This will be a quick update for today. On Sunday, I went to Hall's. He had a $40 tournament with $20 rebuys, and an optional $20 add-on at the end of the 3rd level. I generally am not a fan of this for many reasons. 1) The loose style that people play are favorable to the better players, but it leads to flipping coins for $20 a pop, in the first hour or so. 2) By the end there are SO many chips in play that the final 3 or 4 take hours to complete because of the blinds. 3) I just think that once you're out in a tournament, you're out. Yes, it creates action and the house can take more of a cut, but I think the game is just plain different (read worse) because of the style of the game. Should you take more chances to build a stack so you don't have to addon at the end of the period? Otherwise you turn a $40 tourney into a $100 or $100+ tourney. I myself got knocked out once and got back in and then took the addon, for an $80 tournament. I thought to myself, this is ridiculous. I'm much more a fan of one buy in and for god's sake, a slow structure. Again, back to flipping coins for your entry fee. I could've done that in the parking lot with an actual coin.
But I digress...
So I had the loosest player I've ever played with to my left to start the tournament, and Dycka to my right. It always seems like we end up sitting next to each other. The rest of the table was fine. I lost an occasional pot here and there, nothing really to make a note of. Then in the 2nd level, the loose guy just keeps going all in. I assume that he knows he has to make a move before rebuys are over, but he's goin all in for like 11x the BB. I really want to get him and I find 88 in the BB and he goes all in UTG, everyone folds like usual, and I call. He flips over AK, great! now he has a hand...He flops a K and it's rebuy time. I made it to the final table after taking an add-on and have about 6Kin chips, below average by all means.
Now Dycka is to my left when we start the final table. Right off the get go, I get 10's in MP and go all in. It was for a good amount, about 10x the BB, so it was enough to hang around and play or go home. After much thinking, a smart player who I respect, Kevin, called me with AK and everyone else folded. Flop came K high. But the turn peeled off a 10, and I was right back in it with a nice double up. Dycka would later get involved in a similar spot with Kevin, who again had AK against Dycka's 44. Again Kevin flopped an A, but Dycka rivered a 4 to stay alive. He couldn't catch a break it seems in coin flips that night.
Blinds 300/600 with a 50 ante, I get JJ and re raise all in after Frank had made it 2500 to go. It folds around to the loose guy to my left at the first table. He's now down the table from me and can't decide what to do. If it was anyone else I'd be worried that he has QQ, cause he can't make a decision. But it's this guy so I put him A10 or some other hand that a guy like him can't get away from. He decides to call eventually, and Frank folds for another 10K. Frank folded 77, and the loose guy flips over 910D!!!! What a call! Well, the flop came 8K2. The turn was a 6, and now he needed 1 of the last 2 7's in the deck. Well, of course the river was a 7. I had him covered so I was able to stay around.
Then I played the biggest pussy in the game. I just waited for blinds to come around and eat other people up so I could get in the money. Eventually it worked and I ended up chopping 2nd and 3rd's prize money to take home $160. I'm sorry I don't have more hands for this time of the game, but nothing really happened with me, or really worth writing about. Another cash, and tonight I have Eddie's game that I won 2 weeks ago. Let's see if the ride continues....
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Friday, February 11, 2005
Just a quick note, after sticking up for Phil Hellmuth for the past couple of years, I'm done with him. Does he still play poker? I honestly haven't read a NEW article from him on cardplayer since Tobey Maguire won his tournament. This week's article is from his book and from Foxwoods 2003!!! The past few weeks of his posting has been articles or stuff from YEARS ago against TJ, and even that was a horribly written hand. Has he not played recently and can't dwell on recent events? His lack of work ethic is terrible. Shit, even I'm doing more posting than him, granted he has a lot more bracelets.
He who makes the least mistakes...(or how to win a NL Hold 'Em tournament)
I apologize for stealing your format of title Ditty, but you stole it from Dr. Strangelove anyway.
Poker @ Ditty's last night...good times. 3 handed I had more than 1/2 the chips in play. Did I win? No. How did I lose all my chips? Well, like a good episode of Alias, let's flashback to the beginning and go over some key hands of how I amassed my chips before getting to the terrible end.
At the first table, blinds 25/50, Hall raised from MP to 175. Rich calls, and I find AQh in the BB and call as well. Flop comes Kh9h3s. I bet out 350 to take it right there and/or find out if Rich has AK. Hall just calls (a weak play imo) and Rich raises it up to 700. I decide to call because with Hall's money I've got some good odds here. Hall ended up folding. The turn is the 4h and I lead out with a weak 600 into a 2300 pot. Rich didn't bite though, and just called. I wouldn't have minded another heart on the river but the Kc came for a final board of Kh9h3s4hKc. With not much else to do I went all in with the hope that he didn't have a boat, and he had AK.
I had a side bet with Dycka that for every pot Hall and Maltese were in, if they were heads up by the turn, I would lay 2-1 that Maltese would win the pot. Unfortunatly, they only got into one pot and Hall won. I slid $2 under the table to Dycka.
Another pot, Dycka raised UTG while I was in the BB. Blinds were 50/75 and he went up to 275. I found AK in the BB and just called. I didn't want to be on the losing side of a race, out of position, and especially with the comfy stack I had. We took a flop of 10 rag rag. I checked and Dycka bet 300. I called with the hopes of pushing him off the hand on the turn. Another 10 came to pair the board, and it was decision time. Would he fold to a bet here? Would he believe that I check called top pair? I decided that this was the worst card for my previous action and decided to check again, bascially giving up on the hand. Dycka bet 300 again, a smallish bet, which I commented on, but folded. He flashed 2 rockets at me, and I felt better. That one's filed away in the mental filing cabinet.
Artem and I got involved in a hand soon after. He raised from LP and I got AJ in the BB. I wasn't re-raising alot in this game for some reason, prolly cause I didn't think I could get Artem to fold preflop. I'm not saying anything about his game, but last night he seemed to want to play alot of pots and I figured if I could get in cheaper and hit it hard, I could make more money. Anyway, the flop comes A34. I check hoping for a bet, and Artem fires out 300. I go all in for about 1275 more, and he calls instantly.....with 34o!! What a steal gone good! Well, I spiked a J on the turn, and then an A on the river.
Later on, I got pocket 10's in UTG +1 and raised it up to 4x the BB. Jack had limped in before me and called the bet. Flop came 8h9s3c. Jack checked, and I bet 800, about the size of the pot. Jack thought about it and I told him to roll the die and see what happens. He did roll and got a 20! I don't know much about it, but that's the best possible roll I believe. So he decided to call. Turn came the 7h. Even better for my hand, Jack checked again and I decided to go all in for another 2250, now that I picked up a redraw in case my hand went bad. Jack decided to call because the die had rolled a 20 previously and flipped over A6h! Now if I hit my set, I lose to a straight, and any heart beats me too. The 4s came on the river and I won a huge pot as Jack was 2nd in chips next to me at this point.
Now I sat well at about 7800 chips. Artem went on a little bit of a tear before we broke for the final table and he was sitting well also. Final table was a little tough, I enjoyed Tieds' sarcasm about the situation. I had CK and Ike to my left, Ike I've never played with. He took the place of DGlove with his methodical calls and deliberate actions. To my right, I had Artem and Bob with Tieds and Long in the middle.
No real craziness here. I ran well and got some big pots here and there. There was one hand where I may have had a winner, but I folded preflop. UTG CK raises to 925 with blinds 150/300. Long asks how much to re-raise and makes it 2K to go. I look down in the BB to find AJ. I would've played against CK, but the re-raise here makes me hate my hand. I force it into the muck. Flop comes KJ7. They both check the flop and and after a deuce hits the turn, CK checks and Long puts CK all in. CK mucks Q 9 and the more I think about it, it's very possible for Long to have QQ there.
Artem goes all in on the button and I find 88 in the SB and re-raise all in to push CK out. He folds and Artem tables A6o. No help for him and we are down another player. CK and Ike got involved in a hand as well where the action folded to them and CK went all in. Ike thought about it and decided to take a stand and call. CK has 23h and Ike has 103d. Flop comes 102x I believe. Turn is another 2. River? Case deuce. CK doubles up with 23h!!
Ike was down to about 4x the BB and I picked up ATd in the SB and planned to get him all in but Bob raises in front of me. Hmm I wanted this pot, so I call and not play back at him, but I put him on a weak ace. Flop comes JTx. With a sidepot of 400, I checked hoping that Bob wouldn't bet me out of a sidepot when a player elimination is one the line. He checked as well. I spiked an A on the river and thought about betting because I figured I'd get some action. But I did not, and I took the pot down with 2 pair, and eliminating Ike.
Eventually we are 3 handed with Long and Bob. We were really trading blinds back and forth with no real action. I got K9c on the button and decided to raise 1/2 of Long's 6K chips to see if he wanted in. I figured he's not going to call, he'll go all in or fold, and for some reason, I had a good feeling about the hand, call it intuition if you will. Long decides to go all in and Bob folds and I call. Long has 5h5s and it's race time. Flop comes Kh9hx. 2 more hearts come on the next 2 streets, and Long's flush beats my hand. 3 hands later, on the button again, I got A3o, and I went all in for 8K, a GROSS overbet on my part, but I was rattled for the first time in weeks and decided to push it in. Long didn't want to right away, but he did call with 77, and eliminated me when the flop came 232 and no more help.
About 5 hands later, Long won the whole thing. I wasn't watching the final hand because Ditty put in an awesome Ali G DVD with Borat in the Hamptons. I can't really complain except that I wish I had played the hand slower to get away from it at the end. But I hate taking stands now with 4x or 5x the BB. I wanna double up big or just stop. I think that was my problem before, I would just whittle away and not be afraid to gamble. As much skill as there is in this game, it's still gambling and you must treat it as such in certain situations. Another cash and more points to move me up the leaderboard as well. I'm very happy with the way I've been playing lately and that A3 is the real only big mistake that I've made in the last 3 weeks. Tonight, is a 2/4 game at Hall's. I'll prolly go to work on my limit game as the aquarium is fresh to be tapped.
I apologize for stealing your format of title Ditty, but you stole it from Dr. Strangelove anyway.
Poker @ Ditty's last night...good times. 3 handed I had more than 1/2 the chips in play. Did I win? No. How did I lose all my chips? Well, like a good episode of Alias, let's flashback to the beginning and go over some key hands of how I amassed my chips before getting to the terrible end.
At the first table, blinds 25/50, Hall raised from MP to 175. Rich calls, and I find AQh in the BB and call as well. Flop comes Kh9h3s. I bet out 350 to take it right there and/or find out if Rich has AK. Hall just calls (a weak play imo) and Rich raises it up to 700. I decide to call because with Hall's money I've got some good odds here. Hall ended up folding. The turn is the 4h and I lead out with a weak 600 into a 2300 pot. Rich didn't bite though, and just called. I wouldn't have minded another heart on the river but the Kc came for a final board of Kh9h3s4hKc. With not much else to do I went all in with the hope that he didn't have a boat, and he had AK.
I had a side bet with Dycka that for every pot Hall and Maltese were in, if they were heads up by the turn, I would lay 2-1 that Maltese would win the pot. Unfortunatly, they only got into one pot and Hall won. I slid $2 under the table to Dycka.
Another pot, Dycka raised UTG while I was in the BB. Blinds were 50/75 and he went up to 275. I found AK in the BB and just called. I didn't want to be on the losing side of a race, out of position, and especially with the comfy stack I had. We took a flop of 10 rag rag. I checked and Dycka bet 300. I called with the hopes of pushing him off the hand on the turn. Another 10 came to pair the board, and it was decision time. Would he fold to a bet here? Would he believe that I check called top pair? I decided that this was the worst card for my previous action and decided to check again, bascially giving up on the hand. Dycka bet 300 again, a smallish bet, which I commented on, but folded. He flashed 2 rockets at me, and I felt better. That one's filed away in the mental filing cabinet.
Artem and I got involved in a hand soon after. He raised from LP and I got AJ in the BB. I wasn't re-raising alot in this game for some reason, prolly cause I didn't think I could get Artem to fold preflop. I'm not saying anything about his game, but last night he seemed to want to play alot of pots and I figured if I could get in cheaper and hit it hard, I could make more money. Anyway, the flop comes A34. I check hoping for a bet, and Artem fires out 300. I go all in for about 1275 more, and he calls instantly.....with 34o!! What a steal gone good! Well, I spiked a J on the turn, and then an A on the river.
Later on, I got pocket 10's in UTG +1 and raised it up to 4x the BB. Jack had limped in before me and called the bet. Flop came 8h9s3c. Jack checked, and I bet 800, about the size of the pot. Jack thought about it and I told him to roll the die and see what happens. He did roll and got a 20! I don't know much about it, but that's the best possible roll I believe. So he decided to call. Turn came the 7h. Even better for my hand, Jack checked again and I decided to go all in for another 2250, now that I picked up a redraw in case my hand went bad. Jack decided to call because the die had rolled a 20 previously and flipped over A6h! Now if I hit my set, I lose to a straight, and any heart beats me too. The 4s came on the river and I won a huge pot as Jack was 2nd in chips next to me at this point.
Now I sat well at about 7800 chips. Artem went on a little bit of a tear before we broke for the final table and he was sitting well also. Final table was a little tough, I enjoyed Tieds' sarcasm about the situation. I had CK and Ike to my left, Ike I've never played with. He took the place of DGlove with his methodical calls and deliberate actions. To my right, I had Artem and Bob with Tieds and Long in the middle.
No real craziness here. I ran well and got some big pots here and there. There was one hand where I may have had a winner, but I folded preflop. UTG CK raises to 925 with blinds 150/300. Long asks how much to re-raise and makes it 2K to go. I look down in the BB to find AJ. I would've played against CK, but the re-raise here makes me hate my hand. I force it into the muck. Flop comes KJ7. They both check the flop and and after a deuce hits the turn, CK checks and Long puts CK all in. CK mucks Q 9 and the more I think about it, it's very possible for Long to have QQ there.
Artem goes all in on the button and I find 88 in the SB and re-raise all in to push CK out. He folds and Artem tables A6o. No help for him and we are down another player. CK and Ike got involved in a hand as well where the action folded to them and CK went all in. Ike thought about it and decided to take a stand and call. CK has 23h and Ike has 103d. Flop comes 102x I believe. Turn is another 2. River? Case deuce. CK doubles up with 23h!!
Ike was down to about 4x the BB and I picked up ATd in the SB and planned to get him all in but Bob raises in front of me. Hmm I wanted this pot, so I call and not play back at him, but I put him on a weak ace. Flop comes JTx. With a sidepot of 400, I checked hoping that Bob wouldn't bet me out of a sidepot when a player elimination is one the line. He checked as well. I spiked an A on the river and thought about betting because I figured I'd get some action. But I did not, and I took the pot down with 2 pair, and eliminating Ike.
Eventually we are 3 handed with Long and Bob. We were really trading blinds back and forth with no real action. I got K9c on the button and decided to raise 1/2 of Long's 6K chips to see if he wanted in. I figured he's not going to call, he'll go all in or fold, and for some reason, I had a good feeling about the hand, call it intuition if you will. Long decides to go all in and Bob folds and I call. Long has 5h5s and it's race time. Flop comes Kh9hx. 2 more hearts come on the next 2 streets, and Long's flush beats my hand. 3 hands later, on the button again, I got A3o, and I went all in for 8K, a GROSS overbet on my part, but I was rattled for the first time in weeks and decided to push it in. Long didn't want to right away, but he did call with 77, and eliminated me when the flop came 232 and no more help.
About 5 hands later, Long won the whole thing. I wasn't watching the final hand because Ditty put in an awesome Ali G DVD with Borat in the Hamptons. I can't really complain except that I wish I had played the hand slower to get away from it at the end. But I hate taking stands now with 4x or 5x the BB. I wanna double up big or just stop. I think that was my problem before, I would just whittle away and not be afraid to gamble. As much skill as there is in this game, it's still gambling and you must treat it as such in certain situations. Another cash and more points to move me up the leaderboard as well. I'm very happy with the way I've been playing lately and that A3 is the real only big mistake that I've made in the last 3 weeks. Tonight, is a 2/4 game at Hall's. I'll prolly go to work on my limit game as the aquarium is fresh to be tapped.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
*Quick update*
I got a call from the electrician today and he was at my house to run another line down from my satellite so I can get my TIVO. I figure I'm +400 and change this week in cards alone, might as well splurge. I don't know how they can do it so cheap, but TIVO from DirecTV is only $99 for the box, and $5 a month for the service. The reason I needed another line is because it's a dual tuner box so not only can I tape one thing and watch another, I can tape 2 things that are on at the same time. Gotta love it!
I got a call from the electrician today and he was at my house to run another line down from my satellite so I can get my TIVO. I figure I'm +400 and change this week in cards alone, might as well splurge. I don't know how they can do it so cheap, but TIVO from DirecTV is only $99 for the box, and $5 a month for the service. The reason I needed another line is because it's a dual tuner box so not only can I tape one thing and watch another, I can tape 2 things that are on at the same time. Gotta love it!
Report from Eddie's game on 2-2-05
I almost didn't go. Having my first class of grad school this semester and getting into my car at 7:30, I gave up all hope of getting to Eddie's by the 8PM start time. Somehow though, I got to his exit at 8:02 and decided to swing by and see if I could still get in. Luckily they were JUST about to start and I was able to get a seat. Buy in was $30, and there were 23 players on 3 tables. I pulled a table of almost unknowns to me, so I played the waiting game early to see who was capable of what. I actually got no hands for a while and lost 1/3 of my stack early on in a hand that I did have.
I saw a free flop in the BB with 94o. Flop came J96 rainbow and I bet 200 into a 300 pot. I got one raiser and no callers, I called with hopes of hitting big or folding. A 9 peeled off on the turn and I checked and the guy put me all in. I called and he had KJ and I had life once again. I really don't remember winning any more hands before we combined for the final table.
When we combined, 2 people had half of the 69,000 starting chips. I had 2800 and the chipleader sat directly to my right. The rest of the players had very low stacks too, so it was a constant all in battle between the short stacks. I ventured to guess that I could wait for other people to gamble crazily before I picked up a hand and maybe move up into the money. Final table was 10 handed and only 4 paid out. This would be an uphill climb.
I was dealt into the SB with binds of 300/600 and got 24o. Action before me and I folded. I picked up nothing for about 5 hands. 1 player got eliminated and in the SB again, a player in middle position limped in and the button chipleader, raised and said he'd put me all in. I hadn't looked yet and saw AA. I thought about it and the guy asked me, "what do you have, aces?" I told him no but it was good enough to gamble with. The limper also called here and we took a flop of QQK. The limper bet out 4K, and the chipleader after much thought folded. I asked him "AQ?" and he said "jacks". WOW! I was still alive. After more than tripling up with the antes and other blind, I was back in business.
Very next hand on the button it passes to me and I find AT. I'm up against 2 blinds who are very short stacked with 1500 and 1200 total. I go all in and just the SB calls with J9. Flop comes JK3. I shout for a Q. Turn is a 4. River is a Q! Another player down and more chips for me.
The chipleader then became relentless and I guess was pissed that he wasn't dominating the table anymore. So he started to run over everyone, and now that I wasn't in a position to gamble anymore, I let him and he picked off 2 more people. Now 5 handed, we're on the bubble. I find AK on the button. The chipleader raises 4K more from the 600. Now I have a decision. No doubt I have the best hand, but do I want to gamble with a 60/40 all in here? Or what if he does have a pair? Then I'm 50-50 and I don't really HAVE to gamble here. The blinds are coming around so fast, I'm pretty much guaranteed money here. I decide just to call, and the flop comes with garbage. He bets 3500 on the flop and I raise to 8000. He folds and I show him the AK to show that I had a hand, not necessarily on the flop but that you can't run over me everytime.
A few hands later I get AA again! C'mon really? It was ridiculous the cards that kept coming. Chipman raised it again, and I decided that he wouldn't call my all in so I re-raised him about 3x his raise. He called and we saw a flop of QQ9. He checked and I bet 10K. He folded and I showed it again. He was really getting upset at the cards I was catching, and frankly, I couldn't blame him.
5th place busts out, and now we're in the money. We trade back and forth for a few hands and on the button the following hand occured. Blinds 400/800 with a 100 ante. The chip leader raises out another 5000. I look down to see KK. I didn't want to see a small pot develop here, so I go all in for about 16K. The SB calls and BB folds and the chip leader says that he would call if the other guy didn't. SB shows AT. Flop comes ATJ. I shout for another Q to save me like last time, and on the river AGAIN, another damn Q comes out. I couldn't believe it.
We play 3 handed for a little while and I start to chip away and the old chipleader, as I've taken the lead now. One hand he raised to 4K and I called in position with 86d. Flop came 9T6. He checked and I bet 6K. He thought about it and asked how much was in the pot. Eddie said 8300 and he called. Now what could he have? What kind of draw that he wanted a price on? He hasn't done this the entire game, so I put him on QJ or something similar. A 3 peeled off on the turn and he checked again. I bet 8K this time, not leaving me with much, but I the pot was huge. He eventually folded and I didn't show it this time. He wanted to see a river card and an 8 came off and he groaned. Maybe he did have the draw I thought, the world may never know.
I eventually got AQ and just went all in after the player on my right had raised on the button and I was in the SB. The BB folded and he decided to take a stand with A6d. No help came for him and now we were heads up.
Next hand, I get AQ again and go all in and SB folds. I go all in 3 more hands in a row. No calls. Finally, the guy raises half of his stack on the button to 2800, and I have A4c. I go all in and he calls with K9o. No help for him and I take down the victory and a $265 1st place. I should play more often when I'm sick as I seem to be on somewhat of a roll lately. Being outchipped almost 10-1 when you get to the final table and winning is nothing short of miraculous/lucky as hell. I got AA 2x KK once and a plethora of big aces. This game's easy when you get the cards! And to think I almost didn't go.....
I almost didn't go. Having my first class of grad school this semester and getting into my car at 7:30, I gave up all hope of getting to Eddie's by the 8PM start time. Somehow though, I got to his exit at 8:02 and decided to swing by and see if I could still get in. Luckily they were JUST about to start and I was able to get a seat. Buy in was $30, and there were 23 players on 3 tables. I pulled a table of almost unknowns to me, so I played the waiting game early to see who was capable of what. I actually got no hands for a while and lost 1/3 of my stack early on in a hand that I did have.
I saw a free flop in the BB with 94o. Flop came J96 rainbow and I bet 200 into a 300 pot. I got one raiser and no callers, I called with hopes of hitting big or folding. A 9 peeled off on the turn and I checked and the guy put me all in. I called and he had KJ and I had life once again. I really don't remember winning any more hands before we combined for the final table.
When we combined, 2 people had half of the 69,000 starting chips. I had 2800 and the chipleader sat directly to my right. The rest of the players had very low stacks too, so it was a constant all in battle between the short stacks. I ventured to guess that I could wait for other people to gamble crazily before I picked up a hand and maybe move up into the money. Final table was 10 handed and only 4 paid out. This would be an uphill climb.
I was dealt into the SB with binds of 300/600 and got 24o. Action before me and I folded. I picked up nothing for about 5 hands. 1 player got eliminated and in the SB again, a player in middle position limped in and the button chipleader, raised and said he'd put me all in. I hadn't looked yet and saw AA. I thought about it and the guy asked me, "what do you have, aces?" I told him no but it was good enough to gamble with. The limper also called here and we took a flop of QQK. The limper bet out 4K, and the chipleader after much thought folded. I asked him "AQ?" and he said "jacks". WOW! I was still alive. After more than tripling up with the antes and other blind, I was back in business.
Very next hand on the button it passes to me and I find AT. I'm up against 2 blinds who are very short stacked with 1500 and 1200 total. I go all in and just the SB calls with J9. Flop comes JK3. I shout for a Q. Turn is a 4. River is a Q! Another player down and more chips for me.
The chipleader then became relentless and I guess was pissed that he wasn't dominating the table anymore. So he started to run over everyone, and now that I wasn't in a position to gamble anymore, I let him and he picked off 2 more people. Now 5 handed, we're on the bubble. I find AK on the button. The chipleader raises 4K more from the 600. Now I have a decision. No doubt I have the best hand, but do I want to gamble with a 60/40 all in here? Or what if he does have a pair? Then I'm 50-50 and I don't really HAVE to gamble here. The blinds are coming around so fast, I'm pretty much guaranteed money here. I decide just to call, and the flop comes with garbage. He bets 3500 on the flop and I raise to 8000. He folds and I show him the AK to show that I had a hand, not necessarily on the flop but that you can't run over me everytime.
A few hands later I get AA again! C'mon really? It was ridiculous the cards that kept coming. Chipman raised it again, and I decided that he wouldn't call my all in so I re-raised him about 3x his raise. He called and we saw a flop of QQ9. He checked and I bet 10K. He folded and I showed it again. He was really getting upset at the cards I was catching, and frankly, I couldn't blame him.
5th place busts out, and now we're in the money. We trade back and forth for a few hands and on the button the following hand occured. Blinds 400/800 with a 100 ante. The chip leader raises out another 5000. I look down to see KK. I didn't want to see a small pot develop here, so I go all in for about 16K. The SB calls and BB folds and the chip leader says that he would call if the other guy didn't. SB shows AT. Flop comes ATJ. I shout for another Q to save me like last time, and on the river AGAIN, another damn Q comes out. I couldn't believe it.
We play 3 handed for a little while and I start to chip away and the old chipleader, as I've taken the lead now. One hand he raised to 4K and I called in position with 86d. Flop came 9T6. He checked and I bet 6K. He thought about it and asked how much was in the pot. Eddie said 8300 and he called. Now what could he have? What kind of draw that he wanted a price on? He hasn't done this the entire game, so I put him on QJ or something similar. A 3 peeled off on the turn and he checked again. I bet 8K this time, not leaving me with much, but I the pot was huge. He eventually folded and I didn't show it this time. He wanted to see a river card and an 8 came off and he groaned. Maybe he did have the draw I thought, the world may never know.
I eventually got AQ and just went all in after the player on my right had raised on the button and I was in the SB. The BB folded and he decided to take a stand with A6d. No help came for him and now we were heads up.
Next hand, I get AQ again and go all in and SB folds. I go all in 3 more hands in a row. No calls. Finally, the guy raises half of his stack on the button to 2800, and I have A4c. I go all in and he calls with K9o. No help for him and I take down the victory and a $265 1st place. I should play more often when I'm sick as I seem to be on somewhat of a roll lately. Being outchipped almost 10-1 when you get to the final table and winning is nothing short of miraculous/lucky as hell. I got AA 2x KK once and a plethora of big aces. This game's easy when you get the cards! And to think I almost didn't go.....
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
The Poker Gods, They DO Smile
I went to Hall's place again last night, only on the condition that the same person who was there the previous time, would not be there. In a nutshell, the guy there was very abrasive and when I commented on his decision to tell people to just throw their money in the middle, he told me that "while you were swimmin, I was dealin'..." He then proceeded to call my all in of AK with an A on the board with A4 after checking to me. He hit a 4 on the river and proclaimed his hand to be great and this that and the other thing. Also their blind structure was a joke and I ended up paying $60 for 3 hands and leaving.
So....
I go back last night and he has a 16 person freezeout tournament. Some reason, we only started wtih 1500 in chips so I decided my strategy was to gamble early on and build up a stack. My first few hands were 92c, turned a flush, 64h missed, but I was showing some random hands that people didn't expect me to. Also, the game was tight as can be, and at this structure, if you waited for a hand, you'd be blinded to death. No one else picked up on this, so off we went.
About 10 min into the game, there was a raise before me to 200 at the 25/25 level. The whole game and before I was reading Supersystem 2 about Omaha 8/b to get ready for Thursday, and not really paying attention to the players. I look at my cards to see KK, and reraise to 450. The BB reraises to 700, orginal raiser calls, and I figure with that much in there already, we're gonna get it in on the flop, so let's do it now, and make it another 1900 to go. BB folds after a while and the original raiser calls and I tell him nice hand cause I know he has AA. I start to put my coat on when we see a 1092 flop. But a K on the turn more than doubles me up, and the coat goes off.
6 hands later, there's a raise to 250 and I get KK again! I reraise this time and the SB goes all in for 650 and the raiser calls. Flop comes 10 high and she goes all in, I call instantly and she has a set of 10's. I say nice hand again, and the SB flips over QQ. Turn comes a Q! Oh man...and the river? A King!!! We all had sets, unbelievable, and I eliminated 2 more players.
I ran well until the final table and lost some pots here and there. But people started getting knocked out left and right. Finally 5 handed, I had QQ and with blinds of 100/200, I raised to 900 into a player with alot of chips who ONLY calls, and usually with marginal hands, nothing great. He calls and we see a flop of AJQ. I think he might have an A so I go all in for 3200 and he calls after thinking about it for a while with KJ. The damn 10 comes off on the turn and I get my coat. But the river is another 10! I swear to god, I couldn't believe how lucky I was getting.
3 handed, I was shortstacked, and a player who has improved made a crucial mistake by going all in on a flush draw when Hall flopped 2 pair and basically gave me 2nd place. He didn't really have to gamble as I was running low, but he did it anyway. I went all in dark 1st hand heads up with 104s. Hall woke up with AK and it was over. +80 for the night, not bad. But seriously, the gods did smile upon me last night.
I went to Hall's place again last night, only on the condition that the same person who was there the previous time, would not be there. In a nutshell, the guy there was very abrasive and when I commented on his decision to tell people to just throw their money in the middle, he told me that "while you were swimmin, I was dealin'..." He then proceeded to call my all in of AK with an A on the board with A4 after checking to me. He hit a 4 on the river and proclaimed his hand to be great and this that and the other thing. Also their blind structure was a joke and I ended up paying $60 for 3 hands and leaving.
So....
I go back last night and he has a 16 person freezeout tournament. Some reason, we only started wtih 1500 in chips so I decided my strategy was to gamble early on and build up a stack. My first few hands were 92c, turned a flush, 64h missed, but I was showing some random hands that people didn't expect me to. Also, the game was tight as can be, and at this structure, if you waited for a hand, you'd be blinded to death. No one else picked up on this, so off we went.
About 10 min into the game, there was a raise before me to 200 at the 25/25 level. The whole game and before I was reading Supersystem 2 about Omaha 8/b to get ready for Thursday, and not really paying attention to the players. I look at my cards to see KK, and reraise to 450. The BB reraises to 700, orginal raiser calls, and I figure with that much in there already, we're gonna get it in on the flop, so let's do it now, and make it another 1900 to go. BB folds after a while and the original raiser calls and I tell him nice hand cause I know he has AA. I start to put my coat on when we see a 1092 flop. But a K on the turn more than doubles me up, and the coat goes off.
6 hands later, there's a raise to 250 and I get KK again! I reraise this time and the SB goes all in for 650 and the raiser calls. Flop comes 10 high and she goes all in, I call instantly and she has a set of 10's. I say nice hand again, and the SB flips over QQ. Turn comes a Q! Oh man...and the river? A King!!! We all had sets, unbelievable, and I eliminated 2 more players.
I ran well until the final table and lost some pots here and there. But people started getting knocked out left and right. Finally 5 handed, I had QQ and with blinds of 100/200, I raised to 900 into a player with alot of chips who ONLY calls, and usually with marginal hands, nothing great. He calls and we see a flop of AJQ. I think he might have an A so I go all in for 3200 and he calls after thinking about it for a while with KJ. The damn 10 comes off on the turn and I get my coat. But the river is another 10! I swear to god, I couldn't believe how lucky I was getting.
3 handed, I was shortstacked, and a player who has improved made a crucial mistake by going all in on a flush draw when Hall flopped 2 pair and basically gave me 2nd place. He didn't really have to gamble as I was running low, but he did it anyway. I went all in dark 1st hand heads up with 104s. Hall woke up with AK and it was over. +80 for the night, not bad. But seriously, the gods did smile upon me last night.
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