Hella Hold'em

This one made me do the Scooby-Doo huuh-harrrrrr? (crooked head tilt, furrowed brows and all):

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (5 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

Button ($18.90)
phlyersphan ($22.25)
BB ($44.15)
UTG ($69.90)
MP ($43.40)

Preflop: phlyersphan is SB with Ad, Ac.

UTG raises to $1, MP calls $1, Button calls $1, phlyersphan raises to $4, 1 fold, UTG calls $3, MP folds, Button folds.

Flop: ($10.50) 3d, Qd, Jd (2 players)

phlyersphan bets $5, UTG raises to $65.9, phlyersphan calls $13.25 (All-In).

Turn: ($94.65) Th (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($94.65) Qs (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $94.65

Results:

phlyersphan has Ad Ac (two pair, aces and queens).

UTG has 4h 6d (one pair, queens).

Outcome: UTG wins $47.65. phlyersphan wins $47.

OK. Let's think about this. These are the kinds of plays that seem to happen only online; while there are plenty of fish in "live" poker, at least in the games I've played I don't tend to see people quite so willing to throw money into pots with absolutely nothing, whereas online I can count multiple hands per day where I've had to grow a pair and call a bet on the end with 2nd pair, and end up winning the pots.

The flop came 3 diamonds, giving my opponent a flush draw. OK... but it was a SIX HIGH flush draw. Six high? Really? Do you want to put more money in a pot with a 6 high draw to a 4-card flush? Now, if I didn't have the Ace of diamonds, I might have thought a bit longer before pushing the rest of my short stack into this pot. My opponent, however, was a 74% VPIP fish that bet the flop and turn constantly, often folding to a bet against him on the river. I didn't take him seriously at all.

Rightfully so, it seems.

At the moment, I'm playing in a $2 MTT on stars. There were 1,336 entrants, and right now I'm ranked 38th out of 350 remaining players. 243 make money. I also have a .25/.50 cent blinds NL cash table up, of the 6-max variety (which I'm really enjoying - this 6-max thing). I'm up a bit over on that table, and nut-peddling my way to some wins against these very loose monkeys. Nobody's VPIP is below 48% (besides me) and the highest is 67%. Good stuff if I can continue to avoid getting sucked out on.

I hope everybody had a great New Year's celebration. I've been trying to put into words my poker goals for 2006. Soon....