It continues to amaze me how similar my annual Vegas trip has become. I look forward to it for weeks. Get so stoked. Then I put up with days of dreams getting crushed, money being lost, and overall misery. Why do I do this?
Today was no different. Just like the last, oh, 3-4 years, after failure at the WSOP I go to the seemingly softer fields at the Venetian. Today I guess I run better. I chip up some and find myself in position on a raised 7-5-2d flop with AKdd. Young internet guy leads smallish, I shove, he calls with QQ and I catch an Ace. Woot. Today's my day.
I bust Kevin Saul when I raise KK 3x and he overshoves with AK. Nice.
I witness a super sick hand where a guy calls a raise oop with 53s. Board goes Q-9-5-4-9 and the oop player calls 3 barrels of increasing size from the raiser. Bottom pair is good vs the bluffer's JT.
After dinner I get moved to this fantastic table where I can 3bet and 4bet often and its juicy. Unfortunately it doesn't last and the next table is internet- scandi row, many of them with huge stacks. My stack remains around average the whole time--which was somewhere between 50 and 60 big blinds. I find some good spots and generally chip up.
Another maniac I meet gets in a raising war with a solid player. They make it 4 or 5 bets preflop and see 4-4-5. More money goes in on the flop and all of it gets in on the 5 on the turn. Good player has KK, maniac somehow got to the flop with A4. Amazing.
The eventual villain of this story has been running in god-mode. Early on he found himself 5-betting one of the internet kids and his QT binked vs AK. He gets AKs vs super tight girl's AKs and flushes her. So obviously his rungood is on. I find myself one of the shorter stacks at my table. There are about 50 players left, 40 minutes left in the night. We are at 800-1600/200. I have about 85-90,000 chips-- villain has a mountain. He's been splashy.
So I find 22 in LP and raise to 4000. He 3bets from the BB to 11k. I ponder and call. I'm gonna flop a set and double through this guy. Then I'll have a big ole stack when it comes time to abuse the impending bubble. Fun fun fun. Here's the flop- 3 in the door- next card is an Ace and BAM there's the prettiest deuce I've ever seen. OK, sure, he could have 45 but I doubt it. Let's figure out how to get this in. He bets, I raise, he calls. Turn: Ace. OK. A-2-3-A. Well it looks like he has an ace in his hand. So this is pretty awesome. He checks. Cool. I bet a bunch. I have to bet a bunch so that I can ship the right amount on the river. He might fold though. Oh well, its a big pot already. He calls. Hmmm. Well shit, maybe he's got the sneaky A2 that knocked me out yesterday. Or A3?? He could have 33 I suppose also. These would all be a big drag. AK seems the most likely culprit, but now I'm starting to wonder what he's thinks I have. Sure looks like my hand is faceup. I went a-mining and struck something. A 4 rolls off on the river and this changes nothing. If a King or Queen popped up I'd be scared. He checks. Ugh. Now the sirens start to go off. I even thought to myself as he 3bet me "Do I really want to play a hand with this guy who is running so good?" Well I did and here I am. So I can check behind and leave myself a playable 20 bb stack, or I can ship it which was my plan all along. Stick with the plan. Ship. Snapcall. Two red Aces. omg. I am not a happy camper. Again.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
$5k shorthanded
I think I will continue to play this one, despite the questionable EV. I mean, it makes way more sense economically to play 3 1500's or similar. But man oh man, I do get a rush playing this. 6 handed you are playing every hand-- basically you are EP one hand per orbit. Every other hand you are either HJ, CO, BTN or the blinds. So much action so many options.
My table draw was pretty good-- I didn't recognize any of the other five players which is somewhat remarkable given the field. My runbad at draws did have the most aggro guy at the table on my left. Kinda funny guy also. He raised and reraised very often the first 20 minutes or so. Each time, as he dropped the chips on the felt he said "I raise" with this somewhat hard to place mid-eastern?? accent. The guy in seat one got a bit tired of him and asked him where he was from. He answered, clear as day, "New York."
I don't play very many big pots. Trying to play small ball and chip up. I get JJ in position and 3bet and this friendly asian guy in seat 6 calls. Blinds were 50-100 and he made is 200 to go to start things off. Hmmm. Flop comes T-6-5 or something like that. The guy then barrells all three streets, with a rather large bet on the river. I did consider just folding on the flop, but wtf, how do we manage to do that with an overpair in this tourney? After he throws like 3500 out on the river I tank. He tells me "you have to call, you have pocket Jacks." Wat? sigh. I fold. Says he had set of tens. Could be.
I call a 3bet oop against aggro guy with 66. Flop comes 3 diamonds with the Ace. No more diamonds come and flop and turn are checked. He bets 75% of the pot on the river and I soulread him as FOS and call. Nope, he has A9o sigh.
I get short. I get tight. This goofball in seat 4 has 3bet shoved on me a couple times and I've folded. I pick up TT, he does it with A2 and we double. Ship it.
I get to see a family pot and 5 see the AJ4 flop when Im holding 44. Goofball bets 1200 , shortish guy in 5 calls and I have about 6000 behind. I shove. Goof folds, shortie tanks. It would be most of his chips. Sure looks like he has an ace. I feel like my hand is face up. And maybe it is cause he tanks a bit and finds a fold. Still, good hand.
After the second break goof raises to 500, asian calls and I call in the BB with K5s. Let the butchering begin! Flop comes K-J-2. The flop gets checked. First mistake. Turn is a 4. I'm pretty sure my King is good. I know it is. He bets out 1300. Blech. I just wanted to get to showdown. I call. Second mistake. River is another deuce. I like it. Takes my shitty kicker out of play. I beat all the Jacks. I lose to AK, KQ and KJ, but it just doesn't seem like that. I don't think villain has a King. Nope he doesn't. Set of 4's?? unlikely. I hate the fact that I got to this spot. Why the eff am I playing K5 in the BB anyway? Blech. Well, I have about 5500 left. Next mistake- I decide that bet/fold is betting than check/call. So I throw out some redic bet of 1675 or so. Villain tanks a bit, then shoves. Wtf? So much fail here. Ugh. Well, now I tank. Of course, calling off your tournament really sucks ass, especially in a spot just like this. Chopping this pot now seems highly likely-- villain would certainly make this move to try to get the whole pot if he thought he was going to chop. Think Steve. You lose to the big Kings. You chop most of the rest of them. You beat all the Jacks. You beat his air of course, which is always a part of range. The pot is laying me over 2-1. I need chips. I have under 20 BB's if I fold. I can work with that. But its no fun. Sick Hero calls are fun. Aren't they? All the vibrations tell me my King is good. Kings and deuces with a Jack. Yeah, ship that pot! I CALL!! and he tables Ace-Deuce! omg brutal. gg me. I'm an idiot.
My table draw was pretty good-- I didn't recognize any of the other five players which is somewhat remarkable given the field. My runbad at draws did have the most aggro guy at the table on my left. Kinda funny guy also. He raised and reraised very often the first 20 minutes or so. Each time, as he dropped the chips on the felt he said "I raise" with this somewhat hard to place mid-eastern?? accent. The guy in seat one got a bit tired of him and asked him where he was from. He answered, clear as day, "New York."
I don't play very many big pots. Trying to play small ball and chip up. I get JJ in position and 3bet and this friendly asian guy in seat 6 calls. Blinds were 50-100 and he made is 200 to go to start things off. Hmmm. Flop comes T-6-5 or something like that. The guy then barrells all three streets, with a rather large bet on the river. I did consider just folding on the flop, but wtf, how do we manage to do that with an overpair in this tourney? After he throws like 3500 out on the river I tank. He tells me "you have to call, you have pocket Jacks." Wat? sigh. I fold. Says he had set of tens. Could be.
I call a 3bet oop against aggro guy with 66. Flop comes 3 diamonds with the Ace. No more diamonds come and flop and turn are checked. He bets 75% of the pot on the river and I soulread him as FOS and call. Nope, he has A9o sigh.
I get short. I get tight. This goofball in seat 4 has 3bet shoved on me a couple times and I've folded. I pick up TT, he does it with A2 and we double. Ship it.
I get to see a family pot and 5 see the AJ4 flop when Im holding 44. Goofball bets 1200 , shortish guy in 5 calls and I have about 6000 behind. I shove. Goof folds, shortie tanks. It would be most of his chips. Sure looks like he has an ace. I feel like my hand is face up. And maybe it is cause he tanks a bit and finds a fold. Still, good hand.
After the second break goof raises to 500, asian calls and I call in the BB with K5s. Let the butchering begin! Flop comes K-J-2. The flop gets checked. First mistake. Turn is a 4. I'm pretty sure my King is good. I know it is. He bets out 1300. Blech. I just wanted to get to showdown. I call. Second mistake. River is another deuce. I like it. Takes my shitty kicker out of play. I beat all the Jacks. I lose to AK, KQ and KJ, but it just doesn't seem like that. I don't think villain has a King. Nope he doesn't. Set of 4's?? unlikely. I hate the fact that I got to this spot. Why the eff am I playing K5 in the BB anyway? Blech. Well, I have about 5500 left. Next mistake- I decide that bet/fold is betting than check/call. So I throw out some redic bet of 1675 or so. Villain tanks a bit, then shoves. Wtf? So much fail here. Ugh. Well, now I tank. Of course, calling off your tournament really sucks ass, especially in a spot just like this. Chopping this pot now seems highly likely-- villain would certainly make this move to try to get the whole pot if he thought he was going to chop. Think Steve. You lose to the big Kings. You chop most of the rest of them. You beat all the Jacks. You beat his air of course, which is always a part of range. The pot is laying me over 2-1. I need chips. I have under 20 BB's if I fold. I can work with that. But its no fun. Sick Hero calls are fun. Aren't they? All the vibrations tell me my King is good. Kings and deuces with a Jack. Yeah, ship that pot! I CALL!! and he tables Ace-Deuce! omg brutal. gg me. I'm an idiot.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Same thing, different day
$1500 NL event at the WSOP.
Good table for the most part. Nothing particularly exciting happens. I play a pot with a mad dog Italian (different one from yesterday) where my AT beats his KT on a Q-T-6-x-x board. Chip up here and there from 4500 starting to maybe 6k at one point. 3rd level, 50-100 I call a 250 open with 45cc. 5 see the flop including mad dog in BB who does this little hitch before he calls--like he was planning some bankjob steal. Flop K-5-4 rainbow. Checked to me- I fire 900. BB makes it 3100 and I'm sure he has little. I shove and he shows 67 for the OESD. Ah. Bout time for a stack! Turn and River are both 7's though and gg me. Argh.
Good table for the most part. Nothing particularly exciting happens. I play a pot with a mad dog Italian (different one from yesterday) where my AT beats his KT on a Q-T-6-x-x board. Chip up here and there from 4500 starting to maybe 6k at one point. 3rd level, 50-100 I call a 250 open with 45cc. 5 see the flop including mad dog in BB who does this little hitch before he calls--like he was planning some bankjob steal. Flop K-5-4 rainbow. Checked to me- I fire 900. BB makes it 3100 and I'm sure he has little. I shove and he shows 67 for the OESD. Ah. Bout time for a stack! Turn and River are both 7's though and gg me. Argh.
2011 WSOP
Long time no post!!
So II'm getting a late start this year. My first bracelet event is the $2500 NL. 7500 starting chips, 1 hours levels. My table is quite competent. The player to my left is a scrawny Italian kid who has this very annoying habit of raising my BB when he's UTG. In fact, he does this every time. He raises other times all over the place. One time, he opens UTG and gets called. Hand goes to showdown and this villain tables the mighty 42s for trip twos. I'm sure the whole table appreciated the call.
Not too much happens. Some small pots, a few hands that I call raises in position that don't work out as planned. I get to about 9000 chips when I play a hand with the Italian Job. I has AQo and he calls my raise. 3 babies goes check-check. Turn is small also and I throw out a 3/4 pot size bet that gets called. Meh. River Q. That should be good. I bet 3/4 pot again, he calls and is disgusted.
Later in the first level I pick up red 77 utg and make it 150. 5 callers, including Little Italy. Sometimes Italy handles his cards in such a way that a catch a brief flash when he looks at them. This was one of those hands, and i spotted a "mid-diamond" something between the 6 and 9. Flop: Jh 9h 7s Wee haaa we has flopped a set. We lead, villain raises. Well, he can't have a flush draw. He could have pocket 9's, but not pocket Jacks. He could also have an 8 for the gutter. I think I'm good. If for some reason I'm not, then this board will just have to pair. It will, right? I mean this is the time for the poker gods to show themselves. Pair the board, Hero gets a nice stack, and douche villain hits the rail. He will be gone! No more douchey guy who raises UTG everytime I'm in the BB. I 3 bet, he four bet shoves and we call. He flips over the 8d Th for the flopped straight. Booo poker gods. Now pair the board. It doesn't happen, I lose half my stack, and throw gasoline on the Italian fire.
I manage to get some life when I goof off raising with 35o. I get 3 callers. Flop comes A-4-T, 2 diamonds. Checked around. I start the mantra in my head deuce deuce deuce deuce deuce deuce bam!!!! DEUCE. Its a diamond though, completing the flush draw. I bet, girl raises I shove. She calls. Now I think I'm toast because a baby flush is well in her range. Nope- She shows A4 for two pair and I get back to where I started.
I play a hand badly with KJ when I flop top pair and have to fold to significant pressure on the flop and turn. There just isn't enough room in these things to lose several BB's when the average stack is in the 20-30 BB range. I drop down to 2800 or so at 75-150 and find A9s folded to me in the SB. Well, just as the sun comes up each morning, if I limp here the Italian Big Blind is going to raise. Every time. And A9s crushes this guys range X 1 mirron. He raises to 475, I snap shove, he snap calls with KJo. gg me.
Head to the Venetian and play a few hours of 5-10 NL cash. It goes pretty well. People like to fake it in this game, figuring out when they are doing so is profitable. I grind upwards and feel confident, but at the same time I find myself playing too many hands and start dwindling down my profit. My bluffs get picked off as much as the other guy, and i end up ahead a couple hundred bucks for too long of a session.
Later I end up at the Rio and try a $1030 satellite with a $500 last longer. I win a couple hands, then lose a bunch of chips when I 3bet with QQ preflop to find myself out of position and facing an Ace on the flop. Blech. bad spot. Check-check. Turn small and I bet and get called. RIver completes a flush and doesn't help me. I check-fold. gross.
I raise with KQs and flop comes 8TJ Aggro guy utg bets and I call. The rest fold. So I may have 14 outs here, maybe not. Another card of my suit on the turn and I'm going all the way. But its the 6c and villain bets 2k, which is close to the pot and also more than half my stack. Gross spot. I think a lot of folks would shove here--you have to win these satty's so aggression pays off. I give up.
Then a guy opens standard and I look down at KK. I 3 bet, leaving about half my stack. He ponders and calls. Flop is JT8, not the best flop for my hand but its all going in anyway. As happens every single time I come to Vegas for the WSOP, villain tables Aces. No help and I'm busto.
Tomorrow is the $1500 NL. Should play very fast with only 4500 starting chips. gogogogogo!
So II'm getting a late start this year. My first bracelet event is the $2500 NL. 7500 starting chips, 1 hours levels. My table is quite competent. The player to my left is a scrawny Italian kid who has this very annoying habit of raising my BB when he's UTG. In fact, he does this every time. He raises other times all over the place. One time, he opens UTG and gets called. Hand goes to showdown and this villain tables the mighty 42s for trip twos. I'm sure the whole table appreciated the call.
Not too much happens. Some small pots, a few hands that I call raises in position that don't work out as planned. I get to about 9000 chips when I play a hand with the Italian Job. I has AQo and he calls my raise. 3 babies goes check-check. Turn is small also and I throw out a 3/4 pot size bet that gets called. Meh. River Q. That should be good. I bet 3/4 pot again, he calls and is disgusted.
Later in the first level I pick up red 77 utg and make it 150. 5 callers, including Little Italy. Sometimes Italy handles his cards in such a way that a catch a brief flash when he looks at them. This was one of those hands, and i spotted a "mid-diamond" something between the 6 and 9. Flop: Jh 9h 7s Wee haaa we has flopped a set. We lead, villain raises. Well, he can't have a flush draw. He could have pocket 9's, but not pocket Jacks. He could also have an 8 for the gutter. I think I'm good. If for some reason I'm not, then this board will just have to pair. It will, right? I mean this is the time for the poker gods to show themselves. Pair the board, Hero gets a nice stack, and douche villain hits the rail. He will be gone! No more douchey guy who raises UTG everytime I'm in the BB. I 3 bet, he four bet shoves and we call. He flips over the 8d Th for the flopped straight. Booo poker gods. Now pair the board. It doesn't happen, I lose half my stack, and throw gasoline on the Italian fire.
I manage to get some life when I goof off raising with 35o. I get 3 callers. Flop comes A-4-T, 2 diamonds. Checked around. I start the mantra in my head deuce deuce deuce deuce deuce deuce bam!!!! DEUCE. Its a diamond though, completing the flush draw. I bet, girl raises I shove. She calls. Now I think I'm toast because a baby flush is well in her range. Nope- She shows A4 for two pair and I get back to where I started.
I play a hand badly with KJ when I flop top pair and have to fold to significant pressure on the flop and turn. There just isn't enough room in these things to lose several BB's when the average stack is in the 20-30 BB range. I drop down to 2800 or so at 75-150 and find A9s folded to me in the SB. Well, just as the sun comes up each morning, if I limp here the Italian Big Blind is going to raise. Every time. And A9s crushes this guys range X 1 mirron. He raises to 475, I snap shove, he snap calls with KJo. gg me.
Head to the Venetian and play a few hours of 5-10 NL cash. It goes pretty well. People like to fake it in this game, figuring out when they are doing so is profitable. I grind upwards and feel confident, but at the same time I find myself playing too many hands and start dwindling down my profit. My bluffs get picked off as much as the other guy, and i end up ahead a couple hundred bucks for too long of a session.
Later I end up at the Rio and try a $1030 satellite with a $500 last longer. I win a couple hands, then lose a bunch of chips when I 3bet with QQ preflop to find myself out of position and facing an Ace on the flop. Blech. bad spot. Check-check. Turn small and I bet and get called. RIver completes a flush and doesn't help me. I check-fold. gross.
I raise with KQs and flop comes 8TJ Aggro guy utg bets and I call. The rest fold. So I may have 14 outs here, maybe not. Another card of my suit on the turn and I'm going all the way. But its the 6c and villain bets 2k, which is close to the pot and also more than half my stack. Gross spot. I think a lot of folks would shove here--you have to win these satty's so aggression pays off. I give up.
Then a guy opens standard and I look down at KK. I 3 bet, leaving about half my stack. He ponders and calls. Flop is JT8, not the best flop for my hand but its all going in anyway. As happens every single time I come to Vegas for the WSOP, villain tables Aces. No help and I'm busto.
Tomorrow is the $1500 NL. Should play very fast with only 4500 starting chips. gogogogogo!
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