$2339 - The Blogger 200NL Cash Game

Well, I have scratched and clawed my way up to nearly even at 2/4 NL. I continue to crush 1/2 NL, and I am just $61 from hitting the threshold for moving up to 3/6 NL, but enough about the ladder challenge. Lets talk about the blogger $200 table.

I got my first shot at the regular blogger $200NL cash game last night on FullTilt. At the table were smokkee, lucko, MiamiDon, Weak Player, TroubleCat (Ryan), Iam23skidoo, and others jumping in and out or watching from the rail. I had to throw my table selection rules out the window for this one, but what are you going to do. It was a pretty wild table, with the pot size averaging about $120 for hours. What a great way to earn FPPs if you got some money to throw away. As usual lucko was running over the table, raising ½ his hands and playing hyper-aggressive post flop. Normally, when I see someone playing like this at a cash game, I am licking my chops. I have never seen someone play like that that I could not beat in a cash game, and I thought it was suicidal to play that way against the level of competition. With Don and Ryan on his immediate left, and weak 4 off his left, I figured they would crush him, but I watched him run his stack almost up to 1k. He did give a lot of it back later. Some of it to Ryan, who was playing great.

Suited connectors, small pairs, big pairs would have been gold, but I really did not catch much in the way of starting hands. I went over 60 hands before winning my first pot on a double barreled semi-bluff. A few hands later, I won with the hammer at showdown. Then I had to quit a little after midnight down about $50. Though card dead, I thought I played decent, but made one mistake. Just for fun, I will review the handful of hands I played if you are interested.

Raised from the cutoff to $7 with AQo, and was called by lucko. Whiffed the flop, C-bet, and folded to lucko’s check-raise. Typed “who didn’t see that coming”.

Smooth called a MP open to $7 with AKs in the cutoff. Lucko reraises to $28 from the BB, and it folds to me. I call. I miss the flop, lucko bets out $70. I fold, and lucko shows K4o, no piece of the board. The preflop call of lucko’s reraise was a mistake, though I think you could justify the just call line. I should have pooooshed instead of calling. Lucko’s raising/reraising range easially justifys the push, and it would have been great for my table image which was not very good. He would have had to fold to the reraise or look like a donkey (hopefully he would have chosen the latter). Without this one mistake, I would have been up for the session.

Called a min raise with 98s, missed the flop and folded to a flop bet.

Limped from the button with 33. Smokkee raises to $12 total. One other caller. I call. I miss the flop. Smokkee leads out for $32. We both fold. Smokkee shows JT for middle pair.

It’s now been over 60 hands and I have played just 4 and not won a pot. I limp from LP with JTs in a 3 way pot. Flop is KQx none of my suit. I lead out for $4. Just Ryan calls. Turn is a Q, and I bet $10. Ryan folds. Yeah, I won my first hand! For smokkee I offer a snippet from the hand history as proof (he never believes that I bluff, but I think it was just a standard semibluff)

Dealt to Blinders [Jc Tc]
*** FLOP *** [6h Ks Qd]
weak_player checks
Blinders bets $4
Troublecat calls $4
weak_player folds
*** TURN *** [6h Ks Qd] [Qh]
Blinders bets $10
Troublecat folds

The 2nd and only hand I won is shown below. It was classic use of the hammer!

FullTiltPoker Game #1562944871: Table Arlington Bridge - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:10:09 ET - 2007/01/09
Seat 1: sangorama ($235.50)
Seat 2: Blinders ($177.30)
Seat 3: XxMagiciaNxX ($199)
Seat 4: smokkee ($235.45)
Seat 5: lucko21 ($472.70)
Seat 6: MiamiDon ($436.15)
Seat 7: Troublecat ($502)
Seat 8: iam23skidoo ($352.65)
Seat 9: weak_player ($323.70)
Blinders posts the small blind of $1
XxMagiciaNxX posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Blinders [7s 2d]
smokkee folds
lucko21 folds
MiamiDon folds
Troublecat calls $2
iam23skidoo folds
weak_player folds
sangorama folds
Blinders calls $1
XxMagiciaNxX checks
*** FLOP *** [Kh 2s Jd]
Blinders checks

Need to slowplay my monster

XxMagiciaNxX checks
Troublecat checks
*** TURN *** [Kh 2s Jd] [4s]
Blinders bets $2

Time to min bet for value

XxMagiciaNxX folds
Troublecat calls $2
*** RIVER *** [Kh 2s Jd 4s] [6c]
Blinders bets $2

If a min bet can't take it down on the turn, you MUST min bet the river

Troublecat: this is a courtesy call
Troublecat calls $2
weak_player: fawker
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Blinders shows [7s 2d] (a pair of Twos)
weak_player: lol
Troublecat mucks
Blinders wins the pot ($13.30) with a pair of Twos
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $14 Rake $0.70
Board: [Kh 2s Jd 4s 6c]
Seat 2: Blinders (small blind) showed [7s 2d] and won ($13.30) with a pair of Twos
Seat 3: XxMagiciaNxX (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 7: Troublecat mucked [As 8s] - Ace King high