My re entry into poker!

So my last poker session was a bit more delightful than others. When I first entered the caino i was forced to sit down at a table where the largest chip stack some how, was mine. I bought in for 200 and already was leading the table chip wise. How in the F did this happen? No clue. But I did know that this was not the table I wanted to be at to win money. I was forced to play 1 orbit before I was able to move tables and the entire time I would just look at the other tables around me like a penguin outside of a fish market. Once I was finally able to move to the table I wanted I took a good look at the chip stacks and found myself in a familiar situation with my chipstack being one of the lowest at the table and across from me, a older gentlemen with over 1k in his stack. YAHTZEE! My position wasn't the greatest but I am coming off of a 800$ winning night and couldn't be more excited than to see the money around the table.

A few orbits around the table and I don't see much of anything in my hand range. I always go into new tables with a set hand range and use my time to study and do the best I can to get decent hand range read and pick up tendencies on the large stacks.

About 10 hands in to the table I look down at AsAc in the BB. The table to this point, has been raising preflop about 50% of the hands I have sat down for. Nothing too crazy has went on and I haven't really seen anyone showdown their cards yet. 4 people limp to me. I have seen that 154 raises have been called after players have limped and I want to knock down the 4 people who limped into about 2 people to call my bet. I decide to raise to 20$. Everyone folds. I kick myself thinking I should have raised 15. I was out of position and didn't want too many callers with a 15$ bet but I also didn't want everyone to fold to my 20$ bet. BAH! It has been a theme of mine to just sit at these tables for hours folding and watching big stacks increase their stack size while I shove any near by object in my face wondering how people could play so loose and wild.

As my day would continue i would not see hands within my range to play. As a new player I am trying to keep my range pretty tight and legit. My hand range is: Any pocket pair, any suited connector, Any suited ace in position, A,K,- A,Q,- K,Q - J,Q suited - K,J suited and in position. So, pretty legit and obvious. I don't play any gapped cards and try to stay away from trouble hands like A,T - , K,T- Q,T. Depends on how the table goes, I will open this hand range up quite a bit but more or less this is what i play.

A few hours in I find myself looking down at KdKc utg. Not too shabby right? Yeah, that's what I thought too... The position was shitty but I haven't seen a combination of face cards let alone matching ones. My table image at this point is very tight. I know that with an open raise to the pot any smart player would instantly be able to pick up on my hand. I open the pot to 15$, looking back i think this was a bit low. The table has been the same, people have been calling 15$ bets from time to time but i thought a 20$ raise from someone who hasn't raised in forever would show a big red flag even to the most doorknob of players. I get 2 callers including a big stack to my right who loves to call bets like this from position. I move to the left of this big stack earlier in the day to help my chances of playing a potentially better player from position more often. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't like this particular hand. Flop comes JsQs4s, 3 spades FML. To top it off I didn't have the Ks. I made a huge mistake here by betting into this pot. Among the two players left in this hand, one was a weak player with about 60 left in his stack and was just a silly player which i had put him on some pocket pair or Ace anything since i have seen him call with A,5 in a different raised pot OOP. My big stack to the right of me has been playing relatively solid. I have seen him steel a few pots from time to time but never would shove enough in to give bad pot odds. He was... so-so. Thats an oxymoron i know. "A good 1/2 player." But to me, he was. I decided to bet 40$ into this pot. I thought that the short stacked guy would call and the big stack was wise enough to know when to fold a beaten hand. However, the short stack called like i thought he would, in fact he shoved for an addition 20 over mine. But then the big stack shoved for an additional 500 over mine. I thought long and hard about why he would shove. I obviously knew i had to fold but i thought why he would shove. What hand? What could he put me on knowing how tight I have been. I fold my hand to find he had As2s while the bad player just had a pair of queens. The big stack called my pre flop bet with As2s, but thats what i get for him being in position and having a large stack. I know I should have checked the flop but i think going card dead for so long put a hindrance on my decision making. NEVER AGAIN

My night was like this for the most part. I won a few hands here and there but never really caught any string of hands. I had A,A early on, messed it up. got K,K later and messed that up too. I broke even tonight which isn't too bad. I managed to take some small pots here and there but nothing too big. I am continuing to do my best to improve and receive guidance from my coach. I don't mind if i lose hands or buy-in's, I just want to make sure I make the right decisions or close to it.

until next time, I hope you enjoyed this!!!

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Alright! Where to begin with this session. I didn't really have any changes to my game plan. All I had was a more clear way of understanding of what it was i was trying to accomplish. I understand my hand ranges and was really going to work on making a character profile for everyone at the table. When I sat down I looked around to see what kind of chip stacks i was up against and it was a bit overwhelming and exciting. Majority of the players at the table had 300+, 2 players had around 700 and maybe 2 or 3 with 200 and below. I decided to sit down with 200 as usual.

As I begin to play i see the same common scene, no cards with a lot of action when i am no involved in the hand. FML. :-p The player to the right of me has around 700 in chips and is unusually tight for how i am used to seeing big stacks play 1/2. The person to my left had about 300 but as the game would go on through out the night he would go up to around 700.

So there i am! Being my usual self getting hands like 5,10 off, 3,7o, maybe getting K,4o on my button, you know - the usual. My hands don't really matter so much but the table is beginning to become more and more aggressive. When I first sat down you could see a lot of pots by limping but that was soon cast aside by the player on my left who is quickly gaining a nice chip advantage over everyone.

My first playable hand is A,J spades on the button. Two people decide to limp in around middle position when it comes to me so i decided to raise to 17. I chose 17 since the chip leader on my left like to call anything with anything and i wanted to narrow this pot down from around 3-4 ppl to 1-2. The guy on my left calls and the limpers fold. The guy on my left has shown down hands like 6,3o K,9o. nothing too good but the way the flops have been developing he has been hitting a lot and even though he was calling with almost crap hands, the boards have been very generous to him and i have never seen him bluff or show a bluff at this point. Flop comes A,Q,Q. He checks to me and I think for a little bit. With his hand ranges I think i have him pretty well beat. I raise to 25. He thinks for a small bit and grabs a stack and raises me to 100. I couldn't quite think what he had, maybe K,Q maybe Q,J some pocket pair he thought was good. My image at this point is very tight. I haven't played a hand yet and ive been siting for half an hour. I fold due to the fact i havent seen him re-raise someone unless he had what he represented. After I folded he showed me his Q and said he had Q,10. Blah.

Later on I don't get any hands. I had a suited connector at some point but i think i folded too quickly because i dont even remember the hand.

After about 1.5 hours of folding i am down to 140 in chips. I finally get a pocket pair, my first of the night. Pocket 9's. The guy to the left of me, now with 700+ in chips, staddled my BB. 3 people call the 4$. Action comes to me and i decide to call along with the straddler. I like to raise with pockets 10's and up. Being the BB i didn't want to raise in my position. Flop comes 5,9,10. I was praying in my head. Please please please let me see a 9. I decided to check my trips. Reason i decided this was because the player to my left almost always bets the flop when he straddles, i haven't seen him do it yet. The people at the tables havent seen me bet a hand yet and are used to see me checking. I didn't want to give any signs up hitting something. Guy to my left bets 17 with the other players calling, along with myself. turn comes A. I check hoping the guy to my left will lead out with a bet again and everyone will call building the pot for my re-raise. He checks with everyone following suite and checking. I decide to raise to 35. Everyone folds except the player on my right who went from 700+ chips now to 300. He calls my bet. He has been relatively tight and this bored didnt offer any flushes and i didn't put him on any straight draws. river comes a 2. No 3 of any suits which made me happy. I think for awhile and decide to bet 90. After some heavy consideration he grabs a stack and calls. He shows A,10. I take down the pot. PHEW!

Finally i feel my luck was beginning to change! Only took 1.5hrs of folding. Even though i finally doubled up i told myself to stick to the game plan and not get anxious because we won a hand. I am in the BB with 5,9o. A crap hand with the usual play of check if i can pre flop but fold to any bet. 4 People limp and i decide to just check with my amazing hand. Flop comes 9,9,K. Awesome flop for me. I'm not sure why i decided to check the flop but the table has still been quite aggressive with the flops never usually going for an entire round of checks. I check, i person a semi tight grandma bets 15, one player calls, the other two fold and I call. Turn is a 5. Yahtzee! I am hoping someone has that K and with the players still in the hand i didn't suspect they were good enough to know when to let go of top pair. I check again and the grandma puts the rest of her chips in the pot with a 60$ raise. The guy next to her has been a little down in his chip count lately decides to call the bet with about 150 behind. I decided to shove all-in. I had him covered and i figured he would call my all-in if he had a 9 or any top pair. He didn't get involved with too many pot for a lot of money in the past but when he did he was always committed. This, I took as one of those times. He called with a disgusted look on his face. River comes up a blank. I show my full house, grandma showed 9,A. Trips with A kicker. Red-headed guy showed top pair. I think he had something like K,10. Maybe a little better i actually didnt see since i was so excited i won and that he called me. But with that big win I scooped up all the chips in one big pile so excited i actually forgot to tip the dealer. I got lucky with the 5 but at some point my hands will hit.

Now with a pretty big chip stack and making two player get up and walk away simultaneously i felt pretty good about myself. I look at 6,6 on the button. A smile goes off my mind. I haven't seen this many playable hands in quite some time. A few players limp to me and i decide to limp along with them. The players in this hand were quite weak to my knowledge. They seemed to raise when they had a hand worthy of it and always limped when their hand was weaker. There were no tricks to their play. It was a bit refreshing that i didnt have to think too hard about their hand ranges. Flop comes 5,6 10. YAY! Another good hand for me. Checks all around to me and i decide to raise it to 12. 2 players insta-fold and the third calls. Turn comes a J. I put this player on a funky draw. They always seemed to call call call in whatever hand they were in and usually were flushed out by a big raise. They check to me and i raise to 25. They call. I'm thinking they are still searching for that straight or flush since i dont think they would have called with pair of 10's. Turn comes an Ace, they check. I look at his stack and he has about 60 left. I think a big raise would get him to fold so i bet another 25 which I thought was about the most amount of money he would call with. He calls and turnd over 10,J. Another lucky hit for me.

All in all I felt like i played semi-good. I got quite bit lucky with my 9,5o hand. I really didn't play more than 5-6 hands the entire time. I feel like i have a decently big range of hands that i play but i just didnt get anything. I played all my pockets pairs and any suited connectors. I didn't see anything A hands minus the A,J i lost. I went in with 200 and walked out with 855 in chips. Not too shabby. I still don't think i played all of my hands the best I could and i may need to re-adjust when I see another table as loose as this one was.

But thanks for taking the time to read this and i'm going to continue writing these for as long as I play poker and become a good player some day!

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So! I decided to play some hold'em in Vegas. There were no 1/2 just 1/3/, 2/5, then up to 5/10. I decided to hop into a 1/3 game trying to go strictly by the guidelines that I have been practicing with a little bit of improvisation due to actions what I see at the table.

So I sit down with 200.00$. The largest buy in was 300 but I just happened to have to 200. I watched the table for about 15 minutes before I sat down and didn't find the table being so aggressive I needed a bigger stack. Once I sit down I notice that the table is typically tight. No one being over aggressive. Raises tended to represent high cards and the few people who would call raises regardless of the amount were easily identified. There were 2 people with stacks over 300 and both of them were tight and played premium hands. As the cards start rolling I play the folding game for the first majority of the hands i receive trying to pick up on everyone else while I wait and watch.

The first playable hand I fall into were pocket 6's. I was in middle position with an unopened pot. I raise to 7. Just a small raise and a pot builder. I got about 4 callers. Not a big deal. Flop came J,K,3. I checked the flop to find a raise to 15 and two calls. I fold.

Later on I come across A,Ko. A few folds and 2 limps in front of me I decided to raise to 20 due to how many people come after me. I get a call from the small blind and folds all around. Flop comes 6,7,T rainbow. I'm not sure why but I decided to lead with a bet. The individual I was up against seemed to be a tight player and talk around the table seemed to say how they haven't seen him show a bluff. He check the flop. I raise to 25. With a few minutes of thought he reaches and decided to raise me to 75. I debated the possibilities. I assumed he limped then called my raise forgetting he was the small blind. I thought for a little while, thinking about what possible hands he could have had to call my 20. Maybe A,K - pockets of 8-J, A,Q. I feel pocket J's or Q's would incite a 3 bet pre flop but the table talk was he slow played his big hands and I haven't seen enough of him to really know for sure. Even if I was ahead in the hand i am not about to semi bluff with such little information about my opponent. A smooth call would have me praying to hit an A, or K to scare him off his queens or jacks and if he tripped up I am dead anyways. I fold.

A few hands later I find pocket 5's. I call a raise to 10 with a few other people and find the flop hideous with no 5's. Check-fold.

Later on again i look at A,Ko. Never suited which irritated me. I am in early position and open the pot with a 15 dollar raise. Folds all around until the dealer button calls me. Flop comes J,Q,3 rainbow. The person I was up against tended to play weaker hands. Like A,To - J,Qo Any Ace suited or not suited. He valued his top pairs a lot, bets medium pair hands and calls with any outs. I decided to lead out with a bet thinking I could hit any K or A and get ahead of him and I had the 10 in my back pocket. I raise to 20 to get a quick re raise to 75. I wasn't sure what to make of this play. I felt like I really had a good shot of still being ahead of him. By the hands I have watched him play and how loose he is I was betting he was dealing with a pair of jacks. Maybe 10,J or Q,10 Maybe A,J. Nothing too strong. The problem was he had me covered with about 400 chips in his stack to my now 150ish. I debated a long time with my gut telling me I am probably not as far behind at this bet is making it look. I needed to catch to pull ahead. I laid this hand down with anger in my heart. I couldn't come to call his bet hoping to hit an A,K, or 10. I doubt I could have re-raised him off his hand since he had me covered. Judging by the was he was playing he would think his Q,10 or J,10 was good enough. Maybe he had J,Q. In any case I learned not to do any continuation bets when my A,K doesn't hit. It just gets me into trouble. I could have checked and he may have only bet 20-25 which may almost merit a call from me or at least get the same information without losing my chips. I fold.

After my few hands of A,K I really went into a bad slump of cards for about 1 1/2 hours. I fold fold fold fold watch the hands play out. I notice a gentleman who joined the table was EXTREMELY loose. Playing the most ridiculous cards ever and calling with the worst hands ever and somehow winning. He would be calling 20 dollar bets that already have a few people in the pot with Q,3o and some how end up winning the hand with a pair of queens. This guy was terrible. I watched as he showed down the worst hands ever. I wasn't able to make a move due to not getting any cards. I couldn't even limp with the hands I was getting. Eventually I get pocket J's on the button. Limps to all to me with about 4 people limping already. I raise to 20. The loose guy in the BB calls and every else folds. Flop comes A,4,7 rainbow. I knew this guy would play any ace and had a large range of hands. I knew that if this flop came out low with my jacks being an over pair i would take this guy for a lot of money. If I tripped up he would be too dumb to know what hit him. I raise to 15 to see what he would do. I call wouldn't surprise me but like everyone else he re-raises me. He wasn't around to see everyone else doing it so i didnt think it was a trend he picked up on. He hasn't re-raised people too much and when he had top pair he would call or lead out a bet when checked to, never re-raise. I wasn't sure what to think of it. He was about 500 deep and I was around 125. he raised to 50 without too much hesitation. I couldn't afford to see another card and playing A- anything was well in his range even shown when he was involved in a multi hundred dollar pot with A,6o. It boggled my mind. I folded to him and kicked myself as to what was happening to me. I couldn't get any luck on the flop and anytime i thought i saw weakness I was re-raised. Maybe I shouldn't have been betting the flops with my over cards or trying to bet into weak players.

All in all my experience was so-so. I wasn't able to spend as much time in the room as had hoped for but the small amount of time I had found weaker players than my local 1/2 games in Louisiana. I wish I had more time to sit and crush these super loose and crazy players. I wanted so badly to catch a flop vs the loose players. I had the pleasure of holding my last hour and a half with no hand to even raise pre flop. Maybe limp but I am not about to play shit hands because the rest of the table is. I had a lot of fun and look forward to continue the coaching I am receiving and kick ass in my local 1/2 tables.

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