Texas Calculatem and Poker Office Blog

Juice is swimming with the fishes. SF% represents the percentage of flops that players see. 30% is the recommended level. And many players are seeing over 50% of flops!

I am taking a short break from Poker.



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Just had the most boring Poker session ever.

Juice was practising his Chinese and uninterested in chatting or telling me about the hot blonde 16 year old in his class.

The table was tight/passive and lacked banter.

I didn't hit anything and was folding all evening.

I ended up down $0.89.

Dull Dull Dull.




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As expected returns are more volatile at $0.25/$0.50, but I'm still managing to hold my own.

Juice is drunk and struggling with poor cards. He also seems to be more interested in chatting up a player going by the name of MissFit. MissFit appears to be up for Juice's banter but is struggling with the cards as well.

Overall the table is a bit tight and hard to beat. I was $17 up at one stage but due to poor cards (and more importantly) loose play this dwindled to a $12 gain. I also folded a great KJo to MissFit's raise pre-flop. I miss read SSHE. And should have played anyway as I would normally play such a hand to a raise from late position. Doh!


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_Kronsdat has just started his own Poker Blog. Like myself, he started off with a small stake, had strong initial returns, and then took a big hit. He is now studying diligently and his returns are improving.


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I've just checked my stats for the month, and it appears that all you Texas Calculatem users are buying it instead of claiming the free offer. Don't forget that you can get it free if you open up new accounts with Paradise Poker or Bodog casino.

Click here for more information.

Took a $12 loss at $0.25/$0.50 at Ladbrokes Poker. It's the biggest losing session since stepping up the stakes.

I wouldn't say I was cocky. Though I was a bit too loose at the beginning, I kept tight, but none of the hands I played hit anything that held. And the table was quite tight and aggressive which made my mistakes more punishing. I probably should have waited for a looser and more passive table, but if I never stick around at the tougher places I won't improve my game.


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Hey Kronsdat,

Thanks for posting the comment. It appears that you've had quite a roller coaster ride, which in many ways is similar to my experience. Like other novices I had beginners luck and had some big early wins. But that soon turned to losses. I managed to scale back my size before losing everything, and have been studying and grinding away at the lower limits ever since.

Regarding pre-flop play, I've been using a discretionary yet tight strategy lately. I see how many players have acted, examine what I have, and then decide whether or not I think it's worth a punt. Quite often, if I'm in late position and everyone has folded to me, I'll try raising with any Ace, in the aim of either spiking an ace or stealing the blinds. Poker Office still tells me that I'm tight pre-flop (around 30% flops seen).

Good luck at the tables, and I hope your new school is going well.

The Edge.


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I had another good session at $0.25/$0.50 at Ladbrokes Poker. I guess I was just lucky and managed to keep out of other peoples' way. Juice got decimated by a Royal Flush, but managed to escape the session with only a small loss.

Met another strange player by the alias of Hotshot65 who just raised every hand before leaving after going bust.


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I moved to $0.25/$0.50 at Royal Vegas and was up over $10 this evening. Good stuff. All the hours I've been putting in have paid off.

This blog is getting messy and I've had lots of feedback regarding my Texas Calculatem tutorial, so I've installed a forum where readers can discuss strategies and help each other out.

The only post at time of writing is a brief analysis of Juice, complete with Poker Office statistics.

Please feel free to post on the new forum, and post any question that you may have regarding Poker.



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Met an interesting player by the name of Quittenton today. He claims to have been playing for only a week, but has a Saw Flop percentage of 40% which is low in comparison to the opposition. He also won over $10, though the significance of this is fairly low due to my small data size.

_Kronsdat is openning his new school tomorrow and had to take an early night. Let's wish him luck in his new venture.

My P&L has just broken $260 again. I can't wait to move back to $0.25/$0.50. I already have the skills but want to make the move with Juice, who is in America drinking Jack Daniels this weekend.


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My aggressive river play has not been paying the bills lately. If I bet on the flop and turn, with no signs of strength, I usually bet on the river. But sometimes this can lead to check raises if the river completes a hand or is an overcard. The fish like to chase, and I guess my feeble bets probably give people the odds for their flush and straight chasing.

So in the future I'll try to be less aggressive if the 5th card could hurt me.


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I feel like a tortoise. My Poker bankroll is gradually creeping back upwards. But I doubt I'll step up the levels until Juice is ready as well. He's off in America this weekend to drink Jack Daniels, so I just had a short session on my lonesome self.

Two tabling, I found that both tables were fairly loose and passive, but with 1 or two aggressive players. Poker Office told me that the opposition was full of players seeing well over 50% of flops. It was therefore a case waiting for the cards.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm less afraid to bet, raise and re-raise these days. This hurts when I lose, but maximise gains. For example, I hit a straight draw on a rainbow flop. 5 opponents were waiting to act after me. I was 4.875:1 to hit my straight so I bet. And re-raised a raise when all 5 players had decided to join in. I ended up losing that hand. But I still feel that it was a profitable play.

In terms for software, I've been using more of Poker Office. It can tell me if my opponents are fish, and I've decided that the Piranha phenomenon must just be a streak of luck. Every dog has its day, afterall.

Anyway, I feel that my discipline has also tightenned up. So if I stay on track, maybe I'll get somewhere with the poker afterall.

Good luck,

The Edge.


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From my $1.57 remaining at Pacific Poker, I put $1.50 into a 5 player and came second. That returned my $1.50 entry fee.

However, I was thinking, that if you bothered to take them seriously you could make a fairly good living at these tournies. The low levels shouldn't be too hard to beat. And if you win a few an hour you'd be past minimum wage.


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I had a good session at Ladbrokes Poker, which made up for yesterday's debacles.

One mistake I made, though, was folding a 12 BB pot when there was a 4 straight on the board. I had 2 pair. The other two players had shown weakness, and so, despite being last to act, I folded a strong two pair. Doh!

Early on in the session the table was short handed. I therefore did some pot steals. This isn't really possible with many players as a) someone will get odds to call and b) lots of loose players suggest that someone will call. However, if there are few players, and the pot's only 2 or 3 blinds, if you bet from the button then the opponents will get poor odds. But that isn't always very safe if you're very weak as betting into a 3 blind pot will give the opposition 4/1 odds. So if that's the case it can be better to wait until the turn. If the card looks like a blank, and the pot has 3 small blinds, then a bet will face the opposition with a 2.5/1 pot odds call.


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I saw a player, bigbournie, raise all the way on every street for every hand for about 30 minutes. He said he needed to clear out his account and make a new deposit with a new card, but no one believed him. And he kept on winning even though he'd fold on the river when he said he would (people would check to him and his hand would win).

Seeing the red mist, I gave that a go on another table. However, it was full of loose fish. 5 or 6 players would match each of my pre-flop raises. And with that much opposition, there wasn't much my 23o could do. As a result, I took quite a kicking.

My P&L has taken a turn for the worse, and Poker Office shows that Juice is bringing in the cash twice as quickly as me. Oh dear.

I should start using my software tools again.


Resources:

-
LADBROKES POKER

Won another tourney at Pacific Poker. So I'm back to where I was a few days ago. What a waste of time. One of the players was raising a lot and buying hands. So I did some all ins to put him in his place. That scared him off. The rest of it was just luck.

Juice noticed that Small Stakes Hold'Em has made him too loose. It did that to me as well. But his bankroll chart is still very stready. It just goes to show how psychologically challenging Poker is. Even when you're winning it can feel as if you're losing.


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I think I'm becoming too cocky. I was playing at Ladbrokes with Juice, _Kronsdat and a load of fish. I raised KJs pre-flop and the flop came out Kxx. I was on the button, and ended up betting every street. The river was a 9. And a fish in late position bet. I'd auto checked bet/raise. But should have only cally. The fish showed 3 of a kind 9's. He had pocket 9's. And I immediately put FISH in the chat. I probably shouldn't have as it was rude and tapping the aquarium is not good. He need around 24/1 odds to make his draws profitable, and can't have been getting more than 8/1 on the turn...

I've redone my P&L to only include the period starting from where I dropped down a level to join Juice in his education. It looks much more impressive!

Sushi for me!


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As expected, I got a poor response from Pacific Poker. I am glad that I have not made any deposits my least favourite Poker Room, though I have wasted far too much time there.

If you'd like to play at a Poker room full of tilting players, please click here.

Here is Pacific Poker's reponse:

Thank you for contacting Pacific Poker.

Edge, I have studied the game in question and am able to inform you
that you did not suffer a disconnection. Edge, as the Tournament you
entered was one of our absolutely fast games, your response time has to
be a lot faster. If your operating system is experiencing a lag then you
will not be able to keep up with the speed of the game and the software
will auto sit you out and fold you.

If you wish to participate in these Tournaments again, then may I
suggest you delete your temporary Internet files in order to increase
the operating speed of your system. To do this, click on the Internet
icon, Tools, Internet options and then choose, "delete files"

If you require further assistance in this or any other matter, please
feel free to contact us. We are here for you 24 hrs a day, everyday.

Kind regards,

Pacific Poker.

Rusty2309 has been handing out the abuse at Ladbrokes Poker, Kensal Green tonight. Not too sure why, as the session was fairly quiet, and neither Juice nor myself were being particularly cocky. He even started enquiring as to my nationality, but after the torrent of racist abuse I got from tigernation I declined to answer.

In terms of playing, Rusty2309 has seen 88.2% of the flop over 17 hands. It's a tiny sample, but hints at good things to come.


CLICK HERE TO GO FISHING AT LADBROKES POKER

I really can't believe how poor Pacific Poker is. Yet again it has let me down.

I was 2nd on a 5 man tourney. Only two people left.

Hit a full house on the river. Was about to raise when the software seized up. The software therefore folded my hand. Turned on sit out next hand. So I folded a few before I knew what was happening!

I'm going to write a complaint to support!

Was about to

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Was fishing with Juice last night. Not really having a good session.

From Small Blind I had AJo. Only one late caller. Dealer folds. I raise. Juice, the big blind, folds. So it's me and the caller, who calls. I have a quick look at Poker Office, which shows me that this guy has 97% saw flop percentage. I was on semi-tilt and therefore announced to the table "I'm raising all the way!". The flop was Jxx. I bet, he called. The turn was another rage. I bet he called. The river was an Ace. Was he an Ace chaser? Who knows. But I wasn't going back on my word so I bet. He called. I took the pot.

This aggressively strategy is similar to what I've been using in the NL sit and go tourneys. When you have a loose and isolated opponent (use Poker Office to identify them) you can often keep betting with marginal hands. However, in NL you also have to be wary if they come back at you and re-raise.


CLICK HERE TO GO FISHING AT LADBROKES POKER

Juice,

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Click here to sign up.

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luke7swin called me a tit at Kensal Green. I raised pre-flop with KQs from the button. I missed a low ragged flop that had a pair. No one bet until the river when luke7swin bet. He had nothing on me. So I raised. 3 callers. I therefore won with my two pair.

luke7swin proceeded to call me a tit for river chasing. Despite the fact that no one bet to push me off the hand, luke7swin seeemed to think that I was a river chaser and gave me abuse for it. What a fucking twat. Can I say that? Hmmm... Depends on whether or not my affiliates take exception to foul language so I'll leave it there.


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I don't know why I keep coming back for more. Maybe it's because they gave me $10 six months ago and I haven't managed to lose it all yet.

Having absolutely no discipline, I sat down at a 5 player tourney, hoping to kill some time. But for some reason I didn't look at the game and it turned out to be fixed limit rather than no limit! Arggghhh!!! How was I supposed to do the 4 big blind raise on that table? Anyway, I got lucky and came first, winning $6.25 - which is a $3.25 profit!

Anyway, if you want to find out for yourself how great Pacific Poker is, try
clicking here.

Don't bother playing at Pacific Poker. It's so crap. I had a few minutes to kill and sat down at a $2.50 10 player NL sit and go tournament. I came first and won $10. Big win.

However, I feel no satisfaction from the win, as it was very dull and too impersonal. The chat window is an optional extra. So most people have it off and there was no interation between us.

Also, when you go all in, the usual practice with online Poker is to show all the cards and to then let the dealer do his stuff. That allows the tention to unfold. However, it all happens in a blur at Pacific Poker, and you don't get to see the loosers' cards. It's all a bit crap really.

Anyway, if you want to find out for yourself how great Pacific Poker is, try
clicking here.

Juice and myself tried Royal Vegas this morning. It was pretty uninspirational and we are up a small nominal amount. I feel that I need to respect the fish more, rather than following the shoal and betting with nothing.

Texas Calculatem have changed their free offer. You can now get Texas Calculatem for free by opening up a new account with either Bodog or Paradise poker.

Before trying it out, remember that Texas Calculatem performs best when the fish are loose and passive.

I feel that Juice's reputation is having an adverse affect on my play. The other players now recognise us and even fish will fold to our bet/raises. My last session was on Wednesday. One of Juice's favourite fish was there. Can't remember his name, but he said that he had notes on me, and I don't think he was a studious student of the game as his SF% was 76%!

As a result, I will be at Royal Vegas Poker this weekend, where the fish will be blind to our sharking.

Please feel free to join us. We will start off at the 5c/10c tables and you can get a free $10 for signing up for a new account. I will be using Poker Office to identify the fish and may try multi tabling Texas Calculatem.

Click here to sign up with Royal Vegas Poker and get a free $10.