Got 10 minutes and thought I'd talk about how shitty I play/run at our local home game.
As previously mentioned, I'm back in the peg for a bit (maybe a bit longer due to some tests I need done at the doctor making my departure to Vegas likely around the end of the month). So, to feed my gambling addiction in the meantime I'm forced to play our friendly 5/10 game, which plays like 10/20 holdem game. The game is tough as most everyone left are solely the winning players filtered down from a much larger player pool that started a couple years back. I don't know what it is with this game but I don't hit flops. It plays on my confidence and in the process I feel like it effects my play. I think yesterday I was a non-factor and I played like a predictable nit. I was probably run off at least 5 or 6 pots mostly from Zenni, but a couple from Travis as well where nobody hit the flop but I was pushed out because they knew I had nothing and I just let them have it. I would bet at the wrong time and lay down to any ensuing agression. I must say it is frustrating to never flop good enough to play back at these guys. It is equally as frustrating to never flop enough to call through when they choose to bluff through a hand. BLAH!
The game primarly comprised of Zenni, Travis, Myles, Stu, Rosie, and I. Rosie lost big again, which I feel bad about because he's a great guy and has been getting pounded lately. I think most everyone else won. For me a made a bowl of soup thanks to hitting a big pot against Rosie with the nut straight against his 2 pair, otherwise I didn't do anything special and mostly watched everyone else battle.
I had 1 interesting hand with Travis that I paid off, which was a difficult spot. I raised a straddle to $80 with 45 clubs in position, both Trav and Rosie called to see the flop. The flop came 862 two spades and Trav led out $175 I called and Rosie called, and I had intentions of probably raising the turn unless no 8 or spade. The turn brought the 8 of clubs so now I had doublegutter and flush draw. Trav bet $600. He could have the 8 but he could easily be continuing with a draw trying to shake both Rosie and I with what appeared to a couple rough peels (or maybe he could think I have an overpair). Too risky to raise and with so many cards to still hit against 3 8s I decide to call as we are both really deep. The river brought a 2 of clubs and he bet 2k. I pondered and decided to call. Too many times here he's gonna have a missed flush/str8 draw where he will barrel to shake an overpair. Plus he usually he check raises made hands instead of donk betting me on the flop so I decided to call with my flush. He had 89 and I lost.
Not sure If I'm gonna play the game again as 1 guy keeps getting punished and I don't like that. Also, I'm not really scoring big here and each of the other guys are solid so whats the point? I'll ponder that the next week or two. In the meantime got a stud game Monday and may play online Sunday for the FTOPS and stars 2.5M gauranteed. I'll keep ya posted...
Till next time.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
UNNATURAL PART 2
So, i'm fresh off a 15 hour sleep and ready to vent frustrations built up over the last two weeks. The hands described are not in chronological order, instead they are listed as I remember them. It should be noted that I am only going to describe the big pots. As a backdrop, know that I did not win a single pot over 3k during the losing streak, which started with hand #1, so each of these beats were never softened by a good situation/suckout/or good pot. This made it all the more frustrating.
Hand #1:
This hand and hand #2 stick out most in my mind. Both took place in a wild 10-20nl game in LA where I inevitably lost 8.5k for the day. At the time of this hand I was stuck about 4k for the day.
I raised to $70 from utg with 1010 and the big blind defended. The flop came 1086 rainbow. He checked I bet $110 and was check raised to $375 I called. My opponent was about 4k deep and was a standard player. I knew he would not check-raise a draw here so I felt I could not lose the hand and I did not want to lose him by reraising if he had simply a pair of 8s, JJ, or whatever. So turn came 8 and he bet $550. Now, I feel he has a decent hand here as he has checked after check-raising flops a couple times when called. I am hoping he has an 8 or better yet 86 or 108. Anyway, I decide just to flat as I'm fairly certain he will fire the river, plus if I raise here it looks suspicious that I have a monster, I want it to look like I'm calling along with an overpair or big 10. River brings a 7 so the board is 108876. I thought this card would either kill my action or make it because when I raise the river it will look like I have 99 or J9 and if he has a fullhouse I should get maximum action. Anyway, he bets out $950 and I goon raise allin. His eyes light up and he says 'did you say allin?' I said 'ya', he said 'i call' and quickly turns over 88 for quads. Very nice. Obv in set over set here someone should go broke with 4k stack, too bad I couldn't fade the 1 outer.
Hand #2:
Later in the same night I had managed to battle back. I was only down 2.5k for the session and had about 10k on the table. A young kid had sat down about an hour ago and was pretty agressive but paid off thin. He was about 6k deep. By this point the game had a straddle and usually several went to the flop. I felt like I was getting a rush going and that I had a good read on the table, and still being a little stuck, I had my gamble on.
I was utg +1 and smoothed the straddle with 87 clubs. The young kid smoothed as did one other then a tight player on the button made it $160, not a big raise. The blinds and straddler fold but I feel $160 is cheap here and likely I will get a couple callers behind me so I call. Now the kid acting right after me makes it $460, I think to myself obv AA. Everyone else folds except original button raiser who calls, probably a big pair himself. Well, considering the guy calls thin and I have an aces crusher I gamble to see the flop. The flop comes down AQ10 with Q10 of clubs, i'm like great this one's gonna cost me. I check, the kid fires out for $650 (small bet into about $1500 pot). The tight guy looks confused and makes a reluctant call, I call. The turn is a 4 of clubs. I feel the kid has 3 aces and the other guy may even have a smaller set or minimum touch gutter so I refuse to give a free card and fire out for $2,000 with a flush, as advertised. The kid thinks a minute and calls, the other guy folds. The river brings an offsuit 2, a brick, at this point I'm like sweet, I finally win a big gambly type pot. I quickly tell him i'm allin, which is about 3k to him. He immediately calls and tables AK clubs. So sick. What kind of jackass smooths AK off the straddle then makes a small 4 bet out of position to a tight player on the button. Anyway, he thought he was a genius and I simply stared at his hand for a couple seconds in disbelief. This hand was one of the most suprising loses of my poker career, I quit the game after that hand.
Hand #3:
This was the hand that originally got me stuck that same day in LA. Early in the session I was up maybe 1k then this hand happened. I call on the button with QJs to utg raise of $70. The guy is maybe 2.5k. The flop is QJ3 rainbow. He bets $100 I raise to $290, he raises to $590. At this point I feel he has overpair and his small raise is for information, I figured I might lose him by pushing here as there is no flush draw and the cards are dangerously high so only made hands are going to give action. I elect to call in hopes of getting allin on turn as long as no AK or 3 come down. The turn is a 7, he bets $800, I shove, he deliberates and calls, the rivers a 3 and my two pair lose to AA.
Hand #4:
During my next session I played about 4 uneventful hours tredding water at about even. Then I pickup J10 diamonds and raise to $70 in the cutoff, the button called and the big blind shortstacker shoved for $220. I decided to call as did the button. The button was 4k deep and I had him covered. The button was an aggressive solid player who was about to move to the 20/40 game. He raised alot of flops so I could not assume he had a big hand whenever he gave action. Anyway, the flop came down 984 2 diamonds. I bet $450 into him and he raised to $1,100. No way was I folding this and I decided that his raising range was big and unless he had 98 or 44 he would probably laydown to my push. He immediately called when I pushed and the board went running black aces. My J high was no good and he won with 44 for a fullhouse.
Hand #5:
Probably my worst play of the trip. I had AK on the button and raised the blinds. A solid aggressive kid in the blind defended. The flop came down A75 all hearts. He checked and I checked. The turn brought an offsuit 3 and he checked so I bet $120. He check raised to $500. Honestly, I thought he was making a move with a somewhat overbet after double checking, and previous history between us proved that he is very capable of making a move in this spot. I thought for a minute and told him I was allin, which covered his stack of about 2k total. He snap called and showed a flush, I was drawing dead. In retrospect, I could have folded as I did not have much invested and I did not have a strong hand, but I went with my read and thats that.
Hand #6:
On Superbowl Saturday I was playing a 5/10 nl game at the Wynn that eventually played bigger than many 10/20 games. As a backdrop to the hand I am about to describe I must explain previous history I had with my opponent. He originally bought in for $600, but quickly built up with a flurry of lucky suckouts. First, he raised from utg and 3 of us saw a flop of QJ9 two diamonds, I had 108s, so flopped the straight. He led out for pot $150. I decided to smooth call because I knew I had him good and he would likely fire again on the turn, because thats what this guy does. The turn was not the best card the K of diamonds. He led out $300 into me heads up and he had about $700 behind. I could tell he was nervous and was sure I had the best so I shoved making all draws pay. He shrugged and said 'well I have too much invested, I call'. The river brings a diamond and he shows AK with A of diamond, what a goon flop and turn bet. About 30 minutes later another sick hand took place where he was up against Todd. He raised pre and 4 of us saw the flop 984 two clubs. The goon led out $200, Todd raised to $650 and the goon called. Turn came offsuit Q and buddy led out for $500. Todd paused then shoved for another $1500 and the goon called. The river came 10 and the goon tabled a straight with JJ. Todd lost flopping top set of 9s.
So, givin this history, i'm sure you will understand my aggressive play with 1 pair. The game developed a straddle and some guy made it $60 to go, I looked down at AA and raised to $180. The original raiser and the goon both called and the flop came down K72 rainbow. The goon bet $30o, original raiser folded, and understandably I raised it to $800. The goon called and the turn brought the 4 of hearts, bringing in a flush draw. The goon bet out $700. I decided I'm running bad here and the best hand he will show me is a K with a flush draw and givin that he has been running so well I actually don't want him to call so I decide to shove, which is about another 3k to him. He tanked for several minutes then finally decided his KQ was ahead and he called. The river brought a K, good times. Ah Superbowl weekend, it brings out the best.
Hand #7:
Later on in the evening in the same game as above I pick up 64 clubs on the button. Someone straddled and several called so I called. The goon, in typical fashion, jacked it from the blinds to $140, with what I'm sure was a 'pretty hand' I thought to myself. I had a couple callers so I called. The flop came down 875 two spades. The goon led out $300 and a young aggressive kid jacked it to $900. The kid was about 4k deep and givin the texture of the board and our previous history I decided this was a good spot to jam to make it look like a combo draw and I may get called light. So after I raised to 4k the goon thought for about 2 minutes with what I later found out was JJ. He finally folded, great fold LOL. Then the kid tanked for 5 minutes. He eventually called as he may have thought I was on tilt (which I don't really do anymore, at least live) because I lost $700 to him on the previous hand missing a royal flush draw against his top set of aces. He never saw my hand but I'm sure he thought I was just spewing chips. Anyway, he makes a stand with 98 hearts, which I thought was very thin, because even if I had a hand like A6/J10 spades, he is quite the dog. Anyway, its ok because I run so sick, the river brought a 6 and he won with a 9 high straight.
I quite that game after that hand and booked a 6.5k loss in what may have been the juiciest game of the trip.
Hand #8:
Playing at the Venitian in a 10/20nl game. The game wasn't that good, but was the only 10/20 game going on in Vegas that night. A hand came up with this guy Marvin, who is one of the better higher limit players around. There was a raise from utg he called and I called to see the flop with AJ. The flop came J75 all spades. I decided I was going to check the hand to induce action as I obv flop strong here, if the preflop raiser bets I will be checkraising, he's only 3k deep anyway. Instead the preflop raiser checks and Marvin picks up the bet. Both Marvin and I are 10k + deep and I know he likes to gamble big pots so I decide I'm gonna just call here as I haven't been running good and maybe I can get him to bluff off with a worse hand. The turn brings in an offsuit A. So now I have top two, with nut flush draw. I check and Marvin overbets to about $550 into a $400 pot. This seemed a little fishy. Normally I would raise here but something held me back and I flat. The river bricked a 2 and I checked, Marvin fired again this time for just under 1k. Blah, now I really don't like it, and I don't really have a read on him, and with his capability to bluff in this spot I donate as he shows KQ spades. The pot wasn't that big but really there is an arguement that it could have been build up either on the flop or the turn. Thank goodness I played it soft like a girl.
Hand #9:
Thursday night I played in a wild game at the Bellagio. It got short handed pretty fast as the game consisted of many of the old crusty rocks who felt uncomfortable with the high level aggression. The game was drivin by a guy named Oscar from Norwary. He was drunk and into the game for 3ok. When it got short-handed I raised the button to $70 with 108 sooted, my favorite hand. He called and the flop came 976, gin. He checked I bet $120 he check raised to $420. In many situations I would raise back here as many turn cards could negate action from a big hand, but considering Oscar was raising with air many times I wanted 1 more bet from him before I would apply pressure, as I knew he would fire almost any turn whether he had something or not. The turn was a 3, he fired and I moved allin he called and the river came 10. We chopped the 10k pot as he flopped the smaller straight with 85. I hope you are beginning to understand why I have labelled my luck as unnatural.
Hand #10:
On my last night I played at the Bellagio. Kathy and I only had about 5 hours to play before we had to depart for the airport. I had scrapped together a small 2k win the day before and I was hoping to make another small score before leaving so I wouldn't have to go home and hang myself (just kidding). Finally something went my way.
I was utg+1 and smooth called the straddle. The guy immediately after me made it $180 and everyone else folded. The guy was tight, agressive and about 4k deep so I decided to disguise my hand by flatting as his range would be a big ace or big pair in this spot and by three betting (1-2nl style) I would not get another penny. So the flop came 762 two diamonds. I felt this looked like a drawing board that I may hit so I decided to donk bet $240 looking for a raise. He immediately raised to $650. I thought for minute and decided I was happy to get it in on the flop if he wanted to so I raised another $900. Instead of shoving he flatted. I figured he had a big pair and would stand with it as long as a flush card did not come down. The turn brought an offsuit Q and with the pot at over 3k and he having less than 2.5k left I shoved hoping obviously that he didn't just hit a set of queens. He thought for a minute and eventually called with what I don't know, prolly 1010/JJ/KK, putting me on a draw (in the past couple hours I had raised him out of a few small pots so I'm sure that was factored into his decision, he did seem like a fairly good player). The river came another Q and I took it down. Yeah! My first big pot since the 1010 nonsense.
There were alot of other smaller pots that went bad including 2 or 3 that I played soft with a big draw that if hit would have resulted in big scores because my opponents had huge hands. Even when I started off the trip with some solid wins, I won with lock hands and not by gambling (granted I hit quite a few hands). In fact, in the 17k upswing I only won 1 gambling pot for about 4.5k where I had QQ on a J42 against an ace high flush draw that held. Included in that win was 1 suckout on a 2k pot with J9 against AJ allin on a flop of J77. I thought the short stacker's overbet c-bet on the flop was bs so I shipped and he called and I sucked out.
Now that I have completed my venting session I would like to say that I still view poker as a game of variance and sometimes nothing goes right. If I keep playing well it has to turn around. I'm trying not to look at this trip from a results perspective as it would clearly be a bust, but I do feel I'm in very good control of my table and my game and I get alot of respect from the other tough regulars. The game has grown tougher over the last few years, but after conversing with several regulars that I feel are on the same level as me, each are still making over 500k / year minimum. So opportunity still does exist. I will likely go back down in a few weeks with Trav and hopefully my luck will reverse (or at least I will not get nailed by a 3 outer on every 10k pot). The way I see it is I should gain average to good luck simply by bunking in the same room as Seabiscuit, so the trip should turn profitable very quickly.
Take care and will report in when I go back down south.....and next time around I will try to update more regularily, just so happens when your losing you don't feel like talking about it.
Joe
Hand #1:
This hand and hand #2 stick out most in my mind. Both took place in a wild 10-20nl game in LA where I inevitably lost 8.5k for the day. At the time of this hand I was stuck about 4k for the day.
I raised to $70 from utg with 1010 and the big blind defended. The flop came 1086 rainbow. He checked I bet $110 and was check raised to $375 I called. My opponent was about 4k deep and was a standard player. I knew he would not check-raise a draw here so I felt I could not lose the hand and I did not want to lose him by reraising if he had simply a pair of 8s, JJ, or whatever. So turn came 8 and he bet $550. Now, I feel he has a decent hand here as he has checked after check-raising flops a couple times when called. I am hoping he has an 8 or better yet 86 or 108. Anyway, I decide just to flat as I'm fairly certain he will fire the river, plus if I raise here it looks suspicious that I have a monster, I want it to look like I'm calling along with an overpair or big 10. River brings a 7 so the board is 108876. I thought this card would either kill my action or make it because when I raise the river it will look like I have 99 or J9 and if he has a fullhouse I should get maximum action. Anyway, he bets out $950 and I goon raise allin. His eyes light up and he says 'did you say allin?' I said 'ya', he said 'i call' and quickly turns over 88 for quads. Very nice. Obv in set over set here someone should go broke with 4k stack, too bad I couldn't fade the 1 outer.
Hand #2:
Later in the same night I had managed to battle back. I was only down 2.5k for the session and had about 10k on the table. A young kid had sat down about an hour ago and was pretty agressive but paid off thin. He was about 6k deep. By this point the game had a straddle and usually several went to the flop. I felt like I was getting a rush going and that I had a good read on the table, and still being a little stuck, I had my gamble on.
I was utg +1 and smoothed the straddle with 87 clubs. The young kid smoothed as did one other then a tight player on the button made it $160, not a big raise. The blinds and straddler fold but I feel $160 is cheap here and likely I will get a couple callers behind me so I call. Now the kid acting right after me makes it $460, I think to myself obv AA. Everyone else folds except original button raiser who calls, probably a big pair himself. Well, considering the guy calls thin and I have an aces crusher I gamble to see the flop. The flop comes down AQ10 with Q10 of clubs, i'm like great this one's gonna cost me. I check, the kid fires out for $650 (small bet into about $1500 pot). The tight guy looks confused and makes a reluctant call, I call. The turn is a 4 of clubs. I feel the kid has 3 aces and the other guy may even have a smaller set or minimum touch gutter so I refuse to give a free card and fire out for $2,000 with a flush, as advertised. The kid thinks a minute and calls, the other guy folds. The river brings an offsuit 2, a brick, at this point I'm like sweet, I finally win a big gambly type pot. I quickly tell him i'm allin, which is about 3k to him. He immediately calls and tables AK clubs. So sick. What kind of jackass smooths AK off the straddle then makes a small 4 bet out of position to a tight player on the button. Anyway, he thought he was a genius and I simply stared at his hand for a couple seconds in disbelief. This hand was one of the most suprising loses of my poker career, I quit the game after that hand.
Hand #3:
This was the hand that originally got me stuck that same day in LA. Early in the session I was up maybe 1k then this hand happened. I call on the button with QJs to utg raise of $70. The guy is maybe 2.5k. The flop is QJ3 rainbow. He bets $100 I raise to $290, he raises to $590. At this point I feel he has overpair and his small raise is for information, I figured I might lose him by pushing here as there is no flush draw and the cards are dangerously high so only made hands are going to give action. I elect to call in hopes of getting allin on turn as long as no AK or 3 come down. The turn is a 7, he bets $800, I shove, he deliberates and calls, the rivers a 3 and my two pair lose to AA.
Hand #4:
During my next session I played about 4 uneventful hours tredding water at about even. Then I pickup J10 diamonds and raise to $70 in the cutoff, the button called and the big blind shortstacker shoved for $220. I decided to call as did the button. The button was 4k deep and I had him covered. The button was an aggressive solid player who was about to move to the 20/40 game. He raised alot of flops so I could not assume he had a big hand whenever he gave action. Anyway, the flop came down 984 2 diamonds. I bet $450 into him and he raised to $1,100. No way was I folding this and I decided that his raising range was big and unless he had 98 or 44 he would probably laydown to my push. He immediately called when I pushed and the board went running black aces. My J high was no good and he won with 44 for a fullhouse.
Hand #5:
Probably my worst play of the trip. I had AK on the button and raised the blinds. A solid aggressive kid in the blind defended. The flop came down A75 all hearts. He checked and I checked. The turn brought an offsuit 3 and he checked so I bet $120. He check raised to $500. Honestly, I thought he was making a move with a somewhat overbet after double checking, and previous history between us proved that he is very capable of making a move in this spot. I thought for a minute and told him I was allin, which covered his stack of about 2k total. He snap called and showed a flush, I was drawing dead. In retrospect, I could have folded as I did not have much invested and I did not have a strong hand, but I went with my read and thats that.
Hand #6:
On Superbowl Saturday I was playing a 5/10 nl game at the Wynn that eventually played bigger than many 10/20 games. As a backdrop to the hand I am about to describe I must explain previous history I had with my opponent. He originally bought in for $600, but quickly built up with a flurry of lucky suckouts. First, he raised from utg and 3 of us saw a flop of QJ9 two diamonds, I had 108s, so flopped the straight. He led out for pot $150. I decided to smooth call because I knew I had him good and he would likely fire again on the turn, because thats what this guy does. The turn was not the best card the K of diamonds. He led out $300 into me heads up and he had about $700 behind. I could tell he was nervous and was sure I had the best so I shoved making all draws pay. He shrugged and said 'well I have too much invested, I call'. The river brings a diamond and he shows AK with A of diamond, what a goon flop and turn bet. About 30 minutes later another sick hand took place where he was up against Todd. He raised pre and 4 of us saw the flop 984 two clubs. The goon led out $200, Todd raised to $650 and the goon called. Turn came offsuit Q and buddy led out for $500. Todd paused then shoved for another $1500 and the goon called. The river came 10 and the goon tabled a straight with JJ. Todd lost flopping top set of 9s.
So, givin this history, i'm sure you will understand my aggressive play with 1 pair. The game developed a straddle and some guy made it $60 to go, I looked down at AA and raised to $180. The original raiser and the goon both called and the flop came down K72 rainbow. The goon bet $30o, original raiser folded, and understandably I raised it to $800. The goon called and the turn brought the 4 of hearts, bringing in a flush draw. The goon bet out $700. I decided I'm running bad here and the best hand he will show me is a K with a flush draw and givin that he has been running so well I actually don't want him to call so I decide to shove, which is about another 3k to him. He tanked for several minutes then finally decided his KQ was ahead and he called. The river brought a K, good times. Ah Superbowl weekend, it brings out the best.
Hand #7:
Later on in the evening in the same game as above I pick up 64 clubs on the button. Someone straddled and several called so I called. The goon, in typical fashion, jacked it from the blinds to $140, with what I'm sure was a 'pretty hand' I thought to myself. I had a couple callers so I called. The flop came down 875 two spades. The goon led out $300 and a young aggressive kid jacked it to $900. The kid was about 4k deep and givin the texture of the board and our previous history I decided this was a good spot to jam to make it look like a combo draw and I may get called light. So after I raised to 4k the goon thought for about 2 minutes with what I later found out was JJ. He finally folded, great fold LOL. Then the kid tanked for 5 minutes. He eventually called as he may have thought I was on tilt (which I don't really do anymore, at least live) because I lost $700 to him on the previous hand missing a royal flush draw against his top set of aces. He never saw my hand but I'm sure he thought I was just spewing chips. Anyway, he makes a stand with 98 hearts, which I thought was very thin, because even if I had a hand like A6/J10 spades, he is quite the dog. Anyway, its ok because I run so sick, the river brought a 6 and he won with a 9 high straight.
I quite that game after that hand and booked a 6.5k loss in what may have been the juiciest game of the trip.
Hand #8:
Playing at the Venitian in a 10/20nl game. The game wasn't that good, but was the only 10/20 game going on in Vegas that night. A hand came up with this guy Marvin, who is one of the better higher limit players around. There was a raise from utg he called and I called to see the flop with AJ. The flop came J75 all spades. I decided I was going to check the hand to induce action as I obv flop strong here, if the preflop raiser bets I will be checkraising, he's only 3k deep anyway. Instead the preflop raiser checks and Marvin picks up the bet. Both Marvin and I are 10k + deep and I know he likes to gamble big pots so I decide I'm gonna just call here as I haven't been running good and maybe I can get him to bluff off with a worse hand. The turn brings in an offsuit A. So now I have top two, with nut flush draw. I check and Marvin overbets to about $550 into a $400 pot. This seemed a little fishy. Normally I would raise here but something held me back and I flat. The river bricked a 2 and I checked, Marvin fired again this time for just under 1k. Blah, now I really don't like it, and I don't really have a read on him, and with his capability to bluff in this spot I donate as he shows KQ spades. The pot wasn't that big but really there is an arguement that it could have been build up either on the flop or the turn. Thank goodness I played it soft like a girl.
Hand #9:
Thursday night I played in a wild game at the Bellagio. It got short handed pretty fast as the game consisted of many of the old crusty rocks who felt uncomfortable with the high level aggression. The game was drivin by a guy named Oscar from Norwary. He was drunk and into the game for 3ok. When it got short-handed I raised the button to $70 with 108 sooted, my favorite hand. He called and the flop came 976, gin. He checked I bet $120 he check raised to $420. In many situations I would raise back here as many turn cards could negate action from a big hand, but considering Oscar was raising with air many times I wanted 1 more bet from him before I would apply pressure, as I knew he would fire almost any turn whether he had something or not. The turn was a 3, he fired and I moved allin he called and the river came 10. We chopped the 10k pot as he flopped the smaller straight with 85. I hope you are beginning to understand why I have labelled my luck as unnatural.
Hand #10:
On my last night I played at the Bellagio. Kathy and I only had about 5 hours to play before we had to depart for the airport. I had scrapped together a small 2k win the day before and I was hoping to make another small score before leaving so I wouldn't have to go home and hang myself (just kidding). Finally something went my way.
I was utg+1 and smooth called the straddle. The guy immediately after me made it $180 and everyone else folded. The guy was tight, agressive and about 4k deep so I decided to disguise my hand by flatting as his range would be a big ace or big pair in this spot and by three betting (1-2nl style) I would not get another penny. So the flop came 762 two diamonds. I felt this looked like a drawing board that I may hit so I decided to donk bet $240 looking for a raise. He immediately raised to $650. I thought for minute and decided I was happy to get it in on the flop if he wanted to so I raised another $900. Instead of shoving he flatted. I figured he had a big pair and would stand with it as long as a flush card did not come down. The turn brought an offsuit Q and with the pot at over 3k and he having less than 2.5k left I shoved hoping obviously that he didn't just hit a set of queens. He thought for a minute and eventually called with what I don't know, prolly 1010/JJ/KK, putting me on a draw (in the past couple hours I had raised him out of a few small pots so I'm sure that was factored into his decision, he did seem like a fairly good player). The river came another Q and I took it down. Yeah! My first big pot since the 1010 nonsense.
There were alot of other smaller pots that went bad including 2 or 3 that I played soft with a big draw that if hit would have resulted in big scores because my opponents had huge hands. Even when I started off the trip with some solid wins, I won with lock hands and not by gambling (granted I hit quite a few hands). In fact, in the 17k upswing I only won 1 gambling pot for about 4.5k where I had QQ on a J42 against an ace high flush draw that held. Included in that win was 1 suckout on a 2k pot with J9 against AJ allin on a flop of J77. I thought the short stacker's overbet c-bet on the flop was bs so I shipped and he called and I sucked out.
Now that I have completed my venting session I would like to say that I still view poker as a game of variance and sometimes nothing goes right. If I keep playing well it has to turn around. I'm trying not to look at this trip from a results perspective as it would clearly be a bust, but I do feel I'm in very good control of my table and my game and I get alot of respect from the other tough regulars. The game has grown tougher over the last few years, but after conversing with several regulars that I feel are on the same level as me, each are still making over 500k / year minimum. So opportunity still does exist. I will likely go back down in a few weeks with Trav and hopefully my luck will reverse (or at least I will not get nailed by a 3 outer on every 10k pot). The way I see it is I should gain average to good luck simply by bunking in the same room as Seabiscuit, so the trip should turn profitable very quickly.
Take care and will report in when I go back down south.....and next time around I will try to update more regularily, just so happens when your losing you don't feel like talking about it.
Joe
Saturday, February 7, 2009
UNNATURAL
The title of this blog entry seemed to be the word Todd and I used to describe our bad luck since my last post 5 days into the trip. I'm sure you're thinking to yourself at this moment 'oh ya, here goes Joe with his skewed perspective on poker, offering up another host of reasons why he isn't killin it down south'. Well, all I can do is provide a detailed description of the critical hands and how they went down and I'll leave it to you to decide.
The trip started out well as indicated in my previous post. At my peak I was up close to 17k in cash games after about 1 week of play. The games were pretty good and I was running pretty good, not great, but good. Included in that glorious week of good times I kicked Todd's ass on the golf course for a few benjies and 2009 pre-season bragging rights. The course we played called Industy Hills (the Ike course) was the hardest course I ever played. I shot a 93 and felt good about it. The course was over 7200 yards from the tips (which we played), it was tight, and had tough greens. In fact, the PGA is having a tour event qualifier there in a couple weeks. In summary, it was a treat to be paid to go play (thank you Todd!).
The day after the golf game its like somebody turned on the doomsday switch. Personally, I booked 4 consecutive losses in LA (as did Todd I think). From there, we booked it to Vegas for a change of venue and to change the luck. Unfortunately, not much changed there. Todd left for home 3 days after reaching Vegas frustrated that he could not win a single pot of significance. Kathy came down the night Todd left and we stayed in Vegas for 4 more days before flying home late last night.
The reasons I came home for a break are threefold. First, I am running bad and a break can't hurt. For me, when I run bad it is very difficult to play my A game. I become a little more tentative meaning I scale back my aggression level and willingness to play big pots without lock hands. This is definately negative EV. I prefer when I play tough and I am the guy the table is most scared of. I find if you show your willingness to push light, and if you are always playing back at your opponents (granted you have to flop reasonable to do so), I find they stop playing back at you unless they have the hand, which then makes for easier decisions. The second reason is I am not feeling very well. I have caught a cold. As well, I need to see a doctor because I have bee experiencing frequent numbing of the hand/arms/legs. It freaks me out as it is one of the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes. I have been on a nutritional plan for a month now and have dropped 15 pounds. Its time to change my lifestyle regardless of what test results may show, but with a little luck I am overreacting and it turns out to be nothing. The third reason I've come back is to spend time with family and friends. Kathy's little guy misses me lots, which is cool, so I'll hang with the both of them a fair amount until I go back down (which I suspect will be somewhere around the time Trav goes down).
There were some highlights to the trip I'd like to share before going over key hand history.
1. I almost got into my first fight since I was in grade 2. There was this young, arrogant, pear shaped kid named Chris who was at my table during a stud tournament. I have played with him at the same table or same poker room many times in the past and on each occasion he manages to be the loudest, most obnoxious player in the room. This time was no different. There was a nice old man at the table who clearly did not understand the rules of the game and bet out of turn several times. The first time he did against Chris, Chris lectured him for about a minutes. I said nothing. Then it happened again about a half hour later. This time Chris is going off for at least 2 minutes. Finally, I pipe up and say 'it was an honest mistake, the guy meant no offense by his actions, can we just move on and play some cards'. Chris the pear immediately turned to me and said 'why don't you shut up and mind your own business'. I says 'pardon me?'. He says 'why don't you shut the fuck up and mind your own business'. I couldn't believe this guy. I know he's big but come on, if you act like this eventually you're going to piss the wrong guy off and be beaten to a pulp. Usually, I just blow this kind of stuff off but something about this guy and the way he talked to me, I turned red and was raging inside. I turned to him and said 'you ignorant puke, don't tell me to shut the fuck up, instead why don't you do everyone a favor and you shut the fuck up'. He immediately replies 'fuck you'. I then slam my chips against the table and say 'ok tough guy, why don't we go outside so I can ram your fucking head against the concrete'. He then quickly tries to shift focus away from fighting by challenging me to a 30k heads up freeze out. I replied by saying 'i'll play you as long as we go outside first so I can smash your fucking head in'. Then at about this point security came over and threatened both of us to stop or we'd get kicked out of the casino. Needless to say, I burned my chips off in the tourney because I didn't want to be there anymore. Unfortunately, he's a good player and I would have limited if any edge in a heads up confrontation. Anway, my record stretch of almost 30 years without a fight is still intact and as for the pear, he will get whats coming soon enough I'm sure.
2. The trip had my longest and largest losing streak ever in live poker. I lost 4 straight losing sessions in LA then 3 out of 4 in Vegas where I went from 17k up to about 9k down (plus expeneses and tournament costs). The only positives I can take from the streak is I maintained my composure and confidence throughout knowing it would turn around and I in fact I finished with 2k and 6k wins respectively in my last two sessions before flying home. So overall, I basically breakeven for the trip (before expenses) after running as bad as one can run. There is no doubt in mind that there is huge money to be made both in LA and in Vegas (maybe I have to be a better person so I can get average luck??? I'm looking for answers).
3. Kathy came down for 4 days and did well. She played 2 Venitian deepstack extraveganza tournies bubbling both in setup type situations, but overall played very well. Then on the side she carved up the 2/5 nl game at the bellagio winning several thousand over a two day period. I guess my teachings payoff, perhaps I should charge 25%?
4. I have always talked poorly about the bellagio feeling that the room is too busy and the people are too rude, which leads to an uncomfortable setting. In the past I have avoided the Bellagio like the plague, but this week decided to try it out a few times for a change of pace and to change my luck. There is no question, it has the best games for higher limits. I think from now on I will play the majority of my poker there instead of the Wynn. When Kathy came down we found rooms at the Trump Towers for $109/night. This is cheaper than the Wynn poker rate and is equally as nice. So, if these deals continue to surface I will stay there allowing me flexibility to play wherever I want without having to log 6 hours of play/day at the Wynn.
It seems i've grown a little tired while writing this post. I will save the hand descriptions for my next post, probably tomorrow when i get some time.
Peace out
The trip started out well as indicated in my previous post. At my peak I was up close to 17k in cash games after about 1 week of play. The games were pretty good and I was running pretty good, not great, but good. Included in that glorious week of good times I kicked Todd's ass on the golf course for a few benjies and 2009 pre-season bragging rights. The course we played called Industy Hills (the Ike course) was the hardest course I ever played. I shot a 93 and felt good about it. The course was over 7200 yards from the tips (which we played), it was tight, and had tough greens. In fact, the PGA is having a tour event qualifier there in a couple weeks. In summary, it was a treat to be paid to go play (thank you Todd!).
The day after the golf game its like somebody turned on the doomsday switch. Personally, I booked 4 consecutive losses in LA (as did Todd I think). From there, we booked it to Vegas for a change of venue and to change the luck. Unfortunately, not much changed there. Todd left for home 3 days after reaching Vegas frustrated that he could not win a single pot of significance. Kathy came down the night Todd left and we stayed in Vegas for 4 more days before flying home late last night.
The reasons I came home for a break are threefold. First, I am running bad and a break can't hurt. For me, when I run bad it is very difficult to play my A game. I become a little more tentative meaning I scale back my aggression level and willingness to play big pots without lock hands. This is definately negative EV. I prefer when I play tough and I am the guy the table is most scared of. I find if you show your willingness to push light, and if you are always playing back at your opponents (granted you have to flop reasonable to do so), I find they stop playing back at you unless they have the hand, which then makes for easier decisions. The second reason is I am not feeling very well. I have caught a cold. As well, I need to see a doctor because I have bee experiencing frequent numbing of the hand/arms/legs. It freaks me out as it is one of the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes. I have been on a nutritional plan for a month now and have dropped 15 pounds. Its time to change my lifestyle regardless of what test results may show, but with a little luck I am overreacting and it turns out to be nothing. The third reason I've come back is to spend time with family and friends. Kathy's little guy misses me lots, which is cool, so I'll hang with the both of them a fair amount until I go back down (which I suspect will be somewhere around the time Trav goes down).
There were some highlights to the trip I'd like to share before going over key hand history.
1. I almost got into my first fight since I was in grade 2. There was this young, arrogant, pear shaped kid named Chris who was at my table during a stud tournament. I have played with him at the same table or same poker room many times in the past and on each occasion he manages to be the loudest, most obnoxious player in the room. This time was no different. There was a nice old man at the table who clearly did not understand the rules of the game and bet out of turn several times. The first time he did against Chris, Chris lectured him for about a minutes. I said nothing. Then it happened again about a half hour later. This time Chris is going off for at least 2 minutes. Finally, I pipe up and say 'it was an honest mistake, the guy meant no offense by his actions, can we just move on and play some cards'. Chris the pear immediately turned to me and said 'why don't you shut up and mind your own business'. I says 'pardon me?'. He says 'why don't you shut the fuck up and mind your own business'. I couldn't believe this guy. I know he's big but come on, if you act like this eventually you're going to piss the wrong guy off and be beaten to a pulp. Usually, I just blow this kind of stuff off but something about this guy and the way he talked to me, I turned red and was raging inside. I turned to him and said 'you ignorant puke, don't tell me to shut the fuck up, instead why don't you do everyone a favor and you shut the fuck up'. He immediately replies 'fuck you'. I then slam my chips against the table and say 'ok tough guy, why don't we go outside so I can ram your fucking head against the concrete'. He then quickly tries to shift focus away from fighting by challenging me to a 30k heads up freeze out. I replied by saying 'i'll play you as long as we go outside first so I can smash your fucking head in'. Then at about this point security came over and threatened both of us to stop or we'd get kicked out of the casino. Needless to say, I burned my chips off in the tourney because I didn't want to be there anymore. Unfortunately, he's a good player and I would have limited if any edge in a heads up confrontation. Anway, my record stretch of almost 30 years without a fight is still intact and as for the pear, he will get whats coming soon enough I'm sure.
2. The trip had my longest and largest losing streak ever in live poker. I lost 4 straight losing sessions in LA then 3 out of 4 in Vegas where I went from 17k up to about 9k down (plus expeneses and tournament costs). The only positives I can take from the streak is I maintained my composure and confidence throughout knowing it would turn around and I in fact I finished with 2k and 6k wins respectively in my last two sessions before flying home. So overall, I basically breakeven for the trip (before expenses) after running as bad as one can run. There is no doubt in mind that there is huge money to be made both in LA and in Vegas (maybe I have to be a better person so I can get average luck??? I'm looking for answers).
3. Kathy came down for 4 days and did well. She played 2 Venitian deepstack extraveganza tournies bubbling both in setup type situations, but overall played very well. Then on the side she carved up the 2/5 nl game at the bellagio winning several thousand over a two day period. I guess my teachings payoff, perhaps I should charge 25%?
4. I have always talked poorly about the bellagio feeling that the room is too busy and the people are too rude, which leads to an uncomfortable setting. In the past I have avoided the Bellagio like the plague, but this week decided to try it out a few times for a change of pace and to change my luck. There is no question, it has the best games for higher limits. I think from now on I will play the majority of my poker there instead of the Wynn. When Kathy came down we found rooms at the Trump Towers for $109/night. This is cheaper than the Wynn poker rate and is equally as nice. So, if these deals continue to surface I will stay there allowing me flexibility to play wherever I want without having to log 6 hours of play/day at the Wynn.
It seems i've grown a little tired while writing this post. I will save the hand descriptions for my next post, probably tomorrow when i get some time.
Peace out
Monday, January 26, 2009
5 Days In
Not too much in the form of excitement thus far. I have played two tournies, both 335 nl holdem buyins. The first was on Day 1 and had 1600 players paying 120 spots, I finished around 225ish. I never had big chips and ended up pushing on the big blind with J10 and ran into KK...draw dead on turn, bad beat. The second tourney was earlier today. It had 800 players paying 72 spots, I finished 85th, sweet. Again, I never had big chips. I was floating around average most of the tourney never really getting good situations or good hands. I lost a key hand with 100 left racing 88 against AQ blind on blind after a goon shoved off my raise after everyone folded. I could have folded but figured I was way ahead or was racing at worst and givin the top heavy prize pool this seemed to be a good spot to become a big chip count. After losing when the ace flopped I became short stacked, built back a bit with blind steals, then found 1010 in blinds against the cutoff raise. I shoved and he called a somewhat big raise with A7 sooooted, door card ace. I love tournaments 21-40 minute levels played = $0
Cash games have been ok. The games are decent, but with exception to Day 1, I haven't hit much and seem to lose most of my 'gambly' pots vs short stackers (gambly referring to losing medium/big pots when chips on flop where I'm not at least 80% favorite). I had a bad day Friday losing over 5k, but still managed to pull an overall win close to 10k (in 3 long sessions and 2 short sessions on the tourney days). Could be better could obviously be worse. The main thing is I feel I'm playing solid agressive and my reads are on so with a little luck I good things should be just around the corner.
The weather has been the shits since arriving, however much better than 40 below. Its supposed to be sunny and warm Tuesday and Wednesday so probably will head out golfing one of those day. This should be good to clear the mind, take a break from poker, and take some cash off my buddy.
Tomorrow is the stud tournament. If I get up earlier enough to go for a workout (yes workout...I'm trying to drop a few pounds with daily exercise and good eating) and the cash games are a little slow I will probably play. I can't imagine the field or the prize pool will be big, but better than playing 10-20nl with a bunch of monday morning nits.
I'll try to report back by the end of the week.
Joe
Cash games have been ok. The games are decent, but with exception to Day 1, I haven't hit much and seem to lose most of my 'gambly' pots vs short stackers (gambly referring to losing medium/big pots when chips on flop where I'm not at least 80% favorite). I had a bad day Friday losing over 5k, but still managed to pull an overall win close to 10k (in 3 long sessions and 2 short sessions on the tourney days). Could be better could obviously be worse. The main thing is I feel I'm playing solid agressive and my reads are on so with a little luck I good things should be just around the corner.
The weather has been the shits since arriving, however much better than 40 below. Its supposed to be sunny and warm Tuesday and Wednesday so probably will head out golfing one of those day. This should be good to clear the mind, take a break from poker, and take some cash off my buddy.
Tomorrow is the stud tournament. If I get up earlier enough to go for a workout (yes workout...I'm trying to drop a few pounds with daily exercise and good eating) and the cash games are a little slow I will probably play. I can't imagine the field or the prize pool will be big, but better than playing 10-20nl with a bunch of monday morning nits.
I'll try to report back by the end of the week.
Joe
Monday, January 19, 2009
Snowbirdin
There is not too much on the poker front to tell since my trip to Costa Rica. I have spent the majority of time in Winnipeg hangin out with the family and friends. During this time I did spend a bit of time playing online, mostly on pacific poker. I found the games to be rather soft. The site has alot of sports betters who generously make donations on a regular basis. It has been a pretty good run.
I did go to Vegas for a week with Kathy and Braeden recently, from Jan 2-9th. It was a good time and we spent the majority of time doing things I normally wouldn't do in Vegas, including an almost fatal trip to the rides atop the Stratosphere. No real gambling stories to speak of as I only logged one short session.
Tomorrow morning I'm off to LA for the LA Classic. I'm going down with my buddy Todd and we plan to play there for the entire tournament, which lasts till late February. From there I will be heading to Vegas for the Wynn Classic. In all, I will be down south until the end of March. I will be playing some tournaments, but still focusing the majority of my effort grinding cash games. I plan to write a post at least once a week so look in from time to time. Feeling real good going into this trip, confidence is up and my game is sharp so hopefully a couple TV tables are in my near future.
Joe
I did go to Vegas for a week with Kathy and Braeden recently, from Jan 2-9th. It was a good time and we spent the majority of time doing things I normally wouldn't do in Vegas, including an almost fatal trip to the rides atop the Stratosphere. No real gambling stories to speak of as I only logged one short session.
Tomorrow morning I'm off to LA for the LA Classic. I'm going down with my buddy Todd and we plan to play there for the entire tournament, which lasts till late February. From there I will be heading to Vegas for the Wynn Classic. In all, I will be down south until the end of March. I will be playing some tournaments, but still focusing the majority of my effort grinding cash games. I plan to write a post at least once a week so look in from time to time. Feeling real good going into this trip, confidence is up and my game is sharp so hopefully a couple TV tables are in my near future.
Joe
Thursday, November 27, 2008
LSOP in Costa Rica
Well I just read the message board on Pegcity and noticed someone wrote that the Costa Rica tourney may be worth a post or two. Well, I would have to agree it is definately worth a post.
The tournament had just under 60 players, which was far less than was represented to me before I decided to go down, but realistically I probably would have went anyway givin the sweetheart deal offered to me. The buyin was 3k US. The field consisted of about 15 pros from a group called the 'Pic Club' or something like that, maybe 30 internet qualifiers, and a couple of randoms like myself. The tournament tournout was weak for two reasons. One, the venue was in the middle of nowhere, far removed from downtown San Jose so casual local player representation was limited. And two, they just had two major tournaments played in Costa Rica so perhaps many of the local casual players were tapped out.
The tournament structure was good. We started with 12k in chips with a long slow moving blind structure that increased once every hour - take note Club Regent. I found the field suprising weak/passive with very limited 3-betting preflop. Many of the internet qualifiers were players from DSI poker, a smaller site that has small nl games. Therefore, the tough higher limit online players were nowhere to be seen. As for the Pic Club players, obviously a couple of them are tough like TJ Cloutier, Kenna James, Kathy Liebert, Krazy Cannuck, etc... but most of them are nothing special, and some of them like Barbara Enright for example, I find are fishy. Luckily for me I didn't have to play with any of them till late in Day 1.
Day 1:
My early table draws were good, but I didn't really chip up. This one old lady kept hacking me down. She check, I bet, she call, she check, I bet, she call, and so on and so on, and everytime the cards were revealed she would win, usually tabling some ridiculas hand that beat me on the turn or river. Luckily, she was so bad and didn't bet her hands when she was strong (probably because she didn't know what she had) so I was able to fade being knocked out. By the end of level 3 I was actually down to 5k in chips, then my table broke. At my next table I went on a heater and was up to 20k in chips within 3o minutes thanks to some good situational luck and some well timed bluffs. Several hours later Mike LiSante from Winnipeg moved to my table with chips and within minutes took a ridiculas cooler. I raised utg with ak clubs, a tight player called, who has flatted me several times with big pairs, and Mike was in the big blind. The 3 of us went to the flop and it came Q83. I check cause I know that Q is likely to hit one of them. The tight guy bets after we both check and Mike check raises, I fold, and they both get it in. Mike flopped a set of 8s and the other guy had a set of queens, eww gross... so long Mike. By the end of day 1 I had 31k in chips, which was just over average with 23 guys left. The remained of the day was rather uneventful for me as I accumulated chips mostly with blind stealing or c-bets after the flop. A couple interesting hands went as follows:
First hand I opened a pot from mid position with AQ of diamonds and 5 took the flop, which was abnormal. The flop came Q42 with the 42 of spades. The big blind donk bet me for 1/2 pot and I raised as it seemed like a feeler bet with a smaller Q, then I was 3-betted by the button who was tight. I laid down even though I had quite a few chips in the middle already. I never saw his hand, but I am confident he hit a small set as we were both deep and he didn't seem like the type to gamble a Q plus flush draw type hand for a big pot. The second hand I was in the small blind with KQ, man I hate that hand, however a player raised from the cutoff for the 3rd time in a row when all folded to him. The big blind called as well and 3 of us went to the flop. The flop came K108, two diamonds. I checked, the big blind bet out 3/4 pot, and the original raiser went all in for about double the donk bet. I felt the big blind led out with some type of K or big 10 maybe, and I knew the short stacker would push with a wide range including KQ, KJ, a diamond draw, and maybe even a gutter like AQ or AJ with a diamond. I felt his push range was big enough that I would be winning well over 50% of the time so I decided to push all in to kick out the big blind. After pushing the big blind tanked for 5 minutes before finally folding, 108 as it turns out. The shortstacker had KK so I was drawing almost dead and ended up losing the pot. This hand was interesting, interesting most of all because my read of the situation was so far off. I was most suprised that the big blind would bet out with two pair givin the fact that the original raiser was short and would push with so many hands if checked to him. Plus, I am put into a squeeze and may call fairly light against the short stacker, so it is a great spot to pick up alot of chips by checking. Anyway, I guess he didn't think through the situation very well, at least in my opinion, but thank you for folding buddy or I would have been knocked out. The third hand is simple, but noteworthy, because it represents the first time in about 7 tournaments where I have been all-in in a tournament for a significant pot and won. Utg opened the pot and it was folded to me in the big blind. The hand took place shortly after the KQ so I was getting fairly short, about 12 big blinds. I looked down at AK and shoved knowing I may get called light as it was the same guy that folded the 108 to me. The guy snap called with AQ. Flop Q84, great, here we go again, the tournament curse continues, the turn came 10, river K. Bing! I couldn't believe it, I won.
Day 2
Prior to bagging my chips after day 1, I overheard the tournament director say that day 2 will start at 3:00. So, I left the poker area to go out for dinner and have a couple drinks with Myles, Jamie, and Mike and I did not return to the poker room until the next day. I casually made my way up to the poker room at about 2:50. When I walked into the room I instantly knew there was a problem because everyone was playing. A rather sick feeling went through my body and I immediately asked someone, what are they playing over there? Someone responded, oh, thats the tournament main event. Jesus! I immediately went over to the remaining two tables and asked where my seat was. The dealer said are you Joe Williams? I said ya. He said, we've been trying to get ahold of you for the last hour, the tournament started at 2:00 (The tournament director changed his mind on the start time wtf???). Good times, they had already lost 6 players and my chips were blinded off from 31k to 20k. I took it quite well and told myself, it'll just make for a good story when I win, sure....
When I sat down I took a quick look to survey situation. I had about 17 big blinds and noticed I had some tough opponents as TJ and Kenna both had at least 100k in chips and Kenna was two to my left. About 5 hands in I picked up AK of clubs. Someone I hadn't played with opened from early position and I had no read on him yet. I had enough chips to flat the hand to see the flop in position, but being one of the short stacks, and partially worked up by losing 1/3 of my chips to blinds and I decided I was going to commit to the hand so I reraised. He pondered and just called, which was rather strange considering close half my stack was in with the reraise. The flop came J93 two clubs and he checked. Well, pretty good flop I guess unless he's getting cute with aces or flopped a set of jacks, but otherwise I'm sure he'd a shoved into me on the flop with a better hand than AK (such as 1010, 88 etc... - QQ or KK obv pushes preflop). He checked I moved in and he folded, probably AQ. Shortly thereafter I picked up a few blinds and next thing you know I was close to 40k in chips, ok I'm over the late arrival thing, maybe it was a good thing allowing me to escape a draw out or cooler that would have sent me to the rail? Who knows. The rest of the play leading up to the final table was pretty standard for me. I was able to steal my share of blinds, however, at one point I got a little too active and Kenna started three betting me, so I tightened up a bit and he backed off. Our table had the majority of the short stacks trying to rock there way into the cash so I even go a few walks. The hand before the final table I picked up JJ and a short stacker jammed with A8 and I won. Wow, two preflop allins that held up in two days, amazing. One interesting hand prior to final table discussion involved TJ getting bounced. TJ raised from mid position and Kenna called from the small blind. 3 went to a flop Q1010 two clubs and Kenna led out for pot size. TJ called and the turn was an A. Kenna checked TJ bet big, close to pot, Kenna check raised allin and TJ called. TJ had KJ for straight and Kenna had 107. River was 7 and TJ steamed off complaining that his bad luck never ends. In fairness, I have seen him take some dirty ones in late stages of tournaments more than once. After that hand, Kenna had at least 1/3 of the chips in play.
Final Table
The tournament paid only 9 so I knew the play would be tight until someone got knocked out. There were 2 real small stacks. I was part of the 4 small/medium stacks. Kenna had a huge stack and Humberto Brennes had the dominent second biggest stack. Anyway, about 8 hands in this tight player raised in early position. I was in the big blind and looked down at what Mike Sexton calls 'the weapons of mass destruction'. Sweet, first time all tournament actually. I knew the kid had a real small range raising from early position on the bubble. I also knew he would fold everything but kk to a reraise so I decided to flat call. The flop came 652 with 2 diamonds. I checked he bet I raised allin, which was about standard givin my chip stack. I figured he would call with 1010 and up, especially with the flush draw out there. He called and showed KK, dirty. I faded the K on both the turn and river and all of a sudden I had a chance to win, moving into second in chips. After that hand we were in the money and both short stackers started pushing. I didn't pick up much for 1/2 hour so I just sat back until the short stackers were gone and we were down to 6. During this time, Kenna got rivered on a huge pot that would have givin him 75% of the chips in play. Allin on a A73 flop, Kenna had 77 against his opponents AK with K of hearts, river heart.
Once down to 6 players I started to shift gears and opened about every 3rd pot, mostly with junk. All of a sudden I picked up KK and I raised for 3rd time in a row. Kathy Liebert immediately moved all in and I called, she showed AQ. Givin she was getting short that was pretty standard and I won. Next, I chipped down Kenna, then knocked him out. On the first hand, I limped in with AQ from the small blind after the action folded to me. He raised, I reraised, and he shoved. After my reraise I had 50% of my chips in and was not going to fold. He tabled A10 and I doubled up becoming chip leader. He said he thought I was making a move. The second hand played out the same. Everyone folded to me in the small blind and I had AQs. I raised this time and he reraise, I shoved he tanked and called with 88. I flopped the ace and it held, man its nice to run good. At this point I had 1/2 the chips in play. Soon after, two more guys were bounced and I was heads up with Humberto with a 2 to 1 chip count.
Heads Up
About 10 hands in I doubled up Humberto. On a limped pot I had 53 in the big blind. The flop came J52 with two spades. I checked he bet I called. The turn came a 3 I checked and he bet strong, about pot size. Givin the size of the pot, his chip count, and the vulnerability of my hand I check raised him all in thinking I probably had the best. He snap called and showed A4. After that hand he were about even in chips and it stayed that way for about 1/2 hour. Humberto did a lot of limping, sometimes with big hands looking for a raise preflop. I respected the fact he sometimes limped with big hands so I rarely raised from the big blind. Also, I felt I had an edge on him on flop play. He is obviously a very good tournament player, but his tournament skills lie more in his preflop decision making than crafty postflop play, especially in heads up situations. During the early part of the heads up match he was clearly catching better cards and outflopping me and he eventually took the chip lead. Two key hands came about before finally making a deal. The first hand, he limped and I raised with QJs. The flop came KQ9 and I lead out and he made a big push allin. I really felt he had KJ, K10, or maybe Q9 and after doing the math and factoring in I had an advantage playing small pots I decided to fold leaving myself with about 1/4 of the chips. About 10 hands later and being chiped down a bit he open shoved for about 15 big blinds. In previous situations, he would raise about 2 3/4 the big blind with big hands and I felt that he was pushing with a weaker type hand such as two pictures or a weak ace. I decided to make a stand with A7 and he tabled A5. Somehow we didn't have a chopping board and I doubled up. After the hand, we became almost even in chips and he asked me if I would want to give second place 40k, taking 7.5k off of first. I agreed and we continued to play for the title and a 10k differential. Our battle continued and last about 2.5 hours before I eventually won. A few key hands go as follows:
Hand 1: I had A5 of spades he raised I called. The flop came Q109 rainbow I check he checked. The turn was a 7 bringing in a diamond draw. I led out for 2/3 pot knowing he would not check a big hand on the flop giving the texture of the board, he called. River blanked and I bet 100k, a big bet, close to 3/4 pot and he eventually folded. I put him on a hand like K10 at best and figured he would noot take the river heat.
Hand 2: On a limped pot I had K10 and the flop came Q63 rainbow, I checked he bet I raised he folded. Up to this point I had check raised him with air on about 4 pots never showing. Normally I would never show, but he continued to play very catious and I was starting to tire so when he asked me what I had I turned over my hand and he got upset. After this hand, he started to push harder creating an opportunity for me to finish him if I picked up a big hand.
Hand 3: I had chipped up and had Humberto down to less than 1/3 of the chips. After losing a pot at showdown, he open shoved for 13 big blinds and I looked down at AQ and quickly called. He showed K3 and turned a K to double up.
Hand 4: On a limped pot with Q9 I flopped quads. I checked he checked. The turn came 7 and I led out and he raised pretty big. I decided to flat trying to represent a 7 and knowing he would fold to a reraise no matter what. River blanked I checked hoping he would bet if he had nothing. He thought for a minute, shrugged and said check. I showed my hand and he chuckled, i'm pretty sure he had nothing. I find those kind of hands hard to play. How can you get more chips here?
Hand 5: I raised the button for the 3rd time in a row. Humberto was getting pretty low, about 14 big blinds, as the blinds were starting to get fairly big, and he shoved. I had AQ and quickly called, he showed A6 and I won. Good game, good times, i'm starting to really like AQ.
I had several partners/horses for this tournament so I didn't make that much money when the smoke cleared, but I will say it was a real sweet victory. I have had some real bad luck in big tournaments over the last couple years and to win won, albeit not a huge tournament, is great for my confidence. Hopefully, this win will jump start a spectacular 2009 tournament run. Also, some of my poker collegues can't bug me as much anymore for being 'a tournament hacker'. I don't blame them, up to this point I had never cashed over 15k in a live tournament in my life.
Anyway, in vegas right now till Friday then home where I will hang out through to the end of the holidays. Kathy, Braeden, and I will likely go on a vacation early January (hopefully Bahamas if I can qualify) then probably off to the states for more poker action late January. I will update if anything exciting happens.
Later,
The tournament had just under 60 players, which was far less than was represented to me before I decided to go down, but realistically I probably would have went anyway givin the sweetheart deal offered to me. The buyin was 3k US. The field consisted of about 15 pros from a group called the 'Pic Club' or something like that, maybe 30 internet qualifiers, and a couple of randoms like myself. The tournament tournout was weak for two reasons. One, the venue was in the middle of nowhere, far removed from downtown San Jose so casual local player representation was limited. And two, they just had two major tournaments played in Costa Rica so perhaps many of the local casual players were tapped out.
The tournament structure was good. We started with 12k in chips with a long slow moving blind structure that increased once every hour - take note Club Regent. I found the field suprising weak/passive with very limited 3-betting preflop. Many of the internet qualifiers were players from DSI poker, a smaller site that has small nl games. Therefore, the tough higher limit online players were nowhere to be seen. As for the Pic Club players, obviously a couple of them are tough like TJ Cloutier, Kenna James, Kathy Liebert, Krazy Cannuck, etc... but most of them are nothing special, and some of them like Barbara Enright for example, I find are fishy. Luckily for me I didn't have to play with any of them till late in Day 1.
Day 1:
My early table draws were good, but I didn't really chip up. This one old lady kept hacking me down. She check, I bet, she call, she check, I bet, she call, and so on and so on, and everytime the cards were revealed she would win, usually tabling some ridiculas hand that beat me on the turn or river. Luckily, she was so bad and didn't bet her hands when she was strong (probably because she didn't know what she had) so I was able to fade being knocked out. By the end of level 3 I was actually down to 5k in chips, then my table broke. At my next table I went on a heater and was up to 20k in chips within 3o minutes thanks to some good situational luck and some well timed bluffs. Several hours later Mike LiSante from Winnipeg moved to my table with chips and within minutes took a ridiculas cooler. I raised utg with ak clubs, a tight player called, who has flatted me several times with big pairs, and Mike was in the big blind. The 3 of us went to the flop and it came Q83. I check cause I know that Q is likely to hit one of them. The tight guy bets after we both check and Mike check raises, I fold, and they both get it in. Mike flopped a set of 8s and the other guy had a set of queens, eww gross... so long Mike. By the end of day 1 I had 31k in chips, which was just over average with 23 guys left. The remained of the day was rather uneventful for me as I accumulated chips mostly with blind stealing or c-bets after the flop. A couple interesting hands went as follows:
First hand I opened a pot from mid position with AQ of diamonds and 5 took the flop, which was abnormal. The flop came Q42 with the 42 of spades. The big blind donk bet me for 1/2 pot and I raised as it seemed like a feeler bet with a smaller Q, then I was 3-betted by the button who was tight. I laid down even though I had quite a few chips in the middle already. I never saw his hand, but I am confident he hit a small set as we were both deep and he didn't seem like the type to gamble a Q plus flush draw type hand for a big pot. The second hand I was in the small blind with KQ, man I hate that hand, however a player raised from the cutoff for the 3rd time in a row when all folded to him. The big blind called as well and 3 of us went to the flop. The flop came K108, two diamonds. I checked, the big blind bet out 3/4 pot, and the original raiser went all in for about double the donk bet. I felt the big blind led out with some type of K or big 10 maybe, and I knew the short stacker would push with a wide range including KQ, KJ, a diamond draw, and maybe even a gutter like AQ or AJ with a diamond. I felt his push range was big enough that I would be winning well over 50% of the time so I decided to push all in to kick out the big blind. After pushing the big blind tanked for 5 minutes before finally folding, 108 as it turns out. The shortstacker had KK so I was drawing almost dead and ended up losing the pot. This hand was interesting, interesting most of all because my read of the situation was so far off. I was most suprised that the big blind would bet out with two pair givin the fact that the original raiser was short and would push with so many hands if checked to him. Plus, I am put into a squeeze and may call fairly light against the short stacker, so it is a great spot to pick up alot of chips by checking. Anyway, I guess he didn't think through the situation very well, at least in my opinion, but thank you for folding buddy or I would have been knocked out. The third hand is simple, but noteworthy, because it represents the first time in about 7 tournaments where I have been all-in in a tournament for a significant pot and won. Utg opened the pot and it was folded to me in the big blind. The hand took place shortly after the KQ so I was getting fairly short, about 12 big blinds. I looked down at AK and shoved knowing I may get called light as it was the same guy that folded the 108 to me. The guy snap called with AQ. Flop Q84, great, here we go again, the tournament curse continues, the turn came 10, river K. Bing! I couldn't believe it, I won.
Day 2
Prior to bagging my chips after day 1, I overheard the tournament director say that day 2 will start at 3:00. So, I left the poker area to go out for dinner and have a couple drinks with Myles, Jamie, and Mike and I did not return to the poker room until the next day. I casually made my way up to the poker room at about 2:50. When I walked into the room I instantly knew there was a problem because everyone was playing. A rather sick feeling went through my body and I immediately asked someone, what are they playing over there? Someone responded, oh, thats the tournament main event. Jesus! I immediately went over to the remaining two tables and asked where my seat was. The dealer said are you Joe Williams? I said ya. He said, we've been trying to get ahold of you for the last hour, the tournament started at 2:00 (The tournament director changed his mind on the start time wtf???). Good times, they had already lost 6 players and my chips were blinded off from 31k to 20k. I took it quite well and told myself, it'll just make for a good story when I win, sure....
When I sat down I took a quick look to survey situation. I had about 17 big blinds and noticed I had some tough opponents as TJ and Kenna both had at least 100k in chips and Kenna was two to my left. About 5 hands in I picked up AK of clubs. Someone I hadn't played with opened from early position and I had no read on him yet. I had enough chips to flat the hand to see the flop in position, but being one of the short stacks, and partially worked up by losing 1/3 of my chips to blinds and I decided I was going to commit to the hand so I reraised. He pondered and just called, which was rather strange considering close half my stack was in with the reraise. The flop came J93 two clubs and he checked. Well, pretty good flop I guess unless he's getting cute with aces or flopped a set of jacks, but otherwise I'm sure he'd a shoved into me on the flop with a better hand than AK (such as 1010, 88 etc... - QQ or KK obv pushes preflop). He checked I moved in and he folded, probably AQ. Shortly thereafter I picked up a few blinds and next thing you know I was close to 40k in chips, ok I'm over the late arrival thing, maybe it was a good thing allowing me to escape a draw out or cooler that would have sent me to the rail? Who knows. The rest of the play leading up to the final table was pretty standard for me. I was able to steal my share of blinds, however, at one point I got a little too active and Kenna started three betting me, so I tightened up a bit and he backed off. Our table had the majority of the short stacks trying to rock there way into the cash so I even go a few walks. The hand before the final table I picked up JJ and a short stacker jammed with A8 and I won. Wow, two preflop allins that held up in two days, amazing. One interesting hand prior to final table discussion involved TJ getting bounced. TJ raised from mid position and Kenna called from the small blind. 3 went to a flop Q1010 two clubs and Kenna led out for pot size. TJ called and the turn was an A. Kenna checked TJ bet big, close to pot, Kenna check raised allin and TJ called. TJ had KJ for straight and Kenna had 107. River was 7 and TJ steamed off complaining that his bad luck never ends. In fairness, I have seen him take some dirty ones in late stages of tournaments more than once. After that hand, Kenna had at least 1/3 of the chips in play.
Final Table
The tournament paid only 9 so I knew the play would be tight until someone got knocked out. There were 2 real small stacks. I was part of the 4 small/medium stacks. Kenna had a huge stack and Humberto Brennes had the dominent second biggest stack. Anyway, about 8 hands in this tight player raised in early position. I was in the big blind and looked down at what Mike Sexton calls 'the weapons of mass destruction'. Sweet, first time all tournament actually. I knew the kid had a real small range raising from early position on the bubble. I also knew he would fold everything but kk to a reraise so I decided to flat call. The flop came 652 with 2 diamonds. I checked he bet I raised allin, which was about standard givin my chip stack. I figured he would call with 1010 and up, especially with the flush draw out there. He called and showed KK, dirty. I faded the K on both the turn and river and all of a sudden I had a chance to win, moving into second in chips. After that hand we were in the money and both short stackers started pushing. I didn't pick up much for 1/2 hour so I just sat back until the short stackers were gone and we were down to 6. During this time, Kenna got rivered on a huge pot that would have givin him 75% of the chips in play. Allin on a A73 flop, Kenna had 77 against his opponents AK with K of hearts, river heart.
Once down to 6 players I started to shift gears and opened about every 3rd pot, mostly with junk. All of a sudden I picked up KK and I raised for 3rd time in a row. Kathy Liebert immediately moved all in and I called, she showed AQ. Givin she was getting short that was pretty standard and I won. Next, I chipped down Kenna, then knocked him out. On the first hand, I limped in with AQ from the small blind after the action folded to me. He raised, I reraised, and he shoved. After my reraise I had 50% of my chips in and was not going to fold. He tabled A10 and I doubled up becoming chip leader. He said he thought I was making a move. The second hand played out the same. Everyone folded to me in the small blind and I had AQs. I raised this time and he reraise, I shoved he tanked and called with 88. I flopped the ace and it held, man its nice to run good. At this point I had 1/2 the chips in play. Soon after, two more guys were bounced and I was heads up with Humberto with a 2 to 1 chip count.
Heads Up
About 10 hands in I doubled up Humberto. On a limped pot I had 53 in the big blind. The flop came J52 with two spades. I checked he bet I called. The turn came a 3 I checked and he bet strong, about pot size. Givin the size of the pot, his chip count, and the vulnerability of my hand I check raised him all in thinking I probably had the best. He snap called and showed A4. After that hand he were about even in chips and it stayed that way for about 1/2 hour. Humberto did a lot of limping, sometimes with big hands looking for a raise preflop. I respected the fact he sometimes limped with big hands so I rarely raised from the big blind. Also, I felt I had an edge on him on flop play. He is obviously a very good tournament player, but his tournament skills lie more in his preflop decision making than crafty postflop play, especially in heads up situations. During the early part of the heads up match he was clearly catching better cards and outflopping me and he eventually took the chip lead. Two key hands came about before finally making a deal. The first hand, he limped and I raised with QJs. The flop came KQ9 and I lead out and he made a big push allin. I really felt he had KJ, K10, or maybe Q9 and after doing the math and factoring in I had an advantage playing small pots I decided to fold leaving myself with about 1/4 of the chips. About 10 hands later and being chiped down a bit he open shoved for about 15 big blinds. In previous situations, he would raise about 2 3/4 the big blind with big hands and I felt that he was pushing with a weaker type hand such as two pictures or a weak ace. I decided to make a stand with A7 and he tabled A5. Somehow we didn't have a chopping board and I doubled up. After the hand, we became almost even in chips and he asked me if I would want to give second place 40k, taking 7.5k off of first. I agreed and we continued to play for the title and a 10k differential. Our battle continued and last about 2.5 hours before I eventually won. A few key hands go as follows:
Hand 1: I had A5 of spades he raised I called. The flop came Q109 rainbow I check he checked. The turn was a 7 bringing in a diamond draw. I led out for 2/3 pot knowing he would not check a big hand on the flop giving the texture of the board, he called. River blanked and I bet 100k, a big bet, close to 3/4 pot and he eventually folded. I put him on a hand like K10 at best and figured he would noot take the river heat.
Hand 2: On a limped pot I had K10 and the flop came Q63 rainbow, I checked he bet I raised he folded. Up to this point I had check raised him with air on about 4 pots never showing. Normally I would never show, but he continued to play very catious and I was starting to tire so when he asked me what I had I turned over my hand and he got upset. After this hand, he started to push harder creating an opportunity for me to finish him if I picked up a big hand.
Hand 3: I had chipped up and had Humberto down to less than 1/3 of the chips. After losing a pot at showdown, he open shoved for 13 big blinds and I looked down at AQ and quickly called. He showed K3 and turned a K to double up.
Hand 4: On a limped pot with Q9 I flopped quads. I checked he checked. The turn came 7 and I led out and he raised pretty big. I decided to flat trying to represent a 7 and knowing he would fold to a reraise no matter what. River blanked I checked hoping he would bet if he had nothing. He thought for a minute, shrugged and said check. I showed my hand and he chuckled, i'm pretty sure he had nothing. I find those kind of hands hard to play. How can you get more chips here?
Hand 5: I raised the button for the 3rd time in a row. Humberto was getting pretty low, about 14 big blinds, as the blinds were starting to get fairly big, and he shoved. I had AQ and quickly called, he showed A6 and I won. Good game, good times, i'm starting to really like AQ.
I had several partners/horses for this tournament so I didn't make that much money when the smoke cleared, but I will say it was a real sweet victory. I have had some real bad luck in big tournaments over the last couple years and to win won, albeit not a huge tournament, is great for my confidence. Hopefully, this win will jump start a spectacular 2009 tournament run. Also, some of my poker collegues can't bug me as much anymore for being 'a tournament hacker'. I don't blame them, up to this point I had never cashed over 15k in a live tournament in my life.
Anyway, in vegas right now till Friday then home where I will hang out through to the end of the holidays. Kathy, Braeden, and I will likely go on a vacation early January (hopefully Bahamas if I can qualify) then probably off to the states for more poker action late January. I will update if anything exciting happens.
Later,
Monday, November 17, 2008
Peek n Valleys
Its a boring Monday night. I just got back from the Harvest Poker Classic in Regina and poker is on my mind. I am sooo lazy when it comes to the blog and for that I apologize, that is if anyone reads it.
The last couple months have been a struggle. I continued having great success online on Cake for the remainder of August (as I continued to run/play well, wish I could run well more often). Unfortunately, the doomdsday switch was once again issued upon me in September. It didn't help that I increased limits to compensate for the losses, looking for the quick score to get even (one day I will learn that this is not a wise strategy). In the end, I had a 50k downswing in September, significantly denting my summer profit.
In October, I dropped limits and hours logged considerably online. Due to the downturn it was hard to motivate myself to play. I did go to Niagara Falls with Trav, where I continued to run bad, and towards the end of the trip probably played bad. Luckily the players were soft so I was able to book a small win of 8k when the smoke cleared. I stuck mostly to the 10/25 games as the 25/50 had tougher players and I was not hitting.
October also marked the beginning and probably the end of the high stake home games. Since coming home Trav has organized several home games with blinds 5/10, however, the game turns out playing like a 10/20nl, mabye higher. I have run rather poor in these games as well, usually missing every board until I hit a solid second best hand, your welcome Rosie for the 17k cooler... Anyway, regardless of my luck, I will say I did not play my best poker.
Screw the game anyway it sucks and probably won't last much longer. With most of the 'weaker' players unwilling to show up anymore the game consists of Travis, Zenni, Myles, Rosie, and 1 or 2 tight/solid shortstackers. I think I could find a better game in Bobby's room. These guys are good! I have seen some pretty creative stuff from each of them and think it has helped me look at some situations in a different light. Obviously, Trav and Myles are successful players that have been for awhile, but I would like to give special praise to Zenni or 'Little Ivey' as we like to call him. This kid has only been playin for a couple years, with maybe 9 months of higher stake games under his belt and the truth is he may be the most dangerous player of em all. He has a great approach to the game with the right demeaner, he mixes it up alot, reads well, and he is certainly not scared to play a big pot. I have had the chance to play and chat with him lots as of late, in games in and out of town, and I really quite like him. I won't be suprised to see him achieve great successes in poker.
After Niagara, I took the better part of 2 weeks off so I could recharge and clear my head before heading down to Regina for the Harvest Classic. I knew I was starting to play bad and I just needed a break to get back on track. Its funny, during those almost 2 weeks I had a hard time staying away, like a crack addict without his crack.... I have a gambling problem, oh well.
Regina has always been my favorite venue for poker because of its proximity to Winnipeg and the volume of peggers that show up every year to play a little poker and drink alot of booze. I have been going down for 9 years now, usually once a year, and still have yet to win a tournament. In fact, I think I've only had 2 final tables. This year turned out to be no different and the results were as follows:
-I got cut up by a bunch of butchers in the omaha h/l and finished mid pack. I never had chips cause I kept getting rivered. I played with close to 20 different people and the truth is not one knew the game well;
-I finished just passed mid pack in 100 rebuy. I never had big chips as everytime I won a pot I would be chopped down by a dirty setup;
-I finished 19 out of 365 a good but frustrating finish. I ran 2/8 in showdowns were I was either dominating or flipping, including the hand that killed me where I had AK run into J10 all in preflop for serious chips to give me a shot.
-I finished 34 out of 220 in main event, 11 out of the cash. This one was really upsetting because I had massive chips early and into the later stages of the tourney. Again, could not win a showdown, going probably 2/7 in key hands where I was favored over shortstack preflop jams, sometimes heavily favored. Also, it didn't make it any easier when I was moved to the toughest Regina table I've ever had with 50 players to go. Oh well, at least my buddy Chris took the tournament down, I'm happy for him.
-Made some in the cash games though so the trip was positive 3.5k after expenses.
Its back to back trips this go around. I returned last night from Regina and am off to Costa Rica on Wed morning with Myles for a tournament. Our friend Jamie Harvey provided an offer we couldn't refuse, which included an all expenses paid trip and entry into the tournament, where I play and split any profit 3 ways. The offer was too good to pass up so no BC Open this year. Hopefully it will be a worthwhile trip.
Getting tired so I'm off. Will try to update after Costa Rica, maybe to describe how I faded a 5 outer to win a tournament for once, who knows, time will tell. Cheers...
The last couple months have been a struggle. I continued having great success online on Cake for the remainder of August (as I continued to run/play well, wish I could run well more often). Unfortunately, the doomdsday switch was once again issued upon me in September. It didn't help that I increased limits to compensate for the losses, looking for the quick score to get even (one day I will learn that this is not a wise strategy). In the end, I had a 50k downswing in September, significantly denting my summer profit.
In October, I dropped limits and hours logged considerably online. Due to the downturn it was hard to motivate myself to play. I did go to Niagara Falls with Trav, where I continued to run bad, and towards the end of the trip probably played bad. Luckily the players were soft so I was able to book a small win of 8k when the smoke cleared. I stuck mostly to the 10/25 games as the 25/50 had tougher players and I was not hitting.
October also marked the beginning and probably the end of the high stake home games. Since coming home Trav has organized several home games with blinds 5/10, however, the game turns out playing like a 10/20nl, mabye higher. I have run rather poor in these games as well, usually missing every board until I hit a solid second best hand, your welcome Rosie for the 17k cooler... Anyway, regardless of my luck, I will say I did not play my best poker.
Screw the game anyway it sucks and probably won't last much longer. With most of the 'weaker' players unwilling to show up anymore the game consists of Travis, Zenni, Myles, Rosie, and 1 or 2 tight/solid shortstackers. I think I could find a better game in Bobby's room. These guys are good! I have seen some pretty creative stuff from each of them and think it has helped me look at some situations in a different light. Obviously, Trav and Myles are successful players that have been for awhile, but I would like to give special praise to Zenni or 'Little Ivey' as we like to call him. This kid has only been playin for a couple years, with maybe 9 months of higher stake games under his belt and the truth is he may be the most dangerous player of em all. He has a great approach to the game with the right demeaner, he mixes it up alot, reads well, and he is certainly not scared to play a big pot. I have had the chance to play and chat with him lots as of late, in games in and out of town, and I really quite like him. I won't be suprised to see him achieve great successes in poker.
After Niagara, I took the better part of 2 weeks off so I could recharge and clear my head before heading down to Regina for the Harvest Classic. I knew I was starting to play bad and I just needed a break to get back on track. Its funny, during those almost 2 weeks I had a hard time staying away, like a crack addict without his crack.... I have a gambling problem, oh well.
Regina has always been my favorite venue for poker because of its proximity to Winnipeg and the volume of peggers that show up every year to play a little poker and drink alot of booze. I have been going down for 9 years now, usually once a year, and still have yet to win a tournament. In fact, I think I've only had 2 final tables. This year turned out to be no different and the results were as follows:
-I got cut up by a bunch of butchers in the omaha h/l and finished mid pack. I never had chips cause I kept getting rivered. I played with close to 20 different people and the truth is not one knew the game well;
-I finished just passed mid pack in 100 rebuy. I never had big chips as everytime I won a pot I would be chopped down by a dirty setup;
-I finished 19 out of 365 a good but frustrating finish. I ran 2/8 in showdowns were I was either dominating or flipping, including the hand that killed me where I had AK run into J10 all in preflop for serious chips to give me a shot.
-I finished 34 out of 220 in main event, 11 out of the cash. This one was really upsetting because I had massive chips early and into the later stages of the tourney. Again, could not win a showdown, going probably 2/7 in key hands where I was favored over shortstack preflop jams, sometimes heavily favored. Also, it didn't make it any easier when I was moved to the toughest Regina table I've ever had with 50 players to go. Oh well, at least my buddy Chris took the tournament down, I'm happy for him.
-Made some in the cash games though so the trip was positive 3.5k after expenses.
Its back to back trips this go around. I returned last night from Regina and am off to Costa Rica on Wed morning with Myles for a tournament. Our friend Jamie Harvey provided an offer we couldn't refuse, which included an all expenses paid trip and entry into the tournament, where I play and split any profit 3 ways. The offer was too good to pass up so no BC Open this year. Hopefully it will be a worthwhile trip.
Getting tired so I'm off. Will try to update after Costa Rica, maybe to describe how I faded a 5 outer to win a tournament for once, who knows, time will tell. Cheers...
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