Running hot

Play poker long enough, and you're going to experience times when you're "running hot". What a great feeling! You know it has little to do with skill, but that doesn't stop you from enjoying it to the fullest. For a brief moment in time, you feel like Superman; you're invincible!

Last night, I ran hot. In a short session, I won over half the hands. On the hands I lost, I invested almost nothing. I call the bar chart of my stack size over time "stairs to the right". I really wish there were $100/$200 play tables for deuce on PokerStars; I would really have made a killing!

During current 2-7 Triple Draw session you were dealt 15 hands
Pots won if drawing - 8 of 14 (57%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 6 (100%)
Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $4,820
balance: $2,032,450

Fantastic finish

Last night, I had one of my best finishes ever. After 34 hands, I was $4,480 in the hole. Three hands later, I was $13,590 to the good. Here's how the hands went down:

hand 35: I hit a 7 6 4 3 2 low on the first draw, called an all in bet which put me all in, and won a side pot and the main pot for a combined $6,855 ($5,335 of it other people's money (o.p.m.))

hand 36: I hit a 7 6 5 4 2 low on the third draw, went all in, and won a pot worth $4,270 ($2,140 of it o.p.m.)

hand 37: I hit a #1 (7 5 4 3 2) on the second draw, went all in, and won a pot worth $19,590 ($10,595 of it o.p.m.)

My lastmin ratio was my second best ever - 50.88. On hand 37, I won a whopping 46% of all the available chips from the other players at the table. I'll have to check if that's a record; I have a sneaking suspicion it is.

During current 2-7 Triple Draw session you were dealt 38 hands
Pots won if drawing - 4 of 19 (21%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 10 (40%)
Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $13,590
balance: $2,027,630

Playing with an all-in-aholic

On Sunday night, I encountered an all-in-aholic - someone who's addicted to putting all his chips in the middle on the slightest pretext. It's tempting to try to take such players down right away, but it's much better to wait until you have a really strong hand. When you get one, you should go all in with it - the all-in-aholic won't be able to resist calling. I did just that when I was dealt a #1, and won a pot worth $7,585. Unfortunately, I gave it all back six hands later. Fortunately, I won a monster pot of $8,151 on the very next hand. Of course, I called it a night right after that.

This win put the sum of my deuce deltas modestly into the black; I'll do my best to keep it there.

During current 2-7 Triple Draw session you were dealt 44 hands
Pots won if drawing - 6 of 21 (28%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 11 (54%)
Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $4,141
balance: $2,014,040

Insufficient perfection

Deuce has its own lingo. The best possible hand, 7-5-4-3-2, is simply called "#1". The best possible hand where the high card is an eight, 8-5-4-3-2, is called "eight perfect"; another name for it is "#5", since it's the fifth best possible hand. Last night, on the first hand, I had an eight perfect after my third and final discard. I went all in with it and lost to a #1. The thing about any "perfect" hand is that its perfection is only in relation to its high card; an eight perfect will beat or tie any other eight high, but will lose to any seven high. I just didn't believe my opponent had a seven high, even though he reraised me enough to put me all in if I called. I fell in love with the "perfection" of my eight, but it was insufficient to win me the hand.

Last night marked the second session in a row where I hit the felt on my very first hand; I promise that won't happen tonight, even if I have to fold a #2! I hit the felt twice more last night, before having a strong rebound to bring my stack within shouting distance of its starting amount.

During current 2-7 Triple Draw session you were dealt 117 hands
Pots won if drawing - 27 of 99 (27%)
Pots won at showdown - 11 of 29 (37%)
Pots won without showdown - 16

delta: $-835
balance: $2,009,899

Standing pat considered harmful

On my first hand last night, I had a rough 8 after the first draw and decided to stand pat for the other two draws; I ending up losing to an 8 6. I'd gone all in, so I hit the felt on the very first hand; clearly an inauspicious start. When I decided to stand pat, something about actually doing it (as opposed to deciding to do it) felt wrong. I know what it was - in deuce, it's a waste not to use all your draws unless you have a truly superior hand. A rough eight is a good hand, but not a hand to stand pat on when you've only had one draw. I'm adding to my deuce rules of thumb as I go along. Here's what they are currently:

- never pay additional chips to go to showdown when your high card is a 9 or higher
- never stand pat on the first draw unless you were dealt a #1
- never stand pat on the second draw unless you have at least a smooth 8
- never stand pat on the third draw unless you have at least a rough 8

I hit the felt again on my fifth hand of the night. When I reupped again, I turned things around, went on a bit of a hot streak, and ended the night with a nice gain. I need to stop "spotting" myself two feltings at the start of each session; it's risky having to climb out of a hole every night.

During current 2-7 Triple Draw session you were dealt 33 hands
Pots won if drawing - 11 of 25 (44%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 9 (44%)
Pots won without showdown - 7

delta: $1,292
balance: $2,010,734

The secret to deuce success

As you know, every so often I get the urge to unleash my pearls of poker wisdom on the world. After playing only five sessions of no limit deuce to the seven triple draw lowball (deuce, for short), I believe I've discovered the secret to having success at it. Drumroll, please ...

In deuce, never go all in unless you're going to win.

I can already hear the howls of anguish from some of you and the hoots of derision from others. Anguish that I've given you nothing you can use. Derision that all I've provided is a tautology. I never claimed the secret was easy to implement! The secret could be rephrased as follows:

If you win when you go all in, you're going to be successful at deuce.

I've noticed time and time again that in my most successful sessions, I tend to win when I go all in. Last night, I hit the felt twice, but had a nice rebound; I went all in on the penultimate hand, doubled up, and got out of Dodge.

During current 2-7 Triple Draw session you were dealt 70 hands
Pots won if drawing - 11 of 49 (22%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 16 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $1,320
balance: $2,009,442

High heat

Last night, I had an up and down session. I hit the felt 3 times, then did much better on my final reup. The largest amount I lost on a single hand was $2,015, which was when I hit the felt for the first time. Looking back over that hand, I realize I never should have been in it. To use a baseball analogy, I couldn't lay off the high heat. In other words, I was offered a tempting fastball which was up out of the strike zone, and couldn't stop myself from swinging at it.

Deuce seems to have a lot more volatility than hold'em; you have to be prepared for your stack to take some pretty wild swings. You also have to be willing to fold early and often. I'm still getting the hang of deuce, but I'm already loving it.

During current 2-7 Triple Draw session you were dealt 137 hands
Pots won if drawing - 18 of 79 (22%)
Pots won at showdown - 10 of 26 (38%)
Pots won without showdown - 9

delta: $-2,025
balance: $2,008,122