Bettingboys.com

I'm a blogger over at Bettingboys.com now, you can read my ramblings (in Swedish) here.

This was my first post over at Bettingboys:

Konsten att hjältefolda

Den svenske författaren och pokerspelare och tillika min goda vän Dan Glimne skrev för ett antal år sedan en krönika om hur han foldade ett par i kungar på hand på en flop bestående av en kung och två damer och fick se sin motspelare visa upp sitt floppade fyrtal. När jag för första gången läste den anekdoten bestämde jag mig för att om jag någonsin hamnade vid samma bord som honom så skulle jag bluffa honom vid varje möjlig och omöjligt tillfälle. Något halvår senare spelade jag min första större turnering utomlands och fick för första gången träffa Dan. Trevligare människa får man leta efter och jag bestämde mig rätt snart för att om Dan vill hjältefolda, ja, då får Dan hjältefolda!

Som en hyllning till Dan kommer min första krönika handla om ett tillfälle när jag kanske borde ha övervägt att hjältefolda. Det var en gång för ett par år sedan en turnering, kanske ett år senare, med ett inköp av 15000 i Prag. I slutet av dag ett sitter jag på en ganska rejäl stack på ungefär 50k och blindsen låg, om jag inte missminner mig, på 500/1k med en ganska rejäl ante. Antagligen har jag en ganska lös image eftersom jag som vanligt varit inne och pangat i en hel del potter, både i bra och dåliga lägen. Jag sitter i förstaposition, under the gun, och tittar ned på två kungar. Här ska det bli spelas av och jag standardhöjer till 3 big blinds. Det foldar fram till mellanposition och ett hollänskt proffs som haft bra placeringar i diverse EPTer går all in för strax över 10 big blinds. Jag hinner inte ens bli glad innan en spinkig lite skitunge i nästa säte snappsynar med ett leende på läpparna så brett att det hade fått Mick Jagger att skämmas.

Den unge herrn, från Tyskland visade det sig, ser ut att vara i femtonårsldern och är liten och tanig men har ägnat de sista tv timmarna åt att träffa allt, dra ut folk till höger och vänster och i största allmänhet sprungit som en gud. Hade det inte varit för att de kollar leg innan man får komma in på Casinot hade jag gissat på att han nyss gått ut högstadiet så ingen större vana av live-poker har han då rakt inte. Nu var jag inte någon större fantast på att läsa folks ansiktsuttryck men till och med Stevie Wonder hade nog noterat att lillen var ganska nöjd med sin hand. Det foldar till big blind i form av WSOP-vinnaren Anders Henriksson som tittar ned på sina kort, slänger in dem i mucken och tittar sig intresserat omkring. Tysken täcker mig ganska klart.

Jag bestämde mig lite fort för att jag inte var så sugen på att bara syna. Det var ganska sent på natten och om jag synar är det nästan lika mycket i potten som jag har kvar bakom och min position blir bara ännu jobbigare om jag möter ett bet på floppen. När jag senare pratade med ett gäng duktiga spelare, inklusive Anders, om handen tyckte många att en syn nog ändå hade funkat men att man då fick ta och folda mot flopbets på ganska många brädor. Då jag hade en cashgamebakgrund tyckte jag att den linjen verkade rätt dålig av skäl som har att göra med en massa konstiga termer som matats in i pokervrlden via diverse större pokerforum. Saker som exploaterbart, obalanserat, range flög genom mitt huvud. Till slut kom jag fram till att man inte kan vika kungar för 50 big blinds när det är antes, döda pengar i potten och en fjunig liten fjant från Tyskland i potten.

All in deklarerade jag stolt och sköt in min stack i mitten som en mäktig fallossymbol. Innan mina chips ens är inne i potten har tysken synat, slängt upp sina ess och om möjligt börjat se ännu nöjdare ut. 20 sekunder senare har jag sagt hej då till Anders och börjat knata iväg mot mitt hotellrum. Såhär i efterhand är jag ganska säker på att jag borde gjort en Glimne och foldat, men andra sidan har jag gjort sämre spel både före och efter den incidenten.

Dagen efter samlas vi ett gäng och käkar på en argentinsk restaurang och bad beat-historien utbyts. Där drog jag historien om min absolut första större liveturnering och hur jag även där spelade kungar som en bitter republikan utan sympati vare sig för Carl-Gustav eller Mette-Marit. Anders utbrister; Det där kommer jag ihåg! och berättar att han faktiskt satt vid bordet den gången också. Jag bestämmer mig tyst för att om Anders sitter vid bordet, då ska jag fortsättningsvis openfolda Kungar.

Hur klantade jag till Kungarna första gången, undrar kanske någon? Det, mina vänner, är en historia för nästa krönika. Tills vidare, må era flushdrag sitta på rivern och era överpar inte bli utdragna!

/Ambjörn "Dustylove" Hedblom

Bloggflytt

Snubbarna på bettingboys.com tyckte att jag skrev roliga saker så nu bloggar jag hos dem istället.

Mina alster hittas numer under: http://www.bettingboys.com/sv/Poker/DustyLove.aspx

A straight flush and the most retarded HU match ever

Apparently they had a team event at Unibet Open Riga because the dutch teams from the last tournament wanted to get revenge on the Finish people. Obviously we needed a Swedish team so I, Dan Glimne and two guys called Daniel payed the 300€ per player and signed up. Then we sat around half an hour waiting for the dutch guys the get out of bed, which they hadn't considered an option earlier due to severe hangovers and general lazyness. And this wasn't THAT early, more like 1600 pm. Finally someone went to the bar in search for a Finish team which they got together and we decided that the dutch teams wasn't going to shove and suddenly it was SWE vs FIN. I would be tilted sitting alone at a table for 45 minutes waiting for a bunch of slow ass poker players to get out of bed but the dealer at my table was really cool so I actually had a fairly good time.

Anyway, the name of the game would be four Heads up matches and the winners would play a 4 handed final table, half of the price money to the guy who won and half to the winning team.

I drew some organizer from Finland and figured that I probably should be the favorite considering how I'm supposed to be a fairly decent poker player and he at least doesn't play full time. My NLHU game is a little rusty, but I couldn't imagine the level of fail and laughter this HU match would bring.

The match starts out and I see that he calls a bit to much from the big blinds and folds to many small blinds. I win a few small pots by cbetting and barreling turn and I'm soon up to having about 65% of the chips in play (we started with 6k each at 25/50) and level 2 with blinds at 50/100 I 3bet Akcc and snaps a ship and lose to Kings. Then I 3bet AQhh a few hands later and he goes allin. I snapcall and he shoves 44. I say “Ace on the river”, the flop blanks, turn is a brick and the dealer turns up Ac on the river. I tip her two lat (that's like 3€ or something) that I happen to have in my pocket. A couple of hands later I raise Q2hh and flop Q73 with two hearts. I cbet and he calls. Turn is a blank and I check since he tends to fold to turnbets and I feel that I could pick up a bluff on the river or vb lightish on most rivers. River is an off suit King and he bets fairly big. I call fairly fast and he has K2o for no pair no draw that hit a king on the river. Tilt.

After that I can't hit anything and he keeps making hands and/or bluffing me with the notable exception of openfolding 43o on KT7r. I tabled 32o to take the pot. Then possibly the most lol-inducing fuck up I've seen happens. I minraise J2hh on the button and get a call. Flop is Ah8h2x giving me a fairly decent flush draw and a pair. I bet 550 or something into 800, he raises, I go allin and he snap calls and tables.... Ks4h and says he has a flush draw. Then he goes “ehh, ohh... I was sure I had the king of hearts!”. His friend who sits next to him is less then amused. I hold and I'm ahead again.

Then back to him winning every pot (and his friend telling him to check his cards before river action, heh) and suddenly we're even again. I minraise T7r on the button, he calls. Flop comes 987 rainbow and I feel that I'm not going no where on that flop. I cbet, he raises and I decide to talk a bit because if I look strong enough maybe he'll get rid of some random 82 or something if he happens to have that. Then I minraise him. He minraises me back. At this point I'm not very happy, but I figure that I have a ton of outs against most stuff so I go allin and he snaps with the nut straight. I turn a T for some outs but fail to bink one on the river and I'm out.

That sucked.

Anyway, here's a fun hand I just played: 

Crappy tournament play

Was hungover after celebrating my girls 25^th birtday the day before so I played day 1 feeling fairly bad.

Also managed to win like 2-3 hands all day. Most hands went something like I raise, flop is good for a cbet and I get raised and folds. Or raise, I hit nothing on a drawy board, I check and someone bets. Tried calling someone down in a huge pot with A-high in what I'd consider a fairly good spot but the river came a horrid card and I had to fold.

After 5 or 6 levels I was down to half my start stack or a little less and I have the big blind. UTG raises to 2.5 which he does a lot, two calls and back to me and I make the call with K3ss in spades. Flop comes QJ3 with two spades and I have one pair and the 2^nd nut flush draw. Good enough for me and I check hoping to God or any other higher power that cares to listen for a cbet. UTG bets a little over 1k which is very close to pot and UTG+1 calls, a Danish gentleman raises to 2.5k or something and I decide that with all the dead money in the pot it's worth it to get my 9-14 outs in for about 8k here despite not really thinking that I'll get them all to fold very often. Only thing I'd hate to be up against would be the nut flush draw and a strong made hand but more often then not I think people will have some other combos. If two people have sets or top 2 and I get it in 3way I'm in very ok shape too. Thus I ship and UTG and UTG +1 folds. The Danish guy thinks for a little bit, says something I couldn't really hear and shrugges. Then he calls me with top two and turn is a blank and river a Q and I'm out. I kind of hoped that he had Ts9s when he tanked but no such luck.

Board: Qs Js 3h

Dead:

equity win

Hand 0: 50.932% { QJs, QJo }

Hand 1: 49.068% { Ks3s }

That's fairly close to a flip.

Going to play a team event with Daniel, Daniel and Dan (I kind of stand out as far as names goes, don't you think?) today for 300€ per head and I guess that could be fun. Gotta get some more live experience anyway, this year I've played something like 4 tournaments and that's just not enough. I will do probably like 5-6 bigger ones and hopefully a few small ones next year and maybe go to Vegas. Feeling fairly good today after haveing breakfast and saying godbye to Micke Norinder and a couple of retired soccer players (one scored a few times back in 94). Might actually play good today.

The casino is located next to a strip club so the room where the tournament play took place looked a little funny sometimes: http://twitpic.com/7mlclw (NSFW kinda). And you should just see one of the WC's. There's pictures of naked ladies with really big boobs who looks like they've been on a diet of one broccoli/day for the last 20 years.

Anyway, overall this has been like most poker weekends, except that I had two in a row. Good food, too much to drink, reckless spending on weird stuff (I can't wait until dad sees his christmas present) and a whole lot of tilting on different things.

Might actually launch a fairly cool thing with my blog sometime in the somewhat near future. Keep on reading.

Scary security guards and stuff to do in Riga.

Too long in Riga

I've been here too long. While the city is beutiful and I enjoy the people I hang out with it's to small and untill I teach my girlfriend to play something decent enough to stake her for SNG's or something at the Casino I can't really grind while I'm traveling with her. Did anyone say the rake of life? It's not that bad, I've only spent about 500-600€ or so on crap I don't enjoy so far, but I really itch to play a bit. I guess it's just a buy in or two down the drain but yea, I wish I'd have time to grind a bit without feeling like a super crappy boy friend. Anyone knows how to solve this? I'm thinking making a schedual or something.

Went to a good resturant or two. http://www.fellini.lv/ was really good but a little expensive. I think I spent 120 lvl (that's like 160€ or something) including tips on a dinner for two, but the food was really good and I loved the service. It was really relaxed and the wine list was nice. They had a Amarone della Valpolicella I wanted to try out but I can't really bring myself to spend 100€ on a bottle of red wine a tuesday evening. Had some sicilian Nero wine that I can't remmember the name of but I kind of liked. The Swordfish was the 2^nd best fish I've ever eaten.

Yesterday I had a really bad Kebab-plate for lunch and then me and the girlfriend went to some resturant I think was called ”province” with Dan and his wife and then took a trip to the Casino. Glimne went into a private room and played with a chess board and the really big Russian security guy that informed us that we couldn't be there and that it was a private room looked somewhat confused by his actions. I think he was somewhat unsure if Dan was just too rich to give a fuck or old and not 100% clear in the head. I found it hilarious. I'm not useally intimidated by security people but the guys at the casino, while very nice, are among the biggest and most scary looking security people I've ever seen. Most of them make me think of the Russian mecinaries in ”Rock'n'rolla”. To put it in short: I won't mess with this people.

I'm going to upload some picture of the casino when I get home. It looks really cool and overall it feels like a good place to play poker. I saw Lex ”Raszi” Veldhuis in the casino bar yesterday. That guy is scary as fuck, I hope I don't end up at the same table with him tommorow.

Going to go to a resutrant called ”Gastronome” and with my girl tonight and then take a trip to the sky bar at Radisson. She's turning 25 today. Glimne managed to say that she turns ”a quarter of a century” which may or may not have been the best thing he's ever said.

Wish me luck tommorow.

Glimne 3rd in Swedish Championships

Congratulations to my good friend Dan Glimne for taking 3rd in Poker-SM main event. He's been on a roll lately and he deseves a nice score. He fought good at the final table but couldn't dodge a bullet when he hit 2p vs a straight against the chipleader and he ended up winning something like 7k€, which isn't by any means bad.

I think he had around 25 or 30 big blinds at the last hand. Chip leader raised button, sb called and Glimne called with a jack and a nine. Flop came QJ9 and the Chip leader bet his straight and shipped against a raise. The board bricked and that was that. Just a few hands later the CL got AJ in against Kings in the Heads Up and managed to flop not only one but two aces and take him the first price.

After railing the final table and having a fairly bad hamburger and quite a few drinks me and the girl went to some fairly artsy bar and had a few bottles of wine togheter with Dan who joined us after a while. Drank to much wine and spent the next day recovering.

Riga overall seems like a suprisingly nice place. The resturants are so-so and the service is sometimes very bad but mostly good. The resutrant at the Royal Casino really sucks and the guy who took our orders there might have been the worst piece of crap that I've ever run into at a resturant. And that includes Mcdonalds at 4 am in the morning. Other then that the Casino has very little cash game action (it's apperently at another casino) but as far as dealers and service it seems really good.

Shopping seems ok and the people who works at the Hotel (Radisson Elizabet blue) are really nice. Probably among the better I've been too and overall I feel that it's one of the more comfortable and nice hotels I've lived in. There's a few small annoying things but nothing that bad.

I'm a little bit bored and just want the tournament to start already.  

Poker SM – day 1

Only just under 60 players started the tournament and the structure was fairly good (20k chips, 25/50 and 1 hours blind levels). The casino looked very nice if a little small and the tournament manager (?) looked a lot like Tony-KGB. A few minutes after two the tournament kicks off and my table seems fairly good. A bunch of people I can't recognize in various ages groups and everyone plays fairly tame except for some youngish guy who apperently had won a EPT or something last year. That guy was two seats to my left and spoiled a lot of my fun.

To start the tournament I get a lot of hands and I open a lot, I call some raises and I win a few decent sized pots and lose only small ones. Some hands are more notable then others but the biggest one early went like this: I open A2cc in mid pos, EPT guy 3bets button and a young guy who plays a lot like someone who plays very weird calls. I assume that the 3bet guy is fairly wide and that the young guy probably has something like a highish pair or a good Ace that he doesn't want to 4bet 400bb deep oop. Overall I feel that his range might be a little wider too, but I don't really know and I decide to call my A2 since a nut flush draw could do some good things this deep and overall I feel that I can play it somewhat well for various reasons. Flop comes J22 with two spades. Young guy checks, I check fairly fast and EPT guy checks back. Turn is a 3 that puts out another flush draw. It's checked from the blinds and I lead fairly big and EPT guy calls. River is an off suit 6 and I lead fairly big again and EPT guy snapcalls and mucks, and we're off to a good start. I think it might've give me more value to lead 3 streets but I'm not sure, I think he might've maybe herocalled me with A-high in which case I got the max and I'm not sure if he pays off 3 barrels with just a lone J with a bad kicked.

At this point Micke Norinder sits down. Much of the rest of the story will center around him, and not because he's big enough to have his own gravity field (he doesn't, just to be clear). Anyway, Micke is a big boy and we have a little bit of history which include heartly but seldom very nice nagging and a lot of love. It all started years back when the loading screen of Unibet had a picture of Micke's face and I logged on, hungover, a sunday morning and tilted away a couple of BI's playing 10/20 Heads Up. That was back in the day when I was a talanted upstart with a cocky attitude instead of the humble wonder of humbleness and good manners I am today. Anyway, I sent an e-mail to the site and asked then if they could please remove the ugly ass picture, at least on days when people might be hung over, because it was tilting as hell.

Apperently someone forwarded the message to Micke.

Since then we've had a run in or two. It always ends up with bad hands getting payed off a ton by either party and a bunch of disrespectfull comments, but in a loving way that most often ends with a hug.

Oh, and we don't fold against each other really.

Next hand of note I get KK UTG. Micke calls in late pos and the flop comes something like 652 rainbow. I cbet really fast and he snapcalls. Turn is a 9 that brings up a flushdraw and I bet realy fast again and he snapcalls. River is a J that I think compleated the flush draw and I decide to bomb it and he snapcalls again and insta mucks when I throw up my kings and he said he had Ace high. A few hands later a guy to the right of Micke that probably was in his 30s and seemed fairly tight opens and Micke 3bets, I looked down at AA in the small blinds and considering how we're effectivly 150bb deep or so I make a large raise since I kind of want a good stack to pot ratio if I'm going to play in a bloated pot oop that deep vs someone who doesn't really like to fold. Flop comes KJx with a flushdraw and I bet 3k into 5.5k or something like that with about 15k effective behind (I cover). Micke folds and says ”No king and I'm going in” so I assume he had queens. I kind of liked my sizing since it sets up a pot sized ship on almost any turn (I guess I can check/fold a Q that fills the flush draw if I get a bad feeling and maybe check/decided a king) but it could be argued that smaller or bigger is better depending on a bunch of stuff. If the board was a little less drawy I think smaller would've been the way to go, but taking down a 55bb pot on the flop can never be that bad. I also think that 3k is a fairly good bluff size vs most people since it gets rid of TT and various gutshots much better then 1.5 or 2.

At the first break I'm at 30k chips and the blinds will be 100/200.

Nothing much happens and I'm slowly chiping up to just over 40k before the dinner break and the only somewhat intressting/fun hand was when I raised a limp from a shortstack with 77, he calls and I cbet and get ship on on J65ss, I call after a while and I'm up against A5ss. Turn is a 5 and I say grats and the river is a 7 and everyone laughs a bit and we shake hand. He was a older gentleman who probably had not played a lot of live poker but he was really nice so I felt a little bad busting him, oh well, more chips for me.

The dinner was really good since I ate with a bunch of Unibet players at some steakhouse and I arrive a little late after the dinner break. Dan Glimne told me about some cool hand he owned some young guy with by just limping behind and then call a raise with AJ and then proceed to get the pre flop raiser to stack of with AT on a Ace King high board and win a fairly huge pot. Say what you want, but the old man still has it. He Hellmuthed the crap out of that guy.

After dinner things got really intressting really fast. With blinds at 200/400 with a 25 ante stack started tog et a little smaller and with about 100bb's I was chip leader at the table. Micke opens in late pos, I 3bet KK from the blinds and he calls. We're about 50bb effective. Flop is T97 with two hearts. I cbet about half pot or a little bit more like last time to set up a pot sized shove on the turn and he calls. Turn is a 3 of hearts and I check my hand and see that unfortunatly I do not have the King of hearts. I feel that he'd probably would've raised any kind of decent flush draw on the flop and probably even 4bet Akhh pre so except for something like 54hh I don't think he has a flush. He could have slowplayed the straight and maybe two pair or a set but I find that somewhat unlikely considering the general awfullness of a lot of potential turns. So I put his flop calling range at something like random T's, possibly some pair + gutters that he for god knows what reason did not want to shove and random floats. Micke tends to have a lot of random crap. When you use the expression ”he probably has a hand” it normally means that he has something decent, but in Micke's case it's more like ”yea I saw that he got dealt two cards and that means he's in the pot so he probably has two random cards”. Anyway, I decide that since I'm probably never really beat and I don't want to see another heart or eight/jack/six it's time to shove. I'm allin. Micke says he calls and wonders if I have the flush, I go like ”no” and he throws up 33 for a turned set. There goes half my stack...

Half an hour later I've won a few small pots. Micke raises in mid pos, some girl in the small blind calls and I call 76hh in the big blind. Flop is AJJ rainbow. Girl checks, I check, Micke cbets 1.5k into something like 3k, girl calls and I raise to 4.6k. Micke starts to tank and asks the dealer for a count. Tournament manager (the guy who looks like Teddy-KGB) says the dealer should not count because apperently I have not bet those chips yet. Micke then says ”oh well, can you count them then?” and since I figured that the rule was stupid and that my stack has about the right size for my bluff to look credible I count it out. Micke tanks for a bit more and folds and then the girls starts thinking and folds after a minute or two. Someone calls for me to show it and I throw up my 76hh and the table starts to laugh. Micke says he folded AK and the girl says she folded some other Ace. I feel that my bluff is pretty good because it doesn't have to work more then like 50% of the time and Micke is somewhat restricted by the girl behind since she might very well have a Jack. I think both have more Aces then jacks in the ranges and with two jacks out on the board there is even less likely that anyone has one. I don't like the hand I choose to use since I have no backdoors, but I think it'd be a cool move to do with any kind of gutshot or other kind of outs. Then I lose a few pots and I get TT UTG, I raise, Micke calls on the button and the girl calls big blind. Flop comes 642 with two hearts and I cbet, Micke raise me fairly big and the girl folds. With 60bb or something like that and an overpair on a drawy board with antes you can make an argument for folding against that raise vs most people but probably not against him so I ship and he snapcalls and has 62 of diamonds. Board runs out like crap and he holds and I'm out.

That was the short adventure of my Swedish Championship this year and now I'll hang out with my girl, maybe play a little bit of live cash games and work out a little bit before I play Unibet Open next week.