I CANT SLEEP

it's 8:54am and I'm hoping by the time I finish writing this entry, I'll be ready to fall asleep as I hit the bed. My sleeping schedule is really messed. Every once in awhile I'm able to sleep somewhat normally (2am-10am). Yesterday I slept at 10am and woke up at 6pm. Hmm....I'm not going to get in poker hours this way, especially not 10hours a day.

10 hours a day is a serious goal for me. I really want to put in a 200hour month. I think it's absolutely necessary for a low stakes player like me. I'm a 20 yr old student taking time off and poker is my only source of income. The only reason why I can afford to do this as a low stakes player is because I can 6table 3/6 short handed limit. Bonuses and rakeback add up quickly when you 6table but more importantly, if I can put in a 200hour month at 3/6 or 5/10, I can bust probably a 20-30k profit. How many hours have i put in? Probably like 85. Pathetic. Averaging like 4hours a day. It's time to fix this sleeping issue. I need to work on sleeping at like 2 or 3 and waking up at 10am or 12pm (I need 1-2 hours to eat and really wake up before playing).

Oh, and do I feel stress relying on poker for money? Kind of but not really. I figure if something really bad happens, I'll credit card it for the month (rent is $650). Funny story though, my check that I ordered on jan. 30th from FCP (although Chexx Inc apparently is at fault here) has been delayed. So I actually do I have to CC a few hundred dollars as 90%+ of my money is online. I'm so not tired enough...

I don't like to have to resort to using drugs (medication) for anything trivial. I count this as trivial. What's not trivial is if you're experiencing an immense amount of pain or if you're really sick. Otherwise, it's mind over matter man :) The problem with using drugs is that you really do become dependent on it subconsciously. For example, I'm going to go and buy something to help make me drowsy. Eventually what may happen is after a week or so of using it, if I can't sleep, I'll just pop in another, and then another every time I have a sleeping problem, and before I know it, I've become dependent on it. I don't like it. And for the record, I actually don't do any drugs. I don't like being uncontrollably stupid nor do I like to lose control over myself. Alcohol is as far as I go.

Alrighty.

Ty mags for responding to the hand I posted. Let's go over it. It seemed like you preferred to just call, being afraid that if villain caps, we're behind. I see this thinking as too math focused. People do not play perfectly. I play primarily on instinct and I focus on how someone plays the hand. Had he played his hand like two pair on the flop or turn, I would've called the river, but instead I 3bet.

Here's my personal opinion on blind battles. It's a big dick game. Bet Bet Bet, BAM! People tend to play their blinds differently, especially if you attack them a lot like me.

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
4 players

Pre-flop: (4 players) Hero is SB with jc 7s
2 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: 8d 9d 6h (4SB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero 3-bets, BB calls.
I sometimes get bluffraised so a 3bet and a bet on the turn is a good way to feel out the strength of his hand. 2pair here definitely caps, villain did not...I'm feeling good so far. He must be somewhat weak.

Turn: :10h (5BB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.
Sweet! I'm not afraid of queen jack at all. And notice he CALLS! Unless villain has a big tendency to slowplay to the river, I'm not worried at all. What does this mean? Villain does not have a 7! which is a shame because it's an easy cap on this turn.

River: 8c (7BB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero ???
EASY 3bet. Based on flop and turn play, villain does not have a 7 nor does he have two pair. He is either bluffing or he has trips. If he has trips, I'm hoping he caps. Unfortunately, he only called showing J8 for trips.

Think about what this hand says for metagame. I'm a crazy maniac and you better be willing to shell out some dough to stop me :)

Thanks again for posting mags!


For you LHE players out there, have your sites gotten softer? I feel like AP definitely has and that's supposed to be the 2nd hardest site for short handed lhe @ low stakes (WPX being the hardest).

The games were crazy last night. I had to stop playing because I got so angry from a few bad beats. Here's one of them!

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is CO with 7s 7d
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises, MikeySong 3-bets, Button caps, SB calls, BB folds, UTG+1 calls, MikeySong calls.

Flop: 4s 7h 6d (17SB, 4 players)
SB checks, UTG+1 checks, MikeySong bets, Button raises, SB 3-bets, UTG+1 folds, MikeySong calls, Button calls.

Turn: 8d (13BB, 3 players)
SB bets, MikeySong calls, Button calls.

River: 2h (16BB, 3 players)
SB bets, MikeySong calls, Button calls.

SB shows 5,4c
MikeySong shows 77
Button shows JJ

I can't believe sb called preflop. Actually, I can't believe I didn't cap the flop but I felt something funny I guess (I play a lot by instincts). Oh, well I definitely can't raise that turn now can I? Losing a 19bb with a set was nottttttt fun. This hand got me so angry I just had to quit for the night, despite how juicy the tables looked.

Alrighty, here's a hand for you to answer:

Villain is 40.86/27.6/1.84

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
5 players

Pre-flop: (5 players) MikeySong is UTG with 5h as
MikeySong raises, CO folds, Button 3-bets, 2 folds, MikeySong calls.

Flop: qc 5d 4s (7.67SB, 2 players)
MikeySong checks, Button bets, MikeySong raises, Button calls.

Turn: ah (5.83BB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, Button raises, MikeySong 3-bets, Button calls.

River: kh (11.83BB, 2 players)
MikeySong ???

What's my action? Bet/Call, Bet/Fold, Check/Call, Check/Fold? Please give an explanation! That's how you improve!

Gnight (9:19am - wow! 24 mins of writing?!)

Been so long!

I've been running reallllllllll bad. For awhile I was -1bb/100 over 35k hands. Now i'm at -.58bb/100...haha. Basically, without rakeback and bonuses, I'm down $2grand this month. Yuck, I've only put in 80 hours this month. I'm going to try and put in 50-70 more hours but I highly doubt I'll hit that mark.

I was originally going to leave AP at the end of this month but something changed my mind....AP added a new system: trading points for cash! And it's freaking sweeter than the old exchange rate. Why? Well....if you look at
http://absolutepoker.com/vip/points-for-cash.asp

basically, they're giving you a 1k bonus if you hit the 200k mark. AHHHHHHHHHH. I made over 200k points this month and I got about 1.5k in return for that. Sickkkkkkkkkkkkkk =( Oh well. Because of that, I'll probably give AP another month and try to bust out a sick 15k+ profit. This month...I'll be lucky if I hit 5k profit by the end of hte month...but it is possible, after all, I am coming out of the worst swings I've ever had...or am I???

Alright, here's a hand I found interesting.

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is BB with 8s ks
UTG calls, 3 folds, SB raises, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Flop: js 7c 5s (6SB, 3 players) - I don't think there's any equity in raising here.
SB bets, Hero calls, UTG calls. I'd rather trap the guy behind me to call as well.

Turn: 6c (4.5BB, 3 players) - this is interesting, sb is giving up.
SB checks, Hero bets, UTG calls, SB folds. I'm thinking, well if I bet here, I
have a good draw anyways. Might as
well see if we can take initiative and rake in the pot. If we're going to call a bet, might as well bet.

River: ac (6.5BB, 2 players) - scary card! But it can be very good. I
can now represent an Ace. Firing here
shows strength. grawrrr i win!
Hero bets, UTG folds.
Uncalled bets: 1BB returned to Hero.

Results:
Final pot: 6.5BB

doesn't always work but I felt it could there :)


Let's play a game. I'll post a hand and I'd like you to answer what is the best course of action. If you decide to answer, please explain your reasoning. Assume villain is you standard 30/20/2 LAG player.

Absolute Poker
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
4 players

Pre-flop: (4 players) Hero is SB with jc 7s
2 folds, Hero raises, BB calls.

Flop: 8d 9d 6h (4SB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero 3-bets, BB calls.

Turn: :10h (5BB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB calls.

River: 8c (7BB, 2 players)
Hero bets, BB raises, Hero ???

Do we call, fold, or raise? why?

><

Do these hands actually help anyone?

No answer?

Fine, I just won't write anything ><

Bye :Þ

-Mike

Dull Dull Dull

Well, I may start taking shots at 5/10 again. AP changed their rakeback system to contributed, so now I'm getting way less than I used to. I want my $100 hourly wage back :(

So it's either some 5/10 or 1/2nl soon.

Poker is boring sometimes. I wish I was insane and could play 13hours a day. SH Lhe @ 3/6 is becoming very auto-botable for me - playing mindlessly without thinking. Need to work harder.

I've posted some fun hands that I had today. For those of you who are new to short handed limit, there really isn't that much bluffing like what I've done in some of these hands. I was confident in my reads/gut (who reads ppl online?) and I went with it. I have to be really sure of myself to go with a play, otherwise it is too costly and the last thing I want is my image to be damaged. If my image becomes wreckless/maniac, then I have to sit back and play tight as people will call me down more liberally. My style is to pick up lots of small pots. I want easy money! So please, don't fool yourself into thinking that you have to make these plays. Personally I think it was dumb but I made a decision in the moment and went with it.

Good luck at the tables :)

Michael Song


Some hands:
The power of donkbetting:

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with 6s 7c
2 folds, CO calls, Button raises, SB folds, MikeySong calls, CO calls.

Flop: 3s 4c 5c (6.67SB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, CO calls, Button raises, MikeySong 3-bets, CO calls, Button calls.

Turn: 9h (7.83BB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, CO calls, Button calls.

River: jh (10.83BB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, CO calls, Button calls.

Results:
Final pot: 13.83BB
MikeySong Shows 6s 7c

bam! CO had a pair of 5s and button had a pair of kings. I decided to play the flop fast because I couldn't think of a good way to trap CO on the turn, so I figured there was a good chance of him calling at least 1 more sb vs 1bb on the turn.


Blind Battle
Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
4 players

Background info: Villain and I have tangled a few times, enough to know that in a blind battle, he's capping his Ax hand heads up.

Pre-flop: (4 players) MikeySong is BB with kc qs
2 folds, SB raises, MikeySong 3-bets, SB calls.

Flop: :10d ah 8s (6SB, 2 players)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, SB calls.

Turn: 5d (4BB, 2 players)
SB checks, MikeySong checks.

River: ad (4BB, 2 players)
SB bets, MikeySong raises, SB folds.
Uncalled bets: 1BB returned to MikeySong.

Results:
Final pot: 6BB

I checked the turn because I wasn't too sure so I was hoping to hit a Jack incase, on the river when he bet, I just knew he didn't have the ace based on past actions so I figured I'll just raise him off his hand as I did represent an Ace and could be playing it tricky. Grrrrrrreat success!

Psh, I'm the Player!

Villain is not happy with me. He's been showing me more aggression than to other players. It's pretty obvious he's tilting.

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is SB with qs 9s
4 folds, MikeySong raises, BB calls.

Flop: 4s 5h 7d (4SB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, BB calls.

Turn: 7c (3BB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, BB raises, MikeySong 3-bets, BB calls.

River: 5c (9BB, 2 players)
MikeySong bets, BB folds.
Uncalled bets: 1BB returned to MikeySong.

Results:
Final pot: 9BB

So even though the re-raise on the turn backfired - as he probably had a pair of 4s or some other pocket pair, I had to bet the river as I felt he could only call that with A high and possibly K high.


Position is my baby!

Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is UTG with 5h 5s
MikeySong raises, UTG+1 folds, CO calls, Button folds, SB calls, BB folds.

Flop: 4h kh 6h (7SB, 3 players)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, CO folds, SB raises, MikeySong 3-bets, SB calls.

Turn: 8d (6.5BB, 2 players)
SB checks, MikeySong checks.

River: :10h (6.5BB, 2 players)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, SB calls.

Results:
Final pot: 8.5BB
MikeySong Shows 5h 5s

the 3bet on the flop told me that he doesn't have a super strong hand, but does he have a flush draw? I'm not too sure. Check turn - to figure out his hand, and because whatever he check-raised me with on this board, he's most likely not folding it. Alright! he checked river! I can safely bet this baby, boom! Villain showed AK

LAZY

I"M SO LAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I have all these hands to post to get feedback on but...IM SO LAZY! I'll post one @ fcp after this but man, I just don't want to. Ramble ramble ramble.

Had a great day today, booked $700 for 7hours of play. 6 of that being 6tables @ 3/6 and 1 1hr session @ 5/10. I'm still trying to keep up with my goal. 9 hours a day of play. 15-20k win for the month. Let's go!

*edit*

I lied, I was looking through my hands. Here's a simple one that I'd like to share.


Limit Holdem Ring game
Limit: $3/$6
6 players

Pre-flop: (6 players) MikeySong is BB with 2d jh
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, CO calls, Button folds, SB calls, MikeySong checks.

Flop: 2h 2s :10s (4SB, 4 players)
SB checks, MikeySong bets, UTG+1 calls, CO calls, SB folds.

Turn: jc (3.5BB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, UTG+1 raises, CO calls, MikeySong 3-bets, UTG+1 calls, CO calls.

River: 9h (12.5BB, 3 players)
MikeySong bets, UTG+1 calls, CO raises, MikeySong 3-bets, UTG+1 calls, CO calls all-in $2.5.

Results:
Final pot: 20.92BB = $125.52


Analysis:
With the draw there, leading out in my opinion is the best play. There's what? 4 people? In the games I play, people chase. Rather than trying to defend trips with a check-raise on the turn if no spade falls, I'm going to build the pot. It's counter-intuitive to lead out with the trips, so by doing so I am disguising my hand as a check raise on either of those streets would have been suspicious. Also, the people at my table may think I am betting out a small pocket pair, a pair of 10s, A high, or a spade draw. I bet out a lot to build pots so it's hard to put me on a specific hand imo.

Lesson: There are definitely times to slowplay your hand. This was definitely not one of them as we can see how much one can potentially gain if players get crazy enough :)

btw: utg+1 had KK (if he had raised preflop, this hand would've never happened)
CO: KQ - he called with overs and made a straight on the river :)

Gnight!

-Mike