1. 2008-04-09 05:10:57

   Opening Night of the VPT

   Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. Now with the league back up I will be back posting at least once a week. Here we are back to the season that started on Saturday night, I am sporting my champion shirt. With the new rule changes in place it will be fixin for a great season.

   Steam Train from the Start

   With the blinds starting at 25/50 I was running hot. I called a minimum raise with and ended up flopping top 2 pair. After a bet on the flop I raised an extra 2,000 in the process, Chris moved all in and I beat his . Soon after I turned trips with I also flopped a set of 8's and did a Hollywood job to win a nice pot of Kalib. With those wins I was commanding chip leader after just the first 18 minutes.

   Pocket Aces

   Soon after the blinds were raised to 50/100 I pick up . I just min raised it to see what happens and I get re min raised so I pushed back with a 600 raise on top and she called. The flop brought out I bet out 700 about a 1/3 of the pot she called. The turn was a which put out a potential straight and flush draws on board. She checks I was thinking if I bet and get check raised I can't call an all in. Most of the time when women play they are tight and solid. I am thinking I could be up against a set or maybe even an 8 so I checked to save some money. The river brought out a which I thought was a meaning less card. But, I really don't have an idea what she has after she checked I thought about either a big bet or a value bet. I only bet a 1,000 to get a feel on where she is at and she pushes all in for 5,800 more. If I called and lost I would been left with just under 2,000 after she pushed I was pretty much convinced that I was for sure beat by a set. I ended up folding in disappointment I have no idea why I didn't take the lead on either the turn or pre flop. That should be a lesson learned to not screw around and trying to get the most chips out of her at the end. I should of just got what I could out of the hand.

   Bad Luck

   After that disaster I pushed all in on a couple of hands with no callers I was close to the chip lead. I picked up and made it 1,000 to go with the blinds at 200/400 Kalib out of the big blind calls the flop brought out I bet out 700 Kalib thinks about it for a moment and re raises all in about 4,000 more I called pretty quickly. He shows catches the giving him the lead with 2 pair but it gave me straight flush draws then missed on the river. Soon after I was knocked out in 4th place.

   Food for Thought

   Looking back on the night I felt like I made a good lay down with Aces. But, I shouldn't of put myself in that situation to begin with. I should of taken control of the hand on the flop but you live and learn best to give it a try next week and see what happens. Until next time play well and may your pots be monster.

   Posted by Nick L at 2008-04-09 05:10:57

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Comments on “Opening Night of the VPT”

1. • Posted by Jason M g 2008-04-10 18:56:56
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   • Word. For those not in the now, SPR = stack to pot ratio. Check out Professional No Limit Hold'em Volume 1 for more info.

     Captcha: J437 is not a good Omaha hand :(

2. • Posted by K (unverified) g 2008-04-10 03:26:07
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   • Yeah pretty much two pair or better unless an ace flop .

     I don't think this is that helpful anyway.
     This is a crude way of teaching beginners.
     Of course stack sizes matter and the flop texture matters.
     SPR is more useful I think.

3. • Posted by Jason M g 2008-04-10 00:17:32
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   • The hand is a beating. I suffered some pretty major suckouts in a recent game, too. Ugh. That turn card must have brightened you up a bit, even though it did ultimately spell disaster.

     As for the pocket aces - just check behind on the river. Or call :) Her story doesn't seem to add up, unless she turned a straight and put you on rivering top pair. And she would have to be playing a weird 8 or pocket 8s at that point. More likely she just thought your 1000 bet was weird and weak and decided to take the pot from you. Or maybe even she had the AK.

     And I agree that a lot of beginning female players are tight and solid, but don't let that trick you. I play with many women who are not only great players, they use that image to their extreme advantage.

     Krishna - so you are saying any time you flop two pair or better, if you go all in when stacks are deep, you'll gain a profit in the long run?

4. • Posted by Krishna g 2008-04-09 17:02:14
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   • Nice post!
     Too bad your chip lead did not hold up but that the way these tournaments go.

     I read some interesting thing about AA.
     No limit cash game (deep stack say 100BB)
     If you can beat AA with your hand on the flop, you can push every time and expect to gain profit in the long run.