Sklansky on Home Games

After talking for months about getting some sort of home game going, we finally decided to pull the trigger last night. We were supposed to have five players, but a few backed out and ended up playing a 3 handed combo game. Everyone in the game is a strong limit hold’em player, so the mixture would obviously consist of very little if any limit hold’em.

The games in the mix included:

-Beat the Ruski (a variation of hold’em giving the button extra cards at a severe price)

-Duece to Seven Triple draw

-Pot Limit Omaha

-Badagi

-Pot Limit Duece to Seven

-Pot Limit Five Card Triple Draw for High

-Limit Holdem

All the limit games were played 20-40, except Limit Hold’em which was played 40-80. And the Pot Limit Games were played with five and five blinds, and had a 400$ cap (the most any player could lose throughout the course of any single hand).

All in all it was a ton of fun, with some very interesting scenarios. By the end some of the games were dropped from the mix, leaving us playing pot limit five card triple draw for high, pot limit Omaha, and pot limit deuce to seven.

After making an 87xxx in deuce to seven after the first draw and checking raising the cap, I was called by a better 87; I had just lost my third consecutive caped pot. Still in the first hour of play I was stuck a little over $1500.

Now I was feeling like the huge fish in the game, wondering how many thousands I will go off for, before the game would finally break. But luckily for me, things started turning around and I clawed my way back to only being down ~300. We finished the night with a 20 minute session of 40-80 limit hold’em. I lost a few small pots there and ended up donating a smooth G unit to a couple fish …

Summertime in the City

Not much new to report on the poker scene. Long Holiday weekend, included 3 rounds of golf, a cookout and some Miller Lites in the sun ! I may try to get back on track this week, but I am planning on helping a couple friends move…so the poker action may be limited this week.

My favorite recent hand was last Thursday night, 50-100 on party poker. A couple players limped in and I checked from the BB with K2. The flop came down 552, the SB checked and I bet. The UTG limper called, and everyone else folded. I had just played a hand against him earlier that he peeled in a similar situation with no pair then raised me on the turn. I three bet him with bottom pair, he called (still with no pair) then I checked the river and he fired again with no pair and I called. So we defiantly have some history. Now in this current hand, a jack peels on the turn, for a board of 255J, I bet again and he calls. The river was another jack for a board for 255JJ, so I am playing two pair with my king kicker, I fired again. This bet is close and probably a bad bet (but very close); I would have bet an ace for value and a king is close. If he is thinking at all he likely puts me on a 2, which is now counterfeited, and he may call the river with as little as ten high. He calls my river bet, my hand is shown and his is mucked, King high gooood. Now I must check the hand history and see what trash he called all the way down. As it turned out, I got lucky on the river he had me all the way to the river, until his pocket threes were counterfeited…ahahaha, he called the river with 3 high, nut low, nice call sir!

DreamWorld

Not really sure where it came from or how it happened, but I had a “poker dream” last night. Back when I first started playing this was more common, but nowadays I don’t ever dream about poker… but anyway here goes ….

Its the first level of some 10k event, theres a bunch of limpers, I raise from the blind, with 76 spades, everyone calls. The flop 754, 45 spades, I bet, someone raises, someone moves in, someone calls all in, I call too, all my draws are live (no one has bigger flush draw or the bigger straight), which is weird…no one even has a set…not sure what they had but I had to improve to win the pot. Then my dream ended obviously … sigh

Receipt For Disaster

-Party Poker Allowing Unlimited Private (ie shorthanded) 100-200 tables

-Overall Skill Level in these games being V.V.V. close with the exception of a few weak players

-Matt keeping too much money in account claiming it is to withstand variance

-Matt playing 3 shorthanded games instead of two

-The Line between expert shorthanded play and tilt being minuscule, coupled with my love of pressing all edges

- Percentage of the time I may actually be on tilt, or just think K4 sooted is a really really strong hand

Disaster is inevitable ....

Anyway, after finally getting even from last Thursdays debacle midday yesterdday, I took a break, hit up the gym, and picked up some dinner. I then decided to get a “few” more hands in after the sox game.

I obviously went on my largest single session downswing. Where at one time I actually had AA on three of my four tables and lost them all. Anyway, with my party account balance taking a major hit, I decided to attempt to chip away and play 600 more perfect hands. The poker gods had to be on my side, because I slowly went on a run, digging out of the deficient. The highlight being, my QQ, on a board of QQ872, with 3 hearts, vs two opponents one holding a flush and the other holding 88. By nights end the loss was nothing noteworthy.

Then today, with the intention of playing 1200-2000 hands, I just didn’t have it in me after my computer was on fire and I locked up a quick and easy win, by only playinga little over 500 total hands. But I can’t help but think with the new unlimited shorthanded 100-200 on party I am eventually due for a painful painful downswing where I don’t “bounce” back …. But until then …<<<< .... This guy is shooting for the fences !!!!

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Tomorrow I may hit up Granite Links in the morning, before sitting in my new favorite seats at Fenway…State Street Pavilion Club!!!! Red Sox – Yankees, ahhhh Life is Gooood

Strange BUT True

Driving back to Boston in the pouring rain Sunday afternoon after making the mothers day tour of duty I am thinking / talking to myself…which is completely normal right ?? Anyway the topic of conversation meanders and finally gets to poker. I decide I am going to really make a strong effort to make as much money as I possibly can before I leave for Vegas June 28^th. I will be spending the better half of the summer playing cash games and tournaments out there during the World Series of Poker. This is always a very expensive trip. Besides paying rent out there as well as a mortgage here, I just closed on a rental property that is another expense until it is occupied. Then Vegas in itself is a very expensive place to spend a prolonged period of time. With an endless supply of great restaurants, bars and clubs coupled with every poker player from around the world being there for the summer there is always someone looking to do something. I don’t even like to think about how much I spent last summer. As much as I will try to monitor these expenses it is bound to happen again to some extent. Anyway this has given me the drive now to make as much as I can. I know the way to do this is multi table party poker. This week has been going great; until today when I did not feel like playing. I try to force myself to play a little…then all of a sudden every opponent hits every hand and I can not make a pair. Three 100-200s on PartyPoker missing every hand, losing in the neighborhood of three 50inch plasmas, then it happened….all my competitive juices were flowing. I did not want to do anything except play poker. Seems very strange to me, but the more I was losing the more I wanted to play…all said, I was able to get back about 1.5 of those plasmas I let the people inside my computer borrow.

No Looking Back Now

One of my goals in the 2006 Poker Year was/ is to keep better record than I have in the past. It is almost impossible to keep track of every online poker session, but I have been real good about my live poker sessions as well as tournament record keeping. As far as online, I have been writing down my balance (on all sites) at the beginning of the week and then taking the difference at weeks end. Anyway, there is no time more fun to look at your records then when you are on a big upswing. The last couple of weeks everything has been going great, with only a few minor setbacks mixed in. This year I have bought directly into three 10k events, plus a 1500 rebuy event where I spent 9k, along with numerous other tournaments without any major cashes to show for it. Luckily online has been great as well as good success in my limited live play. Here is a graph of all my poker play in 2006. The steep upward swings are normally not major single day wins, but a successful online "period," probably between 4 and 10 days.

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My triple draw challenge has been treading water at best. After the initial small downswing, I was able to bounce back to my peak of a 6K winner before slowly bleeding that all back to a small loser. Anyway, I think my deuce game needs a lot of work...

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Recently I have become addicted to this pop-a-shot video basketball game at the local watering hole.

After many many attempts I have been able to get my score to be consistently in the 60-65 point area and my good games have been in the mid 70's. I am convinced 80 is out of the question, but late last night after the Sox game, I came as close as humanly possibly to this all allusive number ....

Detox

I just got back from a weekend bachelor party in Vegas. A friend from high school is getting married in June, so a combination of his high school, college and after college friends spent a crazy weekend in Vegas. Fourteen of us total began the weekend on Thursday night and partied like rock stars through the weekend, finally coming to a crashing halt with a 7am return flight Sunday morning. A wide variety of crazy and interesting stories BUT as you all know, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!!! A good time for sure, congrats Booty !!!

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Ultimate Bet Triple Draw Challenge update: I ended up going on a downswing with the first 1k, losing a few hundred and decided to redeposit 1500. So in total I am now in for 2500. I was able to turn it around and have now been hovering around the 3k mark. 11,500 is still the goal.

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This week I will continue to sit in the middle limit UB triple draw games, as well as attempt to get my double bonus on Party by Wednesday, approximately 6k more hands.

Triple Draw Challenge

ok here goes, I deposited 1k into my UB account and my goal is to run it up to 10k by months end. I will not play any higher than 30-60, I will not redeposit, and I will not play any holdem just Triple Draw. I will sit with my entire "bankroll" at all times. Hopefully the desire to learn more games plus fear of public embarrassment will drive me to success. Wish me luck, cheapNeasy.

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New Pavilion seats tonight at Fenway... just need to fade the rain

Monday Morning Gambling !!!

getting a multi way pot like this is rare in these games ... lets shoooot it up

***** Hand History for Game 4152965211 *****
$50/$100 Texas Hold'em - Monday, May 01, 13:46:25 ET 2006
Table Dark House (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 8: LETZkickITup ( $1992.50 )
Seat 9: PEEENISHEAD ( $1050.50 )
Seat 3: BBOUJA ( $7283.50 )
Seat 2: Breakin_1_Off ( $1588 )
Seat 4: MaMMa11 ( $1980.50 )
Seat 6: nianmin ( $2385 )
Seat 10: smithjbb ( $583.50 )
Seat 7: GREENTOOL ( $1095 )
Seat 5: turbo911 ( $2245 )
Seat 1: BrankaJurca ( $2500 )
MaMMa11 posts small blind [$25].
turbo911 posts big blind [$50].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to LETZkickITup [  7c 7s ]
nianmin calls [$50].
GREENTOOL calls [$50].
LETZkickITup calls [$50].
>You have options at Boatweiser Table!.
PEEENISHEAD calls [$50].
smithjbb calls [$50].
Breakin_1_Off calls [$50].
>You have options at Hurry Home Table!.
BBOUJA calls [$50].
MaMMa11 raises [$75].
turbo911 calls [$50].
nianmin calls [$50].
GREENTOOL calls [$50].
LETZkickITup raises [$100].
>You have options at Hurry Home Table!.
PEEENISHEAD calls [$100].
smithjbb calls [$100].
Breakin_1_Off calls [$100].
BBOUJA calls [$100].
MaMMa11 raises [$100].
turbo911 calls [$100].
>You have options at My Meeting Table!.
nianmin calls [$100].
GREENTOOL calls [$100].
LETZkickITup calls [$50].
PEEENISHEAD calls [$50].
smithjbb calls [$50].
Breakin_1_Off calls [$50].
BBOUJA calls [$50].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7d, 5h, 7h ]

ahhh LIFE IS GOOOD ...

Sox - Yanks tonight ...  welcome home Mirabeli