Pro Poker School

I have been playing in alot of freerolls as of late to get back into the swing of things before i put money into account's. I find it better for me at this time because if i lose i dont worry about losing money,however i play as if i have something invested in it so that i dont just play anything.

I finally got the problem fixed with Fulltilt so i went into one of the face the ace turbos to see just what kind of people are playing in them and how the play is.

I have 2 hands to show from the turbo then from the freeroll i was waiting on when i went into this and on both i would like to know if i made the right calls or if i should have handled it differently or not been in it at all.

Full Tilt Poker Game #13888783063: .NET Face the Ace - Round 1 (102428886), Table 10 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:17:44 ET - 2009/08/08
Seat 1: barkistra (6,750)
Seat 2: antonio_pg (3,355)
Seat 3: bullshipbull (985)
Seat 4: 00AcesWild00 (2,360)
Seat 5: Tatersgpaw (6,190)
Seat 6: CologneFreek (930)
Seat 7: predator21 (3,175)
Seat 8: sorrowsflush (2,600)
Seat 9: mcnumr (2,465)
CologneFreek posts the small blind of 30
predator21 posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to sorrowsflush [2h Ah]
sorrowsflush calls 60
barkistra has been disconnected
mcnumr has 15 seconds left to act
mcnumr calls 60
barkistra calls 60
barkistra has reconnected
antonio_pg calls 60
bullshipbull raises to 985, and is all in
00AcesWild00 calls 985
Tatersgpaw folds
CologneFreek calls 900, and is all in
predator21 folds
sorrowsflush calls 925
mcnumr calls 925
barkistra calls 925
antonio_pg folds
*** FLOP *** [5s As 2d]
sorrowsflush bets 60
mcnumr calls 60
barkistra raises to 120
00AcesWild00 calls 120
sorrowsflush raises to 1,615, and is all in
mcnumr folds
barkistra calls 1,495
00AcesWild00 calls 1,255, and is all in
sorrowsflush shows [2h Ah]
barkistra shows [Kc Ac]
bullshipbull shows [6d Qd]
00AcesWild00 shows [7h 5h]
CologneFreek shows [Td Ad]
*** TURN *** [5s As 2d] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [5s As 2d 6c] [Jd]
sorrowsflush shows two pair, Aces and Twos
barkistra shows a pair of Aces
sorrowsflush wins side pot #3 (480) with two pair, Aces and Twos
00AcesWild00 shows a pair of Fives
sorrowsflush wins side pot #2 (4,185) with two pair, Aces and Twos
bullshipbull shows a pair of Sixes
sorrowsflush wins side pot #1 (275) with two pair, Aces and Twos
CologneFreek shows a pair of Aces
sorrowsflush wins the main pot (5,700) with two pair, Aces and Twos
CologneFreek stands up
bullshipbull stands up
00AcesWild00 stands up
poker-face 0312 sits down
poker-face 0312 adds 2,565
branch1 sits down
branch1 adds 1,440
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 10,640 Main pot 5,700. Side pot 1 275. Side pot 2 4,185. Side pot 3 480. | Rake 0
Board: [5s As 2d 6c Jd]
Seat 1: barkistra showed [Kc Ac] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 2: antonio_pg folded before the Flop
Seat 3: bullshipbull showed [6d Qd] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 4: 00AcesWild00 showed [7h 5h] and lost with a pair of Fives
Seat 5: Tatersgpaw (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: CologneFreek (small blind) showed [Td Ad] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 7: predator21 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: sorrowsflush showed [2h Ah] and won (10,640) with two pair, Aces and Twos
Seat 9: mcnumr folded on the Flop

Now prior to this hand i had been getting nothing worth playing so i spent time watching the room and how they were betting and what they had at the end of each hand. I played this hand mainly because the a2 were suited i rarely play an ace with anything lower then 10 unless it is suited. I had both the 2 with the aces in there hand to have them by how they played simular hand with an ace in there hand.

When the flop came and i seen the ace 2 i just bet min due to there being a 5 as well and alot of people in freerolls i have seen will play ace anything just for the ace. So when i was reraised i had him on the ace but nothing with it showing on the board as previous hands i had seen him in with aces if he paired his hand he bet big,as with the other guy. So by the time it got back to me i had him and the other both placed with having an ace but only the ace and i had my hand already paired on the board.

So my question on this one is did i make the right call and play or should i have played it differently? I am well aware that i could have easily been beaten on the turn or the river but with the possible flush on board and placing 2 of them on having an ace but not a pair that i had better odds plus if someone was in chasing the flush i was going to make sure it came at a price. I did win the hand however winning it doesn't actually mean i made the right call and desicion which is why i am asking here.

This other one is from the freeroll i was in.

Full Tilt Poker Game #13890373525: $100 Freeroll (102299428), Table 258 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:03:14 ET - 2009/08/08
Seat 1: coco06 (3,853)
Seat 2: athlete2scp (1,951)
Seat 3: agressive_style (605)
Seat 4: sorrowsflush (2,150)
Seat 5: BUZZBOB (1,370), is sitting out
Seat 6: Gracie469 (2,440)
Seat 7: blueboys09 (4,183)
Seat 8: cookieMonsteeer (1,320), is sitting out
Seat 9: Mister_Makaveli (1,330), is sitting out
Mister_Makaveli posts the small blind of 25
coco06 posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to sorrowsflush [Ac Jc]
Gracie469: good
athlete2scp raises to 1,951, and is all in
agressive_style folds
sorrowsflush calls 1,951
BUZZBOB folds
Gracie469 folds
blueboys09 folds
cookieMonsteeer folds
Mister_Makaveli folds
coco06 folds
athlete2scp shows [Ts 2h]
sorrowsflush shows [Ac Jc]
*** FLOP *** [5c Td Tc]
*** TURN *** [5c Td Tc] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [5c Td Tc Ad] [Qh]
athlete2scp shows three of a kind, Tens
sorrowsflush shows two pair, Aces and Tens
athlete2scp wins the pot (3,977) with three of a kind, Tens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,977 | Rake 0
Board: [5c Td Tc Ad Qh]
Seat 1: coco06 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: athlete2scp showed [Ts 2h] and won (3,977) with three of a kind, Tens
Seat 3: agressive_style didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: sorrowsflush showed [Ac Jc] and lost with two pair, Aces and Tens
Seat 5: BUZZBOB didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Gracie469 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: blueboys09 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: cookieMonsteeer (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: Mister_Makaveli (small blind) folded before the Flop

On this on i had AJ suited and AJ is one of the hands i like to play alot and suited made it better for me. Now the guy who went all in was on tilt due to my pocket 7s earlier beating his A10 suited,and the previous hand he had gone all in with a 2 5 os and won with it. So he goes all in and knowing he is on tilt and having AJ suited i call and as you see lost the hand. And as it was a turbo was knocked out soon after.

Poker is poker and hand your dealth no matter how good or bad can be a winner i have seen it many time's and accept it as such. What i would like to know is knowing he was was on tilt and having the hand i had if i made the right call.

And input would be very helpful and thank's in advance.

I think I play tighter than most players, but with that being said, generally under the gun there are only few hands I would play (AA,KK,QQ,AK,AQ), but in a game like this you can add a few more hands in there. I wouldn't play A2 or ace rag of any type from this position however, because you most likely have the worst hand and you still have to deal with being out of position. Also, when someone raises, even a standard size raise, your hand cant take that kind of pressure. You did win, but notice that one of the other hands that called as AK, which puts you in really bad shape most of the time. In that spot you will be dominated a lot, which is why folding pre flop is the best idea. A hand being suited only makes it around 2% (or less im not sure) better than if it had been unsuited.

As for the AJs hand, generally I would fold that hand there because the blinds are so low that when someone open shoves all in I would immeadiatly think they either have a pair already or a hand like AK or AQ at the minimum, BUT you did pick up on his play and adjusted. Knowing he was putting it all in with 52o certainly would make this an easy call. But when you see a player that you know nothing about make that same play, I would advise that you fold it most of the time.

Good post, what does everyone else think?

Thank's for the input i usually don't play many hands but in turbos if you sit around waiting to long your knocked out by blind's so i switch to fit the situation.

in the tournament im in now here are my stats

Statistics for 46 Hands
Street Saw Saw/Total
Flop 8 17%
Turn 4 9%
River 4 9%
Showdown 4 9%
Street Won Won/Saw Won/Total
Pre-flop 0 0% 0%
Flop 0 0% 0%
Turn 0 0% 0%
River 0 0% 0%
Showdown 3 75% 7%

Lost one hand with pocket 10s though i had the straight but read it wrong,which is why never play poker when tired.

In both hands you had 43 BBs. The first hand being UTG I would just let it go. You could have been tuned into the table dynamics better so you would have known if they limped around alot. A Duece suited just cannot take any heat. The blinds were still small and you still had some time to make moves. After seeing that flop I would have bet the flop alittle bit more. Like 60 or 70 percent of the pot. Seems they were just waiting to get it in. NH. Be careful of the suited hands they can be difficult on your stack.


Hand 2. You went with your read on THAT player. There were still 6 players left in the hand. I would just let that one go and wait a bit more for a better spot. You did have him beaten pre but it was like a 60% 40% type hand. Just to see some of the percentages on hands check out pokerstove. You can enter hand ranges and your hand to see equity you have in the hand.


Good luck
Wyldeyed

I am running somewhat short on time so cannot go into long explaination but will say I don't believe you should be in any of those hands. 2nd hand risking most of your chips when you have to think strong possibility your 60% best case scenerio. I dont even want to visit the first hand because you were HUGE dog and donked a win. Ace blank suited is weak, remember 1-20 hands you will get your flush...better chance is your out kicked and should fold. If you can see a cheap flop and have decent position maybe you give it a shot. But what seperates the players from the donks is knowing not to risk all or most their chips when they are bad....and if you end up chasing 5-20% draws your going to lose more then you win. (Unless your playing against me, and thats just because God hates me and what would normally be a 20% vs me goes to 60%)

Thanks for the input it has helped me alot on the tables.

I have to go with the majority here. I don't feel good about playing any limping type of hand UTG. Obviously, there is too much of a chance a raiser or two could be behind you. I would never go against someone elses strategies, espeacially if they work for them. However, my turbo strategy is a bit different. I am super tight at the beginning. My theory is, if you are loose at the beginning, and not playing quality hands, you are actually risking a large portion of your chips on what is generally a small pot. It works good for me sticking to this thinking at the beginning, and opening up my range of hands later. It also builds a tight table image, and when the blinds go up and there is a healthy pot, you can pounce and usually get more respect for a premium hand. Just a thought. Freerolls are alltogether different. When everyone else is playing bingo and just getting it all in with just about anything, tighten up, and stick them when you have a big favorite.

I do not understand Turbo MTT's or why people want to play them aside from they are about to start. The game turns into an all in preflop war and is usually 99% luck. In MTTs you generally need luck to win anyway but in turbo tournements you probably need to win multiple coin flips and maybe even a few in a dominated position.