Holiday Foolishness

Found time for two tournaments in Las Vegas while on vacation this last week.

This first was an afternoon Aria - for the money probably the second best daily in Vegas, the first being the Venetian only because it's prize pool is typically twice as big as Aria's.

For $125 you get 8000 in chips (as opposed to the V's 7000), half hour levels and a structure that actually has a semblance of reason to it.

Surprisingly, much to my delight - my brother in law tagged along, he of the whine and complaining to the poker Gods who has been mentioned in this blog more than once. Needless to say, I was shocked at his desire to join me in my degeneracy, but pleased. I tried to get a reason out of him on the way over, but the best I could manage was that he considered it "poker lessons". Fine. So do I. Hopefully he'll come around back home and get back to playing in my game!

Even with 69 entrants, we somehow found ourselves at the same table. Yay! Poker is more fun with companionship. Even if the companion turns around and spanks you on occasion.

On the third hand the companion I mentioned, lead out with a raise in early position. I flatted from the button with J10. My implied odds with him had to be good here, if I hit big he would be very reluctant to release with an overpair (which is what I put him on, he is a SUPER tight player). We were the only two in the pot and took a flop of 10 J x.

He led out a little less than half the pot. I called. I was putting him on kings, queens, aces or AK. If he had hit a set with Jacks or Tens I would think he would trap, though in hindsight his line here was absolutely correct with a player like me.

The turn came a blank and he fired again, this time the same amount which was now less than a quarter of the pot. Irresistible with my two pair. I called, and thankfully resisted the urge to three bet him.

The river was an ace, a yucky card for me because now he had a monster if he had bullets and if for some reason he was playing a wonky draw it just got there.

He lead out with the same (now teeny amount). I at this point knew my hand was likely no good - subconsciously I had put it together that he was sitting on a big hand (either already made or hit on the river), but it would have been 100% incorrect to fold with 10 to 1 odds even if I somehow could know what he had.

I paid him off and he showed flopped trip tens.

As I said, he played it perfectly against an aggressive but suspicious player like me, I likely would have slowed down had he check called me on the flop and he would have lost value on the turn. His line extracted probably the most he could have gotten from me so early in a deep stacked tournament. I congratulated him later, I'm not sure if he was fully aware at how well he had taken me down to value town.

The second hand of note occurred a couple of orbits later - I had QQ UTG+1 and fired a standard x3BB raise. The button called me and the big blind defended.

Flop was 993. BB checked, I bet just over half the pot. The button min-raised me. I had pegged him based on looks alone as one of these guys who severely overrates himself as a poker player - and I was ready to get it all in with him. If he had a nine or pocket threes then so be it, but he wasn't getting me off my queens with his random Ace or face cards or medium pair.

Then the big blind flat called. I had seen enough of this guy already to know he wasn't very good, but I also knew that he wouldn't have simply called unless he was super strong.

I stopped and thought. And thought, and thought.

I folded.

The turn was a 7. The big blind bet 2/3 of the pot. The button simply called with a blank expression. I read weakness.

The river was a Jack. The big blind shoved.

The button, who was an early big stack and had the bb covered by a considerable amount, tanked for a good minute and a half and finally called.

The BB turned over 97.

The button looked disgusted and mucked.

Who knows what the button had, but I am pretty much certain that on the flop I was either crushed or way ahead of him. I was willing to go for the latter if the BB hadn't intervened. Thank goodness he did, and I didn't have to find out some sad news.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, I played for over 2 more hours and really was pretty card dead - not to mention that there were enough players who knew what they were doing so I couldn't get out of line to my liking.

With 12 big blinds left and antes about to kick into super high gear, I open shoved with AA from mIddle position. No action.

A couple of hand later I had AK at UTG+1. I stuck it in once more. This time, the same big blind, who had turned into a luck sack and a monster chip leader called me down, he had pocket tens. He promptly binked trips on the flop. Of course I had a nice and gross turn and river with a King and an Ace respectively. Nothing like hitting cards when you're drawing dead.

It was fun, it was all good. No major mistakes and a great way to spend the afternoon. Dave G., my brother-in-law, busted out shortly thereafter (I rightly assured him that he got unlucky when his x5 BB shove of KQ ran into kings) and he seemed pleased as well. He had fun, for this was his first time in a real poker room tournament.

I was proud that my little home game had trained him well for proper etiquette, and except for a few funny times where he forgot to give his cards back after he dragged a pot, I'm sure no one around the table suspected that he was a card room virgin.

So I thought that was to be all that she wrote for poker over the holidays. I was having a great time with my family, especially my little girl, who is about the most perfect and sweetest kid on the planet. On our last full day we went to the Vegas Springs Desert Zoo and Ecology Center, which had fun interactive exhibits for her and her two boy cousins to enjoy. Then we saw the movie "Tangled" at the Orleans, which kind of blew me away at how good it was.

Darkness was falling, time to go home. But wait. We're at the Orleans! There's 7pm poker tournaments here! And it's Omaha night! Good thing we brought two cars!

Once again I entered the lions den (I say that because despite the great structures, low buy ins and predictable players I have yet to cash in an Orleans tournament after playing in nearly a dozen of them) and ponied up $75 for 7500 chips and the fixed limit tournament madness of Omaha Eight or Better High-Low.

As I really consider myself dead money in such an event (not to mention that fixed limit O8 is VERY card dependent) I had next to zero pressure on my shoulders (save for the not-cashing monkey that I confess did chatter in the back of my brain on occasion).

So I had a blast.

Then this hand happened.

After nearly 3 hours, and a few ups and downs, including 2 very unlikely double ups after I went in blind - I had just below average in chips which actually left me quite a bit of room to maneuver in this fixed limit format.

I looked down at A J 10 9, with 3 limpers behind and a passive table this was an easy call.

The flop came 78Q. Then, maybe it was because the hour was late, or because I was feeling the onset of a cold, or maybe someone nearby was smoking crack and I got a contact high, but my brain told me - "I flopped the nuts. But that could change, I must be careful."

Of course, as anyone who plays Omaha/8 knows, I did not have the nuts. I had nothing, but a good draw, a gut-shot wrap.

And in fact, I had experienced what everyone who plays Omaha/8 experiences at one time or another - I had simply neglected to recognize that you can ONLY play 2 from your hand and 3 on board. ONLY.

I checked, a short stack bet, 2 other callers. I thought, long and hard (still painfully oblivious that I didn't have a hand yet) before deciding to check raise. This was a large amount of my stack at this point, and even in my land of delusion I knew this was committing me to the hand.

The short stack stuck the rest of his chips in (all 2 of them, not even a full bet amount). One caller folded. The other reluctantly called.

The turn was a king - I didn't even look or care because I knew a big bet of mine was going in no matter what. This was correct, wether I had made a hand or not, because the other active player tanked FOREVER before finally folding his two pair face up.

I at this point realized with horror that I didn't have a made hand yet. And zero draw to a low. All I had was ace high. I needed any of the cards in my hand to hit to make a straight. If I hit an Ace or a Jack I would have broadway.

The river was a 4.

I had ace high.

The all in short stack had a low straight. The player that I had raised out on the turn was incredulous. I fessed up immediately that I had misread my hand. He took my explanation and apology surprisingly well, considering he was a swarthy loud mouth Orleans codger.

Thankfully, I wasn't busted. I got the side pots 2 big bets besides mine, plus a smallish chunk of the main since the short stack couldn't call my check -raise fully.

But 2/3 of my chips were gone like the wind, because my brain decided to check out for about 2 streets of poker.

I shortly was moved thereafter and busted in a sickening fashion.

I stuck in my chips with A3QQ in a three way all in pot pre-flop.

I was up against a short stack that I covered slightly who had A Q 10 7 and a big stack who called off light with J 10 5 6.

Flop was 3J8.

Turn was an 8.

River was a Jack.

Nice two out bink sir. Well done.

I admit, I was pretty steamed as I stomped out - but inwardly, I was mostly mad at myself for simply not paying attention at the previous table.

Poker is hard enough when you are paying attention. To be sober and only a little bit tired and not recognize what hand I had - that sucks pretty hard. Ah, well. It was still fun in the grand scheme - and as always, I can't wait to get back to my favorite poker town.

Oh, and by the way - I realize I forgot to post about my last two forays at HPC.

Sunday, December 19th, both my girls (wife and daughter) had plans together and I wasn't invited, so I played in the Sunday $40 rebuy 10K guarantee. As usual, I didn't cash - and then as usual, I enrolled in the 4:30pm $100 second chance tourney where I did make the money. I took down 5th place for $495.

The following week I got out of work early (since the office was empty and there was nothing to do) on the 23rd and played the $35 rebuy at 1130am on December 24th and took 7th for $425! Two tournament sessions, two cashes! Not too shabby!

I'd say patience, more than anything, helped me squeak into the money in both tournaments. Not to mention a fair amount of luck, especially in the first tourney. The sickest was this one.

I was in the BB with almost a third of my chips already committed. I had played for over 7 hours (having already busted out of the big Sunday 10K) and was disgusted at my lack of playable cards and committed to throwing in the rest of my chips blind. To let the big and small pass through me would simply be too devastating, at that point even if I did double or triple up I would still be in the dead zone.

So from the big blind I threw in my remaining composite clay after UTG +3 limped and the cutoff raised. They both called my less than legal raise and the main pot was a decent size. I still didn't know what I had.

The flop was a red 10 8 4.

Check - check, went the two active players.

The suspense was killing me.

I peeked. I had 8 4.

Despite an ill advised river bet by the cutoff, which got called down by a better King high - my hand held up for the main pot and I had more than tripled up when antes were factored in!

Sometimes, well, actually, all the time - it's better to be lucky than good!

Overall, as far as my memory can tell (I really should write soon after I play) on both afternoons, I didn't have any major blunders and did about as well as I could have considering the cards that I caught. I do know that I didn't have any monster screw ups like laying down a set to a check raise (as I did last time at HPC) - so that itself (not to mention over $600 in profit) was more than good enough for me.

I'm very much looking forward to 2011, including my first home game this Saturday.

I'll post my inner most thoughts on this in a little while, but for now you can always catch up on what's going on at Pepper Street Poker by clicking here.