Zero To Sixty

One of the things I need to find is a sense of balance. It’s pretty clear that as you play with erratic players and maniacs in freeroll tourneys that a looser approach pre-flop and a very disciplined approach post-flop can be incredibly lucrative. The trouble is that it is also fairly expensive. You go in on enough pots (and raised pots) in a row without that big payoff, and your chip stack is starting to look pretty thin. So a sense of balance is key.

That was one problem I had late last night on an Absolute Poker freeroll. I had a very long period of horrible cards and flops. I started out playing loose, but nothing hit so I had to tighten up considerable because my stack was dwindling. But nothing else came up over time either. Generally speaking, you can withstand these droughts because you will eventually hit a few big hands, but last night it went so long, and I had spent too many chips on loose plays early that I was in desperate shape.

As I said, I can’t really let this happen again. I’ve already identified my problem–calling too many big pre-flop raises. It’s one thing to call a 40 chip raise on a 20 chip big blind, but it’s another thing entirely to call a 120 chip raise on a 20 chip big blind. That’s just too much of an investment for the long odds involved, even for a potential full stack takedown.

One of the reasons I called these bets was that the sense of optimism involved in a big pre-flop raise generally means that they are willing to go all-in since they are confident in their hand. My plan is generally to call, hit the big flop, go all-in, and collect their stack. Again, hitting the flop is a long shot, but the effective implied pot odds of gaining a whole stack made it somewhat worth it. That is, if you have those chips to burn, which I don’t for any extended period of time in early rounds.

So I need to stop calling these big pre-flop raises unless I have a powerhouse hand. I still think calling pre-flop raises with mediocre hole cards that can improve to powerhouse hands is worth it… assuming your opponent is the type to go all-in at the drop of a hat and you can afford the chip outlay.

So balance is the word… not so many big raise calls and a tighter grip on “improvable hands.”

Okay, I’m incrementally getting better at taking calculated risks that return big investments. The trouble is that I’m still making mistakes. Some are little mistakes that have big consequences, while others are just bone-headed moves that have disastrous consequences. Today’s Absolute Poker freeroll had a good example of a small mistake and a good example of small risk with big payoff. First the small mistake.

I’ll cut to the chase: I faced these hold cards.

Formerly, I would muck this hand. But I had a big stack, and the blinds were small enough that I was playing a little more loose. Here’s the flop:

Having a big stack and the flexibility it brings is nice! Here I am flopping a set. Very nice.

My only concern was the flush draw. Without thinking I put in a half pot raise. The exact moment I put it in, I was cursing myself. A good player would see the potential of nabbing my stack with a flush and would call a small raise. The upside was just too juicy. The person behind me called instantly, and the turn fell:

I can’t believe it. I simply forgot everything I had been studying the past two days and it immediately comes back to haunt me! I made a big bet as a feeler (he could have been bluffing!), which was mistake number two, and he instacalled. The next card was another spade, so even if he didn’t hit the flush on the turn, he definitely had it on the river. Ugh.

Now let’s go back to a good hand.

Tenth hand of the tournament. Binds are 25/50. I face a preflop raise holding this:

It was a decent raise, but not extravagant. With two high cards and a flush draw, I decided to call. The flop came:

Pre-flop raiser raised double the pot, which was significant, but I had a flush draw and a backdoor straight possibility, so there was no way I was folding with the potential of pulling in his whole stack. Here’s what fell:

No flush, but now I had four more outs for a gutshot straight with the higher card. My opponent raised again, but with the all the outs I now faced, I was fairly certain I would nab his stack if I hit the 9 or the flush. I was thinking that my opponent had something strong, perhaps pocket kings, but not enough to confidently go all-in. I totally felt the risk was worth it. The river fell:

I had the nuts unless my opponent was holding KQ, which I considered highly unlikely considering I had a Q. My opponent went all-in, which was my goal all along, and I quickly called. He turned over:

I’m not sure why he went all-in with a straight on the board. My best guess is that he was trying to bluff me off the pot, making it look like he held a Q or even KQ. Unfortunately, he was facing someone… with the Q!

I’m not sure if I’ll have time to participate in the Bodog free roll tomorrow night, but I am planning on starting tomorrow. One of the funny things about large freerolls is that in the early rounds, a lot of people join with the idea of just rolling the dice and building large stacks of chips in the first few hands. They do this by putting all their chips into the middle of the table for their first bet, even if they have lousy cards. If they win and get that large pile of chips, then they continue playing normally. If they don’t, then they are out and no money lost (after all, these are freerolls!).

I’m not a big fan of this strategy, but I certainly am open to taking advantage of the situation. If I get a powerful set of hole cards tomorrow, I’ll go all in and collect the chips. So, let’s hope that my first two cards are…

That would be nice.

Okay, obviously the first thing I need is a bankroll. I can’t start making money at poker if I don’t have any money to start with. That means I have only two options: Freeroll tourneys and earning the $1 via Carbon Poker’s fun tournaments. I’ll be working on both. Once I have some money (even 1 dollar), I’ll start working the small stakes cash tables.

Freeroll tourneys are just that: Free tournaments that actually pay you cash if you win. Usually it is a relatively small amount, but it is something and definitely a start. I’ve looked over about a half dozen poker sites, and only three have a significant number of freerolls: Carbon Poker, Absolute Poker, and Bodog. Absolute Poker and Carbon Poker have $50 freerolls, which award you around $5 if you come in first place. Bodog has a daily freeroll with a $500 prize fund. First place there is actually a decent chunk of change.

So my first plan is to focus my efforts on Bodog’s nightly 8:40 PM (central time) $500 freeroll and finish in the money (ideally in first!).

Another possibility is Carbon Poker’s “fun” sit’n'go tourneys. These are tournaments where you trade play money for a coupon that let’s you participate in level 1. Level 1 is a 6 seat tournament, with the winner receiving a coupon for level 2. Level 2 is another 6 seat tournament, with the winner receiving a coupon for level 3. Level 3 is a 10 seat tournament, and the winner gets (drumroll)… $1.

That’s right, if you can make it through three tournaments against relative new poker players, you can earn a buck. Sounds like nothing, but since I’m starting with zero, and I could use $1 on microstakes tables, I could actually build off of that.

The good news is that Carbon poker is constantly running the fun tourneys, so you can take part at any time. This is ideal for me, since I am focusing my major efforts on a single freeroll tournament, the Bodog $500 one in the evening. I can then play the smaller Carbon Poker fun tournaments whenever I have some free time or am bored.

So here’s my starting strategy: Play as many of the $500 Bodog nightly freeroll tourneys as I can, with the initial goal of finishing in the money. Once I do that I can move onto the next stage of my strategy, which is building my bankroll via cash tables. The same time I am focusing on the Bodog freeroll, I will play in the Carbon Poker “fun” tourneys, with the goal of winning $1 here or there to start another bankroll.

While I gave myself no time limit, I would hope that I have at least $1 within my first week.