For me I think.
I've never seen Led Zeppelin. In high school we were getting prepared to go on the all night ticket buying adventure when John Bonham died. So it didn't happen.
But I've seen a lot of shows. I think I might try to recap them somewhere here. The first concert I saw was Rush on the Moving Pictures tour at the Fabulous Forum in LA. Sat in the Colonade, 1981. Loved it.
Back at the Forum last night, AC/DC just amazed and wowed me. Hard driving rock and roll from guys who are mid-fifties plus (Brian Johnson is 61!) Their setlist was about perfect, their sound insane, and Angus Young is clearly the most under-rated lead guitar player ever. At least to me he was-- In fact, I'm going to give Angus the nod as the "best" (fwiw) rock guitarist I have ever been privileged to see live. The genres are somewhat different of course, but I will take the Scottish-Aussie Mr. Young over Pete Townsend, Eddie VH, David Gilmour(!), Jerry, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Alex Leifson, Steve Howe, Robert Fripp, and so on.
My ears are still ringing 24 hours later. I hope I get my shot at letting Jimmy Page make em ring at some point soon.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Vegas recap Part III
This must be the part where I run goot, right?
After the Bellagio we played some 10-20 at Venetian. There was quite a bit of cash on the table- I had $4K, and one of the local pros had about $75K! One older tourist had about $10K, and he was everyone's target. I got my chance with KK and after someone had opened for $80 I made it $260 from one of the blinds. I get called by the tourist. Flop comes T-8-4, two hearts and I get real squirrelly and decide to just check-raise and take it down. He co-operates by putting two stacks in the middle. Now, I get confused and have my second "live misclick" of the trip when I announce my raise as "a thousand straight" Ooops. Devo quickly says- "wait- you can't do that- he made it $800" Oh shit. Yeah, he did. I thought it was $400 (in my defense I had been playing mostly the $5-$10 game with $10 chips) Fortunately I snap-switched to "No- I raise one thousand-- $1800 to go" and that was enough to take it down. Leading would probably have been better, but I am very aware that I lose most of my money in the first hour of sitting at a new table and simplifying things when I have less information seems to work.
Dinner at Capo's was excellent, and I got a free Benjamin when the poker worlds favorite runner-up decides to prop bet me on where Keller is playing in Tahoe. (Nobody plays the Cal-Neva) 5 games of bowling later I'm up $500, despite my best efforts to throw left handed and into the gutter. Oh well, when you bring your own cue-stick to the pool hall you are supposed to win I guess. I then picked up a massive one dollar thirty cents on the head-up ebay machine making me ridiculously ahead on the nights props. Finally, I make a gross suckout in a very fun 1-2 game where we lag it up real nicely. Devo does everything exactly perfect to get my money in when he's holding KK to my AJ on a whiffed flop-- only to have me make runner runner str8 to take it down.
Looking forward to next time
After the Bellagio we played some 10-20 at Venetian. There was quite a bit of cash on the table- I had $4K, and one of the local pros had about $75K! One older tourist had about $10K, and he was everyone's target. I got my chance with KK and after someone had opened for $80 I made it $260 from one of the blinds. I get called by the tourist. Flop comes T-8-4, two hearts and I get real squirrelly and decide to just check-raise and take it down. He co-operates by putting two stacks in the middle. Now, I get confused and have my second "live misclick" of the trip when I announce my raise as "a thousand straight" Ooops. Devo quickly says- "wait- you can't do that- he made it $800" Oh shit. Yeah, he did. I thought it was $400 (in my defense I had been playing mostly the $5-$10 game with $10 chips) Fortunately I snap-switched to "No- I raise one thousand-- $1800 to go" and that was enough to take it down. Leading would probably have been better, but I am very aware that I lose most of my money in the first hour of sitting at a new table and simplifying things when I have less information seems to work.
Dinner at Capo's was excellent, and I got a free Benjamin when the poker worlds favorite runner-up decides to prop bet me on where Keller is playing in Tahoe. (Nobody plays the Cal-Neva) 5 games of bowling later I'm up $500, despite my best efforts to throw left handed and into the gutter. Oh well, when you bring your own cue-stick to the pool hall you are supposed to win I guess. I then picked up a massive one dollar thirty cents on the head-up ebay machine making me ridiculously ahead on the nights props. Finally, I make a gross suckout in a very fun 1-2 game where we lag it up real nicely. Devo does everything exactly perfect to get my money in when he's holding KK to my AJ on a whiffed flop-- only to have me make runner runner str8 to take it down.
Looking forward to next time
Saturday, November 8, 2008
More from Vegas
After busting the tourney, I played $1-$2 with turkey's wild on election night. Pretty fun.
The next day I play the $540 2 PM tourney at Bellagio. The first 20 minutes were just amazing. We start with 6K in chips. About the 10th hand I get QQ, raise and get a caller and flop K-Q-8. Nice. Check-check. Turn 9. Not as good. I bet out, get raised, and call. Hmmmm. River is another K. So I check and villain bets about 2/3 pot. I don't know why I got so nitty here- I have to be good, right? I just wondered if he played K9 like this. I ponder a bit, just call and he has a str8. Nice pot.
Two hands later I get red TT and flop a set on an all spade flop. I take it down.
About 3 hands after that I get AA and raise to 150. A MP player makes it 400 and I make it 1800. He tanks a long time. Finally he shoves into me with KK and I hold up.
Next hand I get JJ and everyone folds. Nice start I think!
I get up to 14K or so and then donk off 5K on a hand where I raise a limper with AQ and he calls. I miss the K high flop and try to represent AK. The guy check-calls both my flop barrel and then my turn shot to put him all in and he's the one with the AK. Oops.
From there not much happened. We get down to 11 people and they are paying only 3, so getting some chips would be a good idea. I make a button raise with KQo and this spewtard in the SB pushes. I'm getting about 1.6-1 to call, and it s a healthy stack if I win and crippled if I lose and I should be decent against his range here. I call and he tables A5s and he holds. Blech.
I go back to Bellagio the next day for the same tourney. Paul Phoc Nguyen is there--I played a long time with him a couple years ago. At 100-200 the short stack to my left pushes for his last 1400, Paul calls with his huge stack and I instashove about 7K with pocket deuces. Paul has to fold (99 his told me later) , I hold up over QT and get rewarded for my sick play. I'm up and down, but play well and then double up with QQ>TT. As I'm stacking my chips I look down at KQo in the SB. It gets folded to Paul on the CO and he raises to 1000. I call. Flop K-Q-T and I just check while I stack chips. Paul then shoves. OK, well, he might have something here, but he wouldn't shove with it. I call, he has AA and I'm drawing to a chop after he turns an Ace. Crap a smack a ding dong. I get it in way good for the chip lead with 9 people left and it doesn't happen. Pokah.
The next day I play the $540 2 PM tourney at Bellagio. The first 20 minutes were just amazing. We start with 6K in chips. About the 10th hand I get QQ, raise and get a caller and flop K-Q-8. Nice. Check-check. Turn 9. Not as good. I bet out, get raised, and call. Hmmmm. River is another K. So I check and villain bets about 2/3 pot. I don't know why I got so nitty here- I have to be good, right? I just wondered if he played K9 like this. I ponder a bit, just call and he has a str8. Nice pot.
Two hands later I get red TT and flop a set on an all spade flop. I take it down.
About 3 hands after that I get AA and raise to 150. A MP player makes it 400 and I make it 1800. He tanks a long time. Finally he shoves into me with KK and I hold up.
Next hand I get JJ and everyone folds. Nice start I think!
I get up to 14K or so and then donk off 5K on a hand where I raise a limper with AQ and he calls. I miss the K high flop and try to represent AK. The guy check-calls both my flop barrel and then my turn shot to put him all in and he's the one with the AK. Oops.
From there not much happened. We get down to 11 people and they are paying only 3, so getting some chips would be a good idea. I make a button raise with KQo and this spewtard in the SB pushes. I'm getting about 1.6-1 to call, and it s a healthy stack if I win and crippled if I lose and I should be decent against his range here. I call and he tables A5s and he holds. Blech.
I go back to Bellagio the next day for the same tourney. Paul Phoc Nguyen is there--I played a long time with him a couple years ago. At 100-200 the short stack to my left pushes for his last 1400, Paul calls with his huge stack and I instashove about 7K with pocket deuces. Paul has to fold (99 his told me later) , I hold up over QT and get rewarded for my sick play. I'm up and down, but play well and then double up with QQ>TT. As I'm stacking my chips I look down at KQo in the SB. It gets folded to Paul on the CO and he raises to 1000. I call. Flop K-Q-T and I just check while I stack chips. Paul then shoves. OK, well, he might have something here, but he wouldn't shove with it. I call, he has AA and I'm drawing to a chop after he turns an Ace. Crap a smack a ding dong. I get it in way good for the chip lead with 9 people left and it doesn't happen. Pokah.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The pre-AAO Vegas Boondoggle and How goot I run vs Devo
I think it is pretty standard that if I have a meeting in Las Vegas that I should bounce from Reno a day or two early to hit the felt.
Fortunately, I'm blessed by a very understanding woman, who gets it that in some strange way, sitting on my ass for hours trying to outplay the range of fools out there is good for me. In moderation of course. So-- thanks Rina. Much appreciated.
So my BIG plan (woot) is to play the $330 Venetian deep stack on election day. I have meetings on Thursday, so I can't really play a two-day tourney that starts on Wednesday, obv. So i get one shot.
Having to warm up, I sit down in a very wild $2-$5 cash game, where everyone has like $2K on the table, and people are maximum lagtards. Good things happen, and I get up several hundo. Then this: I get KK in MP and make it $20. The most laggy, VPiP=99%, (plays every pot) raises everytime guy, then makes it $120 from the button. At this point I have about $2K and he covers. Next to him in the SB is a more nitty player who then shoves for $400. Back to me. Decisions: 1)Shove for value and to isolate. 2) Call to induce a squeeze from the button 3) Do some FPS min raise crapola. I go through these pretty quickly and decide to call. Back to lagbutton. He tanks a little, asks me my stack size, and then makes it $1000 straight. So it is now only $600 to call, and the pot is $1800. OK, well just calling here seems retarded, cause I'm then out of position on the flop and I'm basically shoving everything. Maybe I dump i if an Ace flops. Shoving seems super standard. I mean, I have frickin Kings!!!!
But Kings aren't the nuts, and I've been in this spot at least twice in the last 3 months playing for stacks and both times I stacked off to AA. And the 4th raise means Aces. I tank forever, and feel like my cards must be face-up. His bet size screams for a call. No. Not this time. I muck. He immediately tells me I made a great fold and laments that he screwed up the hand (he is supposed to stack me there 80% of the time) Sick read, ftw.
Then the $330 election day special at the V. I donk off from $12,500 to about 8000. Yuck. Nothing is happening. At 50-100 I call a raise in the SB with 97o and three see a flop of 8-J-Q rainbow. Its only a gutter, but obv I haven't had much. I check, MP checks, and the LP raiser fires out 600. I make it 2000. I'm not sure how, but I am going to convince myself that my cards are T9 and I'm going to convince the LP also. No worries though, as I turn the T for the str8. Sweetness. I lead 2500 and he calls. He's got two pair or a set I guess. River bricks and I shove for another 3200 or so-- and he tanks, calls, mucks, and I DBL UP. Woot.
I'm hovering around 35K when I open raise to 2000 from the CO at 300-600/50. BB is a nitty old guy. (Its funny for me to write that, because I AM that NOG sometimes) He min-raises me to 4000, and he has another 7200 or so behind. Blech. So the battle between the part of me that senses he's got TT+ and crushing me is winning out over the much more logical side who looks at the pot, looks at the odds, and demands a call. Well, that ain't exactly right either since I can't really win enough when I spike the 7 to make it long term worthwhile. Whatever. I guess I should have shipped it right here, cause barring some disaster flop its all going in then. I call. Flop comes 8-high babies, rainbow, and the n.o.g. puts in 5K of his remaining 7200. Blech. I just shove, he snaps with JJ and I lose 1/3 of my stack.
Shortly after that, a young kid who hasn't done much opens in the CO and I decide to defend my SB with pocket 6's I repop to 4500 and then he shoves. Yuck a doodle. Pot is about 18,000 and its 9000 roughly to call so I don't have a choice. He shows me AQ, bricks the flop, but turns the Ace and now I'm down to 9000 chips or so with blinds at 400-800/75. I end up open shoving when it gets folded to me in the SB and the BB has AQ. My 93o doesn't look so promising and its gg me.
More later, as I must sleep now.
Fortunately, I'm blessed by a very understanding woman, who gets it that in some strange way, sitting on my ass for hours trying to outplay the range of fools out there is good for me. In moderation of course. So-- thanks Rina. Much appreciated.
So my BIG plan (woot) is to play the $330 Venetian deep stack on election day. I have meetings on Thursday, so I can't really play a two-day tourney that starts on Wednesday, obv. So i get one shot.
Having to warm up, I sit down in a very wild $2-$5 cash game, where everyone has like $2K on the table, and people are maximum lagtards. Good things happen, and I get up several hundo. Then this: I get KK in MP and make it $20. The most laggy, VPiP=99%, (plays every pot) raises everytime guy, then makes it $120 from the button. At this point I have about $2K and he covers. Next to him in the SB is a more nitty player who then shoves for $400. Back to me. Decisions: 1)Shove for value and to isolate. 2) Call to induce a squeeze from the button 3) Do some FPS min raise crapola. I go through these pretty quickly and decide to call. Back to lagbutton. He tanks a little, asks me my stack size, and then makes it $1000 straight. So it is now only $600 to call, and the pot is $1800. OK, well just calling here seems retarded, cause I'm then out of position on the flop and I'm basically shoving everything. Maybe I dump i if an Ace flops. Shoving seems super standard. I mean, I have frickin Kings!!!!
But Kings aren't the nuts, and I've been in this spot at least twice in the last 3 months playing for stacks and both times I stacked off to AA. And the 4th raise means Aces. I tank forever, and feel like my cards must be face-up. His bet size screams for a call. No. Not this time. I muck. He immediately tells me I made a great fold and laments that he screwed up the hand (he is supposed to stack me there 80% of the time) Sick read, ftw.
Then the $330 election day special at the V. I donk off from $12,500 to about 8000. Yuck. Nothing is happening. At 50-100 I call a raise in the SB with 97o and three see a flop of 8-J-Q rainbow. Its only a gutter, but obv I haven't had much. I check, MP checks, and the LP raiser fires out 600. I make it 2000. I'm not sure how, but I am going to convince myself that my cards are T9 and I'm going to convince the LP also. No worries though, as I turn the T for the str8. Sweetness. I lead 2500 and he calls. He's got two pair or a set I guess. River bricks and I shove for another 3200 or so-- and he tanks, calls, mucks, and I DBL UP. Woot.
I'm hovering around 35K when I open raise to 2000 from the CO at 300-600/50. BB is a nitty old guy. (Its funny for me to write that, because I AM that NOG sometimes) He min-raises me to 4000, and he has another 7200 or so behind. Blech. So the battle between the part of me that senses he's got TT+ and crushing me is winning out over the much more logical side who looks at the pot, looks at the odds, and demands a call. Well, that ain't exactly right either since I can't really win enough when I spike the 7 to make it long term worthwhile. Whatever. I guess I should have shipped it right here, cause barring some disaster flop its all going in then. I call. Flop comes 8-high babies, rainbow, and the n.o.g. puts in 5K of his remaining 7200. Blech. I just shove, he snaps with JJ and I lose 1/3 of my stack.
Shortly after that, a young kid who hasn't done much opens in the CO and I decide to defend my SB with pocket 6's I repop to 4500 and then he shoves. Yuck a doodle. Pot is about 18,000 and its 9000 roughly to call so I don't have a choice. He shows me AQ, bricks the flop, but turns the Ace and now I'm down to 9000 chips or so with blinds at 400-800/75. I end up open shoving when it gets folded to me in the SB and the BB has AQ. My 93o doesn't look so promising and its gg me.
More later, as I must sleep now.
Friday, September 26, 2008
And again...
No screenshots this time, but I took down the $55 rebuy again this week for $7K+, then FT'd the $33 rebuy and took 2nd (at 4:30 in the morning) for another $2300 or so. Its a breakthrough month. If I could just take down a $109 on stars....
Friday, September 12, 2008
Finally won something
Although I took the usual suckouts, I had enough chips to survive them. Discovered an ATM in a player who liked to open raise and then fold to my 3-bet, and got lucky at the right spots. About time.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
This was pretty sick
Full Tilt Poker Game #7283151495: $17,000 Guarantee (54632445), Table 21 - 300/600 Ante 75 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:32:31 ET - 2008/07/19
Seat 1: Snirt (8,634)
Seat 2: manong patay (16,629)
Seat 3: vagabond07 (7,570)
Seat 4: hawkur (3,953)
Seat 6: jusaeyo (6,164)
Seat 7: CaseyMVS (10,054)
Seat 9: koey1 (12,880)
CaseyMVS posts the small blind of 300
koey1 posts the big blind of 600
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Snirt [As Jd]
Snirt raises to 1,500
koey1 calls 900
*** FLOP *** [8h 4d 9h]
koey1 has 15 seconds left to act
koey1 bets 2,400
Snirt raises to 7,059, and is all in
koey1 has 15 seconds left to act
koey1 has requested TIME
koey1 calls 4,659
Snirt shows [As Jd]
koey1 shows [Qs Ac]
*** TURN *** [8h 4d 9h] [3d]
Snirt: wow
*** RIVER *** [8h 4d 9h 3d] [5c]
Snirt shows Ace Jack high
koey1 shows Ace Queen high
koey1 wins the pot (17,943) with Ace Queen high
Snirt stands up
So I thought at this point in the tourney this was a pretty standard flop push-steal. Villain tanked long time and made the hero call. Another 1500 chips or so and I think I win the hand.
Seat 1: Snirt (8,634)
Seat 2: manong patay (16,629)
Seat 3: vagabond07 (7,570)
Seat 4: hawkur (3,953)
Seat 6: jusaeyo (6,164)
Seat 7: CaseyMVS (10,054)
Seat 9: koey1 (12,880)
CaseyMVS posts the small blind of 300
koey1 posts the big blind of 600
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Snirt [As Jd]
Snirt raises to 1,500
koey1 calls 900
*** FLOP *** [8h 4d 9h]
koey1 has 15 seconds left to act
koey1 bets 2,400
Snirt raises to 7,059, and is all in
koey1 has 15 seconds left to act
koey1 has requested TIME
koey1 calls 4,659
Snirt shows [As Jd]
koey1 shows [Qs Ac]
*** TURN *** [8h 4d 9h] [3d]
Snirt: wow
*** RIVER *** [8h 4d 9h 3d] [5c]
Snirt shows Ace Jack high
koey1 shows Ace Queen high
koey1 wins the pot (17,943) with Ace Queen high
Snirt stands up
So I thought at this point in the tourney this was a pretty standard flop push-steal. Villain tanked long time and made the hero call. Another 1500 chips or so and I think I win the hand.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
WSOP Main Event
Uh.... after attempting multiple online and a few live satellites, I failed to win my way in. No way I'm dishing out $10K to play in this donkament, especially when I read about hands like this:
Quad Aces are Good, Right? ... RIGHT?
Motoyuki "Moto" Mabuchi raises to 850 in middle position and the button calls.
The flop is Ax Qd 9x and both check. The turn is Td and Moto bets 1,600. The button calls. The river is Ad and Moto bets 2,500. The button raises to 8,500 and Moto reraises all in.
The button calls. Moto shows AA for quad aces, but the button has KdJd for the royal flush. Moto is eliminated in stunning fashion.
Quad Aces are Good, Right? ... RIGHT?
Motoyuki "Moto" Mabuchi raises to 850 in middle position and the button calls.
The flop is Ax Qd 9x and both check. The turn is Td and Moto bets 1,600. The button calls. The river is Ad and Moto bets 2,500. The button raises to 8,500 and Moto reraises all in.
The button calls. Moto shows AA for quad aces, but the button has KdJd for the royal flush. Moto is eliminated in stunning fashion.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Nostalgia
September 4, 1983
Dear Mom and Dad,
........I've decided that if we fight the Fucking Russian Communist Bastards they won't have to draft me as I'll be one of the first in line to kill the Reds. I cannot believe their contempt for human decency and their lack of any morality....
Dear Mom and Dad,
........I've decided that if we fight the Fucking Russian Communist Bastards they won't have to draft me as I'll be one of the first in line to kill the Reds. I cannot believe their contempt for human decency and their lack of any morality....
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Google test!
So I noticed that my pic with the governor showed up on a google search. I hope this one does also. So,
This is picture of Steve Friedlander taken with Ron Paul in Reno, Nevada 2007.
That's it.
Doomswitched
Step 6, on the bubble for money. Now, its true, the villain did call with the nut flush draw, although he was only getting 2-1 on the river. So I get my money in very good here and he hits a King.
Rigged, obv, imo.
PokerStars Game #18386267397: Tournament #93410347, $2000+$100 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/06/25 - 22:54:47 (ET)
Table '93410347 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: marg101 (3740 in chips)
Seat 3: bbbbb33 (7510 in chips)
Seat 4: Jeromen (2620 in chips)
Seat 6: beaverFE\/ER (3835 in chips)
Seat 7: M0n3y0nf1r3 (2885 in chips)
Seat 8: jellyeater (2290 in chips)
Seat 9: Axinar (4120 in chips)
bbbbb33: posts small blind 50
Jeromen: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jellyeater [Ac 8s]
beaverFE\/ER: folds
M0n3y0nf1r3: folds
jellyeater: raises 200 to 300
Axinar: calls 300
marg101: raises 200 to 500
bbbbb33: folds
Jeromen: folds
jellyeater: calls 200
Axinar: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [Th 6s Ah]
jellyeater: checks
Axinar: checks
marg101: bets 100
jellyeater: calls 100
Axinar: calls 100
*** TURN *** [Th 6s Ah] [6h]
jellyeater: bets 1690 and is all-in
Axinar: folds
marg101: calls 1690
*** RIVER *** [Th 6s Ah 6h] [Ks]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jellyeater: shows [Ac 8s] (two pair, Aces and Sixes)
marg101: shows [Kd Kh] (a full house, Kings full of Sixes)
jellyeater said, "**** me"
marg101 collected 5330 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Board [Th 6s Ah 6h Ks]
Seat 2: marg101 (button) showed [Kd Kh] and won (5330) with a full house, Kings full of Sixes
Seat 8: jellyeater showed [Ac 8s] and lost with two pair, Aces and Sixes
Rigged, obv, imo.
PokerStars Game #18386267397: Tournament #93410347, $2000+$100 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/06/25 - 22:54:47 (ET)
Table '93410347 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: marg101 (3740 in chips)
Seat 3: bbbbb33 (7510 in chips)
Seat 4: Jeromen (2620 in chips)
Seat 6: beaverFE\/ER (3835 in chips)
Seat 7: M0n3y0nf1r3 (2885 in chips)
Seat 8: jellyeater (2290 in chips)
Seat 9: Axinar (4120 in chips)
bbbbb33: posts small blind 50
Jeromen: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jellyeater [Ac 8s]
beaverFE\/ER: folds
M0n3y0nf1r3: folds
jellyeater: raises 200 to 300
Axinar: calls 300
marg101: raises 200 to 500
bbbbb33: folds
Jeromen: folds
jellyeater: calls 200
Axinar: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [Th 6s Ah]
jellyeater: checks
Axinar: checks
marg101: bets 100
jellyeater: calls 100
Axinar: calls 100
*** TURN *** [Th 6s Ah] [6h]
jellyeater: bets 1690 and is all-in
Axinar: folds
marg101: calls 1690
*** RIVER *** [Th 6s Ah 6h] [Ks]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
jellyeater: shows [Ac 8s] (two pair, Aces and Sixes)
marg101: shows [Kd Kh] (a full house, Kings full of Sixes)
jellyeater said, "**** me"
marg101 collected 5330 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Board [Th 6s Ah 6h Ks]
Seat 2: marg101 (button) showed [Kd Kh] and won (5330) with a full house, Kings full of Sixes
Seat 8: jellyeater showed [Ac 8s] and lost with two pair, Aces and Sixes
Monday, June 9, 2008
The icing on the cake, redux
No one reads this blog. At least no one comments on it. That's sort of why I post a picture of an attractive, blonde, australian woman with a gun holster on her hip (which perfectly describes my wife) and try to induce at least one snide comment. Oh well.
So a year ago, for you non-readers, I had a Vegas trip that was about as bad as my recent one. Just to be complete, here is how the day went on Saturday, after I busted out of the 2500 NL.
I had set up a credit line at the Venetian last time but haven't used it yet and thought I should. I just wanted to cash a check but again, they give me grief and want me to take a marker. Fine. I end up at the crap table. Amazing. I take $5K and play quarter craps with full odds and cover some numbers. I play for about 30 min and win $125. yes- I WON MONEY PLAYING CRAPS!!
Then I decided to take another shot at the 5-10 game at the Venetian. Its not soft, and I can't tell if its really nitty or only slightly nitty. There is some decent action with $40 preflop raises getting called often and some decent post flop play. I see the flop at least 6 more times with pocket pairs and still no set comes (that's 52 times in a row now for those of you keeping score).
Then this: Laggy utg raises to $40, gets a caller. I have two red Kings and make it $240. Folded to the button who has played less than the average number of hands and he asks me what denomination the purple $500 chips I have are. Ugh. He says he's gonna raise and he makes it another $500. Folded to me. I have very sensitive Ace detectors I think and they are going off. But really, what the fuck- can I lay down Kings preflop in a cash game 300 BB's deep? I don't think so. Should I repop? I think back to my Aaron Kanter hand and how bady l played Kings. I'll call and see what the flop brings. If there is any non-King paint or an Ace I'm done. It comes like 9-3-3 with two hearts. I really don't know what to do now, cause the AA detectors are going off again. Blech. I'm not going to check-fold, so I push, he snapcalls and shows AdAs. I nod. Another heart comes on the turn, just so the poker gods can tease me a little. The river bricks. Snirt stands up.
So a year ago, for you non-readers, I had a Vegas trip that was about as bad as my recent one. Just to be complete, here is how the day went on Saturday, after I busted out of the 2500 NL.
I had set up a credit line at the Venetian last time but haven't used it yet and thought I should. I just wanted to cash a check but again, they give me grief and want me to take a marker. Fine. I end up at the crap table. Amazing. I take $5K and play quarter craps with full odds and cover some numbers. I play for about 30 min and win $125. yes- I WON MONEY PLAYING CRAPS!!
Then I decided to take another shot at the 5-10 game at the Venetian. Its not soft, and I can't tell if its really nitty or only slightly nitty. There is some decent action with $40 preflop raises getting called often and some decent post flop play. I see the flop at least 6 more times with pocket pairs and still no set comes (that's 52 times in a row now for those of you keeping score).
Then this: Laggy utg raises to $40, gets a caller. I have two red Kings and make it $240. Folded to the button who has played less than the average number of hands and he asks me what denomination the purple $500 chips I have are. Ugh. He says he's gonna raise and he makes it another $500. Folded to me. I have very sensitive Ace detectors I think and they are going off. But really, what the fuck- can I lay down Kings preflop in a cash game 300 BB's deep? I don't think so. Should I repop? I think back to my Aaron Kanter hand and how bady l played Kings. I'll call and see what the flop brings. If there is any non-King paint or an Ace I'm done. It comes like 9-3-3 with two hearts. I really don't know what to do now, cause the AA detectors are going off again. Blech. I'm not going to check-fold, so I push, he snapcalls and shows AdAs. I nod. Another heart comes on the turn, just so the poker gods can tease me a little. The river bricks. Snirt stands up.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Glutton for punishment
meh.
there was a brief stretch of time during the 2500 NL today that I thought I could win/do well/cash/make the dinner break/make day 2 blah blah blah.
Brief stretch.
My table was the softest I've had. There was a guy who reminded me of the Melbourne players who thought Ace-rag was the nuts. Thing is, the guy would always call to the river and then catch an Ace and then bet out. It was hilarious. He took a huge pot from a good player this way, and I was just thinking to myself- "Dude- he has like Ace-four or somethng- wtf are you doing?"
While I still have seen 42 straight flops with pocket pairs and yet to flop a set, I did win my first race of the WSOP when I got all in with AKs vs QQ and flopped an ace. Got me up to 8000 chips or so and I was feeling pretty good. I got pocket 5's like 5 times, and each time I was up against something like AQ that missed and I was good.
Except the last time.
At 100-200 (i didn't even make the antes!) I call a raise in position with 55, against an aggressive internet type who I barely cover. So we see the flop of T-3-3 with two hearts and he fires out a C-bet of 700. I consider raising him right there but it looks goofy-- if I have A3, TT, AT, or any other hand really, I think I would be calling and let him bet again on the turn. So I call. Turn is an offsuit 4. He checks. I'm so brilliant. It's so easy to put him on any non-pair two high card hand here, and if that is what he has, he's gonna give up most of the time. I had already decided that if he bet the turn I was gonna shove on him anyway, so I was a little disappointed he didn't fire the second barrel. So the pot is about 2700 I think and I have roughly 6000 left. I bet 2K pretty quickly and he tanks. He tanks a long time. He looks so weak. He is trying to summon the courage to make a play at this pot with his whiffed AK and the longer he tanks the more I'm confident that I'm good and that I'm calling if he shoves. He picks up his cards at one point, just barely off the table like he's gonna muck, but then eventually he gathers his chips and ships them in.
Crap.
I have to trust my read here. He is weak, he doesn't like his hand and he's making a move. OK. I call. He looks dejected. "You got me" he says, as he tables pocket 7's. F-word. No dude, you got me and you were making your move with the best hand. Crap on toast.
I have 550 chips left and I ship it in with A8 against two players with AQ and KQ and I catch an 8 to triple up to like 2000 chips or 10 BB's. Nice. Good resteal stack. I'm in the BB with A4s and the button raises and I instashove and he instacalls with AQs and its gg me.
there was a brief stretch of time during the 2500 NL today that I thought I could win/do well/cash/make the dinner break/make day 2 blah blah blah.
Brief stretch.
My table was the softest I've had. There was a guy who reminded me of the Melbourne players who thought Ace-rag was the nuts. Thing is, the guy would always call to the river and then catch an Ace and then bet out. It was hilarious. He took a huge pot from a good player this way, and I was just thinking to myself- "Dude- he has like Ace-four or somethng- wtf are you doing?"
While I still have seen 42 straight flops with pocket pairs and yet to flop a set, I did win my first race of the WSOP when I got all in with AKs vs QQ and flopped an ace. Got me up to 8000 chips or so and I was feeling pretty good. I got pocket 5's like 5 times, and each time I was up against something like AQ that missed and I was good.
Except the last time.
At 100-200 (i didn't even make the antes!) I call a raise in position with 55, against an aggressive internet type who I barely cover. So we see the flop of T-3-3 with two hearts and he fires out a C-bet of 700. I consider raising him right there but it looks goofy-- if I have A3, TT, AT, or any other hand really, I think I would be calling and let him bet again on the turn. So I call. Turn is an offsuit 4. He checks. I'm so brilliant. It's so easy to put him on any non-pair two high card hand here, and if that is what he has, he's gonna give up most of the time. I had already decided that if he bet the turn I was gonna shove on him anyway, so I was a little disappointed he didn't fire the second barrel. So the pot is about 2700 I think and I have roughly 6000 left. I bet 2K pretty quickly and he tanks. He tanks a long time. He looks so weak. He is trying to summon the courage to make a play at this pot with his whiffed AK and the longer he tanks the more I'm confident that I'm good and that I'm calling if he shoves. He picks up his cards at one point, just barely off the table like he's gonna muck, but then eventually he gathers his chips and ships them in.
Crap.
I have to trust my read here. He is weak, he doesn't like his hand and he's making a move. OK. I call. He looks dejected. "You got me" he says, as he tables pocket 7's. F-word. No dude, you got me and you were making your move with the best hand. Crap on toast.
I have 550 chips left and I ship it in with A8 against two players with AQ and KQ and I catch an 8 to triple up to like 2000 chips or 10 BB's. Nice. Good resteal stack. I'm in the BB with A4s and the button raises and I instashove and he instacalls with AQs and its gg me.
Friday, June 6, 2008
$5K Shootout
360 entries roughly, on 36 tables. You win your table you are in the money, and play 6 handed the next day. There is a bad player in seat 1. A very good player (Adam Levy) in seat 3, me in 4, and the rest of the table is at least competent if not very good. They are all internet players I think. Oh, and Phil Ivey sits down in the 2 seat. At least I have position on him.
Table 16: Phil Ivey (2), Adam "Roothlus" Levy (3), Amit "Amak316" Makhija (8), David "dpeters18" Peters (9), Brian "tsarrast" Rast (10)
We start with 10,000 chips which seems like a lot except the blinds are 100-200 and the second level is 150-300/25, so it goes up quick. The table is pretty tight, except for Ivey who wins a lot of small pots just by being in them. I pick up KQs and call a raise and its 3 players to the flop of K-8-5 rainbow. The raiser bets out 1200, I make it 3200 and both fold. Nice.
The 1 seat limps from the cutoff, Ivey limps, SB completes, and I check with 34o. Flop comes 2-5-8. SB checks, I check (hoping Ivey will bet) CO checks, Ivey bets 600, I call. Turn is another 2. Check-check. River is a blank, I bet out 1200, and I bluff out the best poker player in the world with 4-high.
Ivey then doubles up, knocking out seat 1 who slowplays AA and Ivey pushes the flop with a flush draw and gets there. Ivey then goes out when he flops top two and all the money goes in on the flop and the villain has a flush draw and gets there. Poker.
I chip up to about 13000 and then make the only real mistake of the day. I'm in the SB. A guy min-raises to 400, the button makes it 1800 and I call, set-mining, with pocket 9's. Unfortunately the min-raiser now pushes and we both fold. I still am pretty aggro though and win many pots without confrontation. I wake up with JJ in the big blind and 3-bet a raiser who folds. I open raise with AA and the big blind looks like he is itching to repop me but he doesn't. Sigh.
At the far end of the table there is a euro-player who has gotten short and has started to open-push. He's done this about 4 times-- at one point he gets called and shows Q8s and manages to double up. So when he open pushes again and I look down at AQ on the button I think I'm probably way ahead of his range and this is a good time to knock out a player and get some chips. I call off 3800 and he shows pocket 4's and I miss. Damn it.
After the break I find myself with less than 6000 chips and blinds at 200-400/50. Not good, but a healthy stack to resteal with. So I wait for an opportunity. It comes when there is a raise to 1000 from the Adam "Roothlus" Levy in the cutoff and I push on the button with JTs. He calls with 22. The flop comes Q-9-x and now I have 14 outs twice to double up. For you non-poker people this means I need any King, Eight, Jack or Ten. Needless to say I brick out and its good game me. fwiw, Roothles went on to win the table...
Table 16: Phil Ivey (2), Adam "Roothlus" Levy (3), Amit "Amak316" Makhija (8), David "dpeters18" Peters (9), Brian "tsarrast" Rast (10)
We start with 10,000 chips which seems like a lot except the blinds are 100-200 and the second level is 150-300/25, so it goes up quick. The table is pretty tight, except for Ivey who wins a lot of small pots just by being in them. I pick up KQs and call a raise and its 3 players to the flop of K-8-5 rainbow. The raiser bets out 1200, I make it 3200 and both fold. Nice.
The 1 seat limps from the cutoff, Ivey limps, SB completes, and I check with 34o. Flop comes 2-5-8. SB checks, I check (hoping Ivey will bet) CO checks, Ivey bets 600, I call. Turn is another 2. Check-check. River is a blank, I bet out 1200, and I bluff out the best poker player in the world with 4-high.
Ivey then doubles up, knocking out seat 1 who slowplays AA and Ivey pushes the flop with a flush draw and gets there. Ivey then goes out when he flops top two and all the money goes in on the flop and the villain has a flush draw and gets there. Poker.
I chip up to about 13000 and then make the only real mistake of the day. I'm in the SB. A guy min-raises to 400, the button makes it 1800 and I call, set-mining, with pocket 9's. Unfortunately the min-raiser now pushes and we both fold. I still am pretty aggro though and win many pots without confrontation. I wake up with JJ in the big blind and 3-bet a raiser who folds. I open raise with AA and the big blind looks like he is itching to repop me but he doesn't. Sigh.
At the far end of the table there is a euro-player who has gotten short and has started to open-push. He's done this about 4 times-- at one point he gets called and shows Q8s and manages to double up. So when he open pushes again and I look down at AQ on the button I think I'm probably way ahead of his range and this is a good time to knock out a player and get some chips. I call off 3800 and he shows pocket 4's and I miss. Damn it.
After the break I find myself with less than 6000 chips and blinds at 200-400/50. Not good, but a healthy stack to resteal with. So I wait for an opportunity. It comes when there is a raise to 1000 from the Adam "Roothlus" Levy in the cutoff and I push on the button with JTs. He calls with 22. The flop comes Q-9-x and now I have 14 outs twice to double up. For you non-poker people this means I need any King, Eight, Jack or Ten. Needless to say I brick out and its good game me. fwiw, Roothles went on to win the table...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
$1500 6-handed
OK, psyched for this event. Good thing I pre-registered as they sellout and about 200-400 people get shut out. Joe Sebok is at my table. I get the old Jack-duey in the SB in the first hand, its folded to me, I raise and win.
This is the high water mark of the day I think.
On the second hand there is a raise and two calls. The flop comes K-8-6 and there is a bet, raise, push, fold, call, and the poor bastard who flopped a set of sixes is on the rail to the set of 8's. (The third guy had AK and the sense to get out of the way)
I end up making some late position and button raises with hands like QTo which sometimes get played back at. One guy seems to always have a hand, showing AK several times as well as QQ, KK etc.
I play one hand (very badly) with Sebok-- he raises UTG and I call in the SB with AKo. Flop comes Q-J-x and I check-call and then check-fold the turn. Blech. Not the way to play a tourney where you have such a short chip stack to begin with.
I then play a hand against the heater guy-- I raise in LP with QJ and he calls. Flop comes Q-high monotone and he check-calls twice before firing on the river. I get like 5-1 on his bet and know I'm beat and indeed he tables AQ. Blech.
Now I'm really short and ship it in with KK to be called by 66. Flop comes 7-5-4 and I know I'm toast. Turn is a 3. GG me.
I head over to the Venetian to play the Omaha 8OB $540 they are running. They have over 200 runners, paying 18. Its a gross game, but I like to play it a bit as I'm still learning a lot. Its limit poker, high-low, so having the hands is pretty crucial. I donked up and down for a while eventually busting out around 50th.
Then the Lakers lost.
Tomorrow (with the $5K shootout) will be better. I hope I get a decent table draw....
This is the high water mark of the day I think.
On the second hand there is a raise and two calls. The flop comes K-8-6 and there is a bet, raise, push, fold, call, and the poor bastard who flopped a set of sixes is on the rail to the set of 8's. (The third guy had AK and the sense to get out of the way)
I end up making some late position and button raises with hands like QTo which sometimes get played back at. One guy seems to always have a hand, showing AK several times as well as QQ, KK etc.
I play one hand (very badly) with Sebok-- he raises UTG and I call in the SB with AKo. Flop comes Q-J-x and I check-call and then check-fold the turn. Blech. Not the way to play a tourney where you have such a short chip stack to begin with.
I then play a hand against the heater guy-- I raise in LP with QJ and he calls. Flop comes Q-high monotone and he check-calls twice before firing on the river. I get like 5-1 on his bet and know I'm beat and indeed he tables AQ. Blech.
Now I'm really short and ship it in with KK to be called by 66. Flop comes 7-5-4 and I know I'm toast. Turn is a 3. GG me.
I head over to the Venetian to play the Omaha 8OB $540 they are running. They have over 200 runners, paying 18. Its a gross game, but I like to play it a bit as I'm still learning a lot. Its limit poker, high-low, so having the hands is pretty crucial. I donked up and down for a while eventually busting out around 50th.
Then the Lakers lost.
Tomorrow (with the $5K shootout) will be better. I hope I get a decent table draw....
WSOP 2008
Arrived this evening and checked into my comped sweet suite at the Palazzo. Nice. High floor with good view.
Went to the Rio to get my registration in order. Table 23 Red, Seat 1 for the short handed event tomorrow. Saw that Zak still had chips in the $2K today and was nearing the money. Decided to try a satellite and a $525 started up. Some strange play (big overpushes early) but for the most part everyone was solid. We started with 2000 chips at 25/25 and 20 min levels. No one busted for the first 4 levels. Sick. This turns it into a shovefest. I chip up and down and then knock a guy out who pushes from the button and I call with JJ. Very next hand a guy pushes UTG and its folded to me on the button and I have JJ again. This guys range must be huge, and since he has only 9 BB's he prob just open pushes with his whole range. I think I'm usually ahead here and I call. He has QQ and I miss. Now I'm short. With blinds at 150-300, I post the BB and have 450 left. Yuck. The button goes all in, the SB (who I think is only 19 and has a Millennium Falcon chip protector) tanks and then goes all in. I just go all in blind. I hae QJo, the SB has ATo and the button opened with KQ. Someone the board comes 8x9xT and I make a str8 to triple up. Whoot. We get 5 handed and the kid has a monster stack and he's raising a lot. He raises, I have KQ and push and he calls with AQ and its GG me.
I head over to the tourney that Zak is in and they are hand for hand on the money bubble. I watch this complete donkey call off his last chips with AQo only to lose a raise against a big stack who had open raised with 77. The caller had at least 6-7 BB's left, and it sure looked like he could have folded into the money. I hope the dumbass factor is as high tomorrow.
Went to the Rio to get my registration in order. Table 23 Red, Seat 1 for the short handed event tomorrow. Saw that Zak still had chips in the $2K today and was nearing the money. Decided to try a satellite and a $525 started up. Some strange play (big overpushes early) but for the most part everyone was solid. We started with 2000 chips at 25/25 and 20 min levels. No one busted for the first 4 levels. Sick. This turns it into a shovefest. I chip up and down and then knock a guy out who pushes from the button and I call with JJ. Very next hand a guy pushes UTG and its folded to me on the button and I have JJ again. This guys range must be huge, and since he has only 9 BB's he prob just open pushes with his whole range. I think I'm usually ahead here and I call. He has QQ and I miss. Now I'm short. With blinds at 150-300, I post the BB and have 450 left. Yuck. The button goes all in, the SB (who I think is only 19 and has a Millennium Falcon chip protector) tanks and then goes all in. I just go all in blind. I hae QJo, the SB has ATo and the button opened with KQ. Someone the board comes 8x9xT and I make a str8 to triple up. Whoot. We get 5 handed and the kid has a monster stack and he's raising a lot. He raises, I have KQ and push and he calls with AQ and its GG me.
I head over to the tourney that Zak is in and they are hand for hand on the money bubble. I watch this complete donkey call off his last chips with AQo only to lose a raise against a big stack who had open raised with 77. The caller had at least 6-7 BB's left, and it sure looked like he could have folded into the money. I hope the dumbass factor is as high tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Warrior Week!
Just a shout out to my boy who is currently slogging through the mud carrying an M16 learning how to kick ass!
Strong work Brent!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
A Win at the PM
Well, its just the $125 nightly with 5 tables. So no big deal. And the quality of the play is just atrocious. Its like, I know all the players that I know and I know how they play. The ones I don't know can't play for shit. So it seems pretty easy. Just try not to get unlucky. You get 4000 chips to start, and they made the levels 20 min and added an ante. All good. They still pay the whole final table though which just blows. If I win this tourney, I want at least $2K in my pocket. And if I come in 9th, I really don't care about getting my money back.
Second hand I get red KK. The CO raises and I reraise from the BB. He calls. Flop comes A-high, all clubs. I bet, he raises, I muck face up. I'm soooooo goooood.
I play a lot of hands, but people fold all the time. I only show good hands. Its a joke. Despite this, its easy to screw up. A really bad woman player limps in early position with blinds at 150-300. I raise from the button with ATo, she calls. Flop comes A-6-4 and she bets 1000. WTF? I raise and she pushes and I realize too late that I have like 4-1 to call. Yech. She has A6o and cuts me down a lot. But who just calls a raise in EP with A6 ?? WTF??
Eventually a guy raises and I'm short and I push with 66. He has JJ and the poker gods smile on me and I spike a 6. I call a push with 33 and beat AJ. I get to the final table.
First hand its raised to me and I look down at AA. I massage the pot and the guy commits preflop. He has KQs and flops two Q's. A few hands later I get AA again, this time all in against the bad lady player. She has T8s. Nice. I get up cause I don't want to watch her suck out. Sure enough, when I get back she has made a str8 and I'm short again.
By this time there are 7 players left, and the chip leader says "The call me Mr. Chop- I'm willing to make a deal. How bout I take $1000?" LOL. First place is $1600, 2nd is $870. This guy wants more than 2nd place money with 7 people left. I laugh at him. He inspires me.
I pick up KK and double through him. I pick up AA and knock him out. I pick up QQ and they hold up against the BLP's 72o. We get 3 handed. I call a raise with 67cc. The flop comes 8c9hKc-- I have six million outs twice. The guy pushes. I call. He has no pair and a gutshot???? I pick up a 6 on the turn which is good enough.
I get HU with Randy L. who is really the only player at the FT that I had any respect for and would be willing to chop with. I outchip him a lot and tell him there really isn't any deal that makes sense for him. Despite this, I take $1450 and call it a night. Yee haw. Bring on the WSOP! Whoot!
Second hand I get red KK. The CO raises and I reraise from the BB. He calls. Flop comes A-high, all clubs. I bet, he raises, I muck face up. I'm soooooo goooood.
I play a lot of hands, but people fold all the time. I only show good hands. Its a joke. Despite this, its easy to screw up. A really bad woman player limps in early position with blinds at 150-300. I raise from the button with ATo, she calls. Flop comes A-6-4 and she bets 1000. WTF? I raise and she pushes and I realize too late that I have like 4-1 to call. Yech. She has A6o and cuts me down a lot. But who just calls a raise in EP with A6 ?? WTF??
Eventually a guy raises and I'm short and I push with 66. He has JJ and the poker gods smile on me and I spike a 6. I call a push with 33 and beat AJ. I get to the final table.
First hand its raised to me and I look down at AA. I massage the pot and the guy commits preflop. He has KQs and flops two Q's. A few hands later I get AA again, this time all in against the bad lady player. She has T8s. Nice. I get up cause I don't want to watch her suck out. Sure enough, when I get back she has made a str8 and I'm short again.
By this time there are 7 players left, and the chip leader says "The call me Mr. Chop- I'm willing to make a deal. How bout I take $1000?" LOL. First place is $1600, 2nd is $870. This guy wants more than 2nd place money with 7 people left. I laugh at him. He inspires me.
I pick up KK and double through him. I pick up AA and knock him out. I pick up QQ and they hold up against the BLP's 72o. We get 3 handed. I call a raise with 67cc. The flop comes 8c9hKc-- I have six million outs twice. The guy pushes. I call. He has no pair and a gutshot???? I pick up a 6 on the turn which is good enough.
I get HU with Randy L. who is really the only player at the FT that I had any respect for and would be willing to chop with. I outchip him a lot and tell him there really isn't any deal that makes sense for him. Despite this, I take $1450 and call it a night. Yee haw. Bring on the WSOP! Whoot!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
WSOP Circuit at Caesar's Vegas
The Nevada State Medical Association was kind enough to schedule their annual dog and pony show at the same time as the WSOP Circuit was in Vegas. Nice. I showed up a day early to play a Venetian $300 Deep Stack event. The Venetian has great tourneys. Their room is spacious, the service excellent, and the structures can't be beat. We had 6000 starting chips with 40 minute levels, and very slowly moving blinds. The tourney I played had about 190 players and I busted out 28th, paying 18. I played very erratic. Some excellent plays and some very bad ones, and I got my money in both bad and good.
Some hands:
I raise UTG with AKs and then 4-bet all in when I get repopped by a fairly aggro player who has me covered. He tanks forever and finally folds. I tangle with him again later when my stack isn't great and I 3-bet him with 99. He eventually calls with AT, which is pretty lame, but given that he folded the earlier hand I sort of expected he wanted to see what I was doing. An ace came in the door and I stood up, only to be saved by a 9 on the turn.
Later that same player raises all-in, and a tight player to my right just calls. The bet is about 5000 or so and the two of us probably have another 10-15K each behind. I have KK and figure pushing here looks like I'm just trying to isolate and he might bite. He tanks and then folds, later telling me he had AK.
I lose all my mojo against the AK player from above-- a shorty limps UTG, it gets folded to the SB who raises. Now, he's been pretty tight I suppose, but the range for this play should be very wide. I have JJ in the BB and I repop. Unfortunately, the SB pushes, and the pot size demands a call-- he had QQ. Meh.
After this hand I got really really short. In fact, I was down to an M of around 2 at one point, open shoving only to have the blinds fold, which was just horrible. Somehow I managed to win quite a few pots and got my stack healthy again. I then 3-bet a guy who really didn't want to fold but managed to. The next hand he raises again and I have JJ and 3-bet him again. This time he pushes. Such a weird spot, given the table dynamics. I just made a play on him the hand before, now I actually have a hand and he defends. Meh. Well, I call and he shows me QQ-- then derides me for "not being able to fold Jacks."
I'm down quite a bit again, and I'm not interested in limping into the money- I want to get healthy and have a real shot at winning. A guy shorter than me in MP opens for 5X the BB, which looks to be about 40% of his stack or so. Its folded to me in the BB with 33, and I think I'm good. He's just too invested at this point to fold though. I call, planning to move in on the flop. The flop comes Ac-5c-5d, and I move in. He calls me with Kc Jc-- (a good call I suppose if he knows my hand) and he catches his flush. Oh well. I bust shortly after.
OK...
The $2080 buy in event had 191 entries, 6000 chips, and 1 hour levels. I draw a table with David Pham to my right. He doesn't play many pots at all for the first level. The table is pretty tight overall, and I chip up playing small pots. I float a lot in position and manage to snag a bunch of chips on the river several times. Nice. First hand when the blinds go to 25-50, I raise in the CO with KTo and get called by the button. Flop comes KcQdTc. I bet 300, he makes it 900. Hmmm. That's pretty yucky. I really should fold with that board but I manage to call. The turn is the Jc. I check-fold to his 600 bet and he shows the AQc for the royal. The table breaks.
I get moved to a table where I don't know anyone, and I win a lot of pots. I don't make any big hands, and I don't really get in any major confrontations-- but I do manage to rake in some key spots. I win about 3000 chips on a hand holding JT on a Q4JTK board, with the villain calling with Q7. I have A9hh and call a raise to see a flop of 679, one heart. The Jh comes on the turn and I reraise all in with a good read and win another 4000 or so. At the end of 4 levels I'm sitting well above average with about 18000 chips and I like my table.
Back from break, I find that my table has been broken. Bummer. I get moved with Men the Master on my left, Chainsaw Kessler on my right, JJ Lieu to his right, Dutch Boyd 3 to my left. Ugh. Dutch busts Kessler with AK>QQ.
With blinds at 100-200/25, I pick up TT UTG and make it 600 to go. I get two callers, with JJ Lieu calling on the button. I flop golden: T-7-4 rainbow. Wow. This is my dream hand. I decide to lead at it and bet 1600. They both call. The turn brings a low club, putting a flush draw out there. I tank a little, and then fire out 5500. The MP player folds, but JJ tanks. She's playing with her chips. The bet will basically commit her as she only has another 2000 or so. I don't look at her. I actually feel like my hand is face up. I mean, I have top set, and its the nuts for now. She must be able to see that. I can see out of the corner of my eye that she's staring at me. I don't look. I look at all the pictures of the pros on the walls of the poker room. Men the master is up there, and there's some women- Annie Duke, Cindy Violette, Jenn Harmon- I don't see JJ up there. Eventually she calls, and groans when she sees my hand. She tables 97cc for middle pair and a flush draw. the river is another 7 and I fill up and bust her. Sweeeeeeeet.
I set mine once against Men. I raise with 33 to 600 and he repops to 1600. Its folded back to me. He's got a big hand here, and if I hit a 3 I'm pretty sure I will stack him. I call. I miss. I check-fold and he flashes me bullets. Its a good play.
Before dinner, Dutch and this young guy get involved in a pot. I don't remember the preflop action, but the flop comes 9-9-3 and Dutch checks. Kid bets 2000. Dutch tanks, starring aimlessly forward in a trancelike state, and then methodically calls. The turn is another 9 and Dutch checks again. The scene repeats as the kid bets 4000 and the same show is displayed as Dutch tanks, trances, and calls. The river was a 7 and now Dutch tanks, trances, and pushes. Wow. From my seat it looks like a value bet. The kid thinks so also and mucks, later telling me he had Jacks. We go to dinner and Dutch is behind me in the food line. "What did you do in that last hand with those 9's out there?-- check-call, check-call, push??" "Yeah, pretty tricky, huh?"
After dinner, Dutch limps UTG and the kid limps behind him. There is then a raise from a small stack and Men calls the raise. Dutch then pushes. Kid then pushes. Shorty folds. Men shows JJ and folds. Dutch has AK and has trapped himself behind the kids KK. The Kings hold up and Dutch is out. The kid does a little fist pump-- for some reason this looks mandatory when you trap and then bust Dutch Boyd. nh sir.
I get up to about 28000 and get moved. I go card dead. Bleh. I then make "the big mistake", which results in me losing my mojo and is the turning point in the tourney. With blinds at 200-400/50 I'm in the BB with 8h8s. It get folded to the cutoff, a player named Richard who I shared a cash game table with the night before. (Edit: It turns out that I google him and he is the CEO of the exotic car dealership in the Caesars forum shops- what a frickin phat gig) He knows what he's doing. He raises to 1200. I have about 20000 or so at this point. It seems like a good spot to 3-bet, so I make it 4000. He thinks just a little and calls. Bad result. The flop is OK: T-6-7 with 2 diamonds. I don't see how I can I check here. I bet 5000. He calls. Damn. So now I'm in for about half my stack, out of position with a marginal hand against a good player showing strength. How great is that. On top of that, even if I hit my set now I might not be good to a flush or str8. Its just plain ugly. The turn is the Jd and I can't find the strength to donk-push another barrel. I check and he checks behind. The river comes the Kd, putting 4d on the board. Fuck. I have to take a look at my hand again. Nope, no diamond. So there are now a million hands that beat me, he has enough chips to call a "value" bet from me here-- even if I push he's getting almost 3-1 on the call. Just frickin miserable. I check. He checks. I turn over my hand and say "there is no way these can be good" and he tables black ATo for TPTK on the flop. Men the Master is at this table also now and he remarks "there is no way he thought he was good either" True that, and maybe a turn or river push would have taken it down. I don't know, but now I'm short.
I get moved again- this time to the left of Shannon Shorr. Jon Little joins the table a little later. Shannon is really short- he's nursing a stack of about 3K. I have about 8K, and blinds are 300-600/75. I win a couple pots when I repop with AK and don't get called. I repop later with JJ and a guy lays down 99. Dang- that would have been a good spot to double up. Blinds go to 400-800/100 and I get moved again. Tim West at my table. Richard from before as well. Some huge stacks. I'm floating between 9-12 BB's for the most part. I feel like I have a great resteal stack, but the three guys to my right are all probably 2+2er's or P5er's and will see that for what it is. So I need a hand. I get AK, open push and pick up the blinds and antes. It helps. We are down to 37 players, 18 get paid, first place is $102K. I get JJ utg and ponder my options. I raise to 2500 and plan on calling a reraise. It gets folded to the BB who ponders and puts me in. OK, I call. He shows 44 which is just awesome. Until he flops a set and my day is over.
Standard.
Some hands:
I raise UTG with AKs and then 4-bet all in when I get repopped by a fairly aggro player who has me covered. He tanks forever and finally folds. I tangle with him again later when my stack isn't great and I 3-bet him with 99. He eventually calls with AT, which is pretty lame, but given that he folded the earlier hand I sort of expected he wanted to see what I was doing. An ace came in the door and I stood up, only to be saved by a 9 on the turn.
Later that same player raises all-in, and a tight player to my right just calls. The bet is about 5000 or so and the two of us probably have another 10-15K each behind. I have KK and figure pushing here looks like I'm just trying to isolate and he might bite. He tanks and then folds, later telling me he had AK.
I lose all my mojo against the AK player from above-- a shorty limps UTG, it gets folded to the SB who raises. Now, he's been pretty tight I suppose, but the range for this play should be very wide. I have JJ in the BB and I repop. Unfortunately, the SB pushes, and the pot size demands a call-- he had QQ. Meh.
After this hand I got really really short. In fact, I was down to an M of around 2 at one point, open shoving only to have the blinds fold, which was just horrible. Somehow I managed to win quite a few pots and got my stack healthy again. I then 3-bet a guy who really didn't want to fold but managed to. The next hand he raises again and I have JJ and 3-bet him again. This time he pushes. Such a weird spot, given the table dynamics. I just made a play on him the hand before, now I actually have a hand and he defends. Meh. Well, I call and he shows me QQ-- then derides me for "not being able to fold Jacks."
I'm down quite a bit again, and I'm not interested in limping into the money- I want to get healthy and have a real shot at winning. A guy shorter than me in MP opens for 5X the BB, which looks to be about 40% of his stack or so. Its folded to me in the BB with 33, and I think I'm good. He's just too invested at this point to fold though. I call, planning to move in on the flop. The flop comes Ac-5c-5d, and I move in. He calls me with Kc Jc-- (a good call I suppose if he knows my hand) and he catches his flush. Oh well. I bust shortly after.
OK...
The $2080 buy in event had 191 entries, 6000 chips, and 1 hour levels. I draw a table with David Pham to my right. He doesn't play many pots at all for the first level. The table is pretty tight overall, and I chip up playing small pots. I float a lot in position and manage to snag a bunch of chips on the river several times. Nice. First hand when the blinds go to 25-50, I raise in the CO with KTo and get called by the button. Flop comes KcQdTc. I bet 300, he makes it 900. Hmmm. That's pretty yucky. I really should fold with that board but I manage to call. The turn is the Jc. I check-fold to his 600 bet and he shows the AQc for the royal. The table breaks.
I get moved to a table where I don't know anyone, and I win a lot of pots. I don't make any big hands, and I don't really get in any major confrontations-- but I do manage to rake in some key spots. I win about 3000 chips on a hand holding JT on a Q4JTK board, with the villain calling with Q7. I have A9hh and call a raise to see a flop of 679, one heart. The Jh comes on the turn and I reraise all in with a good read and win another 4000 or so. At the end of 4 levels I'm sitting well above average with about 18000 chips and I like my table.
Back from break, I find that my table has been broken. Bummer. I get moved with Men the Master on my left, Chainsaw Kessler on my right, JJ Lieu to his right, Dutch Boyd 3 to my left. Ugh. Dutch busts Kessler with AK>QQ.
With blinds at 100-200/25, I pick up TT UTG and make it 600 to go. I get two callers, with JJ Lieu calling on the button. I flop golden: T-7-4 rainbow. Wow. This is my dream hand. I decide to lead at it and bet 1600. They both call. The turn brings a low club, putting a flush draw out there. I tank a little, and then fire out 5500. The MP player folds, but JJ tanks. She's playing with her chips. The bet will basically commit her as she only has another 2000 or so. I don't look at her. I actually feel like my hand is face up. I mean, I have top set, and its the nuts for now. She must be able to see that. I can see out of the corner of my eye that she's staring at me. I don't look. I look at all the pictures of the pros on the walls of the poker room. Men the master is up there, and there's some women- Annie Duke, Cindy Violette, Jenn Harmon- I don't see JJ up there. Eventually she calls, and groans when she sees my hand. She tables 97cc for middle pair and a flush draw. the river is another 7 and I fill up and bust her. Sweeeeeeeet.
I set mine once against Men. I raise with 33 to 600 and he repops to 1600. Its folded back to me. He's got a big hand here, and if I hit a 3 I'm pretty sure I will stack him. I call. I miss. I check-fold and he flashes me bullets. Its a good play.
Before dinner, Dutch and this young guy get involved in a pot. I don't remember the preflop action, but the flop comes 9-9-3 and Dutch checks. Kid bets 2000. Dutch tanks, starring aimlessly forward in a trancelike state, and then methodically calls. The turn is another 9 and Dutch checks again. The scene repeats as the kid bets 4000 and the same show is displayed as Dutch tanks, trances, and calls. The river was a 7 and now Dutch tanks, trances, and pushes. Wow. From my seat it looks like a value bet. The kid thinks so also and mucks, later telling me he had Jacks. We go to dinner and Dutch is behind me in the food line. "What did you do in that last hand with those 9's out there?-- check-call, check-call, push??" "Yeah, pretty tricky, huh?"
After dinner, Dutch limps UTG and the kid limps behind him. There is then a raise from a small stack and Men calls the raise. Dutch then pushes. Kid then pushes. Shorty folds. Men shows JJ and folds. Dutch has AK and has trapped himself behind the kids KK. The Kings hold up and Dutch is out. The kid does a little fist pump-- for some reason this looks mandatory when you trap and then bust Dutch Boyd. nh sir.
I get up to about 28000 and get moved. I go card dead. Bleh. I then make "the big mistake", which results in me losing my mojo and is the turning point in the tourney. With blinds at 200-400/50 I'm in the BB with 8h8s. It get folded to the cutoff, a player named Richard who I shared a cash game table with the night before. (Edit: It turns out that I google him and he is the CEO of the exotic car dealership in the Caesars forum shops- what a frickin phat gig) He knows what he's doing. He raises to 1200. I have about 20000 or so at this point. It seems like a good spot to 3-bet, so I make it 4000. He thinks just a little and calls. Bad result. The flop is OK: T-6-7 with 2 diamonds. I don't see how I can I check here. I bet 5000. He calls. Damn. So now I'm in for about half my stack, out of position with a marginal hand against a good player showing strength. How great is that. On top of that, even if I hit my set now I might not be good to a flush or str8. Its just plain ugly. The turn is the Jd and I can't find the strength to donk-push another barrel. I check and he checks behind. The river comes the Kd, putting 4d on the board. Fuck. I have to take a look at my hand again. Nope, no diamond. So there are now a million hands that beat me, he has enough chips to call a "value" bet from me here-- even if I push he's getting almost 3-1 on the call. Just frickin miserable. I check. He checks. I turn over my hand and say "there is no way these can be good" and he tables black ATo for TPTK on the flop. Men the Master is at this table also now and he remarks "there is no way he thought he was good either" True that, and maybe a turn or river push would have taken it down. I don't know, but now I'm short.
I get moved again- this time to the left of Shannon Shorr. Jon Little joins the table a little later. Shannon is really short- he's nursing a stack of about 3K. I have about 8K, and blinds are 300-600/75. I win a couple pots when I repop with AK and don't get called. I repop later with JJ and a guy lays down 99. Dang- that would have been a good spot to double up. Blinds go to 400-800/100 and I get moved again. Tim West at my table. Richard from before as well. Some huge stacks. I'm floating between 9-12 BB's for the most part. I feel like I have a great resteal stack, but the three guys to my right are all probably 2+2er's or P5er's and will see that for what it is. So I need a hand. I get AK, open push and pick up the blinds and antes. It helps. We are down to 37 players, 18 get paid, first place is $102K. I get JJ utg and ponder my options. I raise to 2500 and plan on calling a reraise. It gets folded to the BB who ponders and puts me in. OK, I call. He shows 44 which is just awesome. Until he flops a set and my day is over.
Standard.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Getting close online
Online poker is probably a very good exercise for me. The game of course requires much patience, both live and online, but sitting in your bathrobe on a Sunday staring at the screen for hours and hours is sometimes much more challenging. Yesterday, while slogging through the Sunday Million, i did 4 loads of laundry, watched two great NCAA games, made some business related phone calls, and tried to fix my oven.
One would imagine it might be more profitable to just play poker?
And of course the whole "psych up" thing about live poker is there. I got really "up" for Reno because its only once a year. I have a chance at over $200K every Sunday, and usually at least twice on Sundays.
So yesterday I started out in a FTP $40,000 guarantee tourney, around 700 entries, with about $25K to first. I'm doing very well, go deep, and make a reraise all in with pocket tens on the final table bubble. The monkey who tanks and eventually calls has 97 of clubs. Wow. I should just stove that real quick..... hold on.....yeah, that is what I thought. I got my money in as an 81% favorite. I was still 77% on the flop, but running clubs ended my tourney in 10th and I got about $1000 for my time.
Then I play the Million. This week its a $1000 buy in, which reduces the field quite a bit. There are only 1900 entries or so, compared with the usual 7000 when its a $200 buy in. Last week I had a lot of chips, around 90,000 when I tried a silly bluff against Isabelle Merceir and got broke. This week I run pretty well and go deep. Still can't make it to the really big payday though- (18th and higher got 5 digits, first prize was over $366,000!!) But I end up 59th for $4200 or so. There is always next week.....
One would imagine it might be more profitable to just play poker?
And of course the whole "psych up" thing about live poker is there. I got really "up" for Reno because its only once a year. I have a chance at over $200K every Sunday, and usually at least twice on Sundays.
So yesterday I started out in a FTP $40,000 guarantee tourney, around 700 entries, with about $25K to first. I'm doing very well, go deep, and make a reraise all in with pocket tens on the final table bubble. The monkey who tanks and eventually calls has 97 of clubs. Wow. I should just stove that real quick..... hold on.....yeah, that is what I thought. I got my money in as an 81% favorite. I was still 77% on the flop, but running clubs ended my tourney in 10th and I got about $1000 for my time.
Then I play the Million. This week its a $1000 buy in, which reduces the field quite a bit. There are only 1900 entries or so, compared with the usual 7000 when its a $200 buy in. Last week I had a lot of chips, around 90,000 when I tried a silly bluff against Isabelle Merceir and got broke. This week I run pretty well and go deep. Still can't make it to the really big payday though- (18th and higher got 5 digits, first prize was over $366,000!!) But I end up 59th for $4200 or so. There is always next week.....
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
I'm so out!
LOL.
They got 260 entries, way down from previous years. We start with 15K in chips with 75 min levels. I sit in the 6 seat to see TJ Cloutier in the 7. John Juanda sits in the 9. Men the Master is in the 1, and Kathy Liebert is in the 2. The other 4 I don't know, but the guy in the 5 seat is a Canadian kid who acknowledges he is the sucker at the table. OK, I thought that was me, but if he thinks its him, then OK.
25 min in and I'm dealt pocket Kings in the SB. The UTG player opens for 250. Its the first pot he's played. I may have taken a small pot down prior to this. Its folded to me and I make it 750. TJ folds. UTG puts in a pink 1K chip, and at first I thought he was reraising but it was only a call. The flop comes three little cards with 2 clubs. Nice. No ace. Before I can consider my action, the UTG player puts two pinks in (2K). Hmmmm. WTF? That sucks. OK, well he can still easily have something between 99 and QQ. I decide I'll check-raise. I check, he puts in the 2K and I make it 6K and he instacalls. Uh oh. The turn is a Q. I have a pot sized bet left. So my choices here are check-fold, check-call or push. UTG sure doesn't look like he's going anywhere. There is no way he has AK or AQ here. And there is no way he played JJ like this either. No frickin way. So I'm not beating anything now. I check, he pushes, I muck face-up and Juanda says "Damn- give me those Kings!" lol. If the guy didn't have AA he did a helluva job convincing me that he did. The guy basically didn't play anything after that, so he was either planning an elaborate move early to get chips (doubtful) or he was a big-ball player who coolered me (more likely)
Oh yeah. Juanda goes out like this: He raises in late position, like he has most pots. Canuck calls him from BB. Flop comes 5-6-7 with two spades. Now the fireworks-- Kid bets, Juanda raises, Kid repops, Juanda pushes. Kid calls him with 54o! Wow. He's got bottom pair and a str8 draw. Juanda turns over 9Tss for the flush draw, gutshot str8 draw and two overcards. I didn't expect to see either of these hands. Sick. Juanda catches a 9 on the turn, but Canuck makes two pair with a 4 on the river and busts Juanda. Send him a Full Tilt T-shirt!
Now it sucks, cause I have half of what I started with. Meh. I play some pots, limping when possibly, playing small pairs trying to flop a set. None come. I'll call a small raise in a multi-way pot with suited connectors but they don't hit either. So I chip down. Bleh. In fact, I chip down to near 5K in chips, which is enough to repop nicely when someone raises to 750 or after a couple limpers. Before the break I raise the button to 300 with AKs, TJ makes it 850 and I push. He folds.
At 75-150 there are 2 limpers to me. Again I have AKs and I make it 700. I have another 5200 or so behind. Its folded to the first limper and he reraises another 2K. Folded to me. Ugh. I don't really think about it enough I guess, because all I'm thinking is that if I get in a race to double up I'm stoked at this point. I don't want to sit here for 14 hours milking a short stack. That just blows. So I push. Right into his fuckin Aces.
This leaves me a nice 1100 stack. Kathy opens to 5, gets a caller and I push with red tens. They both call. Why she can't repop him for me I dunno. Flop comes K-high and he bets her off it with his AK which is good and I'm done.
Worst table draw ever for sure, and I got badly coolered on the KK hand. Still, it feels like I won $7K since I didn't lay the cash down to buy in....
They got 260 entries, way down from previous years. We start with 15K in chips with 75 min levels. I sit in the 6 seat to see TJ Cloutier in the 7. John Juanda sits in the 9. Men the Master is in the 1, and Kathy Liebert is in the 2. The other 4 I don't know, but the guy in the 5 seat is a Canadian kid who acknowledges he is the sucker at the table. OK, I thought that was me, but if he thinks its him, then OK.
25 min in and I'm dealt pocket Kings in the SB. The UTG player opens for 250. Its the first pot he's played. I may have taken a small pot down prior to this. Its folded to me and I make it 750. TJ folds. UTG puts in a pink 1K chip, and at first I thought he was reraising but it was only a call. The flop comes three little cards with 2 clubs. Nice. No ace. Before I can consider my action, the UTG player puts two pinks in (2K). Hmmmm. WTF? That sucks. OK, well he can still easily have something between 99 and QQ. I decide I'll check-raise. I check, he puts in the 2K and I make it 6K and he instacalls. Uh oh. The turn is a Q. I have a pot sized bet left. So my choices here are check-fold, check-call or push. UTG sure doesn't look like he's going anywhere. There is no way he has AK or AQ here. And there is no way he played JJ like this either. No frickin way. So I'm not beating anything now. I check, he pushes, I muck face-up and Juanda says "Damn- give me those Kings!" lol. If the guy didn't have AA he did a helluva job convincing me that he did. The guy basically didn't play anything after that, so he was either planning an elaborate move early to get chips (doubtful) or he was a big-ball player who coolered me (more likely)
Oh yeah. Juanda goes out like this: He raises in late position, like he has most pots. Canuck calls him from BB. Flop comes 5-6-7 with two spades. Now the fireworks-- Kid bets, Juanda raises, Kid repops, Juanda pushes. Kid calls him with 54o! Wow. He's got bottom pair and a str8 draw. Juanda turns over 9Tss for the flush draw, gutshot str8 draw and two overcards. I didn't expect to see either of these hands. Sick. Juanda catches a 9 on the turn, but Canuck makes two pair with a 4 on the river and busts Juanda. Send him a Full Tilt T-shirt!
Now it sucks, cause I have half of what I started with. Meh. I play some pots, limping when possibly, playing small pairs trying to flop a set. None come. I'll call a small raise in a multi-way pot with suited connectors but they don't hit either. So I chip down. Bleh. In fact, I chip down to near 5K in chips, which is enough to repop nicely when someone raises to 750 or after a couple limpers. Before the break I raise the button to 300 with AKs, TJ makes it 850 and I push. He folds.
At 75-150 there are 2 limpers to me. Again I have AKs and I make it 700. I have another 5200 or so behind. Its folded to the first limper and he reraises another 2K. Folded to me. Ugh. I don't really think about it enough I guess, because all I'm thinking is that if I get in a race to double up I'm stoked at this point. I don't want to sit here for 14 hours milking a short stack. That just blows. So I push. Right into his fuckin Aces.
This leaves me a nice 1100 stack. Kathy opens to 5, gets a caller and I push with red tens. They both call. Why she can't repop him for me I dunno. Flop comes K-high and he bets her off it with his AK which is good and I'm done.
Worst table draw ever for sure, and I got badly coolered on the KK hand. Still, it feels like I won $7K since I didn't lay the cash down to buy in....
I'm IN!
whoo hoo and double fist pump! took down a 148 entry satellite with 13 seats. gets hairy at then end of these things, but some short stacks obliged the rest of us by playing their hands.
sweat me on card player.com- I'm feeling good about how I'm playing and lets see how far it goes!
sweat me on card player.com- I'm feeling good about how I'm playing and lets see how far it goes!
Monday, March 24, 2008
The last Reno WPT
starts tomorrow. I'm still not sure if I'm playing. I have a nice phat wad of 77 benjamins ready to throw down, but the way I have been running/playing/thinking/donking it seems like a pretty thin EV situation. That and the fact that the fields this past week have been very tough.
I've been thinking about how an amateur player has any chance to compete with these fields anymore. The challenges of online poker have caused a contraction of the universe of players so that when I sit at an online tourney table I recognize several names every time. These are people who grind for a living, playing >10 hours daily and who have amassed hundreds of thousands of hands of experience-- how can i realistically expect to compete with that? The thing is that even with all that experience, the edges remain small. Winning a race once in a while would also be helpful.
I've played this tourney 4 times. Previously its been a $5100 entry. In 2004 I went out very early. I was a superfish, highly intimidated by the field, and I called off all my chips with top pair with QJ to a guy who had flopped a set of nines. I almost rivered a flush, but ended up making an exit after only about 2 1/2 hours of play.
In 2005 I made a big run, headed into day 2 as one of the chip leaders, and getting into the money and into day 3. Played with Phil Ivey on that third day and got all my chips in with TT to be called by AQ. Flop came with two Queens, so it was not to be my day. Barry Greenstein eventually busted my A5s with QT.
2006 brough Hassan Habib to my first table and he just bulldozed the rest of us. After half a day's play I found myself with AQ on a Q high flop and lost all my chips to a well-disguised KK.
2007 started off fairly well. Phil Laak and Mike Simon were at my first table. Made it to the dinner break, but was fairly short. Kirk Morrison rivered an ace with his AT against my all in 77 and that was that.
The opportunities to satellite into this tourney this year have decreased. There is a mega-sat tourney today that I might give a whirl. Failing that, I'll have a talk with Mr. Franklin from the bank and see where he is best placed.
I've been thinking about how an amateur player has any chance to compete with these fields anymore. The challenges of online poker have caused a contraction of the universe of players so that when I sit at an online tourney table I recognize several names every time. These are people who grind for a living, playing >10 hours daily and who have amassed hundreds of thousands of hands of experience-- how can i realistically expect to compete with that? The thing is that even with all that experience, the edges remain small. Winning a race once in a while would also be helpful.
I've played this tourney 4 times. Previously its been a $5100 entry. In 2004 I went out very early. I was a superfish, highly intimidated by the field, and I called off all my chips with top pair with QJ to a guy who had flopped a set of nines. I almost rivered a flush, but ended up making an exit after only about 2 1/2 hours of play.
In 2005 I made a big run, headed into day 2 as one of the chip leaders, and getting into the money and into day 3. Played with Phil Ivey on that third day and got all my chips in with TT to be called by AQ. Flop came with two Queens, so it was not to be my day. Barry Greenstein eventually busted my A5s with QT.
2006 brough Hassan Habib to my first table and he just bulldozed the rest of us. After half a day's play I found myself with AQ on a Q high flop and lost all my chips to a well-disguised KK.
2007 started off fairly well. Phil Laak and Mike Simon were at my first table. Made it to the dinner break, but was fairly short. Kirk Morrison rivered an ace with his AT against my all in 77 and that was that.
The opportunities to satellite into this tourney this year have decreased. There is a mega-sat tourney today that I might give a whirl. Failing that, I'll have a talk with Mr. Franklin from the bank and see where he is best placed.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Grand Sierra $1000 NL
Long time no post. Didn't think anyone was reading!
This is the first of the >$1000 tourneys at the Grand Sierra (formerly Reno Hilton) as part of the WPT World Poker Challenge. I've played the main event the past four years, and this year is reportedly the last they will play in Reno. I'd like to play the big tourney, but they also increased the buy in to $7700 (from $5150) making it more difficult to satellite in.
129 players, 6000 starting chips, 40 min levels
The blind structure kinda sucks- it goes up way too fast early on, forcing the players to accumulate or get short stacked. I have decided to play tight today, avoiding speculative hands most of the time, and definitely not making any plays until necessary.
Early on, I get AKdd in the BB and the pot is raised to 225 by MP and the button calls. I call. I flop just about as good as I can do with the 2-3-4 all diamonds showing up. I check. The raiser bets 300, the caller raises to 650, and I think it must be Christmas. Wow. Well, both players are interested, I have the nuts, and my hand can really only get worse (unless the 5d comes) I decide to raise to 1400, and the first player folds, but the button calls. Turn is a complete blank. Now what? Since I have both the Ace and King of diamonds, it would make a good story to this guy that I'm drawing at a flush. I convince myself that he flopped a set, and he really doesn't want another diamond to come off. Given this line, I figure that either a paired board or another diamond will kill my action, so I should bet again. I bet 2500. He tanks for about 5 minutes, and then folds the 5d 7d face up. Wow. How on earth did he get away from that?
Later I have 33 in the blind and flop a set, turn a boat and take a nice pot. By the first break I have 12000 chips. Nice.
I find an older guy to pick on. He's playing pretty weak-tight and I'm able to take him off a couple hands with reraises.
I get moved. I'm now in the 9 seat with Bryan Devonshire in the 7, Tom Franklin in the 8, and Tuna in the 1. Yuck. The table is way more aggro and its hard to find spots. Devo raises all the time. I chip up and down and eventually find myself in MP with 88. With blinds at 200-400/50 I make it 1100. The BB, who has a big stack, reraises to 3500 and I instapush for another 5200 or so. He tanks, and eventually calls with AK and I skate and double up.
I raise with A9o and have to dump to a reraise.
Blinds go up to 500-1000/100 and I have only 12000 chips. There are 38 players left, paying 18, and I must make a move. Fold all my junk, and when Devo pushes from the button and I see AK I call. He has A8, and I find that he barely covers me when he flops an 8 and my day is done. Tomorrow is a $1500....
This is the first of the >$1000 tourneys at the Grand Sierra (formerly Reno Hilton) as part of the WPT World Poker Challenge. I've played the main event the past four years, and this year is reportedly the last they will play in Reno. I'd like to play the big tourney, but they also increased the buy in to $7700 (from $5150) making it more difficult to satellite in.
129 players, 6000 starting chips, 40 min levels
The blind structure kinda sucks- it goes up way too fast early on, forcing the players to accumulate or get short stacked. I have decided to play tight today, avoiding speculative hands most of the time, and definitely not making any plays until necessary.
Early on, I get AKdd in the BB and the pot is raised to 225 by MP and the button calls. I call. I flop just about as good as I can do with the 2-3-4 all diamonds showing up. I check. The raiser bets 300, the caller raises to 650, and I think it must be Christmas. Wow. Well, both players are interested, I have the nuts, and my hand can really only get worse (unless the 5d comes) I decide to raise to 1400, and the first player folds, but the button calls. Turn is a complete blank. Now what? Since I have both the Ace and King of diamonds, it would make a good story to this guy that I'm drawing at a flush. I convince myself that he flopped a set, and he really doesn't want another diamond to come off. Given this line, I figure that either a paired board or another diamond will kill my action, so I should bet again. I bet 2500. He tanks for about 5 minutes, and then folds the 5d 7d face up. Wow. How on earth did he get away from that?
Later I have 33 in the blind and flop a set, turn a boat and take a nice pot. By the first break I have 12000 chips. Nice.
I find an older guy to pick on. He's playing pretty weak-tight and I'm able to take him off a couple hands with reraises.
I get moved. I'm now in the 9 seat with Bryan Devonshire in the 7, Tom Franklin in the 8, and Tuna in the 1. Yuck. The table is way more aggro and its hard to find spots. Devo raises all the time. I chip up and down and eventually find myself in MP with 88. With blinds at 200-400/50 I make it 1100. The BB, who has a big stack, reraises to 3500 and I instapush for another 5200 or so. He tanks, and eventually calls with AK and I skate and double up.
I raise with A9o and have to dump to a reraise.
Blinds go up to 500-1000/100 and I have only 12000 chips. There are 38 players left, paying 18, and I must make a move. Fold all my junk, and when Devo pushes from the button and I see AK I call. He has A8, and I find that he barely covers me when he flops an 8 and my day is done. Tomorrow is a $1500....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)