Well, it turned out the irritating verbal free rolling I've been doing on this blog, in chat and in e-mails (saying I wasn't likely to win a seat) did it's job - I won the seat.
It all boiled down to staying frosty, making reads and getting lucky. I was especially lucky that the two other contenders in FlatWorld (my online World Series of Poker League) couldn't get anything going to save their lives, and were short stacked as the "improvement bubble" (the levels they would have to achieve to gain any more points) approached.
In the end, they both had to make desperate moves, and they both fell short. So neither had improved their scores. One was tied with me, the other a single point ahead. With 6 players left, it was up to me to move up one spot on the ladder to tie for the seat, and two spots to clinch it.
Early on I had gotten a generous double up from one of the better players in the league, our lone remaining female player, when I raised her big blind - I was in the small blind. I had done this to her twice before, once with AK and the second time with Kings. Both times she had folded. This time, I had aces - she re raised and I insta shoved with a massive overbet of my entire stack, hoping to make it look like a ridiculous bluff (that I have on tilted occasions before, done in this league). She didn't think but a few seconds before calling off with AQ. A queen came on the turn but the river was a glorious case Ace.
I used my big stack to steal, fairly relentlessly - and accumulate and pad my lead. Once the two contenders were gone I was really glad that I had some ammo to at least keep my head above water as the blinds got more serious.
Then, player number six had busted, and shortly thereafter so did player five. I had locked it up. Or had I? Slightly ahead of me in chips was Miles, the very same player we had sent to the WSOP two years before. Turns out, if I busted out next AND he took first place in this tournament, we would be tied for the seat. It wasn't over yet.
I would love to give more details on the hand that eliminated him, as well as specific info on earlier hands in this tournament - but suffice it to say, the emotions that overcame me when Miles did bust (I do dimly recall that he got unlucky) have smeared my memory into a hazy fog. I was actually quite emotional, tears welled up as I realized that come the last weekend in June, I would be playing in the big dance.
I had come so close the previous year, and the year before that. While not technically in second place in 2010, I felt as though I had fallen just short - when my cowboys got two outed by Sigfried and Roy. And I believe I actually was just behind Miles in 2009. This time, it was I who was able to come from behind and lock it up.
Easy game.
Funny enough though, I had just played in a Hollywood park evening tournament before Monday nights online showdown - and I had done rather well.
With 7 tables, I got smacked in the face with the deck more than a few times and got paid on monster hands. (Aces held up in a three way pot pre-flop, my K10 filled up on the turn against a flopped broadway straight, etc.) I then coasted to the final table, playing small ball and accumulating more and more from the passive targets I had selected. I wouldn't say I was a table bully, my VPIP (money Voluntarily Put In the Pot) was only probably around 20% after I had gained my mountain of chips. But the blinds and antes were so big, that every "small" pot I won was significant. Almost all of these wins were pre-flop and also a few on c-bets on favorable boards. If tried to go after medium stacks, but I pre-planned and was ready to get away against any big stacks or call against mini-stacks if I did get involved with them.
Finally, it was five handed and I had about a 4 to 1 chip lead against everyone else. There was not one HPC regular in the bunch, so I was feeling great. UTG folded, I was in the next spot and looked down at queens and popped it. The button folded, the small blind who had a tiny stack, shoved. The big blind who had the largest stack besides mine also insta-shoved. I had him covered by quite a bit, but I still wasn't happy. I knew I was likely behind or against AK in the best case scenario, and if I lost we would be likely chopping. (Because there were no regulars at the table, no one had brought up the idea of a chop yet. I had stayed silent on it, though I'm usually the first to make mention). I called. The SB had A10, the BB had Aces.
Queen on the flop, easy game.
The two remaining stacks were both way short. One turned to the other and said "Well, do you want to give him first and you and I split 2nd and 3rd?" The recreational player digested this, and then quickly agreed. I took it down for the first time at Hollywood Park. First place was $1370.
So really, I had enough money to play in the WSOP if I wanted. I thought about it for awhile, mentioned it to the wife who was elated at my win (she thought I should keep the money and use it for something practical, like couches or some shit, JK sweetie) but she agreed that it was sensible for me to use it to fund my buy-ins in all the little tournaments I had planned for the weekend. I would be free rolling at the Aria, Venetian, etc. I was on cloud 9.
I have no doubt that my victory at HPC boosted my confidence greatly for the following Monday night - feel good, run good = play good in teh pokerz.
So my plan between now and the WSOP is to try and play live once a week at HPC. I know I've sworn off evening tournaments during the week, but HPC recently moved the starting time up 45 minutes earlier to 6:30. I will have to make an effort to get down there when my work is light and nothing big is coming up the next day. I'll also likely do a Sunday 10K guarantee at some point. I feel good at a live table in a card room, I'd love to get to a point where I feel great. I know I'll be nervous as hell in the Rio regardless, but the more live hands I can get in between now and then, even if I reduce the butterflies only a little bit, it will be worth it.
As for my strategery, I've pretty much gone over that in the below post towards the end. But I still have an open mind. Any of you Flatliners who read this want to chime in on how I should approach the World Series, I would greatly appreciate it.
Initially in FlatWorld the idea was to get enough for a $1500 event seat. We fell short of that amount by a couple hundred, so I was going to just play in the 1K, the same event as Cali. Just today I've had two Flatliners chip in to buy shares outright, so I'm less than a hundred away from the $1500 mark. I think I will go ahead and foot the extra few bucks and enter the larger buy in event. Last year, the same 1500 event had almost a thousand fewer runners and yet still had a bigger prize pool than the corresponding 1K. Plus the 1500 gives me 4500 starting chips instead of the 1K's 3000.
I will be tweeting the hell out of my experience - and most of all, win or lose or whatever - I will put having fun and savoring the journey at the top of my list of priorities. This will likely be a once in a life time occurrence, I plan to make the most of it.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
So close...
Yet so far away. (Anyone remember that classic / dreadful song from Hall and Oates?)
Last Monday I took down first place in Flatworld, my Poker Stars Home Games WSOP league. It was my fourth first place finish in 17 tournaments. This has now put me one point behind the first place player, and I'm tied with another guy for second.
Our last tournament in this series is on Monday. I have to improve my score (since we only count our top ten scores I have to finish in fifth place or higher) to have a chance for the seat. If I improve my score by two points and the first place guy and the second place guy don't improve - I win the seat. If I improve my score by one point and neither of my competitors improve, I'm tied for the seat. (Which means I have to play a tie breaker tournament the following week.)
It is very much down to the wire here - and I have no one but myself to blame for coming EXTREMELY close to a seat for the third year in a row.
If I could somehow bring may A-Game, you know, the one I played last Monday - where despite an absence of premium cards I was able to parlay laser sharp selective aggression and spot on reads to a decisive first place finish - If I could bring that every week, it wouldn't even be close to being close right now.
Yes, luck is a big factor, we essentially play turbos because the tournaments are almost always over within three hours - but still... I really feel more than ever now that I have a BIG edge over this league.
So I've decided that this Monday night, when it is truly all on the line - that I can only focus on me. Improve my score by 2 points is my goal, what the other guys do (and who decides to donate chips to them) is pretty much entirely out of my hands. This is doubly so because we are now averaging only 10 players, where our early tournaments typically had 20+. The points for first place remain the same, so odds are not that great that one or both of the other two contenders won't improve their scores.
But as long as there are also guys involved like the one who paid me off with almost his entire stack after I turned quads - and he had the third best flush on the flop, I feel really, really good about my chances. I just have to remember not to be devastated if history repeats itself and I get massively unlucky. Last year, as you may recall, there was a crucial hand that basically sent a fellow to the WSOP instead of me.
It was all in pre-flop, I had Kings he had Queens. It still stings to this day - simply because it was such a mental momentum killer for me. I can't even remember if that hand eliminated me, I believe it did, but at the very least I was crippled and out soon after. He went on to win that entire tournament, and I believe if memory serves, that was enough to put him out in front for good in points with only a handful of tournaments remaining. I am 100% confident that if my 80/20 hand had actually held up, the 2010 WSOP would have been a very different story.
To his credit, this player "The Ruben", is one of the better in the league and he did in fact make the deepest run of anyone I've ever helped send to the big dance. He busted just before the dinner break.
In my home game this year I've sent a new rep, my bestest buddy Cali. He is already thinking about day 2 in the event and how he's going to make it to the money. I'm telling him, just get to the dinner break, and he'll be a winner. To realistically go beyond that point, requires quite a bit of forethought.
While I wouldn't call the 1K WSOP event a turbo, I will go out on a limb and say that if you don't accumulate big, well before the antes kick in, you have little or no chance of making it to meal time, let alone the second day or the money. The key in this event is to be 200+ BB deep when level 6 finally rolls around - at that point (and only at that point) you have to start stealing and accumulating. Before the antes, there's no point in trying to be a thief for two reasons. One - unless you quadruple up, you don't have the ammo for it. And more importantly - Two - the un-raised blinds aren't yet big enough to justify shenanigans.
So because you're so short stacked to begin with, at least you are after the end of level 2 with only 30 big blinds, you must, must, MUST be looking for a spot to get all of your chips in as a big favorite. Ideally, you want to four bet shove with cowboys or rockets
and get looked up by big slick or a pair of queens. That is a very specific, best case scenario. But there are lesser versions of this which may have to do as well. Set mine if it's super cheap and check raise shove on the flop when you hit. Hope that there's an ace or a king on board that connected with your opponent. Speculate with a suited connecter where there's multiple limpers and flop the world. Plan to get it in by the river.
It's not fancy or tricky poker, but it is all about getting lucky and getting that mountain you're going to need when it's time to shift gears. Ideally, you want a shot at two mountains in the first five hours. If you have a chance to get it in as a 60/40 favorite, don't hesitate.
You may also find yourself coolered - don't try to avoid this. If you fold pocket kings pre-flop you deserve a punch in the junk. If you fold bottom set on the flop, ditto.
If you do find yourself with a Carlos Mortensen-like castle at ante time - pillage all you can, in position and against weak targets only. Before you've even gotten to this point, chat it up a bit and see if you can discern who's a tourist like yourself and who is of the predator variety. Avoid the latter in your thievery.
Raise with junk from the cutoff. Dry board with an ace? C-bet. Barrel again on the turn if it blanks. Is he still there? Might be time to give it up - or stick it in on the end if you know he'll buckle. Trust your reads.
I'm writing out these thoughts for myself mainly, but I hope it gives Cali food for thought if he stumbles across this. I've said it before, but it bears repeating - instinctively he is a better player than I am and probably always will be. I have a tendency to over think and over extend myself, I'm always working my way back to the place in my game where it is about making correct decisions - but it's a never ending journey.
I just can't wait for Monday. Stay tuned.
Last Monday I took down first place in Flatworld, my Poker Stars Home Games WSOP league. It was my fourth first place finish in 17 tournaments. This has now put me one point behind the first place player, and I'm tied with another guy for second.
Our last tournament in this series is on Monday. I have to improve my score (since we only count our top ten scores I have to finish in fifth place or higher) to have a chance for the seat. If I improve my score by two points and the first place guy and the second place guy don't improve - I win the seat. If I improve my score by one point and neither of my competitors improve, I'm tied for the seat. (Which means I have to play a tie breaker tournament the following week.)
It is very much down to the wire here - and I have no one but myself to blame for coming EXTREMELY close to a seat for the third year in a row.
If I could somehow bring may A-Game, you know, the one I played last Monday - where despite an absence of premium cards I was able to parlay laser sharp selective aggression and spot on reads to a decisive first place finish - If I could bring that every week, it wouldn't even be close to being close right now.
Yes, luck is a big factor, we essentially play turbos because the tournaments are almost always over within three hours - but still... I really feel more than ever now that I have a BIG edge over this league.
So I've decided that this Monday night, when it is truly all on the line - that I can only focus on me. Improve my score by 2 points is my goal, what the other guys do (and who decides to donate chips to them) is pretty much entirely out of my hands. This is doubly so because we are now averaging only 10 players, where our early tournaments typically had 20+. The points for first place remain the same, so odds are not that great that one or both of the other two contenders won't improve their scores.
But as long as there are also guys involved like the one who paid me off with almost his entire stack after I turned quads - and he had the third best flush on the flop, I feel really, really good about my chances. I just have to remember not to be devastated if history repeats itself and I get massively unlucky. Last year, as you may recall, there was a crucial hand that basically sent a fellow to the WSOP instead of me.
It was all in pre-flop, I had Kings he had Queens. It still stings to this day - simply because it was such a mental momentum killer for me. I can't even remember if that hand eliminated me, I believe it did, but at the very least I was crippled and out soon after. He went on to win that entire tournament, and I believe if memory serves, that was enough to put him out in front for good in points with only a handful of tournaments remaining. I am 100% confident that if my 80/20 hand had actually held up, the 2010 WSOP would have been a very different story.
To his credit, this player "The Ruben", is one of the better in the league and he did in fact make the deepest run of anyone I've ever helped send to the big dance. He busted just before the dinner break.
In my home game this year I've sent a new rep, my bestest buddy Cali. He is already thinking about day 2 in the event and how he's going to make it to the money. I'm telling him, just get to the dinner break, and he'll be a winner. To realistically go beyond that point, requires quite a bit of forethought.
While I wouldn't call the 1K WSOP event a turbo, I will go out on a limb and say that if you don't accumulate big, well before the antes kick in, you have little or no chance of making it to meal time, let alone the second day or the money. The key in this event is to be 200+ BB deep when level 6 finally rolls around - at that point (and only at that point) you have to start stealing and accumulating. Before the antes, there's no point in trying to be a thief for two reasons. One - unless you quadruple up, you don't have the ammo for it. And more importantly - Two - the un-raised blinds aren't yet big enough to justify shenanigans.
So because you're so short stacked to begin with, at least you are after the end of level 2 with only 30 big blinds, you must, must, MUST be looking for a spot to get all of your chips in as a big favorite. Ideally, you want to four bet shove with cowboys or rockets
and get looked up by big slick or a pair of queens. That is a very specific, best case scenario. But there are lesser versions of this which may have to do as well. Set mine if it's super cheap and check raise shove on the flop when you hit. Hope that there's an ace or a king on board that connected with your opponent. Speculate with a suited connecter where there's multiple limpers and flop the world. Plan to get it in by the river.
It's not fancy or tricky poker, but it is all about getting lucky and getting that mountain you're going to need when it's time to shift gears. Ideally, you want a shot at two mountains in the first five hours. If you have a chance to get it in as a 60/40 favorite, don't hesitate.
You may also find yourself coolered - don't try to avoid this. If you fold pocket kings pre-flop you deserve a punch in the junk. If you fold bottom set on the flop, ditto.
If you do find yourself with a Carlos Mortensen-like castle at ante time - pillage all you can, in position and against weak targets only. Before you've even gotten to this point, chat it up a bit and see if you can discern who's a tourist like yourself and who is of the predator variety. Avoid the latter in your thievery.
Raise with junk from the cutoff. Dry board with an ace? C-bet. Barrel again on the turn if it blanks. Is he still there? Might be time to give it up - or stick it in on the end if you know he'll buckle. Trust your reads.
I'm writing out these thoughts for myself mainly, but I hope it gives Cali food for thought if he stumbles across this. I've said it before, but it bears repeating - instinctively he is a better player than I am and probably always will be. I have a tendency to over think and over extend myself, I'm always working my way back to the place in my game where it is about making correct decisions - but it's a never ending journey.
I just can't wait for Monday. Stay tuned.
Monday, April 25, 2011
WSOP Here I Come!
No, I haven't won a seat (not yet) but I'm definitely going to be in Vegas this summer for the biggest poker party of the year.
I had my first of hopefully two World Series Satellites at my home game a couple of weeks ago. My good friend Cali Al was the last poker player standing (or rather sitting) when the dust settled and he'll be entering a 1K bracelet event near the end of June. I plan to be there to show him support, and I plan to play a hell of a lot of poker as well.
I'm still in the running in my online league for a seat, though I've slipped into second place - I need to take a couple of tournaments down in the 6 remaining to have a real shot, so it's looking less than certain. As for my home game, it looks like I'll have another satellite, this time likely a single table; odds aren't great on that either simply because of variance and it's winner take all.
So if I don't win the seat, I'll continue this great internal debate with myself over whether or not just to pony up a thousand bucks of my own money or wait till next year - but whatever I decide, I have to decide before I get on the plane. If I wait and still haven't made up my mind, I know I will succumb to temptation and relinquish a dime at the cage. This may or may not be a bad thing - I am financially in a pretty good place in my life, plus I have close to $800 in profit stuck in a drawer in my garage, I could easily justify only $200 more on what would likely be the tournament experience of a lifetime for me.
But on the other hand, as someone who has traveled the world and seen up close the worst poverty imaginable, it's hard to stomach dropping 1K on a game. If I had the $ I would match the entry fee with a donation to a charity and then pledge a large percentage of my winnings - only then would it seem somewhat sensible. Okay, I would probably still be rationalizing it.
Anyway - let's assume I don't win the seat and I decide to be sensible. In this scenario I'm still likely dropping my entire profit for the year on entry fees in just under four days. (Although, to be fair, I know the fields will be pretty soft in the tournaments outside the Rio. I'm very unlikely not to cash at least once in four days.)
I'll have to play a $75 turbo satellite every day at the Rio - every 10th player wins a $500 lammer and $50 cash. If I win one of these, I'll for sure pony up another $500 and enter a 1K bracelet event.
For sure I'm going to play in a Rio 2pm $235 Deep Stack Event. The good news on these tournaments is - it's in the Amazon room so you can pretend you're playing in the WSOP as you star gaze at the tv pros, the structure and starting stack are tremendous and the prize pool is always chunky. The bad news is, if you go deep, you typically stagger out at 6 in the morning the next day.
I'll also likely play in a Venetian and/or Caeser's deepstack - these typically run at $350 or so.
Then I'll fill out the rest of my time with smaller events - the Aria daily or a turbo at T.I. and elsewhere. If I haven't cashed by the time Wednesday morning rolls around, I'll be looking at $800 gone like the wind.
So really the question here is - do I want to buy an $800 lottery ticket on one big Sunday afternoon tournament loaded with sharks and burdened with a small starting stack with literally thousands of entrants - or do I want to spread out my playing time with a bunch of smaller lottery tickets in softer and better structured events?
When I write it out like that, it seems really obvious that the latter is the only real choice. But still...
IT'S THE FUCKING WORLD SERIES OF FUCKING POKER!!!!
We'll see.
I had my first of hopefully two World Series Satellites at my home game a couple of weeks ago. My good friend Cali Al was the last poker player standing (or rather sitting) when the dust settled and he'll be entering a 1K bracelet event near the end of June. I plan to be there to show him support, and I plan to play a hell of a lot of poker as well.
I'm still in the running in my online league for a seat, though I've slipped into second place - I need to take a couple of tournaments down in the 6 remaining to have a real shot, so it's looking less than certain. As for my home game, it looks like I'll have another satellite, this time likely a single table; odds aren't great on that either simply because of variance and it's winner take all.
So if I don't win the seat, I'll continue this great internal debate with myself over whether or not just to pony up a thousand bucks of my own money or wait till next year - but whatever I decide, I have to decide before I get on the plane. If I wait and still haven't made up my mind, I know I will succumb to temptation and relinquish a dime at the cage. This may or may not be a bad thing - I am financially in a pretty good place in my life, plus I have close to $800 in profit stuck in a drawer in my garage, I could easily justify only $200 more on what would likely be the tournament experience of a lifetime for me.
But on the other hand, as someone who has traveled the world and seen up close the worst poverty imaginable, it's hard to stomach dropping 1K on a game. If I had the $ I would match the entry fee with a donation to a charity and then pledge a large percentage of my winnings - only then would it seem somewhat sensible. Okay, I would probably still be rationalizing it.
Anyway - let's assume I don't win the seat and I decide to be sensible. In this scenario I'm still likely dropping my entire profit for the year on entry fees in just under four days. (Although, to be fair, I know the fields will be pretty soft in the tournaments outside the Rio. I'm very unlikely not to cash at least once in four days.)
I'll have to play a $75 turbo satellite every day at the Rio - every 10th player wins a $500 lammer and $50 cash. If I win one of these, I'll for sure pony up another $500 and enter a 1K bracelet event.
For sure I'm going to play in a Rio 2pm $235 Deep Stack Event. The good news on these tournaments is - it's in the Amazon room so you can pretend you're playing in the WSOP as you star gaze at the tv pros, the structure and starting stack are tremendous and the prize pool is always chunky. The bad news is, if you go deep, you typically stagger out at 6 in the morning the next day.
I'll also likely play in a Venetian and/or Caeser's deepstack - these typically run at $350 or so.
Then I'll fill out the rest of my time with smaller events - the Aria daily or a turbo at T.I. and elsewhere. If I haven't cashed by the time Wednesday morning rolls around, I'll be looking at $800 gone like the wind.
So really the question here is - do I want to buy an $800 lottery ticket on one big Sunday afternoon tournament loaded with sharks and burdened with a small starting stack with literally thousands of entrants - or do I want to spread out my playing time with a bunch of smaller lottery tickets in softer and better structured events?
When I write it out like that, it seems really obvious that the latter is the only real choice. But still...
IT'S THE FUCKING WORLD SERIES OF FUCKING POKER!!!!
We'll see.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Poker ahoy!
I'm on a boat!
A cruise ship actually, one of the biggest in the world - the Carnival Splendor. Yes, it's the one that caught on fire last year, but thankfully this time around there were no ship "hiccups" and I enjoyed a loverly 7 day vacation with my family including stops in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta - about the only two places in Mexico that haven't collapsed into a morass of gunfire, yet.
It was my first time on such a vessel, and I happily popped my cruising cherry on various degenerate activities, including a luckless foray into bingo (though there was a lot of fun value) as well as a few slot machines so tight they made the Bellagio's machines seem loose.
But as pertains to this column, teh pokerz, I also sat down to play occasionally at the single poker table available, on a ship with over 3000 passengers. It was also an electronic table. Pretty slick, but also pretty damn weird.
The main advantage of playing on such a machine was that there were no dealer errors - all pots were awarded instantly and correctly every time. With the removal of human error on the dealers side, a favorable side effect resulted - players were unusually civil. Granted, this is a boat with 100% tourists, as opposed to the dingy halls of Inglewood where I usually play, replete with the worst sort of gamblers. But this group was, while not super friendly, was super nice enough and did a very good job of policing themselves in matters of etiquette and manners. I've often found, as is the case in my home game, that when players are put in a place with little or no authority figure, they self regulate pretty well.
But for all it's advantages, the Poker Pro Table simply cannot hold a candle to chips and a dealer. It's analogous to a vegetarian trying to convince a meat eater to convert. Logically, we should all be veggie eaters - less waste, better for us, etc. etc. But cheeseburgers taste fucking good, and shuffling chips, bending up cards, flicking them into the muck, raking a pot, are all tactile pleasures that a cold electric table simply cannot even approach.
Anyhow, we were scheduled for a tournament 4 days into the cruise, and I just couldn't wait until then so I bit the bullet and plunked down $100 for a 1/2 cash game. It was fun, but the rake was flat out retarded - 10% with a $9 max. Completely unbeatable in the long term, though a few players on the night walked away several hundred up. Alas, I was not one and finished down $40 for the night after 3 hours of play. I simply wasn't drunk enough to beat the game I guess.
The bet sizing in general was ridiculous, people routinely min bet into bloated pots after multiple people had limped in PF - I'm afraid I was just card dead enough, and as I said, not loosey goosey enough, to take advantage properly. Cash game play continues to elude me, as it's very tough for me to disassociate chips from cash - I don't plan to reload, and reload and reload again. I'm very comfortable in a tournament, once I pay my fee I don't even think of the money, it's gone. But in a cash game, my entire wallet and even my ATM card are potentially in play, and I often don't make the correct decision because I'm too afraid of denting my bank account.
I played again the next night, and finished down another hundred. I flopped top two pair and got it in on the turn where a blind defender had binked a wacky gut shot - so I reloaded, and was down even more later, until I crawled back to make back my second buy-in.
Finally, Wednesday night, tournament!
It was just as ridiculous as the cash game - a $150 winner take all single table, with a top prize of $750 cash OR $1000 Carnival Certificate (good for another cruise purchase). So $500 went to the house, a 1/3rd rake, but much of that went to a prize pool in a year end Carnival tournament with a $100,000 prize pool. Stupid, I know, but I was desperate for tournament play.
The field was super soft, a smattering of the weak cash game players and a couple of guys I didn't recognize. The only decent player, Clint, was a nice Maori fellow from New Zealand, I had already determined that I would avoid him as much as possible.
The tournament structure, was predictably, horrible - but I was comfortable enough, having played super turbos profitably enough online for a number of years. Again, the ignorance of bet sizing and commitment thresholds was staggering. Call off a third of your chips and fold? No problem. Call a big bet out of position with Q8os? Naturally.
About 90 minutes in I was riding along good, I had a decent chip lead over the rest of the table; players were still limping even though the average stack was just below 10 bigs. This gave me plenty of opportunities to shove light and accumulate. All the while I knew I wouldn't get called unless I got unlucky enough to run into a hand that could beat me, and the way everyone was so passive and one note, I wasn't too worried.
Three limpers, I look down at queens on the SB. Easy shove. The BB, the tightest player at the table and the only one with a stack that can hurt me insta-calls. Uh-oh. Yep, it's kings. I'm hurt pretty badly.
The lady to my right is incredulous and actually asks me, literally - "What is your mindset?" to gamble my whole stack before seeing a flop. I truthfully and in a friendly but diplomatic manner explained to her, that there's no prize for second place, the structure is a super turbo, I'm risking 6k to win 2k and happened to get unlucky with the one guy who had 4k. She didn't seem convinced. And probably still wasn't when she limp folded her way right into third place.
I went out 6th, I stuck my last chips in blind as the BB came around and was over half of my stack. Again, shaking heads and clucking tongues around the table as my 62 was dominated by the A2 that looked me up. I was perfectly fine with it.
So Now I was stuck a little less than $300; but I'd had fun gambooling it up, and there was plenty of other things to do on the cruise.
Then they announced there was another tournament scheduled for 1030am on the last day! Right on! Now I could plop down another $150 for a chance to win only $500 (basically my money back) because only 5 players showed up for the tournament!
Ah well, I wanted to play! Even if it was definitely a negative EV situation.
Once again, everyone started out very tight and passive - I adjusted more quickly this time and cranked up the aggression, accumulating the chip lead early on.
The guy to my right was a typical station who defended his blinds way too much. 5 handed, I let out for a standard raise UTG with AQ of spades. BB station flatted and also called my c-bet on a board of rags with 2 clubs. I checked behind on the turn for pot control and when a third club hit on the river he checked. I knew he probably had a flush, by the way he had played earlier hands, I led out with a sizable river bet to get him off his 4th or 5th nuts. He tanked for about 30 seconds and then called off with his 7 high flush. Well played sir. You soul read me with your 7th nuts.
Battle of wits with an unarmed opponent, blah, blah, blah...
So I was last in chips with just under 3K and the blinds ready to rocket skyward. I buckled down and tightened up considerably, and did my usual dance of shove or fold. This time, I managed to build back up rather quickly, as none of the 4 other players wanted to tango without premiums. Pocket 4's? Shove. A10? Shove. Fold, fold, fold. AJ? Shove.
This gang was so tight, I was able to treat a single limp as a fold - I didn't worry about a premium getting tricky; multiple limpers, yes, my range tightened up considerably. But again, no prize for second, I had to take advantage and push push push.
I noticed fairly early on, that my brother was on the rail. I've mentioned before here that he is a very good player, definitely better than me when it comes to instincts and patience. He had politely declined to join me at the table, but it was really nice to see him there showing support to my degeneracy, it meant a lot. He stayed until the tournament concluded, over an hour and a half!
Another cool thing about the electronic table, the main monitor was also displayed on a bigger screen on the wall so spectators could more easily follow along. My wife was unable to watch, especially after I took the first big hit - she went off to play the slots.
I was whittled down slightly more and it was just about to go from desperate to really nasty when I checked my BB with 49os. The flop came a beautiful 4 10 9. I had one limper and the small blind (the station from earlier). He checked, I shoved, knowing he was likely to call with his stack which was even smaller than mine. The limper folded and the sb, after tanking awhile and talking himself into it, called with 2 overs. He was crushed and deflated and first out.
A couple of hands earlier he had crippled himself against the player to my left, by re-raising with (big surprise) a small flush. He then called off most of his chips to the massive four bet shove and found himself looking down the maw of a nut flush. There ya go.
Now I had chips again. I accumulated some more and was the leader, pounding away and whittling all three remaining opponents down. Then player to my left (Kevin) min-raised. Should've been a warning flag, but I was bulldozing so I shoved with AQ suited. Simply too strong a hand to fold four handed in a turbo winner take all. He turned up aces and I was last in chips once more, just over 2K with the blinds set to devour me in two orbits.
Two hands later, I somehow doubled up - I don't remember the hand specifically, but I know I was first in and called by a hand that I had dominated.
Then, now 3rd in chips out of 4, I had the good fortune of the short stack being hassled by his wife who had somewhere to go (on a cruise ship, who knows?) He started open shoving, which was very unusual for him, and I knew it was only slightly motivated by his stack, but more by his nagging wife. I folded once, twice, then was able to call off easily with A10 and bust his A7.
Too bad this wasn't a bounty tournament, because I also managed to bust the third player, when he finally had limp folded his way into third place in chips and had the misfortune to run his QJ into my AQ.
Then it was just me and Kevin, the tight older player to my left who was easily the best of my opponents. This wasn't saying much, but I knew with sky high blinds it would be a flippy and swingy dance to get to the end, and it was.
At first, my timing was perfect, I managed to get it in again and again when he had nothing, and open fold when I detected rumblings from his end; he was frustrated at my poker radar and said "You're timing has been pretty good..." just before he flashed the aces that he again had min-raised with. I knew this time to insta fold my KJ.
But then I stumbled a bit and had to get away, he had the chip lead once more, and now with the blinds at 1 and 2 k he was open shoving a lot more. He shoved from the button and I hemmed a bit before calling off with A5 suited. In all fairness, it wasn't the best or worst call from me, it was basically desperation time - his shove was good, unfortunately for him he had A4. This was the crucial hand in the tournament, my dominating hand held and now I had a commanding chip lead.
Soon he shoved with a small pocket pair and I called with paint which hit on the flop. GG, easy game, too much fun.
I got my picture taken with a big novelty check (probably the smallest novelty check ever, only $500) but I'll post it if I ever get it, the TD said he would e-mail me.
All in all, very fun - not the best judgement by me in game selection; I really need to stick to tournaments, I'm just not made for the bottomless wallet mentality of NL cash. But it is very gratifying and a real ego boost to take down a tournament; even when it's a five handed flip.
A cruise ship actually, one of the biggest in the world - the Carnival Splendor. Yes, it's the one that caught on fire last year, but thankfully this time around there were no ship "hiccups" and I enjoyed a loverly 7 day vacation with my family including stops in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta - about the only two places in Mexico that haven't collapsed into a morass of gunfire, yet.
It was my first time on such a vessel, and I happily popped my cruising cherry on various degenerate activities, including a luckless foray into bingo (though there was a lot of fun value) as well as a few slot machines so tight they made the Bellagio's machines seem loose.
But as pertains to this column, teh pokerz, I also sat down to play occasionally at the single poker table available, on a ship with over 3000 passengers. It was also an electronic table. Pretty slick, but also pretty damn weird.
The main advantage of playing on such a machine was that there were no dealer errors - all pots were awarded instantly and correctly every time. With the removal of human error on the dealers side, a favorable side effect resulted - players were unusually civil. Granted, this is a boat with 100% tourists, as opposed to the dingy halls of Inglewood where I usually play, replete with the worst sort of gamblers. But this group was, while not super friendly, was super nice enough and did a very good job of policing themselves in matters of etiquette and manners. I've often found, as is the case in my home game, that when players are put in a place with little or no authority figure, they self regulate pretty well.
But for all it's advantages, the Poker Pro Table simply cannot hold a candle to chips and a dealer. It's analogous to a vegetarian trying to convince a meat eater to convert. Logically, we should all be veggie eaters - less waste, better for us, etc. etc. But cheeseburgers taste fucking good, and shuffling chips, bending up cards, flicking them into the muck, raking a pot, are all tactile pleasures that a cold electric table simply cannot even approach.
Anyhow, we were scheduled for a tournament 4 days into the cruise, and I just couldn't wait until then so I bit the bullet and plunked down $100 for a 1/2 cash game. It was fun, but the rake was flat out retarded - 10% with a $9 max. Completely unbeatable in the long term, though a few players on the night walked away several hundred up. Alas, I was not one and finished down $40 for the night after 3 hours of play. I simply wasn't drunk enough to beat the game I guess.
The bet sizing in general was ridiculous, people routinely min bet into bloated pots after multiple people had limped in PF - I'm afraid I was just card dead enough, and as I said, not loosey goosey enough, to take advantage properly. Cash game play continues to elude me, as it's very tough for me to disassociate chips from cash - I don't plan to reload, and reload and reload again. I'm very comfortable in a tournament, once I pay my fee I don't even think of the money, it's gone. But in a cash game, my entire wallet and even my ATM card are potentially in play, and I often don't make the correct decision because I'm too afraid of denting my bank account.
I played again the next night, and finished down another hundred. I flopped top two pair and got it in on the turn where a blind defender had binked a wacky gut shot - so I reloaded, and was down even more later, until I crawled back to make back my second buy-in.
Finally, Wednesday night, tournament!
It was just as ridiculous as the cash game - a $150 winner take all single table, with a top prize of $750 cash OR $1000 Carnival Certificate (good for another cruise purchase). So $500 went to the house, a 1/3rd rake, but much of that went to a prize pool in a year end Carnival tournament with a $100,000 prize pool. Stupid, I know, but I was desperate for tournament play.
The field was super soft, a smattering of the weak cash game players and a couple of guys I didn't recognize. The only decent player, Clint, was a nice Maori fellow from New Zealand, I had already determined that I would avoid him as much as possible.
The tournament structure, was predictably, horrible - but I was comfortable enough, having played super turbos profitably enough online for a number of years. Again, the ignorance of bet sizing and commitment thresholds was staggering. Call off a third of your chips and fold? No problem. Call a big bet out of position with Q8os? Naturally.
About 90 minutes in I was riding along good, I had a decent chip lead over the rest of the table; players were still limping even though the average stack was just below 10 bigs. This gave me plenty of opportunities to shove light and accumulate. All the while I knew I wouldn't get called unless I got unlucky enough to run into a hand that could beat me, and the way everyone was so passive and one note, I wasn't too worried.
Three limpers, I look down at queens on the SB. Easy shove. The BB, the tightest player at the table and the only one with a stack that can hurt me insta-calls. Uh-oh. Yep, it's kings. I'm hurt pretty badly.
The lady to my right is incredulous and actually asks me, literally - "What is your mindset?" to gamble my whole stack before seeing a flop. I truthfully and in a friendly but diplomatic manner explained to her, that there's no prize for second place, the structure is a super turbo, I'm risking 6k to win 2k and happened to get unlucky with the one guy who had 4k. She didn't seem convinced. And probably still wasn't when she limp folded her way right into third place.
I went out 6th, I stuck my last chips in blind as the BB came around and was over half of my stack. Again, shaking heads and clucking tongues around the table as my 62 was dominated by the A2 that looked me up. I was perfectly fine with it.
So Now I was stuck a little less than $300; but I'd had fun gambooling it up, and there was plenty of other things to do on the cruise.
Then they announced there was another tournament scheduled for 1030am on the last day! Right on! Now I could plop down another $150 for a chance to win only $500 (basically my money back) because only 5 players showed up for the tournament!
Ah well, I wanted to play! Even if it was definitely a negative EV situation.
Once again, everyone started out very tight and passive - I adjusted more quickly this time and cranked up the aggression, accumulating the chip lead early on.
The guy to my right was a typical station who defended his blinds way too much. 5 handed, I let out for a standard raise UTG with AQ of spades. BB station flatted and also called my c-bet on a board of rags with 2 clubs. I checked behind on the turn for pot control and when a third club hit on the river he checked. I knew he probably had a flush, by the way he had played earlier hands, I led out with a sizable river bet to get him off his 4th or 5th nuts. He tanked for about 30 seconds and then called off with his 7 high flush. Well played sir. You soul read me with your 7th nuts.
Battle of wits with an unarmed opponent, blah, blah, blah...
So I was last in chips with just under 3K and the blinds ready to rocket skyward. I buckled down and tightened up considerably, and did my usual dance of shove or fold. This time, I managed to build back up rather quickly, as none of the 4 other players wanted to tango without premiums. Pocket 4's? Shove. A10? Shove. Fold, fold, fold. AJ? Shove.
This gang was so tight, I was able to treat a single limp as a fold - I didn't worry about a premium getting tricky; multiple limpers, yes, my range tightened up considerably. But again, no prize for second, I had to take advantage and push push push.
I noticed fairly early on, that my brother was on the rail. I've mentioned before here that he is a very good player, definitely better than me when it comes to instincts and patience. He had politely declined to join me at the table, but it was really nice to see him there showing support to my degeneracy, it meant a lot. He stayed until the tournament concluded, over an hour and a half!
Another cool thing about the electronic table, the main monitor was also displayed on a bigger screen on the wall so spectators could more easily follow along. My wife was unable to watch, especially after I took the first big hit - she went off to play the slots.
I was whittled down slightly more and it was just about to go from desperate to really nasty when I checked my BB with 49os. The flop came a beautiful 4 10 9. I had one limper and the small blind (the station from earlier). He checked, I shoved, knowing he was likely to call with his stack which was even smaller than mine. The limper folded and the sb, after tanking awhile and talking himself into it, called with 2 overs. He was crushed and deflated and first out.
A couple of hands earlier he had crippled himself against the player to my left, by re-raising with (big surprise) a small flush. He then called off most of his chips to the massive four bet shove and found himself looking down the maw of a nut flush. There ya go.
Now I had chips again. I accumulated some more and was the leader, pounding away and whittling all three remaining opponents down. Then player to my left (Kevin) min-raised. Should've been a warning flag, but I was bulldozing so I shoved with AQ suited. Simply too strong a hand to fold four handed in a turbo winner take all. He turned up aces and I was last in chips once more, just over 2K with the blinds set to devour me in two orbits.
Two hands later, I somehow doubled up - I don't remember the hand specifically, but I know I was first in and called by a hand that I had dominated.
Then, now 3rd in chips out of 4, I had the good fortune of the short stack being hassled by his wife who had somewhere to go (on a cruise ship, who knows?) He started open shoving, which was very unusual for him, and I knew it was only slightly motivated by his stack, but more by his nagging wife. I folded once, twice, then was able to call off easily with A10 and bust his A7.
Too bad this wasn't a bounty tournament, because I also managed to bust the third player, when he finally had limp folded his way into third place in chips and had the misfortune to run his QJ into my AQ.
Then it was just me and Kevin, the tight older player to my left who was easily the best of my opponents. This wasn't saying much, but I knew with sky high blinds it would be a flippy and swingy dance to get to the end, and it was.
At first, my timing was perfect, I managed to get it in again and again when he had nothing, and open fold when I detected rumblings from his end; he was frustrated at my poker radar and said "You're timing has been pretty good..." just before he flashed the aces that he again had min-raised with. I knew this time to insta fold my KJ.
But then I stumbled a bit and had to get away, he had the chip lead once more, and now with the blinds at 1 and 2 k he was open shoving a lot more. He shoved from the button and I hemmed a bit before calling off with A5 suited. In all fairness, it wasn't the best or worst call from me, it was basically desperation time - his shove was good, unfortunately for him he had A4. This was the crucial hand in the tournament, my dominating hand held and now I had a commanding chip lead.
Soon he shoved with a small pocket pair and I called with paint which hit on the flop. GG, easy game, too much fun.
I got my picture taken with a big novelty check (probably the smallest novelty check ever, only $500) but I'll post it if I ever get it, the TD said he would e-mail me.
All in all, very fun - not the best judgement by me in game selection; I really need to stick to tournaments, I'm just not made for the bottomless wallet mentality of NL cash. But it is very gratifying and a real ego boost to take down a tournament; even when it's a five handed flip.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Confession...
So I've been putting this off for far too long.
A few months ago my online bankroll finally ground down to 30 cents.
As you probably know, I had built up to well over $400 for more than a spate in 2008, up from literally zero in 2007.
I've been reflecting a lot on how the end of my "found money" came to be; as far as I can tell, being totally and brutally honest with myself; my plummeting winnings line for the past 2 years has come about from three things.
1.) Monkey Tilt - I have on more than one occasion tried to get "unstuck" after taking brutal beats or misplaying hands. As Charlie Sheen has shown us, knowing what a problem is, identifying it and swearing to never fall victim to it - doesn't always prevent a person from succumbing. The occasional $10 tournament I would take a shot at (way above my bankroll) became much more than occasional as the money slipped down to under $100. Big, big, BIG mistake.
2.) Rush Poker - like crack cocaine for a poker-holic like me. Problem is, the swings are magnified tenfold.
3.) Variance - I truly believe that my play, especially in cash game Rush, was not the worst in the world. I really did get hammered in a ridiculous manner more than a few times; the above mentioned monkey tilt would then come into play and was really responsible for most of my spewing, but the spark was always some God awful 2 outer spiking on the river.
But even in identifying the causes and being able to dimly recall the sequence of events that led to my .30 roll - I am truly unable to comprehend in a fully conscious way, how I went from robusto to busto so quickly.
But I take solace in recognizing that the best poker players in the world, every single one of them, have been broke at one time or another and most will be broke again in the future. In point of fact, because they are the best players in the world this is even more so the truth than with your average recreational player.
One of the big golden rules in the game is to disassociate the chips in front of you from actual money. Only the biggest and best gamblers can do this utterly and completely - and in doing so it becomes part of the natural process that at one time or another their bankrolls will be depleted.
So I am in very good company.
On the brighter side, my live game has been holding up well; in my increasingly frequent escapes to HPC I have cashed 3 times this year already; putting me at about even for the year in card room play. My home game too has also been sharp, I got the monies in good twice last tournament - once PF with AK over AJ, Jack in the door of course. Then I flopped TPBK with A10, got paid off with A4 until he binked a 4 on the river. That tournament felt like mine from the outset, the poker Gods just happened to have other plans that night.
I'm excited to play some poker on my upcoming vacation - first I have 3 nights in Phoenix (wouldn't you know it though, looks like there isn't a single tournament in the evening in the entire area, but I'll keep looking) and then a week on a cruise ship that does have a poker table or two and tournaments! Woo hoo!
Perhaps best of all, it's looking increasingly like my production company will be doing a big show in Vegas during the WSOP and doing the show from the Venetian! A big improvement from our last years effort at the Hilton (the only major Hotel near the strip as far as I can tell with NO poker room). Last year we got a nice per diem and free food, I was able to gamble this "free money" into a tournament win at T.I. - hopefully I can fare just as well or better in some of the largest and best run poker tournament dailies in the world, which will be starting right about the time I get off of work!
And then there's that WSOP seat... (Haven't got it yet, but at this point it's mine to lose.)
A few months ago my online bankroll finally ground down to 30 cents.
As you probably know, I had built up to well over $400 for more than a spate in 2008, up from literally zero in 2007.
I've been reflecting a lot on how the end of my "found money" came to be; as far as I can tell, being totally and brutally honest with myself; my plummeting winnings line for the past 2 years has come about from three things.
1.) Monkey Tilt - I have on more than one occasion tried to get "unstuck" after taking brutal beats or misplaying hands. As Charlie Sheen has shown us, knowing what a problem is, identifying it and swearing to never fall victim to it - doesn't always prevent a person from succumbing. The occasional $10 tournament I would take a shot at (way above my bankroll) became much more than occasional as the money slipped down to under $100. Big, big, BIG mistake.
2.) Rush Poker - like crack cocaine for a poker-holic like me. Problem is, the swings are magnified tenfold.
3.) Variance - I truly believe that my play, especially in cash game Rush, was not the worst in the world. I really did get hammered in a ridiculous manner more than a few times; the above mentioned monkey tilt would then come into play and was really responsible for most of my spewing, but the spark was always some God awful 2 outer spiking on the river.
But even in identifying the causes and being able to dimly recall the sequence of events that led to my .30 roll - I am truly unable to comprehend in a fully conscious way, how I went from robusto to busto so quickly.
But I take solace in recognizing that the best poker players in the world, every single one of them, have been broke at one time or another and most will be broke again in the future. In point of fact, because they are the best players in the world this is even more so the truth than with your average recreational player.
One of the big golden rules in the game is to disassociate the chips in front of you from actual money. Only the biggest and best gamblers can do this utterly and completely - and in doing so it becomes part of the natural process that at one time or another their bankrolls will be depleted.
So I am in very good company.
On the brighter side, my live game has been holding up well; in my increasingly frequent escapes to HPC I have cashed 3 times this year already; putting me at about even for the year in card room play. My home game too has also been sharp, I got the monies in good twice last tournament - once PF with AK over AJ, Jack in the door of course. Then I flopped TPBK with A10, got paid off with A4 until he binked a 4 on the river. That tournament felt like mine from the outset, the poker Gods just happened to have other plans that night.
I'm excited to play some poker on my upcoming vacation - first I have 3 nights in Phoenix (wouldn't you know it though, looks like there isn't a single tournament in the evening in the entire area, but I'll keep looking) and then a week on a cruise ship that does have a poker table or two and tournaments! Woo hoo!
Perhaps best of all, it's looking increasingly like my production company will be doing a big show in Vegas during the WSOP and doing the show from the Venetian! A big improvement from our last years effort at the Hilton (the only major Hotel near the strip as far as I can tell with NO poker room). Last year we got a nice per diem and free food, I was able to gamble this "free money" into a tournament win at T.I. - hopefully I can fare just as well or better in some of the largest and best run poker tournament dailies in the world, which will be starting right about the time I get off of work!
And then there's that WSOP seat... (Haven't got it yet, but at this point it's mine to lose.)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Run Good, Play Good, Feel Better
So I did something the other week that I had only done once before, and when I had done it, I knew right away it was a mistake.
I went to HPC after work.
It's so tempting, the casino is a mere 20 minutes south of my office; the evening tournaments are $100 no-rebuys and the field is generally pretty soft. This night was no exception, as spread out over the two tables was perhaps overall the worst playing bunch I've ever encountered at Hollywood Park. I only recognized one or two regulars, the rest were NLHE home game schmucks like me.
But what should have been a fun evening of donkey owning, was instead a bleary and frustrated slog of even worse play on my part. And the best part is, when I busted after overplaying AK to a wannabe (you know the type, dirty and douchey) instead of calling it a night, I reregistered at a point just before the break when a starting stack was barely 30 big blinds. Big mistake.
The crux of it all was, after working for 9 hours, sedentary though my job is; I was in no shape whatsoever for the concentration that successful tournament poker play demands, despite the brain damage level of the players around me. The 730pm tournament is a big waste of time and money for me, and I should have known better - as I had the same experience at HPC almost 3 years ago. In fact, I shouldn't say "in spite" of the brain damaged players, I should probably say I was tilted because of the bad play. I got very frustrated, knowing I was probably the best player at the table, and yet I couldn't accumulate whatsoever, while the luck-boxes seemed to hit every 3 outer despite their ridiculous bet sizing and read-deficient play.
Oh yeah, and I stuck it in at the end with an open ended straight and got called by a four flush that promptly binked it on the turn.
There are two parts to this failure - 1, I was tired. and 2, because I was tired I didn't have fun. And not having fun at HPC is probably the worst sin of all, because if you're not having fun, you're putting yourself in a place of utter misery and degeneracy that will inevitably permeate every pore in your body if you let it.
Resolution; no evening weekday tournaments, ever!
On the flip side, when I come home, and my angel is in bed and I've hit the elliptical machine and am showered and relaxed - sitting down for Flatline (which this spring is FlatWorld - we're playing for a World Series of Poker seat) is actually a pretty great way to enjoy the evening.
I always try to play for fun when I play poker online with friends, and now PokerStars has made this even easier with their new "Home Games" option. We have set up our own online poker club, and now we have the one of the two best software clients in the world running our little operation - it's slick, it's cool and it's something I'll be looking forward to every week.
So last night was pretty awesome, because I not only played well, my shifting gears was especially in tune - I could be a maniac or a rock, depending on the stacks and level, but for once when I got it in (which actually wasn't too many times) I always got it in good, AND (most importantly) my better hands actually held up.
Particularly satisfying was my Ad10d call of a shove pre-flop by a long time player in the league who tilts me with his passive play and under bet sizing who had a third of my stack - he flipped up KQ and promptly hit the flop, But there was a diamond, and then another one on the turn and finally a beautiful blue diamond on the river. He was incredulous in the chat box over my "runner-runner" but he was also oblivious that he had gotten it in behind and spiked a six outer on the flop. Whateves. I happily pounded "GG" into the chat box and never looked back.
Actually, I had been stealing from the correct targets all tournament long. Raising from the button, cutoff or hijack with absolute trash. Then, if I got a caller, c-betting with the correct targets and check folding with the wrong ones. It was greatly to my benefit that at the first table I had three of the tightest players in the league to my left, thankfully one of the stronger players busted early on.
It was probably when we got 5 handed when I realized that if I could just avoid getting hugely unlucky (get someone dominated and lose) or coolered (my premium running into a bigger premium) that this tournament was mine for the taking. All the better players were long gone. The best of the remaining was my only real concern, and thankfully he fell into my trap when we got three handed by fighting back to my merciless raises at the wrong time when I actually had a hand.
So then I was heads up with a relatively new player to the bunch; he seemed really nice and we had a pleasant little chat, but he couldn't stand up to aggression. I pillaged him over and over, literally raising every single hand from the button, and thankfully, when he finally got around to fighting back I could call off light and lose and not be damaged whatsoever. My KQ ran into his AQ and it didn't even matter, three button raises later we were back to where we started. He simply didn't get that I absolutely couldn't have it every time. He would fold and fold and fold. But even better, he didn't grasp that with the blinds so big, EVERY pot he lost was crucial - he thought he could wait for a monster, problem was though, when he did get one it was super obvious and I could either get away or as I said, call off light and have a chance at sucking out on him without any real risk.
I had KQ on the button again, raise - AGAIN, and he'd had enough, he shoved his 6K into my 40K and I once again snap called. He had K3 suited and that was all she wrote.
Now if he had been shoving much earlier on with K3 instead of waiting until it was far too late, the evening might have turned out differently. But I had been watching him for much of the night, and he was very predictable, when he missed a flop he would check, if I checked behind he would min-bet the turn with nothing. If I c-bet he would call with a draw, if a scare card didn't come on the turn I could fire a big bet with nothing and he would go away (this happened probably half a dozen times).
I hope to see a lot more of him and all the other profitable players as our quest for a WSOP seat continues. The stronger players, not so much! But whoever I face, I hope I can mix it up enough to be deceptive and also be able to put people on hands. Last night was also a particularly good evening for the former - one guy (a solid but probably too tight player) and another (who has great instincts, but is shaky on the math) in particular were playing me with their cards face up. I even managed to get the second dude off a better hand than what I had - which is a first for me with him.
Good times.
I went to HPC after work.
It's so tempting, the casino is a mere 20 minutes south of my office; the evening tournaments are $100 no-rebuys and the field is generally pretty soft. This night was no exception, as spread out over the two tables was perhaps overall the worst playing bunch I've ever encountered at Hollywood Park. I only recognized one or two regulars, the rest were NLHE home game schmucks like me.
But what should have been a fun evening of donkey owning, was instead a bleary and frustrated slog of even worse play on my part. And the best part is, when I busted after overplaying AK to a wannabe (you know the type, dirty and douchey) instead of calling it a night, I reregistered at a point just before the break when a starting stack was barely 30 big blinds. Big mistake.
The crux of it all was, after working for 9 hours, sedentary though my job is; I was in no shape whatsoever for the concentration that successful tournament poker play demands, despite the brain damage level of the players around me. The 730pm tournament is a big waste of time and money for me, and I should have known better - as I had the same experience at HPC almost 3 years ago. In fact, I shouldn't say "in spite" of the brain damaged players, I should probably say I was tilted because of the bad play. I got very frustrated, knowing I was probably the best player at the table, and yet I couldn't accumulate whatsoever, while the luck-boxes seemed to hit every 3 outer despite their ridiculous bet sizing and read-deficient play.
Oh yeah, and I stuck it in at the end with an open ended straight and got called by a four flush that promptly binked it on the turn.
There are two parts to this failure - 1, I was tired. and 2, because I was tired I didn't have fun. And not having fun at HPC is probably the worst sin of all, because if you're not having fun, you're putting yourself in a place of utter misery and degeneracy that will inevitably permeate every pore in your body if you let it.
Resolution; no evening weekday tournaments, ever!
On the flip side, when I come home, and my angel is in bed and I've hit the elliptical machine and am showered and relaxed - sitting down for Flatline (which this spring is FlatWorld - we're playing for a World Series of Poker seat) is actually a pretty great way to enjoy the evening.
I always try to play for fun when I play poker online with friends, and now PokerStars has made this even easier with their new "Home Games" option. We have set up our own online poker club, and now we have the one of the two best software clients in the world running our little operation - it's slick, it's cool and it's something I'll be looking forward to every week.
So last night was pretty awesome, because I not only played well, my shifting gears was especially in tune - I could be a maniac or a rock, depending on the stacks and level, but for once when I got it in (which actually wasn't too many times) I always got it in good, AND (most importantly) my better hands actually held up.
Particularly satisfying was my Ad10d call of a shove pre-flop by a long time player in the league who tilts me with his passive play and under bet sizing who had a third of my stack - he flipped up KQ and promptly hit the flop, But there was a diamond, and then another one on the turn and finally a beautiful blue diamond on the river. He was incredulous in the chat box over my "runner-runner" but he was also oblivious that he had gotten it in behind and spiked a six outer on the flop. Whateves. I happily pounded "GG" into the chat box and never looked back.
Actually, I had been stealing from the correct targets all tournament long. Raising from the button, cutoff or hijack with absolute trash. Then, if I got a caller, c-betting with the correct targets and check folding with the wrong ones. It was greatly to my benefit that at the first table I had three of the tightest players in the league to my left, thankfully one of the stronger players busted early on.
It was probably when we got 5 handed when I realized that if I could just avoid getting hugely unlucky (get someone dominated and lose) or coolered (my premium running into a bigger premium) that this tournament was mine for the taking. All the better players were long gone. The best of the remaining was my only real concern, and thankfully he fell into my trap when we got three handed by fighting back to my merciless raises at the wrong time when I actually had a hand.
So then I was heads up with a relatively new player to the bunch; he seemed really nice and we had a pleasant little chat, but he couldn't stand up to aggression. I pillaged him over and over, literally raising every single hand from the button, and thankfully, when he finally got around to fighting back I could call off light and lose and not be damaged whatsoever. My KQ ran into his AQ and it didn't even matter, three button raises later we were back to where we started. He simply didn't get that I absolutely couldn't have it every time. He would fold and fold and fold. But even better, he didn't grasp that with the blinds so big, EVERY pot he lost was crucial - he thought he could wait for a monster, problem was though, when he did get one it was super obvious and I could either get away or as I said, call off light and have a chance at sucking out on him without any real risk.
I had KQ on the button again, raise - AGAIN, and he'd had enough, he shoved his 6K into my 40K and I once again snap called. He had K3 suited and that was all she wrote.
Now if he had been shoving much earlier on with K3 instead of waiting until it was far too late, the evening might have turned out differently. But I had been watching him for much of the night, and he was very predictable, when he missed a flop he would check, if I checked behind he would min-bet the turn with nothing. If I c-bet he would call with a draw, if a scare card didn't come on the turn I could fire a big bet with nothing and he would go away (this happened probably half a dozen times).
I hope to see a lot more of him and all the other profitable players as our quest for a WSOP seat continues. The stronger players, not so much! But whoever I face, I hope I can mix it up enough to be deceptive and also be able to put people on hands. Last night was also a particularly good evening for the former - one guy (a solid but probably too tight player) and another (who has great instincts, but is shaky on the math) in particular were playing me with their cards face up. I even managed to get the second dude off a better hand than what I had - which is a first for me with him.
Good times.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
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.
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.
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