all BJ play was at the great canadian casino in victoria.
game: h17; das; ls; 1.2 decks cutoff.
average number of spots being played (including mine) = 4... more during the day & less during the evening.

all results converted to usd (which explains the odd unit sizes).

SBR = 207usd & 3385cad
final results = 10.33hours played; 8.66hours claimed; -2273gross; 5tips; -2278net
EBR = 207usd & 115cad

01.26.00
1) 21unit;   3hours;  +342gross; 5tips;  +337net
2) 21unit;    1hour;  +626gross; 0tips;  +626net
3) 21unit; 0.83hour; -1810gross; 0tips; -1810net
4) 21unit;   3hours;  -940gross; 0tips;  -940net

01.27.00 (cut back on unit size due to limited BR on hand)
1) 7unit; 2.5hours played; 0.83hours claimed; -491gross; 0tips; -491net

i'm taking a break. i will call for a transfer of funds shortly to prepare for my upcoming vegas trip, but i do not think i will play much before then. we'll see how i feel about it in a few days.

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poker results on 01.27.00
limits & results are in canadian dollars

4-8holdem; 3.17hours; +363

D-M: would like your opinion...
the game was full of reasonable players. not a lot of pre-flop raising. one fellow (four to my right) was getting his good hands & draws beat regularly and he was getting upset. he kept showing his great cards before tossing them into the muck. when the blinds came around and put me under the gun, i thought i might be able to put him on tilt with a straddle (not a common play for me). the field capped the betting before it got to me (9-3 off) so i junked it. next time i was under the gun, my target still seemed 'on the verge', so i straddled again. this time it made it back to me with lots of callers (no raise), so i put in another $4 with my 7-4 diamonds. a crappy hand, but that's what i wanted to win with. flop comes a miracle 5-6-8 rainbow. i check. checks around to my late position target. he bets. i raise. three callers including target. turn comes a 2. i bet. fold, fold, target raises, i reraise, he calls. river comes a king. i bet, he calls and shows me his trip sixes. i take the pot, he goes bananas and proceeds to throw away his money for the next hour and a half.

obviously this worked out for me... but was it a good play? is taking the straddle a couple times worth the risk when trying to put a likely target on tilt? what about my $4 raise (pre-flop) with 7-4 suited? the pot had lots of $8 callers at that point (so was large)... it seemed like a good opportunity to build a much bigger pot at little cost, and if i made my hand it would be perfect tilting material.

comments?

-- Anonymous, January 29, 2000

Answers

Poker comments

After giving this some thought, I like your play because it seems to be new territory for you to make these kinds of plays.

I have thought about it, and the time I think straddling works well, and perhaps the only time, is in a tight game. When very few people are seeing the flop, a lot of times the people that end up staying in are the people you have position on, the two blinds.

What I think would have been better would have been to find some other imaginitive, and polite way of putting him on tilt. Finding opportunities to needle him, but not letting him know that you are trying to get to him. I sometimes look at hands, and say... you know if this comes in, I could really make some money by putting someone else on tilt. But, I find that more times than not, I am just kidding myself, so that I can play more. It's more fun that way.

It sounds like this guy was already on his way, and you have to give him a reason to stay. Does stradling make him think he's got a lucky sucker at the table, who's luck is gonna change? Maybe. That's a definite possibility. In that case stradling is probably a decent play. He's ready to play some hands so he may call your straddle with very little, and you'll have psychological power over him because he's "running bad."

Say, however, you don't have as great a flop as you had. In fact, imagine you get a typical flop (nothing). Are you gonna bet out? Check/fold? Check/raise? These are the situations where tells and a feel for your opponent are critical. Always watch your opponent on the flop. Always stare right at him when the turn card and river card fall, whether or not you're in early position.

The game becomes a guessing game, and sometimes one does well by their guesses, but the pros guess right more often, and that is why they consistently win. Other people just guess lucky sometimes.

I suppose what I am saying is that the worst thing that can come from something like this is you gain experience whether or not you made the correct play.

I like Malmuth's example of an adventurous person being able to throw away an under-set. An adventurous person may call 3 bets before the flop with pocket treys. Then flop a set, only to get significantly re-raised, etc... and be able to fold, because he knows he's beat, and he has basically no outs. While a rock probably wouldn't have been in that position in the first place, so doen't have the experience to get out of the hand.

You have to find what works for you. It sounds like you made it work well, but was this just blind luck, or was there more to it? You have to answer that question for yourself.

Well, I don't guess I really answered your question, but I hope I contributed a little to your thought process.

David

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2000

thank you for your insights, david.

another thought that came to me was that with the straddle, i was building a large pot that i didn't have to win in order to put this guy on tilt. the only real requirement was that he didn't win the big pot.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2000