A Lesson in self-discipline
The game rules
Texas Hold'em No Limit
Buy-in 40NIS-100NIS
Blinds 0.5NIS-1.0NIS
6 Players Table, all started with 100NIS in chips.
How it started
The first hand played was very interesting and influenced the whole game. Yshay won around 180 NIS pot against 2 villains (which means around 120 NIS profit). Yshay now has more than 2 buy-ins and he can play his favorite game – "Let's see the flop!"
A few all-ins were played. Yshay played several of them and won some against the statistics. Yshay feels invincible and plays like the cards favor him. I didn't play too many games. I earned 20 NIS here, lost 10 NIS there.
3 players went broke and the 3 remaining players decided to up the blinds to 1/2 NIS. A few games afterwards, in an interesting all-in Yshay took the 3rd villain's chips.
A few all-ins were played. Yshay played several of them and won some against the statistics. Yshay feels invincible and plays like the cards favor him. I didn't play too many games. I earned 20 NIS here, lost 10 NIS there.
3 players went broke and the 3 remaining players decided to up the blinds to 1/2 NIS. A few games afterwards, in an interesting all-in Yshay took the 3rd villain's chips.
Player background
Yshay is usually a loose over-aggressive player. He has a lot of influences in his game but he mostly just try to play a psychological game according to his image on the table as a player. He still doesn't have a clear style. More than once he gambles, going against the odds. As said before he usually plays over-aggressive up until the river. This is where he usually changes his over-aggressive style into a slightly more reasonable one. When Yshay reaches around buy-in and a half in chips he begins to regain confidence and he plays almost any hand: he wants to see the flop! So his range of hands is much wider; He gambles more than usual and risks more money and he doesn't really pay attention to his position (or the game itself). Yshay is not always focused on the game (even if he's in it) but he always bets with confidence. Yshay is not afraid to lose his money – making him usually the least serious player on the table. Yshay has one big flaw: He has no self-discipline. He doesn't know when to stop playing and fold his hand. Over-aggressive style can be quite dangerous and a very interesting game to play (and to watch). He is devastating against beginners. Not only players have no idea how to react to the bizarre bets, they often folds winning hands because they are intimidated by the high bets – which causes frustration. In time beginners lose their patience and start to play really bad. A good over-aggressive player know exactly how to utilize it to his advantage. But in order to be a good over-aggressive player you need to be very focused in the game and regain a lot of experience, which Yshay lacks. Yshay image is pretty close to his "wild" style. While Yshay folds 38o saying he has limits, his image allows him to play ANY hand (even 27o) even on a raised pre-flop game. There is little respect to his bets and people often call every one of his moves a bluff. Yshay uses it more than once to win big pots. Experience and self-control are the difference between an average player and a very dangerous one, a player you can't hide from and you're too afraid to play against – a winning combination in favor of Yshay!
Rom
Rom is a tight-conservative player. He changes his play style, in regard to the table and or the people he plays with. While playing a bit loose in a table with 9 players he usually plays tight in a 6 players table. Rom's analytical game is mostly influenced by former star-craft players who turned to online poker players. Players like: n0rthf4ace, Nazgul, Rekrul, asdf2000 and Elky (who won, this January 16th the title European Poker Player of the Year). His psychological game began with reading books, and it ended up to be developed mostly by real experience. It is a rare sight watching Rom not paying attention to what's going on the table.
Rom has a lot of patience. He will fold very good hands from early positions while waiting for the right hand in the right position. Rom doesn't tend to give free cards and his game is very reasonable. He knows exactly what and how he is playing. He will often change gears in regard to the player that's playing against him, which is also the reason he prefers to play against people he already played before. Rom's image is tight-aggressive. There is a lot of respect for his bets from other players.
Next few games were a bit monotonic. Bets were just the same. The regular raise pre-flop was 10 NIS (5 BB). Flop bet was 15 NIS. Turn bet was 35-40 NIS.
Non-raised pre-flop hands went 4 NIS on flop and 10 NIS on the turn. It went really good for me in the following hands. I had 280 NIS in my hand reaching the last hand. Yshay still feels invincible and still a bit arrogant in style.
Main Game - Quick synopsis
Yshay
Yshay is usually a loose over-aggressive player. He has a lot of influences in his game but he mostly just try to play a psychological game according to his image on the table as a player. He still doesn't have a clear style. More than once he gambles, going against the odds. As said before he usually plays over-aggressive up until the river. This is where he usually changes his over-aggressive style into a slightly more reasonable one. When Yshay reaches around buy-in and a half in chips he begins to regain confidence and he plays almost any hand: he wants to see the flop! So his range of hands is much wider; He gambles more than usual and risks more money and he doesn't really pay attention to his position (or the game itself). Yshay is not always focused on the game (even if he's in it) but he always bets with confidence. Yshay is not afraid to lose his money – making him usually the least serious player on the table. Yshay has one big flaw: He has no self-discipline. He doesn't know when to stop playing and fold his hand. Over-aggressive style can be quite dangerous and a very interesting game to play (and to watch). He is devastating against beginners. Not only players have no idea how to react to the bizarre bets, they often folds winning hands because they are intimidated by the high bets – which causes frustration. In time beginners lose their patience and start to play really bad. A good over-aggressive player know exactly how to utilize it to his advantage. But in order to be a good over-aggressive player you need to be very focused in the game and regain a lot of experience, which Yshay lacks. Yshay image is pretty close to his "wild" style. While Yshay folds 38o saying he has limits, his image allows him to play ANY hand (even 27o) even on a raised pre-flop game. There is little respect to his bets and people often call every one of his moves a bluff. Yshay uses it more than once to win big pots. Experience and self-control are the difference between an average player and a very dangerous one, a player you can't hide from and you're too afraid to play against – a winning combination in favor of Yshay!
Rom
Rom is a tight-conservative player. He changes his play style, in regard to the table and or the people he plays with. While playing a bit loose in a table with 9 players he usually plays tight in a 6 players table. Rom's analytical game is mostly influenced by former star-craft players who turned to online poker players. Players like: n0rthf4ace, Nazgul, Rekrul, asdf2000 and Elky (who won, this January 16th the title European Poker Player of the Year). His psychological game began with reading books, and it ended up to be developed mostly by real experience. It is a rare sight watching Rom not paying attention to what's going on the table.
Rom has a lot of patience. He will fold very good hands from early positions while waiting for the right hand in the right position. Rom doesn't tend to give free cards and his game is very reasonable. He knows exactly what and how he is playing. He will often change gears in regard to the player that's playing against him, which is also the reason he prefers to play against people he already played before. Rom's image is tight-aggressive. There is a lot of respect for his bets from other players.
Back to the story
We were left in a heads up situation. I have around 100 NIS in chips. Yshay has about 500. After 4 boring games I went all-in with J9o and beat Yshay with a straight, Eight to King. Yshay had a set of 3.
Next few games were a bit monotonic. Bets were just the same. The regular raise pre-flop was 10 NIS (5 BB). Flop bet was 15 NIS. Turn bet was 35-40 NIS.
Non-raised pre-flop hands went 4 NIS on flop and 10 NIS on the turn. It went really good for me in the following hands. I had 280 NIS in my hand reaching the last hand. Yshay still feels invincible and still a bit arrogant in style.
Main Game - Quick synopsis
OK… So maybe this is a known internet format of showing hands but you need to remember that a face to face game is entirely different than an internet one.
Seat 1: Rom (280 NIS in chips)
Seat 2: Yshay (320 NIS in chips)
Rom: posts small blind 1 NIS
Yshay: posts big blind 2 NIS
Holecards
Dealt to Rom
Dealt to Yshay
Odds: 64.05% - 34.69% (W – L) 1.26% T
Rom: calls 1 NIS
Yshay: checks
Flop (Pot: 4 NIS)
Odds: 77.78% - 22.22% (W – L)
Rom: bets 4 NIS
Yshay: calls 4 NIS
Turn (Pot: 12 NIS)
Odds: 77.27% - 22.73% (W – L)
Rom: checks
Yshay: bets 10 NIS
Rom: calls 10 NIS
River (Pot: 32 NIS)
Rom: checks
Yshay: bets 30 NIS
Rom: raises 234 NIS to 264 NIS and is all-in
Yshay: calls 234 NIS
Showdown
Yshay: shows (a straight, Four to Eight)
Rom: shows (a straight, Seven to Jack)
Rom collected 560 NIS from pot.
Yshay is the dealer and I am dealt J9o again. I decided to call and maybe see the flop. The hand maybe not a strong one and I am not in the good position but it's heads-up and I am pretty confident in my style against Yshay. Yshay checks and I get to see the flop (I would fold to anything but a mini-raise). Yshay feels like he got a free flop as well since he probably would've folded to a regular raise of 10 NIS.
Flop is on the table. I have a straight draw and Yshay has a gutshot.
My turn to bet and I can't show I have a weak hand – or I will be punished. In any way still think it's +EV to bet here against Yshay because of the amount of money I can get if I get my straight. I'm going for the usual bet of 4 NIS in an un-raised pre-flop hand. Yshay calls after 1 second of hesitation.
So what do each of us know about the other's hand?
Yshay knows almost nothing about my hand. I maybe did not raise pre-flop which on this board means he can probably understand that I don't have a set. But I could have a straight draw or a flush draw. I could have a pair or two pairs and there's a chance I'm just being aggressive with a high card. It's not like I have too much information on Yshay's hand. He would've called this with almost anything weaker than two pairs. Considering I'm going for the straight – the only thing I'm afraid of is a flush draw.
Seat 1: Rom (280 NIS in chips)
Seat 2: Yshay (320 NIS in chips)
Seat #2 is the button.
Rom: posts small blind 1 NIS
Yshay: posts big blind 2 NIS
Holecards
Dealt to Rom
Dealt to Yshay
Odds: 64.05% - 34.69% (W – L) 1.26% T
Rom: calls 1 NIS
Yshay: checks
Flop (Pot: 4 NIS)
Odds: 77.78% - 22.22% (W – L)
Rom: bets 4 NIS
Yshay: calls 4 NIS
Turn (Pot: 12 NIS)
Odds: 77.27% - 22.73% (W – L)
Rom: checks
Yshay: bets 10 NIS
Rom: calls 10 NIS
River (Pot: 32 NIS)
Rom: checks
Yshay: bets 30 NIS
Rom: raises 234 NIS to 264 NIS and is all-in
Yshay: calls 234 NIS
Showdown
Yshay: shows (a straight, Four to Eight)
Rom: shows (a straight, Seven to Jack)
Rom collected 560 NIS from pot.
Main Game - Overview
Yshay is the dealer and I am dealt J9o again. I decided to call and maybe see the flop. The hand maybe not a strong one and I am not in the good position but it's heads-up and I am pretty confident in my style against Yshay. Yshay checks and I get to see the flop (I would fold to anything but a mini-raise). Yshay feels like he got a free flop as well since he probably would've folded to a regular raise of 10 NIS.
Flop is on the table. I have a straight draw and Yshay has a gutshot.
My turn to bet and I can't show I have a weak hand – or I will be punished. In any way still think it's +EV to bet here against Yshay because of the amount of money I can get if I get my straight. I'm going for the usual bet of 4 NIS in an un-raised pre-flop hand. Yshay calls after 1 second of hesitation.
So what do each of us know about the other's hand?
Yshay knows almost nothing about my hand. I maybe did not raise pre-flop which on this board means he can probably understand that I don't have a set. But I could have a straight draw or a flush draw. I could have a pair or two pairs and there's a chance I'm just being aggressive with a high card. It's not like I have too much information on Yshay's hand. He would've called this with almost anything weaker than two pairs. Considering I'm going for the straight – the only thing I'm afraid of is a flush draw.
The turn flips over and Yshay stares at the 3c far too long. He regains some confidence in his hand (from gutshot to straight draw) and he is waiting impatiently for me to say something. Now I know Yshay is less focused and I can play "badly" to get some information about his hand. I check (which is usually a bad thing considering the aggressive games I had with Yshay the entire evening) and Yshay bets the usual bet of 10 NIS with confidence. So I have to say "thank you" to Yshay because now I'm not really afraid of a flush draw. If Yshay had a flush draw he would not have stared at the 3c for that long, he would probably stare at me for a longer time (which would have made him linger on his bet a bit longer) and his bet wouldn't be over-confidence. My hope now is that Yshay will remain unfocused and wouldn't put me on a draw for that check.
We're going for the river. I am not afraid of a flush so I "know" I have the best hand possible. It's time to get my money. Target: 280 NIS from Yshay. How: Almost impossible. Reason: Position!
So I think of so many scenarios in my head… I check and Yshay may have missed his draw and will check as well – in this case I'll have to show my hand… I bet and Yshay will probably just call. I go all-in Yshay folds… In the meantime I see Yshay reaches for his 10 NIS chips like he's going to bet not in his turn – something he often do because as said before – he is not focused in the game. I whisper to myself "thank you" again and checks – waiting for a shove over his bet. Yshay bets more than he should – 30 NIS. In my opinion a 2/3 of the pot would have been enough – meaning around 21 NIS. I look at him: "Do you want to make it interesting? All-In"! If Yshay had self-discipline he would know he was beaten. Why beaten? My turn bet looks like a draw and the little conversation on the river (just before he bet) should have helped him understand this either. Now ANY draw that got his hand on the river his beats Yshay's hand, which is the weakest of the drawing hands on this board. I doubt it he thinks I'm bluffing and he just can't think straight. He calls – blinded by the fact he got his straight, and lost almost all of his chips.
When you play against someone who feels invincible, is unfocused, a bit arrogant in his play and has no self-control – It's easy to use his weaknesses in order to give you more information on his hand, and to get more money out of him. Against most people, I'm out of position to play this hand right.
When you play against someone who feels invincible, is unfocused, a bit arrogant in his play and has no self-control – It's easy to use his weaknesses in order to give you more information on his hand, and to get more money out of him. Against most people, I'm out of position to play this hand right.
2 comments:
I think calling me tight-conservative is a bit of an over-look.
I am very aggressive when things allow it. There is no reason to be aggressive with players like Yshay who often plays like calling stations.
I don't think you've seen enough hands I played in to be honest.
Weirdest thing is - most people tend to have less patience in live games, which is the absolute opposite for me. I love listening to the table - you learn so much about players' game this way.
BTW - Something I think most players we play with forgot - There is no shame in folding guys!
I think the greatest mistake of my life, the greatest mistake i ever made was gazing at that 3c for too long, if only I knew...
Dammit, too bad my invincibility trick didn't work either, I better start take lessons from Alex about invincibility techinques, he's pro.
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