I have become an internet player!!!

Well it's ironic, since I always was an internet player...but yes, that's what I have become lately.

Let me explain myself.
It was Kirk Morrison on ESPN who said, that "internet players are all pre-flop, all they want to do is pre-flop, pre-flop, pre-flop." and I believe that statement is really true. Many players online like to push all-in before the flop and I am not sure of the reason why. Maybe they are afraid to c-bet or just that their monster hand will miss the flop completely.
Another reason that I read in a article is that it is so easy to click on the "all-in" button than to push real chips in the pot that shoving has basically become the same thing as a single bet.

Well lately I realized that I have been doing the same thing, a lot...

I two-tabled SNGs yesterday and lost both, pretty much in the same fashion.
On the first one I had a below average stack, but still good enough to wait for hands with blinds at 25/50. 3 players limped in front with me in the button, and I picked up AQo.
For some obscure reason I just decided to shove with a decent-sized pot ($250+) and possibly some fold-equity.

Well as you can guess, that didn't work and the BB insta-called me with JJ and I lost the race.
Why didn't I just raise 3-4xBB and wait for the flop? Maybe an A,K, or Q would have hit and and then I could have won the pot right there or just let it go.

On the second SNG, we were on the bubble and I was the short stack with an M of 10-15, can't exactly remember. Anyways, with 2 limpers, I shoved KQo and got called by 66. I did hit the flop but he also hit trips to send me home.
I guess I can defend myself by saying that I was the short stack in both cases and I was flipping to survive. Had I won one flip, maybe I could have cashed, but I just didn't.

I am just wondering why I tend to gamble more recently while I used to be a tight player that was able to limp with AQo in position with limpers?
Next time I will just opt for a raise and c-bet/fold the flop depending on what comes up.
I really think that the texture of the board will offer me more fold-equity than one might believe.

Also, in the same fashion that it is really easy for an internet player to shove, it is just as easy for him to call, and that is why shoving preflop is really a bad idea. Players won't give you respect and will call you with anything remotely decent. Basically, why shove preflop when there is more than 50% chance that you will be flipping or even worse?

till text time.

ronee

Turbos on FTP

Man, I always hated Full Tilt's Turbo SNGs, just because they go so fast.
Basically, regular SNGs on FTP are like Turbos on Stars, and I guess Tubos on FTPs are like.....super Turbos?

Anyways, I hadn't played in a while so I fired up an 18-man Turbo SNG on FTP while watching Nouvelle Star on TV.
I promised myself I would only multi-table when playing SNGs but my laptop's screen is too smallish for that. I'll try to six-table again very soon on my 22".

Blinds go up so fast in FTP Turbos that if you don't catch cards, it's pretty much over.
Luckily for me, I did and had quite a rush to the top on the bubble.
At one point I was towering over everybody else with 11k compared to 3k for the others. After a couple of eliminitations, the guy second in chips (now 6k) started getting aggressive in position. He raised my blinds to 900 (blinds 150/300) maybe 3 out of 4 times and I couldn't wait to catch a hand.

So I look down at 99 (yay) and I pray for him to raise my SB, and of course he does!
I push so fast and he insta-calls....UPS!
He showed me the worst possible hand, 1010 argghh. Of course he flops another 10 for good measure and I go down to 3rd in chips ITM. From there on I am forced to gamble and shove AQ vs KJ...I do flop the Q, but the 9 on the turn gives him a straight to bust me in 3rd.

In retrospect I am very happy with my play. Considering I shoved KK preflop vs a short stack right before my 99 hand, I was expecting some respect but obviously didn't get it.
Ah well, I ran very well, catching a set, flopping two pairs. I would have loved to win that but that shows you again that it only takes one hand.

Copag vs KEM vs Tahiti

Ok so I live in Tahiti, let's get that out of the way right now.

For live play (which I don't play much at all) I bought 2 sets (2 decks each) of cards from the best plastic cards brands, namely Copag and KEM.
If you want to know, Copag was the official card of the 2006 WSOP and KEM (now owned by Bicycle) the official card of the 2007 WSOP.

So I got the red/blue decks from Copag maybe 2 years ago, and they have been great. The only thing I didn't like was the design of the face cards, also the size of the index is bigger than most, meaning bold. So when I squeeze my cards, well, it doesn't look good to me. Yeah i'm nitty like that.

I also got the gold/black KEM cards not so long ago and I like them. The desin is good, the indexes are thin (yay) and the colors vibrant. Only thing is they tend to bend a little when they are squeezed, so you have to bend them back from time to time.

So what's the point with Tahiti???
Well this freaking humid weather is messing up my cards!
Couple of weeks after I bought my Copags, for some reason the blue deck (and only this one) showed blue marks on the front of the cards. Then I realized the back ink was sort of bleeding through the card and it looks really ugly. Which is weird since both deck of cards were staying in the same original box.

As for the KEM, only 2 weeks after I bought them, the deck I used showed multiple wrinkles all over the cards (front and back), while the other deck still wrapped in plastic was fine.

I mean WTF!?!? I think the weather is completely messing up plastic cards, and it sucks. All of the decks were staying in my drawer, and I barely play with them.
And after playing with those, I can't bring myself to playing with regular paper cards, since they are so hard to shuffle and get damaged after barely one game anyways.
Plastic cards cost so much online with shipping it hurts. Now I have two decks of cards (one KEM, one Copag) and I'm trying to figure out a way to make them last...

And to think they are supposed to last a lifetime... Humidity is a bitch.

ronee

First!!!

Well,

just like most idiots who post on forums, i'm screaming out "First!" for the first post of a discussion.
I always found it to be a stupid things to do, but hey, it's my blog so...

Why am I doing a poker blog?
Not many reasons to do it since I mostly play micro-stakes and it probably won't interest you. But these past weeks/months, I haven't been able to play that much (due to work, sports, tight schedule, among other things). As a result, I haven't been able to practice and my game has suffered.

Maybe by doing this blog I'll be dedicated to putting in more hands, and hopefully the feedback that I'll get on my play will help me as well (get ready for the bustout hands in 4, 3, 2, 1,...)

ronee