Upon approaching the heart of darkness (somewhere around the -$130 mark) , I caught myself tilting for the first time in a while. Whenever a prolonged downswing comes along, an inevitable doubt settles in where I begin to question my poker abilities, and as the descent continues, the very purpose of my seemingly inconsequential existence. It was also around that time when I started playing 8 tables at a time for two reasons: First because, in theory, the more hands I play means the sooner I will recover from a downswing, and second, because I tend to keep my concentration better playing many tables, whereas with three or four I just start surfing the web and lose focus. Then I won ~$180 in about an hour, and got to the next VIP status on PokerStars... and all was right with the world again.
I knew that $.50/$1 was going to be a different environment, but these stakes seem to be dominated by super tight-aggressive players who, unfortunately, also happen to know something about blind defense. I might even be better off playing $.25/.$50 the whole way, but I enjoy the challenge of sitting with skilled players.
I've really got to start marking the hands of interest as they're played instead of searching my entire database before a post...
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MorbidMorgan [Kc Ac]
DragonSud19: calls $0.50
bennanpoker: folds
Ulovka22: folds
solsberry: folds
clientNr9: folds
angelmartin: calls $0.50
Anand19: raises $0.50 to $1
MorbidMorgan: raises $0.50 to $1.50
Chilli7170: folds
DragonSud19: calls $1
angelmartin: folds
Anand19: calls $0.50
*** FLOP *** [2s 3d 2c]
MorbidMorgan: bets $0.50
*** Continuation Bet ***
DragonSud19: calls $0.50
Anand19: calls $0.50
*** TURN *** [2s 3d 2c] [Th]
MorbidMorgan: bets $1
*** Continuation. I've put PFR on overcards since he didn't play back on the flop. JTs+, KJo+***
DragonSud19: folds
Anand19: calls $1
*** RIVER *** [2s 3d 2c Th] [7d]
MorbidMorgan: bets $1
*** Could be holding a T, but at this point he has a very wide range of overcard hands. I can't induce a bluff on this board, and I might get another bet out of him if he thinks his Ax could be good***
Anand19: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MorbidMorgan: shows [Kc Ac] (a pair of Deuces)
Anand19: mucks hand
MorbidMorgan collected $10.50 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $11 | Rake $0.50
Board [2s 3d 2c Th 7d]
Seat 1: clientNr9 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: angelmartin folded before Flop
Seat 3: Anand19 (button) mucked [Ah Qh]
Seat 4: MorbidMorgan (small blind) showed [Kc Ac] and won ($10.50) with a pair of Deuces
Seat 5: Chilli7170 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: DragonSud19 folded on the Turn
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MorbidMorgan [Qs Qh]
tjcian: folds
SipaPipa: folds
xplicitgame: folds
gdjo1: folds
MorbidMorgan: raises $0.50 to $1
hippopotam: folds
zips5: folds
sam1080: folds
Rik888: calls $0.50
*** FLOP *** [Kd 7c 8d]
Rik888: checks
MorbidMorgan: bets $0.50
Rik888: raises $0.50 to $1
MorbidMorgan: calls $0.50
*** This guy was playing about 50% of hands with a high PFR and agression factor. A check/raise doesn't indicate Kx by any means, especially since he didn't 3-bet preflop. Could be any lower pair, an OOP flush/OES draw raise, or total bs. I consider 3-betting but decide to let him continue on the turn with a worse hand. ***
*** TURN *** [Kd 7c 8d] [Jc]
Rik888: bets $1
MorbidMorgan: calls $1
*** RIVER *** [Kd 7c 8d Jc] [5c]
Rik888: checks
MorbidMorgan: bets $1
*** The J on the turn hit his drawing hand range, but since I hadn't seen him try any fancy plays earlier, and because an OESD on the flop was probably the least likely hand, I didn't think he would attempt a c/r on the river. So I just bet.*
Rik888: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MorbidMorgan: shows [Qs Qh] (a pair of Queens)
Rik888: mucks hand
MorbidMorgan collected $8.35 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.75 | Rake $0.40
Board [Kd 7c 8d Jc 5c]
Seat 1: sam1080 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Rik888 (big blind) mucked [Ts 8s]
Seat 4: tjcian folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: SipaPipa folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: xplicitgame folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: gdjo1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: MorbidMorgan showed [Qs Qh] and won ($8.35) with a pair of Queens
Seat 9: hippopotam folded before Flop
Seat 10: zips5 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MorbidMorgan [Ts Qd]
zips5: folds
dyoniz: folds
ChawkDee: folds
MorbidMorgan: raises $0.50 to $1
*** I believe this hand was played during my tilting period. This is usually pretty loose to raise from MP1. ***
xxsamsunlu: raises $0.50 to $1.50
Nala2007: calls $1.50
bmod76: raises $0.50 to $2
Betting is capped
enes030285: calls $2
conkoi: folds
SlowFood: folds
MorbidMorgan: calls $1
*** At this point the pot is obviously way too big to fold anything. ***
xxsamsunlu: calls $0.50
Nala2007: calls $0.50
*** FLOP *** [9h 8d 9d]
MorbidMorgan: checks
xxsamsunlu: bets $0.50
Nala2007: calls $0.50
bmod76: raises $0.50 to $1
enes030285: folds
MorbidMorgan: calls $1
*** Getting 13:1 pot odds, I have to call with my two overcards, gut shot, and back door flush. ***
xxsamsunlu: calls $0.50
Nala2007: calls $0.50
*** TURN *** [9h 8d 9d] [Jh]
MorbidMorgan: checks
xxsamsunlu: checks
Nala2007: checks
bmod76: bets $1
MorbidMorgan: raises $1 to $2
*** :) ***
xxsamsunlu: calls $2
Nala2007: calls $2
bmod76: calls $1
*** RIVER *** [9h 8d 9d Jh] [Ks]
MorbidMorgan: bets $1
xxsamsunlu: raises $1 to $2
Nala2007: folds
bmod76: folds
MorbidMorgan: raises $1 to $3
*** I have the nut straight, and there is no flush. He could have the boat, but two pair, slowplayed trips, or a split is far more likely... and besides, the pot is so massive that losing a couple more bets isn't really going to matter. ***
xxsamsunlu: raises $1 to $4
Betting is capped
MorbidMorgan: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
xxsamsunlu: shows [Jd Kh] (two pair, Kings and Jacks)
MorbidMorgan: shows [Ts Qd] (a straight, Nine to King)
MorbidMorgan collected $30.25 from pot
*** Holy ***, that's big. ***
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $30.75 | Rake $0.50
Board [9h 8d 9d Jh Ks]
Seat 1: xxsamsunlu showed [Jd Kh] and lost with two pair, Kings and Jacks
Seat 2: Nala2007 folded on the River
Seat 3: bmod76 folded on the River
Seat 4: enes030285 (button) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: conkoi (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: SlowFood (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: zips5 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: dyoniz folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: ChawkDee folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 10: MorbidMorgan showed [Ts Qd] and won ($30.25) with a straight, Nine to King
