Supernova 2009 (10% to Elite), and Some Hands

-- Status Update --
2009 VPPs:	100,067
Pace:	17867 AHEAD
Currently Playing:	Persona 4 (PS2)

If you recall, it took me until mid July 2008 to hit Supernova for the year. It took me until January 30th in 2009.

My Friday session was pretty positive. I ran very close to average, which feels like smoking hot given my month. Earned a little over $1k between winnings and rakeback.

Here are two hands, one at 100NL and one at 200NL, both against regs. The first is pretty epic, and had some good chat to go along with it which is unfortunately excluded. The reg in question is TwoSmeets (a poster on 2+2 and FTR), who is a solid player and a cool guy. He didn't want to call the river but felt obliged since all the minraises were awesome.

Poker Stars, $0.50/$1 PL Hold'em Cash Game, 9 Players
SB: $86.85 (86.9 bb)
BB: $128.05 (128.1 bb)
UTG: $101 (101 bb)
UTG+1: $20 (20 bb)
MP1: $64.30 (64.3 bb)
MP2: $63.10 (63.1 bb)
Hero (MP3): $101.50 (101.5 bb)
CO: $122.75 (122.8 bb)
BTN: $71.55 (71.6 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is MP3 with Kc Ks
UTG calls $1, 3 folds, Hero raises to $4.50, CO calls $4.50, 3 folds, UTG calls $3.50

Flop: ($15) Th Tc 4h (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $8.50, CO raises to $17, UTG folds, Hero raises to $25.50, CO calls $8.50

We get minraised with a strong overpair on a paired flop by a non-terrible player. There are bad regs who try to bluff on such flops with hands that have showdown value (say 77 on this board). This is retarded because you are repping a flopped boat or quads, which are unlikely. However, this fact makes it a great spot to fast play such monster hands!

Anyway, TwoSmeets isn't terrible, so his raise is for value, either thin (with JJ-QQ) or not with the nuts. I "click it back" and he flats. This is good, though doesn't guarantee he doesn't have quads.

Turn: ($66) 4c (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $9, Hero raises to $18, CO calls $9

Check minraising just seems sorta appropriate here to disguise the strength of my hand a bit and get some extra money out of JJ-QQ. The flat call again suggests he has JJ-QQ over TT or 44, but does not guarantee it. The turn being a 4 does make it way less likely he has 44 though. At this point I'm not folding.

Also note that villain used a "gay bet" on this turn. I've been gay betting a ton lately, mainly for thin value on the river, and it is an excellent maneuver. This is actually an appropriate spot for such a play given his actual holdings against my range.

River: ($102) 3d (2 players)
Hero bets $53.50 and is all-in, CO calls $53.50

Value shove time. I figure I probably get a crying call out of QQ, and in fact got one out of JJ. He really shouldn't call with JJ here against me, but whatever. The sheer number of minraises in the hand factored into his call as well. Quite epic overall, and probably my favorite hand of the month.

Results: $209 pot ($3 rake)
Hero showed Kc Ks (two pairs, Kings and Tens) and won $206 ($104.50 net)
CO mucked Jc Jd (two pairs, Jacks and Tens) and lost (-$101.50 net)


Here is hand that falls into the "WTF was that?" category. It's against a pretty unremarkable reg who decides to spew. Note that it is at 200NL, so it ends up being a pretty big pot.

Poker Stars, $1/$2 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 8 Players
BB: $34 (17 bb)
UTG+1: $203 (101.5 bb)
MP1: $276.20 (138.1 bb)
MP2: $73.75 (36.9 bb)
MP3: $69.95 (35 bb)
CO: $201 (100.5 bb)
BTN: $40 (20 bb)
Hero (SB): $210.50 (105.3 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is SB with Td Tc
UTG+1 raises to $8, 3 folds, CO calls $8, BTN folds, Hero calls $7, BB folds

Standard. I guess squeezing is ok too, but it is against an UTG raise, so I elect to flat.

Flop: ($26) Th Jh 4d (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $18, CO calls $18, Hero calls $18

This is a questionable spot for sure. Both villains in the hand are regulars, so if I raise they are going to know it's a set or a FD + overs etc. I decide to try to get another street of value from an overpair. Note that the CO's call is really weird. Most draws and sets would raise, so he really only reps QQ. At this point I am praying nobody has JJ as I have been coolered so many times at 200NL this month it isn't funny.

Turn: ($80) 6d (3 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks, CO bets $175 and is all-in, Hero raises to $184.50 and is all-in, UTG+1 folds

Turn bricks, and CO overshoves? WTF. I have second nuts, I call.

River: ($430) Ks (2 players, 2 are all-in)

Results: $430 pot ($3 rake)
Hero showed Td Tc (three of a kind, Tens) and won $427 ($226 net)
CO mucked 8h 7h (high card King) and lost (-$201 net)

In hindsight, him overshove jamming a big draw with one card to come probably wasn't the best idea. My questionable slowplay pays off.

That's it for today. Look for a monthly review on Superbowl Sunday. Note that it is taking all my self restraint to not post a long rant regarding the NFL playoff system, in which the 11-5 Patriots miss the postseason but the 8-8 Chargers do not.