Las Vegas – The happiest place on earth
It was Thursday morning and I got up at 9AM, just itching for the flight to Vegas. It was going to be me, Paul, the Slayer, and one of Paul’s friends from college. I got to the airport via the AirTrain (god’s gift to airport travel) and the security checkin was surprisingly light even though my plane was completely full. This was March Madness weekend as well as St. Patrick’s day weekend so the trip was sure to have some fun to it. I got onto the flight without a problem, thanking my own foresight of getting the exit row, stretched out and promptly fell asleep. I woke up 3 hours later and read a book the rest of the way. Not a bad flight, but my heart was pumping with excitement as we headed down to McArran airport. I could see the lights of the city below me was we touched down, spotting the famous Luxor pyramid and the Stratosphere Tower, where I would be staying.
As I shuffled off the airplane, I made my way to the tram to take me to the baggage carousel. I’m constantly amazed at how many people go through the Vegas airport and how efficiently everything runs. JFK sucks balls in comparison. I got my bag without a problem, got onto a bus to take me to the Avis Car rental center, and climbed into my Chrysler PT Cruiser, ready for the trip to finally start already.
As I drove from the airport to the top of the strip where the Stratosphere is, I encountered some heavy traffic. I decided to play the smart New Yorker and get off to take a side road, but that road led to a parking lot of a hotel! Welcome to Vegas! Everything here is parking lots, BUT they’re all connected! You can, in many cases, drive through three or four hotels’ parking lots before being dumped back out onto a main road, which is what I did. Finally, the traffic broke up towards the North End of the strip and I got to the hotel. I immediately checked in, dropped off my bags and went downstairs to the casino floor. I called Paul, who had already arrived a few hours ago and cashed in a 1PM tourney to boot! We met up in the poker room at the Stratosphere and played for a few hours. It was a relaxing experience for me after the long flight. The Stratosphere poker room is small, only 6 or 7 tables, but it’s comfortable and the players aren’t all that good. I made a couple of bucks before heading out to dinner with Paul and his college friend Shira. We at the The Top of the World, which is a revolving restaurant at the top of the tower. The views are magnificent and the food was excellent too, if a bit pricey. It was worth it, however, and the meal was a great start to the day. We headed back to the poker room afterwards where I cleaned up nicely in 1-2 NL, getting paid off well on my value bets. By 1AM, the time difference was getting to me. Matt was supposed to have come in already, but his plane was delayed so I left his key with the hotel concierge and headed to be. No sooner had my head hit the pillow than Matt walked through the door at 2AM. I stayed up a little longer, getting him acclimated before we finally went to sleep.
In the morning, we were up at 10:00AM, and we were out the door at 11:00 to go have breakfast at the Peppermill, which is the famous diner featured in the movie ‘Swingers’. The breakfast was excellent, although they’re very liberal with the use of butter out there. I dropped Paul and Shira off at O’Sheas where Paul had heard you could get a free T-Shirt just for playing poker in their one outdoor table. Matt and I drove off to Blue Diamond Road to hit the Las Vegas Gun Range and Rental Center. We had talked about this before the trip; this is the range where you can rent automatic machine guns for firing. Matt pulled out his Tom-Tom GPS navigator and we got to the range with no problems at all. The shop is a little tiny place about 4miles outside the strip with the words, “FROM PRACTICAL TO TACTICAL” written on the outside in 4 foot high letters. Inside, however, is a gun lovers dream. Every make and model you can imagine of machine guns, handguns, rifles, shotguns and even military grade sniper rifles were there on display and every item was for sale. The .50cal Barret sniper rifle, a live round of which Matt bought for $5 as a souveneir, went for $11,500. The salesman told us that the rifle fires supersonic speed rounds which are so fast that even if they miss within 6 inches, the concussive force has enough power to knock you unconscious and sheer the flesh off your skull. Clearly, we were in the right place!
Matt was like a pig in shit as we perused our rental options. There were multiple packages available and Matt didn’t hesitate to choose the most expensive one, “The Big Shot”. For a mere $400, you get to choose 5 different machine guns, 3 different hand guns and an automatic shotgun to fire. The package includes targets and 2 full clips of ammo for each gun. We chose the MP5, the M3, the UZI, the Tommy Sub Machine gun (like Al Capone used), the M16, a .45 ACP handgun with silencer, a .44 Magnum (Dirty Harry!), a .50cal Desert Eagle and the aforementioned shotgun. My personal favorite was the UZI because of it’s high rate of fire and it’s ease of handling. The recoil was almost non existent and I felt a great deal of satisfaction putting a small and tight grouping in the center of the target with it. The auto-shotgun was insanely powerful but it left us both with sore shoulders for the rest of the week from the kickback! The most intense experience was the .44 magnum and the Desert Eagle handguns. Powerful is not the word for these things! When I fired them for the first time, ever so tentatively, I nearly dropped the damn thing!! At the end of the shooting time, we reserved the Desert Eagle for a contest between Matt and I. 3 shots at a distance of 10 yards. The winner would get $20 and bragging rights. Matt was first up. His first shot was up near the neck area of the target. The next was just outside the target and the last was about dead center. My turn. I first the first just outside the center and then two right down the middle. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
After 2 hours of firing automatic rifles, the testosterone was flowing heavily and we cruised back onto the strip looking for some poker action. We stopped into the MGM Grand, the United State’s largest hotel (http://hotels.about.com/cs/uniqueunusual/a/largesthotels_2.htm), to check out the live poker action. Inside the hotel are live lions, which we saw as we made the enormously long trek to the poker room. When we got there, a full 40 tables were in swing and we didn’t have to wait long for a table. But the room was cruel and Matt and I did poorly. We left a few hours later to try our hand in Excalibur, across the street. The Excalibur room is smaller and noisier, but the competition is not as good. That didn’t help us though as we both got felted. We ended up eating at the steakhouse in Excalibur where I DIDN’T get the Prime Rib I wanted, but had an excellent Porterhouse instead. Sated and full, we were about to end this manly day with a trip to a strip club, but my throat was starting to bother me. We headed back to the Stratosphere instead, where the poker room chewed me up. A bad day for poker but a great day otherwise!
Saturday, I woke up early and had a fantastic breakfast burrito with Paul and Shira. Afterwards, we spent a couple of hours playing limit in the hotel and having some fun. That night, we were going to be having dinner downtown at the 4 Queens hotel, so we made our way over there to play at Binions in the meantime. It was St. Patrick’s day and Fremont Street was in rare form. There were thousands of drunk couples, staggering around with a definite college fraternity vibe in the air. Drinks were being sold out on the street in plastic footballs, and people were throwing them around, with the drinks still inside! The four of us met up with Jodi, Paul’s cousin who lives in Vegas and Norit, Paul’s college roomate’s younger sister, whom he has known since she was 8. It was her 30th birthday, coincidentally, and she chose to celebrate it with us. Dinner at the 4 Queens was great. I had veal medallions in a creamy mustard sauce. Norit, who is a strict vegan, had to console herself with salad. Norit is quite cute and Matt was smitten, providing most of the entertainment as the Uber Meat Eating Republican, tried to get the attention of the anti-meat PETA member Norit. Sparks flew and tensions rose as they argued over who was at the top of the food chain, but a round of dirty jokes eased the tension. In the midst of all this, a nice nugget came out. Norit, leaned over to Paul and said, “Pooh, pass the salt please”. Pooh? Had I heard that right? Questions were asked and answered and it turns out that an old bright orange Florida Gator sweatshirt had engendered the nickname of Pooh for Paul and it had stuck with Norit. Giggles were the order of the day.
After dinner, we played some more at Binions and then, at 3AM, tried to hit the Rio for a very late night session. But when we got there, the room only had two tables going and they were full. Oh well, off to bed we went.
Sunday was more reservered. We got up late and cruised some of the hotels, playing at Bellagio, Venetian and Mirage. The Venetian, by far, has the best poker room I’ve ever been in. The ceilings are 30 feet high, the tables are spaced out so there is more than 6 feet between each one, the seats are luxurious and the cocktail waitresses are smoooking hot! It was a perfect experience. Sunday dinner consisted of a table side meal for me and we played well into the night, ending our session at the Mirage at 5AM. We got back to the Stratosphere are played Pai-Gow for another hour, not able to fully let our Vegas experience come to an end. But come to an end it must and we got up the next day intent on making our travel as painless as possible.
We drove together to the airport, Paul, Matt and I and got on our separate planes. Sigh…. Vegas, you are my secret lover and I will be back to rape, or be raped by, you again.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The criminal element rears its ugly head
I went out with John last night to Good Look AND Salami, mostly as a test to myself to see if I was feeling up to it. I have to say that I acquitted myself fairly well. I feel awful this morning, of course, but that’s a different story.
Good Look was first and I donked off $45 in the first three hands. I came into the game under the gun with 99 and I limped in. I had to call a preflop raise to $12 but the flop missed me. Next hand was A9 in the BB and again the flop missed. Then came AK in the small blind. I even raised this time, but to no avail. Things floated along until I had Ah9h in late-ish position, which I raised aggressively to $15 when everyone limped. A loose, aggressive player on the button called me. The flop missed me totally, with Q83 rainbow. I didn’t hesitate and fired out another $25. He called. The turn was a 4, which made 2 clubs on the board. I slowed down and checked and he bet $20. It was suspicious and I should have moved all in there, but I just called it. The river was 9c, making me the second best pair on the board. There were three clubs on the board but I wasn’t worried about that at all. If he had had a Queen, I was confident he would have raised me earlier. I moved all in for my remaining $40 and he insta-called with JT for the inside straight! He had called all my bets all the way down and he hit his stinking 2 outer for the straight. Oh well. I reloaded for $200 and went back to work.
An hour later, after getting mostly nothing, I got AA in middle position. After a few limps, I raised to $10, hoping to knock a few people out, but nearly everyone called. The flop was Jd/8d/Jh. A scary board. My loose aggressive opponent from last hand checked and the big blind bet $15. I figured him for the 8 and when it folded around to me I called. The dealer nearly turned the next card but Mr. Loose and Aggressive said “Wait a second, I’m still in!”. He check-raised in the small blind another $50. The initial bettor folded, confirming my instinct he had the 8. It was possible this guy was slowplaying trip Jacks, but his previous betting patterns suggested he had either a big draw (I guessed diamonds) or a big 8 (A8 or K8). I had weakly called the $15 so either hand from him and a big bet was liable to knock me out. I had a choice here. Fold or all in. I thought about for at least 60 seconds and finally decided to trust my read on his patterns. I went all in. He called the remaining $50 or so and didn’t turn over his cards. This made me feel better since I knew he was on a draw now. The turn was a King and the river was an Ace. He shouted, “Ship it! I’ve got a straight”, but he never showed it. I flipped over my Aces for the second nuts, Aces full of Jacks. He mucked and stormed off to rebuy. That pot put me up about $45 for my session. It was the last time I would see profit tonight.
John and I left at around 10PM with John up $150 or so and me about even. We hopped a cab to Salami, where the 5/10 game was going in full swing. Our names went up on the board for the 1-2 table, we ordered 2 plates of pasta from Ricardo and we settled into our familiar surroundings. It was only 10 minutes before 2 seats opened up. John and I bought in and started scouting the table. Dominick was there, along with Elias and some aggressive guy named Brice who was playing table captain. I sat tight for a while and couldn’t make anything happen until I got JT in middle position. John raised it up pre-flop and I called along with a few others. Flop was 893. I had flopped the open ended straight draw with two over cards and I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I checked and another caller bet out. John made a big re-raise and I called, knowing that if the other guy folded I would be able to check it down with John. If he *did* call, I would be getting the right pot odds for my draw. He did make the call and the turn was a 9. All my money went in at that point and the river was a T. I have some hope that my top pair would take it, but John had KK and scooped the pot. I didn’t feel too badly about that one. The next big hand was when I had AK and flopped A33. All of my money, plus two other players went in and the turn and river brought blanks. The initial raiser turned AQ, I turned AK and the other guy had Qs5s but had rivered his flush. Grrrr…. There was $600 in that pot and I needed that money. I reloaded yet again but walked away even on that rebuy when we left.
The best hand of the night was when John had QQ and popped it to $20 pre-flop. He got raised, re-raised and raised again to $500 by the time action came back to him. Looking at 3 raises in front of his QQ, John WISELY laid down his hand. All three players went all in with big stacks and showed. JJ, AK and KQ (huh?). The Queens would have held up, as it turns out, and Brice scooped a $2000 pot! John kicked himself, but I hope he is content with what is a good laydown in the long run.
About 20 minutes before we were going to leave, a scary incident occurred. A new guy walked in the door and 3 minutes later was nearly in a fist fight with a guy at the 5-10 table. He and the guy at the table evidently owed each other money. How much and who owed who was the dispute but the numbers being yelled were in the neighborhood of 10-15 thousand. I’m not a thug or anything, but I’m street smart enough to know that that kind of money gets people killed sometimes. So when the guy at the table stood up, and his pants promptly fell down around his feet, it added a moment of levity to an otherwise scary situation. But the guy simply pulled his pants up and continuted shouting. Elias got in the middle and broke them up but the guy at the table, who kept calling the other guy a cocksucker (he was the bookie in this relationship), said he was going to come back in 15 minutes and ‘settle this’. In gangster code, that means he was going to come back with a gun and kill the other guy, and maybe me too! John and I looked at each other and the message was clear. Let’s get the fuck out of here! True to our nature though, we played for another 30 minutes before leaving. Maybe not the best decision in hindsight, but my adrenalin is still pumping this morning!
Good Look was first and I donked off $45 in the first three hands. I came into the game under the gun with 99 and I limped in. I had to call a preflop raise to $12 but the flop missed me. Next hand was A9 in the BB and again the flop missed. Then came AK in the small blind. I even raised this time, but to no avail. Things floated along until I had Ah9h in late-ish position, which I raised aggressively to $15 when everyone limped. A loose, aggressive player on the button called me. The flop missed me totally, with Q83 rainbow. I didn’t hesitate and fired out another $25. He called. The turn was a 4, which made 2 clubs on the board. I slowed down and checked and he bet $20. It was suspicious and I should have moved all in there, but I just called it. The river was 9c, making me the second best pair on the board. There were three clubs on the board but I wasn’t worried about that at all. If he had had a Queen, I was confident he would have raised me earlier. I moved all in for my remaining $40 and he insta-called with JT for the inside straight! He had called all my bets all the way down and he hit his stinking 2 outer for the straight. Oh well. I reloaded for $200 and went back to work.
An hour later, after getting mostly nothing, I got AA in middle position. After a few limps, I raised to $10, hoping to knock a few people out, but nearly everyone called. The flop was Jd/8d/Jh. A scary board. My loose aggressive opponent from last hand checked and the big blind bet $15. I figured him for the 8 and when it folded around to me I called. The dealer nearly turned the next card but Mr. Loose and Aggressive said “Wait a second, I’m still in!”. He check-raised in the small blind another $50. The initial bettor folded, confirming my instinct he had the 8. It was possible this guy was slowplaying trip Jacks, but his previous betting patterns suggested he had either a big draw (I guessed diamonds) or a big 8 (A8 or K8). I had weakly called the $15 so either hand from him and a big bet was liable to knock me out. I had a choice here. Fold or all in. I thought about for at least 60 seconds and finally decided to trust my read on his patterns. I went all in. He called the remaining $50 or so and didn’t turn over his cards. This made me feel better since I knew he was on a draw now. The turn was a King and the river was an Ace. He shouted, “Ship it! I’ve got a straight”, but he never showed it. I flipped over my Aces for the second nuts, Aces full of Jacks. He mucked and stormed off to rebuy. That pot put me up about $45 for my session. It was the last time I would see profit tonight.
John and I left at around 10PM with John up $150 or so and me about even. We hopped a cab to Salami, where the 5/10 game was going in full swing. Our names went up on the board for the 1-2 table, we ordered 2 plates of pasta from Ricardo and we settled into our familiar surroundings. It was only 10 minutes before 2 seats opened up. John and I bought in and started scouting the table. Dominick was there, along with Elias and some aggressive guy named Brice who was playing table captain. I sat tight for a while and couldn’t make anything happen until I got JT in middle position. John raised it up pre-flop and I called along with a few others. Flop was 893. I had flopped the open ended straight draw with two over cards and I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I checked and another caller bet out. John made a big re-raise and I called, knowing that if the other guy folded I would be able to check it down with John. If he *did* call, I would be getting the right pot odds for my draw. He did make the call and the turn was a 9. All my money went in at that point and the river was a T. I have some hope that my top pair would take it, but John had KK and scooped the pot. I didn’t feel too badly about that one. The next big hand was when I had AK and flopped A33. All of my money, plus two other players went in and the turn and river brought blanks. The initial raiser turned AQ, I turned AK and the other guy had Qs5s but had rivered his flush. Grrrr…. There was $600 in that pot and I needed that money. I reloaded yet again but walked away even on that rebuy when we left.
The best hand of the night was when John had QQ and popped it to $20 pre-flop. He got raised, re-raised and raised again to $500 by the time action came back to him. Looking at 3 raises in front of his QQ, John WISELY laid down his hand. All three players went all in with big stacks and showed. JJ, AK and KQ (huh?). The Queens would have held up, as it turns out, and Brice scooped a $2000 pot! John kicked himself, but I hope he is content with what is a good laydown in the long run.
About 20 minutes before we were going to leave, a scary incident occurred. A new guy walked in the door and 3 minutes later was nearly in a fist fight with a guy at the 5-10 table. He and the guy at the table evidently owed each other money. How much and who owed who was the dispute but the numbers being yelled were in the neighborhood of 10-15 thousand. I’m not a thug or anything, but I’m street smart enough to know that that kind of money gets people killed sometimes. So when the guy at the table stood up, and his pants promptly fell down around his feet, it added a moment of levity to an otherwise scary situation. But the guy simply pulled his pants up and continuted shouting. Elias got in the middle and broke them up but the guy at the table, who kept calling the other guy a cocksucker (he was the bookie in this relationship), said he was going to come back in 15 minutes and ‘settle this’. In gangster code, that means he was going to come back with a gun and kill the other guy, and maybe me too! John and I looked at each other and the message was clear. Let’s get the fuck out of here! True to our nature though, we played for another 30 minutes before leaving. Maybe not the best decision in hindsight, but my adrenalin is still pumping this morning!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Can you really lose if you haven't even been dealt a hand?
I got back from Florida last week and I was excited. Why? Because Karol, from the Crackhouse game in Brooklyn, had told me there was going to be a big happening in Atlantic City that she was going to along with some other poker bloggers from the East Coast. In addition, she turned me on to a great way to get a cheap room on a tough weekend….EBAY! The Fairfield Resorts is a timeshare hotel next to the Taj and owners often sell their weekends on Ebay. With Karol’s help, I was able to land a full weekend for only $301. That’s an excellent price for a suite with a balcony.
I was all excited to go when tragedy struck me. Even though I had been sick all President’s day weekend 2 weeks before, I woke up Friday with a sore throat and by 1:30 PM I was too sick to even stay at work. I went home and got under the covers hoping I’d be good enough to at least take a bus later on. No such luck. I woke up at 7:30AM the next morning thinking I might still make a weekend out of it. But when I stood up, the familiar weakness hit my legs and I was dizzy. Back into bed I go. I juiced up with O.J. and popped Vitamin C but to no avail. Saturday Night came and went and I had to pass on multiple poker opportunties. Meanwhile, my non-refundable hotel room languished and my $301 was a complete loss. I didn't make it down on Sunday either, figuring that I shouldn't take the chance with my Vegas trip just around the corner this week.
And that’s how you lose $301 at poker without being dealt a hand.
I was all excited to go when tragedy struck me. Even though I had been sick all President’s day weekend 2 weeks before, I woke up Friday with a sore throat and by 1:30 PM I was too sick to even stay at work. I went home and got under the covers hoping I’d be good enough to at least take a bus later on. No such luck. I woke up at 7:30AM the next morning thinking I might still make a weekend out of it. But when I stood up, the familiar weakness hit my legs and I was dizzy. Back into bed I go. I juiced up with O.J. and popped Vitamin C but to no avail. Saturday Night came and went and I had to pass on multiple poker opportunties. Meanwhile, my non-refundable hotel room languished and my $301 was a complete loss. I didn't make it down on Sunday either, figuring that I shouldn't take the chance with my Vegas trip just around the corner this week.
And that’s how you lose $301 at poker without being dealt a hand.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Florida vacation - poker recap
I’m down in Florida this week visiting my parents, and of course I’m playing tons of poker. The game is a little different down here, but there’s not much choice seeing as how that’s all that’s available. The only Hold’Em games offered in South Florida are No Limit tournaments (both multi-table and sit n’ go’s) and limit game of 1-2, 2-2 or 2-2 with a $2 ante. The low limit games are nicknamed ‘Bingo’ by the locals because it’s impossible to get anybody out of the pot. The game makes for a relaxing past-time because you can’t win or lose much and you get to play a lot of pots. I like to use the opportunity to hone my poker skills by trying to read players and their hands as much as possible. In the past 6 days, I’ve played about 17 hours of poker and I’m up about $240, which is pretty decent, but that’s a single hand at Salami. Still, I’m having fun and improving my play. The best part about the game is that since everyone predictably stays in for their draws, usually correctly, it’s easy to know when your hand is good. AND, the donkey players down here will call you down, or even raise you, when it’s obvious to any skilled player that they’re beat. Case in point, I have Jc5c in late position and I limp along with about 9 other players. The flop brings two clubs and someone bets out. I raise with my high club draw and everyone calls. The turn is a club. Here’s where it gets fun. The same person bets out and I raise, making it obvious I have the flush since I’m not scared of the third club. I even tell people I have it since I don’t want a 4th club to come and kill my hand. EVERYONE calls anyway! There is now a monster pot. The river is a blank but it puts a straight on the board for anyone who has a 6. An old woman who has been limping the whole way LEADS OUT THE BETTING!!! I raise, everyone else folds and she re-raises. Normally I’d put her on a slow-played nut flush but I’ve seen her do this on other hands when she has bottom pair or low two pair. So I raise, she re-raises and I cap it. She calls and shows the 6 for the straight. I almost, emphasis on the almost, feel sorry raking in her money. Another example, I have AA under the gun and raise. Everyone calls, of course, and I get an A on the flop. I bet, everyone calls and another A comes on the turn. I bet out, most people call and the river is insignificant to me. I bet out and everyone calls. The best hand is Aces and Kings with an 8 kicker. My quads crushes them of course. There wasn’t even a flush draw on board. Why are they calling with two Aces on board into a raiser?!?
Anyhow, I didn’t play a tournament all weekend until tonight. The tourney is a $65 buyin with a $5 addon to give you and extra 500 chips. You get $2500 total with the $5 and the blinds are 20 minutes long and start at 25/50, so it’s a good schedule. I play super tight and double up in the first blind level when my QQ survives against AK. In fact, I only play 7 hands in the first 90 minutes and win every one. Unfortunately, only two are for big pots and I’m not exactly swimming in chips. At the first break, I have about 6000 in chips and the average stack is 8500 with 85 players left out of an initial 185. Oh, I forgot to mention one other notable thing. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s mother is playing at my table. The Mizrachi’s come from Hollywood, Florida (Look it up!) and the dealer knew her so her identity is unquestioned. She was a super nice woman and we asked her about her sons (they’re doing great!). She was also the second chip leader at the table and she was aggressive with her big hands. She had one tell though, where she would turn around to see what the big blind was and then bet exactly three times that amount. I knew she only had top pair with a weak kicker when she did that but I never had enough to call her with. Finally my patience paid off. I got TT in middle position. Mrs. Mizrachi, with blinds at 300/600, makes it 3000 to go under the gun. She comments that she had meant to make it 2000 (there’s that 3X the BB again!) and I had to make a decision. I only had 4900 and I was going to hit the blinds in a few hands. I figured it was now or never. If she has me dominated so be it, otherwise it’s going to be a race. I move all in and she calls with AK. Ok, it’s a race. She says, “nice hand”, but I haven’t won yet, of course. Someone comments that they folded a King but I’m waiting to see the flop. The flop is a dream. QQT, rainbow. I flopped a boat! I pump my fist and wait to see the last two cards but I have no fear. The turn is an Ace, but I’m still not frightened. Until the river comes, that is. It’s a Queen! Ouch. She counterfeits my boat with runner, runner and makes Queens full of Aces to my Queens full of Tens. She is very gracious about it and the table groans at the bad beat. Just to give you an idea of how bad, Card Player’s odds calculator gives me a 98.08% chance to win after the flop. Yeesh. I wasn’t upset though. I had played as good as I could and just got a bad break. I went to the cash tables and won back by tournament buyin plus $6. Woohoo!
So I’m up a bit for the week and I had a good time. What more can I want?
Anyhow, I didn’t play a tournament all weekend until tonight. The tourney is a $65 buyin with a $5 addon to give you and extra 500 chips. You get $2500 total with the $5 and the blinds are 20 minutes long and start at 25/50, so it’s a good schedule. I play super tight and double up in the first blind level when my QQ survives against AK. In fact, I only play 7 hands in the first 90 minutes and win every one. Unfortunately, only two are for big pots and I’m not exactly swimming in chips. At the first break, I have about 6000 in chips and the average stack is 8500 with 85 players left out of an initial 185. Oh, I forgot to mention one other notable thing. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi’s mother is playing at my table. The Mizrachi’s come from Hollywood, Florida (Look it up!) and the dealer knew her so her identity is unquestioned. She was a super nice woman and we asked her about her sons (they’re doing great!). She was also the second chip leader at the table and she was aggressive with her big hands. She had one tell though, where she would turn around to see what the big blind was and then bet exactly three times that amount. I knew she only had top pair with a weak kicker when she did that but I never had enough to call her with. Finally my patience paid off. I got TT in middle position. Mrs. Mizrachi, with blinds at 300/600, makes it 3000 to go under the gun. She comments that she had meant to make it 2000 (there’s that 3X the BB again!) and I had to make a decision. I only had 4900 and I was going to hit the blinds in a few hands. I figured it was now or never. If she has me dominated so be it, otherwise it’s going to be a race. I move all in and she calls with AK. Ok, it’s a race. She says, “nice hand”, but I haven’t won yet, of course. Someone comments that they folded a King but I’m waiting to see the flop. The flop is a dream. QQT, rainbow. I flopped a boat! I pump my fist and wait to see the last two cards but I have no fear. The turn is an Ace, but I’m still not frightened. Until the river comes, that is. It’s a Queen! Ouch. She counterfeits my boat with runner, runner and makes Queens full of Aces to my Queens full of Tens. She is very gracious about it and the table groans at the bad beat. Just to give you an idea of how bad, Card Player’s odds calculator gives me a 98.08% chance to win after the flop. Yeesh. I wasn’t upset though. I had played as good as I could and just got a bad break. I went to the cash tables and won back by tournament buyin plus $6. Woohoo!
So I’m up a bit for the week and I had a good time. What more can I want?
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Win streak is now up to 6
That's right boys and girls. Your old friend Jamie has now had 6 winning poker sessions in a row after an enormously crappy 5 or 6 weeks. I placed first in a League tourney this past Tuesday after a run of very good cards and some very good luck. Then I went to Salami the next day and managed to drag a $145 profit after losing at the tourney and making $205 at the cash table. The big boys were playing a 5/10 NL game while I got paid off on a number of good hands in a great 75 minute run. How long can this crazy train last? I don't know but I'm focused and happy right about now; a good combination. In all actuality, I think a lot of it has to do with a good sleep schedule I've instituted. I got a reading lamp for my bedroom now which allows me the option of retiring early with a book, which is a much better option than hanging out on the couch.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
3 wins in a row?!?
I sat with John at the Good Look club Tuesday night and was very sad to see him get slaughtered. In his defense, he was almost always ahead when he got all his money in. With the AA vs. QQ, all the money went in pre-flop. The Q came on the flop (not the turn, sorry John). Not that it matters. Some idiot in the corner says, "With all the money in the pot, you had to call with QQ". John rightly pointed out that the guy was getting 1 to 1 on his money (almost all the money came from John and his opponent) on a 4 to 1 draw! That was bad. The other hand, the cracked Broadway straight, was against a guy who flopped a set of Kings. The guy had bumped it up to $15 pre-flop and got a few callers, John included. John had QT. Flop was As Kd Qs. There was some action after the flop, but not a lot. John hung in with his bottom pair and gutshot. The turn was the Js. John moved all in with his Broadway, though the flush draw on board couldn't have looked pretty. The KK called and hit a Jack on the river for the boat. It wasn't pretty.
I finished slightly up ($75 off a $200 buyin) but the odd thing about last night is that I didn't show down a single hand. Every pot I took was as a result of a raise that wasn't called. I had KK twice, AA once and pocket 8's. All won decent pots for me. Three hands in particular stand out in my mind.
I'm in the cutoff with AA. There have been regular pre-flop raises and UTG+1 raises to $6, which is pretty weak. A bunch of callers around to me and I limp, hoping the guy to my left, who has been active, will rebump. He does, to $30 and everyone folds around to me. I re-raise $45 more and he inst-folds, saying he had AT, which sounds about right for a button steal. I play off that I had pocket 5's and made a read on him. I'm not sure if he buys it or not.
Hand 2. I have KK in middle position and make it 15 to go when it gets to me. Amazingly enough, I get 5 callers. Nice pot so far. Flop is 2h 5s 9h. I have the Kh, but there's enough in the pot that I don't want to play around anymore. It checks to me, I bet 45 and everyone folds.
Hand 3. My favorite hand of the night. I have pocket 8's in early position and make it 10 to go. I figure I'll juice the pot in case I hit. 5 players call. The flop is Qc 2c 6d. I make a continuation bet of 20. One guy calls. He might have a Queen or a flush draw or maybe he is reading me on AK and he hit the 6. The turn is 5h. I check. He also checks. I see this as a huge sign of weakness but I don't act on it when the river brings a Tc. The club scares me a bit. He carves out 30 and pushes it in. I go back over the hand. He could have the clubs but the way he checked the turn is bothering me. I put him on the 6 and it's starting to make more and more sense to me. I call and he shows 86o. My 8's are good and I take a nice pot off a nice read. I've played with this guy before (he looks a little like John Juanda) and he's prone to making moves so that gave me more ammunition for the call.
I finished slightly up ($75 off a $200 buyin) but the odd thing about last night is that I didn't show down a single hand. Every pot I took was as a result of a raise that wasn't called. I had KK twice, AA once and pocket 8's. All won decent pots for me. Three hands in particular stand out in my mind.
I'm in the cutoff with AA. There have been regular pre-flop raises and UTG+1 raises to $6, which is pretty weak. A bunch of callers around to me and I limp, hoping the guy to my left, who has been active, will rebump. He does, to $30 and everyone folds around to me. I re-raise $45 more and he inst-folds, saying he had AT, which sounds about right for a button steal. I play off that I had pocket 5's and made a read on him. I'm not sure if he buys it or not.
Hand 2. I have KK in middle position and make it 15 to go when it gets to me. Amazingly enough, I get 5 callers. Nice pot so far. Flop is 2h 5s 9h. I have the Kh, but there's enough in the pot that I don't want to play around anymore. It checks to me, I bet 45 and everyone folds.
Hand 3. My favorite hand of the night. I have pocket 8's in early position and make it 10 to go. I figure I'll juice the pot in case I hit. 5 players call. The flop is Qc 2c 6d. I make a continuation bet of 20. One guy calls. He might have a Queen or a flush draw or maybe he is reading me on AK and he hit the 6. The turn is 5h. I check. He also checks. I see this as a huge sign of weakness but I don't act on it when the river brings a Tc. The club scares me a bit. He carves out 30 and pushes it in. I go back over the hand. He could have the clubs but the way he checked the turn is bothering me. I put him on the 6 and it's starting to make more and more sense to me. I call and he shows 86o. My 8's are good and I take a nice pot off a nice read. I've played with this guy before (he looks a little like John Juanda) and he's prone to making moves so that gave me more ammunition for the call.
Big win at the Good Look club. The losing streak is officially dead. Long live the wins!
Big win last night at the Good Look club. I went for the 2000K freeroll and managed to talk John into coming with me. The event was memorable. As I sat down, with Paul at the same table as me, a guy in the 5th seat was trying to convince everybody to move all-in on the first hand blind pre-flop! There were some hold-outs, but in the end everyone agreed. I figured “what the hell?”. I hadn’t paid anything to be in this and if I lost I could just move to a cash table. So everyone pushed all in and the cards were all turned face up. I was leading pre-flop with pocket 7’s but the flop was J42 and the guy in the 5th seat, who had suggested all this madness, was in the lead with J2 for two pair! It stood up and he was instantly up to 10,000 in chips. I declined to rebuy, figuring that putting in money into a freeroll with a guy who outchipped me 10 to 1 in the first blind level was ludicrous.
Instead, I sat down with $200 in a cash game and doubled up in 10 minutes! I was on the button with KK when a new player, who had sat down 2 hands ago, made it 15 to go. Another player called and I popped it to $40. The new player stacked his chips up in a neat pile and moved it all to the center. He had about $200 total and I slightly outchipped him. I insta-called and flipped my KK. He frowned and flipped AK. The case King came on the turn and he was drawing dead. Sweet! He ran off to the ATM to reload and came back, this time sitting to my left (ha!). The table was relatively aggressive with one woman in particular making a nice stack for herself by re-raising pre-flop and taking down lots of $50 pots. Finally she tussled with a chunky Asian guy who had been doing a little bullying. They both raised pre-flop and he finally called her. The flop came A54. She bet and he raised to $75. She called. The turn was a 2. She checked and he bet $100 (‘a hundo’). She called. The river was a 9. She checked, he went all in and she called. I figured one of them for two pair and the other for a set but he flipped up AT for top pair with a ten kicker and she mucked! I was astounded that she put nearly $300 in the pot and couldn’t beat one pair! She seemed a little perturbed but played it off nicely. This figured into the next hand when I was in the small blind with K6o. Everyone limped around so I called the $1 extra to see a flop. The flop was K62, giving me top two pair. I bet out $16, hoping for a re-raise, and she took the bait, raising to $40. I called. The turn was a rag and I led out with $100. She had $110 behind her and she called. I put her all in for the additional $10 before the river came out. She called of course and was upset to see my flopped two pair. My thought is that she thought I had a weak King and she outkicked me. She thought I was a weak player because a few hands earlier we had 3 hands in a row where I had QQ, JJ and 22. I had reaised preflop with each one and made a continuation bet on each flop. She had re-raised me out of each one and I lost $100 in that cycle, but I impressed an image on her. That image led her to call down what was obviously a losing hand, in my opinion. So me and the chunky guy felted her in 2 hands to the tune of $500+. Valentine’s day, indeed!
I was up to $542 at this point and it was nearly 10 PM, so I decided to call it quits and go home. John, playing the 2-5 table and donking off money, convinced me to go to Salami with him just to have some food. But when we got there, he sat at the table and ran through some more money. Someone tell this guy to slow down! I had a great plate of pasta though. Ricardo is a genius!
Instead, I sat down with $200 in a cash game and doubled up in 10 minutes! I was on the button with KK when a new player, who had sat down 2 hands ago, made it 15 to go. Another player called and I popped it to $40. The new player stacked his chips up in a neat pile and moved it all to the center. He had about $200 total and I slightly outchipped him. I insta-called and flipped my KK. He frowned and flipped AK. The case King came on the turn and he was drawing dead. Sweet! He ran off to the ATM to reload and came back, this time sitting to my left (ha!). The table was relatively aggressive with one woman in particular making a nice stack for herself by re-raising pre-flop and taking down lots of $50 pots. Finally she tussled with a chunky Asian guy who had been doing a little bullying. They both raised pre-flop and he finally called her. The flop came A54. She bet and he raised to $75. She called. The turn was a 2. She checked and he bet $100 (‘a hundo’). She called. The river was a 9. She checked, he went all in and she called. I figured one of them for two pair and the other for a set but he flipped up AT for top pair with a ten kicker and she mucked! I was astounded that she put nearly $300 in the pot and couldn’t beat one pair! She seemed a little perturbed but played it off nicely. This figured into the next hand when I was in the small blind with K6o. Everyone limped around so I called the $1 extra to see a flop. The flop was K62, giving me top two pair. I bet out $16, hoping for a re-raise, and she took the bait, raising to $40. I called. The turn was a rag and I led out with $100. She had $110 behind her and she called. I put her all in for the additional $10 before the river came out. She called of course and was upset to see my flopped two pair. My thought is that she thought I had a weak King and she outkicked me. She thought I was a weak player because a few hands earlier we had 3 hands in a row where I had QQ, JJ and 22. I had reaised preflop with each one and made a continuation bet on each flop. She had re-raised me out of each one and I lost $100 in that cycle, but I impressed an image on her. That image led her to call down what was obviously a losing hand, in my opinion. So me and the chunky guy felted her in 2 hands to the tune of $500+. Valentine’s day, indeed!
I was up to $542 at this point and it was nearly 10 PM, so I decided to call it quits and go home. John, playing the 2-5 table and donking off money, convinced me to go to Salami with him just to have some food. But when we got there, he sat at the table and ran through some more money. Someone tell this guy to slow down! I had a great plate of pasta though. Ricardo is a genius!
Monday, February 12, 2007
The light is visible at the end of the tunnel! Give me an Amen!
I think things are starting to look up for me. At the cash game on Friday, I got felted in the first hand. Ok, this isn’t the best way to start a comeback, but at least I was able to recover. I had KK on the very first hand dealt in late position. Blinds were .50/1. Paul raised to 2, Wendy reraised to 5 and Matt bumped it to 20! With 28.50 already in the pot, I had to either take it down there or put it all in with the possibility of being up against Aces. To tell the truth, I wasn’t terribly worried about Matt. I decided to put my entire stack of $100 in. Paul folded, Wendy folded (JJ) and Matt tried to get a read on me. He went through the likely possibilities before settling on AK and called with 99! Being in the middle of my crappy streak, I had no doubt a 9 would flop, and it did. What else can I do? I went to the side to stew for a bit before buying back in. I ran my $100 up to 177.50 before the game broke up, so I got most of it back. This was the start of my comeback.
After the game, an impromptu trip to Salami netted another $106 for me. I couldn’t believe my eyes but I actually booked a win! The next night, I was invited to the famous ‘Crackhouse’ game run by the bloggers at www.ihadouts.blogspot.com. They were a really good group of people who run a 2 table tournament out in Brooklyn. With 12 participants, I had to rebuy but eventually went on to chop 50/50 when it got to heads up! I netted another $133. It was the first time in a long while that I’ve seen back to back wins and I’m getting my confidence back. Does this mean a trip down to AC for President’s day weekend? It’s starting to look like it…
After the game, an impromptu trip to Salami netted another $106 for me. I couldn’t believe my eyes but I actually booked a win! The next night, I was invited to the famous ‘Crackhouse’ game run by the bloggers at www.ihadouts.blogspot.com. They were a really good group of people who run a 2 table tournament out in Brooklyn. With 12 participants, I had to rebuy but eventually went on to chop 50/50 when it got to heads up! I netted another $133. It was the first time in a long while that I’ve seen back to back wins and I’m getting my confidence back. Does this mean a trip down to AC for President’s day weekend? It’s starting to look like it…
Friday, February 2, 2007
The pain continues...
The Wall Street Poker crew was out in force last night at the Good Look club. Myself, Dustin, Andy, Matt, Wendy and Paul all made the trip. When I arrived at 8:15, there were 70 players and I was ushered to a seat in the middle of the room. Matt, Paul and Wendy were sitting at one table together and Dustin was at another one with Andy arriving later.
I had awful position at my table, with the biggest and most aggressive stacks directly on my left. I got good reads on them, but couldn’t make a move for the most part. Because of my awful luck in the recent past, I came into the night with the notion that I would play super tight. It worked for the first 30 minutes and I went up around 70 dollars. It would be the last time of the night I was up. I lost a few hands on the turn and then gave away 40 dollars with J9 when a 9 high board flopped and I bet and got a big re-raise put on me. I folded and he showed pocket Jacks. Then I got felted in one hand. I had KhJh in the small blind and I was able to limp in with it. There were a few other callers and there might have been a small pre-flop raise too. The flop came down Jc-9s-7s. I checked, intending to re-raise big when it came around to me. A limper in the corner made it 15 to go and I re-raised to 55. An aggressive player on my left commented, “And THAT’S why I didn’t bet”, which only increased the table image of my hand. The original bettor hesitated but called my bet. The turn was a 6s. Crap, the third spade. He just called my big reraise so it was natural for me to put him on the spade draw. I checked and then he checked! Now my instinct was to put him on a King with a possible spade in his hand. KQ, maybe, or even KJ. I didn’t give him AK because he didn’t raise preflop like he had been doing previously with big hands. The river was 7c. The board was now Jc-9s-7s-6s-7c. I couldn’t imagine the river helping him at all and his check on the turn indicated huge weakness. I moved all in for 78 dollars and he paused. For about 30 seconds, he thought about it and then finally called, showing 99(!). He had the boat and he didn’t know whether to call?!?! The table, and even his friends, were stunned. For my part, I can’t believe he didn’t bet on the turn considering I might have picked up a flush draw myself. It was weird, but I didn’t feel bad about losing that hand since I was beat from the get go. The next big hand, though, really got to me.
I called for another 200 in chips and waited around until I was in the big blind again. This time, I got dealt AQo and limped again. The flop was AQ8 rainbow. Perfect for me. I checked in the big blind and one player came in for 15. I smooth called my monster and a 7 came on the turn. I checked again and he bet out 30. I came over the top to put his short stack all in and he insta-called for another 40 dollars. He turned over A8 for a flopped two pair which was worse than mine. I am 95% to win here but fate has been ultra-cruel to me lately and an 8 came on the river. He dragged the pot and I felt raped.
A few hands later, I get 5c6c and see a cheap flop of 8c-Jc-2s. There are checks all around and I get to see a free turn, which is the 7s. I now have the OESD and the flush draw. The guy who sucked out with A8 bets out 23 and I see my chance to suck out on HIM. I call and the river is a blank, of course.
I’m down to my last $50 when I get AK. I get a raiser and I move all in, getting another all in and a caller in the process! My dumb luck… One of them turns over JJ and the other has QQ. At least I have a fighting chance, I think, when a King flops and stands up! I triple up, miraculously and then have to leave soon afterwards.
Curse you poker gods! I will have my revenge! Seriously, though, I am in dire straits at the poker table. I know all players have bad streaks but it was only God rubbing it in to me when I went to say goodbye to Paulie and Wendy who were still playing and witnessed Wendy flop quad 4’s and clean out a big stack who went all the way with KK!
I had awful position at my table, with the biggest and most aggressive stacks directly on my left. I got good reads on them, but couldn’t make a move for the most part. Because of my awful luck in the recent past, I came into the night with the notion that I would play super tight. It worked for the first 30 minutes and I went up around 70 dollars. It would be the last time of the night I was up. I lost a few hands on the turn and then gave away 40 dollars with J9 when a 9 high board flopped and I bet and got a big re-raise put on me. I folded and he showed pocket Jacks. Then I got felted in one hand. I had KhJh in the small blind and I was able to limp in with it. There were a few other callers and there might have been a small pre-flop raise too. The flop came down Jc-9s-7s. I checked, intending to re-raise big when it came around to me. A limper in the corner made it 15 to go and I re-raised to 55. An aggressive player on my left commented, “And THAT’S why I didn’t bet”, which only increased the table image of my hand. The original bettor hesitated but called my bet. The turn was a 6s. Crap, the third spade. He just called my big reraise so it was natural for me to put him on the spade draw. I checked and then he checked! Now my instinct was to put him on a King with a possible spade in his hand. KQ, maybe, or even KJ. I didn’t give him AK because he didn’t raise preflop like he had been doing previously with big hands. The river was 7c. The board was now Jc-9s-7s-6s-7c. I couldn’t imagine the river helping him at all and his check on the turn indicated huge weakness. I moved all in for 78 dollars and he paused. For about 30 seconds, he thought about it and then finally called, showing 99(!). He had the boat and he didn’t know whether to call?!?! The table, and even his friends, were stunned. For my part, I can’t believe he didn’t bet on the turn considering I might have picked up a flush draw myself. It was weird, but I didn’t feel bad about losing that hand since I was beat from the get go. The next big hand, though, really got to me.
I called for another 200 in chips and waited around until I was in the big blind again. This time, I got dealt AQo and limped again. The flop was AQ8 rainbow. Perfect for me. I checked in the big blind and one player came in for 15. I smooth called my monster and a 7 came on the turn. I checked again and he bet out 30. I came over the top to put his short stack all in and he insta-called for another 40 dollars. He turned over A8 for a flopped two pair which was worse than mine. I am 95% to win here but fate has been ultra-cruel to me lately and an 8 came on the river. He dragged the pot and I felt raped.
A few hands later, I get 5c6c and see a cheap flop of 8c-Jc-2s. There are checks all around and I get to see a free turn, which is the 7s. I now have the OESD and the flush draw. The guy who sucked out with A8 bets out 23 and I see my chance to suck out on HIM. I call and the river is a blank, of course.
I’m down to my last $50 when I get AK. I get a raiser and I move all in, getting another all in and a caller in the process! My dumb luck… One of them turns over JJ and the other has QQ. At least I have a fighting chance, I think, when a King flops and stands up! I triple up, miraculously and then have to leave soon afterwards.
Curse you poker gods! I will have my revenge! Seriously, though, I am in dire straits at the poker table. I know all players have bad streaks but it was only God rubbing it in to me when I went to say goodbye to Paulie and Wendy who were still playing and witnessed Wendy flop quad 4’s and clean out a big stack who went all the way with KK!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Good reads = Bad Results (the last month of God's Wrath)
Twice now, in the last three days, I've called an all in bet with seemingly weak cards and both times I've been ahead of my opponent. I won one and I lost one but in both situations I was greeted with shock from the table for calling with my seemingly weak hands. I can't quite understand it because both situations were good calls on my part. I didn't just 'get lucky' by being ahead. Both times, I calculated what the other person had to a fair degree of accuracy by reading the story they were telling with their betting patterns. This, I am convinced is a leading indicator of hand strength and should be paid close attention.
Both situations, which I will describe, had similar elements. I had position both times (on the button), both situtations started with weak raises or limps from my opponents, and both situations saw my opponent make all-in moves that were largish for the pots in question.
The first situation was a cash game. I was on the button with Jd5d (Jackson Five, or Motown). A few people limped in front of me for .50 and I limped as well. The SB raised to $2 and everyone called, including myself. There was about $10 in the pot when the flop came out 2-5-7 rainbow. It's hard to put the SB (the aggressor) on anything at this point but the $2 bet suggested Ace-King, Ace-Queen or King-Queen. My logic is that in the SB, the worst position on the table, a $2 bet is weak into a pot that already has $2.00 in it. The $1.50 raise only encourages everyone to call and if you're holding a monster, you'd want to narrow down the field. However, if you are drawing, the $2.00 bet is perfect because you would want to build the pot so if you do hit the flop, you now have a considerable amount of money in it. Therefore, I would have expected the SB to raise much larger than $1.50 with a monster AA, KK or KQ. So that is my thinking when the SB leads out the flop with a bet of $6.00 The bet is about a half-pot bet so I'm now reading this as a reasonable stab at the pot with a board that is seemingly random. Everyone folds except for the player in the 6th seat who flat calls. I decide that the 6th seat might also be drawing at this point and I want to see another card in position because I very well might be good. I call. There are now three players. The turn is a deuce. I can't think of a hand, other than pocket deuces(!), that anyone might have had to call the $6 turn bet with a deuce, so it doesn't scare me. As a matter of fact, it makes my hand better if I believe both players are on a draw! The SB then throws a wrench into the works by moving all in. There is about $28 in the pot and he moves all in for about $32. The 6th seat folds and it's to me. I slightly outchip him. I'm confused until I put all the pieces together. If he had a monster, he would more likely try to value bet it to get me or the 6th seat to call. We've been flat calling every bet so we're representing draws. An all-in bet tells me he doesn't want to see the river. He's trying to take it down right now. This jibes with my initial impression that he had two high cards to begin with. I call and he turns over pocket threes. I'm ahead and the river is a blank, giving me the pot.
The table was shocked that I had such a 'poor' hand against that kind of show of strength, but the pieces of the story fell into place. The ironic part of poker is that if my opponent had made a much smaller bet on the turn, say $12 or $13 dollars, I would have folded, thinking he had an over pair that he was trying to milk.
The second situation came in a tournament last night. I had A9o on the button and blinds were 50/100. I had suffered a suckout early on and only had about 1300 in chips. 4 people limped in front of me and I raised to 500 in an attempt to take down the pot right there. Everyone folded until it got to my opponent on my right. He called 400 more into a pot of 1050 (not unreasonable if he is drawing). Again, his limp gave me the impression he was drawing. If he had had a decent hand, he would have raised from the cutoff position. He can't depend on the button or the blinds to raise for him if he has a monster. His limp tells me he probably has two high cards. I read him for KQ since I can't imagine Ace-little calling in this position. I tell myself I am going all in if an Ace comes on the flop or a bunch of blanks and the flop comes down 3c-4h-4s. Beautiful. Yes, I'm dead if he has a pair but I still have overcards to draw to. He takes away my decision by moving all in. Once again, and for the same reasons, I read this move as being too strong. Without his raise pre-flop to indicate a monster against so many more players to act behind him, the all in represents an attempt to take down the pot with a marginal hand. I call and he show Ah5h. He has an inside straight draw and a runner runner flush or straight draw. Since the board is paired up, we have a good possibility of splitting this pot but, in all, I am only 30% to lose here. The turn is a 6 and the river is a 7 and he makes his runner runner straight to take it down and put me out.
I'm convinced I played this one correctly but the table was shocked, going so far as to berate me for my decision (A9, that's it?!?). But the story made sense to me.
Now it's possible that someone with AA or KK might one day limp in late position with 4 or 5 callers in front of him, but that person is inviting a huge amount of trouble. So I will continue to make these reads (and get my ass handed to me on suckouts).
I've had a really bad run of luck at the tournament tables lately, but aside from two silly calls I made vs. John in the past month, I can't point to a place where I've made a wrong move. It's mostly been suckouts or runs of cards I can't play (I curse your name Paint-Middle!). I am comfortable in the knowledge that all players go through cold streaks but it's hard when you see other players amass huge stacks by sucking out three times in a row on the ass end of 80/20 draws and you get your hard-earned reads cracked by runner runner. If there is a God, he surely hates me.
Both situations, which I will describe, had similar elements. I had position both times (on the button), both situtations started with weak raises or limps from my opponents, and both situations saw my opponent make all-in moves that were largish for the pots in question.
The first situation was a cash game. I was on the button with Jd5d (Jackson Five, or Motown). A few people limped in front of me for .50 and I limped as well. The SB raised to $2 and everyone called, including myself. There was about $10 in the pot when the flop came out 2-5-7 rainbow. It's hard to put the SB (the aggressor) on anything at this point but the $2 bet suggested Ace-King, Ace-Queen or King-Queen. My logic is that in the SB, the worst position on the table, a $2 bet is weak into a pot that already has $2.00 in it. The $1.50 raise only encourages everyone to call and if you're holding a monster, you'd want to narrow down the field. However, if you are drawing, the $2.00 bet is perfect because you would want to build the pot so if you do hit the flop, you now have a considerable amount of money in it. Therefore, I would have expected the SB to raise much larger than $1.50 with a monster AA, KK or KQ. So that is my thinking when the SB leads out the flop with a bet of $6.00 The bet is about a half-pot bet so I'm now reading this as a reasonable stab at the pot with a board that is seemingly random. Everyone folds except for the player in the 6th seat who flat calls. I decide that the 6th seat might also be drawing at this point and I want to see another card in position because I very well might be good. I call. There are now three players. The turn is a deuce. I can't think of a hand, other than pocket deuces(!), that anyone might have had to call the $6 turn bet with a deuce, so it doesn't scare me. As a matter of fact, it makes my hand better if I believe both players are on a draw! The SB then throws a wrench into the works by moving all in. There is about $28 in the pot and he moves all in for about $32. The 6th seat folds and it's to me. I slightly outchip him. I'm confused until I put all the pieces together. If he had a monster, he would more likely try to value bet it to get me or the 6th seat to call. We've been flat calling every bet so we're representing draws. An all-in bet tells me he doesn't want to see the river. He's trying to take it down right now. This jibes with my initial impression that he had two high cards to begin with. I call and he turns over pocket threes. I'm ahead and the river is a blank, giving me the pot.
The table was shocked that I had such a 'poor' hand against that kind of show of strength, but the pieces of the story fell into place. The ironic part of poker is that if my opponent had made a much smaller bet on the turn, say $12 or $13 dollars, I would have folded, thinking he had an over pair that he was trying to milk.
The second situation came in a tournament last night. I had A9o on the button and blinds were 50/100. I had suffered a suckout early on and only had about 1300 in chips. 4 people limped in front of me and I raised to 500 in an attempt to take down the pot right there. Everyone folded until it got to my opponent on my right. He called 400 more into a pot of 1050 (not unreasonable if he is drawing). Again, his limp gave me the impression he was drawing. If he had had a decent hand, he would have raised from the cutoff position. He can't depend on the button or the blinds to raise for him if he has a monster. His limp tells me he probably has two high cards. I read him for KQ since I can't imagine Ace-little calling in this position. I tell myself I am going all in if an Ace comes on the flop or a bunch of blanks and the flop comes down 3c-4h-4s. Beautiful. Yes, I'm dead if he has a pair but I still have overcards to draw to. He takes away my decision by moving all in. Once again, and for the same reasons, I read this move as being too strong. Without his raise pre-flop to indicate a monster against so many more players to act behind him, the all in represents an attempt to take down the pot with a marginal hand. I call and he show Ah5h. He has an inside straight draw and a runner runner flush or straight draw. Since the board is paired up, we have a good possibility of splitting this pot but, in all, I am only 30% to lose here. The turn is a 6 and the river is a 7 and he makes his runner runner straight to take it down and put me out.
I'm convinced I played this one correctly but the table was shocked, going so far as to berate me for my decision (A9, that's it?!?). But the story made sense to me.
Now it's possible that someone with AA or KK might one day limp in late position with 4 or 5 callers in front of him, but that person is inviting a huge amount of trouble. So I will continue to make these reads (and get my ass handed to me on suckouts).
I've had a really bad run of luck at the tournament tables lately, but aside from two silly calls I made vs. John in the past month, I can't point to a place where I've made a wrong move. It's mostly been suckouts or runs of cards I can't play (I curse your name Paint-Middle!). I am comfortable in the knowledge that all players go through cold streaks but it's hard when you see other players amass huge stacks by sucking out three times in a row on the ass end of 80/20 draws and you get your hard-earned reads cracked by runner runner. If there is a God, he surely hates me.
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