Move Up Win More
A fact that I (and you probably) know intuitively but need to be reminded of from time to time:
While players on average may be better as you move up in stakes, that doesn't mean that all players are necessarily better. It's entirely possible to find mouth-breathing donkeys that play even worse than those at your usual stakes when you move up.
I had an "in action" reminder of that yesterday. I didn't really feel all that much like playing an extended session so I added a table of the hundred game to my usual two tables of fifty. It went fine - although 3 tables is definitely my limit at Rush - and I didn't even have the customary downswing thanks to a player in the hundred game.
I picked up AA on the button. Donkey in MP raised, I 3-bet, he 4-bet, I was more than happy to 5-bet shove ... he calls and shows ... ATo. Sweet. Instead of getting away for less than 30 he donates an entire stack.
Thanks mostly to that stacking - although I did stack a couple guys in the fifty game too - I ended with a nice positive session. Best one in the last two weeks at least.
After getting in my hands I went over to Stars for a while to check out the 40 kajillionth hand promotion. I loaded up 10 or 12 tables of nanolimit NL and played through three of the milestones. The closest I came was (I think) like 106 hands off, so no love. And I dusted off better than a buyin in the process. I'm just not used to playing that many tables and cascading.
Oh yeah: And I suck, but that's a given.
Time to solicit guesses on a hand from Wednesday:
50 game. Hero has 6d 5d on the button. EP raises to 1.25. Hero calls. (Pot 3.25)
Flop is 3d 4d 8h. EP checks. Hero bets 2, EP calls. (Pot 7.25)
Turn is 9h. EP bets 6. Hero raises to 18. EP times down, then calls all in for 12.
River is 8c.
What is villain's hand?
Hoyazo had an interesting throwaway line in one of his rants yesterday:
While players on average may be better as you move up in stakes, that doesn't mean that all players are necessarily better. It's entirely possible to find mouth-breathing donkeys that play even worse than those at your usual stakes when you move up.
I had an "in action" reminder of that yesterday. I didn't really feel all that much like playing an extended session so I added a table of the hundred game to my usual two tables of fifty. It went fine - although 3 tables is definitely my limit at Rush - and I didn't even have the customary downswing thanks to a player in the hundred game.
I picked up AA on the button. Donkey in MP raised, I 3-bet, he 4-bet, I was more than happy to 5-bet shove ... he calls and shows ... ATo. Sweet. Instead of getting away for less than 30 he donates an entire stack.
Thanks mostly to that stacking - although I did stack a couple guys in the fifty game too - I ended with a nice positive session. Best one in the last two weeks at least.
***
After getting in my hands I went over to Stars for a while to check out the 40 kajillionth hand promotion. I loaded up 10 or 12 tables of nanolimit NL and played through three of the milestones. The closest I came was (I think) like 106 hands off, so no love. And I dusted off better than a buyin in the process. I'm just not used to playing that many tables and cascading.
Oh yeah: And I suck, but that's a given.
***
Time to solicit guesses on a hand from Wednesday:
50 game. Hero has 6d 5d on the button. EP raises to 1.25. Hero calls. (Pot 3.25)
Flop is 3d 4d 8h. EP checks. Hero bets 2, EP calls. (Pot 7.25)
Turn is 9h. EP bets 6. Hero raises to 18. EP times down, then calls all in for 12.
River is 8c.
What is villain's hand?
***
Hoyazo had an interesting throwaway line in one of his rants yesterday:
I think of the short-track speed skating as the Rush Poker of the Winter Olympics, which might sound like a compliment to many of you who have extolled the virtues of the Rush on your blogs but who are actually just unknowingly shilling for full tilt as they further bastardize poker in the name of the almighty dollar.I'd love to read a 10,000 word post on this - in general I think poker purism is almost completely indefensible. Obviously I'm one of those Rush shills - I do take exception to 'unknowingly', I 'shill' because I think it's a genuine improvement.
2 Comments:
You're right btw, in most cases it's probably not being done "unknowingly". But the shilling piece wasn't the main focus of my comment there -- rather my main point is that it's my own personal view that Rush Poker is the further bastardization of the game away from what skill players should be looking to play and towards what a total poker n00b would play instead, and done in a way that simply mega increases the rake for the site in question at the same time as distilling the skill advantage right out of the game.
It just makes me a little sad I guess to see so many people writing about how awesome Rush Poker is when I know it's really benefitting only the poker site and not the players who know how to play the game. It might very well be more enjoyable for you and many others to play the Rush style of the game, but I don't think it can be argued that the skill factor is not nearly as high as in "real" poker.
Btw I can't possibly guess what this guy has in your Wednesday hand. Overcards is my first thought. Q9 or something is my second. But then, the fact that you throw in the fact that the river was an 8 makes me think he had some kind of lame 8 and rivered you like the donk that I'm sure he is. I'll go with 84o for the awesomely-played monster.
The way you setup the hand I would guess you won with 6 hi? Like 24o maybe? Was it Poker Grump? .. I think overcards from the way the hand played out though. Possibly some kind of draw on the turn.
I have something to say about the bastardization of poker. Beside that I love it and will shill it foreva! Post coming soon. <10K words.
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