Satellite List #2: May 29th and 30th 2011

I played more satellites over the course of the last couple of days.

Satellite #5: $80 buy in 2 $340 winners (Venetian): There was a $20 last longer in this one as well. I limped behind several at 25-50 with 77 and the flop came QT7. An EP limper bet 150, I called, and 2 limpers behind called. The turn came a J we all checked to the last limper who bet 1000, I moved all in for 1075, and he called with JT and I doubled up. At 50-100, I found QQ and 4-bet all in but the other guy turned over QQ as well. I won an all in when the short stack SB pushed into my BB with A4 and I found AK and held. At 100-200, we were 5 handed and UTG made it 600. I found KQo in the SB and made it 1500 and he called. The flop came A96 and I check folded to his allin. This left me fairly short stacked. I had 2200 or so at 200-400 and I jammed 74o UTG and the SB called with AJ but I turned a 7 to double up. We were 4 handed and I got down to 3000 or so when it folded to me in the SB and I found 75o and jammed. The BB called with K9 and I didnt get there this time and busted in 4th. Fortunately, Levi won this one again netting me some money, making me up $760 for the trip.

Satellite #6: $130 buy in 2 $570 winners (Venetian). There was a $20 last longer in this one as well. This satellite was pretty uneventful. I blinded down to about 1500 or so at 75-150 and we were 5 handed. A player UTG made it 300 and I shoved the BB with Ad7x and he snapped with AK. The board ran out 4 diamonds giving me the nut flush. I hovered around 3000 for a really long time as me, Levi, and 2 other young kids played 4 handed until 400-800 and decided to do a chop where I got a little less money than them because I had less chips. I got $285 plus $30 from Levi for the difference for our payouts so I am up $925 for Venetian satellites this trip.

Satellite #7: $65 buy in 1 $550 winner (rio). I played this satty after busting the rio deepstack event. This was an extreme turbo as we only started with 800 in chips. I still felt like I had an advantage over the table though. Through the first 1 1/2 levels, I stole up to 1400. At 25-50, an extremely loose and crappy player moved all in UTG for 650 and I reshipped from MP with AJdd. The BB called off to and it was 99 (original pusher) and AK (BB) and I got crushed with a 9 and K came on the board. I was down to 400 or so and the blinds went to 50-100. Luckily for me, the table was extremely passive and I moved all in 5-6 times in the next couple orbits to get back to 1100. An old lady moved all in for about 750 or so from the hijack and I found AQ in the SB and reshoved. She showed AT but we chopped when the board double paired. The blinds went to 100-200 and I had just 1100. A player UTG +2 moved all in for about 1300 and I moved all in immediately behind him with AKo. He showed 66 and a 6 on the flip sealed my fate for the tournament. Luckily for me it was only a $65 one. I am -$65 for satellites at the rio (keeping seperate track than the venetain ones because they only pay out 1 winner).

Satellite #8: $130 buy in 2 $570 winners. There was another $20 last longer on this one. This was another extremely uneventful satty for me. It folded to an overaggro in the SB and he made it 150 into my BB and I found ATss and just called. The flop came AK4, he bet 200, and I called. The turn came a 5 and we both checked. The river came an 8 , he bet 300, and I called but lost when he showed A4 for a flopped 2 pair. I was down to 1200 or so after this. I folded for a couple of orbits and the blinds went up to 75-150. I found T8hh in the hijack with 875 in chips and went all in and the cutoff reshipped. He showed KJdd and I lost the race and was eliminated. Yet again, Levi ended up winning this one so my satellite winnings at the Venetian are now increased to $1100.

Satellite #9: $130 buy in 2 $570 winners. I joined the $20 last longer as well. Early on, I picked up a couple of pocket pairs, limped, and folded when I was unable to flop sets. I was down to 1700 at 100-200 after 3 unmemorable levels. A raiser in the cutoff made it 500, I found AJdd on the button and moved all in, and the BB reshoved. He had KK but the board ran out KQ4T7 making me a broadway straight. After this hand, we went to 200-400 still 8 handed. A player in MP made it 1000 and I shoved my ~4k from the hijack with AKo. He snapped with KK and I busted when I couldnt suckout this time. Levi did not play in this one and he took half my action so I only ended up losing $65 (plus $20 last longer) so my winnings are at $1015.

More successful (not for me but for my bankroll) satellites. Hopefully I can take a few down in the near future and help Levi out.

Tourney: May 30th 2011 WSOP Daily Deepstack: $235

I was trying to get over the disappointment of not finishing higher in the first Venetian tournament by winning another tournament. The daily deepstack at the Rio is a decent structure at a great location and today was the opening day of it so I thought Id try my hand in it. We started with 15000 in chips and there were 114 players with 18 spots paying and a first prize of just under 6k.

Level 1: 25-50. When playing 25-50 with 15k starting stacks, nothing too noteworthy happens. I played 1 hand were I put in more than 500 chips. I limped the button behind several limpers with JTo and the flop came J95 2 clubs. One of the limpers bet out 150, I made it 400, and he called. The turn came an offsuit 6, he lead out for 150 again and I just called. The river came Qc and he lead for 500 and I folded. I was at 13775 and we went to the next level.

Level 2: 50-100. I made it 250 from EP with 66, a lady called on the button, and the guy in the BB made it 800. We both called and the flop came 986. The BB checked, I bet 2500, and they both folded (the BB showing AQ). A guy UTG made it 325 and I 3-bet from MP to 1050 with 75dd. A guy flat called in the cutoff, the SB flat called, and the raiser called as well. The flop came A32 and I folded to a 2000 bet. I was down to 13525 and we went to level 3.

Level 3: 100-200. I made it 475 UTG with 85hh and both the blinds called. The flop came 632 2 spades and the blinds checked and I bet 550, the SB folded, and the BB made it 1100. I called and the turn came the 7s, giving me and open ender but putting 3 spades on board. He checked, I bet 2225, and he called. The river came a 4s, completing my straight but putting a 4-flush on board. He checked and I checked behind and he showed 99 no spade, giving me the pot. I limped behind several limpers with K8hh and the flop came KJ8. They all checked to me and I bet 525 and everyone folded. I was up to 18950 and we went to the next level.

Level 4: 150-300 25. I made it 650 in EP with KQo and a lady moved all in from MP for 3600 and I folded. A UTG raiser made it 1000, I made it 2600 from UTG +2 with TT, and he moved all in for 4300. I called and he showed A9hh but I was drawing dead after an AxQh5h flop (more or less). I made it 650 UTG +1 with 64o and both the blinds called. The flop came AT7 and we checked around. The turn came a T, they checked to me, I bet 800, and the BB called. The river came a Q and we both checked and he showed 87 for the winner. I was back down to 13225 and we went to the first break.

Level 5: 200-400 50. I was moved to a new table immediately following the break. 2nd hand at the table, a guy with a ton of chips opened to 1025 in MP and I 3-bet to 2500 from the cutoff with ATss. He pushed all in and I folded. I was down to 9000 or so a little later and it folded to me in the SB. I found A7o and made it 1025 and the BB moved all in for 7000 or so. I decided to call and he showed me A3o and the board ran out Q62K5 and I won. Next hand, a MP raiser made it 950 and I was on the button with A3o and called. The BB called as well and we saw an 884 flop. They checked to me and I fired 1525 and the BB called. The turn came a J and he checked, I bet 3100, he moved all in, and I folded. I suck. The next hand after this, a UTG player made it 1500, the guy who had alot of chips and had been raising alot made it 6000, and I found TT in the cutoff and moved in for 10500 or so. UTG folded but the raiser called quickly showing KK and the board blanked out, giving me an early day.

Bad tournament, didnt play very well and I paid for it. Oh well, Ill have to play better next time.

Tourney: Day 2 May 29th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #1: $340

I came into the day a little above average in chips. There were 135 people who returned from the massive starting field of 1231. 126 of these 135 got in the money but I had my sites set on bigger goals.

Level 15: 2000-4000 500. It folded to me on the button. The SB still hadnt arrived and the BB only had about 40k in chips so I put him all in with J3hh and he folded. I opened the hijack with 73cc to 9500 and everyone folded. A looser MP raiser made it 8k and I made it 21k from the BB with J3o and he folded. I then was able to win a big pot vs old school pro Mike Lang. He made it 11k in the cutoff and I called on the button with 77. The flop came 432 we both checked. The turn came a 5, butting a 4 card straight on board. He bet, but only 8k. I figured he probably has an A here but a 6 is such a good card for me Im getting a great price to call, so I did. The river came the beautiful 6 giving me the hidden higher straight. He checked, I bet 55k, and he snap called. Its too bad because with how fast he called, I think I probably could have gotten more out of him. I was up to 215k or so after this. Lang then went call in for only 9k UTG soon after. I was UTG +1 and made it 15k with KQcc to iso. He showed A5o and won when the board came A high. I was at 188500 and we went to the next level.

Level 16: 2500-5000 500. The loose player that I 3-bet earlier in the tournament made it 12k UTG and I 3-bet him again from the cutoff to 31k with AKo and he folded. It folded to Mike Lang in the SB and he jammed for his last 22k or so. I found AhJx in the BB and snapped and he showed 52o. The flop came J96 3 hearts so it was pretty much over after that. I made it 10.5k in the cutoff with A8o and the BB moved all in for 58k total and I folded. I made it 10.5k from UTG with 84dd and UTG +2 was a tight player who hadnt played a hand all day moved all in for 46k total. I folded despite getting excellent pot odds. I was at 186500 adn we went to the next level.

Level 17: 3000-6000 500. The only hand I played this level, an EP raiser made it 17k and I found 66 in the cutoff and 3-bet to 41k and he folded. I was at 183000 and we took our first break for the day.

Level 18: 4000-8000 1000. I found A9o in the cutoff and made it 17k and everyone folded. A player UTG +2 made it 16k, I made it 45k from the button with AKo and he folded. The button shoved for 42k and I found 55 in the SB and reshoved for 180k or so. He showed K4dd and beat my 55 when he flopped a K. I was down to 135k after this. I made it 17k from UTG +2 with 98o and everyone folded. A player from the cutoff made it 16k and I called from the BB with A4hh. The flop came 753, I checked, he bet 16k again, I moved all-in, and he instantly folded. I was back to around 185k and we went to the next level.

Level 19: 5000-10000 1000. I made it 25k from the SB into the BB with Q8hh and the BB called. The flop came A97 and I checked (figuring he would think I would check with an A here) and he checked behind. The turn came a T, giving me an open ended straight draw. I bet out 31k and he called. The river came a 4, I checked, he bet 100k, and I folded. He says "That was a good turn for me, I turned 2-pair" and shows T5 off. And then is like "wait, I swear to you that I thought I had T9. . .Im not lying man. . .I cant believe I did that. . .Im not calling with T5o there if you raise" so its a bad beat for me that he misread his cards. A couple of hands later, I jammed all in for 130k UTG with 88 and a MP player called me and showed AKdd. I was able to double on the sick board of KQ458! and get to 280k. The hijack opened for 20k and I found QJcc in the SB and 3-bet to 52k and he folded. UTG opened to 20k and I made it 57k from the hijack with AKcc and everyone folded. I was up to 297000 and we went up a level.

Level 20: 6000-12000 2000. I made it 25k from the cutoff with QTdd and everyone folded. I made it 25k UTG with ATo and the BB called. The flop came Q42, he checked, I bet 31k, and he folded. A player UTG made it 30k, I made it 86k from the SB with AKo, and he folded. I was up to 367k and we took a dinner break.

Level 21: 8000-16000 2000. Unfortunately for me, after the dinner break, everything went wrong. I made it 34k UTG +1 with T9dd and got 3-bet all in from MP for 220k and I folded. I made it 34k from MP with A3o and the cutoff made it 84k and I folded. Then came my stupid bust out hand. I was down to abuot 260k or so (17-18 bigs) and was in the BB. UTG +2 limped, and I kid you not, this was the only time today I had seen ANYONE limp. He played alot of hands so I figured him for a connector/small pair he didnt want to get 3-bet and fold with. Everyone folded to me in the BB and I checked my option with J4dd and the flop came AJ3 2 clubs. I checked, he bet 25k, and I called. The turn came an offsuit 7, I checked he bet 125k, and my thought is that he knows I probably dont have an A so hes thinking I wont put it in weak when he bets big here and alot of times he has a middling flush draw/flush draw pair combo and is trying to get me to fold a J. I decided to put it all in for about 180k and he called, showing A3 for flopped 2 pair (I did not see this being in his limping range) and I busted out in 29th place.

29th place was good for $1782. I was happy with the way I played the whole tournament except for the last hand (obviously). It is always fun to make it really deep but never fun to bust out before you should and before the big money. Hopefully I get another chance to do it again this summer and win some more money.

Satellite List #1: May 28th 2011

Today I decided to go to the Venetian and try to win some satellites to get some money for future deepstack events. The satellite are single table tournaments that pay out the top 2 places evenly in amounts for event buy ins. I figured I would have an inherent advantage because I played 9 man SNGs for a living for the past 4-5 years. I had a nice day winning some money and running pretty decently overall.

Satellite #1 $80 buy in 2 $340 winners (Venetian): I ran particularily good in this one. I made it 350 at 75-150 from the CO with AK and a lady jammed the button for about 1500, I called and she showed 99. The board ran out 864K6 and I won the race. I got a shortstack in for his last 300 with 99 vs KQ and the board ran out KJT5Q. I made it 500 at 100-200 with 66 and the BB went all in for 1500. I called and the board ran out 76428 making me 3/3 in coinflips! We were 5 handed and I had alot of chips already and I limped the SB into the BB with 76o. The BB had lot of chips (4k=2 stacks worth) and the flop came 854, flopping me the nut straight. I lead out 300, he made it 1000, and I put him all in for his last 4000 or so. He called showing 84 for a flopped 2 pair and I faded the full house draw to get a massive stack. 3 handed I got the short stack in for his last 1400 at 200-400 with K9hh vs his ATo and the board ran out 9x8x8hTh3h making me a flush and winning me the tournament. After I tipped the dealer $5, I was +$255 for the day.

NOTE: After this first tournament my buddy Levi showed up and we decided we were going to play satellites at 50% equity for each other, meaning that when we played satellites we would split our winnings and losses 50/50. This would pay dividends later in the day for me, but when I went to eat dinner after this first satellite, he lost a $130 satellite so I owed him $65 for the loss. +$190 for the day.

Satellite 2 $130 buy in 2 $570 winners (Venetian): In addition to the buy in, I did a $20 last longer bet with the players on the table. This was a pretty crazy satellite as I was involved in a ton of all ins. I was down to ~1500 or so and the button made it 350 at 50-100, the SB moved all in for 700, I found 99 in the BB and overshoved, and the button folded. The BB had AQ and I lost the race on a Q high board. A couple of hands later, I pushed with KTo from the button and the SB called with 88. The board came T high and I won. We were down to 6 handed at 100-200 and the cutoff made it 500, I shipped from the BB for about 1500 with 55, and he called with AK. The board came all low cards and I won the race. I was up to about 3200 or so and I made it 500 from the cutoff with 99. The SB shipped 2600 or so and I called and he showed Q9ss. The board came out Q high and he outdrew me for this large pot. I was down to 700 and I found 66 next hand and pushed and the lady in the SB called with K8 and I faded her overs to double to about 1700. The blinds went up to 200-400. I was down to my last 1200 and I pushed Q9hh in the cutoff and the SB called with 88. The board contained a 9 and that was good enough for me to double to 2800. The button pushed in for a similar stack to this and I found AQo in the BB and quickly called. He showed KK though and the board ran out KT35J, rivering me broadway and giving me the win. We went to 3 handed play and I had about 6000 in chips, and we decided to to a saver, giving the 3rd place finisher the $200 from the last longer and playing for the $570 seats. Luckily, the lady who was playing 3 handed with us was absolutely terrible (the guy wasnt very good either but he was Phil Ivey compared to the lady) and we were able to grind her down to about 2500 or so at 400-800 before she called my all in 52hh when I shoved the SB with ATo. The board came out AJ38K and I won the $570 for the win. I gave half to Levi so after all was said and done, this result looked like this: $570/2=$285-$130(Buy in)-$20(Last Longer)-$10(dealer tip)=+$125. I was +$315 for the day.

Satellite 3 $130 buy in 2 $570 winners (Venetian): I partipated in a $20 last longer in addition to the buy in in this satellite as well. A guy made it 400 at 50-100 and I pushed TT behind him for 1500. He called with 88 and I held and was up to 3000. A couple hands later, a guy open shoved for about 1700 and I found TT immediately behind him and called. He showed 99 and I held again and I was quickly up to 5k in chips. At 100-200, I made it 500 from the cutoff with 44 and the button called. The flop came J73 and we both checked. The turn came a 5d, putting a flush draw out there. I checked, he bet 1100, and I called. The river came an offsuit 5 and we both checked and he showed A9dd for the missed nut flush draw and I took in a nice pot. We were at 200-400 and were 5 handed and the SB made it 1000 into my BB. I found A7o and I put him in for his last 3000 or so and he called with A4. The board ran out KJ584 rivering him a pair of 4s for the win. I was down to 2000 or so after this. Fortunately, this guy knocked out 2 other people in the next hand, putting it 3 handed with both Levi and I. This meant one of us would cash and I was on a freeroll. A couple orbits later, I shoved 3000 from the button with QJo and the guy called from the BB with JTcc and ended up making a flush. Bummer. But at least Levi won the tournament to help me out. He won $80 from the last longer and $570 from the tournament winnings so $80+$570=$650/2=$325-$130(Buy in)-$20(Last Longer)=+$175. This made me +$500 for the day.

Satellite #4 $130 buy in 2 $570 winners (Venetian): This satellite contained another $20 last longer. This was an extremely uneventful satellite for me. I opened 1 pot with 44 at 50-100 but got 5 callers and folded when I missed my set. I was down to my last 1000 at 100-200. We were 6 handed and a guy opened the cutoff for 700, I moved all in for 1000 from the button with A8ss, the BB called, and so did the raiser. The board ran out AQ6TJ and they showed down KT and QJ meaning both of them hit the river to beat me. Bummer. However, Levi was able to win this one for me as well. He took down $60 in last longer bets and another $570 for the tournament win so $315 in winnings for each of us minus the $150 from the buy ins is a net of $165 for me meaning a total winnings for the day of $665.

A net winning of $665 for a couple of satellites is not a bad day. Id argue that it was a rather good one! I ran good and played well so hopefully this luck will be with me all day tomorrow during day 2 of this big event and I will be able to continue onto day 3 and beyond.

Tourney: May 27th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #1: $340 Day 1

Today was the first event of the highly anticipated summer Venetian Deepstack series. The first event actually had 2 opening days where if you busted out of Day 1a, you could then play Day 1b to try to get to day 2. The survivors of the field would then rejoin on Sunday to play the official Day 2. This day drew 540 players and we were scheduled to play down to ~70 players to the recombine. You started with 12000 in chips for todays event. My starting table was a pretty good table. There was an extremely TAG kid that played pretty well in seat 2, an online pro that I recognized (but cant remember his name at the moment) in seat 6, I was in the 9 seat, and online pro Pmahoney in the 10 seat right on my left. The rest of the table was a couple of other young kids who had some exploitable leaks and some tight old timers (who are always good to have).

Level 1: 50-100. I folded for an orbit or so and first hand I played, the online guy whose name I cant remember opened for 250 in the cutoff, the button called, and I made it 700 with 66 from the SB and they both folded. I made it 250 from the hijack with K3dd, pmahoney called from the cutoff, the button called, and I check-folded an A94 flop. I made it 250 with 74cc from MP, pma made it 700 behind me and I folded. After that uneventful level, I took 11850 to the next.

Level 2: 75-150. The TAG kid in seat 2 made it 375 and I flatted the button with KQo. The flop came 843, he lead out for 475 and this bet looked weak compared to his previous bet sizes to I made it 1300 and he folded. I stole the blinds with raises to 350 from MP with QTo and again from UTG with JTdd. I limped the SB into pmas BB with Q9ss and bet 200 on JJ9 to take it down. I made it 350 with AQo UTG and everyone folded. I made it 400 with QJdd and one limper and the SB was the only caller. The flop came 974 2 diamonds (me=flush draw) and he check folded to my 650 bet. The unknown internet player in seat 6 made it 400 from the cutoff and I called in the BB with 66. The flop came a beautiful T62 2 diamonds. I checked, he bet out 700, I made it 1850, he made it 4400, and I put him all in for his last 13000 or so. He quickly called showing AKdd for the nut flush draw. The turn came an offsuit J, giving him more outs, but the river came an offsuit 4 giving me the pot. I was up to 27450 and we went to the next level soon after this.

Level 3: 100-200. I made it 475 from EP with 55 and folded when the button made it 1475. I made it 475 UTG +2 with 32dd, pma called from behind, the button went all in for 5k, and I folded (pma had JJ). I made it 475 from MP with 86cc, pma called and so did the BB and we saw a flop of K62. I checked to pma and he bet out, the BB raised, and I folded (pma showed down AA). The SB limped into my BB and I made it 475 from the BB with QTcc. She called and the flop came AQ8 2 clubs, giving me a pair and a flush draw. She lead out for 900, I made it 2225, and she folded. I then made a bad call last hand of the level that cost me some chips. I made it 475 from the cutoff with the T8hh and the TAG kid in seat 2 made it 1200. I decided to call and we took a flop of T75. He lead out for 1500 and I just called. The turn came a Q and we both checked. The river came a K and he lead out for 3000. I called with my 3rd pair but was no good when he showed KK for trip kings. I think the hand played out pretty standardly from my part other than the call on the river. It was a bad call and if I dont call here I am fine with the hand. We went on break and I took 21000 into the 1st break.

Level 4: 100-200 25. I made it 475 from MP with A2dd and they all folded. A weak older man limped in EP and I made it 625 from the button with 98hh to isolate. He was the only caller and he folded to my 800 bet on Q42. A tight older man made it 500 UTG, a semi-spewy asian lady called from UTG +1 (from the QT hand above), and I found QQ UTG +2 and made it 1750. The old man folded and the asian lady called. The flop came 976 2 diamonds, she lead out for 2500, and I put her all in for her last 8500 more and she folded. The asian lady opened the cutoff to 800 and I called on the button with 44. The flop came AKT, she lead out, and I folded. I was up to 25775 and we went to the next level.

Level 5: 150-300 25. An MP player made it 600, a player in LP called, the asian lady in the SB called, and I called the minraise in the BB with J4cc. The flop came K54 and I folded to a bet from the raiser. I made it 650 in the cutoff with KQo and the SB (tight middle age man) was the only caller. The flop came AQ8, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a 6, he bet 1000, and I called. The river came a 3 and we went check-check and he showed A9 for the higher pair. I then played an interesting hand with pmahoney. It folded to me in the SB and I found AQo and decided to just limp. He checked behind and the flop came Q92. I lead out for 525 and he made it 1500. I thought about 3-betting here but my goal was to keep the pot smaller so I just called. The turn came a K, making a potential straight and a higher pair than mine. I checked and pma checked as well. The river came an A, giving me 2 pair. I lead out for 2100 and he called with 92 for a flopped bottom 2 pair that was no good when I rivered my higher 2 pair. A weak younger kid limped from EP, I made it 1025 from the button with QQ and everyone folded. I made it 650 in the cutoff with 54cc and the TAG kid in the SB made it 1625. I called and the flop came a nice looking A54. He lead out for 2000, I made it 5750, and he ended up folded showing an A. . .nice fold by him I guess. The weak older man on the button limped, the asian lady in the sb limped, and I made it 1025 in the BB with JThh. The button called and folded on the 533 flop when I bet 1250. I made it 650 from the cutoff with T8hh and everyone folded. After griding out all these small pots this level, I was at 35600 and we went to the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. I made it 950 UTG +1 with 22 and pma and the BB called. We checked to the turn on 8438 and I bet 1200. Pma called and the BB folded and the river came a 7. We both checked and my 22 was good. I made it 950 with KThh from MP and the TAG kid called from the cutoff. The flop came AKJ and we both checked. The turn came a 9 I bet 1125 and he called. The river came a 5, I checked, and he bet 2000. This is a really strange spot. I have no idea what hand he is checking behind on the flop, flatting the turn, and betting the river with. It was a really strange line for him to take and I just ended up folding because I really dont know how often, if ever, this kid bluffed the river. The asian lady made it 900 UTG and I found 99 UTG +1 and just called. The flop came A86, she bet out 1700, and I called. The turn came a 2, she checked, I bet 3000, and she folded. I then was handed a nice gift from this lady. She was UTG +1 and decided to just go all in for her last 11500 (at 200-400! 30 bigs!). This was about the 4th time she had done this and I was waiting for a hand to catch her with. This time, I was lucky enough to find JJ UTG +2 and I called her all in. She showed AJo and the board ran out Q7658 and my JJ held up . I was up to 51375 and we went on our 2nd break.

Level 7: 300-600 50. I made it 1350 UTG with 33 and everyone folded. I made it 1325 UTG +2 with 76o, Pma called, the SB called, the BB made it 4600, and I folded (Pma woke up with KK here and got in for about 30k vs the 82 of a really aggressive kid and held). That was it for this uneventful level and I took 48700 to the next.

Level 8: 400-800 75. Despite this being this level, the dealer failed to note the blinds went up so we played a couple of hands at 300-600 during this level. I opened UTG +2 with AKo and got a LP caller and a call from the BB (a new younger kid at the table in seat #6 who was semi-tight but showed the ability to play quite well). We checked down to the river on T8652 and the new younger kid won with 54. The blinds then legitimately went up. The really aggressive kid made it 1700 from the hijack, I found ATss in the SB and called, and pma called as well. The flop came 633 and we checked around. The turn came a 2, I lead out for 2500, pma folded, and the aggro kid called. The river came a 6, putting 2 pair on the board. I checked, and the aggro kid went all in for about 10k. I gave it a good tank but I had no idea where this guy was at (he just put in 30k with 82) so I just folded. I made it 1900 UTG with AKss and the BB (the newer TAG kid in seat #6) was the only caller. The flop came AK9 2 diamonds, he checked, I bet 2200, and he called. The turn came a 4, he checked, I bet 5600, and he called. The river came a 7, he checked, I bet 11800, and he called. Three streets of value FTW. I dont know what he had here but im almost positive it was AQ or AJ watching how he played the rest of the day so it was nice to get so much value here. I found AKo a third time this level and made it 1900 UTG +1. The SB went all in for 5100 and I called. He showed KJo and the board ran out 84264 and I was good for the win. I was at 69100 and we went on the third break.

Level 9: 500-1000 100. I made it 2300 from the hijack with JJ and the BB went all in for 22900. This was the 2nd hand after break and the hand immediately before break, he openshoved his stack (~21000=25+ bigs), I folded 77 in the SB, and he showed AQ. This previous hand made me snap his all in but he showed KK and doubled through me when the board blanked out. I was down to about 45k after this. The guy from the last hand made it 3100 from the hijack and I figured I had built a pretty solid reputation with him (I told him I folded 77 when he pushed, I showed JJ when he pushed) so I 3-bet him from the BB to 8600 with 82o and he instafolded. I made it 2300 from the button with T9o and pma called from the SB. The flop came K75 all diamonds and he check folded to my 2600 bet. I made it 2300 from the hijack with QTcc and pma 3-bet me from the cutoff to 5600 and I folded. I made it 2300 UTG +1 with 77 and everyone folded. The SB limped into my BB and I made it 2600 from the BB with T8o and he folded. I was down to 51900 and we went to the next level.

Level 10: 600-1200 100. An older man who had been opening a decent amount of time made it 3600 from EP and I 3-bet him from the button to 8100 with 77. He called and the flop came 852. He checked and I put him all in for his last ~15k and he folded. I made it 2700 from UTG +1 with JTss, pma called behind, the button went all in for 17k, and I folded. I made it 2700 from the button with 55, pma made it 6600 from the SB, and I called. The flop came J94, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came another J, he checked, I bet 5500, and he called. The river came a K and we both checked and my 55 was good when he showed A4. The newer TAG kid (who paid me off when I had AK) made it 2700 from MP, I found QQ in the hijack and made it 6600 and everyone folded. I was up to 75900 and we went on the dinner break.

Level 11: 800-1600 200. I made it 3500 from UTG +2 with QJo and everyone folded. I then ran a bluff that failed and cost me some chips. It folded to the SB in my BB (he was a pretty good, aggressive player) and we had a dynamic in our SB vs BB hands that was basically me giving up every time and him taking my big blind. He had raised his SB twice and I had folded and he had limped twice and I checked down/folded to a bet (I did raise his limp once too but that was an isolated incident). Anyways, this time he limped again and I checked behind with K2o. The flop came 644, he checked, I bet 2000, and he called. The turn came a 5, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came an A, he lead out for 5000, an I decided that since I had played him so passively in previous BvB confrontations, I could really rep a strong hand here and get him to easily fold an A (a highly probable limping hand for him). I made it 13300 but he instantly went all in for ~40k. I obviously had to fold but its hard to bluff a person when they have the hand youre repping! I was down to 56k or so after this. The guy from this hand opened to 4400 from MP and I flatted right behind him with KQdd. The flop came KJ5, he bet out 5700, I made it 12300, and he folded AT face up. I was at 67900 after this and we went to the next level.

Level 12: 1000-2000 300. I made it 4500 UTG +1 with Q8o and everyone folded. I made it 4500 in the cutoff with JTo and pma flatted from the button. The flop came AK5, I c-bet 5200 and he called. The turn came T, I checked, he bet out 11000, and I folded. It folded to the SB and he limped and I checked my option with A5ss. The flop came A43 2 diamonds, he bet 2600, and I called. The turn came an offsuit 5, he checked, and I checked behind for pot control. The river came the Td completing a flush, he checked, I bet 5600, and he folded. I was down to 61700 and we went to the next level.

Level 13: 1200-2400 300. I made it 4800 (I thought we were still on last level so my raise turned out to be a minraise. . .oops) from the button with A2dd and the BB called. The flop came 833, he checked, I bet 5600, and he folded. I made it 5100 UTG +1 with 43ss and everyone folded. I made it 5100 from MP with KTo and the TAG kid in seat #2 (from earlier on in the tournament) made it 14000 from the button and I folded. I made it 5100 UTG +2 with 33 and the button (the man who I 3-bet with 77 earlier on) moved all in for 23100. I thought about it for a while and ended up calling because Im I only have to call 18k more and I think im flipping with him more often than pot odds dictate. He flipped over AT0 and the board ran out K7452 and I won the race. Next hand, I made it 5100 with 88 UTG +1. A newly moved to our table Mike Laing called out of the BB and we saw a flop of A64 3 hearts. He checked, I bet 6500, and he called. We checked down the turn and river of A9 (no hearts) and he showed 7h7x which was no good. Next hand after this, I made it 5100 UTG with TT and everyone folded. I made it 5100 from the hijack with QJss and everyone folded. I was at 113500 and we went to the next level.

Level 14: 1500-3000 400. We actually didnt get to play too much of this level. About 10 minutes into the level, we reached 70 players and drew to play 8 more hands for the day. I opened to 6800 UTG +2 with AQo and everyone folded. I found my first KK of the day 3rd to last hand of the day, opened to 7100 UTG, and everyone folded. After this the day ended with me having 115500 in chips.

There were 67 people that survived this session. There will probably be about the same amount from tomorrows day 1B. They are setting it up so that 12% of the field is remaining when we get to day 2, and only 10% cash so there will probably be 15-20 people who come back for Day 2 and dont get paid. I think it was a successful day of poker for me. I played well, made a few hands, and look to continue to do so once Day 2 starts. When we come back, we will be playing 2000-4000 500 so I will have just under 30 bigs. We are starting Sunday at 4 PM so it is going ot be a long grind to get to the real money. Hopefully I can play as well and as patient as I did today and am able to do something special.

Cash Game: Mandalay Bay May 26th 2011

Just when I thought cash games couldnt get any worse, todays session happened. This was the worst and most depressing session I have ever participated in. More or less, all I can say is "Oh well" and move on though. I started at 3:30 PM and played until 10:15 PM for a 6.75 hour session.

Today was poor right from the start. I opened $10 with KTo from the hijack and got calls from the cutoff and the BB. The flop came QQ2 and I c-bet $15, the lady behind made it $35, and the BB called (they both had queens). I was in the BB with a bunch of limpers and Q5o. The flop came QT2 2 spades and I check/called $10 on the flop but folded to a $20 bet on the J turn. I was down to $255 like that. I made it $12 with 2 limpers from the cutoff with KQo and one of the limpers called. We checked to the turn on A855 and he bet $15 and I think Im good here a decent percentage of the time so I called. The river came a 7 and we went check check and he showed 76 for a rivered pair of 7s. I made it $8 with A9hh from MP and got 1 caller behind. The flop came K73 and I c-bet $12 and he called. The turn came a J and I check folded to $25. I made it $10 with AJo UTG, got 2 calls from behind, and check/folded an 843 flop to a bet and a raise. I was down to $200 and I added on for $100 more (in for $400 total).

I made it $10 from the hijack with K4dd and 1 limper. The button, BB, and limper called and I folded to a bet on an AJ5 flop. I found 99 UTG+1 and made it $10 and the button was the only caller. The flop came J53, I bet out $15, and he called. The turn came a 2 and I checked, he bet $15, and I called. The river came a T and I checked, he bet $25, I called, and he showed A4 for a turned straight. I was down to $225 (-$175) after this. I raised 2 limpers with 85cc to $10 from the button and they both called. The flop came T65 and they checked to me, I bet $16, and one of them called. The turn came a J and he lead out for $30 and I folded. I was down to $190 and bought $100 more (in for $500 total).

An EP raiser made it $6 and got 1 call and I found AA in LP and made it $20. Both of those guys called but folded to my $35 bet on a 772 flop. I was up to $325 and then a fun hand came up. The guy in the cutoff opened 2 limpers to $13, the SB 3-bet to $30, and I found KK in the BB and made it $100. The cutoff folded and the SB moved all in for about $290. I guess I could fold here but whatever. . .I said I wouldnt fold KK again preflop at a $1-$2 game so I tanked and eventually called and he showed the AA and I lost when the board came all unders. I bought in for $200 more so I was in for $700 total.

I limped behind several people with 73hh and the flop came AT2 2 hearts, giving me a flush draw. It checked to me, I bet $7, and 2 people called. The turn came a blank but the river came the Kh, giving me the flush. It checked to me again and I bet $30 but they both folded. I called $6 in MP from an EP raiser with QJo. The flop came J75, the raiser bet $10 and I was the only caller. The turn came a 4, he checked, I bet $20, and he folded. I was at $275 (-$425) after this. I made it $10 in EP with 77 and got 3 calls. We checked down KJ66Q and AJ won it. I called $4 in the cutoff with 43hh and the flop came QT9 2 hearts. I called $20 with 1 other player and we checked down the turn/river of 43 and my runner runner 2 pair was good enough to take it.

I was up to $315 (-$385) when I played another fun hand. There was a guy at the table who was 1)drunk and 2)had never apparently played before becuase the first hand he played he tried to take money out of his pocket to call a bet that put him all in (he had A high also) I made it $10 from UTG+1 with QJcc and got 3 calls including the idiot from the BB. The flop came Q72 and the idiot BB lead out for $20, I made it $40, and he called. The turn came the Tc, giving me a flush draw to go along with my top pair. He checked, I bet $30 (he only had $37 behind and I thought that the all in might scare him so I just bet enough he could call with his chips) and he called. The river came an offsuit A, he checked, and I checked behind and he showed AKss for the rivered higher pair. Sweet. A couple hands later another fun hand came up. I was in the QTo and a MP raiser made it $6 and got called in 5 spots. I called too and the flop came J96r giving me 2 ways to make the nut straight. The drunk idiot guy from the SB lead out for $10, I called, and all 4 people behind me called. The turn came a 7, we checked, and the MP raiser bet out $40. I was planning on folding but 3 other people ended up calling the $40 so I have to call as well (especially since I am closing the action with 2 cards to the nuts). The river came another J and I had to fold to some stupid bet on the river. I reloaded for $100 more and I was in for $800 total after these hands.

A couple of hands later, another one of the loose stupid players on the table made it $10 in MP and I called the button with AQo. I was the only caller and the flop came AJ5. He checked, I bet $15, he made it $30, and I called. The turn came a 6, he bet out $30, and I called. The river came a T, he bet $20, and I called but lost when he showed AK. Sigh. After this hand I added $100 more and was in for $900 total.

There was a straddle and an EP limp by the drunk idiot guy and I made it $21 with AJo and the drunk guy was the only caller. He check/called my bet of $20 on the flop of A83 and when the turn came a 5, he check/folded to my $40 bet. I made it $10 with KQo from the cutoff, the button called, the BB moved in for $12, an EP limper called, and the button and I called. We checked down a board of A735Q and my rivered pair won the pot. I called $7 from MP with 87ss with 3 other callers. The flop came 983, they all checked to me, I bet $15 and got 1 caller. The turn came the 7 giving me 2 pair, she checked, I bet out $31 and she raised to $86. I thought for a while and decided to fold and she showed the T6 for the gutshot straight bink. Wee. . fun. I made it $15 on a straddle from MP with T9o and the BB was the only caller. We checked to the turn on Q435 and he check called my $22 bet. The river came a 9, he checked, I bet $60, and he folded.

I then was able to lose another nice medium sized pot. There was a straddle and I made it $21 from UTG +1 with AKhh. I got 3 callers and the flop came K73 2 clubs. I bet $35 and a LP player was the only caller. The turn came the 5c, completing the potential flush, I checked, he bet $55, and I called. The river came the Qc and I checked and he checked, showing the 87cc for the flush. I should have lead out big on the river but I guess im not good enough to make this play. I was down to $220 (-$680) after this. I made it $10 from the button with A4dd and an EP limp. The SB and the limp called and the flop came A98. The limper lead out for $10, I raised to $25, and she moved all in for $40. I called and she showed K8 and I faded when it came 7T. I was at $270 (-$630) after this. I called $10 from the cutoff with 98hh and we took the flop 6 handed. The flop came 642 2 hearts, giving me a flush draw, and it checked to me. I bet $30 and the original raiser was the only caller. The turn came a T and it went check-check and the river came a 6, he checked, I bluffed $40 after missing my draw, and he folded. I was up to $330 (-$570) after this.

I limped the button with A9o and called when the BB made it $12 but folded on a KJT flop. I made it $10 with KJdd, got 4 calls, and folded the 988 flop. The cutoff made it $7 and I found KJss in the SB and made it $19. The BB flatted and the cutoff called and the flop came JT7 2 spades giving me top pair and a flush draw. I lead out for $30, the BB called, and the cutoff folded. We went check/check on the offsuit 4 turn and the river came a K, giving me top 2 pair. I lead out for $65 and he folded.

I made it $8 in EP with J8dd and the BB was the only caller. We checked to the turn on 954K, he bet $10, I made it $26, and he folded. I then played another hand that illustrates my luck today. There were 2 limpers to me in the cutoff and I made it $12 with KQo. The SB and both the limps called and the flop came KQ6. They checked to me, I bet $26, one of the limpers made it $75, and I called. The turn came a T, he bet $100, and I called. The river came a 3 and we both checked and he showed KQ as well. Sweet I finally have top 2 in a big pot and he has the same hand. The button and SB limped to me in the BB and I made it $10 with K7dd. They both called and I bet $16 on AK9 and they folded.

My table then broke up and I moved to a new, fresh table hoping my luck would turn around. It didnt. I took about $420 (-$480) to the table. I made it $8 from EP with 66 and got 3 callers. The flop came 844, I bet $15 and got 1 call. We checked down 53 and my 66 was good when he showed AK. I called $7 from the BB with 55 and folded when it came K43. I then made a stupid bluff that cost me alot of chips. A guy in EP made it $11 and got 5 calls including me with AQo. The flop came 952 2 diamonds and everyone checked. The turn came the 9d, completing a flush and I decided to take a stab, betting $31. I got called in 1 spot and the river came an offsuit 7. I decided to continue repping the flush and bet out $80 but the guy snapcalled with the Q9 and I was down to $300 (-$600). I called $11 from the button from an aggressive EP raiser with A8ss. The BB called and we checked to the turn on 7s7x2xTs. The raiser bet $22, I called, and the BB folded. The turn came a J and we went check check and he showed 5 high and my A high was good enough to win. I was back to around $400 (-$500)

The table then got ridiculous. The were multiple people playing every hand no matter what the price and the pots were all raised in the $15-$20 raise. Most of the people at the table were straddling as well. I called a straddle with 66 and a guy behind made it $14. There were 6 callers and I folded on a board of KJ97. I called $15 with 55 with 4 other people and folded when I missed my set on the flop. I then made a stupid play that is one of my regrets from the day. I called a $10 EP raise from the hijack with T9ss and 6 other people called. The flop came 963 2 diamonds. I checked through when it checked to me, the button bet $15, an EP player called, and I made it $65. The button called and the turn came a 7. I checked, after much thought, he bet $100, and I called. The river came a 5 and it went check-check and he showed J9 for the better kicker. Whatever. . .I suck. I was down to about $240 (-$660) after this.

I called a raise to $10 from LP with 75cc and 4 other callers. The flop came A96 2 clubs and it checked around. The turn came a 4c completing my flush, it checked to me, I bet $40, and everyone folded. I limped EP with 22 and called $18 with 5 other people but folded when I missed the flop. I made it $12 UTG with 99, got 5 callers, and folded when the flop came AAQ (the river came a 9 but one guy showed A9. . .ha). I called $15 from LP with 7 other players with 76hh but folded on the T74 flop.

I was at about $220 (-$680) when the real fun started to happen. I was UTG+2 with a limper and I found JJ and made it $15. I got 4 callers. The flop came 743 2 diamonds, it checked to me, I bet $40, a MP caller moved all in for $93, and I called. The board filled out 7K and he showed me 97 for the turned trips. I rebought for $100 more (now in for $1000 total). The very next hand, the biggest donk at the table was straddling and I was UTG +1 and found AKo and made it $22. I got 2 callers behind and the straddler made it $115. I put him all in for his last $215 or so, and he called. The board ran out T5465 and he showed QQ and I lost that pot. I bought back in for $200 more (now in for $1200 total)

I limped 66 and the guy behind me made it $14. He got 6 callers and I folded on the flop when I missed my set. A guy in EP made it $15 and I called with 77 with 4 other players. The flop came K54 and I folded to a bet. These hands brought me back down to $200 so I tacked on my last $80 (in for $1280 total) to top off to $300 in hopes of hitting a big hand vs one of these idiots who play more or less any hand.

I limped from MP behind 3 EP limpers with AQo into the donk from the AK vs QQ hands blind. In spots like this (which happened more or less every time it was his blind) he would make a small raise to $10 or something stupid like that for no good reason every time. I originally didnt limp with the intention of exploiting this, but everyone behind me limped as well and he made it $12 from his BB, the 3 people ahead of me called and I made it $100 looking for the dead $50 in the pot. It folded to the BB and he went all in for his last $190 (yes he was back to $190 after winning the $450 coinflip vs me before). Everyone else folded, I called, and the board ran out J7547. He showed KJo for a pair and I was no good. I was down to $97 after this and, while I would have loved to stay and try to win my money back, I had no more topper money so I just decided to leave because if I stayed I knew I would hit some cooler and have a spot where I could have won a full stacks worth of money but would only end up winning $100 because thats all I had, and that would have drove me crazy to no end.

Anyways, I was in for $1280 and cashed out with $97 for a total of -$1183, a ridiculously horrible day. I just wish I knew what I was doing wrong. I dont know how how how all these average bar league players can come into these games and be able to consistenly cash out for decent amounts but I play day after day and just get worked. I must be doing something wrong, but until I figure out how to do this I will go in and work hard to try to make up the losses that I have been set with. Tomorrow is the 1st Venetian Deepstack tournament so hopefully I can do something special in that.

Cash Game: Mandalay Bay May 25th 2011

Today was another long and unsuccessful session. I got there about 6 PM and played until 230 AM for an 8 1/2 hour session. I started off well and played well for a long time (even though I did lose one sick hand I probably played poorly) but ultimately spewed off some chips in the last 30 minutes for a frustrating, fairly large losing session.

First hand I played I opened to $8 UTG with A4hh and got 2 calls behind as well as the BB. The flop came T53 and I checked, one of the callers bet $13, it folded to me, and I got creative making it $31. He called and the turn came an A. I lead out for $40 and he folded and I was up to $340 quickly. I made it $10 in the cutoff with KJo and one limper, the limper was the only caller and folded to a $12 c-bet on A73. I called $12 in the BB with 88 and was the only caller. We checked to the turn on JJ3T, I bet $15 and he called. The river came an A and I checked, he bet $40, and I folded. I limped from the SB to a straddle and we played heads up. I bet $6 on the turn on a board of AJ4K 2 diamonds and he called. The river came a Q and I bet $10, he made it $25, I folded, and he showed Q7dd. I was back down to $305.

I limped A6dd in the cutoff behind alot of limpers and the flop came A72 2 diamonds giving me top pair and the nut flush draw. One of the limpers bet $10, I made it $25, and he called. We checked down the turn and river of 57 and my A was good. I made it $8 form MP with KTo, got called in 3 spots, and folded the Q62 flop. I completed my SB with 63 with 4 limper and the flop came 833. I lead out for $7 and one of the limpers called. the turn came a 6 filling me up, I bet $15 and the guy called. The river came a 4, I bet $30, and he called showing a no good 73 (where is the raise by him. . .what the hell). I made it $10 on one limp with K9dd from the cutoff but folded when the SB raised to $40.

I then won 2 medium sized pots. I called an EP raise of $15 from MP with 88 and the BB also called. The flop came A87, the BB checked, the raiser bet $20, I called, and so did the BB. The turn came a 2 and the both checked, I bet $35, and the both folded. Dammit why cant one of them have an A here. I made it $10 from MP with 77 and one limper. The SB and the limp called and the flop came 664. The SB checked, the limp lead out for $13, I made it $35, the SB folded, and the limp called. We checked down a turn/river of T6 and my 77 was good vs his 55. I was up to $480 after this but this is as good as my night would get.

I limp called $6 with 55 and folded on an AKT flop. I made it $8 UTG with QThh and UTG+1 was the only caller. The flop came JT4, we checked, the turn came a 7, I bet $10, he made it $20, and I called. The river came a 6 and I check-called his $20 bet but was no good when he showed AA. I made it $11 with JJ UTG and both the button and BB called. I bet $16 on the turn on a board of K538 and won. I called $11 with 66 on the button from an MP raise and both the SB and BB called as well. The flop came A97, it checked to me, and I took a shot with $25. The blinds folded but the raiser called. We checked to the river on T5 and he bet $25, I folded, and he showed an A. There was a straddle and a MP player made it $16. I was in the SB and called with 55 and the straddle called as well. The flop came 662 2 clubs and we checked around and I bet $25 when the turn came the Qc and was good enough to take it down.

I then lost a bigish pot in another case of value betting gone wrong. I limped the cutoff behind several limpers with 95ss and the flop came K55 2 diamonds. One of the limpers bet $8, I made it $20, and she was the only caller. The turn came Jd, completing a potential flush and we both checked. The river came an offsuit 8 and she checked, I value bet $50 (a big amount) and she called showing the 73dd. I guess I could have saved myself alot of money by just checking here but I didnt realize she would make her hand and play it so weakly. I was down to $355 after this.

I limped with KJdd in the cutoff and the flop came KKT 2 hearts. It checked to me, I bet $10, the SB went all in for $55, I called and he showed K5. The board ran out 43 giving me the pot in another small cooler. There was a straddle and I was in MP and found 99 and made it $21. The button, straddle, and a limper called and the flop came J54. The straddle and limper checked to me, I bet $40, the button went all in for about $200, and everyone folded. I was down to $325 after spewing that $60.

After this came the one big big pot that ruined the session for me (im still shaking my head thinking about it). There was a straddle and everyone in front of me limped and I found 97cc in the hijack and limped also. The SB made it $12, I called, and 8 people took a flop of J63 2 clubs, giving me a flush draw. The SB bet out $15, 2 people before me called, I called, and a person behind me called. The pot was already huge when the 6c hit the turn, pairing the board but giving me a flush. The SB checked, one of the callers bet out $50, I decided just to call, the LP caller called, and the other people folded. The river came the Qc, putting 4 clubs on board. The bettor checked, I checked, and the LP player bet $65. The bettor folded, and I decided to call with so much in the pot already. He showed Ac5x for a rivered nut flush and I hung my head in shame. On one hand I hate how I played it (the bettor said she had a 6) because there was so much money in the pot already, if I raise I might get action from a 6 anyways, and if I get reraised from behind im never folding a flush anyways. On the other hand I was disguising my hand and opening the action to people behind to try and build a bigger pot. It didnt work out this time I guess. The pot had so much dead money out there it made me sick to see it get pushed to someone else though. I guess I should just raise and win the pot when I can here. Sigh. I was down to $180 after this and added on for another $100 (in for $400).

I limped behind with A8dd and the SB made it $13. There were 3 callers to me so I called but folded on a board of 763J. There were 3 limps to me in the cutoff and I made it $12 with KQss. One of the limpers called and the flop came T74. He checked, I bet $15, and he called. The board filled out 6K, I bet $30 on the river and he called mucking when I showed. I made it $10 in MP with QhJx and 3 people behind me called. The flop came T32 hearts and I check/called the buttons bet of $10. The turn came an offsuit A and I represented it, leading for $25 and he folded. I limped 22 in the SB and the BB made it $12. There were 5 calls to me and I called too but folded on a T75 flop. I limped in EP with 87hh and a player behind made it $13. 5 people called so I called as well. the flop came out A64, I checked, the original raiser made it $15, the SB called, and I made it $50 on an aggressive bluff. However, the raiser made it $115 and I just folded.

I called $13 in the SB with 88 and the BB called as well. We checked to the turn on a T768 board and I check/called the BB $12 bet. The river came a 2 and it went check check and my set was good. I called $12 with AJdd from the SB and 4 other callers but folded the 663 flop. I limped the button with AJo and called $12 with 4 other people when the SB raised it. The flop came KT2 and I folded to a bet. I was down to $245 (-$155) after this. I made it $10 from UTG+1 with AQdd and got 3 calls. The flop came A98 2 hearts, I bet $16 and got 1 call. The turn came an offsuit K and I bet out $35 and he folded. I was in the SB with a straddle and a UTG limp and found KQo and limped as well. We took the flop 3 handed and it came K83. I checked, the straddle checked, the limper bet $10, I made it $25, and he called. The turn came a J, I bet $20, he went all in for $52, and I called. He showed AA and the river blanked for me and I was down to $180 and bought in for $100 more (in for $500). There was 1 limper to me on the button and I found AQo and made it $10. The SB and the limper called and flop came 873 2 clubs. They checked to me, I bet $15, the SB called, the limper made it $50, and I folded. UTG made it $5 and I found AKss in MP and made it $16 and everyone folded. UTG made it $6, the SB called, and I found AQo in the BB and called. The board ran out 632T7 and the raiser bet out $15. It seemed a little desperationy to me so I called but he showed 22 for a flopped set.

I was down to $240 and this is where things started to get a little spewy. I had literally folded nearly every hand for about 3 1/2 hours (the time from the 97cc hand to this time was about 4 hours so you can see I didnt play to many hands nor did I win very many) so even after telling myself I wont spew, I kind of did (not really that much I guess just got a little aggressive and it obviously didnt pay off because I can never bluff even after folding for 200 minutes). A very aggressive player made it $12 UTG and I made it $36 from the SB with J8cc. He called and the flop came Q87. I checked and he checked behind and the turn came a J, giving me 2 pair. I bet out $50 and he folded. I was at $280 after this. The aggressive palyer was in the straddle and I was in the SB and it folded to me and I made it $15 with A9o and he was the only caller. The flop came QT3 all spades and we both checked. The turn came the 7s putting 4 spades on board, I bet out $12 to test the water, and he called. The river came the Js and I checked, he checked, and showed 9x8s for the flush and I was no good. I made it $8 with 1 limper from the button with T6cc and both of the blinds as well as the limper called. I ended up folding to a bet on a J95 flop. There was a limper to me in MP and I made it $10 with KJcc and the button and the BB called. The flop came AJ7, the BB checked, I checked, the button bet $20, the BB made it $65, and I folded.

I made it $8 in EP with 33 and got 3 calls. The flop came 865 and I check folded. I limped JTo from the cutoff and the SB made it $12, an EP limper called, and I called. The flop came AQ8, the SB made it $16, the limper called, I made it $45 and they both folded. Then came the stupid hand that cost me some money. I was UTG+2 with KThh and a limper and made it $10. I got 2 calls behind me, a call from the SB, and a call from the limper. The flop came A43 and there was alot of money out there so I took a stab with $31 and one of the LP callers called. The turn came a 6 and I sensed he had a weaker A and hated his spot so I bet out $75 but he called when I bet. The river came a 4 and I decided to shut it down and he checked behind, showing A7 which was obviously good after I had been folding for 4 hours ( I guess I had loosened up considerably the last 15 minutes but damn, I wish I could get a bluff through one time). Last hand I played I was UTG +1 and made it $8 with 33. I got 3 calls behind and the button made it $22. I called and so did everyone behind me but I couldnt flop a set to cure my losses on a 872 flop so I folded. I was down to about $140 and cashed out with $141, down -$359 for the session.

Another bad losing session. I guess I can point to not raising with the 97cc there for why it was a losing session and trying to bluff when I know I shouldnt for why it was a bigger losing session. Tough pill to swallow when I played so tight and good for so long just waiting for my break but it never came. Maybe next time it will.

Tourney: May 25th 2011 Orleans Open Event #5: $225 NL Holdem

Todays event had 258 runners, paying $14.5k to first with 27 spots paying. Todays starting table was considerably tougher than the last with several aggro younger kids at the table but I really did think I could play better than them (but this proved to be untrue when I put in all the chips drawing dead vs one of them).

Level 1: 50-100. I opened 74dd to 250 from EP and the SB called. I c-bet 275 on A33 and he check/called. The turn came a 3rd 3 and it went check-check and the river came a 5, he bet 650, and I folded. I made it 250 with Ax8c in Ep and got called by the BB. The flop came 996 2 clubs and we both checked. The turn came the 7c, giving me an openended straight flush draw and I called when he bet out 400. The river came a 10 filling my straight and I called his 1000 bet. He showed T8 for the turned straight and we split the pot. I made it 250 UTG with 63ss and the BB called and folded to my 325 c-bet on JJT. I made it 250 behind a weak old mans limp in the hijack with K9o. The BB (who was also a weak old man) called and so did the limper. The flop came T84 and I bet out 375 when it checked to me but they both called. The turn came a 9 and we checked around and the river came a 3. The BB bet out 700, the limpcaller called, and I decided to fold my 2nd pair. They showed A8 and 55 and I would have won if I would have called. Bummer. Next hand I found QQ in MP behind 2 limps and made it 500. The button and one of the limpers called but they both folded to my 800 bet on JT2. I made it 250 in MP with 98o and the guy behind me 3-bet to 600. I called and we saw a T84 flop. I checked, he bet 875, I made it 2100, and he folded. I thought a flop raise was good here so I could see where I was at in the hand overall, also alot of times when he has overpairs he just calls the reraise giving me a free river later in the hand. I opened to 250 with KQhh UTG+1 and a guy in LP called. The flop came K98 and I checked, he bet 375 and I called. We checked to the river on 49, I bet 525, and he called and mucked. I was at 15,425 and we went up to 75-150

Level 2: 75-150. A loose aggro kid to my right made it 375 UTG and I made it 1025 UTG+2 with A7hh and everyone folded. I made it 350 UTG+1 with QThh and got called by a player in LP and the aggro kid in the BB. We checked to the turn on A739 and I decided to bet 525. The LP player called and the aggro kid raised to 1725 and I folded. I was then able to win a big pot (that I potentially played wrong). There was an EP limp and I made it 400 when I found JJ in the cutoff. The button, SB, and limper called and we saw an AJ6 flop, giving me middle set. It checked to me, I bet out 725, the button called, and the other player folded. The turn came a K and I bet out 2100, the button raised to 5000, and I made it about 13000 (just putting my big stack out) and he decided to fold (he had about 15k to start the hand). I might have made a mistake on the turn here. I could have just called to try to get more value on the river, but a better option would have been to make it 8000-9000 to give him the rope to hang himself with his 15000 behind. There is a possibility that 1)he is more likely to call when I make it this amount and 2)he gets irritated with the raise here and just jams. However, as it is I am glad I won the pot (maybe he has AQ and makes a straight on the river). I was up to 22k or so after this hand. The aggro kid in the cutoff made it 350 and I made it 1025 in the SB with K9dd and he folded. I limped UTG with 22 and called a LP 400 raise with the BB. I folded to a bet on a JT3 flop however. A player in MP made it 400, a player in LP called to me on the button and I called with QJcc (SB also calls). The flop came Q93 2 spades, the original raiser bet 800, the LP caller called, I decided to just call on the button, and the SB folded. The turn came a T giving me an open ended straight draw with my top pair. The raiser bet out 1600, the LP caller made it 4500, and I decided to fold after tanking for a while (they got it all in here with AA for raiser and J8ss for LP). I went to 19,775 and we went ot 100-200.

Level 3: 100-200. The aggro kid in the cutoff made it 500 and I made it 1350 in the SB with KJo and he folded. An EP raiser made it 400 and I called in the cutoff with 87hh but folded when the button made it 1500. I made it 475 UTG with 76ss, a player in MP called, and a player in LP went all in for 2875 so I folded. An EP raiser made it 425 and I made it 1125 from the button with T9o. The flop came 873 and he folded to my 1200 c-bet. After this we went on the 1st break with me having 21,150 in chips.

Level 4: 150-300. This was an uneventful level until the last hand where I made a large mistake. I opened 75hh UTG to 650 and both of hte blinds called. I folded to a bet of 1100 on the turn on a board of QT23. I made it 650 in the hijack with KTo and got called by the cutoff, SB, and BB. The flop came A63 and I folded when one of the blinds bet out 1500. I opened 84hh UTG+1, got called by a MP player, but folded when the button made it 2100. The disaster hand then hit. The aggro kid made it 750 in MP and I made it 1800 in the cutoff with KQo. He called and the flop came KJT, giving me top pair with an open ended straight draw. He checked, I bet 2100, he made it 5600, and I moved him all in for his 14.9k and he called with the nuts (AQ) and I was drawing dead to a chop. The board blanked out and I lost most of my chips because I suck. No, I dont know what sucks is that 90% of the time I just check behind here for pot control but the dynamic of me always 3-betting him made me want to try to get value from his weaker potential calling hands. I let the pot get out of hand with my bet and my bet size (size should be ~1500 if I bet). Also, I should know that he is never c/raising the flop here without a monster. He was aggressive, etc but he never really played back at me (or anyone for that matter) so I should realize he has to have a big hand here. I really was trying to rep a monster here, thinking that he might fold JT/KJ but even if I do get called I normally have outs. However, I should really think that if he has one of those hands its doubtful he will be raising the flop for pot control himself. It was a bad play, the writing was on the wall but I just didnt see it. Next time Ill just have to wake up and think about it before I actually do it. Anyways, I was down to my last 1450 and the blinds went up to 200-400 25.

Level 5: 200-400 25. Shortly after the last hand, I moved all in with 66 for 1425 from MP and the button called. He showed KQ and I somehow hit a miracle on AJT6A. . .waste of a flip IMO. I was up to 3800 after this. I folded for another orbit and found a spot to push into some tight blinds. It folded to me in MP and I jammed about 3000 with K5ss. The BB tanked and called showing AT and the board ran out AJ659, giving me a shorter day than I would like.

I made a blowup play early in the day which sucks because, again, I was able to get my hands on some chips early but not do anything useful with them. Hopefully next time I will be able to play better.

Cash Game: Mandalay Bay May 24th 2011

There was no good tournament today so I played a pretty long cash session. I started playing this evening at 7 PM and I finished at 2 AM tonight. I didnt really play too many big pots or anything and it was an extremely uneventful session that ended in a small win.

First hand I played I was in the SB with a button limp and found KJo. I made it $8 and the BB and limp called. I ended up folding on the turn on an A532 board. There were 4 limpers to me in the cutoff and I found AKo and made it $15. 2 of the limpers called and folded when I bet $22 on the Q64 flop. I made it $8 UTG+2 with ATss, got 3 calls behind, and folded the K43 flop. I made it $10 from UTG+2 with a limper and the BB and limp called. The flop came T83 2 clubs, it checked to me, I bet $16, and the limp called. The turn came a 3 and we both checked. The river came a J, giving me TPTK. He checked, I bet $40 (thinking it would look like a bluffed club draw that may get value from a 10) and he tanked a while before calling and showing AJcc and we chopped the pot. I found TT on the button with one limper and made it $8. The limper was the only caller and when the flop came 874 he folded to my $12 bet. I made it $8 with AQ in MP and got 3 callers. The flop came KJ9 and we checked around. The turn came an A and one of the blinds bet $15. The board was so worrysome for my hand (plus I had players behind) that I just folded.

I limped a straddle in MP with 88 and the button made it $20. The button in this hand was a good but cautious player. The straddle called, I called, and a LP limper called. The flop came down T97 giving me an OESD. The Straddle checked and I decided to bet out $40. My thinking behind this bet was that the cautious raiser probably had an overpair and its kind of a dangerous board for many overpairs so he is likely just to call on this flop. This leaves me open to either make my straight or see how he reacts when he calls/on the turn and possibly make a big bluff repping a set/straight/2 pair. However, this plan was laid to rest when the LP caller made it $170 on my raise. The button raiser tank folded (saying KK later) and I also folded (the raiser showed T9cc for flopped top 2 pair. After the $60 I spewed on that hand, I was down to $220.

I made it $8 UTG+1 with KQss, the button made it $16, both the SB and BB called, and I called as well but folded on a T42 flop. I then ran a neat bluff. I had been playing tight (as usual) so I had an image I could use to my advantage. There was a straddle and I made it $16 with 64cc. The only caller was the cautious player from the hand above from the SB. The flop came down A83 and he checked, I c-bet $20, and he raised to $40. At this point I was thinking that 1)his raise seemed strictly like an information raise and 2)even if he had an A and I showed aggression he would likely give me credit for a bigger hand especially with how cautious he was. Therefore it would be a great time for me to make another raise. I made it $90 and he folded KK face up (no big accomplishment in taking him off KK here but I got the information raise part right). I was back to $260 after this.

I limped in EP with KQo and called a raise to $10 with multiple other players. The flop came 874 and I folded to a bet. I called $10 from MP with 77 and there were 6 other callers (this would have been a perfect time for a set) but folded on the AK4 flop (and the turn was an obvious 7 after 2 players had gotten all in). There was a straddle and I made it $20 with J9dd UTG+1. I got called from LP and the SB but folded when the straddle when all in for $80. I made it $8 with J8hh, got 2 callers, and folded a 543 flop. I made it $8 in the cutoff with Q8o and only got called by the button. The flop came JJ5 and I c-bet $10 (the guy was straightforward) and he called. I shut it down and folded to a bet on the river after a 94 board filled out. I was down to $200 after this.

I then lost a decent sized pot. I was in the hijack and I opened for $8 with JTo. The cutoff, button, SB, and BB called and we saw a J87 2 clubs flop. The BB bet out $20 and I decided to call because I think he is leading out with a considerable number of hands by the way he has played. The turn came a 4 and he went all in for $66. I decided to call because I feel like I am ahead enough of the time and if im not ahead I have outs. He flipped 87 for bottom 2 pair (a hand I was behind but have more outs than I thought I would) but missed when the river came a 2. I was down to $90 and rebought for $200 more so I was at $290 but in for $500 total.

I checked my option in the BB with limpers and 83o. We checked down a board of JT9Q4 and I called a $10 bet on the river and was good. I was in the SB with Q7 and everyone at the table limping so I limped as well. The flop came 752 and I bet $6 and got 2 callers. The turn came a T and I bet $11 and they both folded. I found KK UTG and both the blinds called. We checked the flop of 774 and when the turn came a 5, the SB bet $10, BB folded, I made it $30, and he folded. I was at $335 after this. I completed the SB with Q9o and the flop came 986. I checked, a player in MP bet $10, I called, and the BB called. The turn came a 2 which was a good card for me. I chose to lead out for $16 to defend against straight draws and smaller pairs but the BB went all in for $80 and I had to fold. I limped in the cutoff behind several limpers with K8ss and the flop came 875. Another limper bet out $15, I called, and there were 2 other callers behind. The turn came a 3 and the original bettor bet out $40. I decided to just cut my losses and fold (dont want to lose to much limping with K8).

I then played a really big pot that had an interesting result. I found AA in MP and made it $10 and got called by a LP player and the BB. The flop came down Q96 2 hearts and the BB lead out for $10, I made it $30, and the LP caller went all in for $114. The BB decided to call, I moved all in over the top for about $290, and the BB called me. The turn and river came out 73 and I showed AA, the BB showed QJ, and the LP showed Q9 for flopped top 2 pair. I won the side pot vs the BB but lost the main pot. Even so there was about $335 in the side pot so I still made a little more money than breaking even that hand (better than having the BB folding his top pair no kicker and me losing to the top 2 and not making my money back).

A couple of hands later, I played another big pot. I made it $10 UTG with AQo and an LP player and the SB called. The flop came down 872 2 clubs, the SB checked, I bet out $16, the button folded, and the SB called. The turn came another 8 and he decided to lead out for $45. I thought that this was an odd spot for him to bet out because he is checkraising an 8 alot of the time here and check calling a 7. This board was so draw heavy I was thinking that I had the best hand a good portion of the time here so I called the $45. The turn came the Qc, giving me TPTK but putting a possible flush on the board. He went all in for $102 and while a flush was one of the hands I was potentially worried about, something about this play overall did not add up to me. I decided to call and he instamucked giving me the pot without me having to show my cards. The sick thing is that there were alot of cards on the river on which I would definently be calling with A high because of how the hand played out, and I would have been right with this call! After this hand I was up to $510 and back in the black a little bit.

I decided to limp behind other limpers from MP with Q6hh. The flop came Q86 and the SB lead out for $15, the an EP limp called, I made it $65, and everyone folded. Maybe I raised a little too much here to kill my action but I am happy to take a pot with Q6 at any time. I $11 an UTG limp with JJ from MP and he was my only caller. The flop came T87 and he checkcalled my $15 bet. The turn came a J giving me a set but filling an open ender and he checked and I checked behind. The river came a 3, he bet $35 and I snap called but lost when he showd 97 for the straight. I was down to $490 after this. I made it $8 with K6hh, got 2 callers, and folded on the turn when the board came Q33T (one guy had QT). I called $7 from the SB and 5 other callers with 97ss but folded on the AQ5 flop. I was down to $460 after this.

A guy in MP made it $7 and I was in the cutoff and called with KJo. The flop came K93 2 spades and he lead out for $10. I decided to just call and the turn came an offsuit 5. He bet $20 and I called. The river came another 9 and he bet out $30, I called (hoping I didnt let him get there with the 9) but he said "youre good" and my KJ was good to win a decent sized pot. I was back up to $525 after this. I made it $8 UTG+1 with KQo and got 3 callers behind. I bet out $15 on the QT8 2 club flop and everyone folded. Last hand I played, I made it $8 UTG with JJ and the BB was the only caller. The flop came JT8 2 clubs giving me top set on an extremely draw heavy board. He checked, I bet $10, and he called. The turn came a gross Qc, completing every possible draw out there and we both checked. The river came a 9 putting a straight on board and he checked to me. I chose to just check behind and we split the pot when he showed AQ.

I cashed out soon after this with $543, up $43 for the day. A small winning session but a winning session is a winning session so I cant really complain. Hope that the streak continues next time I play.

Cash Game: Mandalay Bay May 23rd 2011

After I busted out of the tournament, I went over to Mandalay Bay to try to win some money in a cash game. I arrived at 1030 PM and played until 230 AM for a 4 hour session. I bought for the max of $300. Thankfully for me, I had a good night recoving a good deal of my losses from the previous night. While I didnt really play very many pots, I was able to make some big hands and run well for a nice sized winning session (although I cant help but think how much money I would have made if I made these hands the previous night at the ridiculously bad table).

First hand I played, I made it $8 with OJo UTG+1. I got 4 calls but folded to a bet on a 7436 board. I checked the BB with A7o with 5 limpers and won the pot with a $10 bet on a 742 flop. I found AK in MP with 1 limper and made it $10. The SB, BB, and limp all called and I folded to $15 on a 922 bet. I was then able to begin my big rush.

A spewy EP player made it $7 and I found AA on the button. I made it $25 and he folded. A different EP player made it $7 and got 2 calls including the spewy player from the hand before. I found AA in the BB and made it $30 and the spewy player was the only caller. I tried trap-checking the 754 flop but he checked behind. I bet $30 on the T turn and he folded giving me the pot. I then won my first big pot of the night. I made it $8 from MP with ATo after the spewy player limped. He was the only caller and the flop came AJT, giving me 2 pair. He checked, I bet $12 and he called. The turn came a 3, he checked, I bet $25, he raised to $65, and I called. The river came a 5, he lead out for $75 and I called pretty quickly. He showed A4 (for the drawing almost dead after this flop) and I won the pot. I was up to $490 (from my original $300) after this hand.

There were 3 limps to me on the button and I found KK and made it $15. All of the limps called and the flop came KQT, giving me top set on an extremely strong board. They all checked to me and I bet $40 and somehow no one had anything to continue the hand with. I was up to $530. I called $7 on the button with 99 and both of the blinds called. However, I folded on the flop when it came A53. I made it $8 with ATo UTG and a player in LP and the BB called. I c-bet $12 on QJ5 and took the pot down. I made it $16 from EP on a straddle with QJo and a player in LP and the straddler called. I bet $20 on a Q54 flop and it was good enough to take it down.

I then played another big hand that is actually pretty interesting. I had a pretty tight image at the table (I guess) so that factors in. I found TT UTG and made it $8. The button and the SB called and the BB made it $22. I called and so did the button and the SB. The flop came 874, the SB checked and the BB (who was the original 3-bettor) checked. At this point I am fairly certain that I have the best hand, and if not the best I still have an extremely strong hand especially after the BB checks when he 3-bets (he had been playing aggressive and following through on alot of streets in other hands like this). I bet out $40, the button called, the SB called, and the BB folded. The turn came a Q and i felt like this was a good card for my hand as it doesnt complete straights or most 2 pair draws out there. The SB checked, I bet $65 and both guys folding after a tank saying they "have never seen me bet before".

The very next hand I was able to win another decent sized pot. I was in the BB and there were several limpers when the SB made it $8. I found 22 and called with all of the other limpers. The flop came 542, making me a set. The SB lead for $15 and I just called so I could open action behind. However, only 1 of the limpers called and we saw the T on the turn 3-handed. The SB checked, I stepped out of the weeds with a $40 bet, the limper called, and the SB folded. The river filled me up when another T came out. I bet out $75 and the limper called, but mucked when I showed (saying A5) and I was up to $820 or so.

I made it $15 on the button with several limpers when I found AKo. Only one of the limpers called and we checked down T3265 and I was good when he showed QJ. I made it $7 on the button with AThh and 1 limper. The BB and the limp called and I folded to a bet on a QQJ flop. I called $10 from the cutoff with A9hh and 4 other callers but folded to a bet on a 762 board.

I then took it upon myself to make a pretty sick call to win a medium sized pot. There was a guy on my left who was inexperienced but he was playing surprisingly well, taking aggressive betting lines in most pots whether he had it or not. In this pot he limped the hijack, the cutoff limped, and I found 88 on the button and limped. We saw a flop of K97 and it checked to the aggressive guy and he bet $10. I thought that this seemed to be a spot where he had been consistently betting wide ranges so I called and decided to reevalutate on the turn. The turn came a 6 giving me an OESD and he bet $30. I almost folded but I had seen him continue betting the turn/river lots of times plus I picked up a solid draw if he did have me beat. By calling here I am basically making up my mind to call the river as well. The river came another 7, which I hated becuase now any flopped pair is beating me, and he bet $45. Even though I hated that card, my call on the turn dictates a call here so I called and he showed T6 for a flopped gutshot, turned pair, and river bluff. I was up to $910 after this hand.

This was my last big hand of the night. I called $10 in MP with 33 and multiple callers but folded on the river of AT75Q. I made it $15 in MP on a straddle with Q8hh and the straddler was the only caller. The flop came T53, he checked, I bet $20, and he folded. I left soon after this with $901, up $601.

Like I said, it was nice to put a dent in the massive losses I had. I was worried it would take me a long time to recoup from that but getting my -$830 back to just over 1 Buy-in is a relief. Hopefully I can completely erase my losses next session.

Tourney: May 23rd 2011 Orleans Open Event #3: $225 NL Holdem

Heading into my first tournament in Vegas this summer, I was excited and ready to go. The tournament got 214 players for a 1st prize of $12k. 27 places paid. We started with 12,500 in chips. My starting table looked pretty good. Mostly old men, only 2 younger people and one got shortstacked right away so I could more or less have a good time running over the table.

Level 1: 50-100. First hand I played I opened from the hijack with 76o to 250. The button and the BB called and we saw a J93 flop. We checked around and on the A turn, I fired 275, the button made it 800, and both the BB and I folded. I made it 250 with 65ss from EP and got 3 calls. I folded on a KQ9 flop. I made it 250 from MP with A6hh and got 2 calls from behind and 2 calls from the blinds. The flop came T62r and it checked to me, I bet 400, the SB called, the BB made it 1600, and we both folded. I was down to 10,600 after this. I made it 250 with KQss from UTG+1 and the button and the BB called. The flop came AJ4 and we checked around. The turn came a Q, I bet 275, and the BB was the only caller. The river came a 7, he checked, I bet 400, he made it 1100, and I folded and was down to 9500. I was in the SB in a limped pot with 98o and I limped as well. The board came T975 and I bet 150 on the turn. One of the limpers called and the river came the A. We both checked and my 98 was good. I was at 9900 and we went to 75-150.

Level 2: 75-150. I called 300 on the button to a hijack raise with QTo but folded on a K76 all heart flop. I found AQhh in the cutoff with 2 limpers and made it 475. Both of the limpers called and my c-bet of 525 on the AT5 flop was good. I made it 350 UTG+1 with QhTd and got called by both of the blinds. The flop came K84 all hearts and we all checked. The turn came an offsuit 7 and it checked to me, I fired 375, and they folded. I was up to 11,800 after this. I made it 400 in LP with one limper with AJo and he was the only caller. My c-bet of 525 on 954 took it down.

Level 3: 100-200. I made it 475 with T9cc from the cutoff and the button was the only caller. The flop came T82 2 hearts and I check called his 1200 bet. The turn and river came a 45 and I bet out 1600 on the river and he folded. I was at 15,500 after this. An EP raiser made it 625 and I found AA in the cutoff and flatted. The flop came QJ4 2 hearts, he bet out 875, I made it 2500 and he folded. I made it 475 UTG with AQo and the BB was the only caller. The flop came AK2 and we both checked. The turn came another 2, counterfitting my kicker, he bet out 1500, and I called. The river came a Q (giving me a higher 2 pair) and he bet out 2000. I called and he showed KT. I was in the cutoff with one limper and found AA. I made it 600, the BB called, and so did the limper. The flop came 752 2 spades, the BB lead out for 600, the limper called, and I made it 2025. They both decided to fold and I won the pot. I made it 475 from EP with 99 and everyone folded. I limped in a multiway pot from the SB with Q8. The flop came 855 and it checked around. The turn came a 6, I bet 525, the BB made it 1625, I folded and he showed a 5. The level ended and I had 22,325 at the first break.

Level 4: 150-300. Unfortunately, I had more problems with my phone so my next 3 level updates will not be 100% complete. I actually don’t remember any hands from this level but I don’t think I played very many at all so it wasn’t too exciting of a level. I ended this level around 25k.

Level 5: 200-400 25. This was not a good level for me. I spewed off quite a few of my chips with raise/c-bet combos that were no good and a couple of unsuccessful bluffs. A couple of hands I remember. I was in the BB with J6o with one limper and the SB. The flop came TT5 2 clubs and we checked to the limper. He bet 700 and I decided to float by calling. The turn came the Jc, giving me a hidden pair but putting a completed flush on board. I bet 1200 and he called. At this point I was thinking he had a hand like 66-99 with a club. He had been limping alot but always with decent hands. The river came a 4 and I bet 2600(for value to get called by one of the aforementioned pairs. . .a 4 is a great card if I put him on one of those PPs) and he called showing AT for a trips that were semi-scared by the flush. I made it 1025 behind 1 limper from the cutoff with 75hh. The button and the limp called and I c-bet 1500 on an A82 flop. However, one of them raised and the other 3 bet so I folded. I was in the BB with Q2o and 3 limpers. We checked to the river on an AT8J7 board and I bet 1200 (repping the 9) but got called by a limper with 87. I was down to around 17,000 at the end of this level.

Level 6: 300-600 50. I played some interesting hands this level. A guy limped UTG and I was UTG+2 and found JJ. I made it 1650. The guy behind me made it 4150, the guy behind him called that bet, and I decided to call after I tinkered with the idea of just shoving. The flop came AA9 and I check folded to a bet and an all in (AQ vs AK). I guess I just should have pushed but its a tough sell when theres all that action from ABC older men. I cant fold pre because I am getting odds to set-mine but I was probably stacking off on an all low card board anyways so I should just put it in preflop. I was down to 10k or so after this. Fortunately I got some chips back pretty quickly, I was in the SB when a guy in EP made it 1200, the button called, and I found QQ. I made it 5600 and the guy in EP went all in for about 7000. The button folded, I called and he showed A5ss. I was good on a 753KK board and back to 18,500. I quickly lost a lot of these chips though. I raised it in the hijack with JTdd to 1425, the BB made it 3300 and I called. The flop came T83 2 hearts and he bet out 4200 and I called. The turn came 7h putting a flush on board and he bet out 6000. I had about 11k behind and I decided to fold my top pair. He had been pretty tight but I don’t know. If im going to call a raise with JTdd and I flop top pair maybe I should just end up putting it in. I don’t think I played this hand very well but I don’t know what I can do to correct it I guess. I made it 1425 UTG +2 with JJ and the button was the only caller. The flop came 332 and I checked (to C/raise) and he checked behind. The turn came a K and I bet 1600 and he called. The river came an 8 and it went c/c and I was good. The level ended shortly after that and I had 14,450 at the dinner break.

Level 7: 400-800 75. I folded for an orbit or so and moved down to 12k. I pushed it all in UTG when I found 77. A guy from LP called all in for his last 2125 (only) and he showed A8cc. I lost the race when the board came 65379. I was down to 10k or so. Next orbit in my BB, I had about 8800. A guy opened to 1800 in LP and the button made it 6000. I found 77 and shoved my last 8800 and the button called with AA. I was not able to suckout and busted out of the tournament, finishing around 84th of 214.

Kind of a bad tournament especially since I was able to make some hands and chip up in the early levels. I played some spewy hands at the 200-400 and 300-600 levels so I need to stop doing that. Hopefully next tournament I can come back, play stronger, and learn from my mistakes.

Cash Game: Mandalay Bay May 22nd 2011

This was probably the longest session I have ever played. I got there at 7 PM and ended up playing until 7 AM for a 12 hour session. Unfortunately for me, it was also my worst session I have ever played. I didn’t play that great, and I ran even worse and that combo had me starting off my Vegas trip in a gigantic hole. I was in for $1300 and down $1100 at one point but ended up down -$830 so an absolutely disgusting amount. People say you should leave the game after losing x buy-ins but the game was soooo good all night I just couldn’t leave. I just ran bad and couldn’t win any pots!

Also unfortunately, somehow when I was recording my hand histories in my phone, the document erased so I do not have them any more. This really tilted me when I found out this happened because I had a bunch of hands to write/talk about so Ill im just going to spitball a little bit here.

Overall, I really only played 2 big pots. The first of which I lost about $280 when I called a $205 all in on the turn with KK on 7547 against a complete spewmonster. He had J7 and I lost. The 2nd of which, I 4 bet all in vs the same spewmonster with AQo, another guy called behind for about $125, and the spewmonster called all in for about $180. The hands were AQ vs TT vs J7 and I was lucky enough to win.

I lost a couple of medium sized pots ($100 or so each) to some guy who I was sitting next to who it was his first time playing poker. He was pretty funny (first hand he played he called a $150 river bet with A high) and both hands I flopped 2 pair, value bet all 3 streets, and he ended up rivering a higher 2 pair both times.

Over the course of the 12 hours, I had AA 1 time, KK 1 time (see above on how it went), QQ 0 times, JJ 0 times, and TT 0 times. I had AK a lot of times (probably 10-12) and I cant remember one specific instance when I won a hand with it. I ran AK into AA 2 times, one I called a 3 bet PF to $50 but folded when I missed the flop and one I got the guy all in for about $90 in an unavoidable situation and lost. I did not flop a set all night (I can promise you this is true). The last 5 hours I was there, I think I won exactly 3 pots (no exaggeration), one of those being the AQ vs TT vs J7 hand so it was still profitable 5 hours but I just couldn’t get anything going. The table was so good and cally and I just couldn’t punish them for being so terrible.

Again, it still really tilts me that my phone messed up because I hate the idea of not having a full document of this session but overall, I made some bad plays and ran really really badly which added up to a gigantic loss. Hopefully I can come back next time and perform stronger.

Running Aces Final Stats and Other Interesting Hands

Hello everyone. Just getting ready to leave for Vegas and I thought Id drop some stats and a couple of comments from my time I played at Running Aces.

My total final results are $1912 in winnings over 73 hours of play. This meant an average of $26.19/hour. However, $315 of these winnings were rackback from the $5/hour deal. My actual play resulted in $1597 in winnings over the same 73 hours for a total of $21.88/hour. I had 14 separate sessions. Of those sessions, 9 of them were winning and 5 of them were losing (9-5). I averaged winning $52.36/hour during my 9 winning sessions and losing $33.23/hour during my 5 losing sessions. My biggest winning session was $667 and my biggest losing session was $300. Overall, Id argue that if I continued to make $21.88/hour before rackback at $1-$2 no limit in vegas (or $2-$60 spread at running aces) I would be extremely happy so id say it was a successful 73 hours and 3 weeks of poker.

Despite having 14 sessions, I only actually blog-recapped the last 5 of those sessions. In the first 9 sessions, there were many interesting hands that I did not get to share. I have chose the 6 most interesting hands from those 9 sessions to share with you.

6. FOLDING THE NUTS?
There was a straddle and I found Ah7x MP and made it $14. The SB called and so did the straddle. The flop came QhTh8h giving me the nut flush draw. It checked to me and I took my free card. The turn came a 6h giving me the nut flush. The SB checked, the straddler bet $16, I just flatted to get trappy, and the SB called as well. The river came the Jh, making a 2 way straight flush on a QhTh8h6hJh board. The SB then lead out for $40, the straddler folded, and it got to me. What hands does he legitimately lead out with here? His range is either the Kh, but does he really lead out with the Kh into a bet and a call on an all heart board? The next 2 highest hearts are the Jh and the 7h, both of which make straight flushes. The way he lead out most certainly looked like he had something, so I ended up folding the nut flush with the thought of him having a straight flush. I showed the Ah when I folded but he never showed his cards so I will never know if it was the right play but I can say that he looked extremely frustrated after I showed.

5. BAD LIMP, BAD CALLS, BAD RESULT
There were several limpers to me and I found 85ss on the button. I decided to limp behind. The flop came 643 all clubs and it checked to me, I bet $6 and got 2 callers. The turn came an offsuit 7 giving me the nut straight. It checked to me again and I bet out $10, the first caller made it $30, the 2nd caller folded, and I called. Initially my plan was to snap fold if I got raised because a raiser has a flush almost every time. However, the reraiser was this spewy young kid and I thought he was reraising with enough hands here for me to call and reevalute on the river. The river came a blank and he immediately lead out for $60. For some reason I just had it in my head that he didnt have a flush. I was thinking that he would c/raise the flop with any flush. I ended up calling and he showed me the A5cc for the flopped nut flush that I unnecessarily paid off.

4. I GOT MAX FLOATED
I was in the BB and a guy UTG +1 made it $6. The player on my right (SB) was an extremely terrible player, super spewy, overvaluing hands, not really thinking at all just sliding out chips. At this point he had just lost a big pot and was cursing about how he always takes bad beats so I think he was on tilt. Anyways, he makes it $12 from the SB and I find KK in the BB. I decide to just flat, knowing that this will open up play to UTG +1 but also giving the spewmonster alot of rope to hang himself with. The flop came a nice 873 rainbow and the spewy SB made it $30. I looked and he had about $160 total on the flop so I figured I would be able to get it all in here. I made it $90, the UTG+1 folded, and the guy decided to just INSTAcall. He only had $72 behind and the turn came an A. He snap leadout for $60 and I felt pretty sick. I have no idea where hes at but I know that I hate that ace. I figured he could be tilting and just putting it in extremely wide here so I raised him for his last $12 all in and he called showing the A10o for the no pair/no draw/ace high flop call with $72 behind. I missed the river and lost a pretty large pot on way to a losing session. Maybe he was floating the flop to max any turn in hopes of me folding #genius.

3. 1 ORBIT, 3 BIG POTS, 2 SUCKOUTS, ALL VS 1 PLAYER
In one of my large winning sessions, I played 3 large hands in the span of about 15 minutes vs the same player and I won all three! The first of these hands, I limped from the button with 76o behind everyone else limping. The flop came T76 giving me bottom 2 pair. One of the EP limpers bet out $10 and got 3 callers to me. I decided just to flat because if I raise there are so many scare cards on the turn that if I get called I will not be playing a big pot unless I have the worst hand. The turn did come one of those blanks in a 2. The first bettor bet $40 again and everyone folded to me. It did run through my head that he might have 98 for the straight but still thought it was more likely that he had a strong 10 that he was just trying to get everyone to fold there. The river came the 7, making me a full house and the bettor lead out for $60, I made it $120, and he called and got angry showing the 98 for the no good flopped straight and I won a big pot.

A few hands later (same orbit) I was UTG and found AA. I made it $10 and that same guy made it $38 from MP. The guy on the button then moved all in for $66. I made it $126 and the MP reraiser called all in for his last $110 or so. I had 2 people all in with AA. The MP guy showed 88 (wow) and the button showed 55 (even more wow). The board ran out K3452 rivering me the straight (stealing the pot from the 55) and winning me another big pot.

The very next hand everybody limped to me in the BB and I found JJ. I decided to try to not bloat the pot so I just decided to check. The flop came 964 2 diamonds. I checked, the guy that I beat out of the 2 previous pots bet $10, the guy with 55 from the last hand called, and I raised to $36 and they both called. At this point I figured the original bettor for a strong 9 and the caller for a diamond draw. The turn came a 7 and I thought about just checking to keep the pot small (also because it made straights/2 pairs for connectors and 1-gappers) but figured that if I fired another barrell, the 9 would fold and I would be punishing the diamond draw with a bet. I bet out $40 and they both decided to call again. At this point I had no idea where I was at anymore. The river came another 9, a card that I think crushes me for sure (I thought at least one of them had TP). I checked and they both checked behind. I showed JJ and they guy who I had beaten the 2 previous hands showed 64 for flopped bottom 2 pair that were counterfitted by the board pairing (the other guy had a diamond draw) and I was able to win my 3rd big pot in a short amount of time. I do not know exactly how much I made in this orbit but I can say it was an extremely successful one.

2. HOW TO MISPLAY KK PART I
This is my first of two hands where I illustrate how not to play KK. I do not remember 100% of the details from this hand because I blocked it out of my mind for the most part (played it so terribly) but I will recount it fairly accurately. A player in EP made it $8. I was in the hijack and it was folded to me and I found KK. I made it $22 and the player in the cutoff then 4-bet to $66 (he only had about $95 to start the hand). This is where things get interesting. The kid on the button, who was a bit cally, played pretty straight forward, and overall not a good player (despite what he might think about himself) decided to flat. It folded to me and I made it $126, the guy behind called all in for $95, and the kid on the button called and there was a sidepot to be played. The flop came A44 and I decided to check, figuring the guys calling range pf was either QQ or AK and he played so straightforward, he would never bet QQ here. Additionally, even if he somehow did bet QQ here, I figured it would be likely that the other guy had AK-AQ and I would only be playing for the side pot (and if not the all in guy, the bettor had AK). I checked, he bet $60, I folded (for the reasons stated above) and the button showed QQ while the all in showed JJ. UGHHHHH. I should have just lead out on the flop no matter what and the straightforward guy folds for sure. MAN did I miss out on a big one here. Oh well, learning what to do in spots like this comes from cash game experience.

1. HOW TO MISPLAY KK PART II
Here is another hand were I played KK quite poorly (I cant really blame myself too much here) but the result is a tad different from the first. It was the first 15 minutes of a session and I had already won a big pot that pushed my stack up to $320 or so. There was an LP raiser to $10, the SB flatted, and I found KK again. I made it $36 and after much thought the LP raiser folded. This is where things get strange. The SB flatter then decided to make it $96. We were both relatively deep so I figured I could just flat and see what happens on the flop. The flop came a harmless 955 and he lead out for $60, I made it $120, and he snap bet to $180. After I had made it $120, I only had about $110 behind. It obviously scared me to death that he might have AA but its such a weird spot with him just flatting the raise PF and then all of the sudden backraising my 3-bet. I thought about it for quite some time and he started saying "you know what I have. . .you have to fold. . .you know what I have. . .Ill show you". Immediately I started having flashbacks to my KK preflop fold in Vegas where the guy showed me QQ (read about it here). Ultimately, I decided to to the f*** it call and I put in my last $110. He called, showing me my worst nightmare, the AA. UGHHH. The turn came a blank Q but the river. . .a K!!! I sucked out in a massive pot. The pot ended up being about $670 and was the key to my biggest winning day at Running Aces.

Hope you enjoyed my hands, my next updates will be from Vegas games and they will be coming fast and furious so if you have any input or questions, let me know if I can improve my blog at all!