Heads Up Tournament, and some reckless play...
I drew Dennis in the first round of the Heads Up tournament. The brackets were:
Dennis/Gregg
Long/Lehman
Tieds/Moneymaker
Simpson/Dycka
I had said going in that our match would be the longest. I would think that the Simpson/Dycka match would be long too, and most people were done within 40 min. But not us...nope, we played for just over 2 hours! It was grueling, and Dennis is a tough opponent as he bluffs a hell of alot more in heads up, I guess you have to. I hit a couple of rough spots early on and lost confidence and was done about 700 chips. I then went on a spree of 2 pair flops and nut draws that developed and worked my way to be up 50 chips.
It was then that Dennis slowed down finally and I got to play my game, or at least control how it would be played. As long as I stayed patient I was sure that I could win this game. I eventually raised 4x the BB 7 hands in a row, regardless of what I had and wore him down until he came back at me preflop one hand and I had Q9. I called his raise this time and the flop came A94. I checked, he went all in, and I called. He said "oh...shit" and that's when I knew it was pretty much over. He had J8 i believe and almost hit runner runner straight, but did not.
I then played Long and was quite frankly tired. We battled back and forth, and I set the tone early with my aggressiveness. Against Long, I think you have to because he loves to push chips around when he has them. I turned a straight against him and went all in on the river after he raised my bet. I bet 250, and he raised to 700. I could have MAYBE gotten a little more out of him, but the play looked too strong in retrospect.
I got 99 and won a nice pot, and out of nowhere, I seemed to lose a lot of chips. I don't even know how it happened, but he must have chipped away at me, and I didn't even realize it. I guess calling too many preflop raises and folding when I miss. He raised typically preflop and I had AK. I decided not to go all in, but raise 700 more. He called, and the flop came all spades with no picture cards. I had no spades but pushed all in, and he called instantly with A6s for the nuts. I was drawing dead and that was it.
I then jumped into the NL cash game which was .25/.25 blinds and a max buyin of $20. I played almost every hand and actually won some of them, but for the most part I was the big loser. I just couldn't focus on the game when a raise preflop was cheaper than the BB for the game I usually play. But Tieds was right, and by calling that many hands, I wasn't leaving myself enough to play after the flop for the most part. Oh well, these things happen.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Heads Up Tournament, and some reckless play...
I drew Dennis in the first round of the Heads Up tournament. The brackets were:
Dennis/Gregg
Long/Lehman
Tieds/Moneymaker
Simpson/Dycka
I had said going in that our match would be the longest. I would think that the Simpson/Dycka match would be long too, and most people were done within 40 min. But not us...nope, we played for just over 2 hours! It was grueling, and Dennis is a tough opponent as he bluffs a hell of alot more in heads up, I guess you have to. I hit a couple of rough spots early on and lost confidence and was done about 700 chips. I then went on a spree of 2 pair flops and nut draws that developed and worked my way to be up 50 chips.
It was then that Dennis slowed down finally and I got to play my game, or at least control how it would be played. As long as I stayed patient I was sure that I could win this game. I eventually raised 4x the BB 7 hands in a row, regardless of what I had and wore him down until he came back at me preflop one hand and I had Q9. I called his raise this time and the flop came A94. I checked, he went all in, and I called. He said "oh...shit" and that's when I knew it was pretty much over. He had J8 i believe and almost hit runner runner straight, but did not.
I then played Long and was quite frankly tired. We battled back and forth, and I set the tone early with my aggressiveness. Against Long, I think you have to because he loves to push chips around when he has them. I turned a straight against him and went all in on the river after he raised my bet. I bet 250, and he raised to 700. I could have MAYBE gotten a little more out of him, but the play looked too strong in retrospect.
I got 99 and won a nice pot, and out of nowhere, I seemed to lose a lot of chips. I don't even know how it happened, but he must have chipped away at me, and I didn't even realize it. I guess calling too many preflop raises and folding when I miss. He raised typically preflop and I had AK. I decided not to go all in, but raise 700 more. He called, and the flop came all spades with no picture cards. I had no spades but pushed all in, and he called instantly with A6s for the nuts. I was drawing dead and that was it.
I then jumped into the NL cash game which was .25/.25 blinds and a max buyin of $20. I played almost every hand and actually won some of them, but for the most part I was the big loser. I just couldn't focus on the game when a raise preflop was cheaper than the BB for the game I usually play. But Tieds was right, and by calling that many hands, I wasn't leaving myself enough to play after the flop for the most part. Oh well, these things happen.
I drew Dennis in the first round of the Heads Up tournament. The brackets were:
Dennis/Gregg
Long/Lehman
Tieds/Moneymaker
Simpson/Dycka
I had said going in that our match would be the longest. I would think that the Simpson/Dycka match would be long too, and most people were done within 40 min. But not us...nope, we played for just over 2 hours! It was grueling, and Dennis is a tough opponent as he bluffs a hell of alot more in heads up, I guess you have to. I hit a couple of rough spots early on and lost confidence and was done about 700 chips. I then went on a spree of 2 pair flops and nut draws that developed and worked my way to be up 50 chips.
It was then that Dennis slowed down finally and I got to play my game, or at least control how it would be played. As long as I stayed patient I was sure that I could win this game. I eventually raised 4x the BB 7 hands in a row, regardless of what I had and wore him down until he came back at me preflop one hand and I had Q9. I called his raise this time and the flop came A94. I checked, he went all in, and I called. He said "oh...shit" and that's when I knew it was pretty much over. He had J8 i believe and almost hit runner runner straight, but did not.
I then played Long and was quite frankly tired. We battled back and forth, and I set the tone early with my aggressiveness. Against Long, I think you have to because he loves to push chips around when he has them. I turned a straight against him and went all in on the river after he raised my bet. I bet 250, and he raised to 700. I could have MAYBE gotten a little more out of him, but the play looked too strong in retrospect.
I got 99 and won a nice pot, and out of nowhere, I seemed to lose a lot of chips. I don't even know how it happened, but he must have chipped away at me, and I didn't even realize it. I guess calling too many preflop raises and folding when I miss. He raised typically preflop and I had AK. I decided not to go all in, but raise 700 more. He called, and the flop came all spades with no picture cards. I had no spades but pushed all in, and he called instantly with A6s for the nuts. I was drawing dead and that was it.
I then jumped into the NL cash game which was .25/.25 blinds and a max buyin of $20. I played almost every hand and actually won some of them, but for the most part I was the big loser. I just couldn't focus on the game when a raise preflop was cheaper than the BB for the game I usually play. But Tieds was right, and by calling that many hands, I wasn't leaving myself enough to play after the flop for the most part. Oh well, these things happen.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Ahhhh, the swings
Part 2 of what I started last week but never finished. Later that night, Karen and I decided to play craps. Well, I've decided that I don't really like or hate this game. When I win, I love it, when I lose, I hate it with a passion. One of the fastest ways to lose $100 and your confidence all in one. The dice passed ONCE while we were there, and they crapped out 5 times out of 7 before a point was thrown. So, we decided to play some blackjack. Admittedly, these are not my games, but Karen feels more comfortable playing them, so I obliged. All in all, down $100 in less than 30 min. Not good.
I go off to a 7 handed NL table with $250, and Karen goes up to bed. First hand I pick up is in the 4th hand I see. 2 black Aces. I raise it to $12 preflop, and actually get a re-raise from 2 seats down to $24. It passes back to me, and I don't even fuck around, moving one stack of nickles to the center for $100. He knows what I have and flips over 2 black 7's. I show as well.
Granted, this is not the best way I could've played this hand, but god forbid he hits a set and all undercards, I'm gonna lose a fortune.
Next rotation, I get QQ, and raise to $12 again. I get 4 callers this time. Flop comes Jc9h2c, and it's first to me. I bet $25 and get a raiser from the seat next to me up to $50. It passes back to me and I call, putting him on KJ. Now watch what a retard I develop into. The 4d comes on the turn, and I check. He bets $60, and with the best hand I JUST call. I should've gone all in as the pot was about $220 now. The Kc comes on the river, completing the flush and my imaginary 2 pair. We both check, and he shows KdJh. I lost about $130 in that hand, and could've won $220 right there on the turn, but I played it like an idiot, and quite frankly, deserved to lose.
Another hand, I flopped top two pair on a board of 467 with 67d in the BB, and lost to bottom set from the button. Another killer. I even got all my chips in with A9 on the flop for like $16 and hit top pair, but another guy flopped a straight. It was just one of those nights.
I get back to NY, and hit up Hall's 3/6 game on Friday night, and make $130 in a pretty short time. No game on Saturday, and I go back on Sunday for the NL at night. I make another $150 and I'm close to even for the week. Then Tuesday, after the tournament, I play a little 3/6 and see the biggest pot I've ever seen in that limit, the pot was $300+! Was I involved? Hell yeah!
I get 44 (a hand I would get a total of 5 times that night) and there's a preflop raise and I'm in the cutoff. The button is quite conservative and I figure he'll fold, thus giving me the button. I call the raise and Mike Hall in the BB 3 bets it. The original raiser caps it, and since there's 6 people in, I'm getting a good price to flop my set. The flop comes 4d6c7h. It gets bet by Hall, raised by the original raiser, call call, and I 3 bet it. Casey who is by far the tightest player at the table, cold calls the 3 bets and it gets capped around. A 3d comes off on the turn, and it's bet and 3 bet by the time it gets to me! Hmmmm, someone snuck in with A5 I'm guessing. I call, hoping to pair the board on the river, and the 2c comes off. I get checkraised into paying off 2 bets on the river and Maltese has A5 and Casey of all people got involved in the hand with J5d. He did turn a flush draw though. They chopped it up and got $150+ each. That kind of killed me and I never recovered, leaving down $100.
Eddie's on Wednesday night was a joke. I got there 20 min late, and never made it past the 2nd level. I played 7s9s to see a cheap flop and checked then folded. I raised with A9 on the button after everyone passed to me, and the BB went all in for 1700 more. No thanks. My last hand I called a raise with Ad9s. The flop came KdTd8d. The pot was 1200 and checked to me and I was last to act. I bet 800 and got one caller in the SB who is very conservative. The As came on the turn and he checked, I bet 1200 not leaving me much more, about 625 to be exact, making it look like I had a good hand but not going all in. He put me all in right away, and I called with the nut draw and top pair. He had QdJs for the nut straight. No diamond, and I was gone in the blink of an eye. At least my car was still warm.....
Part 2 of what I started last week but never finished. Later that night, Karen and I decided to play craps. Well, I've decided that I don't really like or hate this game. When I win, I love it, when I lose, I hate it with a passion. One of the fastest ways to lose $100 and your confidence all in one. The dice passed ONCE while we were there, and they crapped out 5 times out of 7 before a point was thrown. So, we decided to play some blackjack. Admittedly, these are not my games, but Karen feels more comfortable playing them, so I obliged. All in all, down $100 in less than 30 min. Not good.
I go off to a 7 handed NL table with $250, and Karen goes up to bed. First hand I pick up is in the 4th hand I see. 2 black Aces. I raise it to $12 preflop, and actually get a re-raise from 2 seats down to $24. It passes back to me, and I don't even fuck around, moving one stack of nickles to the center for $100. He knows what I have and flips over 2 black 7's. I show as well.
Granted, this is not the best way I could've played this hand, but god forbid he hits a set and all undercards, I'm gonna lose a fortune.
Next rotation, I get QQ, and raise to $12 again. I get 4 callers this time. Flop comes Jc9h2c, and it's first to me. I bet $25 and get a raiser from the seat next to me up to $50. It passes back to me and I call, putting him on KJ. Now watch what a retard I develop into. The 4d comes on the turn, and I check. He bets $60, and with the best hand I JUST call. I should've gone all in as the pot was about $220 now. The Kc comes on the river, completing the flush and my imaginary 2 pair. We both check, and he shows KdJh. I lost about $130 in that hand, and could've won $220 right there on the turn, but I played it like an idiot, and quite frankly, deserved to lose.
Another hand, I flopped top two pair on a board of 467 with 67d in the BB, and lost to bottom set from the button. Another killer. I even got all my chips in with A9 on the flop for like $16 and hit top pair, but another guy flopped a straight. It was just one of those nights.
I get back to NY, and hit up Hall's 3/6 game on Friday night, and make $130 in a pretty short time. No game on Saturday, and I go back on Sunday for the NL at night. I make another $150 and I'm close to even for the week. Then Tuesday, after the tournament, I play a little 3/6 and see the biggest pot I've ever seen in that limit, the pot was $300+! Was I involved? Hell yeah!
I get 44 (a hand I would get a total of 5 times that night) and there's a preflop raise and I'm in the cutoff. The button is quite conservative and I figure he'll fold, thus giving me the button. I call the raise and Mike Hall in the BB 3 bets it. The original raiser caps it, and since there's 6 people in, I'm getting a good price to flop my set. The flop comes 4d6c7h. It gets bet by Hall, raised by the original raiser, call call, and I 3 bet it. Casey who is by far the tightest player at the table, cold calls the 3 bets and it gets capped around. A 3d comes off on the turn, and it's bet and 3 bet by the time it gets to me! Hmmmm, someone snuck in with A5 I'm guessing. I call, hoping to pair the board on the river, and the 2c comes off. I get checkraised into paying off 2 bets on the river and Maltese has A5 and Casey of all people got involved in the hand with J5d. He did turn a flush draw though. They chopped it up and got $150+ each. That kind of killed me and I never recovered, leaving down $100.
Eddie's on Wednesday night was a joke. I got there 20 min late, and never made it past the 2nd level. I played 7s9s to see a cheap flop and checked then folded. I raised with A9 on the button after everyone passed to me, and the BB went all in for 1700 more. No thanks. My last hand I called a raise with Ad9s. The flop came KdTd8d. The pot was 1200 and checked to me and I was last to act. I bet 800 and got one caller in the SB who is very conservative. The As came on the turn and he checked, I bet 1200 not leaving me much more, about 625 to be exact, making it look like I had a good hand but not going all in. He put me all in right away, and I called with the nut draw and top pair. He had QdJs for the nut straight. No diamond, and I was gone in the blink of an eye. At least my car was still warm.....
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
After starting my new job in the city last night, I decided to take Karen down to Atlantic City this morning so she could get to her 2pm show. I hit up the NL tables of course, and went on the coldest streak of cards I've hit in a while. Actually, I've been cold decked for the past 10 days, and granted in the grand scheme of things, I have to accept it, it's just a part of the game. I only won 2 pots in 3 hours and those I completely bluffed at with K high both times on the flop after I got in fairly cheap in multiway pots.
After that, I was down about $50, and Karen got back from the show to sweat some action, and brought a friend who I haven't seen in about a year and a half. When they got there, I picked up some hands. I got 99 and raised and got one caller, the BB. Flop came 744. He check/called me 2x and then I checked on the river too, and he had 88! He had me nervous for a bit.
Same thing happened later with TT. I caught a flop 9 high and he check called me all the way down again, and I never saw his cards. By now I was up $96. I probably should have left but Karen said she was going to go to the room, come back and we'd get some dinner. I'm starting to believe in good luck and karma because as soon as she left, I got A10 in the BB and the pot was unraised with 5 players. The flop came T75. I bet $10, 1 caller. This guy was a crazy Asian guy who had a Scotty Nguyen-like attitude. He called and the board paired 5's. I bet $20 and he called again and did a little dance with his arms in his seats, pretty funny. Another 7 peeled off on the river, and I checked, and he said "no, no more checks, I bet $40." He then proceeded to say that we had the same hand and he's like "i have a 10" blah blah blah. I decided to call and he flipped over J7. Oh well, lost $70 in the hand. Overall, after a few more beats, I was down $25 and went to dinner. More info later as I go back for my next session.
After that, I was down about $50, and Karen got back from the show to sweat some action, and brought a friend who I haven't seen in about a year and a half. When they got there, I picked up some hands. I got 99 and raised and got one caller, the BB. Flop came 744. He check/called me 2x and then I checked on the river too, and he had 88! He had me nervous for a bit.
Same thing happened later with TT. I caught a flop 9 high and he check called me all the way down again, and I never saw his cards. By now I was up $96. I probably should have left but Karen said she was going to go to the room, come back and we'd get some dinner. I'm starting to believe in good luck and karma because as soon as she left, I got A10 in the BB and the pot was unraised with 5 players. The flop came T75. I bet $10, 1 caller. This guy was a crazy Asian guy who had a Scotty Nguyen-like attitude. He called and the board paired 5's. I bet $20 and he called again and did a little dance with his arms in his seats, pretty funny. Another 7 peeled off on the river, and I checked, and he said "no, no more checks, I bet $40." He then proceeded to say that we had the same hand and he's like "i have a 10" blah blah blah. I decided to call and he flipped over J7. Oh well, lost $70 in the hand. Overall, after a few more beats, I was down $25 and went to dinner. More info later as I go back for my next session.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
I got called in to play drums as a sub for a show last night in Smithtown. The show went well, and afterwards I went to Hall's for a little 3/6 action. It was 2 rounds of Hold em, and 1 round of Omaha high. After 20 min, I was up $105.
In Omaha, I had Ad6d8c5h in the BB. I checked in a 5 way pot and the flop came 8s8d5s. Having to check my cards as did everyone, I made sure I had top full house and the SB bet. I raised and everyone called. The Kh came on the turn, I bet again, and everyone called. I cried out "NO SPADE" on the river and the beautiful 6s came off the deck. The SB then bet out, and I thought about it for a minute, then realized I had an even better full house now and raised. Everyone folded and he called with As2s for the nut flush. While I would have liked if he got there on the turn, at least he got there and gave me 2BB on the end.
Same rotation, I picked up AKQT. I limped in from the cutoff and Pete raised on the button. 4 others called, as did I and we saw a flop of J96 rainbow. Gregg bet out in the SB and was raised by a MP player, Bill. I called the 2 bets and Pete did as well and Gregg. The turn was the Ks giving me the nuts right now. Gregg bet again, Bill raised, and I 3 bet it. Gregg capped it and Bill called the cap as did I. The 2h came on the river and Gregg bet again, and Bill raised, I 3 bet it and Gregg capped it. I expected a 3 way chop, but it was only 2 ways, as Gregg and I had the QT. Bill had flopped top set with JJ. It was a $220 that was chopped up, probably the biggest I've seen in a 3/6 game.
Well, I lost some pots here and there too. Bad preflop calls and chasing too much, so I got up and got a drink and came back to the table. All in all, I was up $40 when I left and I played for 3 hours for a profit of about 2.2BB/hr. I approve.
In Omaha, I had Ad6d8c5h in the BB. I checked in a 5 way pot and the flop came 8s8d5s. Having to check my cards as did everyone, I made sure I had top full house and the SB bet. I raised and everyone called. The Kh came on the turn, I bet again, and everyone called. I cried out "NO SPADE" on the river and the beautiful 6s came off the deck. The SB then bet out, and I thought about it for a minute, then realized I had an even better full house now and raised. Everyone folded and he called with As2s for the nut flush. While I would have liked if he got there on the turn, at least he got there and gave me 2BB on the end.
Same rotation, I picked up AKQT. I limped in from the cutoff and Pete raised on the button. 4 others called, as did I and we saw a flop of J96 rainbow. Gregg bet out in the SB and was raised by a MP player, Bill. I called the 2 bets and Pete did as well and Gregg. The turn was the Ks giving me the nuts right now. Gregg bet again, Bill raised, and I 3 bet it. Gregg capped it and Bill called the cap as did I. The 2h came on the river and Gregg bet again, and Bill raised, I 3 bet it and Gregg capped it. I expected a 3 way chop, but it was only 2 ways, as Gregg and I had the QT. Bill had flopped top set with JJ. It was a $220 that was chopped up, probably the biggest I've seen in a 3/6 game.
Well, I lost some pots here and there too. Bad preflop calls and chasing too much, so I got up and got a drink and came back to the table. All in all, I was up $40 when I left and I played for 3 hours for a profit of about 2.2BB/hr. I approve.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Well, since the last posting some 2 weeks ago about, I've been playing quite a bit of poker. I've been to Eddie's twice, Hall's a bunch of times, and the SPT championship event. Where do I begin? I guess from the beginning.
Starting with Eddie's after my last post, I busted out early when I made a huge bluff for a huge pot and I got called by bottom set. Good trap on the other guy's part. The following week I went to see 2 shows in NYC. Saw Wicked at 2PM then saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at 8PM. Having seen Wicked before, I realized that I didn't really need to go see it again, although I love the show. DRS though was quite a surprise. Much funnier than I imagined it to be, and I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. Look for it to be nominated for some Tonys in June.
There have been some cash games at Hall's as well, mostly 3/6 limit. I had a couple of losing sessions in the game at about $10-$20 at a clip, and then an $11-$25 profit here and there was well. It's funny how people view the game and if they don't make $100 dollars when they only start with $60, the view it as a loss, or just poor. The times where I made $20 bux in 3 hours, I was slightly better than average when you think about it, I was thrilled, and considered it to be a successful day.
I seem to be on somewhat of a good roll in the month of February. I made a nice comeback to take 2nd place in the SPT overall rankings, finishing just 150 chips short of Tieds. I won the Saturday tournament, came in top 5 in the next game, and then won the Omaha 8/b tourney the following week. I showed up to deal the satellite only to gather information from who would win and how I could play against them the next night. Lehman ended up winning and my gameplan going into the Championship table was clear. Get involved in pots with Lehman and hopefully trap him as he was the most inexperienced player at the table. (Sorry Lehman, nothing personal, just strategy!) It turned out to be in my favor as I flopped the 2nd nut straight against him and trapped him for almost all his chips. Ditty finished him off the next hand with TT.
From there, I got real real lucky. I was dominated against Tieds in a hand when he called my all in with AQ and I held AT. (I believe I had AT, Tieds help me out) I ended up flopping my undercard and doubled through. I got it all in again with KQ and Ditty called with 77. Flopped a K to stay alive again. Eventually I tumbled in 3rd place when my AJ went up against Eddie's A5 and the board came 7755x. It was time for me to lose when I was in a dominant position, it was only fitting.
I then went to Hall's game and dropped around $100 at his 3/6 game. Poor poor play on my part, I should have never gone. I said that I probably wouldn't go back on Sunday for the tourament, but I showed up for the cash game at night. Not enough people decided to play a cash game, so I played a 10 person tournament, and won, beating my arch nemesis Gregg Maltese (another Gregg M).
Then I had the dreaded task of taking Karen down to Atlantic city which is like throwing Brer Rabbit in the Briar Patch. I played 1-2 NL from 11-4am on Sunday night and from 12:30-7 on Monday. I made $425 and look forward to playing again when I go down there. I bluffed a guy off a hand, but it cost me a lot to do it. The risk/reward was enticing.
I raised in the cutoff with 9Td to $15. There was a European guy who had sat down at my table and he was calling every bet cold to the turn and then usually folding. I figured I could get him in and just try to outplay him to see what happens. He called as did 1 other. With a pot of $48 the flop came J64 with 2 diamonds. The action was checked to me, and since I had a pretty tight image to people who were paying attention, I bet $35. The one player that I wanted to call, called, the other folded. The turn came a 8c, giving me an inside straight draw for 6 more outs. He checked again and with the pot at $118, I fired $60 and thankfully he folded. He asked the dealer to rabbit hunt the last card to see if he hit his draw. I said to go for it, and flipped over my cards to show my bluff. The guy was irate and played super aggressive on every hand I was in, but I showed him the nuts 3 times in a row and he paid me off every time. I flopped a straight one time when he had QQ and didn't raise preflop. Then I slowplayed my flopped set of 9's and took out his AA. All in all it was a great experience. I'll probably get my ass kicked the next time I play this game. Karma...
Then I've been back to Hall's and I won his tournament this past Tuesday for $130 payout, and then played a shorthanded $3/$6 game on Wednesday night, waiting for Karen to get home from AC. I played for about 100 min or so and won $130, or as I like to thank about it, 21.5 BB. Damn, I would've been happy being up $9 or $10 bux, but I'll take it! The game was perfect really, people raising me on the river with an underpair when I have top two, or even just top pair. He tried it on me 2x, and I just called, so every time he did it to me again, I would just 2 bet him and consider it a value bet in my mind, because he was so weak.
One hand of note: I was in the SB with ATh and it was raised by Maltese, and 3 bet by Frank. Normally I wouldn't play this hand here, but a) we were shorthanded, b) the players are weak. So I just call the 3 bet and so does Maltese and 2 others. The comes 653 with 2 hearts. Normally I don't bet out here, but the implied odds are that a)Frank will raise in the middle, thereby trapping 2 other people for 2 bets and b) if everyone just calls, I'm getting 5-1 on a draw that I'm going to get there 1 in 4 times. Sure enough, Frank does raise it up and everyone calls 2 bets, which is perfect. The Jh on the turn shows up and I think if Frank will bet this hand. I decide to not risk it and just bet. Frank raises it again! and it comes back to me and I 3 bet it and everyone calls. The 5c comes on the river to pair the board and I still bet and it's just call call call call. I show my nut flush and everyone folds, but Frank says he had 88. Wow what a pot. As my friend Phil says "you just need a pulse in these easy games and people will pay you off through the nose"
Ahhh, if all days could go as well as this. I'm going to hit up the cash game tonight and then tomorrow he's spreading a 1/2 NL game. I'm interested to see how the competition is for this game. Well, that's all for now. I'll post tomorrow during work. Seacrest, out!
Starting with Eddie's after my last post, I busted out early when I made a huge bluff for a huge pot and I got called by bottom set. Good trap on the other guy's part. The following week I went to see 2 shows in NYC. Saw Wicked at 2PM then saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at 8PM. Having seen Wicked before, I realized that I didn't really need to go see it again, although I love the show. DRS though was quite a surprise. Much funnier than I imagined it to be, and I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. Look for it to be nominated for some Tonys in June.
There have been some cash games at Hall's as well, mostly 3/6 limit. I had a couple of losing sessions in the game at about $10-$20 at a clip, and then an $11-$25 profit here and there was well. It's funny how people view the game and if they don't make $100 dollars when they only start with $60, the view it as a loss, or just poor. The times where I made $20 bux in 3 hours, I was slightly better than average when you think about it, I was thrilled, and considered it to be a successful day.
I seem to be on somewhat of a good roll in the month of February. I made a nice comeback to take 2nd place in the SPT overall rankings, finishing just 150 chips short of Tieds. I won the Saturday tournament, came in top 5 in the next game, and then won the Omaha 8/b tourney the following week. I showed up to deal the satellite only to gather information from who would win and how I could play against them the next night. Lehman ended up winning and my gameplan going into the Championship table was clear. Get involved in pots with Lehman and hopefully trap him as he was the most inexperienced player at the table. (Sorry Lehman, nothing personal, just strategy!) It turned out to be in my favor as I flopped the 2nd nut straight against him and trapped him for almost all his chips. Ditty finished him off the next hand with TT.
From there, I got real real lucky. I was dominated against Tieds in a hand when he called my all in with AQ and I held AT. (I believe I had AT, Tieds help me out) I ended up flopping my undercard and doubled through. I got it all in again with KQ and Ditty called with 77. Flopped a K to stay alive again. Eventually I tumbled in 3rd place when my AJ went up against Eddie's A5 and the board came 7755x. It was time for me to lose when I was in a dominant position, it was only fitting.
I then went to Hall's game and dropped around $100 at his 3/6 game. Poor poor play on my part, I should have never gone. I said that I probably wouldn't go back on Sunday for the tourament, but I showed up for the cash game at night. Not enough people decided to play a cash game, so I played a 10 person tournament, and won, beating my arch nemesis Gregg Maltese (another Gregg M).
Then I had the dreaded task of taking Karen down to Atlantic city which is like throwing Brer Rabbit in the Briar Patch. I played 1-2 NL from 11-4am on Sunday night and from 12:30-7 on Monday. I made $425 and look forward to playing again when I go down there. I bluffed a guy off a hand, but it cost me a lot to do it. The risk/reward was enticing.
I raised in the cutoff with 9Td to $15. There was a European guy who had sat down at my table and he was calling every bet cold to the turn and then usually folding. I figured I could get him in and just try to outplay him to see what happens. He called as did 1 other. With a pot of $48 the flop came J64 with 2 diamonds. The action was checked to me, and since I had a pretty tight image to people who were paying attention, I bet $35. The one player that I wanted to call, called, the other folded. The turn came a 8c, giving me an inside straight draw for 6 more outs. He checked again and with the pot at $118, I fired $60 and thankfully he folded. He asked the dealer to rabbit hunt the last card to see if he hit his draw. I said to go for it, and flipped over my cards to show my bluff. The guy was irate and played super aggressive on every hand I was in, but I showed him the nuts 3 times in a row and he paid me off every time. I flopped a straight one time when he had QQ and didn't raise preflop. Then I slowplayed my flopped set of 9's and took out his AA. All in all it was a great experience. I'll probably get my ass kicked the next time I play this game. Karma...
Then I've been back to Hall's and I won his tournament this past Tuesday for $130 payout, and then played a shorthanded $3/$6 game on Wednesday night, waiting for Karen to get home from AC. I played for about 100 min or so and won $130, or as I like to thank about it, 21.5 BB. Damn, I would've been happy being up $9 or $10 bux, but I'll take it! The game was perfect really, people raising me on the river with an underpair when I have top two, or even just top pair. He tried it on me 2x, and I just called, so every time he did it to me again, I would just 2 bet him and consider it a value bet in my mind, because he was so weak.
One hand of note: I was in the SB with ATh and it was raised by Maltese, and 3 bet by Frank. Normally I wouldn't play this hand here, but a) we were shorthanded, b) the players are weak. So I just call the 3 bet and so does Maltese and 2 others. The comes 653 with 2 hearts. Normally I don't bet out here, but the implied odds are that a)Frank will raise in the middle, thereby trapping 2 other people for 2 bets and b) if everyone just calls, I'm getting 5-1 on a draw that I'm going to get there 1 in 4 times. Sure enough, Frank does raise it up and everyone calls 2 bets, which is perfect. The Jh on the turn shows up and I think if Frank will bet this hand. I decide to not risk it and just bet. Frank raises it again! and it comes back to me and I 3 bet it and everyone calls. The 5c comes on the river to pair the board and I still bet and it's just call call call call. I show my nut flush and everyone folds, but Frank says he had 88. Wow what a pot. As my friend Phil says "you just need a pulse in these easy games and people will pay you off through the nose"
Ahhh, if all days could go as well as this. I'm going to hit up the cash game tonight and then tomorrow he's spreading a 1/2 NL game. I'm interested to see how the competition is for this game. Well, that's all for now. I'll post tomorrow during work. Seacrest, out!
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