No happy ending for those of you who want to skip to the end....
So I play the $200+$30 NL at the Hilton, eh, Grand Sierra again. 6000 starting chips. Here's a few hands:
Early on 25-50 I get QQ and raise, to be called by the BB. Flop J-9-4 and I must be good. He checks, I bet 2/3 pot. Turn is a little rainbow card and he check-calls 3/4 pot this time. River is another brick and he checks again. Now what? I tell myself he's got AJ or KJ and I must be good, but I ate a big bowl of "Nitties" for breakfast so I check behind. He tables JT and I steam a bit for not getting another 1200 out of him.
I get QThh in the CO and raise, the BB calls. Flop comes Kh-Qs-Jh. Wow. OK, count at home with me-
Ah/2h/3h/4h/5h/6h/7h/8h/9h/9d/9c/9s/Ts/Tc/Td/Qc/Qd/As/Ac/Ad
yep, 20 outs. Especially good to know when the BB check-raises me all-in with K6o. Turn 4c. River 9d and I'm a winna.
I move tables and my unfortunate tendency to raise at will causes my opponents to 3-bet me often. Since I don't have much in the way of cards, this blows.
Then I play a hand very badly. Like KK vs Aaron Kantor badly. I have T7hh in mid-position and limp after a couple limpers. The button has a monster stack and he comes along. Flop is T-9-9 with one heart. I bet when it gets to me and I'm headsup with the bigstack. Now here's the weird part. I'm thinking to myself "I need an 8-- an 8 would give me an OESD- that would be good" So the turn is another heart, giving me the flush draw as well as top pair. I check, button bets, I call. I have about 15K left at this point. He has a zillion chips. The river is the 8c. I check, he bets 2000. Now this is the part where I have to do a piss test or something. See, my brain is still on the turn. I'm still thinking "I need an 8 (or a heart" In fact, I'm pretty sure that I have a straight at this point. I snap-raise to 5K. He shoves. Holy crap. That was unexpected. F word. Well, my straight is hidden and might be good. Let me think about this. OK, whats the board? T-9-9-4-8. What's my hand again? T7. 7-8-9-T-- oh shit. Well kiss my gritz if I didn't just turn my hand into a bluff without even knowing it! I fold. Please to be taking 1/3 of my stack Mr. Don't-need-anymore-chips-from-me.
At one point my BB of 300 is raised by the CO to 1200. He has another 3500 behind, and I'm sitting with about 10-11K. I have ATs. So I ponder my options here. I could just push, or I could wait for the flop and then push. I tank awhile so he must know I have a hand. Its sort of strange, because I know all my chips are getting in the middle, but for the life of me I can't decide if it should be now or later. I call. Flop Q-T-5. Before I can act, the CO shoves. Dude, your stop-and-go is all backasswards here. So he pulls his stack back. Now I ask the dealer, just to make it clear, that if I shove he can still fold. She agrees. I say "OK, I'll give you another chance, I'm all in" Snap-call with the mighty Q4 off suit.
I drift below average. At 400-800 a short stack shoves for 2450. The Q4 guy calls. Another shorty goes all in. Action to me. I look down at AA. Got to get the rest of Q4's money in, so I make a neon-sign blasting raise to 5000. Q4 either can't see the danger, or is overcome with the pot odds and calls. Flop 6-2-2. Q4 shoves with 77. I snap and hold, knocking out the two shorties and putting Q4 on life support. Above average at this point.
After this I suppose the best description is that I failed to change gears. I went from 35K in chips down to 17,100 at the dinner break, with blinds at 800-1600/300. I did this not with any big hands, but by raising and then getting re-popped, or having my C-bets raised or just plain old playing shitty. With a low M after dinner I really just wanted a double up opportunity. There were 37 left, paying 18. We re-drew at 3 tables and one of the guys from the previous table who knows I'm somewhat maniacal is in the SB. I have him covered by 5500 chips. (How do I know this you ask? Silly rabbit...) At 1000-2000/400 its folded to me in the CO with AQo. I consider shoving, but I make it 6000. The SB shoves and there is really no way I can fold this spot so I call. He has 66 and turns a set and rivers a boat and I bust out 25th.
Playing the charity kidney jen harmon tourney on wednesday, the 3K on thursday, and I'm holding my decision on the 5K after that.
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