Quest of a Closet Poker Player

I’m starting a recurring series of looking at a session as I explore my growth in 6-max NLH.   I’ll work through some of my perceptions as well as decisions along the way.

The game on PokerStars was $2/4 NLH 6-max, and I sat at a five-handed table in the 5s, buying in for $289.70.  I’ll often buy in for less than the full buy-in to bring my account total to an increment of $100.  My normal game now is either $0.50/1 or $1/2.  I understand that most players buy in at the max, and I’ll often do that with tables 2-4.  For some reason, I normally don’t do that with one table.  Also, as I don’t normally play $2/4, I decided to buy in a bit light but not short.

I’m probably a neophyte at table selection, but here are a few keys that I look for when choosing a table:

• Players/flop and Average Pot Size  I look for a >30% table with a fairly large average pot size.  The higher you go in stakes, the more the players/flop comes down.
• Five handed  I don’t pick a table four handed or less, primarily because it may be closing out soon after I get there.
• No players sitting out  I don’t want one or more players sitting out when I first sit down, again as the table could crater soon after.
• No more than one shortie  Shorties are one of the worst parts of online poker, and I sure walk away if half the table buys in for the minimum.
• Big stacks  A couple of big stacks are always nice to see.
• A variety of stacks  If three or four stacks hover around the max buy-in, it probably means you have a fresh table of multi-tablers.  I’ll move on.

I took a seat in the 5s with the following players and starting stacks:

1. gambler2k4 ($556.40)
2. RoKaFeLa ($546.30)
3. murph0511 ($394.00)
4. jagjeet ($395.40)
5. csquard ($289.70)
6. Swanfella ($92.40)

In 6-max, I’m not one to post and simply wait for my big blind.  The blinds were folded to me on the first hand, which is a quick table tell to me that I more than likely have a group of serious players with me.  The first raise from the CO was to $16, but most of the early raises were fairly small.  The raise on the third hand was from the shortie Swanfella, who min-raised to $8.  I mucked Kc-9c on the button, and he won a $103 pot without a showdown.

I took my first pot with the following hand:

Dealt to csquard [Kc Qs]
jagjeet: calls $4
csquard: raises $19 to $23
Swanfella: folds
gambler2k4: folds
RoKaFeLa: folds
murph0511: folds
jagjeet: folds
csquard collected $14 from pot

The small limps and min-raises were significant to me, and I wanted to pop an early pot to see how players would react.  It is very easy for me to adjust negatively to others at a table; i.e., to start limping, calling small raises, and min-raising vs betting more normally.  I didn’t want to get drawn into that as I think these guys are obviously better at it and it’s not my core game right now.  Swanfella raised to $16 UTG on my big blind then I folded with Q50 in the small blind when the button min-raised.

I folded around for a full orbit.  When the bb arrived, the stacks looked as follows:

1. gambler2k4 ($554.40)
2. RoKaFeLa ($639.30)
3. murp0511 ($408.10)
4. jagjeet ($323.50)
5. csquard ($289.70)
6. Swanfella ($55.40)

Swanfella was showing of patience and restraint, and I played my first adventurous hand.  I was dealt Qc-10s in the sb, and jagjeet limped from the button so I completed.  Swanfella raised it to $21 from the bb, and jagjeet called.  I felt like I had the pot odds to call (no calculations, but felt like I’d now see if I could hit a flop).  I normally don’t like doing that with a shortie alone, but jagjeet brought me along.  With a flop of As-2d-4h, I check/folded to Swanfella’s $15 bet and jagjeet’s call.  4s brought a $4 bet from Swanfella’s $19 stack, which jagjeet raised to $20.  Swanfella called with pocket deuces for the boat, and jagjeet mucked his J-10o for the floated nothing.

I raised to $15 from the button with Q-10o to take down the blinds then mucked Ad-6s from the CO.  I limped with Q-Jo on the next hand, but Swanfella made it $11 , gambler2k4 called from the button,  then RoKaFeLa made it $64 from the sb.  That was enough for me and Swanfella, but gambler2k4 decided to see a flop.  10s-6d-Qs brought a $90 bet from the sb, and the button folded.  I folded the hammer UTG, then I called Swanfella’s min-raise UTG with Kd-10d from the bb, as did jagjeet from the sb.  With Qd-Js-10c on the flop, I bet $16 into the $24 pot to take it down.

Swanfella then doubled up with Kc-3c on a flop of 4c-2c-5s.  Swanfella had called gambler2k4’s $16 raise after murph0511 also called, then checked the flop which gambler2k4 bet $32 and murph0511 called.  Swanfella went all-in for $97.80, and gambler2k4 raised to $164 to isolate with pocket black 6’s.  That got murph0511 out, and 5c came on the turn to complete the flush.  7d on the river was meaningless, and suddenly the shortie wasn’t short any longer.  murph0511 topped off to $400 after the hand, and both jagjeet and Swanfella hovered around my $283.50.  I definitely took notice of the hand and felt like Swanfella was someone who would pay me off down the road.

I stayed tight, mucking Jd-10s from the button with a limp before me.  I folded around through my blinds again, even laying down the button min-raise one more time from the bb (Qh-7h).  I raised to $15 on the button with Kh-10c to take the blinds again.  After folding my blinds, the stacks stood:

1. gambler2k4 ($368.50)
2. RoKaFeLa ($723.65)
3. murph0511 ($400)
4. jagjeet ($157.80)
5. csquard ($275.50)
6. Swanfella ($357.20)

Swanfella had taken jagjeet’s chips in a very strange hand when I was UTG.  He raised to $18 with Kd-9d, and jagjeet made it $32, which he called.  Kc-3c-3h brought a $16 bet from jagjeet in the bb, which Swanfella called, and 4s brought $20 into the pot and a call from Swanfella.  Qd sent $84 into the pot from jagjeet, and Swanfella called with only $50.60 left.  jagjeet’s As-9s was never good, but again I took note of Swanfella’s light raising and sticking to the end with the marginal hand.

I, of course, did more folding for a couple hands, and jagjeet got $104 back from Swanfella to even the score a bit.  I then picked up the key hand of the session in the bb, Kh-Qs.  Swanfella min-raised, and I made it $23 when it folded around to me.  He called, and the beautiful flop came Ks-Qh-3s.  I bet $32 into the $48 pot, and he min-raised to $64.  I decide not to get cute and shove a total of $252.50.  He should have given me much more respect as I’d been playing like a rock, but he dutifully called with Kc-10c.  I wasn’t sure if I’d won with Js hitting on the river, but the big delay/muck timing of Stars gave me the pot.

Swanfella left, then RoKaFeLa took his $755 from the table.  I lost $74 with pocket 10’s twice short-handed, folding meekly/incorrectly on a 6-6-K-6 board to a small bet by jagjeet the continutation bet/folding on a Kd-4c-Qc-4h-6h board.  I’d raised UTG to $23 and jagjeet called from the button.  He called my $35 bet on the flop, either floating, on a draw, or hitting the flop.  We checked the turn, then I meekly check/folded the river when he bet $76.  Weak/tight I think, but you can be the judge.

All that brought me down to $412, and after an orbit or two shorty BLUFFER-1010 sat with $100 in the 6s (one to my left).  He doubled up with kings to get some chips, then I probably misplayed a hand a bit.  On the button, jagjeet limped, and I made it $23 with Qc-Qd.  He called, and the flop came 9h-Jc-10c, which he led $16 into.  I made it $60, which he again called.  When Kh came on the river, he bet $24.  He had $189.05 behind, and I decided to put him all-in.  I didn’t like him still being there with the potential of grabbing a flush, so I shoved and took the pot after he folded.

A new player completed the table, and here’s where we stood:

1. gambler2k4 ($360)
2. 1030052 ($400)
3. murph0511 ($400)
4. jagjeet ($189.05)
5. csquard ($523.70)
6. BLUFFER-1010 ($178.00)

I raised the next hand to $15 in the CO with Kh-Qd, and BLUFFER-1010 called from the button.  10c-Qs-Jc flopped, and I bet $28 which he called.  I bet $65 on the turn when 4h came, and again he called.  Js on the river I didn’t like too much, but I decided to bet $70 at it.  I’d be interested in the amount on this, but he folded the river anyways.  The table started evaporating over the next few orbits, and I ran my $634 down to $600 to end the session three handed.

M y final stats for the 72 hands:

• VP$IP:  22.22%
• PFR%:  9.72
• W$SD:  50.0%
• $Won:  $311
• Losers:  jagjeet (-$395.40, 52.46/24.59), BLUFFER-1010 (-$200, 41.18/17.65)
• Winners:  csquard, RoKaFeLa (+$209.35, 11.90/4.76)

I definitely had to understand and adjust to the table dynamics, and playing one table kept me much more focused on what was going on than four-tabling.  I was up late playing and decided to play HU PLO H/L SNG’s for $2 + $0.20.  I was three for three, and I could make $500 a day if I kept that record up and played 250 per day.  It was actually a good way to wind down and get to sleep, playing a game I’m pretty not-good at for very little money then realizing I’m actually an expert at it.

Anyways, I’ll try to do one of these a week if they are of interest.  They aren’t the kind of Hoy deep-dives (which are terrific), but  it was interesting for me to put down at least.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.