heads up to work on postflop play [or play some really small sng’s and play for a lot of flops] you aren’t going to build a stack if your afraid to get your chips in and see a flop

What you say is surely true, as I don't want to lose chips. "A chip you have is worth more than a chip you win", i'd say.
Surprisingly in ringgames I'm much more confident postflop, not afraid of losing my money. To me it seems that micro ringgames are fishier than 11$ tourneys. In a ringgame i can make opponents fold pretty fast with an appropriate (sp?) bet, but in tourneys people seem to be more willing to call, therefor I can bluff/semibluff less and am uncomfortable doing so, because it's riskier.

I'll be working on this, trying to take your advices into account, hopefully making my game better. I'm sure i can do so.

Thank you very very much for your help!

Greetings, ThomasBB
--------------------------------

[IowaSkinsFan]

Hand 1: Actually, you definetely shouldn't bet that flop. Only bet with trips or two pair. Qx is too weak OOP.

Hand 5: I think you played it fine but I'd fold the river.

EDIT: Yeah hand 5 sorry.

[IowaSkinsFan]

Hand 8: Yeah definetely reraise more preflop. And I don't mind betting out the flop half the pot or something.

Hand 11: This is borderline, the limper is going all in, he limped early with a short stack. It could be strength. Worked out for you though.

Hand 14: This fold pflop is standard, a leak here would be calling.

Hand 18: This is tricky but I think you played it okay, I wouldn't mind limping KQ pflop here just because you're oop.

Hand 21: I hate this with no reads, and even with them I hate it. He min raised UTG, that's strength normally, I think you got lucky.

Hand 25 1/2: I push here, the big stacks range is pretty big I think, I think you have him beat. It's a gamble though so your play is fine.

[ThomasBB]

Thanks for your reply.
Reading your posts makes me think my game is not as weak as i thought it would be.

In your first post I think you don't mean Hand 4, you mean Hand 3 or Hand 5?

Greetings, ThomasBB
--------------------------------

[IowaSkinsFan]

I'd say it seems (Of course I don't know your game well) like you know what to do in poker but you don't know why to do it. It's really important to know the underlying "why" of the moves and not just the moves.

[ThomasBB]

Yes, a friends of mine also told me to always ask myself "why am i betting, folding, raising ...".

This is one thing i'm working on, but it seems hard to me as you easily get in this "standard-mode" where you just do things because you always do them, therefor not think about your moves enough, and why you do them.

Thanks, ThomasBB
-----------------------------

[THaC]

I don't wanna go into every hand, because I don't have too long to write this, but I just wanna say to keep your head up and CLEAR while you play MTTs, I know they can be a drag when you don't cash or just barely cash, but if you just win that one key hand, you'll get really deep and have a nice cash.

Some things I noticed:
- You're way too passive postflop. If you raise, especially if it's a good percentage of your stack, always follow through. If you run into a hand, tough luck, there's tourneys starting every minute, join another.

-Actually, that was the only thing I saw, just be more aggressive. You can't be afraid to lose, if you are, MTTs aren't for you.

[swiggidy]

This is one thing i'm working on, but it seems hard to me as you easily get in this "standard-mode" where you just do things because you always do them, therefor not think about your moves enough, and why you do them.

Read HOH (and then HOH2). It makes this thinking through a hand thing much easier

[ThomasBB]

This is one thing i'm working on, but it seems hard to me as you easily get in this "standard-mode" where you just do things because you always do them, therefor not think about your moves enough, and why you do them.

Read HOH (and then HOH2). It makes this thinking through a hand thing much easier

Actually, i already have read both of them after i have read Sklansky and Brunson for the basics. Next i'll read HOHIII, but i'm busy with studying right now

By the way, i'm thinking of moving from Party to Stars where they have more MTT-action (especially low-buyins).
For those who are playing on Stars: they have a "First-Deposit-Bonus" up to 50$ now, where you have to gain 500 FPP to clean that bonus of 50$. Is that even possible by only playing MTTs (or micro-ringgames)? I feel it would take years...

Greetings, ThomasBB
--------------------------------

[Laeelin]

-----Hand 12-----
Hero's M = 14.01
***** Hand History for Game 4579460024 *****
Condensed history provided by the Tournament Trimmer (v0.7.5) from FlopTurnRiver.com
NL Texas Hold'em Trny:25146926 Level:5 Blinds(150/300) - Friday, June 23, 20:52:09 ET 2006
Table Regular(741579) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: rocketj111 ( $6273 )
Seat 4: Superfly8 ( $17685 )
Seat 6: Hero ( $6303 )
Seat 9: droid105 ( $5064 )
Seat 10: rodman6648 ( $6916 )
Seat 3: TVtruckGUY ( $42434 )
Blinds(150/300)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Kh Ac ]
droid105 folds.
rodman6648 calls [300].
rocketj111 calls [300].
TVtruckGUY folds.
Superfly8 folds.
Hero checks.

The check here is really really bad.

I raise hard here... Like a 1000 to 1500.

[lambchopdc]

I cant believe nobody has said this. The answer to your question of why your ITM is high and you aren't going deep is actually very very simple...in fact i can cover it in one word...aggression. Believe it or not having a high ITM % is actually the sign of a major problem. Tournaments tighten up big time close to the bubble. You have to take advantage of this by pushing around the players who just want to make the money. When you do this, 2 things happen. The 1st is...you bubble...alot. That may sound bad, but its actually good, why? Because the 2nd thing is, when you don't bubble, you build a nice stack and generally go deep. In the late stages of a tourney, the blinds catch up to the stack sizes very quickly. You need to build your stack to have any hope of winning the tournament.

In general, if you are playing the late stages of a tourney correctly, your ITM% over a couple hundred MTTs should be around 12-16%. If its over 20%, you are either on an amazing hot streak or playing incorrectly. In lower buyin MTTs, anything below final table and most of the time anything below final 3 is pocket change. Train yourself to not care about it. If you push into the table rock's BB and he wakes up with AA busting you 1 off the money, so what? Its nothing. Your opponents care about the couple bucks for ITM, you shouldn't, thats what sets aside the winners from the fish. Remember, in order to live, you must be willing to die. Concentrate on being more aggressive the next few times u get close to the money, I promise you it works. Hope this helps.

EDIT: I'm posting a link below to my hand history from my 2nd place in the Pokerstars $215 Million Dollar Guaranteed. Look over hands 87-104. These hands were played with 2 tables left right up until final table. The difference between top 2 tables and final table was about $5000. The players started tightening up to try and fold their way to more money. By taking advantage of their tightness and getting lucky a couple times I was able to go from having 3 big blinds to being chip leader. This is the best example I have of "raping the bubble" so I hope you can get some insight from it.

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...ic.php?t=32844

[Laeelin]

I'm posting a link below to my hand history from my 2nd place in the stars $215.

Now THATS how to back up advice

Next time call it that $1,000,000 guarentee though.

That sounds more impressive.

Great example Lamb, I'll be rereading that history.

[Laeelin]

I'm posting a link below

Wait... where is the link?

[lambchopdc]

I'm posting a link below

Wait... where is the link?

edited

[jdubs]

I cant believe nobody has said this. The answer to your question of why your ITM is high and you aren't going deep is actually very very simple...in fact i can cover it in one word...aggression. Believe it or not having a high ITM % is actually the sign of a major problem. Tournaments tighten up big time close to the bubble. You have to take advantage of this by pushing around the players who just want to make the money. When you do this, 2 things happen. The 1st is...you bubble...alot. That may sound bad, but its actually good, why? Because the 2nd thing is, when you don't bubble, you build a nice stack and generally go deep. In the late stages of a tourney, the blinds catch up to the stack sizes very quickly. You need to build your stack to have any hope of winning the tournament.

In general, if you are playing the late stages of a tourney correctly, your ITM% over a couple hundred MTTs should be around 12-16%. If its over 20%, you are either on an amazing hot streak or playing incorrectly. In lower buyin MTTs, anything below final table and most of the time anything below final 3 is pocket change. Train yourself to not care about it. If you push into the table rock's BB and he wakes up with AA busting you 1 off the money, so what? Its nothing. Your opponents care about the couple bucks for ITM, you shouldn't, thats what sets aside the winners from the fish. Remember, in order to live, you must be willing to die. Concentrate on being more aggressive the next few times u get close to the money, I promise you it works. Hope this helps.

EDIT: I'm posting a link below to my hand history from my 2nd place in the Pokerstars $215 Million Dollar Guaranteed. Look over hands 87-104. These hands were played with 2 tables left right up until final table. The difference between top 2 tables and final table was about $5000. The players started tightening up to try and fold their way to more money. By taking advantage of their tightness and getting lucky a couple times I was able to go from having 3 big blinds to being chip leader. This is the best example I have of "raping the bubble" so I hope you can get some insight from it.

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...ic.php?t=32844

dude, thanks for reminding me of this! I get caught up in that "well I have played for 3 hours now, and I dont want to bust out with nothing to show for it" attitude sometimes, and this is just wrong as you point out. Especially , of course, in the 20% payout ones, where the lowest level gets you basically nothing. Good post Lamb, and thanks!

[Snapman]

dude, thanks for reminding me of this! I get caught up in that "well I have played for 3 hours now, and I dont want to bust out with nothing to show for it" attitude sometimes, and this is just wrong as you point out. Especially , of course, in the 20% payout ones, where the lowest level gets you basically nothing. Good post Lamb, and thanks!

Yeah, that's a problem that I have too. I guess it's a mental barrier that I've got to try and overcome.

Thanks for the post lambchopdc

[ThomasBB]

I cant believe nobody has said this. The answer to your question of why your ITM is high and you aren't going deep is actually very very simple...in fact i can cover it in one word...aggression. Believe it or not having a high ITM % is actually the sign of a major problem. Tournaments tighten up big time close to the bubble. You have to take advantage of this by pushing around the players who just want to make the money. When you do this, 2 things happen. The 1st is...you bubble...alot. That may sound bad, but its actually good, why? Because the 2nd thing is, when you don't bubble, you build a nice stack and generally go deep. In the late stages of a tourney, the blinds catch up to the stack sizes very quickly. You need to build your stack to have any hope of winning the tournament.

In general, if you are playing the late stages of a tourney correctly, your ITM% over a couple hundred MTTs should be around 12-16%. If its over 20%, you are either on an amazing hot streak or playing incorrectly. In lower buyin MTTs, anything below final table and most of the time anything below final 3 is pocket change. Train yourself to not care about it. If you push into the table rock's BB and he wakes up with AA busting you 1 off the money, so what? Its nothing. Your opponents care about the couple bucks for ITM, you shouldn't, thats what sets aside the winners from the fish. Remember, in order to live, you must be willing to die. Concentrate on being more aggressive the next few times u get close to the money, I promise you it works. Hope this helps.

EDIT: I'm posting a link below to my hand history from my 2nd place in the Pokerstars $215 Million Dollar Guaranteed. Look over hands 87-104. These hands were played with 2 tables left right up until final table. The difference between top 2 tables and final table was about $5000. The players started tightening up to try and fold their way to more money. By taking advantage of their tightness and getting lucky a couple times I was able to go from having 3 big blinds to being chip leader. This is the best example I have of "raping the bubble" so I hope you can get some insight from it.

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...ic.php?t=32844

Thanks for this advice, I'll read the HH right now.

[ThomasBB]

Hi again.

I just wanted to tell you that i took the 6th place yesterday in a field of 1200 players.

Thank you all for your advices, more aggression seems to work very well for me

Greetings, ThomasBB
--------------------------------

[lambchopdc]

Hi again.

I just wanted to tell you that i took the 6th place yesterday in a field of 1200 players.

Thank you all for your advices, more aggression seems to work very well for me

Greetings, ThomasBB
--------------------------------

lol, awesome, keep it up