Saturday night and not only am I out of the heads up tourney, but the 1ker too. I must suck at tournies....i'm still a nobody!
The heads up was short and sweet. The structure was decent with 10k starting chips and best 2 out of 3. Unfortunately they took out some blind levels so it wasn't as small ball poker as last year. In the round of 64 I drew Brad Booth, probably 1 of about 5-6 guys I didnt' want to play early on. I have played Brad hu online some at fulltilt and a few times in ring live in BC and Vegas. I have to give credit where credit's due, he played well.
Match 1: He was limping a lot to feel me out. I on the other hand raised most buttons and he was content seeing many flops out of position. Without really getting involved in anything real big I got a 15k to 5k chip lead midway through the 3rd level. During the 3rd level I started limping and min raising a bit so I wouldn't commit too high a % of chips relative to his stack where I would have to fold pre if I had a weaker hand (he started reraising to a pot committed 3 bet out of position) . I found once I started limping a few times he started raising from out of position. Finally I pick up aces when he was down to 4.5k. I limped he raised I flat. Flop was 862 two spades and he fired. By this time he was down to just over 3k with the chips invested in the pot and I thought I would look like I'm trying to float/call light so that he would push the turn, which would be pot size. I didn't necessarily think he had much and I didn't want to scare him away. The turn paired the 2 and he shoved, I called and he showed J9 of spades. The river brought a brick and I faded the flush draw. Note: regardless of how that hand started it was going to probably go in based on the tempo of the match. If I raise pre he defends and the flop is shipped.
Match 2: We banged back and forth through the first level about even. Then on the second level I raised the button with J4 hearts. The flop came 653 rainbow, he checked I bet he called. The turn brought the A of hearts giving me a backdoor flush draw, open ended and a good semi bluff ace rep. He checked and I bet $600, which was about 60% pot. He check raised to $2400, about the first real big checkraise he made to this point. This was a big bet for early blind levels and I figured he was big, likely aces up or better (too early in match and the line on that kind of hand would seem far too risky, much better spots for a big bluff). Anyway I take the heat for $1800 because I think its game over if the heart hits and I may still get paid if the straight hits. The river bricks and makes a big bet (he later told me he flopped a set - we discussed the big pots after the match). So now I'm down to about 7k. We banged around for about another 30min before our next real big pot. He raised from the button (he started to raise the button alot in match 2). I looked down at AK, by far the biggest hand I had seen in match 2. I reraised and we went to the flop, with about 2k in the middle. The flop came Q52 two clubs one spade. I decided to continue because the board was dry and I don't think he could continue with much (maybe a pocket pair or a Q). Plus, I had checked the flop after three betting both times in the first match, once for pot control after missing and once to check raise, both of which he checked and folded once I bet. So I bet 1,200 and he called. The turn brought the ace of spades. I felt I should have the best here unless he fluked a set of 2s or 5s, however I would have expected him to raise the flop with such hands hoping I have something and think he's moving on a flush draw. Anyway, I bet out 2,500 (the pot is too big already for pot control and to induce bluffing, and with the two flush draws out there I can't give a free one. Note: Brad is not dumb enough to bet without a strong hand if I check, so check to raise would not be a viable option where it could work against weaker aggro types). As it turns out he quickly puts me in for another 3k. I was suprised and upset because I was probably beat, however with the cash in there and the fact he could have a Q plus spades type hand or an outside chance he could be trying to run me off my hand if he thinks I don't like the ace (remember I hadn't continued through on the other two preflop 3 bets, meaning he could think I hit the flop which means Q, pocket pair, etc... and follow through with turn ace even though I don't have it so I prevent him from taking away the pot if I check). All these theories were nice but in the end I found that he turned aces up with A5. I didn't negate him on the river and match 2 was done.
Match 3: During some of match 2 and into match 3 I started to limp on the button more. Usually I don't do this but I he started 3 betting more frequently and by limping, sometimes with good hands and sometimes with marginal, I found I was winning the lions share as he had to continue out of position far too much. The the pots much smaller I was able to float, peel, or whatever and it put him in tough spots. Anyway, during the first 3 levels of match 3 I chipped him down and found myself with 13.5k to his 6.5k then this hand happened. Once he hit below 7k he started trying to limp a bit more, obviously to see flops cheap and not risk going into danger low chip levels. On this particular hand it was his 3rd limp in a row from the button. I hand't raised out of position at all during our match with pure junk but I didn't want him to think he could keep seeing flops cheap. So with the blinds at 1-2 I made it 700 with K2 off and he flat. I thought at the time he had some type of 78, j10 type hand he that flops well. So we go to the flop and its KJ2 rainbow. I continue with 1000 and he raises me to 2,500. At this point I think he has K9 suited, mabye aces, but not KJ or 22 because I would expect him to have raised those preflop. So obviously I'm excited because I think its over. I hollywood a bit and shove he insta calls and shows JJ...sick cooler. So know I'm on the short with about 7k. We bang back and forth for another 30 min. Then I pick up 77 and raise to 1050 with only 6k behind, he raises to 2,500 and I fold (this was the first min type raise. He told me after he felt like such a fish pulling that one on me, I told him ya, I would have likely stood with 77 as blinds were going to 3-6 in 5 min - he had AA). A couple hands later and sitting at 6k I raise with AK to 1050 (probably last hand at 2-4). Brad shoves and I call. He had 22 and it held. By the way that AK was the only top 10 hand of the 3rd match. In fact, my hands and flop hitting were weak in the 2nd and 3rd match.
All said and done I think I played well against him. I adjusted to expose his weaker spots (the aggression out of position) and I think I kept him guessing. In the end I felt I was on the wrong side of luck as per usual. I don't know if I have an edge on him or not, if so it would be marginal, either way when skills match up close you have to win the big pots. Brad is down to the final 4 and is playing some kid who just beat Helmuth in the quarters. I hope he wins so at least I can say I lost to the eventual champ. I wouldn't be suprised because he's playing well and has not lost a game since droping the one to me. It should be a good finish as Jeff Madson and some high limit sniper named Terrence are playing in the other semi. No matter what I would have had to play well and had some luck because it was a tough field in general with at least 20 great heads up players out of 93 entrants.
The 1k multi today sucked. Summary: bounced before halfway point and best hand AQ then 66. As a somewhat shorty I pushed on an openended straight and was called then shockingly bricked.
The only luck I had all week was dodging a 1k dinner bill at Caesar's steak house when Kathy and I went down with about 8 other poker players for a bite. Antonio Esfandiari bullied everyone into picking a card where the low card pays the bill. He ended up losing at his own game (but thats ok because he was likely the richest guy at the table).
Work has been very busy and I have been down in Virginia. I will likely be going back in June thus cutting into WSOP time. No choice as it is a critical time for the company and I'm working 12 hour days for the first time in years. I haven't had much time for online, but what time I have spent playing has worked out alright. I expect to play the main event for WSOP but not sure how much more. I will update when I know whats happening for Vegas.
joe
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Winter Wrap-up
Another apology for being so lazy with the blog. In fairness, I have been quite busy on the homefront spending quality time with the family, time at work, and grinding online since coming home last Sunday after Regina.
So, pretty easy to recap the last month and a half...complete waste of time!!! Well, at least financially. I finished off Vegas up maybe 5k after expenses for 3 weeks of play thanks to a 16k upswing in the last week, but then I arrived in Regina for the tourney and it cost me my Vegas profits plus a little interest. They raised the playable limits in Regina to 10/25 nl with a 5k cap so now you can win or lose significant cash. How did I lose there? I think it was a combination of being card dead, tough situations, a couple beats, tough games (basically our home game mixed in with a couple local internet players from Saskatchewan), and not playing anywhere close to my best poker as I would play tired after a long day of tournament poker. As well, Little Ivey was playing and he always seems to throw me off my game. He plays me tough and I never flop against him. I said once before and I'll say it again, the kid is deadly and I wouldn't be suprised to see him on high stakes poker banging heads with Ivey, Antonius, and Durr within a couple years.
The Regina tournaments were long and unprofitable once again. Results as follows:
Day 1: 13th out of 150ish. Ran a tough hand where I raised with QQ and was called by this solid player Mark from the big blind. Flop AQ3 two diamonds, multiple bets on flop turn 7 diamonds, he continued betting I called, river offsuit 2 he bet I raised (I raised because I thought he had aces up or trip 3s pounding the flop out of position and I thought my line in the hand would maximize value) he reraised I folded, he later told me he had A8 of diamonds, what else could he have? Too bad, if I win that hand I would have been a monster. After that hand I was crippled and eventually I defended my big blind with A8 against an aggro button who woke up with 9s. We got 3 bets in preflop and I was allin. 13th was good for a $1250, a profit of $750 on the day. Weeeeee!
Day 2: 23rd out of 180ish. I had better than average chips with about 40 left, which is a big stack for me (as I never seem to be the guy with a million chips), but lost 3 hands down the stretch, twice with the best (standard preflop situational allin vs short stacks). When I was knocked out I was low on chips with 25k and blinds 2k/4k. I had an ultra rock to my left and being on the bubble I tried to chip up while everyone was waiting to cash. Unfortunately, when I pushed from the small blind with 83 off the rock woke up with AK, although he tanked for 30 seconds before deciding to call. When I bricked and was knocked out I could hear the whispers at the table 'wow 83, this guy is really bad, risking his tournament on such a bad hand. He must not know what he's doing, what a fish'. Ok ok you dumb farmer teach me then! Just too bad rockzilla woke up with one of 7 hands he would call me with.
Day 3: 140ish out of 350ish. Had about average chips when I got bounced. I had been reasonably active in late position as the players to my right were playing tight. I raised the button with AJ off and was reraised allin by Richard Webb 'The Champ' as I like to call him. He is a great guy and pretty solid tourney player, but also very lucky. The raise was an overbet and I knew right away it was bs by the size of the raise and by how fast and loud his move was. However, it took me about a minute to call because I know how unlucky I am and I know how big his ass is and thought maybe I should wait for a better spot. In the end I said screw that, I'm not going to have him pushing me around with junk so I called. He tabled A7 and the flop came A73 and I did not improve. Don't know why The Champ insists on playing me hard all the time, plenty of blinds to steal elsewhere.
Day 4: 50 out of 260ish. Again, was doing great with about 85 left had 1 1/2 times average chips then in typical fashion started losing chips once we hit shove mode. My AA with A of spades lost to QJ allin on a 1094 all spade board when the K of hearts binged the river. As well, I lost two flips to shorties then ran QQ into Sammy the Bull's KK, although I folded preflop, which is kinda a sick fold givin I was already getting short by that point. Point of discussion: Sam had 45k when blinds were 750/1500 (about to go to 2k/4k) and I had 33k. He raised to 4k from mid position and he was playing tight (for once hehe!). I reraised to 11k and he shoved. In most cases I would take my chances and gotten it in but I felt that Sammy knew I wasn't going to mess with him and vice versa so we both had to factor that into the strength of each others hands. I knew that Sam would fold JJ there and probably even AK chosing instead to fight with 40k against a relatively easy table then to bang heads with me in this situation. Anyway, that combined with the fact I had 3 easy targets on my left I decided to fold because I thought I could chip back up on blind steals. If I had solid aggressive players on my left I probably would have made a stand, but that is hard to find in Regina. Sammy later told me he had KK, which I believe. After that hand I mucked around for another 1 1/2 hours only to be chipped down then out. I had a chance to get back into it a bit but my KJ could only chop against J9 on a J422 board when an A came on the river. My final hand was in the blinds where I had K8 on AQJ flop against KJ. I flopped nut flush draw gutter, brick brick. And so my tournament woes continue in Regina. I felt I played well givin the limited good situations offered to me. I only had aces twice all week and I lost my first allin every tournament but 1 (In the second tournament I actually won a flip with AJs against 88 in the mid stages when I was short stacked). I'll still be going back because those tournies are good value and the company of winnipegers is good fun.
So the plan leading up to WSOP is to grind online and make as much money as possible over the next 6 weeks. I had a good week last week making about 10k playing small stakes, mostly 2/4 PLO and a little 20/40 HORSE and 20/40 Stud H/L all on Fulltilt. Pretty safe games, smaller wins, but without the sick variance of the 5/10 and 10/20 PLOs. Also, I played some tournies online yesterday for the first time in awhile. I actually won the satellite qualifier on Cake to play in the heads up tournament in Calgary in May. Kathy and I were planning on going anyway so its a bonus to get the 5.5k buyin for 200 bucks. I also played the SCOOP 162 heads up and the nightly. I went deep in both and was knocked out simultaneously, both before significant cash. 6th round in the hu and 93rd in the nightly, good for soupage. I wanted to play the 1500 heads up but I told myself when I came home I need to grind so the buyin is too much for grinding mode. Its kind of like a punishment for not producing since January. I have a busy week ahead so I'm not sure if I'll play any other SCOOP events.
Not much else to report. I am enjoying being home spending time with Kathy and Braeden, however, the ridiculas cold weather is pissing me off. I want the snow to melt sooooo bad so I can kick my friend's asses on the golf course....so bad it hurts. Other than that, I may have to head down to Salem then Richmond Virginia for work in a couple weeks. Its getting exciting on the workfront. Signed a deal with a big manufacturer out there and as it turns out I have to go down there to sell product to some of their clients. Would be nice to get rich the old fashion way so I can enjoy poker without the financial stress. Maybe one day....
I think I'll end this post off here. I'll try to describe some of my hands from Vegas below, however its been awhile now and I have forgotten some of the hands.
My night with Jamie Gold
First of all I would like to say Jamie Gold is the biggest fish of all time. Nice guy, but big fish. He seemed more concerned with his $40 meal then winning or losing tens of thousands of dollars. When I first sat down he was short stacked having just under 2k. He said he was either going to double up or go to sleep. As it turned out I was honoured with the priviledge of doubling him up so he could stay, only to stick it in my ass later on. He open shoved his stack blind 3 times in a row. Nobody called the first 2, but on the 3rd attempt he shoved utg and I found AQ in the big blind so I called. He had 1010 blind and I lost. Great way to start a session. Later on in the evening a wonderful hand came up where I opened in the cutoff with KQ of spades to $80. Jamie reraised from the blind to $240 and I decided to call because he can't release a hand if I were to flop big. As well, by this point he was 7k deep and I had him covered. The flop came down J104 all spades, hmmm gin right? Well he bet out $400 and I raised to $1200 and he called (no point in slow playing against a calling station). The turn was a red Q, he checked I bet $1800, he check raised and we got it allin. He shows AK with A of spades and the river brought a spade, unfortunately not the 9 of spades. Kind of a cooler hand no matter who's playing it, and to be consistent with the trip, I could not fade the 6 outer with 1 card to come for another big pot. After that pot I decided to call it a day. Thanks for the memories Jamie!
Hand #2:
Both hands 2 and 3 are from the same 10/20nl game at the Bellagio. Some middle aged guy sat down with 30k and said 'lets play some poker boys'. I was like ok. The game was playing really deep as I was 15k deep, an aggro solid player George was 30k deep, the new guy who we later found out was a maniac was 30k deep, and a fairly solid asian guy Martin was 50k deep. Anyway, on one of the first hands the new guy played he limped and George raised to $125. I was in the big blind and called with A7 clubs, the new guy called. The flop came A63 two clubs. I checked (to raise) and it was checked around. The turn brought the 2 of clubs so I had the nut flush. I checked again knowing George would not be able to hold back twice with an ace down. The new guy bet $220, George raised to $680. I felt that flatting was useless because I know George would bet a flush draw on the flop so he would check any river if I flatted. I reraised to $1800. The new guy looked puzzled and after a little deliberation he called, George folded. Honestly I felt he had a smaller flush and was confused whether he should raise or call. He struck me as a casual player based on the way he was talking prior to the hand, trying to be 'cool' in front of real poker players so I expected his play to be transparent. The river paired the 3. I was not happy to see the board pair but I thought he had a flush so I value / block bet $2500. He thought for a bit then gave me a speech that I probably had him beat but I raise $8000 more. Wow! The speech then an 8k raise. I thought for a couple minutes and concluded that there is no way this guy would overbet the raise here without 6s full maybe quad 3s. In the end I folded and he showed me 54 offsuit for a straight. He said he wasn't sure if I was feeding off of George's raise with marginal holdings and he thought his straight might be good then but when I bet the river still he figured me for a flush and thought I couldn't take the big raise. At the time I was impressed with the line, although risky, and so sick! Later I realized he was just a complete savage with more balls than brains. He proceeded to lose everything before night's end. Man I wish I would have called that pot, I would be more than 25k richer. Or at least check called the river (had I known he was such a savage that is exactly what I would have done).
Hand #3:
In the same game a little later on in the evening I got involved in a hand I normally would have folded. By this point the game was as hyper aggressive as I had ever seen. The game was 10/20nl but it was playing like a 50/100nl game. There was a pot over 10k at least once every rotation with a 3-bet preflop every hand. I reloaded to about 20k because the maniac was spewing and I knew if I could just catch him in a tough spot I could double through. So, the hand previously I had a touch, straight draw, flush draw that bricked costing me about $1,200 so I was a little upset (about the 10th combo draw I missed in 2 weeks that if I hit I would be paid off big). Anyway, George raises utg to $140 off a straddle and I call in position with KJ of clubs. Martin the tilty asian was on tilt because he lost a big pot to the maniac so he reraised to $460 on the button. George called and I decided to all because I was pissed off from the last hand and because Martin was reraising alot (still KJ out of position in a 3-bet situation is hardly a positive EV play). The flop came down KJ2 rainbow, sweet. George checked, I checked, Martin checked. The turn was an offsuit 3, but brought in a spade flush draw. George checked I bet 800, Martin hesitates then raised to $2200, George folded and the action was on me. I found his line rather strange. I was 20k deep and he had me covered so I didn't want to go too crazy. I felt he was either bluffing or had AA. I think he would bet a flop with KK or JJ to try and build it for a full stack off against me or George who was sitting with over 30k. However, I think he could check AA there fearing George could flop a set or at the very least to pot control AA here to prevent tough big bet decisions against George on later streets because George doesn't mind playing huge pots (sometimes bluffing). Anyway, once George folds and with Martin knowing I won't play big pots without something strong I felt he may raise AA on the turn here for value, or at least to define his position, folding if I reraise. On the other hand, he may think I have a marginal hand like KQ that he could shake me off if he has nothing. And of course there is the off chance he has KK or JJ. In any case, I think my call gives me maximum value here. The river is an offsuit 7 so I don't get negated against aces. I decide to check as I think my line indicates aces are good here as well it opens the door for a river bluff. I probably wouldn't raise the river to a big bet because Martin would fold anything I am beating (we played alot together and I think we both knew each other's tendencies) and I would feel pretty stupid raising only to have him shove with his set of kings. So I check and he fires 6k rather quickly. I was suprised at the size of the bet as a good value bet would be in the 3.5 to 4k range. This bet told me he didn't have AA. It was either an overbet to get paid by a set or a bluff. However, it didn't take long for me to call because overbetting huge hands wasn't the norm for him and I just don't see why he would check a flop with a set when everyone involved was 1000 big blinds deep. The final indicator was the chest heaving, thank you Mike Cairo for your poker tell videos (Ha, hardly a reason to call. I don't know why so many casual or pretend to be poker players feel that physical tells are what its all about. Point of reference *those are the same guys who travel channel it up with bad shades and stupid comments). When I called he said 'nice hand' and mucked. That was my biggest pot of the trip about 18k.
Hand #4:
This hand was my worst payoff of the trip by far. Again, at the bellagio in a 10/20nl game. The game had a solid player who was very agressive, but on my right. I think he was solid and just shooting a little as the game may have been to small for him. Previously he tried to make a move on me after a 3-bet preflop on K54 two diamond board when I had AA. He goon check raised where I either had to push or fold, the pot was too big to flat to see if a diamond came off as I thought he had a K with a flush draw. I pushed and pot comitted he shrugged and called. The Q of diamonds came off on the river and I thought I lost, but he had 76 and I won a 12k pot. I was going to leave and take a 7k win as I had lost a couple sessions in a row and could have used the win, but instead I kept playing until this pot came up.
I had AK diamonds and opened utg for $80. A rather predictable tight solid player called and the aggro reraised from the big blind to $400. He could hold a wide range here but now that I was 12k deep and he had me covered I didn't want to get myself in a tight spot by 4 betting so I flatted, the other guy called which suprised me and my first instinct was he was set mining. I find most average tight players only overcall pocket pairs because they are the only hands easy to play after the flop in big pots, hit it or fold. Too bad I didn't listen to my instincts... The flop came down 884 two diamonds. The aggro guy bet $700 and I just flat called. Even if we were heads up I would not raise here because I felt he would not let a hand like JJ or higher go and he would look to jam the flop. I did not want to race for a 24k pot. Suprisingly the third guy flat called as well. The turn was an A and the aggro checked as did I, thinking my hand is probably not the best when the third guy flatted behind me. The third guy bet $1200, which was only about 1/3 of the pot. The aggro guy folded (after the hand he said he had QQ, too bad I didn't 4 bet preflop). I decided at that price I would call. At the time I was thinking he has an 8 or 44, but for such a cheap price maybe I could win with a diamond against an 8, or in miracle city I could bing an A. I told myself I would fold if he bet the river. Anyway, the river brought a 3 of diamonds. I check again and this time he fires $2500. Again, another cheap price and a value bet I think he would make with an 8 givin I think he would expect me to fire if I made a flush. I thought for about 3 minutes and reluctantly called (I almost folded) and he showed me 44. After the hand I cashed out and took a small win under 3k. I felt so stupid for calling the turn and then the river. No way was this guy coming into a pot with an 89 suited for that price, he had to be set mining for sure and based on the way the hand plays out he could only have 44 or 88.
Hand #5:
I was playing 10/20nl short handed at the Wynn when the following hand came up. I raised to $80 with 109 hearts and had 2 callers. The flop came 943 one heart two spades. I bet $200 and was checkraised to $550 by an aggressive punk who thought he was the next Phil Ivey. He was capable of raising any draw here such as a flush draw, 56, even A5. I flat called. The turn brought a 10. He bet $1400. He started the hand with 5.5k. I know the money's going in on the river no matter what. He looked unsettled and I felt 80% confident I had the best so I shoved. He snap called and I thought I ran into a set. Nope. The river brought a Q and he shows me KJ of spades.
I know there were a few other 10k+ pots I lost I just cannot recall right now and for the exception of the AK of diamonds hand I was in good shape in all of them. Without going into whining mode I would like to say that I found it very frustrating not only to lose most of the big ones (The 12k pot with AA and the 18K pot with KJ were my only 10k+ pots of the trip), but I must have had at least 15 hands where I either missed a huge draw or an action killer card came on the turn or river that would otherwise have resulted in a 10k+ pot for the good guys. Oh well, maybe next time.
Till next time....
So, pretty easy to recap the last month and a half...complete waste of time!!! Well, at least financially. I finished off Vegas up maybe 5k after expenses for 3 weeks of play thanks to a 16k upswing in the last week, but then I arrived in Regina for the tourney and it cost me my Vegas profits plus a little interest. They raised the playable limits in Regina to 10/25 nl with a 5k cap so now you can win or lose significant cash. How did I lose there? I think it was a combination of being card dead, tough situations, a couple beats, tough games (basically our home game mixed in with a couple local internet players from Saskatchewan), and not playing anywhere close to my best poker as I would play tired after a long day of tournament poker. As well, Little Ivey was playing and he always seems to throw me off my game. He plays me tough and I never flop against him. I said once before and I'll say it again, the kid is deadly and I wouldn't be suprised to see him on high stakes poker banging heads with Ivey, Antonius, and Durr within a couple years.
The Regina tournaments were long and unprofitable once again. Results as follows:
Day 1: 13th out of 150ish. Ran a tough hand where I raised with QQ and was called by this solid player Mark from the big blind. Flop AQ3 two diamonds, multiple bets on flop turn 7 diamonds, he continued betting I called, river offsuit 2 he bet I raised (I raised because I thought he had aces up or trip 3s pounding the flop out of position and I thought my line in the hand would maximize value) he reraised I folded, he later told me he had A8 of diamonds, what else could he have? Too bad, if I win that hand I would have been a monster. After that hand I was crippled and eventually I defended my big blind with A8 against an aggro button who woke up with 9s. We got 3 bets in preflop and I was allin. 13th was good for a $1250, a profit of $750 on the day. Weeeeee!
Day 2: 23rd out of 180ish. I had better than average chips with about 40 left, which is a big stack for me (as I never seem to be the guy with a million chips), but lost 3 hands down the stretch, twice with the best (standard preflop situational allin vs short stacks). When I was knocked out I was low on chips with 25k and blinds 2k/4k. I had an ultra rock to my left and being on the bubble I tried to chip up while everyone was waiting to cash. Unfortunately, when I pushed from the small blind with 83 off the rock woke up with AK, although he tanked for 30 seconds before deciding to call. When I bricked and was knocked out I could hear the whispers at the table 'wow 83, this guy is really bad, risking his tournament on such a bad hand. He must not know what he's doing, what a fish'. Ok ok you dumb farmer teach me then! Just too bad rockzilla woke up with one of 7 hands he would call me with.
Day 3: 140ish out of 350ish. Had about average chips when I got bounced. I had been reasonably active in late position as the players to my right were playing tight. I raised the button with AJ off and was reraised allin by Richard Webb 'The Champ' as I like to call him. He is a great guy and pretty solid tourney player, but also very lucky. The raise was an overbet and I knew right away it was bs by the size of the raise and by how fast and loud his move was. However, it took me about a minute to call because I know how unlucky I am and I know how big his ass is and thought maybe I should wait for a better spot. In the end I said screw that, I'm not going to have him pushing me around with junk so I called. He tabled A7 and the flop came A73 and I did not improve. Don't know why The Champ insists on playing me hard all the time, plenty of blinds to steal elsewhere.
Day 4: 50 out of 260ish. Again, was doing great with about 85 left had 1 1/2 times average chips then in typical fashion started losing chips once we hit shove mode. My AA with A of spades lost to QJ allin on a 1094 all spade board when the K of hearts binged the river. As well, I lost two flips to shorties then ran QQ into Sammy the Bull's KK, although I folded preflop, which is kinda a sick fold givin I was already getting short by that point. Point of discussion: Sam had 45k when blinds were 750/1500 (about to go to 2k/4k) and I had 33k. He raised to 4k from mid position and he was playing tight (for once hehe!). I reraised to 11k and he shoved. In most cases I would take my chances and gotten it in but I felt that Sammy knew I wasn't going to mess with him and vice versa so we both had to factor that into the strength of each others hands. I knew that Sam would fold JJ there and probably even AK chosing instead to fight with 40k against a relatively easy table then to bang heads with me in this situation. Anyway, that combined with the fact I had 3 easy targets on my left I decided to fold because I thought I could chip back up on blind steals. If I had solid aggressive players on my left I probably would have made a stand, but that is hard to find in Regina. Sammy later told me he had KK, which I believe. After that hand I mucked around for another 1 1/2 hours only to be chipped down then out. I had a chance to get back into it a bit but my KJ could only chop against J9 on a J422 board when an A came on the river. My final hand was in the blinds where I had K8 on AQJ flop against KJ. I flopped nut flush draw gutter, brick brick. And so my tournament woes continue in Regina. I felt I played well givin the limited good situations offered to me. I only had aces twice all week and I lost my first allin every tournament but 1 (In the second tournament I actually won a flip with AJs against 88 in the mid stages when I was short stacked). I'll still be going back because those tournies are good value and the company of winnipegers is good fun.
So the plan leading up to WSOP is to grind online and make as much money as possible over the next 6 weeks. I had a good week last week making about 10k playing small stakes, mostly 2/4 PLO and a little 20/40 HORSE and 20/40 Stud H/L all on Fulltilt. Pretty safe games, smaller wins, but without the sick variance of the 5/10 and 10/20 PLOs. Also, I played some tournies online yesterday for the first time in awhile. I actually won the satellite qualifier on Cake to play in the heads up tournament in Calgary in May. Kathy and I were planning on going anyway so its a bonus to get the 5.5k buyin for 200 bucks. I also played the SCOOP 162 heads up and the nightly. I went deep in both and was knocked out simultaneously, both before significant cash. 6th round in the hu and 93rd in the nightly, good for soupage. I wanted to play the 1500 heads up but I told myself when I came home I need to grind so the buyin is too much for grinding mode. Its kind of like a punishment for not producing since January. I have a busy week ahead so I'm not sure if I'll play any other SCOOP events.
Not much else to report. I am enjoying being home spending time with Kathy and Braeden, however, the ridiculas cold weather is pissing me off. I want the snow to melt sooooo bad so I can kick my friend's asses on the golf course....so bad it hurts. Other than that, I may have to head down to Salem then Richmond Virginia for work in a couple weeks. Its getting exciting on the workfront. Signed a deal with a big manufacturer out there and as it turns out I have to go down there to sell product to some of their clients. Would be nice to get rich the old fashion way so I can enjoy poker without the financial stress. Maybe one day....
I think I'll end this post off here. I'll try to describe some of my hands from Vegas below, however its been awhile now and I have forgotten some of the hands.
My night with Jamie Gold
First of all I would like to say Jamie Gold is the biggest fish of all time. Nice guy, but big fish. He seemed more concerned with his $40 meal then winning or losing tens of thousands of dollars. When I first sat down he was short stacked having just under 2k. He said he was either going to double up or go to sleep. As it turned out I was honoured with the priviledge of doubling him up so he could stay, only to stick it in my ass later on. He open shoved his stack blind 3 times in a row. Nobody called the first 2, but on the 3rd attempt he shoved utg and I found AQ in the big blind so I called. He had 1010 blind and I lost. Great way to start a session. Later on in the evening a wonderful hand came up where I opened in the cutoff with KQ of spades to $80. Jamie reraised from the blind to $240 and I decided to call because he can't release a hand if I were to flop big. As well, by this point he was 7k deep and I had him covered. The flop came down J104 all spades, hmmm gin right? Well he bet out $400 and I raised to $1200 and he called (no point in slow playing against a calling station). The turn was a red Q, he checked I bet $1800, he check raised and we got it allin. He shows AK with A of spades and the river brought a spade, unfortunately not the 9 of spades. Kind of a cooler hand no matter who's playing it, and to be consistent with the trip, I could not fade the 6 outer with 1 card to come for another big pot. After that pot I decided to call it a day. Thanks for the memories Jamie!
Hand #2:
Both hands 2 and 3 are from the same 10/20nl game at the Bellagio. Some middle aged guy sat down with 30k and said 'lets play some poker boys'. I was like ok. The game was playing really deep as I was 15k deep, an aggro solid player George was 30k deep, the new guy who we later found out was a maniac was 30k deep, and a fairly solid asian guy Martin was 50k deep. Anyway, on one of the first hands the new guy played he limped and George raised to $125. I was in the big blind and called with A7 clubs, the new guy called. The flop came A63 two clubs. I checked (to raise) and it was checked around. The turn brought the 2 of clubs so I had the nut flush. I checked again knowing George would not be able to hold back twice with an ace down. The new guy bet $220, George raised to $680. I felt that flatting was useless because I know George would bet a flush draw on the flop so he would check any river if I flatted. I reraised to $1800. The new guy looked puzzled and after a little deliberation he called, George folded. Honestly I felt he had a smaller flush and was confused whether he should raise or call. He struck me as a casual player based on the way he was talking prior to the hand, trying to be 'cool' in front of real poker players so I expected his play to be transparent. The river paired the 3. I was not happy to see the board pair but I thought he had a flush so I value / block bet $2500. He thought for a bit then gave me a speech that I probably had him beat but I raise $8000 more. Wow! The speech then an 8k raise. I thought for a couple minutes and concluded that there is no way this guy would overbet the raise here without 6s full maybe quad 3s. In the end I folded and he showed me 54 offsuit for a straight. He said he wasn't sure if I was feeding off of George's raise with marginal holdings and he thought his straight might be good then but when I bet the river still he figured me for a flush and thought I couldn't take the big raise. At the time I was impressed with the line, although risky, and so sick! Later I realized he was just a complete savage with more balls than brains. He proceeded to lose everything before night's end. Man I wish I would have called that pot, I would be more than 25k richer. Or at least check called the river (had I known he was such a savage that is exactly what I would have done).
Hand #3:
In the same game a little later on in the evening I got involved in a hand I normally would have folded. By this point the game was as hyper aggressive as I had ever seen. The game was 10/20nl but it was playing like a 50/100nl game. There was a pot over 10k at least once every rotation with a 3-bet preflop every hand. I reloaded to about 20k because the maniac was spewing and I knew if I could just catch him in a tough spot I could double through. So, the hand previously I had a touch, straight draw, flush draw that bricked costing me about $1,200 so I was a little upset (about the 10th combo draw I missed in 2 weeks that if I hit I would be paid off big). Anyway, George raises utg to $140 off a straddle and I call in position with KJ of clubs. Martin the tilty asian was on tilt because he lost a big pot to the maniac so he reraised to $460 on the button. George called and I decided to all because I was pissed off from the last hand and because Martin was reraising alot (still KJ out of position in a 3-bet situation is hardly a positive EV play). The flop came down KJ2 rainbow, sweet. George checked, I checked, Martin checked. The turn was an offsuit 3, but brought in a spade flush draw. George checked I bet 800, Martin hesitates then raised to $2200, George folded and the action was on me. I found his line rather strange. I was 20k deep and he had me covered so I didn't want to go too crazy. I felt he was either bluffing or had AA. I think he would bet a flop with KK or JJ to try and build it for a full stack off against me or George who was sitting with over 30k. However, I think he could check AA there fearing George could flop a set or at the very least to pot control AA here to prevent tough big bet decisions against George on later streets because George doesn't mind playing huge pots (sometimes bluffing). Anyway, once George folds and with Martin knowing I won't play big pots without something strong I felt he may raise AA on the turn here for value, or at least to define his position, folding if I reraise. On the other hand, he may think I have a marginal hand like KQ that he could shake me off if he has nothing. And of course there is the off chance he has KK or JJ. In any case, I think my call gives me maximum value here. The river is an offsuit 7 so I don't get negated against aces. I decide to check as I think my line indicates aces are good here as well it opens the door for a river bluff. I probably wouldn't raise the river to a big bet because Martin would fold anything I am beating (we played alot together and I think we both knew each other's tendencies) and I would feel pretty stupid raising only to have him shove with his set of kings. So I check and he fires 6k rather quickly. I was suprised at the size of the bet as a good value bet would be in the 3.5 to 4k range. This bet told me he didn't have AA. It was either an overbet to get paid by a set or a bluff. However, it didn't take long for me to call because overbetting huge hands wasn't the norm for him and I just don't see why he would check a flop with a set when everyone involved was 1000 big blinds deep. The final indicator was the chest heaving, thank you Mike Cairo for your poker tell videos (Ha, hardly a reason to call. I don't know why so many casual or pretend to be poker players feel that physical tells are what its all about. Point of reference *those are the same guys who travel channel it up with bad shades and stupid comments). When I called he said 'nice hand' and mucked. That was my biggest pot of the trip about 18k.
Hand #4:
This hand was my worst payoff of the trip by far. Again, at the bellagio in a 10/20nl game. The game had a solid player who was very agressive, but on my right. I think he was solid and just shooting a little as the game may have been to small for him. Previously he tried to make a move on me after a 3-bet preflop on K54 two diamond board when I had AA. He goon check raised where I either had to push or fold, the pot was too big to flat to see if a diamond came off as I thought he had a K with a flush draw. I pushed and pot comitted he shrugged and called. The Q of diamonds came off on the river and I thought I lost, but he had 76 and I won a 12k pot. I was going to leave and take a 7k win as I had lost a couple sessions in a row and could have used the win, but instead I kept playing until this pot came up.
I had AK diamonds and opened utg for $80. A rather predictable tight solid player called and the aggro reraised from the big blind to $400. He could hold a wide range here but now that I was 12k deep and he had me covered I didn't want to get myself in a tight spot by 4 betting so I flatted, the other guy called which suprised me and my first instinct was he was set mining. I find most average tight players only overcall pocket pairs because they are the only hands easy to play after the flop in big pots, hit it or fold. Too bad I didn't listen to my instincts... The flop came down 884 two diamonds. The aggro guy bet $700 and I just flat called. Even if we were heads up I would not raise here because I felt he would not let a hand like JJ or higher go and he would look to jam the flop. I did not want to race for a 24k pot. Suprisingly the third guy flat called as well. The turn was an A and the aggro checked as did I, thinking my hand is probably not the best when the third guy flatted behind me. The third guy bet $1200, which was only about 1/3 of the pot. The aggro guy folded (after the hand he said he had QQ, too bad I didn't 4 bet preflop). I decided at that price I would call. At the time I was thinking he has an 8 or 44, but for such a cheap price maybe I could win with a diamond against an 8, or in miracle city I could bing an A. I told myself I would fold if he bet the river. Anyway, the river brought a 3 of diamonds. I check again and this time he fires $2500. Again, another cheap price and a value bet I think he would make with an 8 givin I think he would expect me to fire if I made a flush. I thought for about 3 minutes and reluctantly called (I almost folded) and he showed me 44. After the hand I cashed out and took a small win under 3k. I felt so stupid for calling the turn and then the river. No way was this guy coming into a pot with an 89 suited for that price, he had to be set mining for sure and based on the way the hand plays out he could only have 44 or 88.
Hand #5:
I was playing 10/20nl short handed at the Wynn when the following hand came up. I raised to $80 with 109 hearts and had 2 callers. The flop came 943 one heart two spades. I bet $200 and was checkraised to $550 by an aggressive punk who thought he was the next Phil Ivey. He was capable of raising any draw here such as a flush draw, 56, even A5. I flat called. The turn brought a 10. He bet $1400. He started the hand with 5.5k. I know the money's going in on the river no matter what. He looked unsettled and I felt 80% confident I had the best so I shoved. He snap called and I thought I ran into a set. Nope. The river brought a Q and he shows me KJ of spades.
I know there were a few other 10k+ pots I lost I just cannot recall right now and for the exception of the AK of diamonds hand I was in good shape in all of them. Without going into whining mode I would like to say that I found it very frustrating not only to lose most of the big ones (The 12k pot with AA and the 18K pot with KJ were my only 10k+ pots of the trip), but I must have had at least 15 hands where I either missed a huge draw or an action killer card came on the turn or river that would otherwise have resulted in a 10k+ pot for the good guys. Oh well, maybe next time.
Till next time....
Monday, March 16, 2009
Goin Home Soon
So as per usual I don't have much time to write. Took the day off and went golfing, the weather was fantastic . Going to a nice steakhouse tonight and may play 1 more session before I leave on my ski trip tomorrow night. The last 4 sessions have gone well booking about 16k in winnings, so the trip hasn't been a complete disaster oh and I like poker again :) I played 5-10 for the first time this trip and booked a 4k win. Man I forgot how much easier that game is than 10-20. The game has no trickery to it and you only build big pots when you want to. I will probably have some down time a week from today as I will be in Regina a day before the tournament. I will at that point go over the big hands I played during this trip which should describe why I haven't faired as well as I had hoped. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!
Later
Till next time...
Later
Till next time...
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Could be a long post
I'm not going to spend time complaining about my luck or spend time talking about much of anything. The games down here are decent and I run like shit. The last 3 days have been alright banking about 12k, but previous to that I had a bad week, banking a couple dirty 8k losses. Overall, I'm up on the trip but if you factor expenses etc... I am not much over break even. My trend seems to be win a bunch of small / medium pots then get dirtied on the big ones, start over win a bunch of small / medium pots then get dirtied, well you know the story.
Its hard to think of all the hand over the last 2 1/2 weeks. I will try to focus on the significant pots both holdem and omaha.
Omaha:
Overall the omaha play down here is weak. Most of the players are nitty nut peddlers that limp to hit big then get their chips in. Many of these players buy in short so the deep stack skill aspect of the game is usually lost. Thankfully, many of the these clowns overplay their aces, especially out of position so it makes it easy to stack them when you hit against their 3 bets (as many will only 3 bet with aces). Most do not not bluff or take advantage of position as they should pouncing on scare cards against opponents who are clearly betting with made hands on previous streets. Anyway, I have probably come across a half dozen solid players but thats about it, most of whom were Europeans.
Hand #1:
I had AKQJ double suit and I three bet preflop in the cutoff and had 3 callers. The flop came KK3 with 2 diamonds. I bet 3/4 pot and was raised pot by a kid from Mississippi who was fairly tight and about 4k deep. The flop raise was to $1,200 so my move was to fold or push. I didn't have to play the hand, but I thought his range would be K3, 33, or any AK combination (not necessarily a fullhouse as I saw him raise fairly light against another deep player 30 min prior). If I was up against K3 or 33 I was close to flipping, but if he held an AK or maybe even KQ combination I would be crushing him because I had the A high diamond draw. I wouldn't call this an ideal spot but I was running good in the game leading up to this point so I decided to gamble and shoved. He called showed 33 and we ran it twice. Running it twice is another reason I call in this spot. It seems to be standard on most big pots and thus in flippy situations you should be able to hit once. Of course I bricked both turns and rivers, goodbye 4k.
Hand #2:
This was the most baffling omaha hand I encountered. From my end it was standard, from my opponent it was pathetic. In a limped pot I was in the cutoff with j1004 and played. The flop came 1062 two spades. Checked to me I bet pot and was raised by some goof, I reraised, he reraised and bang we got it all in. I am generally willing to get it in as fast as I can with top set if it is the nuts at the time (against weak players at least) because I know its possible they could push a bad draw or sometimes not let go of mid set and I don't need to be creative against them because they are donks and are oblivious to my holdings even though it should be pretty damn obvious in this situation. Anyway, after a $50 limp pot we all of a sudden had a 7k pot brewing. I said to him if you show me a big wrap and flush we can run it twice cause i got top set. Goofy agreed to run twice but wouldn't show me his cards so I said forget it, run it once. The turn came 4 of spades and river was a dud. I knew I lost. He showed me AQ82 with A high spade draw. I don't quite know the math, I may only be a 65-35, but the point is what kind of jackass sticks in that thin on a limp pot? Oh well, goodbye 3.5k.
Hand #3
I raised a straddle with AA73 with A high diamonds and was raised from the small blind by Surrendir Sunar, who was one of the few solid players I ran into. We were both about 7k deep and givin his ability to put pressure on me on a bad board if I were to 4 bet I decided to flat his raise (as he would call my 4 bet knowing I had aces if I reraised, he noticed I 3 bet alot but really only 4 bet against shorter stacks with aces). So with deception on my side we went to the flop. The flop came K107 two diamonds and he bet pot. Now, I was running bad at this juncture and although I had an overpair and nut flush draw I didn't want to get it in against a possible KK or some wrap hand like KQJ10, J1098, etc... He was playing tight solid, especially from the blinds so I felt his 3 bet would be dancing around that flop as he would only be reraising with KK or a premium drawing hand. So I flat and the turn brings nothing, a 5 of spades. He pots and I rather quickly call. I felt that with a brick coming out he would definately fire expecting me to ditch most any drawing hand I may have had (that wasn't strong enough to push hard on the flop). Anyway, the river pairs the 10 and he pots me again, this time the price is $3,200. I tank for awhile as I feel the only hands he will do this with are some K10 combination, KK, 108, or a bluff. All other hands I would suspect he would check and maybe call thinking I may represent after missing a big draw. From a bluffing perspective, he would probably expect I would have made a stand on the turn with two pair (such as K10, 77) and raised to make him pay if he was drawing so the likelihood of me holding a 10 is small (unless it was a random pair to go with flush and str8 draws). So, he would know that I would likely have to call light to win. I chicken out and fold. He later says to me he was value betting AK. I don't believe him.
Hand 4:
In this hand I was up against the most agressive player I have ever played with in omaha. He opened 90% of hands with a raise and reraised at least 25%. I had position on him most of the time so I didn't mind. In this hand I was on the button and reraised with KQJ8 double suit. 3 of us went to the flop of A107 two hearts. They checked to me and I bet 80% pot. The kid check raised pot. I tanked for a minute (although I knew exactly what I was going to do) then potted back trying to represent aces. At the time I was indifferent whether he called or not. If the kid had a draw I would be crushing him because he would likely have a weaker wrap with smaller hearts. However, I think givin the board texture he would check call most draws to get there cheap and thus was likely to have a set. The kid had about 5.5k and tanked for about 2 minutes then eventually shoved making a stand with middle set. Pretty sick but I guess I 3 bet him enough times that he wasn't convinced I had it. Anyway, we decide to run it twice as it a flip situation where I need a KQJ9 or heart. Guess what, no KQJ9 or heart in 4 cards. Good times. Goodbye 5.5k
Hand 5:
This one has a good ending. I raised with 7789 double suit and was reraised by this shooter who doesn't really know whats going on but he liked to raise, so I call. The flop came Q75 rainbow. I checked he bet i raised he then reraised. He was about 3.5k deep and I was in for about 900 after raising the flop. I saw him go crazy with bottom two on a previous occasion and thought I don't think I can fold to this guy he could have a wrap hand like 7654 etc.. which i crush. I also factored in two back door flush draws and a gutterball. Before long I said all-in and he showed me QQ42. Turn J, river 10 I straighten out. First time ever, I got lucky on a big pot. Well, first time in a long time. He proceeded to call me a mega-donk for about half an hour. Finally, I told him listen your tattoos frighten me so I ain't gonna talk back and start a fight, but if you want we can go play heads up for as much money as you feel comfortable you just let me know. Things calmed down and he rebought and that was that.
Hand #6:
I had A987 double suit and raised getting 2 callers. The flop came down 863 2 diamonds. Both checked I bet and was check raised by a nit playing 5k deep. I called with nut flush draw open ended. The turn brought an A and he bet pot. I was certain I was up against set of 8s or 6s but I figured the obvious diamond 10 or 5 would win, but my plan was to bluff against a 794 or 2. The river came a 7, the best of the bluffing cards as almost every str8 gets there. The nit suprising puts out a blocking bet of 30% pot. Against savy players the warning signs may go on as sometimes this bet is inviting a raise, but in this case I know the nit was nervous. I fired a big river raise of about 2.3k. He muttered "you fish always chase and get there on me. I fold". After a comment like that I couldn't help myself so I showed my hand. He immediately cashed out.
There were alot of other biggish omaha pots but I'm getting tired and will continue on this another time. Never mind holdem...
I think my plan is I'm going skiing with some buddies in Whistler from Wednesday to Sunday then will go to Regina to hack around in the tournies and hopefully make some cash. Then home to hang with family and friends for awhile. This means I'm cutting the Vegas trip a little short, but givin my luck of late it may be the best thing (plans could always change if I have a mega heater between now and Wednesday but very unlikely).
Later
Its hard to think of all the hand over the last 2 1/2 weeks. I will try to focus on the significant pots both holdem and omaha.
Omaha:
Overall the omaha play down here is weak. Most of the players are nitty nut peddlers that limp to hit big then get their chips in. Many of these players buy in short so the deep stack skill aspect of the game is usually lost. Thankfully, many of the these clowns overplay their aces, especially out of position so it makes it easy to stack them when you hit against their 3 bets (as many will only 3 bet with aces). Most do not not bluff or take advantage of position as they should pouncing on scare cards against opponents who are clearly betting with made hands on previous streets. Anyway, I have probably come across a half dozen solid players but thats about it, most of whom were Europeans.
Hand #1:
I had AKQJ double suit and I three bet preflop in the cutoff and had 3 callers. The flop came KK3 with 2 diamonds. I bet 3/4 pot and was raised pot by a kid from Mississippi who was fairly tight and about 4k deep. The flop raise was to $1,200 so my move was to fold or push. I didn't have to play the hand, but I thought his range would be K3, 33, or any AK combination (not necessarily a fullhouse as I saw him raise fairly light against another deep player 30 min prior). If I was up against K3 or 33 I was close to flipping, but if he held an AK or maybe even KQ combination I would be crushing him because I had the A high diamond draw. I wouldn't call this an ideal spot but I was running good in the game leading up to this point so I decided to gamble and shoved. He called showed 33 and we ran it twice. Running it twice is another reason I call in this spot. It seems to be standard on most big pots and thus in flippy situations you should be able to hit once. Of course I bricked both turns and rivers, goodbye 4k.
Hand #2:
This was the most baffling omaha hand I encountered. From my end it was standard, from my opponent it was pathetic. In a limped pot I was in the cutoff with j1004 and played. The flop came 1062 two spades. Checked to me I bet pot and was raised by some goof, I reraised, he reraised and bang we got it all in. I am generally willing to get it in as fast as I can with top set if it is the nuts at the time (against weak players at least) because I know its possible they could push a bad draw or sometimes not let go of mid set and I don't need to be creative against them because they are donks and are oblivious to my holdings even though it should be pretty damn obvious in this situation. Anyway, after a $50 limp pot we all of a sudden had a 7k pot brewing. I said to him if you show me a big wrap and flush we can run it twice cause i got top set. Goofy agreed to run twice but wouldn't show me his cards so I said forget it, run it once. The turn came 4 of spades and river was a dud. I knew I lost. He showed me AQ82 with A high spade draw. I don't quite know the math, I may only be a 65-35, but the point is what kind of jackass sticks in that thin on a limp pot? Oh well, goodbye 3.5k.
Hand #3
I raised a straddle with AA73 with A high diamonds and was raised from the small blind by Surrendir Sunar, who was one of the few solid players I ran into. We were both about 7k deep and givin his ability to put pressure on me on a bad board if I were to 4 bet I decided to flat his raise (as he would call my 4 bet knowing I had aces if I reraised, he noticed I 3 bet alot but really only 4 bet against shorter stacks with aces). So with deception on my side we went to the flop. The flop came K107 two diamonds and he bet pot. Now, I was running bad at this juncture and although I had an overpair and nut flush draw I didn't want to get it in against a possible KK or some wrap hand like KQJ10, J1098, etc... He was playing tight solid, especially from the blinds so I felt his 3 bet would be dancing around that flop as he would only be reraising with KK or a premium drawing hand. So I flat and the turn brings nothing, a 5 of spades. He pots and I rather quickly call. I felt that with a brick coming out he would definately fire expecting me to ditch most any drawing hand I may have had (that wasn't strong enough to push hard on the flop). Anyway, the river pairs the 10 and he pots me again, this time the price is $3,200. I tank for awhile as I feel the only hands he will do this with are some K10 combination, KK, 108, or a bluff. All other hands I would suspect he would check and maybe call thinking I may represent after missing a big draw. From a bluffing perspective, he would probably expect I would have made a stand on the turn with two pair (such as K10, 77) and raised to make him pay if he was drawing so the likelihood of me holding a 10 is small (unless it was a random pair to go with flush and str8 draws). So, he would know that I would likely have to call light to win. I chicken out and fold. He later says to me he was value betting AK. I don't believe him.
Hand 4:
In this hand I was up against the most agressive player I have ever played with in omaha. He opened 90% of hands with a raise and reraised at least 25%. I had position on him most of the time so I didn't mind. In this hand I was on the button and reraised with KQJ8 double suit. 3 of us went to the flop of A107 two hearts. They checked to me and I bet 80% pot. The kid check raised pot. I tanked for a minute (although I knew exactly what I was going to do) then potted back trying to represent aces. At the time I was indifferent whether he called or not. If the kid had a draw I would be crushing him because he would likely have a weaker wrap with smaller hearts. However, I think givin the board texture he would check call most draws to get there cheap and thus was likely to have a set. The kid had about 5.5k and tanked for about 2 minutes then eventually shoved making a stand with middle set. Pretty sick but I guess I 3 bet him enough times that he wasn't convinced I had it. Anyway, we decide to run it twice as it a flip situation where I need a KQJ9 or heart. Guess what, no KQJ9 or heart in 4 cards. Good times. Goodbye 5.5k
Hand 5:
This one has a good ending. I raised with 7789 double suit and was reraised by this shooter who doesn't really know whats going on but he liked to raise, so I call. The flop came Q75 rainbow. I checked he bet i raised he then reraised. He was about 3.5k deep and I was in for about 900 after raising the flop. I saw him go crazy with bottom two on a previous occasion and thought I don't think I can fold to this guy he could have a wrap hand like 7654 etc.. which i crush. I also factored in two back door flush draws and a gutterball. Before long I said all-in and he showed me QQ42. Turn J, river 10 I straighten out. First time ever, I got lucky on a big pot. Well, first time in a long time. He proceeded to call me a mega-donk for about half an hour. Finally, I told him listen your tattoos frighten me so I ain't gonna talk back and start a fight, but if you want we can go play heads up for as much money as you feel comfortable you just let me know. Things calmed down and he rebought and that was that.
Hand #6:
I had A987 double suit and raised getting 2 callers. The flop came down 863 2 diamonds. Both checked I bet and was check raised by a nit playing 5k deep. I called with nut flush draw open ended. The turn brought an A and he bet pot. I was certain I was up against set of 8s or 6s but I figured the obvious diamond 10 or 5 would win, but my plan was to bluff against a 794 or 2. The river came a 7, the best of the bluffing cards as almost every str8 gets there. The nit suprising puts out a blocking bet of 30% pot. Against savy players the warning signs may go on as sometimes this bet is inviting a raise, but in this case I know the nit was nervous. I fired a big river raise of about 2.3k. He muttered "you fish always chase and get there on me. I fold". After a comment like that I couldn't help myself so I showed my hand. He immediately cashed out.
There were alot of other biggish omaha pots but I'm getting tired and will continue on this another time. Never mind holdem...
I think my plan is I'm going skiing with some buddies in Whistler from Wednesday to Sunday then will go to Regina to hack around in the tournies and hopefully make some cash. Then home to hang with family and friends for awhile. This means I'm cutting the Vegas trip a little short, but givin my luck of late it may be the best thing (plans could always change if I have a mega heater between now and Wednesday but very unlikely).
Later
Sunday, March 8, 2009
March Madness
So as per usual I have been very unmotivated to post an update on my adventures down south and for that I apologize. I flew down to Vegas about 9 days ago, bunked with Trav for a week, and am now on my own for the remainder of the trip. Since arriving, both Trav and I have logged many long sessions, not all resulting in a positive experience.
I would have to rate the games average at best. Most of my sessions have been at the Wynn and I must say the 10-20nl games have been filled with pros. Now, some pros are better than others, and I firmly believe there is edge in such games, however, if you run bad u lose its that simple. Such games result in small mistakes and nobody's giving away the money. The Wynn just doesn't have tourists jumping in to have some fun and drop 10k, stupid recession / depression. The bellagio on the other hand seems to have juicy games. Why don't I play there more? I'm such a moron. The Wynn 5-10nl and 5-10 plo are completely different animals. They are filled with nits and wanna be good poker players that can be read like a big picture book (not as bad as the 2-5 schmuks but weak nonetheless). Too bad I'm still runing like shit so I can't capitalize on poor play, losing most of my big pots with the best hand. What else is new. I feel like I'm playing really good though. I'm not getting a whole lot of good situations and I'm getting a whole lot of tough ones. I would say I'm making great laydown, great value bets, and a couple well times medium sized bluffs and overall I don't think my cash position could be much better based on my style of play. I haven't givin it an exact count but i think I'm up a staggering 4k, whoopdido basil (don't get me wrong thats obviously not pocket change but come on win a couple of the big pots that I should and I'm up 25k).
One interesting observation I have made is the slow increase in interest for plo games. I have played in a couple half/half 10-20 holdem/plo games and also some straight 5/10 plo. The 10/20's have consisted mostly of sharks, but I feel I have edge in plo over most so it doesn't bother me too much to sit. The 5/10's though have several donks with the balance consisting of predictable nits. It's interesting though, plo is growing. I think many of the top level holdem players are realizing the edge has diminished so much in holdem that poker needs a facelift and why not shift to a more edge orientated game. In my opinion, Plo is more complex and medium / long-term results are based more on skill than luck in comparison to holdem, its just not as fluky. I personally love it because it is flop based, not preflop and/or pure aggression based, and your advantage improves if you can work your way through varying board textures. Having said that, it has higher variance and in the short-term a bad run can really sting. For myself, I'm actually down a little bit in plo this trip thus far but I think it has to change.
I just finished playing an all night session at the bellagio with Trav in the juiciest holdem game of the trip. I mean some of the guys in the game were so bad they couldn't beat a 1-2nl game at Club Regent, making big mistakes in big pots. I made out alright but it could have been so much better as I found a couple tight spots and didn't hit too many hands. Trav on the other hand ran into many bad situations and managed a loss in a game that should have banked 10k+ each. Hopefully I see the same faces there tonight.
I'm not going to go into any hands in this post, i'll save it for my next post. Lets just say the donks won the battle but hopefully I will win the war.
Later
Joe
I would have to rate the games average at best. Most of my sessions have been at the Wynn and I must say the 10-20nl games have been filled with pros. Now, some pros are better than others, and I firmly believe there is edge in such games, however, if you run bad u lose its that simple. Such games result in small mistakes and nobody's giving away the money. The Wynn just doesn't have tourists jumping in to have some fun and drop 10k, stupid recession / depression. The bellagio on the other hand seems to have juicy games. Why don't I play there more? I'm such a moron. The Wynn 5-10nl and 5-10 plo are completely different animals. They are filled with nits and wanna be good poker players that can be read like a big picture book (not as bad as the 2-5 schmuks but weak nonetheless). Too bad I'm still runing like shit so I can't capitalize on poor play, losing most of my big pots with the best hand. What else is new. I feel like I'm playing really good though. I'm not getting a whole lot of good situations and I'm getting a whole lot of tough ones. I would say I'm making great laydown, great value bets, and a couple well times medium sized bluffs and overall I don't think my cash position could be much better based on my style of play. I haven't givin it an exact count but i think I'm up a staggering 4k, whoopdido basil (don't get me wrong thats obviously not pocket change but come on win a couple of the big pots that I should and I'm up 25k).
One interesting observation I have made is the slow increase in interest for plo games. I have played in a couple half/half 10-20 holdem/plo games and also some straight 5/10 plo. The 10/20's have consisted mostly of sharks, but I feel I have edge in plo over most so it doesn't bother me too much to sit. The 5/10's though have several donks with the balance consisting of predictable nits. It's interesting though, plo is growing. I think many of the top level holdem players are realizing the edge has diminished so much in holdem that poker needs a facelift and why not shift to a more edge orientated game. In my opinion, Plo is more complex and medium / long-term results are based more on skill than luck in comparison to holdem, its just not as fluky. I personally love it because it is flop based, not preflop and/or pure aggression based, and your advantage improves if you can work your way through varying board textures. Having said that, it has higher variance and in the short-term a bad run can really sting. For myself, I'm actually down a little bit in plo this trip thus far but I think it has to change.
I just finished playing an all night session at the bellagio with Trav in the juiciest holdem game of the trip. I mean some of the guys in the game were so bad they couldn't beat a 1-2nl game at Club Regent, making big mistakes in big pots. I made out alright but it could have been so much better as I found a couple tight spots and didn't hit too many hands. Trav on the other hand ran into many bad situations and managed a loss in a game that should have banked 10k+ each. Hopefully I see the same faces there tonight.
I'm not going to go into any hands in this post, i'll save it for my next post. Lets just say the donks won the battle but hopefully I will win the war.
Later
Joe
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Home Game
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.
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.
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
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