Schizo Poker

Fishy Online Poker Sites

A'arab Zaraq — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:03:57 +0000

There are way too many sharks in online poker nowadays so just out of curiosity I looked at a page on poker sites with the most fish. It seems there are some sites like Sportsbook.com (which I don’t have an account at) that have more than average amounts of easy players to beat. It makes me wonder why I enjoy Pokerstars so much

Holy Crap, Nits

A'arab Zaraq — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:36:11 +0000

So, like the mafia, poker has sucked me back in again. I bought in for $200 a month ago and rode some swings up to almost $500, and then back down to about $350, trying different styles of play the whole time — re-learning the game.

After my latest crash, I have re-nitted myself. I just busted out a guy who yelled at me about how “donks always hit their stupid hands” when he went all in on me with his set when I had the nut broadway straight. It’s good to be a nit.

Hi, I’m back.

Heater

A'arab Zaraq — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:35:09 +0000

I’ve been playing very well lately, but I know a heater when I see one. I’ve made about $500 in three days playing twenty and thirty dollar Sit ‘n Gos — not even multi-tabling, just hitting a few casually every day.

If anybody needs some good luck out there, I’ll let you rub my belly for ten bucks.

Poker Eggs

A'arab Zaraq — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:03:46 +0000

I’ve taken a break from poker for a few days, but I think my eggs are trying to tell me something.

Check Raising

A'arab Zaraq — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 06:07:09 +0000

Holy crap, why didn’t I figure this out before? Check raising on a scary board is a good way to get a fold. Check-raising on a boring board is a good way to get action.

Holy crap!

Crying Calls And Bluff Catchers

A'arab Zaraq — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:52:28 +0000

Those crying calls sure do add up don’t they? In NL, it makes a lot less sense to make a crying call than in limit. I can see that now.

Same for bluff catchers. At 50NL no one is going to run a complicated multi-street bluff. No one. Ever. Ever Ever.

Bet The Turn

A'arab Zaraq — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:14:34 +0000

Assuming that the pre-flop raiser from position will c-bet the flop: A safe bet.
Assuming the c-better will fire a second barrel on the turn: Wishful thinking.

Rules of Micro Stakes

A'arab Zaraq — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:20:03 +0000

They are not playing back at me.
If it looks as if they are playing back at me, refer to rule number 1.
If he raises the turn, he has it.
Dont stackoff 100bb with top pair top kick.
Don’t fear variance.
The confused player calls; therefore, confuse them when you have a good hand.
If you’re not sure, fold.

At this point, after my latest swing, I’m completely convinced that the skill to have in this game is value-betting. All other skills are red herrings (outside of good hand selection pre-flop of course.) Value-betting does not necessarily mean pounding away at pots. It can mean betting the flop, and then checking the turn and over-betting the river. (But it probably always includes betting the

Pot Control

A'arab Zaraq — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:17:47 +0000

I stacked off twice tonight — once with Top Pair Top Kick and then again with Top Two Pair. Both times were against a set.

I really should have known better. There’s no reason I would have been getting action on those hands if I wasn’t up against something better. But for some reason I forgot to abandon ship.

I’ll remember next time. Top two pair is just like TPTK, essentially. When the other guy makes a big bet, it’s time to seriously reconsider one and two pair hands. And even if a set is unlikely because you have top two pair and you know he doesn’t have a small pocket pair, guess what: He has both case cards.

A Little Mistake

A'arab Zaraq — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:59:40 +0000

$0.25/$0.5 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:

UTG	schub007	($80.70)
UTG+1	crzytimes	($58.25)
MP1	gwendolyn78	($24.75)
MP2	55 Magge 88	($65.20)
CO	toggy51	($26.05)
BTN	KKong444	($9.25)
SB	RCAMDESSUS	($53.00)
BB	Hero	($50.75)

[toggy51 posted $0.5]
Pre-flop: ($1.25, 8 players) Hero is BB

2 folds, gwendolyn78 calls $0.50, 1 fold, toggy51 checks, KKong444 calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero checks

Flop: ($2.25, 4 players)
Hero bets $1, gwendolyn78 calls $1, toggy51 calls $1, 1 fold

Turn: ($5.25, 3 players)
Hero bets $3, gwendolyn78 folds, toggy51 raises to $6, Hero calls $3

River: ($17.25, 2 players)
Hero checks, toggy51 bets $5.50, Hero calls $5.50

Final Pot: $28.25
toggy51 shows:
Hero shows:

toggy51 wins $26.90 ( won +$13.90 )
KKong444 lost -$0.50
Hero lost -$13
gwendolyn78 lost -$1.50

So, on the flop, I thought that I’d bet my draw. And I did. Then on the turn, I bet it again and got min-raised. The min-raise made me happy because it meant that he had a hand he was really excited about; so if I hit my straight, I can get some value for it.

On the river I hit my ace, and he laid down a little bet. I called it because I thought, “It’s just a little bet! I can’t not call this!” But calling was a mistake. And I should have known it because his turn-raise told me that he had better than a one-pair hand. So, one pair wasn’t gonna do it for me on the river. But I forgot.

Just doing a brief mental review of the hand’s previous action would have saved me five bucks. That’s another good habit to get into.