4/29/06

Had some time to kill before going to a party so we trekked back to the underground SNG place I usually go to and it pretty quiet, but we did manage to get an 11-player game going. I was sitting in seat 1 which is really not good, with respect to serving BBS but its more the position of the button that anything else.

It was a quiet game from the start with me not hitting flops, much and sometimes not at all. Given that unpaired hole cards pair up with the flop 30% of the time, I was thinking there will be a late rush coming, I would just be patient to wait for the Wahoo. We'll it was tough but I did manage to get bad beat myself with a premium AQs when KJs came and flopped a flush draw and proceed to get it on the turn. But in the middle part of the game, I am getting more premium hands and most of the players are not giving me credit. With AKs and raising 3xBB with one caller, I flop Broadway and I go all-in. My opponent agonizes with this decision and decided to call with his two pair, QJo and didn't improved, doubling me up in the process.
BBS-effect Served

Analysis - My reputation of playing BBS works to my advantage when I get a premium hand and flop the nuts. Getting any AK only happens 1.2% of the time and the board is sequenced only 3.5% of the time which was very spot on for my purposes. Preflop I was a 2-1 favorite, which is something new for me, and a little more than a 4-1 favorite after flopping the nut straight, which I should have slow played but I was really short stacked at the time, so I had no such luxury.

The end came with three players left and me staring down at pocket threes and not liking my chaces. I raise my BB to a little short of a full 3xBB raise with a caller. He had overcards which was a race situation with me a slight favorite. I cringe at the possibility, but with him flopping a pair with his hole cards, it was all he needed to bust me out, in the money.

Game Result - 660
Running Total - 660

Resting on sunday with my regular poker game on a holiday monday.

4/28/06

I tried a different approach this night at the same underground SNG place I went the night before. I wanted to see if what would happen if I played ALL the low hole cards that I got dealt. Very risky but I wanted to test this. Also another thing I wanted to try out was Hi-lo cards, which I think is more risky to play than BBS, because you are encroaching more into the Premium hand territory.

First game I played, I get my money in with really low hole cards and I was not hitting the flop much if at all actually. I look down at T5o and was facing a 2xBB raise from a player on my right. I call and since I was the first to act, I did my "check blind" thing and was awarded with a J-T-5 flop. But with my opponent checking, the turn was free and it was an 8. I bet 250 and my opponent raised it to 750 which I called. and with a 6 on the river, I checked and my opponent as well. I flipped up my hole cards and I got beat by T8o.
BBS Denied

Analysis - My check blind routine preflop, which was money for me recently, became my undoing this hand. Preflop I was 33/66 dog, what else is new but postflop I was ahead 75/25. After the turn, I was severely behind 8/92 and that's all she wrote. If I didn't check blind, I could have moved all in, which would have forced my opponent to look really hard at his hand, which was at that point, mid pair low kicker.

Same game, I look down at 74o and I raised 3xBB. I got only one caller and with the flop J-7-2 I check and my opponent check. I didn't really take good notes on this hand but the board ended with 2-10 and my opponent checking to me and I made a value bet of 250, which he called. I turned over my cards and he turned over pocket threes. That actually caught me by surprise because of the cards there on the board. He couldn't beat anything on the board, even the two because if I had a two that would have given me trips. Maybe just a stuborn player.
BBS Served

Analysis - So preflop it was a classic race situation with a pair vs. over cards, that was fine. But after the flop I was 92/8 favorite to win but dipped down a little after the turn, 95/5 but still commanding position.

In my last hand of that game, I looked down at 34o and called a 600 bet which was 3xBB at the time. A-K-2 came on the flop which gave me an inside straight draw (not really open ended cause if it was, then I would have made my straight already). Both of us check but I decided to push all-in after another 2 came out on the turn. My opponent quickly called and he turned over pocket nines. Somehow I still liked my chances at that point but I lost when a 6 came out on the river.
BBS Denied

Analysis - Preflop I was a dominated dog 16/84, which is a tough hole to come out of, but having live cards usually helps and with the flop, I clawed back, albeit a little, now with 19% chance to win at that point. With the two coming out on the turn, I was pretty much drawing dead with only 9% chance to win or about 4 outs.

Game Result - (400)
Running Total - 600

After that we played another short handed game with a bigger buy-in. I manage to serve a BBS to a player with pocket sevens with me holding 36o but in my last hand, I was semi-short stack looking down at 26o waiting for the action to come to me and Lo and behold, one player goes all-in with another player calling. I covered the player calling but the person who was the primary all-in player covered both of us. I called and the original all-in player opened Pocket Queens and the caller opened AKo. The flop all gave us a piece of the action coming 2-K-Q but with the pocket Queens becoming a set it was pretty much a done deal. A case ten came on the turn sending us underdogs deeper in the hole and pretty much drawing dead. A six came on the river only to tease me of what could have been. If I had only Big Slick to contend with I would have served a BBS but not this time.
BBS Denied

Analysis - I was totally deep in the hole with only 13% chance to win the game preflop with the pocket queens ahead 49% and Big Slick with 38%. Post flop the Queens were ahead, 94% chance to win from there while I had the dreaded <1% chance to win. Overcards are ok to challenge but Overpairs seems to hard to serve a BBS to, we'll keep trying and post results either way. Game

Result - (600)
Running Total - Even

BBS Sidebar - I have been keeping a very nice leather notebook to record my BBS servings recently and after one incident, while I was writing my entry, a player on the other side of the table asks what I was doing, and I said that I was keeping track of my Bad Beats. This seemed to triggered a chorus of "Dear Diary" from three players. I just said "Its for my blog, I put in all the players that I have dealt bad beats to," which quickly shut them up.
BBS Served - You just got F'd in the A.

4/27/06

I played at an underground SNG joint last night and played two SNG's.

In the first game, I sat in late as the game was already started and couldn't find decent position to do a BBS. Most of the flops missed me but action was very brisk in the 10-man table. We were about 5 players left and I was very short stacked with probably 12x BB left, which is not bad but still totally below average stack at that point.

I get 43o and I raised it to 300 (3xBB) and I get a raise for all my chips, I look back at my hand again and at the 43o and it looked kinda good so I called. When the player opened his KQo, I smirk and turn over my cards. The rest of the players, who've seen me play and had been served BBS by me as well, knew what I was doing. The favorite was nervous eventhough he had a 2-1 advantage preflop. It was an uneventful flop J-2-9 and I was deeper in the whole with only 25% chance of winning this hand. But when the 5 hit the table, which only increased my chances by 5% to 30% of winning the hand, the favorite now was sweating bullets. A Q showed up on the river. I got busted out.
BBS Denied

Analysis - Open ended straight draw was not bad, but a draw I haven't been getting of late and the trend continued with

Game result - (400)
Running Total (400)

In the second game, we were short handed, as compared to the previous game of 11 people. Here we were only 7 players but slightly higher stakes, thanks to yours truly. With a medium stack midway to the game, I get 82o and raise it to 500 which wasn't 3xBB but I think was close enough. Being out of position, I check in the dark for the flop which came 2-2-5. I hit the flop hard and when the player bet out 200, I raised all-in. He called, I turned over my 82o, to the surprise of my opponents (still?), and the other player flipped over KJo. The board ended up with A-3 and I busted out a player.

Analysis - I was about a 1-2 underdog preflop but was a 99% favorite post flop. BBS served.

Late in the SNG, I have a very healthy stack, a player raised it to 1600 which was an extremely high raise, given the blinds which was probably 100-200. I look down at 56c and I decide to play. I called him and decided not to check blind on the flop (have to mix it up a bit) and the flop came A-5-8. I check and my opponent bet 500, which seemed fishy after the huge over raise pre-flop, and I call. With the turn coming out a 2, I decide to represent the Ace and bet out 1000 which he quickly called. Texture was not a problem on this board and my clubs were not at all. With a 6 coming on the river, I decided to trap and checked to my opponent, who checked as well. I open up my hand and he takes a quick look at my hand and decides to muck his cards. Later he told me he had pocket tens

Analysis - I was a 22/78 underdog preflop which is usually the case with the over pair. But I think the Ace on the flop scared him a little and gave a weak feeler bet, the percentages stay the same at that point. My representing the Ace on the turn, even though I had only 12% chance of winning, might have scared him out of betting on the river.
BBS Served

Sidebar - This SNG also featured an effect of the BBS when I looked down on AQo and raised it UTG 3xBB, and with a Q coming on the flop, I went all-in. With only one player left in the hand to my left. He called quickly and I turned over my AQo and he the KQs. He said "I was hoping that you were playing low cards this time." I just smirked as I was pushing his chips into my stack after busting him out.
BBS-effect Served

I had a healthy chip lead coming into heads up but it was 3am already and I decided just to chop it with the second place guy, which only came to a 10% decrease in the prize.

Game analysis - Most of my BBS were rarely seen when they were unsuccessful which was good. But with the reputation that is going around now, they know how I play. Which only makes me more harder to read. Its all good.

Game result - 1400
Running Total - 1000

More to come

Background

I have been on this kick recently for about two to three months, where I have to deal someone a bad beat or else my poker day is not complete. If addicts get their high from their drugs, my high is dealing bad beats to people. The worse the bad beat the better the rush I get.

Example: A player on my left goes all-in and everyone folds to me and when I look down on my 43s, it kinda looked good. I had a medium sized stack at that point so I called about a third to half my stack. He turns over AKo and when I turn my 43s, all my friends laughs, cause they know already what I'm doing. I am a 60/40 underdog preflop, which is not a bad situation for me. The flop comes J-9-2 rainbow and I am deeper in the hole 70/30 and become a 90/10 dog when an A comes on the turn, but when a 5 shows up on the river, I smile and the guy shakes my hand and leaves without saying goodbye to anyone else.

I don't mean backing into a bad beat when you just limp in or check your BB, because that would mean that you got lucky, I mean coming into the flop you know that you are the underdog, might even be dominated. There is that overriding feeling that I get when I look at my hole cards and I feel that those are winners or losers. I've called all-in's with cards that I felt that were winners, even if they were 3-4 or 7-4 which I call Bad Beat Specials (BBS) and sometimes I've looked down on pocket Aces or Kings and had a bad feeling about them and sure enough they get beat. Position plays a lot into the BBS as well.

Here is my method for playing bad beats. If I feel that my hole cards are winners, I raise 3xBB regardless of the blinds in a tournament level or in the ring games in the casino. The reason being, if you are playing BBS, you have to be the only one on the table with that type of hand. If you limp in, there is a chance that the SB or the BB will be holding a similar hand that might have you beat. Raising also gives the players an impression that you have good cards, and if they have good cards as well they wil call your 3xBB raise.

If there are numerous callers to my raise, I know that my BBS in a great position. Think about it, if there are three or four callers of the 3xBB raise, chances are they got good to premium hands, crowding that side of the spectrum thus giving them less outs to work with. The BBS on the other hand has the lower end of the spectrum pretty much to itself with plenty of outs to work with.

Example: In an underground SNG, and the blinds at 300/600 I look at 64o and I raise it 3xBB, I get three callers and I feel good. Flop comes J-7-5 and everyone checks to me where I bet out 600 and the three players quickly called. A 5 comes on the turn and everyone checks, including me. With a 6 coming on the river, I bet 1800 and the next two players goes all-in with their remaining stack and the third player calls. I turn over my 64 giving me two pair and the other players are in disbelief as they turn over AK, QT and KT. I bust out two of the three players in that hand.

With unpaird hole cards, there is a 30% chance that you will make exactly one pair. Not much to work with, but that is the same percentage for ALL unpaired hole cards. So if my opponent doesn't have a wired pair, we would be working with the same percentage. Again, this fact works in the BBS' favor with multiple callers.

When the flop comes and you hit it, the BBS will be disguised in the low cards, confusing your opponents more, especially when you bet out. The chances of multiple players hitting the flop with exactly one pair with their unpaird hole cards are very small, so if you are in position and everyone checks to you, you might want to bet out. If you don't hit the flop and there is a bet in front of you, after you muck your cards, no one else will know that you were playing a BBS.

Hit the flop hard enough like two pairs or trips and go all-in, other players will not believe that they think and call. Then you have them dominated. The most exciting scenario would be that you got two pairs with your BBS and another player has high pair. If you have position on him and he leads out, you can go all-in. Reason being that with his overcards, preflop he was 60/40 ahead but with your two pair and his top pair, you become a 74/26 favorite. If a blank comes on the turn, you extend your lead 82/18, which is drawing pretty slim on the river.

Example: Late, in a multi-table tournament and the blinds at 500/1000, the player two to my right raises it to 3000. I look down at 72o, giving it some thought I called. The flop came J-7-2 and the player checks to me and I went all-in, he calls and is surprised to see my 72o and he turns over AJo, he's in bad shape and as my two pair holds up, I bust him out.

Sure, most of the time when I play BBS and I get my feeling wrong, it would affect my stack but if I don't have to show my cards the BBS would stay hidden. Sometimes I call all-in bets preflop with my BBS and I have to show my BBS, I'm not too nervous because I know I am the underdog, and its the favorite is usually sweating it out. If I'm suited and I flop a flush draw which will happen 10% of the time, not even talking about flopping a flush which happens .84% of the time. The pressure on the favorite is tremendous.

Whether I deal the bad beat or not, the players that I use the BBS on, will play me differently in the future, a little bit more weary about my pre-flop raises and makes me more hard to read. So even if I didn't deal out a bad beat, the after effects on the opponent would be still the same. Showing your BBS is also not a bad thing, because your table image is then a Loose-Aggresive Player (LAG) which gives you the advantage when you are holding a premium hand. It really pays to advertise.

I don't say that the BBS is a profitable play or that it is a correct way to play No Limit Texas Hold'em, I'm just saying its so much fun dealing someone a big hot helping of Bad Beat.