Playing the 220 turbo - Huge hand history update

Ok, yesterday I decided I was mature to take a shot in the 220 turbo and two-tabled about 40 games total. It didnt really work out and I lost about 1.2K, probably running somewhat below excpectation, but I could defenently feel that this game was significantly tougher than the 110. I lost quite many games by losing flips and running bad at the 50/100 and 75/150 level vs other solid players. That said I really don't believe I played against anyone that had an edge vs me. Of course there are sevaral players that should be able to beat me there, but I believe most of them won't sit vs me (by different reasons).

I'm happy about beeing able to quit the day yesterday, beeing down 1.2K. in fact it did not hurt that much, I was so beat that I hardly could feel anything. Thankfully I managed to get a good night sleep.

Today I began the day by watching hokiegregs new video. And I realized that I've been playing too loose at the 10/20 and 15/30 blinds the last days especially OOP. I'm also amazed by how hokie is playing the 50/100 and the 75/150 level, I believed I played pretty darn loose here but in fact hokie is playing the high blinds even looser against some opponents in well picked spots. Amazing stuff hokie, I would for sure recommend the videos with commentaries.
And the hokiegreg system worked pretty good today. In fact I had my most profitable day ever, which is +1500 profit, simply winning 7/7 in the 220s. And I didnt suck out big in a single hand, I always had the best of it when most of the chips went in, and in fact I didnt cooler anyone eather. With other words, pure skill ;)

Lets take a look at the key hands in all those seven games.

Game 1:
PokerStars Game #24251668235: Tournament #136287200, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2009/01/25 2:19:17 ET
Table '136287200 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: thomasny (1410 in chips)
Seat 2: the1borgata (1590 in chips)
the1borgata: posts small blind 10
thomasny: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [Ks Kc]
the1borgata: raises 85 to 105
thomasny: raises 155 to 260
the1borgata: raises 1330 to 1590 and is all-in
thomasny: calls 1150 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (180) returned to the1borgata
*** FLOP *** [Ac 8d Ad]
*** TURN *** [Ac 8d Ad] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [Ac 8d Ad Jh] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
thomasny: shows [Ks Kc] (two pair, Aces and Kings)
the1borgata: shows [5d 5c] (two pair, Aces and Fives)
thomasny collected 2820 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2820 | Rake 0
Board [Ac 8d Ad Jh 4c]
Seat 1: thomasny (big blind) showed [Ks Kc] and won (2820) with two pair, Aces and Kings
Seat 2: the1borgata (button) (small blind) showed [5d 5c] and lost with two pair, Aces and Fives

This was the 4th hand and I had tightly folded the first 3 hands. Villians respons to my 3-bet is bad. I never 3-bet a hand this early without a big hand. Having a very tight 3-bet range early in the game is not seldom at all. And dont forget that my 3-bet was a respons to a semi-big pre flop raise. He should fold unless he got info that is saying that I'm 3-beting wide (calling my 3-bet is also bad because he does not have set equity).

Game 2:
PokerStars Game #24252099519: Tournament #136288532, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level II (15/30) - 2009/01/25 2:49:37 ET
Table '136288532 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: thomasny (1715 in chips)
Seat 2: harleez181 (1285 in chips)
thomasny: posts small blind 15
harleez181: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [Ah 9s]
thomasny: raises 45 to 75
harleez181: raises 45 to 120
thomasny: calls 45
*** FLOP *** [2s Td Ac]
harleez181: checks
thomasny: bets 90
harleez181: calls 90
*** TURN *** [2s Td Ac] [9c]
harleez181: checks
thomasny: bets 150
harleez181: calls 150
*** RIVER *** [2s Td Ac 9c] [4c]
harleez181: checks
thomasny: bets 480
harleez181: calls 480
*** SHOW DOWN ***
thomasny: shows [Ah 9s] (two pair, Aces and Nines)
harleez181: mucks hand
thomasny collected 1680 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1680 | Rake 0
Board [2s Td Ac 9c 4c]
Seat 1: thomasny (button) (small blind) showed [Ah 9s] and won (1680) with two pair, Aces and Nines
Seat 2: harleez181 (big blind) mucked [Qd Qs]

Ok, this is a pretty funny hand against a big passive and fishy gentleman. In fact I was thinking about folding pre flop because this was villian third 3-bet in the game and in the two previous 3-beted hands I got a cheap showdown and he showed me AK and JJ. So I was aware of the fact that I'm likely dominated by eather a big pair or a bigger ace here. Stell I could not resist my self to call the 45 chips. When he checked the flop I was already logging on my internet bank and begun to transfer 230 dollars. Because the two prvious 3-beted hands he did bet out right away on the flop. So now I figured he had JJ QQ or KK, and if that was the case I believed he would have a tough time to fold. Fishy players won't fold big pockets no matter what is happening on the board. The 9 on the turn made it very comfortable of course, but I would have played it the same way anyway.
All the way to the bank honey!

Game 3:
PokerStars Game #24252513892: Tournament #136292424, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level II (15/30) - 2009/01/25 3:21:03 ET
Table '136292424 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: freddieia (1940 in chips)
Seat 2: thomasny (1060 in chips)
thomasny: posts small blind 15
freddieia: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [Td Jd]
thomasny: raises 45 to 75
freddieia: calls 45
*** FLOP *** [Ts Tc 7c]
freddieia: checks
thomasny: bets 90
freddieia: calls 90
*** TURN *** [Ts Tc 7c] [3d]
freddieia: checks
thomasny: bets 210
freddieia: calls 210
*** RIVER *** [Ts Tc 7c 3d] [4c]
freddieia: bets 420
thomasny: calls 420
*** SHOW DOWN ***
freddieia: shows [2h 2s] (two pair, Tens and Deuces)
thomasny: shows [Td Jd] (three of a kind, Tens)
thomasny collected 1590 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1590 | Rake 0
Board [Ts Tc 7c 3d 4c]
Seat 1: freddieia (big blind) showed [2h 2s] and lost with two pair, Tens and Deuces
Seat 2: thomasny (button) (small blind) showed [Td Jd] and won (1590) with three of a kind, Tens

Ok, villian is a pretty standard slightly losing, loose-aggressive player.

I got top set with a decent kicker but my problem is that the possible flush came in on river and villain did indeed play the hand like he had a flush draw on flop and turn. And now he's basically putting me all in. So should I call or fold here?

Against this opponent its a pretty easy call, its not even close. I mean, in fact I think he most probably got the flush, but I was not sure, and in fact It dosnt really matter. I'm pot commetied after the turn, I'm short stacked and I'm only folding here if I know 90% sure villian is not bluffing big at river, which means I'm basically never gonna fold here.

This is the last hand in the game against the same guy:

PokerStars Game #24252578805: Tournament #136292424, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level III (25/50) - 2009/01/25 3:25:50 ET
Table '136292424 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: freddieia (785 in chips)
Seat 2: thomasny (2215 in chips)
freddieia: posts small blind 25
thomasny: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [Ac As]
freddieia: raises 100 to 150
thomasny: calls 100
*** FLOP *** [2d 8c 6s]
thomasny: checks
freddieia: bets 200
thomasny: raises 1865 to 2065 and is all-in
freddieia: calls 435 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (1430) returned to thomasny
*** TURN *** [2d 8c 6s] [8d]
*** RIVER *** [2d 8c 6s 8d] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
thomasny: shows [Ac As] (two pair, Aces and Eights)
freddieia: shows [4d 6c] (two pair, Eights and Sixes)
thomasny collected 1570 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1570 | Rake 0
Board [2d 8c 6s 8d 3s]
Seat 1: freddieia (button) (small blind) showed [4d 6c] and lost with two pair, Eights and Sixes
Seat 2: thomasny (big blind) showed [Ac As] and won (1570) with two pair, Aces and Eights


Tricky thomas! Well someone might say that only calling with aces here is terrible. And it might be, I dont know. Obviously my goal here to get the whole stack in at some point, and quite often that should work by re-raising or shoving pre given the fact that villian only got 660 left after his standard pre flop bet at 25/50.
I just flat called because I knew he could have any two cards here and even though villian is very loose i was not sure he was willing to donate the rest of his 660 stack if he had a weak hand, if I 3-bet or shoved pre, because he's skill level is pretty average. Any agression OPP from me pre-flop should tell him that I got a big hand so I didnt wanna give him the chance to make a good fold here. However QQ KK and AA is the only 3 hands I would have played this way. AK is an easy shove obviously.
My plan worked, he bet out 200 on the flop totally pot commiting himself. The fact the he had 46 supports my flat call. He is likely to fold a shove pre obviously, and if I make a small 3-bet pre he might as well fold or at least get away from it on the flop if he dosnt catch - given the fact that he is a decent player. When I just flat I think he gonna put in the rest of the chips a ton on any flop.

Game 4:
PokerStars Game #24254904524: Tournament #136310567, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2009/01/25 6:16:49 ET
Table '136310567 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: devinr12 (1400 in chips)
Seat 2: thomasny (1600 in chips)
thomasny: posts small blind 10
devinr12: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [Ts As]
thomasny: raises 40 to 60
devinr12: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [6s 9c 7s]
devinr12: checks
thomasny: bets 80
devinr12: raises 180 to 260
thomasny: calls 180
*** TURN *** [6s 9c 7s] [4d]
devinr12: bets 320
thomasny: calls 320
*** RIVER *** [6s 9c 7s 4d] [8c]
devinr12: bets 760 and is all-in
thomasny: calls 760
*** SHOW DOWN ***
devinr12: shows [5d 8d] (a straight, Five to Nine)
thomasny: shows [Ts As] (a straight, Six to Ten)
thomasny collected 2800 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2800 | Rake 0
Board [6s 9c 7s 4d 8c]
Seat 1: devinr12 (big blind) showed [5d 8d] and lost with a straight, Five to Nine
Seat 2: thomasny (button) (small blind) showed [Ts As] and won (2800) with a straight, Six to Ten


Villian is a solid winner at sharkscope. However he's 2-man stats is pretty bad. So I categorized him as a average skilled player.

This hand is very interesting and I'm looking forward to some oppinions on this one. I'm sure many players would say that I should shove the flop after he re-raised me up to 260. Thats the way I often play those hands. I just called because I didnt feel he was gonna fold. I was pretty sure he had at least top pair with a good kicker or probably even stonger. My feeling was that if I shove here he's gonna call pretty much every time and I'm slightly behind in the long run. Anyway calling the turn here can't be a significant mistake at 10/20 blinds, or is it?
The turn was not what I was looking for, but at least the board is stell not paired, witch means i'm stell drawing to the nuts. I'm gonna fold on turn here if the board pairs. He bet out 320 which is a good bet from him, given the fact that he stell got the nuts. Now I for sure can't shove. Its eather call or fold. If I were OOP I would probably fold here because it will be tougher to get him stacked on the river if I hit my my 13 outer to the nuts. But I figured I had a decent chance to stack him if I hit my card in position so I called. I stell had 960 chips left after I called the turn so I mean, I did not risk the whole match on it. I got my str8 on the river and instead of calling a shove villian decided to shove himself, which is probably bad play. Check call or check fold is probably better play - given the fact that I am a solid player. After all he shipped most of the chips in with the worst hand on river. But hey, I got pretty lucky in that one.

Game 5:
PokerStars Game #24255673251: Tournament #136316305, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2009/01/25 7:04:20 ET
Table '136316305 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: herka07 (1730 in chips)
Seat 2: thomasny (1270 in chips)
herka07: posts small blind 10
thomasny: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [Jd 7d]
herka07: calls 10
thomasny: checks
*** FLOP *** [Tc 4s 3h]
thomasny: checks
herka07: checks
*** TURN *** [Tc 4s 3h] [8d]
thomasny: checks
herka07: checks
*** RIVER *** [Tc 4s 3h 8d] [9s]
thomasny: bets 40
herka07: raises 160 to 200
thomasny: raises 1050 to 1250 and is all-in
herka07: calls 1050
*** SHOW DOWN ***
thomasny: shows [Jd 7d] (a straight, Seven to Jack)
herka07: shows [Kh Kc] (a pair of Kings)
thomasny collected 2540 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2540 | Rake 0
Board [Tc 4s 3h 8d 9s]
Seat 1: herka07 (button) (small blind) showed [Kh Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 2: thomasny (big blind) showed [Jd 7d] and won (2540) with a straight, Seven to Jack

Ok, this was a short game against an aggressive and fishy villian. I tightly folded away the first few hands before this funny hand. I'm obviously skilled when it comes to getting max value out of a fish, without playing risky. Talk about valuetowned! One misktake many solid players are doing against a big fish is to let them get away to cheaply when you basically got the nuts and you beleive villian got a strong hand as well. You will be amazed how often they will stack off with top pair or an over pair, no matter what's happening at the board. I mean my 1050 chips river shove might look ridiculous but its actually superplay, and a good example on how to "play the player". I'm sure that many pros would just have bet out 300 or maybe 500 in this spot not realizing that if a big fish is calling 500 in this spot they are most of the times calling 1050 as well.

Game 6:
PokerStars Game #24256630313: Tournament #136320640, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level III (25/50) - 2009/01/25 7:57:32 ET
Table '136320640 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: thomasny (2090 in chips)
Seat 2: micwi2 (910 in chips)
thomasny: posts small blind 25
micwi2: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [Td Ah]
thomasny: raises 50 to 100
micwi2: calls 50
*** FLOP *** [Ac Jh 8c]
micwi2: bets 50
thomasny: raises 150 to 200
micwi2: calls 150
*** TURN *** [Ac Jh 8c] [Jc]
micwi2: checks
thomasny: checks
*** RIVER *** [Ac Jh 8c Jc] [5d]
micwi2: bets 150
thomasny: calls 150
*** SHOW DOWN ***
micwi2: shows [5c Qc] (a flush, Ace high)
thomasny: shows [Td Ah] (two pair, Aces and Jacks)
micwi2 collected 900 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 900 | Rake 0
Board [Ac Jh 8c Jc 5d]
Seat 1: thomasny (button) (small blind) showed [Td Ah] and lost with two pair, Aces and Jacks
Seat 2: micwi2 (big blind) showed [5c Qc] and won (900) with a flush, Ace high

This game is against a passive fish that is folding quite often pre flop, so I managed to chip him away by min-raising a ton at 25/50 and 50/100
In this particular hand I managed to achieve a relatively cheap show down after he drew out on me on the turn. I would have folded a big river bet against this guy. Not much more to say about that hand.

Game 7:
PokerStars Game #24262650132: Tournament #136367782, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2009/01/25 11:56:39 ET
Table '136367782 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: thomasny (1470 in chips)
Seat 2: maxtra46 (1530 in chips)
maxtra46: posts small blind 10
thomasny: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [Jd Td]
maxtra46: raises 40 to 60
thomasny: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [2c Tc Kh]
thomasny: checks
maxtra46: bets 60
thomasny: calls 60
*** TURN *** [2c Tc Kh] [9h]
thomasny: checks
maxtra46: bets 100
thomasny: calls 100
*** RIVER *** [2c Tc Kh 9h] [Kd]
thomasny: checks
maxtra46: bets 300
thomasny: calls 300
*** SHOW DOWN ***
maxtra46: shows [3s Js] (a pair of Kings)
thomasny: shows [Jd Td] (two pair, Kings and Tens)
thomasny collected 1040 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1040 | Rake 0
Board [2c Tc Kh 9h Kd]
Seat 1: thomasny (big blind) showed [Jd Td] and won (1040) with two pair, Kings and Tens
Seat 2: maxtra46 (button) (small blind) showed [3s Js] and lost with a pair of Kings

This game is against an average skilled, slightly loose aggressive player that I knew was capable of making big bluffs. I might have folded if the king didnt pair the board on river. He is representing a king a the whole way but I didnt believe him after the river. It's a pretty standard call if you know by notes that villian is capable of pulling off big bluffs.

This is the last hand vs same opponent:

PokerStars Game #24262721229: Tournament #136367782, $220+$10 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2009/01/25 11:59:02 ET
Table '136367782 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: thomasny (2230 in chips)
Seat 2: maxtra46 (770 in chips)
maxtra46: posts small blind 10
thomasny: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to thomasny [9h Qd]
maxtra46: raises 40 to 60
thomasny: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [Tc Js 5h]
thomasny: checks
maxtra46: bets 60
thomasny: calls 60
*** TURN *** [Tc Js 5h] [Kd]
thomasny: checks
maxtra46: bets 120
thomasny: raises 140 to 260
maxtra46: calls 140
*** RIVER *** [Tc Js 5h Kd] [2d]
thomasny: bets 1850 and is all-in
maxtra46: calls 390 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (1460) returned to thomasny
*** SHOW DOWN ***
thomasny: shows [9h Qd] (a straight, Nine to King)
maxtra46: shows [Ac Kc] (a pair of Kings)
thomasny collected 1540 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1540 | Rake 0
Board [Tc Js 5h Kd 2d]
Seat 1: thomasny (big blind) showed [9h Qd] and won (1540) with a straight, Nine to King
Seat 2: maxtra46 (button) (small blind) showed [Ac Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings


Pretty standard. I made my hand on the turn and he bet out 120 after I check and the effective stacks are getting short. The problem is that i'm OOP so its hard to get the whole stack in, if anything more, if i just call and have to act first on river. I figured that if i make a small re-raise on the turn he'll be totally pot commited and call the river if he got a decent hand. And if he got a draw or a very weak hand I might at least get some more value out of it here, because I think he's gonna call my small re-raise here pretty much with anything.
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Thats all, run like god!