After I went and picked up Sean, we obviously wanted to play some poker. I hope to think that having him in town to talk poker with will help me greatly. We went to his favorite place to play, the Stratosphere, to play a few hours or so. Needless to say, it did not go as well as I hoped. I don’t even know how I lost all my money. I just kept looking down and having a lower and lower stack. I will say that I did not win ONE pot in the hour and a half of play there.
My stack got grinded down to $90 through a series of small pots. I limped with T9hh, flopped a Str draw called a flop bet, and folded to a turn bet when I missed. I called a couple of raises with smaller pairs and missed. I called a raise to $15 and 6 other callers with 97 suited and missed. The guy to my right was literally raising every pot towards the end of the session and he just started raising it blind and making large c-bets on the flop without even looking! I called a couple of his raises in position with hands like AT and JT and missed the flop and had to fold to his c-bets with multiple people in the pot behind me. I called a couple more of his raises with mid-hands (QT and KT) and had to fold to reraisers behind me. I just couldn’t get anything going right. I was down to $90 when the crushing blow came.
He put out $12 in the pot from the cutoff before the cards were even dealt (this apparently is legal, but its dead, he cant take the money back, and people can act any way they want to before him—absolutely bizarre). One person limped in EP and I called his raise with QTss. The blinds called and so did the EP limper. The flop came Q63 rainbow and it checked to him. He c-bet $40 and I knew I had whatever he had crushed so I went in for like $85 total, and the BB snap called my raise. He folded and the BB somehow showed up with KK there and I missed my 2 pair draw and lost my $200 without winning a single pot in the hour and a half. Again, I have no idea why I cant win at poker anymore. I will be playing the Venetian noon tournament tomorrow in preparation for the deep stack that starts on Thursday. GL to me for once.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Cash Game: MGM Grand March 30th 9 PM-11 PM
After my disaster at the Excalibur, I decided to take a cooling off period in which I walked up and down the strip for about 4 hours. I played some paigow and some blackjack just to keep my head level and try to take me off tilt (I won both obviously) and then I decided to go play at MGM for a while. I knew I could only play for a short amount of time because I had to pick up my friend from the airport but I decided I had to give it a shot.
I didn’t really have much happen to me during the first 30 mins or so. There was this really loose guy who tried to bluff/play every hand he played to the river. I was dying to play a pot against him. He raised UTG to $12 and I found AKo from MP. I decided to set a trap/play it slower and just call. The flop came out 922 and he bet out $20 and I was fairly certain that he would c-bet out in this hand no matter what the flop was and I was also fairly certain that I would still probably have the best hand. I called and the turn came another 9. Not the best card for me, putting 2 pair on the board. He bet out $35 and with the way he was playing, I had no idea what he could have but I knew it could be a bluff so given his range, I have to call here. I called and the river came a 7. He bet out $25, a little less than his turn bet, I called with A high, and he showed me 66. Sigh people play big pots with small pairs and I cant even capitalize on them. I was down to $100 or so after this hand.
Over the course of the next hour or so, I was able to work my stack up through a series of smaller pots. I raised with 66 and got 3 callers and bet a 997 flop and everyone folded. I raised with 47ss and got 2 callers and bet a T73 flop and everyone folded. I raised with 99, got a caller, bet a TT7 flop and he folded. I limped in MP with 53dd, flopped a flush draw, called a bet on the flop and raised a bet when I missed on the turn and he folded. I worked it up but was never able to hit the key flop in bigger, multiway raised pots with a smaller pair or a suited connector.
I left with $139, a net of -$61 for the session. Not only was this my 6th straight losing session, but this also marks the first time that I am an overall loser in cash games since I moved to Vegas. I don’t know what the leaks in my game are right now but I would like to remember how to win cash games again.
I didn’t really have much happen to me during the first 30 mins or so. There was this really loose guy who tried to bluff/play every hand he played to the river. I was dying to play a pot against him. He raised UTG to $12 and I found AKo from MP. I decided to set a trap/play it slower and just call. The flop came out 922 and he bet out $20 and I was fairly certain that he would c-bet out in this hand no matter what the flop was and I was also fairly certain that I would still probably have the best hand. I called and the turn came another 9. Not the best card for me, putting 2 pair on the board. He bet out $35 and with the way he was playing, I had no idea what he could have but I knew it could be a bluff so given his range, I have to call here. I called and the river came a 7. He bet out $25, a little less than his turn bet, I called with A high, and he showed me 66. Sigh people play big pots with small pairs and I cant even capitalize on them. I was down to $100 or so after this hand.
Over the course of the next hour or so, I was able to work my stack up through a series of smaller pots. I raised with 66 and got 3 callers and bet a 997 flop and everyone folded. I raised with 47ss and got 2 callers and bet a T73 flop and everyone folded. I raised with 99, got a caller, bet a TT7 flop and he folded. I limped in MP with 53dd, flopped a flush draw, called a bet on the flop and raised a bet when I missed on the turn and he folded. I worked it up but was never able to hit the key flop in bigger, multiway raised pots with a smaller pair or a suited connector.
I left with $139, a net of -$61 for the session. Not only was this my 6th straight losing session, but this also marks the first time that I am an overall loser in cash games since I moved to Vegas. I don’t know what the leaks in my game are right now but I would like to remember how to win cash games again.
Cash Game: Excalibur March 30th 4:15 PM-5 PM
First off, let me just say that I am never playing at the Excalibur again. I like the casino enough but the poker room is the stupidest thing ever. They had the new Pokertek electronic tables (I knew this going in and I just wanted to try it out) but the whole concept of it is just terrible. I really really didn’t like it a lot and will not be using the tables there again because of it. That is partially why this session was so short (and partially because a combination of the tables and a stupid hand put me on angry tilt). Honestly, the players here were probably some of the worst I have ever seen. It was just so hard to sit and wait and look at the machine.
The session started out fine. I was at $190 or so and I was able to pick up AA in a 4 way limped pot from the BB. I made it $10 to go and got one caller from a guy who obviously only had like $20 back. The flop came K high and I decided to slowplay and check to him. He checked behind and the turn came an A. I checked again and he checked. The river came a 4 and I bet $15, he moved in for $22 total and I called and he showed me 44 for a SOOO obvious set over set when he has no chips.
I was up to $220 and then the hand that extreme tilted me occurred. There was one limper to me on the button and I made it $10 with T8hh. The SB called and so did the original limper. The flop came 822 and it checked to me. I bet out $25 and got called by the SB. The SB only had $36 total on the flop so he only had $11 behind after this. The limper folded and the turn came a J. The SB went all in for his last $11 and I called and he showed AJo. God that just pissed me off because everyone at the table is playing so tightly I just was so frustrated that he called there. I was down to $170 or so after this hand and tilt got the better of me.
I found A2dd on the button in a multiway limped pot and limped behind. The flop came JdJx7d and it checked to me and I bet $5. One of the blinds raised to $25 with only $30 behind after this. I know he has a J there and if I don’t hit on the turn I have to call the river but instead of just putting him all in there or folding, I just called. The turn blanked, he went all in, I called and he showed me a J and I missed the river. I mean, I guess even when I am on tilt the stupidity of my plays is limited to calling with the nut flush draw so I guess it could have been worse. Anyway, after donking and not hitting that hand, I was really on tilt so I decided to leave with $119, for a net of being down $81 on the 45 minute session. Losing session #5 in a row.
The session started out fine. I was at $190 or so and I was able to pick up AA in a 4 way limped pot from the BB. I made it $10 to go and got one caller from a guy who obviously only had like $20 back. The flop came K high and I decided to slowplay and check to him. He checked behind and the turn came an A. I checked again and he checked. The river came a 4 and I bet $15, he moved in for $22 total and I called and he showed me 44 for a SOOO obvious set over set when he has no chips.
I was up to $220 and then the hand that extreme tilted me occurred. There was one limper to me on the button and I made it $10 with T8hh. The SB called and so did the original limper. The flop came 822 and it checked to me. I bet out $25 and got called by the SB. The SB only had $36 total on the flop so he only had $11 behind after this. The limper folded and the turn came a J. The SB went all in for his last $11 and I called and he showed AJo. God that just pissed me off because everyone at the table is playing so tightly I just was so frustrated that he called there. I was down to $170 or so after this hand and tilt got the better of me.
I found A2dd on the button in a multiway limped pot and limped behind. The flop came JdJx7d and it checked to me and I bet $5. One of the blinds raised to $25 with only $30 behind after this. I know he has a J there and if I don’t hit on the turn I have to call the river but instead of just putting him all in there or folding, I just called. The turn blanked, he went all in, I called and he showed me a J and I missed the river. I mean, I guess even when I am on tilt the stupidity of my plays is limited to calling with the nut flush draw so I guess it could have been worse. Anyway, after donking and not hitting that hand, I was really on tilt so I decided to leave with $119, for a net of being down $81 on the 45 minute session. Losing session #5 in a row.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Cash Game: Monte Carlo March 28th 11:15 PM-3:30 AM
I had had a long couple days previous to this of drinking and gambling in other ways (Im actually up more money gambling than I am in poker. . .maybe I should stick to that JK) with all of the Woodbury kids. Everyone I was with either went to bed or went to a club at this point in the night. They had called ahead and gotten us into a club for $300 a person previously and I chose not to pay this ridiculous amount of money so I decided to wait for them and sober up by playing some poker. I changed it up and decided to buy in for $190 this time, as I wanted to get rid of some $20s and $10s and didn’t have anymore after this amount so I just went with it.
Usually, people loosen up at the poker table after they have been drinking, I think that I was the opposite. I have to admit that the cards I were picking up were just awful to start off with. I didn’t win a pot for the first hour and a half of playing but I hardly played any poker. The first hand I won I raised with AQo UTG and the button and the SB called. The flop came AQ2 and the SB checked, I bet $20, the button folded and the SB called. The turn came a 2 and he checked and I checked. The river came an 8 and he checked, I bet $35 and he called and mucked when I showed. This pot got me to about $210 so that was nice to be up again. However, that didn’t last for long.
I found AA in the BB with 7 limpers and I made it $15. I got 3 callers and the flop came a harmless looking T52 rainbow. I bet $25 and the first caller raised it to $50. I wasn’t really that worried about him having a set because I saw him previously slow play one in a huge pot before so I put him on a T with a good kicker or something similar to that but I still wanted to see a turn before I got too invested in the pot. The turn came another blank in an offsuit 7 and I was pretty positive that I had the best hand. I checked to him and he bet $65. I pushed all in for about $135 or so and he called pretty quickly and I was like “Oh s***, you call you have a set?” He says “No”. As this conversation was occurring, the river was dealt and it was a 7 and he finishes “I have a full house” and he flips over the 72o for a turned 2 pair that crushed my AA. Oh well I guess I was made to take sick beats. I played soooo tight, told everyone at the table how tight I was playing, and still get raised on the flop with bottom pair WTF.
I rebought for $200 more after this. I limped in with Q9 of spades and the flop came Q72. One of this blinds bet out $10 and I called. The turn came a 5 and he bet out $20 and I called. The river came a 7 and he checked and I checked and he showed me J7 for another sick card. I was then able to win a decent pot when I limped in with 43o from the button and the flop came J52 and I floated the flop and semi bluffed the turn. I called a raise to $10 from the SB with 88 and the flop came Th6x4h and I checked, the raiser bet $25, a guy on the button called, and I raised to $60, figuring I had the best hand. The raiser folded and the button guy called which surprised me. The turn came an offsuit Q and I checked, he checked. The river came a J and I checked and he checked and he showed me KQhh for a busted FL draw but made higher pair. Even if I would have bet he wouldn’t have folded. I limped with QJss and the flop came J75. It checked to me and I bet $15 and got 2 callers. The turn was a 4 and I checked behind this time. The river was a 7 and one of the callers bet out $10 and I called and she showed J7 for a flopped 2 pair. I called a raise to $15 with 4 other callers with 97ss but nothing materialized on the flop.
I was down to $90 when and interesting hand occurred. I was on the button and everyone had limped and I found AA. I made it $14 and got 4 callers. The flop came 6d5x2d and the 2nd caller bet out $30, the 3rd caller called that $30, and I moved all in for $86, and the 1st caller moved all in for $140 or so. After much debate, the 2nd caller folds and the 3rd caller folds. I show AA and the 1st caller shows Ad3d for a gutshot + Fl Draws. The board blanks out and I win. The sick thing about this pot is that the 2nd caller (who bet out $30) said he folded 52 for a flopped 2 pair but when the 1st caller check-moves in he almost has to give him credit for a set so he folded it. I wouldn’t have beaten his hand so its really really lucky of me to even win this pot.
I was up to $260 or so and went on a nice run after this. I called a raise with 74hh, flopped a str draw and ended up hitting (but got no action when I did hit). I then found 97o in the BB with a bunch of limpers and the flop came A97. I bet $15 and got called in 1 place. The turn came a 3 and I bet $25 and got called. The river came a blank and I bet $40 but the guy folded. I was soon up to $350 or so but back to back hands sick hands really did me in.
The first one, I decided to get uncharacteristically loose and limp in LP with K7ss. The flop came Qs8s5s flopping me the 2nd nut flush. The SB bet out $15 and one other person called and I decided to let them hang around to punish them later in the hand so I just called. The turn came an offsuit J and the SB bet out $30, the other caller folded and I just flatted again. The river came 4s putting 4 spades on the board. This wasn’t the best card for me but I still really wasn’t worried because someone probably wouldn’t bet out into a bunch of limpers 2 times with just the As. The SB bet $35 and I just called just in case he did this with the As and he showed me As6s for the flopped NUT FLUSH that would have killed me does another spade not come on the river. I got a pretty lucky river I guess.
The very next hand I limped with 67ss in MP. The BB raised it to $12 and I called and the limper behind me moves in for $28 total. The raiser calls and so does another guy in front of me and Im kind of stuck in the pot to call. The flop came Kx8s4s giving me a gutshot + a Fl draw. The raiser bet out $40 and I really thought about folding because he only had about $70-$80 behind and my implied odds were really there. However, I figured him for a big hand and thought I would get paid if I hit so I decided to call. The turn came the Js filling my flush and the guy moved al in for about $80. I called and he showed AsKs for a sick flush over flush 2nd hand in a row. After this hand I was down to $125 and I decided to leave. After the $390 I was in for, I was down $265.
I left, but soon realized that I didn’t have my keys (long story but I gave them to someone else who had to get something out of my car and never got them back) so I had nothing better to do but to play some more poker. I went back after a brief 5 minute hiatus and bought in for $200. I only played for about 45 minutes or so before I was able to obtain my keys and I only played one key pot in that time. I was in the SB with a bunch of limpers and I had KJss. I determined that this would be a good spot to try to build a pot so I raised to $10 and got 5 callers. The flop came down 10s6s2x giving me overs and a fl draw and I bet out $20. One of the callers moved all in for $128 total and I figured him for basically just a bare T. I wasn’t really that worried about a set because he probably wouldn’t have played it so aggressively (and even if he had one, I had ample outs). I was kind of worried about an ace high fl draw (especially since spades had screwed me over 2 times already that night) and I was hoping that if he had a bare 10, it wouldn’t be J10 or K10 but it would be A10 or Q10. I called because I figured that this was a great spot to gamble and he showed me QThh. The turn blanked but the river came a K and I was finally able to hit a draw in an all in situation in a cash game. I was up to $350 or so and cashed out shortly thereafter with $358. I was up $158 for this semi-session and combined with the other half, I was down $108 for my 4th straight triple digit losing session. I don’t really know what I am doing wrong but I hope that things change sometime soon so I stop losing.
Usually, people loosen up at the poker table after they have been drinking, I think that I was the opposite. I have to admit that the cards I were picking up were just awful to start off with. I didn’t win a pot for the first hour and a half of playing but I hardly played any poker. The first hand I won I raised with AQo UTG and the button and the SB called. The flop came AQ2 and the SB checked, I bet $20, the button folded and the SB called. The turn came a 2 and he checked and I checked. The river came an 8 and he checked, I bet $35 and he called and mucked when I showed. This pot got me to about $210 so that was nice to be up again. However, that didn’t last for long.
I found AA in the BB with 7 limpers and I made it $15. I got 3 callers and the flop came a harmless looking T52 rainbow. I bet $25 and the first caller raised it to $50. I wasn’t really that worried about him having a set because I saw him previously slow play one in a huge pot before so I put him on a T with a good kicker or something similar to that but I still wanted to see a turn before I got too invested in the pot. The turn came another blank in an offsuit 7 and I was pretty positive that I had the best hand. I checked to him and he bet $65. I pushed all in for about $135 or so and he called pretty quickly and I was like “Oh s***, you call you have a set?” He says “No”. As this conversation was occurring, the river was dealt and it was a 7 and he finishes “I have a full house” and he flips over the 72o for a turned 2 pair that crushed my AA. Oh well I guess I was made to take sick beats. I played soooo tight, told everyone at the table how tight I was playing, and still get raised on the flop with bottom pair WTF.
I rebought for $200 more after this. I limped in with Q9 of spades and the flop came Q72. One of this blinds bet out $10 and I called. The turn came a 5 and he bet out $20 and I called. The river came a 7 and he checked and I checked and he showed me J7 for another sick card. I was then able to win a decent pot when I limped in with 43o from the button and the flop came J52 and I floated the flop and semi bluffed the turn. I called a raise to $10 from the SB with 88 and the flop came Th6x4h and I checked, the raiser bet $25, a guy on the button called, and I raised to $60, figuring I had the best hand. The raiser folded and the button guy called which surprised me. The turn came an offsuit Q and I checked, he checked. The river came a J and I checked and he checked and he showed me KQhh for a busted FL draw but made higher pair. Even if I would have bet he wouldn’t have folded. I limped with QJss and the flop came J75. It checked to me and I bet $15 and got 2 callers. The turn was a 4 and I checked behind this time. The river was a 7 and one of the callers bet out $10 and I called and she showed J7 for a flopped 2 pair. I called a raise to $15 with 4 other callers with 97ss but nothing materialized on the flop.
I was down to $90 when and interesting hand occurred. I was on the button and everyone had limped and I found AA. I made it $14 and got 4 callers. The flop came 6d5x2d and the 2nd caller bet out $30, the 3rd caller called that $30, and I moved all in for $86, and the 1st caller moved all in for $140 or so. After much debate, the 2nd caller folds and the 3rd caller folds. I show AA and the 1st caller shows Ad3d for a gutshot + Fl Draws. The board blanks out and I win. The sick thing about this pot is that the 2nd caller (who bet out $30) said he folded 52 for a flopped 2 pair but when the 1st caller check-moves in he almost has to give him credit for a set so he folded it. I wouldn’t have beaten his hand so its really really lucky of me to even win this pot.
I was up to $260 or so and went on a nice run after this. I called a raise with 74hh, flopped a str draw and ended up hitting (but got no action when I did hit). I then found 97o in the BB with a bunch of limpers and the flop came A97. I bet $15 and got called in 1 place. The turn came a 3 and I bet $25 and got called. The river came a blank and I bet $40 but the guy folded. I was soon up to $350 or so but back to back hands sick hands really did me in.
The first one, I decided to get uncharacteristically loose and limp in LP with K7ss. The flop came Qs8s5s flopping me the 2nd nut flush. The SB bet out $15 and one other person called and I decided to let them hang around to punish them later in the hand so I just called. The turn came an offsuit J and the SB bet out $30, the other caller folded and I just flatted again. The river came 4s putting 4 spades on the board. This wasn’t the best card for me but I still really wasn’t worried because someone probably wouldn’t bet out into a bunch of limpers 2 times with just the As. The SB bet $35 and I just called just in case he did this with the As and he showed me As6s for the flopped NUT FLUSH that would have killed me does another spade not come on the river. I got a pretty lucky river I guess.
The very next hand I limped with 67ss in MP. The BB raised it to $12 and I called and the limper behind me moves in for $28 total. The raiser calls and so does another guy in front of me and Im kind of stuck in the pot to call. The flop came Kx8s4s giving me a gutshot + a Fl draw. The raiser bet out $40 and I really thought about folding because he only had about $70-$80 behind and my implied odds were really there. However, I figured him for a big hand and thought I would get paid if I hit so I decided to call. The turn came the Js filling my flush and the guy moved al in for about $80. I called and he showed AsKs for a sick flush over flush 2nd hand in a row. After this hand I was down to $125 and I decided to leave. After the $390 I was in for, I was down $265.
I left, but soon realized that I didn’t have my keys (long story but I gave them to someone else who had to get something out of my car and never got them back) so I had nothing better to do but to play some more poker. I went back after a brief 5 minute hiatus and bought in for $200. I only played for about 45 minutes or so before I was able to obtain my keys and I only played one key pot in that time. I was in the SB with a bunch of limpers and I had KJss. I determined that this would be a good spot to try to build a pot so I raised to $10 and got 5 callers. The flop came down 10s6s2x giving me overs and a fl draw and I bet out $20. One of the callers moved all in for $128 total and I figured him for basically just a bare T. I wasn’t really that worried about a set because he probably wouldn’t have played it so aggressively (and even if he had one, I had ample outs). I was kind of worried about an ace high fl draw (especially since spades had screwed me over 2 times already that night) and I was hoping that if he had a bare 10, it wouldn’t be J10 or K10 but it would be A10 or Q10. I called because I figured that this was a great spot to gamble and he showed me QThh. The turn blanked but the river came a K and I was finally able to hit a draw in an all in situation in a cash game. I was up to $350 or so and cashed out shortly thereafter with $358. I was up $158 for this semi-session and combined with the other half, I was down $108 for my 4th straight triple digit losing session. I don’t really know what I am doing wrong but I hope that things change sometime soon so I stop losing.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tourney: Venetian March 26th $150 12 PM daily recap
Todays tournament at the Venetian had a whopping 134 players surpassing the previous 2 days totals. It actually paid 18 places as opposed to 9 as well. The tournament overall was uneventful but I will still share most of the hands.
Early on, I limped with 56ss and there were 3 other players on a flop of 532. It checked to me and I bet 150 and got 2 callers. The turn came an 8 and it checked around and the river came another 8. One of the blinds bet out 300 and I called. He showed K8 for a WTF flop call and I started down as usual. I got back to 7500 though after I won smaller pots with JJ on a checked down board and QJ on a Q high flop. I limped a couple of more times but wasn’t able to win and the blinds went to level 2 (50-100).
I raised it in EP to 250 with QJss and this complete LAGtard on the button called. It seemed like he knew what he was doing, but I didn’t think he was playing very well as he called with a lot of hands preflop and tried to win every pot he played (which is not possible). The flop came AxQx8s and I decided to check to him, and he checked behind. The turn came the 4s, giving me a pair and a FL draw. However, I still wanted to keep the pot small so I checked again and he bet 350. I thought that I probably still had the best hand and the best draw (by far) but still just called. The river came a complete blank and I checked to him and he bet 625. I called and he showed me 84cc for 2 pair (if I bet the flop I know he calls so I save myself chips by playing small pots early in tournaments like this). I was down to 5900 after this hand and nothing else happened during this level.
It went to Level 3 (100-200). I was in the BB it folded to the LAG guy in the hijack and he made it 600. The SB called and I called in the BB with A8o. The flop came AKK and the SB checked, I checked, and he bet 450. The SB folded and this bet kind of scared me but I ended up calling because it was so small. The turn came a 9 and I checked and he bet 1200. I thought that he probably wouldn’t 2 barrel me with nothing here and the odd combination of bet sizes probably meant he was afraid of a king but not of an A so I thought him to have an A higher than mine. I didn’t think I would be able to get him off of this hand if I raised so I just folded and he showed me AQ for a good fold against a LAG player by me. I was down to 4500 or so after his hand but next hand, I was able to win some back when I completed in the SB with Q6o, flopped 2 more Queens, slowplayed, and got paid by an ace when one hit the turn. I then found QQ with one limper from the button. I made it 700 and the limper called. We checked down a board of AK99x and my QQ was good. The level ended and I was at 6850 on the first break.
We came back to level 4 (100-200 25) and I wasn’t really able to get much going. A guy who limped a lot (same guy from QQ hand) limped in from EP and I raised it with 64o from the cutoff. The button, who was a really tight older man flat called, which worried me, and the limper called. The flop came Q54 and I bet out 1550 and they both folded and I increased my stack to 8k. The blinds went up to 200-400 25 and I found T9cc in EP and made it 1025. It folded to the blinds and the LAG guy from before called from the SB and the BB folded. The flop came Ax9x2c and he checked to me. I thought about betting here but still checked as I don’t want to build a big pot here. The turn came Qc giving me a Fl draw with a pair and I thought about betting here but I really didn’t want to get called, or even raised, if he has a Q here so I decided to check behind. The river came a 2 and he checked to me and I figured Id be OK in showdown so I checked behind and he showed me KK (try to trap me no good). Later in the level, this good but tighter lady (yes, actually a good lady player—she looked like a guy though so it really doesn’t count) raised it to 1200. I found 99 in the BB and shipped my 6500 or so and she folded.
I was up to 8500 after this hand and we went to 300-600 50. I was able to keep my head above the water by actually stealing the blinds a couple of times (something I have been failing to accomplish in previous tournaments). I was at 9300 or so when the LAG kid pushed all in for about 4500 or so UTG. It folded to me and I found AxQc. I knew that I was probably ahead but he maybe had a pair or something like that and there were like 5 or so people behind me. I didn’t really know what to do here but I figured it would be a +EV gamble if I called here so I just pushed all in to iso. It folded around and he said “I actually haven’t looked yet, I was just pushing for the blinds” and slowly flipped over his cards. They weren’t the best cards for me to play against when he pushes blind when he flips over T7dd but I was still ahead. The flop came Ac8c4x, the turn came Jc blocking one of his gutshot outs but the river came 9s filling his gutshot but dodging the flush. I went down to 4900 or so and was able to steal the blinds a couple times and get to 6450 by the 2nd break (less than I had on the first break!).
We came back and I was pretty short stacked. I pushed with A7 from the cutoff and got the blinds and next orbit, I pushed from T9cc from the SB and the BB folded so I was able to keep my head above the water (hardly though). There were about 4 minutes left in the level and I was the BB again. The guy UTG made it 9k to go and it folded to me in the BB. I found 66 and a tough decision. The hand right before this the guy had raised to 2500 and gotten reraised all in and he got pretty pissed at that and folded and showed AQ. I also saw him limp call an all in with 67ss. This was going through my head that he really wasn’t a good player and that he might be steaming from getting reraised. Also, the fact that the blinds were going to go up to 600-1200 in a few hands made me think I almost had to call. I should have folded though, as I called and he showed JJ. The board didn’t connect for me and I was eliminated.
I went out with 5 tables left and Id say I probably got out in 46th or 47th so out of 135, it was another pretty deep run. If I keep putting myself in these situations, something good will eventually happen.
Early on, I limped with 56ss and there were 3 other players on a flop of 532. It checked to me and I bet 150 and got 2 callers. The turn came an 8 and it checked around and the river came another 8. One of the blinds bet out 300 and I called. He showed K8 for a WTF flop call and I started down as usual. I got back to 7500 though after I won smaller pots with JJ on a checked down board and QJ on a Q high flop. I limped a couple of more times but wasn’t able to win and the blinds went to level 2 (50-100).
I raised it in EP to 250 with QJss and this complete LAGtard on the button called. It seemed like he knew what he was doing, but I didn’t think he was playing very well as he called with a lot of hands preflop and tried to win every pot he played (which is not possible). The flop came AxQx8s and I decided to check to him, and he checked behind. The turn came the 4s, giving me a pair and a FL draw. However, I still wanted to keep the pot small so I checked again and he bet 350. I thought that I probably still had the best hand and the best draw (by far) but still just called. The river came a complete blank and I checked to him and he bet 625. I called and he showed me 84cc for 2 pair (if I bet the flop I know he calls so I save myself chips by playing small pots early in tournaments like this). I was down to 5900 after this hand and nothing else happened during this level.
It went to Level 3 (100-200). I was in the BB it folded to the LAG guy in the hijack and he made it 600. The SB called and I called in the BB with A8o. The flop came AKK and the SB checked, I checked, and he bet 450. The SB folded and this bet kind of scared me but I ended up calling because it was so small. The turn came a 9 and I checked and he bet 1200. I thought that he probably wouldn’t 2 barrel me with nothing here and the odd combination of bet sizes probably meant he was afraid of a king but not of an A so I thought him to have an A higher than mine. I didn’t think I would be able to get him off of this hand if I raised so I just folded and he showed me AQ for a good fold against a LAG player by me. I was down to 4500 or so after his hand but next hand, I was able to win some back when I completed in the SB with Q6o, flopped 2 more Queens, slowplayed, and got paid by an ace when one hit the turn. I then found QQ with one limper from the button. I made it 700 and the limper called. We checked down a board of AK99x and my QQ was good. The level ended and I was at 6850 on the first break.
We came back to level 4 (100-200 25) and I wasn’t really able to get much going. A guy who limped a lot (same guy from QQ hand) limped in from EP and I raised it with 64o from the cutoff. The button, who was a really tight older man flat called, which worried me, and the limper called. The flop came Q54 and I bet out 1550 and they both folded and I increased my stack to 8k. The blinds went up to 200-400 25 and I found T9cc in EP and made it 1025. It folded to the blinds and the LAG guy from before called from the SB and the BB folded. The flop came Ax9x2c and he checked to me. I thought about betting here but still checked as I don’t want to build a big pot here. The turn came Qc giving me a Fl draw with a pair and I thought about betting here but I really didn’t want to get called, or even raised, if he has a Q here so I decided to check behind. The river came a 2 and he checked to me and I figured Id be OK in showdown so I checked behind and he showed me KK (try to trap me no good). Later in the level, this good but tighter lady (yes, actually a good lady player—she looked like a guy though so it really doesn’t count) raised it to 1200. I found 99 in the BB and shipped my 6500 or so and she folded.
I was up to 8500 after this hand and we went to 300-600 50. I was able to keep my head above the water by actually stealing the blinds a couple of times (something I have been failing to accomplish in previous tournaments). I was at 9300 or so when the LAG kid pushed all in for about 4500 or so UTG. It folded to me and I found AxQc. I knew that I was probably ahead but he maybe had a pair or something like that and there were like 5 or so people behind me. I didn’t really know what to do here but I figured it would be a +EV gamble if I called here so I just pushed all in to iso. It folded around and he said “I actually haven’t looked yet, I was just pushing for the blinds” and slowly flipped over his cards. They weren’t the best cards for me to play against when he pushes blind when he flips over T7dd but I was still ahead. The flop came Ac8c4x, the turn came Jc blocking one of his gutshot outs but the river came 9s filling his gutshot but dodging the flush. I went down to 4900 or so and was able to steal the blinds a couple times and get to 6450 by the 2nd break (less than I had on the first break!).
We came back and I was pretty short stacked. I pushed with A7 from the cutoff and got the blinds and next orbit, I pushed from T9cc from the SB and the BB folded so I was able to keep my head above the water (hardly though). There were about 4 minutes left in the level and I was the BB again. The guy UTG made it 9k to go and it folded to me in the BB. I found 66 and a tough decision. The hand right before this the guy had raised to 2500 and gotten reraised all in and he got pretty pissed at that and folded and showed AQ. I also saw him limp call an all in with 67ss. This was going through my head that he really wasn’t a good player and that he might be steaming from getting reraised. Also, the fact that the blinds were going to go up to 600-1200 in a few hands made me think I almost had to call. I should have folded though, as I called and he showed JJ. The board didn’t connect for me and I was eliminated.
I went out with 5 tables left and Id say I probably got out in 46th or 47th so out of 135, it was another pretty deep run. If I keep putting myself in these situations, something good will eventually happen.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tourney: Venetian March 25th $150 12 PM daily recap
WARNING: Fully describing all the hands I went through during this tournament took about 5 pages of microsoft word so be prepared.
Todays Venetian tournament had 124 players (quite a few more than yesterday). First prize was a whopping 5k and I decided to screw up my chances with one gigantic blow-up of a hand.
I started out the tournament well, chipping up in some smaller pots with 53ss in the BB on T4252 vs K4 and finally picking up AA and winning a small pot with a couple of callers on 853r. I was up to 8000 or so when I realized that I cant get to the 1st break without blowing half of my chips or so. I picked up JJ and made it 150 and got called in 3 spots. The flop came 864 2 diamonds and I bet out 450 and got called by one guy who had position on me. The turn came an offsuit 2 and I checked to see what he would do. He bet 1100 and I decided to call because I didn’t want to raise and get called and have to decide what to do if the river was a diamond. The river came 7d filling a straight and flush draw and I checked and he checked and showed 67 for a rivered 2 pair.
It was level 2 (50-100) I was down to 6500. I made it 300 UTG with JJ and got 4 callers. The flop came A86 and I folded to a bet (it was good that the A came because someone had 66). I saw a few more flops this level but hit nothing and was down to 5800 or so.
In level 3 (100-200) I found AKo in the cutoff. The welder guy from yesterday was on the button and he called my raise to 600. The flop came QJ9 and I checked, he bet 400 and I thought that it was cheap enough for me to see the turn so I called. The turn was another J and I checked, he bet 1200 and I folded. He showed me KK and I felt really really lucky he didn’t reraise me preflop. Nothing much else happened in the 3rd level and I was at 4300 at the 1st break.
At 100-200 25, I was down to 3000 or so and really hurting. A weak loose player who looked like he knew what he was doing for the most part limped in EP and I decided to try iso him with position from the button with A6o. It worked and he check folded a flop of 942 to me. I started to get my stack on the right path again after I restole a button raise from the SB with and all in with JJ. I wouldn’t have pushed if I didn’t think I had a chance of getting called with a lower pair (the button folded 44 which sucked because I really wanted a call).
The blinds went to level 5 (200-400 25) and I was able to steal the blinds once with 66 (effective amount to add to my stack). I was at 5500 or so and this tighter decent player raised my BB from the button to 1500. He hadn’t been raising a lot but he was a good enough player to know that if its folded to him on the button, he is going to raise with a wide range. The SB folded and I found 99. At this point I kind of have to push and hope that hes playing a button hand here as opposed to a regular hand. I pushed and he called and showed AKo. I was lucky enough to avoid his A or K and double up to 11500 or so. In my small blind the next orbit, there were 2 limpers and I found J9o. I decided to complete and the BB checked. The flop came down QTT rainbow and it checked around. The turn came a 7 and I decided that this would be a good chance to semi-bluff as the flop would have been bet if someone had a Q and the only hand I had to watch out for was a T. Even if someone has a T here they might slowplay and allow me to catch up on the river with my open ender. I bet out 1650 and the last limper called me. The river came a blank and I check folded to his all in (I bet he had a 10).
I was down to 8k or so and we went to 300-600 50. I finally found KK in MP (hijack +1) and made it 1550. It folded to the guy on the button who was a nice guy but it seemed like he didn’t play much poker. He had a lot of chips (25-30k or so) and was making a lot of pretty big raises preflop and always standing up and cheering when he won an all in. He decided to go all in for a lot of chips (people in the blinds had about as much as him but he just decided to push on my 1550 raise) and I moved my chips in the middle quickly once it got back to me. He showed 77 and my KK held and I doubled to 17k or so. I didn’t play many other hands the rest of the level. I tried to steal from the hijack once with 64o to 1550, thinking that that guy (he was in the small blinds and there was a really tight player in the BB) would give me credit for a big hand since last time I did that I showed KK but he didn’t believe me I guess and moved all in. I folded and he showed AK (so I guess its not that he didn’t believe me).
At the 2nd break I was up to 14250 chips and we came back to play 400-800 75. I then somehow ended up in a pretty giant pot in the first hand after break. It was a hand I probably shouldn’t have been in and I got somewhat lucky but I guess I took a chance and it paid off. I was in the BB and this older 20s guy raised it from the Hijack +1. He had about 17k or so in chips and wasn’t playing all that aggressive or anything but he was in a lot of pots and always turned over a good hand at the end. He raised it to 2025 and I looked at 98cc in the BB. Usually I would fold here with a suited connector and no other callers but it just seemed like a good spot for him to raise with a wide range and I just felt like seeing a flop to see if I could hit anything. The flop came down Q93 and I checked to see what he would do. He led out for 3100 and I thought that he would c-bet here with an extremely large range of hands. I figured that he would never 2 barrel bluff me with how tightly ive been playing so I decided to call and see what he did on the turn before I committed the rest of my chips with 2nd pair (I had 9k left and had put about 5100 in the pot at this point). The turn came a beautiful offsuit 9 for me and I checked, he went all in and I called. He showed KK and was pretty disappointed when I showed my 98. The river blanked and I doubled to 29k or so in a huge pot. I looked around the table and no one else had more than, Id say 15k-18k or so EXCEPT the lady right on my left who had about 26k or so.
The blinds went to level 8 (600-1200 100) and my plan was to wait for a premium hand as I didn’t want to have to raise and double up a short stack or anything, however the cards had other plans. I was in the BB and it folded to that lady player in the SB. She picked up a bunch of chips that looked like she wanted to raise but then decided to just call. I really thought that she might have a big pair or something by the way she acted but was not positive if she was a player capable of limping with a big pair like that. I knew that I could eliminate certain hands from her range though because she would raise with a smaller pair (probably 22-QQ) as I saw her come in raising and fold and show small pairs several times. I could also probably eliminate any bigger A as she would also come in raising. Other than that, I wasn’t specifically certain. I looked in the BB and found 97o. I checked my option and the flop came out 973. . beautiful!. Since I had eliminated those small pairs from her range, I had essentially flopped the nuts and also, since I had a feeling that she had a big hand preflop, I was on the verge of winning a big pot. She bet out 2700, I raised to 9000, and she moved all in and honestly, in my poker career, ive never EVER made a call as quickly as I did on this call. Sick instacall. I was way wrong on my reads as she showed 93, for a lower 2 pair but even so, I got all my chips in as a HUGE favorite. The turn/river blanked and I won a massive pot to get up to 52k or so. There were about 5 tables left at this point and I would be willing to bet that I was the chip leader of the tournament at this point. I made it 3100 in the hijack with 55 only to get raised all in by the button and reraised all in by the SB (they had QQ and TT—why does someone else have to have a hand almost every time I try to steal). I made it 3100 UTG with AJo and got called by the BB. We checked down a board of KQ235 and I showed and he mucked. The next hand was an interesting one. This really tight lady with 9500 or so in chips made it 5k to go in early-mid position and It folded to me in the BB. I found AQo and figured that I was at best a coinflip but if I just called and didn’t hit the flop, I would still have to call because of pot odds. I folded here and figured it was no harm to fold. The blinds went around a couple of times and someone (the guy from the 98 vs KK hand) moved all in for about 10k or so from MP. I was in the SB and found AKhh and the BB only had 17k or so behind so I decided to shove all in. The MP all in had KTdd and my AKhh held up and I was up to just over 60k or so.
After this, the blinds went up to 800-1600 200. There was one limper and I found A6ss in the SB. The flop came Ts8h4s giving me a FL draw and an over. I bet out 3800 and the BB raised all in for 9500 more (13300 total). I figured that I had chips and he was looser so I also figured that he would be pushing top pair or even a lower FL draw on me here so I called. Unluckily for me, he had T8 for top 2 pair (if I would have put him on 2 pair I probably wouldn’t have called because my A redraw is no good) but luckily for me, I hit my spade on the turn and won the pot and I was up to 74K. Later, I found ATcc in the cutoff. I raised it to 4100 and the button called. The tight lady from the AQ hand pushed all in in the BB for 9500 total. I only had to call like 5400 or so but I really didn’t want to. The guy on the button called and raised a lot of hands but seemed like he played pretty decently, he was unafraid to play a pot I guess. I wasn’t really worried about getting pushed over the top by him but I didn’t want to push and have him call with something weird (He had like 35k-40k or so). Ultimately, I figured I had to call because I knew that he wasn’t pushing over the top. He also called and there was 30k or so in the pot. We checked down a board of Q954Q and he showed AK, I showed AT and the lady showed 88 for the triple. Like I said, anytime I steal people have better hands than me but I had to call for my odds here. After this hand I was down to 63k and didn’t play any other pots for the level so I dwindled a little, finishing the 3rd break at 54600.
At the 3rd break, we were down to 26 players or so with 9 paying. We came back to level 10 at 1k-2k 300 and were soon playing 7-8 handed at the table. The blinds came around pretty quickly but I was able to steal the blinds a little less than every round. The first 28 minutes of 1k-2k went by without anything exciting for me, but we were down to 20 players close to the end. My table was next to break and the hand before the table broke (we were playing 6 handed) UTG pushed 19500 aipf and I was next to act. Everyone was racking up ready to leave, and I found AKo. I didn’t think I could fold here so I actually decided to iso here so I pushed all in for my 60k or so. Everyone else folded and UTG showed QQ. I was lucky enough to flop an ace and hold up and my stack soared up to 82k.
Our table broke and I moved to a new table and the level went up to 1.5k-3k 500 and it didn’t take me long to dive into my new table. About 7 hands after I moved, I had the button and found AQo. I raised to 8k and the blinds folded. The next hand, I found A8o in the cutoff. I made it 7500 and the button reraised me to 20k. The BB went all in and I folded (it was AA vs AQ). The next hand after that I was in the Hijack and found AJo I raised to 7500 and the blinds folded. I hovered at 80k or so for a while. I was in Hijack +1 and a guy pushed directly in front of me for 19500. I looked down at AJhh and god did I think about this one. I was listening to him talk and knew he was looking for any hand to push in with but there were still so many people behind me and I didn’t want to get snapped off and have to call like 20k more with AJhh. Also, the whole time I was thinking about 2 years ago in the Venetian deep stack when I finally made it deep in a big tournament and called off with AJ here and the guy obviously had me beat (and, Ironically I was at the same seat on the same table in the Venetian so that was definitely coursing through my mind). Ultimately I ended up folding and so did everyone but I think that a call was probably the right play here because I know im way ahead of his range.
I was at 80k and the hand that will stick with me for a LONG LONG time occurred. I just feel so sick typing about it now but I will share it nevertheless. There were 16 players left and we were playing 8 handed. That looser decent player from the AK vs AT vs 88 hand was at my table. He was older and had longer hair. He was probably chip leader of the tournament and probably had 150k or so at this point and was still raising a lot of pots and showing fearlessness to play turns and rivers. Anyways, he raised from UTG +2 to 9k and I looked down at AQo on the button. He could have made it 9k here with literally any 2 cards and I figured he didn’t have much of a hand and I would be able to win it right here so I made it 22k to play. He thought for a while before he decided to call. I still don’t have him on a hand range right now because I had seen him play a lot of bigger pots never really knowing what he had but assuming he had a hand. The flop came JJ9 and he checked to me. At this point, I SHOULD have bet out about 25k or so something because he rarely hits that flop and he rarely follows with me if he has a smaller pair here I think (but he might have). However, I decided to check. The turn came an 8 and he bet out 12k. I still have no idea what he has but 12k into the pot is a pretty simple call with 2 overs and a gutshot. I tinkered with pushing all in here but I didn’t want him to snap me with a J or anything like that. Also, if I push here, I may get called by a 9 or even an 8 because he figures me for AK because I checked the flop here (even though I would check that flop with AA or KK 100% of the time). Therefore, I just call which I feel like is actually the correct move at this point in the hand. The river is a 4 and he thinks a little before betting out 25k. Alarm bells start to go off in my head here. To me, there are very little hands that he can do a combo bet of 12k on the turn and 25k on the river that are seemingly in his range (even though I have no idea what his range really is). I feel like I can almost eliminate a J from his range as he would have played the turn differently by either betting more or checking again. I can also probably eliminate connectors like 98 or 87 that he might raise and call a reraise with because he would probably just be content with showing this hand down. I actually was semi worried about a hand like 55 or 66 where he thinks he is bluffing but he actually has the best hand, but I pretty much ruled these hands out with the rationalization that he would be content with showing down these hands against my AK and winning the pot there. Other hands that made sense were QT and T7 suited, as he would probably play these hands pretty much like how he played them. However, I thought that he thought that I was playing tightly and afraid of cashing, so if he turned up the heat enough he could get me to lay down whatever hand he put me on. His range also might include hands like AT or 67 suited for busted straight draws or a KQ for overs with a gutshot. His range could also legitimately a complete bluff here (looking back and analyzing I will usually think that this is obviously not a possibility when I make a stupid call like this but this time I actually agree that this may be a 2 barrel bluff). I ended up calling after getting the clock called on me and he showed me 86hh for an unreal value bet he snuck in on me. Looking back on the hand now, I still really don’t completely hate the river call (or the turn call). I simply did not give the guy credit to make a value bet of this caliber. The place where the hand went all wrong is the check behind on the flop. I should bet here, I need to bet here, and I would have won the pot and been up to over 100k if I bet here. However, I lost about 60k that hand and was down to 18500 at 1.5k-3k.
Soon after this, the blinds went up to 2k-4k 500. I stole the blinds one hand that orbit and on the next orbit, I had about 16k in my BB. We were playing 7 handed at this point (14 players left) and a guy made it 15k UTG. The SB went all in for a total of 14k and I found 67cc in the BB. Im not going to let all of this dead money go to waste so I put all my chips in the middle and the hand were my 67cc vs UTG AQo vs SB Q9dd. The board ran out 36777 for a convenient triple up to about 50k for me. After this, the guy who I lost all my chips to went on an unreal run. He had about 200k after the hand with me and, by the time the final table started, he had about 450k. One hand, a guy made it 17k from the button, the SB moved all in for 41k, and he flatted from the BB. The button folded and the SB showed AK and he showed JT. Im not too sure I get this call but it worked for him (Id assume he was giving himself an image of being able to call any push to make sure we would be more afraid to push). He then won a 200k or so pot in a coinflip with AK vs TT (I felt bad for the kid with TT, push this guy raising every hand with a legit hand and somehow end up in a race). We were 5 handed for a while and I literally could not find a spot to push my chips in. He was right on my right and raised every pot and by the time the madness of him getting all the chips was done, I only had 40k or so so I could push on his raise with like 93o or T5o, knowing I was going to get called. I think I folded K5 one time and remember immediately regretting folding a king. (although he probably would have shown A3 or something). The frustration of this combined with the hand I misplayed is just making me infuriated right now by the way.
Anyways, someone busted at the other table and we were down to our final 10. That guy had like 450k-500k of a possible 900k in chips. I had 26500 in chips and there were about 3 other players who had as much as me. Only 9 spots paid but everyone agreed to throw in $20 so that the person who finishes in 10th would get paid (which was just fine by me at this point). I drew a good seat and was lucky enough to be 2 spots away from the button to give me ample hands to find one to push in with.
Also, upon arriving at the final table, we went on the 4th break and the blind level went up to 3k-6k 1k. I folded a couple of hands to watch all the other short stacks push and get no callers, except for this one short stack who started in the BB and continued to fold his hands. UTG, I found AJo and pushed my 22k in chips. The guy who kept folding decided to call his last 6k (yes, one BB) and everyone else folded. He showed K6o and the board came out QQ246 for a bad river for me. If I would have won that pot I would have been up to like 45k or so (decent in chips but still obviously hurting) but instead was down to my last 16k in the BB. 1k went in the ante and the guy who just doubled off of me pushed all in. The big stack guy called and it really didn’t matter as I only had 9k behind and 7k in the pot already. I found T3o and went with it and they showed KQ and KJ. The board came out K42QJ and I was eliminated in 10th place after 7 ½ hours. At least I won $180 for a net profit of $30 (Like $4 an hour. . .sick).
It sucks that I was 2/2 in coinflips, made a FL draw in a pretty big pot, got lucky vs KK in a big pot, and had all my big hands hold in the key spots and all I could make of it was a 10th place (especially when 1st was like 5k) but like everything in poker, it’s a learning experience and I hope that I will be at a final table again soon someday (I KNOW I will).
Todays Venetian tournament had 124 players (quite a few more than yesterday). First prize was a whopping 5k and I decided to screw up my chances with one gigantic blow-up of a hand.
I started out the tournament well, chipping up in some smaller pots with 53ss in the BB on T4252 vs K4 and finally picking up AA and winning a small pot with a couple of callers on 853r. I was up to 8000 or so when I realized that I cant get to the 1st break without blowing half of my chips or so. I picked up JJ and made it 150 and got called in 3 spots. The flop came 864 2 diamonds and I bet out 450 and got called by one guy who had position on me. The turn came an offsuit 2 and I checked to see what he would do. He bet 1100 and I decided to call because I didn’t want to raise and get called and have to decide what to do if the river was a diamond. The river came 7d filling a straight and flush draw and I checked and he checked and showed 67 for a rivered 2 pair.
It was level 2 (50-100) I was down to 6500. I made it 300 UTG with JJ and got 4 callers. The flop came A86 and I folded to a bet (it was good that the A came because someone had 66). I saw a few more flops this level but hit nothing and was down to 5800 or so.
In level 3 (100-200) I found AKo in the cutoff. The welder guy from yesterday was on the button and he called my raise to 600. The flop came QJ9 and I checked, he bet 400 and I thought that it was cheap enough for me to see the turn so I called. The turn was another J and I checked, he bet 1200 and I folded. He showed me KK and I felt really really lucky he didn’t reraise me preflop. Nothing much else happened in the 3rd level and I was at 4300 at the 1st break.
At 100-200 25, I was down to 3000 or so and really hurting. A weak loose player who looked like he knew what he was doing for the most part limped in EP and I decided to try iso him with position from the button with A6o. It worked and he check folded a flop of 942 to me. I started to get my stack on the right path again after I restole a button raise from the SB with and all in with JJ. I wouldn’t have pushed if I didn’t think I had a chance of getting called with a lower pair (the button folded 44 which sucked because I really wanted a call).
The blinds went to level 5 (200-400 25) and I was able to steal the blinds once with 66 (effective amount to add to my stack). I was at 5500 or so and this tighter decent player raised my BB from the button to 1500. He hadn’t been raising a lot but he was a good enough player to know that if its folded to him on the button, he is going to raise with a wide range. The SB folded and I found 99. At this point I kind of have to push and hope that hes playing a button hand here as opposed to a regular hand. I pushed and he called and showed AKo. I was lucky enough to avoid his A or K and double up to 11500 or so. In my small blind the next orbit, there were 2 limpers and I found J9o. I decided to complete and the BB checked. The flop came down QTT rainbow and it checked around. The turn came a 7 and I decided that this would be a good chance to semi-bluff as the flop would have been bet if someone had a Q and the only hand I had to watch out for was a T. Even if someone has a T here they might slowplay and allow me to catch up on the river with my open ender. I bet out 1650 and the last limper called me. The river came a blank and I check folded to his all in (I bet he had a 10).
I was down to 8k or so and we went to 300-600 50. I finally found KK in MP (hijack +1) and made it 1550. It folded to the guy on the button who was a nice guy but it seemed like he didn’t play much poker. He had a lot of chips (25-30k or so) and was making a lot of pretty big raises preflop and always standing up and cheering when he won an all in. He decided to go all in for a lot of chips (people in the blinds had about as much as him but he just decided to push on my 1550 raise) and I moved my chips in the middle quickly once it got back to me. He showed 77 and my KK held and I doubled to 17k or so. I didn’t play many other hands the rest of the level. I tried to steal from the hijack once with 64o to 1550, thinking that that guy (he was in the small blinds and there was a really tight player in the BB) would give me credit for a big hand since last time I did that I showed KK but he didn’t believe me I guess and moved all in. I folded and he showed AK (so I guess its not that he didn’t believe me).
At the 2nd break I was up to 14250 chips and we came back to play 400-800 75. I then somehow ended up in a pretty giant pot in the first hand after break. It was a hand I probably shouldn’t have been in and I got somewhat lucky but I guess I took a chance and it paid off. I was in the BB and this older 20s guy raised it from the Hijack +1. He had about 17k or so in chips and wasn’t playing all that aggressive or anything but he was in a lot of pots and always turned over a good hand at the end. He raised it to 2025 and I looked at 98cc in the BB. Usually I would fold here with a suited connector and no other callers but it just seemed like a good spot for him to raise with a wide range and I just felt like seeing a flop to see if I could hit anything. The flop came down Q93 and I checked to see what he would do. He led out for 3100 and I thought that he would c-bet here with an extremely large range of hands. I figured that he would never 2 barrel bluff me with how tightly ive been playing so I decided to call and see what he did on the turn before I committed the rest of my chips with 2nd pair (I had 9k left and had put about 5100 in the pot at this point). The turn came a beautiful offsuit 9 for me and I checked, he went all in and I called. He showed KK and was pretty disappointed when I showed my 98. The river blanked and I doubled to 29k or so in a huge pot. I looked around the table and no one else had more than, Id say 15k-18k or so EXCEPT the lady right on my left who had about 26k or so.
The blinds went to level 8 (600-1200 100) and my plan was to wait for a premium hand as I didn’t want to have to raise and double up a short stack or anything, however the cards had other plans. I was in the BB and it folded to that lady player in the SB. She picked up a bunch of chips that looked like she wanted to raise but then decided to just call. I really thought that she might have a big pair or something by the way she acted but was not positive if she was a player capable of limping with a big pair like that. I knew that I could eliminate certain hands from her range though because she would raise with a smaller pair (probably 22-QQ) as I saw her come in raising and fold and show small pairs several times. I could also probably eliminate any bigger A as she would also come in raising. Other than that, I wasn’t specifically certain. I looked in the BB and found 97o. I checked my option and the flop came out 973. . beautiful!. Since I had eliminated those small pairs from her range, I had essentially flopped the nuts and also, since I had a feeling that she had a big hand preflop, I was on the verge of winning a big pot. She bet out 2700, I raised to 9000, and she moved all in and honestly, in my poker career, ive never EVER made a call as quickly as I did on this call. Sick instacall. I was way wrong on my reads as she showed 93, for a lower 2 pair but even so, I got all my chips in as a HUGE favorite. The turn/river blanked and I won a massive pot to get up to 52k or so. There were about 5 tables left at this point and I would be willing to bet that I was the chip leader of the tournament at this point. I made it 3100 in the hijack with 55 only to get raised all in by the button and reraised all in by the SB (they had QQ and TT—why does someone else have to have a hand almost every time I try to steal). I made it 3100 UTG with AJo and got called by the BB. We checked down a board of KQ235 and I showed and he mucked. The next hand was an interesting one. This really tight lady with 9500 or so in chips made it 5k to go in early-mid position and It folded to me in the BB. I found AQo and figured that I was at best a coinflip but if I just called and didn’t hit the flop, I would still have to call because of pot odds. I folded here and figured it was no harm to fold. The blinds went around a couple of times and someone (the guy from the 98 vs KK hand) moved all in for about 10k or so from MP. I was in the SB and found AKhh and the BB only had 17k or so behind so I decided to shove all in. The MP all in had KTdd and my AKhh held up and I was up to just over 60k or so.
After this, the blinds went up to 800-1600 200. There was one limper and I found A6ss in the SB. The flop came Ts8h4s giving me a FL draw and an over. I bet out 3800 and the BB raised all in for 9500 more (13300 total). I figured that I had chips and he was looser so I also figured that he would be pushing top pair or even a lower FL draw on me here so I called. Unluckily for me, he had T8 for top 2 pair (if I would have put him on 2 pair I probably wouldn’t have called because my A redraw is no good) but luckily for me, I hit my spade on the turn and won the pot and I was up to 74K. Later, I found ATcc in the cutoff. I raised it to 4100 and the button called. The tight lady from the AQ hand pushed all in in the BB for 9500 total. I only had to call like 5400 or so but I really didn’t want to. The guy on the button called and raised a lot of hands but seemed like he played pretty decently, he was unafraid to play a pot I guess. I wasn’t really worried about getting pushed over the top by him but I didn’t want to push and have him call with something weird (He had like 35k-40k or so). Ultimately, I figured I had to call because I knew that he wasn’t pushing over the top. He also called and there was 30k or so in the pot. We checked down a board of Q954Q and he showed AK, I showed AT and the lady showed 88 for the triple. Like I said, anytime I steal people have better hands than me but I had to call for my odds here. After this hand I was down to 63k and didn’t play any other pots for the level so I dwindled a little, finishing the 3rd break at 54600.
At the 3rd break, we were down to 26 players or so with 9 paying. We came back to level 10 at 1k-2k 300 and were soon playing 7-8 handed at the table. The blinds came around pretty quickly but I was able to steal the blinds a little less than every round. The first 28 minutes of 1k-2k went by without anything exciting for me, but we were down to 20 players close to the end. My table was next to break and the hand before the table broke (we were playing 6 handed) UTG pushed 19500 aipf and I was next to act. Everyone was racking up ready to leave, and I found AKo. I didn’t think I could fold here so I actually decided to iso here so I pushed all in for my 60k or so. Everyone else folded and UTG showed QQ. I was lucky enough to flop an ace and hold up and my stack soared up to 82k.
Our table broke and I moved to a new table and the level went up to 1.5k-3k 500 and it didn’t take me long to dive into my new table. About 7 hands after I moved, I had the button and found AQo. I raised to 8k and the blinds folded. The next hand, I found A8o in the cutoff. I made it 7500 and the button reraised me to 20k. The BB went all in and I folded (it was AA vs AQ). The next hand after that I was in the Hijack and found AJo I raised to 7500 and the blinds folded. I hovered at 80k or so for a while. I was in Hijack +1 and a guy pushed directly in front of me for 19500. I looked down at AJhh and god did I think about this one. I was listening to him talk and knew he was looking for any hand to push in with but there were still so many people behind me and I didn’t want to get snapped off and have to call like 20k more with AJhh. Also, the whole time I was thinking about 2 years ago in the Venetian deep stack when I finally made it deep in a big tournament and called off with AJ here and the guy obviously had me beat (and, Ironically I was at the same seat on the same table in the Venetian so that was definitely coursing through my mind). Ultimately I ended up folding and so did everyone but I think that a call was probably the right play here because I know im way ahead of his range.
I was at 80k and the hand that will stick with me for a LONG LONG time occurred. I just feel so sick typing about it now but I will share it nevertheless. There were 16 players left and we were playing 8 handed. That looser decent player from the AK vs AT vs 88 hand was at my table. He was older and had longer hair. He was probably chip leader of the tournament and probably had 150k or so at this point and was still raising a lot of pots and showing fearlessness to play turns and rivers. Anyways, he raised from UTG +2 to 9k and I looked down at AQo on the button. He could have made it 9k here with literally any 2 cards and I figured he didn’t have much of a hand and I would be able to win it right here so I made it 22k to play. He thought for a while before he decided to call. I still don’t have him on a hand range right now because I had seen him play a lot of bigger pots never really knowing what he had but assuming he had a hand. The flop came JJ9 and he checked to me. At this point, I SHOULD have bet out about 25k or so something because he rarely hits that flop and he rarely follows with me if he has a smaller pair here I think (but he might have). However, I decided to check. The turn came an 8 and he bet out 12k. I still have no idea what he has but 12k into the pot is a pretty simple call with 2 overs and a gutshot. I tinkered with pushing all in here but I didn’t want him to snap me with a J or anything like that. Also, if I push here, I may get called by a 9 or even an 8 because he figures me for AK because I checked the flop here (even though I would check that flop with AA or KK 100% of the time). Therefore, I just call which I feel like is actually the correct move at this point in the hand. The river is a 4 and he thinks a little before betting out 25k. Alarm bells start to go off in my head here. To me, there are very little hands that he can do a combo bet of 12k on the turn and 25k on the river that are seemingly in his range (even though I have no idea what his range really is). I feel like I can almost eliminate a J from his range as he would have played the turn differently by either betting more or checking again. I can also probably eliminate connectors like 98 or 87 that he might raise and call a reraise with because he would probably just be content with showing this hand down. I actually was semi worried about a hand like 55 or 66 where he thinks he is bluffing but he actually has the best hand, but I pretty much ruled these hands out with the rationalization that he would be content with showing down these hands against my AK and winning the pot there. Other hands that made sense were QT and T7 suited, as he would probably play these hands pretty much like how he played them. However, I thought that he thought that I was playing tightly and afraid of cashing, so if he turned up the heat enough he could get me to lay down whatever hand he put me on. His range also might include hands like AT or 67 suited for busted straight draws or a KQ for overs with a gutshot. His range could also legitimately a complete bluff here (looking back and analyzing I will usually think that this is obviously not a possibility when I make a stupid call like this but this time I actually agree that this may be a 2 barrel bluff). I ended up calling after getting the clock called on me and he showed me 86hh for an unreal value bet he snuck in on me. Looking back on the hand now, I still really don’t completely hate the river call (or the turn call). I simply did not give the guy credit to make a value bet of this caliber. The place where the hand went all wrong is the check behind on the flop. I should bet here, I need to bet here, and I would have won the pot and been up to over 100k if I bet here. However, I lost about 60k that hand and was down to 18500 at 1.5k-3k.
Soon after this, the blinds went up to 2k-4k 500. I stole the blinds one hand that orbit and on the next orbit, I had about 16k in my BB. We were playing 7 handed at this point (14 players left) and a guy made it 15k UTG. The SB went all in for a total of 14k and I found 67cc in the BB. Im not going to let all of this dead money go to waste so I put all my chips in the middle and the hand were my 67cc vs UTG AQo vs SB Q9dd. The board ran out 36777 for a convenient triple up to about 50k for me. After this, the guy who I lost all my chips to went on an unreal run. He had about 200k after the hand with me and, by the time the final table started, he had about 450k. One hand, a guy made it 17k from the button, the SB moved all in for 41k, and he flatted from the BB. The button folded and the SB showed AK and he showed JT. Im not too sure I get this call but it worked for him (Id assume he was giving himself an image of being able to call any push to make sure we would be more afraid to push). He then won a 200k or so pot in a coinflip with AK vs TT (I felt bad for the kid with TT, push this guy raising every hand with a legit hand and somehow end up in a race). We were 5 handed for a while and I literally could not find a spot to push my chips in. He was right on my right and raised every pot and by the time the madness of him getting all the chips was done, I only had 40k or so so I could push on his raise with like 93o or T5o, knowing I was going to get called. I think I folded K5 one time and remember immediately regretting folding a king. (although he probably would have shown A3 or something). The frustration of this combined with the hand I misplayed is just making me infuriated right now by the way.
Anyways, someone busted at the other table and we were down to our final 10. That guy had like 450k-500k of a possible 900k in chips. I had 26500 in chips and there were about 3 other players who had as much as me. Only 9 spots paid but everyone agreed to throw in $20 so that the person who finishes in 10th would get paid (which was just fine by me at this point). I drew a good seat and was lucky enough to be 2 spots away from the button to give me ample hands to find one to push in with.
Also, upon arriving at the final table, we went on the 4th break and the blind level went up to 3k-6k 1k. I folded a couple of hands to watch all the other short stacks push and get no callers, except for this one short stack who started in the BB and continued to fold his hands. UTG, I found AJo and pushed my 22k in chips. The guy who kept folding decided to call his last 6k (yes, one BB) and everyone else folded. He showed K6o and the board came out QQ246 for a bad river for me. If I would have won that pot I would have been up to like 45k or so (decent in chips but still obviously hurting) but instead was down to my last 16k in the BB. 1k went in the ante and the guy who just doubled off of me pushed all in. The big stack guy called and it really didn’t matter as I only had 9k behind and 7k in the pot already. I found T3o and went with it and they showed KQ and KJ. The board came out K42QJ and I was eliminated in 10th place after 7 ½ hours. At least I won $180 for a net profit of $30 (Like $4 an hour. . .sick).
It sucks that I was 2/2 in coinflips, made a FL draw in a pretty big pot, got lucky vs KK in a big pot, and had all my big hands hold in the key spots and all I could make of it was a 10th place (especially when 1st was like 5k) but like everything in poker, it’s a learning experience and I hope that I will be at a final table again soon someday (I KNOW I will).
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tourney: Venetian March 24th $150 12 PM daily recap
I decided to change things up a little today and I woke up earlier than usual to play in a tournament at noon at the Venetian. This tournament actually only gave you 7500 in chips as opposed to the 10000 that I previously listed but the blinds were 30 minute long (as opposed to the 20 min long levels of the 7 PM). Other than that, the structure was the same. Todays tournament had 96 players and 1st prize was a little less than 4k. The tournament started off weird as we were only playing 4 handed but all of the stacks were in play.
First hand I found AJo and raised to 150 into 2 sitting out blinds and the one guy behind me raised me to 500. I folded and he showed QQ for the sick first hand avoidance. After a few people finally sat down, I limped behind a couple of limpers with A5ss. The flop came A52 and one of the limpers bet out 200. I raised to 550 and he folded. I was at around 7800 when this LAGtard limped in EP and I limped behind with T9o. The flop came 943 and the blinds checked, the LAGtard bet out 200 and I called. The turn came a 3 and he bet out 500. I figured him for either a draw like 65 or a lower 9 like 98 or 97. I called and the river came a 2. He checked and after some deliberation, I checked behind as Im not going to get called for value with any hand. He showed 44 for 4s full and I was down to 6500.
Around this time, the table finally got 10 handed. I called a raise to 300 vs 2 other people. The flop came 554 and the caller (not the raiser) bet out 1000. I folded and he showed JJ. I just couldn’t get anything going in the right direction as I raised to 250 (at 50-100) in late position twice only to get reraised both times. I was down to 5300 when I found 88 in the BB with one limper + SB. I raised to 250 and got called in both spots. The flop came KK6 and the SB checked, I checked, and the other caller checked. The turn came a K and I bet out 550. The MP caller folded but the SB called. The river came a 3 and he checked to me. I thought about checking but I feel like I have to try to value bet here when I know that I will get paid with a 6 so I bet 800. He thought and raised to 1900. He was a pretty good player and I thought he was probably capable of making a play here with a busted Fl draw. I called and he showed me K5. I should have known that this is a king like 99% of the time but I just didn’t think it through properly. Even if he didn’t have a king, I should know that Im behind because his range that would call the turn and c/r the river. I was down to 2600 after this hand and hurting.
After this the blinds went to 100-200 and I was pretty short stacked. I found AKo in late position with no one in the pot and decided to change it up a little bit by limping. It folded to the blinds and they didn’t bite and the flop came JT2. The SB checked and the BB bet out 600. I decided to call to see one card and because it would be a similar amount to what Id put in for a preflop raise. The turn came a Q giving me the stone cold nuts. He bet out 1200 and I decided just to call and leave myself with 1250 behind. The river came a 9 and he put me all in and I called and he showed J9 and AK was good for a double up to 6500 or so. I lost some smaller pots when I raised with KJhh and missed the flop and called PF with 44 and 66 and missed. I was at 5625 at the first break and my table broke during the first break.
I moved to a new table and didn’t do much for the first 15 minutes or so. We were at level 4 (100-200 25) and there was one limper to me on the button. I finally was able to look down and see a big pair with KK. I made it 600 and both blinds called and so did the limper. The flop came down 6s3x2s and the BB bet out 800. This guy has played a lot of hands, played them straight up, and didn’t fold much (he looked like he would be a welder if I had to peg his job type). I could immediately eliminate a FL draw from his range because while he would play a FL draw, he wouldn’t lead out with one. I am obviously hoping that he has a PP higher than the board here and pays me off. The limper folded and I made it 2200 from the button. The SB folded and he called. The turn came a 9s which worried me a little but really not that much. He checked and I went all in for 2250 and he called and showed 77 with no spade and he was drawing to 2 outs. He missed and I doubled to 11500 or so.
We went to level 5 (200-400 25) and I lost some chips when I called a larger than usual opening raise in a multi way pot with 66 and missed the flop but then I won some chips when I called a raise with K10dd from the SB with 3 other players and the flop came 10 high, I bet out and won the pot. I then was able to win another medium pot when I raised to 1050 in LP with AKo. The blinds both called and the flop came JJ8. It checked to me and I decided to check behind. The turn came a Q and it checked to me again. I thought that this would be a good bluff card for me so I bet out 1650, hoping to get a fold from lower PPs that I wouldn’t showdown against. They both folded and I won the pot.
The blinds went up to level 6 (300-600 50) and a short stack moved in for about 3600. It folded to me in the SB and I found QQ. I just moved all in because the BB only had about 7k in chips (if he has more I try to trap here) and the short stack shows AKss. I am lucky enough to win another coinflip against a short stack on a sick sweat flop of Js10s5x. After this hand, I was up to a comfortable 18000 or so. However, 2 hands after this SB, I raised to 1550 in the cutoff with A8o. The welder guy called from the BB and the flop came KJ7. He bet out all in for about 10k and I folded. The next hand I found A10ss and raised in the hijack to 1550 and the welder guy raised the button to 5k. I folded and am certain that I had the worst hand on both pots because of how straight up that this guy played but with these 2 pots, I basically wasted all the money I won on the coinflip.
At the end of the 2nd break, I was at 14350 and ironically, my table broke again. I was moved to a pretty poor position as the 3 guys on my left all had stacks of like 4k-6k and I just hand to be extremely selective about raising pots because if I raise at 400-800 75, I am basically going to be calling any push from those stacks so im essentially putting that much of my stack in whenever I raise. Unluckily, I was unable to pick up any raising spot at all during level 7. I found 22 twice and 44 once but there was already a raise in front of me (I now with I would have just said screw it and pushed especially with 44 because the raiser got reraised and then called the reraise and a 4 came on the flop. At least with a raise, a reraise and a call I know that if I push 44 there im a 4-1 dog like 95% of the time probably).
I was dwindled to 10500 after this level and still had more than enough chips for the next level of 600-1200 100 and we were down to 3 tables (with 9 spots paying). A really crazy thing happened during this level too. Some kid picked up a TON of chips probably about 70k GIANT pots of 77 vs AJ vs his QQ and JJ vs KJ vs his KK. I thought he was playing good (but I was obviously wrong) as he started to just push all his chips in every hand. What the hell. There were like 4-5 straight pots of 40k+ pots, all in preflop. It was just extremely bizarre but its hard to play here if I don’t have a hand. He lost his 70k to about 10k and then tightened up again so it seems like I missed the boat of getting some easy chips. I was down further in chips but did pick up AQo and push and not get called. I was teetering around 8k-9k when, on the last hand before level 9, I finally found a good spot to push my 8700 chips in with Q9cc in the cutoff. This was only the 2nd time I pushed since I had been at the table. The button, who was a tight player, somehow found a call and showed KJo. WTF he literally folded every hand for a long time and called my all in pretty quickly with KJo. Oh well the board came J high and I busted out in 22nd place. It was a pretty good confidence builder as I got pretty deep but there was still a long way to the money and I still didn’t get to the next level. I plan on going to bed early today and playing in this tournament tomorrow so I hope that that goes better.
First hand I found AJo and raised to 150 into 2 sitting out blinds and the one guy behind me raised me to 500. I folded and he showed QQ for the sick first hand avoidance. After a few people finally sat down, I limped behind a couple of limpers with A5ss. The flop came A52 and one of the limpers bet out 200. I raised to 550 and he folded. I was at around 7800 when this LAGtard limped in EP and I limped behind with T9o. The flop came 943 and the blinds checked, the LAGtard bet out 200 and I called. The turn came a 3 and he bet out 500. I figured him for either a draw like 65 or a lower 9 like 98 or 97. I called and the river came a 2. He checked and after some deliberation, I checked behind as Im not going to get called for value with any hand. He showed 44 for 4s full and I was down to 6500.
Around this time, the table finally got 10 handed. I called a raise to 300 vs 2 other people. The flop came 554 and the caller (not the raiser) bet out 1000. I folded and he showed JJ. I just couldn’t get anything going in the right direction as I raised to 250 (at 50-100) in late position twice only to get reraised both times. I was down to 5300 when I found 88 in the BB with one limper + SB. I raised to 250 and got called in both spots. The flop came KK6 and the SB checked, I checked, and the other caller checked. The turn came a K and I bet out 550. The MP caller folded but the SB called. The river came a 3 and he checked to me. I thought about checking but I feel like I have to try to value bet here when I know that I will get paid with a 6 so I bet 800. He thought and raised to 1900. He was a pretty good player and I thought he was probably capable of making a play here with a busted Fl draw. I called and he showed me K5. I should have known that this is a king like 99% of the time but I just didn’t think it through properly. Even if he didn’t have a king, I should know that Im behind because his range that would call the turn and c/r the river. I was down to 2600 after this hand and hurting.
After this the blinds went to 100-200 and I was pretty short stacked. I found AKo in late position with no one in the pot and decided to change it up a little bit by limping. It folded to the blinds and they didn’t bite and the flop came JT2. The SB checked and the BB bet out 600. I decided to call to see one card and because it would be a similar amount to what Id put in for a preflop raise. The turn came a Q giving me the stone cold nuts. He bet out 1200 and I decided just to call and leave myself with 1250 behind. The river came a 9 and he put me all in and I called and he showed J9 and AK was good for a double up to 6500 or so. I lost some smaller pots when I raised with KJhh and missed the flop and called PF with 44 and 66 and missed. I was at 5625 at the first break and my table broke during the first break.
I moved to a new table and didn’t do much for the first 15 minutes or so. We were at level 4 (100-200 25) and there was one limper to me on the button. I finally was able to look down and see a big pair with KK. I made it 600 and both blinds called and so did the limper. The flop came down 6s3x2s and the BB bet out 800. This guy has played a lot of hands, played them straight up, and didn’t fold much (he looked like he would be a welder if I had to peg his job type). I could immediately eliminate a FL draw from his range because while he would play a FL draw, he wouldn’t lead out with one. I am obviously hoping that he has a PP higher than the board here and pays me off. The limper folded and I made it 2200 from the button. The SB folded and he called. The turn came a 9s which worried me a little but really not that much. He checked and I went all in for 2250 and he called and showed 77 with no spade and he was drawing to 2 outs. He missed and I doubled to 11500 or so.
We went to level 5 (200-400 25) and I lost some chips when I called a larger than usual opening raise in a multi way pot with 66 and missed the flop but then I won some chips when I called a raise with K10dd from the SB with 3 other players and the flop came 10 high, I bet out and won the pot. I then was able to win another medium pot when I raised to 1050 in LP with AKo. The blinds both called and the flop came JJ8. It checked to me and I decided to check behind. The turn came a Q and it checked to me again. I thought that this would be a good bluff card for me so I bet out 1650, hoping to get a fold from lower PPs that I wouldn’t showdown against. They both folded and I won the pot.
The blinds went up to level 6 (300-600 50) and a short stack moved in for about 3600. It folded to me in the SB and I found QQ. I just moved all in because the BB only had about 7k in chips (if he has more I try to trap here) and the short stack shows AKss. I am lucky enough to win another coinflip against a short stack on a sick sweat flop of Js10s5x. After this hand, I was up to a comfortable 18000 or so. However, 2 hands after this SB, I raised to 1550 in the cutoff with A8o. The welder guy called from the BB and the flop came KJ7. He bet out all in for about 10k and I folded. The next hand I found A10ss and raised in the hijack to 1550 and the welder guy raised the button to 5k. I folded and am certain that I had the worst hand on both pots because of how straight up that this guy played but with these 2 pots, I basically wasted all the money I won on the coinflip.
At the end of the 2nd break, I was at 14350 and ironically, my table broke again. I was moved to a pretty poor position as the 3 guys on my left all had stacks of like 4k-6k and I just hand to be extremely selective about raising pots because if I raise at 400-800 75, I am basically going to be calling any push from those stacks so im essentially putting that much of my stack in whenever I raise. Unluckily, I was unable to pick up any raising spot at all during level 7. I found 22 twice and 44 once but there was already a raise in front of me (I now with I would have just said screw it and pushed especially with 44 because the raiser got reraised and then called the reraise and a 4 came on the flop. At least with a raise, a reraise and a call I know that if I push 44 there im a 4-1 dog like 95% of the time probably).
I was dwindled to 10500 after this level and still had more than enough chips for the next level of 600-1200 100 and we were down to 3 tables (with 9 spots paying). A really crazy thing happened during this level too. Some kid picked up a TON of chips probably about 70k GIANT pots of 77 vs AJ vs his QQ and JJ vs KJ vs his KK. I thought he was playing good (but I was obviously wrong) as he started to just push all his chips in every hand. What the hell. There were like 4-5 straight pots of 40k+ pots, all in preflop. It was just extremely bizarre but its hard to play here if I don’t have a hand. He lost his 70k to about 10k and then tightened up again so it seems like I missed the boat of getting some easy chips. I was down further in chips but did pick up AQo and push and not get called. I was teetering around 8k-9k when, on the last hand before level 9, I finally found a good spot to push my 8700 chips in with Q9cc in the cutoff. This was only the 2nd time I pushed since I had been at the table. The button, who was a tight player, somehow found a call and showed KJo. WTF he literally folded every hand for a long time and called my all in pretty quickly with KJo. Oh well the board came J high and I busted out in 22nd place. It was a pretty good confidence builder as I got pretty deep but there was still a long way to the money and I still didn’t get to the next level. I plan on going to bed early today and playing in this tournament tomorrow so I hope that that goes better.
Tourney: Venetian March 23rd $120 7 PM nightly recap
Like I said, I only won 8 pots today (4 in cash game and 4 in this tournament) so you know that this isn’t going to be a good result heading in. I played in very few pots in the first 2 levels. I raised with AJo from the hijack, only to get reraised from the button and fold. I limped with 44 and called a raise and folded when I missed the flop. I limped with 77 and folded to a 10x blind raise. That’s about it for the 1st 2 levels.
About half way through the 3rd level, I was down to about 5500 (original 7500 stack) and made it 525 from the cutoff with QJo and the blinds folded. The next hand I did the same thing with A7o and the blinds folded again (pots 5 and 6 on the day). The rest of 100-200, nothing happened and the first half of level 4 (100-200 25) nothing happened. There was an EP raiser to 600 and I found 99 in the SB. I regret not coming over the top here (probably the proper play) but just called and so did the BB. The flop came AK3 2 clubs and I check folded.
A couple hands later, I was in the cutoff with 1 limper in front of me. I found 2 black queens and made it 650 to go. The blinds folded and the limper called and the flop came A85. He checked and I c-bet 900 and he folded, giving me the pot. At the first break, I was at 6450 (of my 7500) so despite playing few pots, not a bad result at all.
Level 5 was 200-400 25 and I couldn’t find any spots here. The 2nd hand or so of level 6 (300-600 50) I was down to 4450 and if folded to me on the button. I found KJo and pushed all in. The big blind thought about and called and showed A9ss (I don’t know how he called with how incredibly tight I was playing but he did). The board ran out AQ8810 for a lucky river hit for me (I play so bad, fold for 2 hours and push all in with the worst of it—that was my last pot of the day BTW).
I think 2 hands later was my last hand. I found JJ and made it 1650 from MP. It folded to the SB and he made it 4200. He was a middle aged man who just moved to the table and had a TON of chips. My initial read was that he might just assume me a younger aggressive guy because he saw the KJ hand and he might be using his chip stack to bully me around. The BB then called all in for his stack which was about 4000 total. I really thought that with the action out there, he is doing this with any pair, or any 2 high cards. I think about it and think that even if he does have a hand bigger than mine (which I thought was incredibly unlikely) the SB would be priced in to call if I came over the top for my 5500 or so more and I would be a favorite to win vs his ATC (I came to this conclusion after thinking for a while). I pushed all in and the SB called (now all I have to do is win the side pot to make chips—10500 or so side pot, 13500 or so main pot). The BB turned up KK which is just too bad he wakes up with that hand there, and the SB, after much complaining, turns up AQ, which is also too bad he has to come up with that hand there. The flop comes A high and I don’t make a set and am eliminated.
This is the first way I have been eliminated recently that I am OK with. Another thing that perturbs about my tournament play is that, since the first tournament I played (6 tourneys), I have not been able to even double my stack at some point in the tournament. The most I have been at is like 1.6 or 1.7x my starting stack. This is odd because usually, I have no problem accruing chips at the start of the tournament. Usually my problem is winning races towards the end. Oh well, I am going to play in the noon tournament at the Venetian right now. Its only $150 and that extra $30 gets me an extra 2500 in starting chips and an extra 10 minutes/level so maybe I can use this to my advantage.
About half way through the 3rd level, I was down to about 5500 (original 7500 stack) and made it 525 from the cutoff with QJo and the blinds folded. The next hand I did the same thing with A7o and the blinds folded again (pots 5 and 6 on the day). The rest of 100-200, nothing happened and the first half of level 4 (100-200 25) nothing happened. There was an EP raiser to 600 and I found 99 in the SB. I regret not coming over the top here (probably the proper play) but just called and so did the BB. The flop came AK3 2 clubs and I check folded.
A couple hands later, I was in the cutoff with 1 limper in front of me. I found 2 black queens and made it 650 to go. The blinds folded and the limper called and the flop came A85. He checked and I c-bet 900 and he folded, giving me the pot. At the first break, I was at 6450 (of my 7500) so despite playing few pots, not a bad result at all.
Level 5 was 200-400 25 and I couldn’t find any spots here. The 2nd hand or so of level 6 (300-600 50) I was down to 4450 and if folded to me on the button. I found KJo and pushed all in. The big blind thought about and called and showed A9ss (I don’t know how he called with how incredibly tight I was playing but he did). The board ran out AQ8810 for a lucky river hit for me (I play so bad, fold for 2 hours and push all in with the worst of it—that was my last pot of the day BTW).
I think 2 hands later was my last hand. I found JJ and made it 1650 from MP. It folded to the SB and he made it 4200. He was a middle aged man who just moved to the table and had a TON of chips. My initial read was that he might just assume me a younger aggressive guy because he saw the KJ hand and he might be using his chip stack to bully me around. The BB then called all in for his stack which was about 4000 total. I really thought that with the action out there, he is doing this with any pair, or any 2 high cards. I think about it and think that even if he does have a hand bigger than mine (which I thought was incredibly unlikely) the SB would be priced in to call if I came over the top for my 5500 or so more and I would be a favorite to win vs his ATC (I came to this conclusion after thinking for a while). I pushed all in and the SB called (now all I have to do is win the side pot to make chips—10500 or so side pot, 13500 or so main pot). The BB turned up KK which is just too bad he wakes up with that hand there, and the SB, after much complaining, turns up AQ, which is also too bad he has to come up with that hand there. The flop comes A high and I don’t make a set and am eliminated.
This is the first way I have been eliminated recently that I am OK with. Another thing that perturbs about my tournament play is that, since the first tournament I played (6 tourneys), I have not been able to even double my stack at some point in the tournament. The most I have been at is like 1.6 or 1.7x my starting stack. This is odd because usually, I have no problem accruing chips at the start of the tournament. Usually my problem is winning races towards the end. Oh well, I am going to play in the noon tournament at the Venetian right now. Its only $150 and that extra $30 gets me an extra 2500 in starting chips and an extra 10 minutes/level so maybe I can use this to my advantage.
Cash Game: Venetian March 23rd 2:45 PM-6:15 PM
Well, I think I set some sort of record today, playing 5 ½ hours of poker and winning EXACTLY 8, yes 8, hands. Ouch. I sat down at 2:45 with the intention of playing cash until 6:15 and playing the tournament/eating dinner. I waited just under an hour (55 minutes) before I entered my first real pot.
I had not called a raise or anything so I was still at like $180 even after an hour and I limped in LP with Q9ss. Some lady raised in the BB to $15 and there was a caller in front of me and a guy behind me who limp-called a lot of raises so I thought that this was a good spot to see a flop. I called and the flop came Js8s5x, giving me an over, a gutshot, and a flush draw. The lady lead out for $20 and I chose just to call because I thought she might have an overpair and I knew that even if she did and I hit, I would get paid off so theres no point in pumping the pot (A La A3hh hand from 2 sessions ago) when I know Ill still get called if I hit. The guy behind me raised it $50 more to $70. The lady folded and it was back to me. The more I thought about this, the more I knew that he would never turn up with a set right here. I was almost 100% positive he had AJ and I am a favorite against AJ (I am 55%--I checked) and to go with me being a favorite, he might fold if I push here so I banked for about 2 minutes and decided to push for $110 more. He called me pretty quickly (which makes me feel good because this is probably exactly how I play a set here, with the 2 minute bank and all) and says “I knew you had a draw” and I was like “Well OK but you know im still a favorite”. He had J10 (an amazing call) and even though it wasn’t AJ like I thought, Im still a slight favorite (51.82%-48.18%). The turn came a offsuit 7, giving me more outs (Im still 40% going to the river) but he river blanked and I lost my $200 in the first hour.
I rebought for $200 more and played another HOUR AND A HALF (2 ½ hours) before I won my first pot. I raised to $10 with AKo in LP and the button called. The flop came 632r and I bet out $15. He called and the turn came 9, check-check. The river came Q check-check he shows AJ and my AK is goot.
About 5 hands later, I am in the BB. The UTG straddles and its folded to the button. He calls and so does the SB. I find JJ and make it $15, and everyone calls. The flop comes T87. I bet out $25 to see where im at, the straddle raises to $75. Everyone folds back to me and I think and end up folding. We don’t discuss the hand but right before I leave, he tells me he flopped top 2 pair. He was a good player so he legitimately could have been making a move, but theres no reason for me not to believe him.
A little later, I won my second pot when I limped in a pot in EP with KJ. The flop came AKJ 2 clubs and I bet out $15 and got one caller. The turn came another club and the river came a 7 and I checked it down with the other guy and he showed an ace (no good—pot 2/8 on the day). I won another pot when I raised up front with 88 and got 1 caller. The flop came 632 and I c-bet and won. I did raise a couple of pots with other midpairs around this time (TT, 77) and got about 7 callers both times (so if I spike my set I win a sick pot) but was unable to hit and lost.
The last pot I won before I left, I picked up AQo from hijack and was the first one in the pot with a raise to $10. The button called and the flop came A84. I bet $20 and he called. The turn came a 10 and I checked for pot control and he checked behind. The river came a K and I bet $25 and he folded. Overall, after I lost the first $200 in the first hour, I lost $56 of the 2nd $200 I had despite not really catching a break in a pot. I mean, Im not playing tight by any means, I just am having trouble finding spots right now. I don’t think I am doing anything wrong but will continue to improve my game through observation and listening to your comments. I ended the session cashing out for $154 (-$256) and my 3rd bigger losing session in a row.
I had not called a raise or anything so I was still at like $180 even after an hour and I limped in LP with Q9ss. Some lady raised in the BB to $15 and there was a caller in front of me and a guy behind me who limp-called a lot of raises so I thought that this was a good spot to see a flop. I called and the flop came Js8s5x, giving me an over, a gutshot, and a flush draw. The lady lead out for $20 and I chose just to call because I thought she might have an overpair and I knew that even if she did and I hit, I would get paid off so theres no point in pumping the pot (A La A3hh hand from 2 sessions ago) when I know Ill still get called if I hit. The guy behind me raised it $50 more to $70. The lady folded and it was back to me. The more I thought about this, the more I knew that he would never turn up with a set right here. I was almost 100% positive he had AJ and I am a favorite against AJ (I am 55%--I checked) and to go with me being a favorite, he might fold if I push here so I banked for about 2 minutes and decided to push for $110 more. He called me pretty quickly (which makes me feel good because this is probably exactly how I play a set here, with the 2 minute bank and all) and says “I knew you had a draw” and I was like “Well OK but you know im still a favorite”. He had J10 (an amazing call) and even though it wasn’t AJ like I thought, Im still a slight favorite (51.82%-48.18%). The turn came a offsuit 7, giving me more outs (Im still 40% going to the river) but he river blanked and I lost my $200 in the first hour.
I rebought for $200 more and played another HOUR AND A HALF (2 ½ hours) before I won my first pot. I raised to $10 with AKo in LP and the button called. The flop came 632r and I bet out $15. He called and the turn came 9, check-check. The river came Q check-check he shows AJ and my AK is goot.
About 5 hands later, I am in the BB. The UTG straddles and its folded to the button. He calls and so does the SB. I find JJ and make it $15, and everyone calls. The flop comes T87. I bet out $25 to see where im at, the straddle raises to $75. Everyone folds back to me and I think and end up folding. We don’t discuss the hand but right before I leave, he tells me he flopped top 2 pair. He was a good player so he legitimately could have been making a move, but theres no reason for me not to believe him.
A little later, I won my second pot when I limped in a pot in EP with KJ. The flop came AKJ 2 clubs and I bet out $15 and got one caller. The turn came another club and the river came a 7 and I checked it down with the other guy and he showed an ace (no good—pot 2/8 on the day). I won another pot when I raised up front with 88 and got 1 caller. The flop came 632 and I c-bet and won. I did raise a couple of pots with other midpairs around this time (TT, 77) and got about 7 callers both times (so if I spike my set I win a sick pot) but was unable to hit and lost.
The last pot I won before I left, I picked up AQo from hijack and was the first one in the pot with a raise to $10. The button called and the flop came A84. I bet $20 and he called. The turn came a 10 and I checked for pot control and he checked behind. The river came a K and I bet $25 and he folded. Overall, after I lost the first $200 in the first hour, I lost $56 of the 2nd $200 I had despite not really catching a break in a pot. I mean, Im not playing tight by any means, I just am having trouble finding spots right now. I don’t think I am doing anything wrong but will continue to improve my game through observation and listening to your comments. I ended the session cashing out for $154 (-$256) and my 3rd bigger losing session in a row.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Cash Game: Ballys March 20th 7:15 PM-9:45 PM
I had been drinking previous to this game so this was the first time I tried this. Drinking, for the most part, does not affect my game and I have been known to feel like I play better after a few drinks (but obviously do not try this or have not tried this that often). I usually play tighter as I am able to concern myself with other things besides the cards so when I do play a hand, I sometimes analyze it more thoroughly as all my attention can be devoted to it when I finally enter a pot.
This session was no exception, as I only played pretty much 3 pots that are even worth mentioning. The first of which occurred about an hour in. I hadn’t played 1 pot outside the blinds and was in the BB with 32o. The flop came 922 and I bet out $10 and got 2 callers. The turn came an offsuit 7 and I bet out $20 and got one caller. The river came an 8 and I bet $20 more (keeping it small because I thought hed fold a 9 to 3 barrels) and he did call and mucked when I showed.
I was up to $240 or so and played pretty tightly, but I did pick up quite a few smaller pairs and some other hands like KQs where I saw a flop and missed and folded to multiple betters. I was back down to about $200 when I decided to finally get a little aggressive. We were playing 6 handed (people were away from the table) and it folded to me in the cutoff. I found A7hh and decided to raise the blinds. I got 1 caller from the BB and the flop came Qx9h4h giving me an over and a FL draw. He checked to me and I bet $15 and he called. I was trying to think what he had here and I know that he might check/call me with a 9, and because he was talking about how tightly I was playing before this hand he might just check call me with a Q as well because he might figure be for AA/KK so a Q or 9 are legitimately in his range right now. He would also play like this with a lower FL draw or a JT. A 4 would not be in his range because he probably wouldn’t have called preflop with a 4 in his hand so I eliminated that card. The turn came another 4 and he checked to me and I bet out $25. He called and I still am trying to figure out what he has. I don’t think he would check call me with a 9 2 times so I figure him for having a Q, a Str draw, or a lower Fl draw. The river came an offsuit 6, having me miss my Fl draw. He bets out $20 and Im like WTF. He wouldn’t try to value bet a 9 here (if he was still even in the hand with one). He probably wouldn’t bet a Q here because if he just check called the flop and turn, he wouldn’t all the sudden try to value bet the river. He probably doesn’t have a 4 because it wasn’t in his range PF or on the flop. Therefore I figured him for a busted Str or Fl draw. I called with A high and he showed me 99 for 9s full. My analysis was pretty off but I think that with his range, I could have had the best hand here (I don’t make hero calls like that all that often) but I was way wrong as I didn’t even think about 99 in his range. I am lucky that I didn’t make my flush on the river I guess.
I was down to $100 and rebought for $100 more after this hand. I played just one more significant hand, I raised with 1 limper to $10 with KJdd and got called by both of the blinds and the limper. The flop came A107 and it checked to me and I checked behind as well. The turn came a 9, giving me a double gutter. The blinds checked and the limper bet out $15. I called as there was ~$40 in the pot and the blinds folded. The river came a blank and he checked and I checked and he showed me Q9 which sucked because I would have won if I bet at any point in the hand. I ended up cashing out for $142, which meant a net loss of $158 so that’s 2 big losing sessions in a row so that sucks. Hopefully it will turn around today.
This session was no exception, as I only played pretty much 3 pots that are even worth mentioning. The first of which occurred about an hour in. I hadn’t played 1 pot outside the blinds and was in the BB with 32o. The flop came 922 and I bet out $10 and got 2 callers. The turn came an offsuit 7 and I bet out $20 and got one caller. The river came an 8 and I bet $20 more (keeping it small because I thought hed fold a 9 to 3 barrels) and he did call and mucked when I showed.
I was up to $240 or so and played pretty tightly, but I did pick up quite a few smaller pairs and some other hands like KQs where I saw a flop and missed and folded to multiple betters. I was back down to about $200 when I decided to finally get a little aggressive. We were playing 6 handed (people were away from the table) and it folded to me in the cutoff. I found A7hh and decided to raise the blinds. I got 1 caller from the BB and the flop came Qx9h4h giving me an over and a FL draw. He checked to me and I bet $15 and he called. I was trying to think what he had here and I know that he might check/call me with a 9, and because he was talking about how tightly I was playing before this hand he might just check call me with a Q as well because he might figure be for AA/KK so a Q or 9 are legitimately in his range right now. He would also play like this with a lower FL draw or a JT. A 4 would not be in his range because he probably wouldn’t have called preflop with a 4 in his hand so I eliminated that card. The turn came another 4 and he checked to me and I bet out $25. He called and I still am trying to figure out what he has. I don’t think he would check call me with a 9 2 times so I figure him for having a Q, a Str draw, or a lower Fl draw. The river came an offsuit 6, having me miss my Fl draw. He bets out $20 and Im like WTF. He wouldn’t try to value bet a 9 here (if he was still even in the hand with one). He probably wouldn’t bet a Q here because if he just check called the flop and turn, he wouldn’t all the sudden try to value bet the river. He probably doesn’t have a 4 because it wasn’t in his range PF or on the flop. Therefore I figured him for a busted Str or Fl draw. I called with A high and he showed me 99 for 9s full. My analysis was pretty off but I think that with his range, I could have had the best hand here (I don’t make hero calls like that all that often) but I was way wrong as I didn’t even think about 99 in his range. I am lucky that I didn’t make my flush on the river I guess.
I was down to $100 and rebought for $100 more after this hand. I played just one more significant hand, I raised with 1 limper to $10 with KJdd and got called by both of the blinds and the limper. The flop came A107 and it checked to me and I checked behind as well. The turn came a 9, giving me a double gutter. The blinds checked and the limper bet out $15. I called as there was ~$40 in the pot and the blinds folded. The river came a blank and he checked and I checked and he showed me Q9 which sucked because I would have won if I bet at any point in the hand. I ended up cashing out for $142, which meant a net loss of $158 so that’s 2 big losing sessions in a row so that sucks. Hopefully it will turn around today.
Cash Game: Ballys March 18th 12:15 PM-3:15 PM
I should have known that this session wouldn’t be good right from the first hand. I played extremely LAGtarded this hand (LAG style) which was pretty different than how I played from my other sessions and it might have worked if a few hands went a little differently. I think I will still prefer to play TAG rather than LAG but I will feel out each table I played at.
The aforementioned first hand wasn’t that bad but just not good. It was a new table and everyone had bought in for over $160 so there was a good amount of money on the table and I found 88 in LP with a bunch of limpers. I figured if I tried to raise, they all would call so I just limped and the flop came 876. It checked to me and I bet $15 and got 2 callers. The turn came a 4 and I checked, the guy behind me bet $25, the guy from the SB called and I called because top set might still be good and if not, I was getting odds to hit my full. The river came a Q and the SB pushed all in I folded and so did the other guy. The SB showed QQQ which sucks because I still would have had the best hand on the turn so if I would have made a raise I would have won.
I was down to $150 or so and was able to flop 2 pair with A3 in the BB and get a couple of callers on the flop/turn but not the river and I worked my stack back to $190. I then played one of my big pots that if it went the opposite way, I would have probably had a good session. I did not know this at the time, but the donk I played this pot against was extremely extremely weak tight. Had this hand happened about 30 minutes later into the table, I would have lost a lot more money but it happened before he had played a pot so I lost more than necessary. There were about 3 limpers and I was in the cutoff. I looked down at A3hh and, since I was trying to build my LAG style, I made it $15. I got 2 callers and the flop came 10h5x4h, giving me an over, a FL draw, and a gutshot. The weak-tight player lead out for $25, I raised to $75, everyone else folded and he called. Now I set myself up to win a big pot it I hit. The turn came As and he checked and, because I figure I have showdown value, I check behind. The turn comes an offsuit king and he checks. I miss my Str and Fl draws but now have top pair (no kicker) and with him checking to me 2 times after the flop, I think that I probably have the best hand so I sneak in a value bet of $50 (really small % of the pot). He calls and shows 55 for a flopped set. Oops. . .value bet no good. If I would have known he just plays so weak tight like this. . .he flopped about 5 sets and played them all by check calling, I would have just played small pot until I found out if I hit my Str or Fl and then madea big bet if I hit and folded if I didn’t.
After this hand I was down to $50 and rebought for $100 more so I was in for $300 now. I was playing pretty LAG, picking up and losing several smaller pots, but when I was finally able to get KK and flop top set, I got no action. I did float a preflop raiser on a flop of A93 with 64o and pick up the pot with a big bet on the turn. I should have shown my bluff because that would have gotten me more action when a couple hands later I picked up KK again and got no action on a J93 flop.
I was up to $250 or so after these hands but as with playing LAG, you cant win every pot. I raised to $10 with AJ and got 2 callers from the blinds. The flop came JT9, giving me top-top, but putting a generally scary board out there for preflop callers. It checked to me and I bet $18 and got one caller, a tighter older guy. The turn came an A giving me top 2 pair. He bet out for $25 which I thought was weird. I really was thinking that he might have flopped a Str or 2 pair and I was thinking that if he did flop a Str, this is how he would play it so to keep the pot small, I just called. I also called because if he had 2 pair, it would be lower than mine and he would probably check/call the river and I could punish him with a big bet that looked like a bluff. The river laid my plans to waste as an 8 came off putting a 4 card straight on the board. He checked and I checked behind, even though I probably should have thought I had him because I know that he bets a straight there. He says “I was bluffing, good hand” and turns over K7 for the rivered straight and when the pot gets pushed to him he looks extremely clueless and is like “Oh shit! I had the straight and I didn’t know” This obviously sucks but what sucks even more is that if I would have tried to value bet my 2 pair on the river, like my plan was, he would have folded the best hand because he didn’t realize it! Poker is such an unreal game sometimes.
I then lost another pot thanks to an unfortunate card. It folded to me in the cutoff and I raised to $10 with Q10dd. The BB was the only caller and the flop came AQT, giving me bottom 2. He checked to me and I lead out for $13. He check raised me $30 more to $43. He was an aggressive player that was playing any ace like this and I know that he reraises me pre with AQ and maybe even A10. Even so, I don’t want to go around chucking $100+ dollars in the pot on a flop with bottom 2 pair. I would feel much safer if I see one more card and on a safe turn card put more money in the pot. I just called the $30 and the turn came a nasty A. He bet out $50 and I folded and showed. I kept asking him what he had but he never told me. All he said was “I had a big hand” and I asked him what hewould have done if I raised him on the flop and he said “I would have called you down all the way. I had too much to fold” so Im guessing I would have ended up with the worst hand (that he had like A9, AJ or something) but there is still a chance that I got bluffed in this pot.
I then called a raise to $10 with positon and 2 other players in the hand with JTdd. The flop came 9s7s3x and the original raiser bet out $10. The other caller called and I decided to gamble with 2 overs and a gutshot (it was a small bet). The turn came a Js, giving me top pair but putting 3 spades on the board. It checked to me and I figured that I had the best hand. I bet $30 and the original raiser folded and the caller called. The river came an offsuit Q and he checked and I checked and he showed me 65ss for the flush. After this trio of hands, I was down to $90 (-$210) total.
I decided to limp my button with 34dd only to have the SB raise it to $12. He got 4 callers and while id usually fold here, I decided to call. The flop came 7h4h2x and it checked to me and I decided to check as well (not trying to play a big pot with 2nd pair). The turn came a 3h, putting 3 hearts on the board but giving me 2 pair. It checked to me and I bet out $50, about the size of the pot (and most of my stack). It folded to the last guy and he called. The river came an offsuit J and he went all in for about $31 (I had a little more than him). I thought he might have a flush but even so, I have to call so I did and he showed me 99 with no heart and I scooped this decent sized pot to get me back to $230 or so.
I lost a few more pots when I couldn’t make a set or make any draws with connectors and was ready to go but on the last hand before I was going to leave, I decided to blow it. I had about $190, and I found AKss UTG. I made it $10 and the guy behind me reraised me to $35. I had visions of that tournament at the Venetian where this was the exact hand I laid down PF and he showed me AA, but failed to listen to those as I moved him in for his short stack of about $110 total. He called and showed me AA and I blew off $110 the last hand before leaving (I flopped a K so even if I decided to call I probably would have doubled him up but I probably should just fold PF there). After this hand, I was down to $67 in chips for a net loss of -$233. Not a good result.
The aforementioned first hand wasn’t that bad but just not good. It was a new table and everyone had bought in for over $160 so there was a good amount of money on the table and I found 88 in LP with a bunch of limpers. I figured if I tried to raise, they all would call so I just limped and the flop came 876. It checked to me and I bet $15 and got 2 callers. The turn came a 4 and I checked, the guy behind me bet $25, the guy from the SB called and I called because top set might still be good and if not, I was getting odds to hit my full. The river came a Q and the SB pushed all in I folded and so did the other guy. The SB showed QQQ which sucks because I still would have had the best hand on the turn so if I would have made a raise I would have won.
I was down to $150 or so and was able to flop 2 pair with A3 in the BB and get a couple of callers on the flop/turn but not the river and I worked my stack back to $190. I then played one of my big pots that if it went the opposite way, I would have probably had a good session. I did not know this at the time, but the donk I played this pot against was extremely extremely weak tight. Had this hand happened about 30 minutes later into the table, I would have lost a lot more money but it happened before he had played a pot so I lost more than necessary. There were about 3 limpers and I was in the cutoff. I looked down at A3hh and, since I was trying to build my LAG style, I made it $15. I got 2 callers and the flop came 10h5x4h, giving me an over, a FL draw, and a gutshot. The weak-tight player lead out for $25, I raised to $75, everyone else folded and he called. Now I set myself up to win a big pot it I hit. The turn came As and he checked and, because I figure I have showdown value, I check behind. The turn comes an offsuit king and he checks. I miss my Str and Fl draws but now have top pair (no kicker) and with him checking to me 2 times after the flop, I think that I probably have the best hand so I sneak in a value bet of $50 (really small % of the pot). He calls and shows 55 for a flopped set. Oops. . .value bet no good. If I would have known he just plays so weak tight like this. . .he flopped about 5 sets and played them all by check calling, I would have just played small pot until I found out if I hit my Str or Fl and then madea big bet if I hit and folded if I didn’t.
After this hand I was down to $50 and rebought for $100 more so I was in for $300 now. I was playing pretty LAG, picking up and losing several smaller pots, but when I was finally able to get KK and flop top set, I got no action. I did float a preflop raiser on a flop of A93 with 64o and pick up the pot with a big bet on the turn. I should have shown my bluff because that would have gotten me more action when a couple hands later I picked up KK again and got no action on a J93 flop.
I was up to $250 or so after these hands but as with playing LAG, you cant win every pot. I raised to $10 with AJ and got 2 callers from the blinds. The flop came JT9, giving me top-top, but putting a generally scary board out there for preflop callers. It checked to me and I bet $18 and got one caller, a tighter older guy. The turn came an A giving me top 2 pair. He bet out for $25 which I thought was weird. I really was thinking that he might have flopped a Str or 2 pair and I was thinking that if he did flop a Str, this is how he would play it so to keep the pot small, I just called. I also called because if he had 2 pair, it would be lower than mine and he would probably check/call the river and I could punish him with a big bet that looked like a bluff. The river laid my plans to waste as an 8 came off putting a 4 card straight on the board. He checked and I checked behind, even though I probably should have thought I had him because I know that he bets a straight there. He says “I was bluffing, good hand” and turns over K7 for the rivered straight and when the pot gets pushed to him he looks extremely clueless and is like “Oh shit! I had the straight and I didn’t know” This obviously sucks but what sucks even more is that if I would have tried to value bet my 2 pair on the river, like my plan was, he would have folded the best hand because he didn’t realize it! Poker is such an unreal game sometimes.
I then lost another pot thanks to an unfortunate card. It folded to me in the cutoff and I raised to $10 with Q10dd. The BB was the only caller and the flop came AQT, giving me bottom 2. He checked to me and I lead out for $13. He check raised me $30 more to $43. He was an aggressive player that was playing any ace like this and I know that he reraises me pre with AQ and maybe even A10. Even so, I don’t want to go around chucking $100+ dollars in the pot on a flop with bottom 2 pair. I would feel much safer if I see one more card and on a safe turn card put more money in the pot. I just called the $30 and the turn came a nasty A. He bet out $50 and I folded and showed. I kept asking him what he had but he never told me. All he said was “I had a big hand” and I asked him what hewould have done if I raised him on the flop and he said “I would have called you down all the way. I had too much to fold” so Im guessing I would have ended up with the worst hand (that he had like A9, AJ or something) but there is still a chance that I got bluffed in this pot.
I then called a raise to $10 with positon and 2 other players in the hand with JTdd. The flop came 9s7s3x and the original raiser bet out $10. The other caller called and I decided to gamble with 2 overs and a gutshot (it was a small bet). The turn came a Js, giving me top pair but putting 3 spades on the board. It checked to me and I figured that I had the best hand. I bet $30 and the original raiser folded and the caller called. The river came an offsuit Q and he checked and I checked and he showed me 65ss for the flush. After this trio of hands, I was down to $90 (-$210) total.
I decided to limp my button with 34dd only to have the SB raise it to $12. He got 4 callers and while id usually fold here, I decided to call. The flop came 7h4h2x and it checked to me and I decided to check as well (not trying to play a big pot with 2nd pair). The turn came a 3h, putting 3 hearts on the board but giving me 2 pair. It checked to me and I bet out $50, about the size of the pot (and most of my stack). It folded to the last guy and he called. The river came an offsuit J and he went all in for about $31 (I had a little more than him). I thought he might have a flush but even so, I have to call so I did and he showed me 99 with no heart and I scooped this decent sized pot to get me back to $230 or so.
I lost a few more pots when I couldn’t make a set or make any draws with connectors and was ready to go but on the last hand before I was going to leave, I decided to blow it. I had about $190, and I found AKss UTG. I made it $10 and the guy behind me reraised me to $35. I had visions of that tournament at the Venetian where this was the exact hand I laid down PF and he showed me AA, but failed to listen to those as I moved him in for his short stack of about $110 total. He called and showed me AA and I blew off $110 the last hand before leaving (I flopped a K so even if I decided to call I probably would have doubled him up but I probably should just fold PF there). After this hand, I was down to $67 in chips for a net loss of -$233. Not a good result.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Cash Game: Venetian March 17th 9 PM-2:15 AM
After the tournament, I decided to get my cash game on. Luckily, it didn’t start off as piss poor as it did last night. I did, however, start on a losing note. I played a pot with 65o and flopped a straight draw and called to the river and missed and a pot with 910o and flopped 2nd pair and called down some smaller bets on the turn and river and it was no good. After these pots, I was down to $120 and decided to put $100 more in so I was now in for $300.
Im glad I did because a couple hands later, I was in the BB and there were 4 limpers and the SB made it $16. I looked down at AJo and called and 2 limpers called. The flop came AAK. The SB bet out $25, I just called, and one of the limpers called. The turn came a 5 and the SB checked, I bet $50, and the limper called and the SB folded. The river came a J giving me a full house and I bet out $60. The limper called and my full house was good. Its too bad I bet the turn too because the SB said he folded Q10 so I would have won much more from him if I would have checked. Nevertheless, I was up to $410 and in the black again.
Over the next 2 hours, I played much looser than I had in any other previous cash games. Maybe it was just the hands I was getting, but I seemed to be playing a lot of flops. What sucked is that I felt like I put myself in a good position to win a lot of money, but I just couldn’t hit that big time flop. Everyone else was playing big pots with sets vs overpairs or flushes vs 2 pair but I just couldn’t make anything, despite giving myself a chance. I called $25 preflop with 4 other players with 87dd and failed to hit. I called $35 preflop with 3 other players with 107hh but failed to hit. I probably picked up 10 or so small pairs over the course of the 2-2 ½ hours but failed to hit a set. I even picked up more suited connectors but just couldn’t connect with them. When all was said and done, I was back down to $200 or so.
I lied actually, I did hit one hand. I had 78o and the flop came T92. I called one bet and the turn came 3. It went check check and the river came a 6, giving me the nuts. He bet out, I raised and he put me all in and I called and he obviously had 78 for the chop (so I guess I cant complain because I guess I do hit hands once in a while).
By the end of this, I was getting pretty pissed off, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I called a raise to $12 with 64o and 3 other players. The flop came JT6 and it checked to me and I bet out $50 first of all, because that 6 was the hardest Id hit a flop in a while and 2nd, because I figured I might get credit for a hand since I hadn’t bet a flop for like 2 hours. Luckily enough, all 3 players time bank folded and I picked up the pot. Then, to tilt me even more, I finally hit 2 flops, flop a set with 88 and a set of 5s with A5, and get no action when I lead out on the flop. The whole time I see people leading for like 1.5 or double pot on the flop when they flop the nuts and they get action from top pair every time and I just didn’t. So gay.
I was at $230 or so after all of these hands when I limped in LP with 86ss. The button, a tighter older man, raised to $15 and everyone folded to me. I decided to call and hope I make a big flop because he had a ton of chips and I knew he probably had a good pair and I would be able to shake his stack if I could hit. The flop came decent for me in a str draw on 973 but I knew hed call if I tried anything so I just check called his $25 bet. The turn came a 6, making me a pair + a str draw and he bet $40. At this point I should have probably folded because I really wasn’t getting that great of pot odds to call and if I hit my straight I wouldn’t get paid like I wanted to but I ended up calling the $40. The river was a Q and it went check check and he showed me JJ, proving I probably would have gotten paid off.
After this, I was down to $150. However, I was able to get the best of the old man in our next confrontation. I limped with 44 in EP and he called from the cutoff and this weak tight lady made it $12 from the button. Everyone folded to me and I called and so did he. The flop came J76 and it went check check check. I immediately knew that that lady had only AK or something because she only entered the pot with premium hands and if her hand wasn’t bettable on that board, she had nothing. I also didn’t think that the old guy hit the flop because he didn’t really slow play at all that I saw so that eliminates a J from his range, but he could still have a 7 or like 88 or 99 (but he probably would have raised PF with both of those). The turn came another 6 and I checked and the old man bet $20 and the lady called. I thought about it and this bet would make sense for a 7 or a 6 here from the old man, but it would also make sense for him to bluff because it was obviously the lady was only drawing at A high and she would probably fold (but she didn’t) and I had been playing very weak tight on the flop/turn for the previous 3 hours so I called to see what he did on the turn. The turn came a 3rd 6 and I checked and he bet $75. The lady instantly folded and immediately, this bet didn’t make sense to me. He obviously wouldn’t have a 7 here because he wouldn’t lead out for that much, he wouldn’t have 88 or 99 because he would be afraid of the J, and he doesn’t have a J here because he didn’t bet the flop. Unless he has a 6, which is unlikely, I probably have the best hand. I made the call and he showed K8 for the bluff attempt and I was up to $280 again.
The last hand of significance I played was when there was 3 limpers and I raised to $10 from the button with 74cc. I got 3 callers and the flop came A73 2 hearts. The flop checked to me and I checked because I didn’t want to start a big pot vs a flush draw. The turn came a K and one of the limpers bet $10. Normally I would fold here but the bet was so small it could be any type of draw or just air so I called to see what he would do on the river and everyone else folded. The river came a 4, making me 2 pair and he checked to me. I bet $30 and he folded instantly (maybe I had the best hand before the river). This hand got me to about $315 and I left a short while later (not because I was up but because I was planning on leaving at 12 no matter what) with $306 for a whopping $6 in profit and a Mexican minimum wagesque rate of $1.73/hour.
Im glad I did because a couple hands later, I was in the BB and there were 4 limpers and the SB made it $16. I looked down at AJo and called and 2 limpers called. The flop came AAK. The SB bet out $25, I just called, and one of the limpers called. The turn came a 5 and the SB checked, I bet $50, and the limper called and the SB folded. The river came a J giving me a full house and I bet out $60. The limper called and my full house was good. Its too bad I bet the turn too because the SB said he folded Q10 so I would have won much more from him if I would have checked. Nevertheless, I was up to $410 and in the black again.
Over the next 2 hours, I played much looser than I had in any other previous cash games. Maybe it was just the hands I was getting, but I seemed to be playing a lot of flops. What sucked is that I felt like I put myself in a good position to win a lot of money, but I just couldn’t hit that big time flop. Everyone else was playing big pots with sets vs overpairs or flushes vs 2 pair but I just couldn’t make anything, despite giving myself a chance. I called $25 preflop with 4 other players with 87dd and failed to hit. I called $35 preflop with 3 other players with 107hh but failed to hit. I probably picked up 10 or so small pairs over the course of the 2-2 ½ hours but failed to hit a set. I even picked up more suited connectors but just couldn’t connect with them. When all was said and done, I was back down to $200 or so.
I lied actually, I did hit one hand. I had 78o and the flop came T92. I called one bet and the turn came 3. It went check check and the river came a 6, giving me the nuts. He bet out, I raised and he put me all in and I called and he obviously had 78 for the chop (so I guess I cant complain because I guess I do hit hands once in a while).
By the end of this, I was getting pretty pissed off, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I called a raise to $12 with 64o and 3 other players. The flop came JT6 and it checked to me and I bet out $50 first of all, because that 6 was the hardest Id hit a flop in a while and 2nd, because I figured I might get credit for a hand since I hadn’t bet a flop for like 2 hours. Luckily enough, all 3 players time bank folded and I picked up the pot. Then, to tilt me even more, I finally hit 2 flops, flop a set with 88 and a set of 5s with A5, and get no action when I lead out on the flop. The whole time I see people leading for like 1.5 or double pot on the flop when they flop the nuts and they get action from top pair every time and I just didn’t. So gay.
I was at $230 or so after all of these hands when I limped in LP with 86ss. The button, a tighter older man, raised to $15 and everyone folded to me. I decided to call and hope I make a big flop because he had a ton of chips and I knew he probably had a good pair and I would be able to shake his stack if I could hit. The flop came decent for me in a str draw on 973 but I knew hed call if I tried anything so I just check called his $25 bet. The turn came a 6, making me a pair + a str draw and he bet $40. At this point I should have probably folded because I really wasn’t getting that great of pot odds to call and if I hit my straight I wouldn’t get paid like I wanted to but I ended up calling the $40. The river was a Q and it went check check and he showed me JJ, proving I probably would have gotten paid off.
After this, I was down to $150. However, I was able to get the best of the old man in our next confrontation. I limped with 44 in EP and he called from the cutoff and this weak tight lady made it $12 from the button. Everyone folded to me and I called and so did he. The flop came J76 and it went check check check. I immediately knew that that lady had only AK or something because she only entered the pot with premium hands and if her hand wasn’t bettable on that board, she had nothing. I also didn’t think that the old guy hit the flop because he didn’t really slow play at all that I saw so that eliminates a J from his range, but he could still have a 7 or like 88 or 99 (but he probably would have raised PF with both of those). The turn came another 6 and I checked and the old man bet $20 and the lady called. I thought about it and this bet would make sense for a 7 or a 6 here from the old man, but it would also make sense for him to bluff because it was obviously the lady was only drawing at A high and she would probably fold (but she didn’t) and I had been playing very weak tight on the flop/turn for the previous 3 hours so I called to see what he did on the turn. The turn came a 3rd 6 and I checked and he bet $75. The lady instantly folded and immediately, this bet didn’t make sense to me. He obviously wouldn’t have a 7 here because he wouldn’t lead out for that much, he wouldn’t have 88 or 99 because he would be afraid of the J, and he doesn’t have a J here because he didn’t bet the flop. Unless he has a 6, which is unlikely, I probably have the best hand. I made the call and he showed K8 for the bluff attempt and I was up to $280 again.
The last hand of significance I played was when there was 3 limpers and I raised to $10 from the button with 74cc. I got 3 callers and the flop came A73 2 hearts. The flop checked to me and I checked because I didn’t want to start a big pot vs a flush draw. The turn came a K and one of the limpers bet $10. Normally I would fold here but the bet was so small it could be any type of draw or just air so I called to see what he would do on the river and everyone else folded. The river came a 4, making me 2 pair and he checked to me. I bet $30 and he folded instantly (maybe I had the best hand before the river). This hand got me to about $315 and I left a short while later (not because I was up but because I was planning on leaving at 12 no matter what) with $306 for a whopping $6 in profit and a Mexican minimum wagesque rate of $1.73/hour.
Tourney: Venetian March 17th $120 7 PM nightly recap
I decided to sleep in today. I woke up and did some stuff around the house and by the time I got to the strip, it was around 6 PM. I was really thinking about not playing in this tournament and just playing cash but I figured that since I wouldn’t be playing much poker this weekend, I would take one more hack at it tonight. Early on, I lost a pot when I limped with 67dd in EP, flopped a flush draw, tried to 2 barrel it but got raised on the turn. I then lost a pot with AKo when I missed the flop and tried to c-bet but got raised. I was down to 5400 at 100-200. Then at 100-200 25, a looser player made it 400 from EP. I was in the SB and looked at AK of spades. I reraised to 1250 and he immediately repopped to 3200. I only had about 4k behind so I would be basically playing for my whole stack. I decided to fold and he was nice enough to show AA.
I was down to 3950 after this hand and was down to 3500 an an hour and ten minutes into the tournament before I was finally able to win my first hand! The hand was a big one too. There were 2 limpers + the SB in my BB and I looked down at 85cc. The flop came T74 all clubs making me a flush. I checked and one of the limpers bet 500 and I was the only caller. The turn came an offsuit J and I checked and he checked behind. The river came another 7 and I checked again to him. He bet out 1500 and I moved all in for 2550 total. He called and showed me 97, doubling me up to 7k or so. The very next hand I picked up AdTx on the button and it folded to me and I made it 525 and the BB (some fat lady player) called. The flop came 2 diamonds and it went check check. The turn came another diamond and it went check check again. The river came a 4th diamond and she bet out 500, I raised to 1350 and she called and I was up to 9k or so.
A couple hands later I was in the hijack and it folded to me and I looked and found a black QQ. I raised it to 525 and the cutoff and the button (fat lady) called. The flop came 432 2 diamonds and I checked, hoping to induce a bluff from a FL or Str draw so I could raise them off the hand right there. They both checked and the turn came the 2d. I bet out 1200, she raised to 3000 and I thought 1) there was no way she wouldn’t bet a flush draw on the flop and 2) she probably had a lower pair overpair and figured me for an ace with a diamond draw because I checked the flop. I moved all in and she called and showed Q5 diamonds and I busted even earlier than I did the first 2 nights. Another bad read, but stilla tougher pot than in what I was eliminated by in the previous 2 nights.
I still am looking for a big cash one time please, but am a long ways away. Im not even getting to the stages where I have to gamble or color up. In the past 5 tournaments ive played, the deepest Ive made it was 400-800 (and in the past 4 300-600) which is pretty weak considering I should have an advantage over the field. I used to be able to play a tournament and know I would get deep and my biggest concern was getting outdrawn but now I cant even get that to happen. I need to fix my tournament game and fix it fast with the deep stack extravaganza approaching.
I was down to 3950 after this hand and was down to 3500 an an hour and ten minutes into the tournament before I was finally able to win my first hand! The hand was a big one too. There were 2 limpers + the SB in my BB and I looked down at 85cc. The flop came T74 all clubs making me a flush. I checked and one of the limpers bet 500 and I was the only caller. The turn came an offsuit J and I checked and he checked behind. The river came another 7 and I checked again to him. He bet out 1500 and I moved all in for 2550 total. He called and showed me 97, doubling me up to 7k or so. The very next hand I picked up AdTx on the button and it folded to me and I made it 525 and the BB (some fat lady player) called. The flop came 2 diamonds and it went check check. The turn came another diamond and it went check check again. The river came a 4th diamond and she bet out 500, I raised to 1350 and she called and I was up to 9k or so.
A couple hands later I was in the hijack and it folded to me and I looked and found a black QQ. I raised it to 525 and the cutoff and the button (fat lady) called. The flop came 432 2 diamonds and I checked, hoping to induce a bluff from a FL or Str draw so I could raise them off the hand right there. They both checked and the turn came the 2d. I bet out 1200, she raised to 3000 and I thought 1) there was no way she wouldn’t bet a flush draw on the flop and 2) she probably had a lower pair overpair and figured me for an ace with a diamond draw because I checked the flop. I moved all in and she called and showed Q5 diamonds and I busted even earlier than I did the first 2 nights. Another bad read, but stilla tougher pot than in what I was eliminated by in the previous 2 nights.
I still am looking for a big cash one time please, but am a long ways away. Im not even getting to the stages where I have to gamble or color up. In the past 5 tournaments ive played, the deepest Ive made it was 400-800 (and in the past 4 300-600) which is pretty weak considering I should have an advantage over the field. I used to be able to play a tournament and know I would get deep and my biggest concern was getting outdrawn but now I cant even get that to happen. I need to fix my tournament game and fix it fast with the deep stack extravaganza approaching.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Cash Game: Venetian March 16th 9 PM-2:15 AM
After I busted from the tournament, I decided to sit in a cash game for a while. I was the first person to be called on a new table and everyone bought in for $200-$300 so there was going to be a good amount of chips in play. The cash game started just excellently. On the 3rd hand, someone raised $10 utg and there were 2 callers to me and I called with 22. We were 4 handed and the flop came A62. The original raiser makes it $10 and one of the callers makes it $35. I flat call and the turn comes a K. The raiser bets $50 and I move all in and he calls for about $75. He shows 66 and I am down $180 right out of the gate. I bought in for $200 more but nothing seemed to be going on the right pace.
I picked up AA and got one caller and the flop came a good looking KQJ and checked behind and the turn came a 10 and we chopped when he showed down A2. I called a raise with 75 and the flop came 732 and called his flop bet but folded to his turn bet when the turn came a 9.
I really didn’t have much going on but was able to snipe a pot when this loose goofy player raised in early position and I called with 33 from MP. We were the only ones to the flop and he bet $15 on 942. I called and the turn was a 10 and he bet $30. I called again and the river was a 5 and he checked and turned over AJ. I was up to $250 after that pot and nothing that exciting happened for a while.
Some older guy made it $12 UTG +1 and I called in MP with 67ss. There was one other caller and the flop came 833 with 2 spades. The old guy made it $25 and I called and the other guy folded. The turn came another 8 and I was planning on folding but the old guy only bet out $25 again so I decided to call to see the river. The river was the 9s giving me the flush but the old guy bet out a big $75. I had absolutely no idea what he might have but narrowed it down to him not having an 8 or 3, so he either had an overpair to the board, pocket 9s, or a higher flush. Ultimately, I didn’t think he would bet so much with a higher flush so I ended up calling and he showed AJ for no pair and I won the decent sized pot and I was up to $385 or so.
I won a couple of smaller pots when I bet the flop with 69 on a 932 flop in a multiway raised pot and I bluff raised a raiser with QJ on a T86 flop and got him to fold. I dwindled down a little after calling a series of raises and not hitting any flops. I picked up KK and made it $10 preflop UTG +1 and got called by both blinds. The flop came QJ7 and they checked to me and I bet out $20 and the SB moved in for about $65. I called and the board blanked out and she showed me a Q and mucked. I was at about $410 after this hand.
This was at around 12:15 and I only played one other hand of interest in the last 2 hours as I hit a real dead card streak. One guy limped ahead of me and I found J10ss. I made it $10 and the small blind, who was a terrible terrible female player, and the limper, who was a loose semi-donk, both made the call. The flop the best it could for me as it went AKQ rainbow. They both checked to me and I tried to keep the bet small so they would both call and made it $15. They both called and the turn came an ugly looking J. The both checked to me and I checked behind hoping to induce a river bet. The river came a 2 and the stupid female player bet out $30. The other guy moved all in (he was about $600 deep) and I called (I was about $380 deep) and the stupid lady called (she was about $180 deep). The guy flipped over Q10, me J10, and the stupid lady KQ. Luckily, I still made some money on that hand as me and the guy split her $200 or so but its too bad the lady didn’t reraise me on the flop as she would have gotten the other guy to fold and probably (99%) called an all in from me and I would have had her whole stack instead of just half. I finished the hand with around $485 in chips but leaked off a few from blinds in my terrible hand streak before I cashed out at $437. A net profit of $37 dollars after my $200 rebuy.
I picked up AA and got one caller and the flop came a good looking KQJ and checked behind and the turn came a 10 and we chopped when he showed down A2. I called a raise with 75 and the flop came 732 and called his flop bet but folded to his turn bet when the turn came a 9.
I really didn’t have much going on but was able to snipe a pot when this loose goofy player raised in early position and I called with 33 from MP. We were the only ones to the flop and he bet $15 on 942. I called and the turn was a 10 and he bet $30. I called again and the river was a 5 and he checked and turned over AJ. I was up to $250 after that pot and nothing that exciting happened for a while.
Some older guy made it $12 UTG +1 and I called in MP with 67ss. There was one other caller and the flop came 833 with 2 spades. The old guy made it $25 and I called and the other guy folded. The turn came another 8 and I was planning on folding but the old guy only bet out $25 again so I decided to call to see the river. The river was the 9s giving me the flush but the old guy bet out a big $75. I had absolutely no idea what he might have but narrowed it down to him not having an 8 or 3, so he either had an overpair to the board, pocket 9s, or a higher flush. Ultimately, I didn’t think he would bet so much with a higher flush so I ended up calling and he showed AJ for no pair and I won the decent sized pot and I was up to $385 or so.
I won a couple of smaller pots when I bet the flop with 69 on a 932 flop in a multiway raised pot and I bluff raised a raiser with QJ on a T86 flop and got him to fold. I dwindled down a little after calling a series of raises and not hitting any flops. I picked up KK and made it $10 preflop UTG +1 and got called by both blinds. The flop came QJ7 and they checked to me and I bet out $20 and the SB moved in for about $65. I called and the board blanked out and she showed me a Q and mucked. I was at about $410 after this hand.
This was at around 12:15 and I only played one other hand of interest in the last 2 hours as I hit a real dead card streak. One guy limped ahead of me and I found J10ss. I made it $10 and the small blind, who was a terrible terrible female player, and the limper, who was a loose semi-donk, both made the call. The flop the best it could for me as it went AKQ rainbow. They both checked to me and I tried to keep the bet small so they would both call and made it $15. They both called and the turn came an ugly looking J. The both checked to me and I checked behind hoping to induce a river bet. The river came a 2 and the stupid female player bet out $30. The other guy moved all in (he was about $600 deep) and I called (I was about $380 deep) and the stupid lady called (she was about $180 deep). The guy flipped over Q10, me J10, and the stupid lady KQ. Luckily, I still made some money on that hand as me and the guy split her $200 or so but its too bad the lady didn’t reraise me on the flop as she would have gotten the other guy to fold and probably (99%) called an all in from me and I would have had her whole stack instead of just half. I finished the hand with around $485 in chips but leaked off a few from blinds in my terrible hand streak before I cashed out at $437. A net profit of $37 dollars after my $200 rebuy.
Tourney: Venetian March 16th $120 7 PM nightly recap
Well, it was time for my nightly donk in a tourney and tonight was no exception. I really don’t like writing about how badly I donk though. The tournament started off well as I won 2 small pots with AJ when I made the nut 4 flush on a J high board vs another AJ and I made 10s full but got no action. I hovered around 9500 or so for a while when I may have cost myself chips by playing passively. At 50-100, some really tight older lady made it 400 to go UTG plus one. I found QQ in mid position and just called. The flop came 853 all clubs and she bet out 1200. I really found no good way to play this hand so I just opened it up and folded. I asked her if she had QQ beat and she said no which means her range was probably JJ or 1010 or maybe AK or AQ with a Fl draw but even so, I probably cost myself chips.
Then, Randy “the dreamcrusher” Jensen of WPT and WSOP fame came and sat at the table as an alternate. Who knew D list poker pros would play in these crappy nightly events. I actually took a pot from him when he raised in EP and I called from the button with 54hh. The flop came j22 and he checked to me and I bet and he folded (sad but that was by far the highlight of the tournament). However, he went on to donk his chips in a much worse way than I usually do.
For the next 40 mins or so, I only won one more pot when I turned an A with AQ and got paid off. I was as high as 10000 or so but the blinds and ate at my stack and Took 7800 into the first break.
We came back from break at 200-400 25 and it took me no more than 1 hand to donk my chips off. The SB and the BB were oddly both not back from break yet and it folded to the hijack, who was a semi-aggressive asian who seemed to play well after the flop. I assumed that he was just trying to steal the blinds so I called with 44 from the cutoff. The flop came a harmless T99 and he bet out 1600. I decided to call because I figured he would make this bet with any 2 cards. The river came a 5 and he bet out 1800. I thought about this and really thought that I could call because if he had 2 big cards or a QJ or something, I would still have the best hand. Even if he didn’t have one of those hands. There were a number of river cards that would be a legitimate scare card to most hands and I wanted to see what the river card was and what he did on that river card. I ended up calling and the turn came a 5. I am now playing the board but I know that this is a pretty bad board for about any hand he has. He checks and I move in for about 3800 or so. He thinks for a while before he decides to call with QQ and I am out. The major problem with this hand is that I did not give him credit for a starting hand this big especially with the SB and BB sitting out. I feel like that his been the problem with my major bluffs thus far in the trip. The people have bigger hands than what I give them credit for (Ha ha right isn’t that the problem with bluffing). Overall it wasn’t a terrible play but it wasn’t great and I probably should just start playing better with small pairs once the blinds start escalating in tournaments.
Then, Randy “the dreamcrusher” Jensen of WPT and WSOP fame came and sat at the table as an alternate. Who knew D list poker pros would play in these crappy nightly events. I actually took a pot from him when he raised in EP and I called from the button with 54hh. The flop came j22 and he checked to me and I bet and he folded (sad but that was by far the highlight of the tournament). However, he went on to donk his chips in a much worse way than I usually do.
For the next 40 mins or so, I only won one more pot when I turned an A with AQ and got paid off. I was as high as 10000 or so but the blinds and ate at my stack and Took 7800 into the first break.
We came back from break at 200-400 25 and it took me no more than 1 hand to donk my chips off. The SB and the BB were oddly both not back from break yet and it folded to the hijack, who was a semi-aggressive asian who seemed to play well after the flop. I assumed that he was just trying to steal the blinds so I called with 44 from the cutoff. The flop came a harmless T99 and he bet out 1600. I decided to call because I figured he would make this bet with any 2 cards. The river came a 5 and he bet out 1800. I thought about this and really thought that I could call because if he had 2 big cards or a QJ or something, I would still have the best hand. Even if he didn’t have one of those hands. There were a number of river cards that would be a legitimate scare card to most hands and I wanted to see what the river card was and what he did on that river card. I ended up calling and the turn came a 5. I am now playing the board but I know that this is a pretty bad board for about any hand he has. He checks and I move in for about 3800 or so. He thinks for a while before he decides to call with QQ and I am out. The major problem with this hand is that I did not give him credit for a starting hand this big especially with the SB and BB sitting out. I feel like that his been the problem with my major bluffs thus far in the trip. The people have bigger hands than what I give them credit for (Ha ha right isn’t that the problem with bluffing). Overall it wasn’t a terrible play but it wasn’t great and I probably should just start playing better with small pairs once the blinds start escalating in tournaments.
Cash Game: MGM Grand March 16th 2:20 PM-5:50 PM
Another afternoon at the MGM and another completely insane table. It sucks because it seems like I never pick my hands up against the crazy donks, just against the more solid players. Early on, I lost a smaller pot when I had 2nd pair with 78 suited and called a crazy guy on the river who had top set and won 2 smaller pots when I had QQ but (somehow) got no action when it came all unders and won on the flop in a multi way pot with 69 suited on a 944 flop.
The next pot I played was when I limped with 68ss in a family pot and the flop came 9h7d2h. Everyone checked and the turn was the 10d putting 2 flush draws on board and giving me the straight. Someone bet out $5 and got 1 caller before the guy on my right made it $40 to go. I called and everyone else folded. The river came Ac and he lead out for $50 and I called and he showed me j8 (2nd nuts for me). He was a pretty solid player and I knew this but even so I think that I have to call there. After this hand, I rebought for $100 more so I was in for $300. I took a pot on a q high flop with KQ to get my stack around $210 and then an interesting pot happened.
This complete donk who had been playing 75% of the hands and coming in for raises of $20+ on like over half of the hands he played limped UTG and I found KK in middle position with 2 other limpers. I made it $20 because I know that hes not folding once he puts chips in the pot. He calls and the other limpers fold and the flop came KhJs10h and he bets out $25, I raise to $75 and he calls. The turn comes the Ax and he leads out for $100. I am fairly certain that he doesn’t have a Q here because he wouldn’t play it this strongly so I move all in for $37 more like 5 seconds after the bet and he calls me quickly. He shows Ah3h for Ace+Fl draw and the river comes Qx for a sweet chopped pot. Oh well, at least the river wasn’t a heart but it still sucks because I hated that guy so much for being such an idiot. By a couple orbits later that had donated his $400 to the rest of the table and I missed it completely.
Later on, I picked up AA and raised it to $15 and got 2 callers. The flop came J97 2 spades and I bet $40 and got called in both places. The turn came an offsuit 8 and everyone checked and the river came an offsuit 7 and everyone checked and my AA was good. I was up to $330 for the first time in the black for a while. I picked up another pot with QJ on a J high board to put me up to $360.
I then lost some back in a couple of hands. The first happened when I made it $12 with A10o in the cutoff and got 2 callers. The flop came K22 and it checked to me and I c-bet $22 and got one caller from the BB. The turn came an A and he checked and I checked behind. The river came an 8 and he bet out $60 and I thought for a while. He had been playing pretty solidly so I gave him credit and folded. I asked him if he had A10 beat and he said yes but you never know.
The 2nd came when I was in the BB with J8dd in an unraised pot. The flop came Jc8x6c and SB checked and I bet $10. It folded back to the SB who minraised me to $20. I thought about reraising but I just wanted to see what came off before I put more chips in the pot so I just called. The turn came another 6 and the SB checked and I checked behind as the 6 was not a particularly good card for my hand. The river came the 2c and the SB lead for $20 and I called and he showed me 7c5c for the flush. I saved myself money by not raising the flop and checking behind on the turn because he was probably going to call any bet with that hand.
I then won a pretty decent sized pot when I limped on the button with T7hh and the flop came AhJh6x. It checked to me and I decided to take my free card and the turn came the 5h giving me the flush. Some guy bet out $15 and I flatted and the river came an offsuit K. He bet out $30 and I raised to $85 and he called and my flush was good.
I was up to $400 and ready to leave when on my last hand, I was UTG and found AJdd. I raised to $10 and got one caller from the SB. The flop came J85 2 spades and he checked and I bet $20. He called and the turn came 9s and he checked and I checked. The river came offsuit 4 and he bet out $25 and I called and he showed my 87cc and my hand was good. I ended up cashing out for $455 for a net profit of $155.
The next pot I played was when I limped with 68ss in a family pot and the flop came 9h7d2h. Everyone checked and the turn was the 10d putting 2 flush draws on board and giving me the straight. Someone bet out $5 and got 1 caller before the guy on my right made it $40 to go. I called and everyone else folded. The river came Ac and he lead out for $50 and I called and he showed me j8 (2nd nuts for me). He was a pretty solid player and I knew this but even so I think that I have to call there. After this hand, I rebought for $100 more so I was in for $300. I took a pot on a q high flop with KQ to get my stack around $210 and then an interesting pot happened.
This complete donk who had been playing 75% of the hands and coming in for raises of $20+ on like over half of the hands he played limped UTG and I found KK in middle position with 2 other limpers. I made it $20 because I know that hes not folding once he puts chips in the pot. He calls and the other limpers fold and the flop came KhJs10h and he bets out $25, I raise to $75 and he calls. The turn comes the Ax and he leads out for $100. I am fairly certain that he doesn’t have a Q here because he wouldn’t play it this strongly so I move all in for $37 more like 5 seconds after the bet and he calls me quickly. He shows Ah3h for Ace+Fl draw and the river comes Qx for a sweet chopped pot. Oh well, at least the river wasn’t a heart but it still sucks because I hated that guy so much for being such an idiot. By a couple orbits later that had donated his $400 to the rest of the table and I missed it completely.
Later on, I picked up AA and raised it to $15 and got 2 callers. The flop came J97 2 spades and I bet $40 and got called in both places. The turn came an offsuit 8 and everyone checked and the river came an offsuit 7 and everyone checked and my AA was good. I was up to $330 for the first time in the black for a while. I picked up another pot with QJ on a J high board to put me up to $360.
I then lost some back in a couple of hands. The first happened when I made it $12 with A10o in the cutoff and got 2 callers. The flop came K22 and it checked to me and I c-bet $22 and got one caller from the BB. The turn came an A and he checked and I checked behind. The river came an 8 and he bet out $60 and I thought for a while. He had been playing pretty solidly so I gave him credit and folded. I asked him if he had A10 beat and he said yes but you never know.
The 2nd came when I was in the BB with J8dd in an unraised pot. The flop came Jc8x6c and SB checked and I bet $10. It folded back to the SB who minraised me to $20. I thought about reraising but I just wanted to see what came off before I put more chips in the pot so I just called. The turn came another 6 and the SB checked and I checked behind as the 6 was not a particularly good card for my hand. The river came the 2c and the SB lead for $20 and I called and he showed me 7c5c for the flush. I saved myself money by not raising the flop and checking behind on the turn because he was probably going to call any bet with that hand.
I then won a pretty decent sized pot when I limped on the button with T7hh and the flop came AhJh6x. It checked to me and I decided to take my free card and the turn came the 5h giving me the flush. Some guy bet out $15 and I flatted and the river came an offsuit K. He bet out $30 and I raised to $85 and he called and my flush was good.
I was up to $400 and ready to leave when on my last hand, I was UTG and found AJdd. I raised to $10 and got one caller from the SB. The flop came J85 2 spades and he checked and I bet $20. He called and the turn came 9s and he checked and I checked. The river came offsuit 4 and he bet out $25 and I called and he showed my 87cc and my hand was good. I ended up cashing out for $455 for a net profit of $155.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Tourney: Venetian March 15th $120 7 PM nightly recap
After my disaster at the MGM Grand, I decided that I wanted to play in a tournament so that I could cool down. Losing the $400 in no way affected my mood so I was determined to play in something where I could win. I looked at a Vegas tournament schedule and found that the Venetian had a $180 tournament at 8 PM for me to play in. I didn’t know the structure or anything, but if anything I wanted to go to the Venetian so I could figure out the parking situation and how to get there in general. When I found my way to the poker room, it was 7:40 or so and I found that the tournament actually started at 7 PM and it was $120. The blinds were still low and I determined that there would still be value in registering for the tournament (I don’t know if there was/is but it really didn’t seem to affect what happened. Even so I will probably not be doing late registration like this again.). There were 7500 in starting chips and I sat down at 100-200.
The table of players was just unbelievably bad (I didn’t realize this at first) but eventually, I saw that almost every pot was opened for a raise to 1000 and called by 2 or 3 spots. This is why I was lucky to win the first pot when there was one limper and I raised to 475 from the button with A9cc. The BB called and so did the limper. The flop came J85 and they checked to me and I c-bet 825 and somehow, it worked, so that was a good start.
A couple hands later I limped with A10ss. There were 5 people to the flop and it came 766 2 spades. Everyone checked to the button who bet 500. The sb was an asian lady who played pretty poorly and she raised to 1000. I probably made a mistake here but I called the 1000 and so did the button. The turn was a blank and the lady bet another 1000. I would normally just fold but to only 1000 I have to call there so I did and the button folded. The river blanked and it went check check and she showed 87 which sucked because if I would have known she was that weak, I would have probably won if I would have raised her at any point in the hand.
The next 30 minutes or so were uneventful and I was down to 5500 at 200-400 25. The asian lady limped and everyone else folded to my bb and I found KQo. I checked the option and the flop came Qh9h4x. I checked and she bet 800 I raised to 2200 and she called. The turn came an offsuit 9 and I moved all in for 2800. She timebanked for like 3 minutes and finally made an obvious call with Ah7h. She missed and I doubled to 11000. After this double, I started to move backwards again. With everyone playing such gigantic pots with such shitty hands, I just needed to wait for my opportunity. After the blinds had gone around a couple of times, I was down to 9000 or so. The terrible asiain lady raised up front to 1200 and got 2 callers and I decided to call from the button with q9dd, missed the flop, and folded. By my next blind I was down to 7000.
Maybe it was the fact that everyone else at the table had such huge stacks but for some reason, I felt really badly about my stack. I know that I shouldn’t because I know that 7k is more than enough at 300-600 50 but for some reason, I got complacent which caused me to make a bad play. I was in the bb for 600 with about 7k behind and it folded to the cutoff who was an aggro gentleman who played decently. He made it 1800 and it folded to me. I found 33 and decided to push allin. The guy snapped me and showed AA (he obviously wakes up with AA here) and I was not able to outdraw him. I don’t know, he could have had any suited connector, or I could have gotten called in a coinflip, or he could have folded a midpair (he folded and showed 88 to a similar play earlier on). Also, I was looking at him before I moved and he was giving what I thought was a weak tell to me but boy was I wrong. Neither of these is an excuse for making a poor play like that.
I don’t know why, but the last 3 tournaments I played in I got in with the worst. This needs to stop happening because 90% of tournament I play in I should be busting out with the best hand. Im wasting tournaments in which that will happen by making bad plays and getting myself in with the worst hand. Oh well, tomorrow is another day and making poor plays like this just motivates me to play better so I don’t have to write about how badly I play. I think that I will probably be playing in that Venetian tournament more often. It’s a good value with good structure and bad players.
The table of players was just unbelievably bad (I didn’t realize this at first) but eventually, I saw that almost every pot was opened for a raise to 1000 and called by 2 or 3 spots. This is why I was lucky to win the first pot when there was one limper and I raised to 475 from the button with A9cc. The BB called and so did the limper. The flop came J85 and they checked to me and I c-bet 825 and somehow, it worked, so that was a good start.
A couple hands later I limped with A10ss. There were 5 people to the flop and it came 766 2 spades. Everyone checked to the button who bet 500. The sb was an asian lady who played pretty poorly and she raised to 1000. I probably made a mistake here but I called the 1000 and so did the button. The turn was a blank and the lady bet another 1000. I would normally just fold but to only 1000 I have to call there so I did and the button folded. The river blanked and it went check check and she showed 87 which sucked because if I would have known she was that weak, I would have probably won if I would have raised her at any point in the hand.
The next 30 minutes or so were uneventful and I was down to 5500 at 200-400 25. The asian lady limped and everyone else folded to my bb and I found KQo. I checked the option and the flop came Qh9h4x. I checked and she bet 800 I raised to 2200 and she called. The turn came an offsuit 9 and I moved all in for 2800. She timebanked for like 3 minutes and finally made an obvious call with Ah7h. She missed and I doubled to 11000. After this double, I started to move backwards again. With everyone playing such gigantic pots with such shitty hands, I just needed to wait for my opportunity. After the blinds had gone around a couple of times, I was down to 9000 or so. The terrible asiain lady raised up front to 1200 and got 2 callers and I decided to call from the button with q9dd, missed the flop, and folded. By my next blind I was down to 7000.
Maybe it was the fact that everyone else at the table had such huge stacks but for some reason, I felt really badly about my stack. I know that I shouldn’t because I know that 7k is more than enough at 300-600 50 but for some reason, I got complacent which caused me to make a bad play. I was in the bb for 600 with about 7k behind and it folded to the cutoff who was an aggro gentleman who played decently. He made it 1800 and it folded to me. I found 33 and decided to push allin. The guy snapped me and showed AA (he obviously wakes up with AA here) and I was not able to outdraw him. I don’t know, he could have had any suited connector, or I could have gotten called in a coinflip, or he could have folded a midpair (he folded and showed 88 to a similar play earlier on). Also, I was looking at him before I moved and he was giving what I thought was a weak tell to me but boy was I wrong. Neither of these is an excuse for making a poor play like that.
I don’t know why, but the last 3 tournaments I played in I got in with the worst. This needs to stop happening because 90% of tournament I play in I should be busting out with the best hand. Im wasting tournaments in which that will happen by making bad plays and getting myself in with the worst hand. Oh well, tomorrow is another day and making poor plays like this just motivates me to play better so I don’t have to write about how badly I play. I think that I will probably be playing in that Venetian tournament more often. It’s a good value with good structure and bad players.
Cash Game: MGM Grand March 15th 5:15 PM-7:15 PM
Well, I knew that I couldn’t go forever without having a poor cash game session. Today, everything just didn’t work out. First of all, this was the craziest table Ive been at thus far. There were so many big pots with just less than premium hands and people just weren’t playing good in general. As for me, I hit 2 huge flops but I think that I misplayed both of these hands and limited my winnings and also lost 2 huge pots in poorly played style.
My first hand was limped by 2 people and I had AQdd in the hijack and raised to $10. I got called in 2 spots and the flop came AxKd8d for top pair and the nut flush draw. It checked to me and I checked and the person on my left bet $20. The other 2 folded and I raised $50 more which is about what she had left. She thought for a while and folded AQo face up. If I would have played this differently I probably would have won more chips.
The next big hand occurred when I had about $165 in chips. This really loose and terrible player raised it UTG to $16 and he got called in 2 places. I called with 64cc from the cutoff and the blinds folded. The flop came 432 rainbow and the terrible guy led out for $25 and the guy behind him called. I knew that the terrible guy didn’t have a pair by the way he bet but he could have like a K5 or something and I figured the caller for a mid pp. I was thinking that if he had a big pair, he would have definitely reraised PF and if he flopped a set, straight or 2 pair, he would have raised here either to get people off of draws or because he figured the terrible guy might pay him off with a worse hand. Therefore, I was thinking that I had a better hand than the loose guy and I still might get called if he had a worse hand (which was a risk I was willing to take) and that I could get the caller off of his midpair if I made a nice power move (and if I didn’t I probably had outs) so I pushed all in for about $140. The loose guy folded and the caller snapped me off with 44 for top set. I made a misread and this cost me my stack.
After this, I rebought for $200 more so I could take advantage of this weak table. I almost immediately made another mistake. A guy raised it to $12 and 5 people took the flop, including me with my 66. The flop came an excellent 677 2 hearts and this younger kid (one of maybe two stronger players at the table) who I had played with for a long time on my March 12th session at the Golden Nugget lead out for $32. He knew that I played pretty decently (I didn’t show my 64 hand and told everyone I had 10-10 or something) and he had respect for my game. I flatted his bet and everyone else folded. The turn came Qh and he checked, I bet $60, and he thought and folded. BAH. I don’t know if he had a 7 or not but its very likely that if he did, he would fold on that turn. Im still thinking about this one. The reason why I didn’t raise the flop is because I wanted more people to enter the pot (like I said, the table was playing ridiculously loose) and I thought that if I made it $75 or something, people would probably fold a flush draw. Also, if someone else had a 7 and there is a raise and a caller, they are almost certainly reraising here and I will be able to get my chips in on the flop. However, the bet of $32 on that flop is such a strong play. I don’t even think that he would do that with 10-10 or JJ if he flatted before the flop. I have to recognize that a large percentage of times that bet is a 7 and if I raised there, I would probably be able to get my chips in. At least I ended up winning the pot in the end.
My last devastating hand occurred a little later. A lot of the bad players at the table had left to play in the tournament which started at 7 PM and, while there were still some bad players there, the over all value of the table had decreased. I was at $275 well on my way to getting back to even when I found JJ UTG +1. I made it $10 and if folded to the BB. He was a younger guy who wasn’t playing terribly but by no means was good. He didn’t know much about playing preflop as one hand I remember him playing was a hand where there was one limper ahead of him and he made it $25 preflop and everyone folded and he showed 44. On this hand, he raised me to $35 and with position and a decent pair, I called. The flop came K52 and he checked and I checked behind. The turn came an 8 and he checked and I checked behind (I bet you know where Im going with this already). The river came a J and he lead out for $25, I raised to $75, and he reraised to $175. I mean, he obviously has KK here. I ask him “You have KK don’t you” and he says “yes” but he says it in a way that is kind of off a little. I guess I didn’t really believe him so I moved in for $140 total and he called and showed me KK. I probably could have folded but its so hard to fold JJ there when you know that his range consists of 88 or 55 or even AK. I don’t know maybe those hands aren’t even in his range and it was just an awful call but its an even tougher laydown. I ended the session -$400 so at least I am still up in cash games at the MGM in the previous 2 days.
My first hand was limped by 2 people and I had AQdd in the hijack and raised to $10. I got called in 2 spots and the flop came AxKd8d for top pair and the nut flush draw. It checked to me and I checked and the person on my left bet $20. The other 2 folded and I raised $50 more which is about what she had left. She thought for a while and folded AQo face up. If I would have played this differently I probably would have won more chips.
The next big hand occurred when I had about $165 in chips. This really loose and terrible player raised it UTG to $16 and he got called in 2 places. I called with 64cc from the cutoff and the blinds folded. The flop came 432 rainbow and the terrible guy led out for $25 and the guy behind him called. I knew that the terrible guy didn’t have a pair by the way he bet but he could have like a K5 or something and I figured the caller for a mid pp. I was thinking that if he had a big pair, he would have definitely reraised PF and if he flopped a set, straight or 2 pair, he would have raised here either to get people off of draws or because he figured the terrible guy might pay him off with a worse hand. Therefore, I was thinking that I had a better hand than the loose guy and I still might get called if he had a worse hand (which was a risk I was willing to take) and that I could get the caller off of his midpair if I made a nice power move (and if I didn’t I probably had outs) so I pushed all in for about $140. The loose guy folded and the caller snapped me off with 44 for top set. I made a misread and this cost me my stack.
After this, I rebought for $200 more so I could take advantage of this weak table. I almost immediately made another mistake. A guy raised it to $12 and 5 people took the flop, including me with my 66. The flop came an excellent 677 2 hearts and this younger kid (one of maybe two stronger players at the table) who I had played with for a long time on my March 12th session at the Golden Nugget lead out for $32. He knew that I played pretty decently (I didn’t show my 64 hand and told everyone I had 10-10 or something) and he had respect for my game. I flatted his bet and everyone else folded. The turn came Qh and he checked, I bet $60, and he thought and folded. BAH. I don’t know if he had a 7 or not but its very likely that if he did, he would fold on that turn. Im still thinking about this one. The reason why I didn’t raise the flop is because I wanted more people to enter the pot (like I said, the table was playing ridiculously loose) and I thought that if I made it $75 or something, people would probably fold a flush draw. Also, if someone else had a 7 and there is a raise and a caller, they are almost certainly reraising here and I will be able to get my chips in on the flop. However, the bet of $32 on that flop is such a strong play. I don’t even think that he would do that with 10-10 or JJ if he flatted before the flop. I have to recognize that a large percentage of times that bet is a 7 and if I raised there, I would probably be able to get my chips in. At least I ended up winning the pot in the end.
My last devastating hand occurred a little later. A lot of the bad players at the table had left to play in the tournament which started at 7 PM and, while there were still some bad players there, the over all value of the table had decreased. I was at $275 well on my way to getting back to even when I found JJ UTG +1. I made it $10 and if folded to the BB. He was a younger guy who wasn’t playing terribly but by no means was good. He didn’t know much about playing preflop as one hand I remember him playing was a hand where there was one limper ahead of him and he made it $25 preflop and everyone folded and he showed 44. On this hand, he raised me to $35 and with position and a decent pair, I called. The flop came K52 and he checked and I checked behind. The turn came an 8 and he checked and I checked behind (I bet you know where Im going with this already). The river came a J and he lead out for $25, I raised to $75, and he reraised to $175. I mean, he obviously has KK here. I ask him “You have KK don’t you” and he says “yes” but he says it in a way that is kind of off a little. I guess I didn’t really believe him so I moved in for $140 total and he called and showed me KK. I probably could have folded but its so hard to fold JJ there when you know that his range consists of 88 or 55 or even AK. I don’t know maybe those hands aren’t even in his range and it was just an awful call but its an even tougher laydown. I ended the session -$400 so at least I am still up in cash games at the MGM in the previous 2 days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)