My take on Tieds' Poker Game
Tieds had a really nice 8 person tourney on Tuesday, and what a better way to relax than playing a little poker. The structure was nice and deep starting with 5K in chips and blinds at 25/50. The first hand of the night i picked up 7h8h. I raised it in MP to 150, and just Ditty called. The flop came 7s3s3c. He checked, I bet 300, and he flat called. The turn came a blank and he checked. I think I bet around 500 or so, and he folded. He later claimed to have had a 7, but figured me for an overpair. Wbew.
I ran into some cold cards after that, and came into a cheap pot with 59d on the button. Dennis called in the SB and Bob checked. The flop came 743 with one diamond. It checked around, and a 2 came out on the turn, checked around again. Finally a 9 came out on the river and Bob bet out 600. I didn't think this was a play that could net me more money if I raised, I'd either get re-raised or he'd fold, so I decided to call. Bob mucked before I could show my pair, I assume he had a hand like K high or something. As I wrote this, I realized it was really boring.
Long went on a pretty cold streak apparently, and never really entered any pots. When he did, he was able to triple up, but then was soon eliminated. Ditty went quickly as well. Dennis had built up quite a stack at this point and was being quiet, followed by patches of agression. I figured he would try to steal whenever, but I had a hard time picking up a hand to counter with. We'll deal with Dennis at the end of this blog.
The swing hand of the tournament came after Tieds busted Bob (who for having a lot of chips to start with, played quite quietly.) It was only fitting though because Tieds and Bob love to tangle, never played a hand against each other all night, and then the one hand they DID play together, one of them was eliminated.
Anyway, the swing hand went like this. The action folded to Tieds on the button and he raised to 1200 with blinds at 200/400. Simpson folded in the SB and I wake up with 66 in the BB. I elect to call, after thinking about re-raising in this spot. I did some math and didn't want to get pot commited to the hand before a flop with this hand out of position. I called the 1200 and we saw a flop of AJx. I ran through the possibilities on this hand and decided that it could go 3 ways: I check (I lose), I go all in (It looks too obvious, I probably get called by a better hand), or I make a modest bet (in which I put him to the test, and can fold if he moves in.) I decided to bet 2400, but then took one $500 chip and make it $1900. The pot now was around 2800. Tieds had about 7K left so I figured this would be a good play. Also, the J gave me some cover if he had an underpair to it. My only way to win this hand is to bet, and hope for the best. Tieds actually looked like he was going to move in on me, but folded his 9's face up. I did the same just for advertising for later.
This gave me a nice stack and Tieds wound up exiting in 4th place. Now onto Dennis. He had quite a stack going in and was being really agressive whenever he had the button and in the blinds preflop. I had to make a stand to let him know I wouldn't let him control the table all the time. Dennis was on the button, and raised it to 2500 with the blinds at 400/800 and a 100 ante. Simpson folded and I found AQo in the BB. I had 8400 left. I thought about it for a while and decided that calling was a very weak play here, and I certainly couldn't fold. Based on the amount of times he was raising per round, I had to take a chance that I had the best hand. I moved in for a raise of 5900. Dennis pondered and folded.
Next hand, I have AK in the SB and I raise it to 2600. I collect the blinds again. Then when Dennis was on the button again, he raised it to 2500 again, and I find 99 this time. Again, I go all in hoping that he'll call this hand with A rag hoping I was just setting him up for before. He folds again, and is now the short stack. 2 hands later, on the button, I find A5 and raise it to 2600. Dennis now decides to go all in after much deliberation, and I immediatly called as I knew I had the best hand. He had K10 of clubs, and the door card was an Ace. Now it was down to Simpson and I, heads up.
We played many hands just with limping and checking it down, and I realied that he didn't want to play any big pots with me, so my best bet was to flop a monster and hope to trap. He probably had the same thing going through his head. Hopefully I could try and steal as much as I could. Turns out I didn't need to as I picked up a pair, AJ, and AQ all fairly quickly and won some pots preflop uncontested. The last hand went like this: Simpson raised double the blinds and I called with 57d. The flop came J46, and I was first to act. I decided to bet 3500, and win it right there. Then Simpson moved in on me! Hmmm well, I know 7 high can't be the best hand here, but Simpson is offering me all his chips if I can draw to the nuts. I have him covered so if I lose, the tournament is not over. I rationalize that Simpson will not give me another opportunity to get his chips like this in such a spot where I have enough outs, so I decide to call. He has JT and the turn is a 5. Ok, so now I have 14 outs instead of 9. The river is another 5, and my trips win the pot, the tournament and I go home $100 winner.
I liked my play tonight as I didn't need to bluff alot, and got cards when I needed to, but made the correct plays with the cards I was given. Well, that's all from me now, on a short note, I placed 12th in Eddie's last night out of 31 players. I really padded my lead a bit for the top spot, with only one week remaining. If I'm on my game next week, I could be hard to pass for the chipleader of the freeroll. Let's all hope so anyways.
Ditty, thank you for posting, it makes me feel as though people actually read this mess. People should follow suit and say what's up!
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Welcome to Florida
So I'm here in the lovely state of Florida, visiting my parents. It's a great vacation and I spend the mornings at the pool catching some sun, listening to my Ipod and going for a swim. But...I found some card rooms too! First stop was on Thursday all the way down in Hollywood to visit the Hard Rock Casino. Fun little place, but it was then I realized some major differences with how we gamble up north.
First off, there's no table games. None. So you're probably thinking, Gregg, what do they have? Well, they have slot machines. But they're not really "true" slot machines. They're basically video bingo. Picture this: A bingo card above the animated slot graphics. Then you put your money in and hit the button. You see what happens and get paid accordingly. But...if you just look above at the bingo card when you hit the button, you can see before the graphics ever load, if you have a winner by seeing if the line is complete with red marks. So, it's instant gratification if that's what you like, but to me it just felt cheap.
So, blackjack is illegal, which I hear they're working on, so the only other thing they have is poker. Perfect! So what game did I play? Let's see, was it 3/6, 4/6, 5/10? Well, after looking for a game higher than 2/2, I was told that Florida only allows a max bet of $2. $2? WTF?
I put my name on a list and get one of those beeper/pager dealies that lights up and vibrates when you have a table at TGI Friday's. I waited for about 20 min and got a seat at the 2/2 game. It's weird just saying it...2/2.
So how do you play a 2/2 game? Well, the blinds are 1/2 and you bet $2 on every street. No doubling on the turn and river here folks, no way to trap anyone for extra bets or check raise on the turn for value...nope, just bet it out, and hope your good hands hold up. Well, we were kind of on a time restraint at the Hard Rock so I could only play for 90 min or so. In that time period, I made a profit of $165 in a game where you can only bet $2. It was crazy, and I didn't make a flush or a straight at any time. The best hand I was was a set of Queens. Top pair was ALWAYS good and you got overcalls like crazy. This is a new thing I try not to do, as it's a loose part of my game. Well, I got paid off like crazy, and it was time to go.
The next day, not much was going on and I decided to go down to West Palm Beach to go to the Palm Beach Kennel Club. Yes, a dog track, but the signs on I-95 told me they had a poker room with "new, higher limit games!" So I went on down, and signed up for....oh shit, they lied 2/2!!!
I began to think that maybe they had run .50/1 at one point, and this was their "new higher limit game." Well, I sat down at a 1/2 game first while I waited for a "straight 2" game to open up. Well, the 1/2 game threw me for a loop too. First off, there's only 1 blind....I'll repeat that. In a 1/2 game, there's only 1 blind. The Small Blind for $1. Then I figured you can raise up to 2 preflop. Ok, then the button raises from 1 to 3! Huh? I ask the dealer and you can raise in 1 or 2 dollar increments. Ahhh so up to $7 preflop, and you can lead out for either 1 or 2 on the flop, and raise in that increment. Gotcha. Well, I won $14 on this table and got called to my other game. This one was brutal. The long and short of it was that I got beat up and was a $85 loser. I guess it was beginner's luck.
Funny story I actually read online at Josh Arieh's website today that said he lost $1000 playing 2/4 the first time he played. And he only had $1100 to his name....haha..
I went back again today, Sunday. Again, nothing really going on. I decided to play a tournament as they're offered Sun-Thurs. Everyone who reads this is going to rib me, but it was a $45 tournament where you start with 800 chips, the blinds start at 25/50 and they go up every 10 min. Oh, and the fee works out to be 32+13, for about 29% juice!!!!
They call them "Turbo Tournaments" and I can see why. I wanted to try a strategy of "if i get a pair and there's action before me, I move in." Basically the same thing with any 2 big cards. It was definitly a gamble, I won't lie. Ok, on to the action!
The first hand I pick up 2 black Q's. Only having 800 chips and I'm UTG +1, I raise to 225. The player to my left quickly calls and everyone else folds making the pot 525. The flop comes A96 rainbow, and I hate this flop. I plan to check/fold, and the player checks behind me! The turn came a J, and I bet 300. The player folds, and I win the first pot. I'm in the BB 2 hands later a bunch of people limp and I have KJd. The SB bumps it another 100 and everyone calls. The flop comes K89 and the SB checks. I bet 300 and the guy to my left calls, everyone else folds. The turn is the Ad, and I push all in. The guy only has 100 left and he couldn't reach for it faster, it's now obvious he had A9 and I say "I think you got me, and he has AJ! Called 3/4 of his chips with no pair on the flop!!! WOW...the river is no help and I'm in trouble now.
Only having 450 left, I need to pick up a hand. The blinds have now gone up to 50/100 and I fold for a couple of hands. I eventually get AhQs in the cutoff and one player goes all in for 150, I push in for 450, I get called by that pesky player to my left, who I want a call from now, based on his crappiness earlier, and the SB goes all in for 275. Side pots a plenty and here's what I'm up against. SB has K2, MP player has A2, and the pesky guy has KJ, 2 live cards. Well, the flop came QJ3 alll clubs. The guy to my left has the Kc and honestly, I didn't even see that I had flopped the best hand, all I saw was that he paired his J and had a club draw. When the club draw hadn't gotten there, I announced that I was done, and started to get up. The dealer informed of my tomfoolery and I felt like an ass.
After busting 2 players getting a nice stack, I went on a run on the motormouth of the table in the 8 seat. The player in the 10 seat raised to 300, and I looked at 88 in the BB. I had to keep to my strategy and reraise with any hand I thought had value in it. I asked how much he had left, and he had another 300, which was definitly going in on the flop. I took a bunch of chips out of my hand and proceeded to make it 600, but I had 7 chips in my hand. The dealer told me that all the chips I brought out played, so the bet was 700. I was not too happy but obliged to the rules. The motormouth, who was the chipleader at this point, called quite smugly, and now I was concerned. The flop came KdJd8c. I was first to act, and no doubt had the best hand in my mind. Here's where the other guy made a cruicial mistake in my eyes. I only had 700 left roughly and would he call all of it here? It was then that I noticed him eyeing my stack and putting chips in his hand. Why would he do that and let me know he would call? I've seen plenty of people do that and be bluffing to get a free card, shit I've done it. But it was here that I knew I had to push in, no sense to trap, the pot was 2K. I pushed in and he called quickly with....99....yes, 99. Now why woud he call so quickly with 9's when those overcards came out and I had reraised before the flop. He almost seemed proud when he did it too, which made the next moments all that much sweeter. The dealer asked us what we had, to which I replied "just a set." The dealer lost it, apparently never hearing that one before. The other guy told me he had a set also, he was just gonna get it on the river, with no joking in his voice at all. Well, he didn't get it, and thankfully so. I then busted the pesky player to my left when we were 3 handed and I found A5c and moved in. He called with Q9o. The flop came A43, and it as over for him. After playing a few hands we decided to chop the pot, with both of us taking $160. We each tipped the dealer and with the cash game I played for 2 hours, I was a $101 winner today. Well, I leave on Tuesday, and I'll finally tell all about Eddie's game 2 weeks ago, and this past week, (one is more interesting than the other). Later, and leave comments dammit!!
So I'm here in the lovely state of Florida, visiting my parents. It's a great vacation and I spend the mornings at the pool catching some sun, listening to my Ipod and going for a swim. But...I found some card rooms too! First stop was on Thursday all the way down in Hollywood to visit the Hard Rock Casino. Fun little place, but it was then I realized some major differences with how we gamble up north.
First off, there's no table games. None. So you're probably thinking, Gregg, what do they have? Well, they have slot machines. But they're not really "true" slot machines. They're basically video bingo. Picture this: A bingo card above the animated slot graphics. Then you put your money in and hit the button. You see what happens and get paid accordingly. But...if you just look above at the bingo card when you hit the button, you can see before the graphics ever load, if you have a winner by seeing if the line is complete with red marks. So, it's instant gratification if that's what you like, but to me it just felt cheap.
So, blackjack is illegal, which I hear they're working on, so the only other thing they have is poker. Perfect! So what game did I play? Let's see, was it 3/6, 4/6, 5/10? Well, after looking for a game higher than 2/2, I was told that Florida only allows a max bet of $2. $2? WTF?
I put my name on a list and get one of those beeper/pager dealies that lights up and vibrates when you have a table at TGI Friday's. I waited for about 20 min and got a seat at the 2/2 game. It's weird just saying it...2/2.
So how do you play a 2/2 game? Well, the blinds are 1/2 and you bet $2 on every street. No doubling on the turn and river here folks, no way to trap anyone for extra bets or check raise on the turn for value...nope, just bet it out, and hope your good hands hold up. Well, we were kind of on a time restraint at the Hard Rock so I could only play for 90 min or so. In that time period, I made a profit of $165 in a game where you can only bet $2. It was crazy, and I didn't make a flush or a straight at any time. The best hand I was was a set of Queens. Top pair was ALWAYS good and you got overcalls like crazy. This is a new thing I try not to do, as it's a loose part of my game. Well, I got paid off like crazy, and it was time to go.
The next day, not much was going on and I decided to go down to West Palm Beach to go to the Palm Beach Kennel Club. Yes, a dog track, but the signs on I-95 told me they had a poker room with "new, higher limit games!" So I went on down, and signed up for....oh shit, they lied 2/2!!!
I began to think that maybe they had run .50/1 at one point, and this was their "new higher limit game." Well, I sat down at a 1/2 game first while I waited for a "straight 2" game to open up. Well, the 1/2 game threw me for a loop too. First off, there's only 1 blind....I'll repeat that. In a 1/2 game, there's only 1 blind. The Small Blind for $1. Then I figured you can raise up to 2 preflop. Ok, then the button raises from 1 to 3! Huh? I ask the dealer and you can raise in 1 or 2 dollar increments. Ahhh so up to $7 preflop, and you can lead out for either 1 or 2 on the flop, and raise in that increment. Gotcha. Well, I won $14 on this table and got called to my other game. This one was brutal. The long and short of it was that I got beat up and was a $85 loser. I guess it was beginner's luck.
Funny story I actually read online at Josh Arieh's website today that said he lost $1000 playing 2/4 the first time he played. And he only had $1100 to his name....haha..
I went back again today, Sunday. Again, nothing really going on. I decided to play a tournament as they're offered Sun-Thurs. Everyone who reads this is going to rib me, but it was a $45 tournament where you start with 800 chips, the blinds start at 25/50 and they go up every 10 min. Oh, and the fee works out to be 32+13, for about 29% juice!!!!
They call them "Turbo Tournaments" and I can see why. I wanted to try a strategy of "if i get a pair and there's action before me, I move in." Basically the same thing with any 2 big cards. It was definitly a gamble, I won't lie. Ok, on to the action!
The first hand I pick up 2 black Q's. Only having 800 chips and I'm UTG +1, I raise to 225. The player to my left quickly calls and everyone else folds making the pot 525. The flop comes A96 rainbow, and I hate this flop. I plan to check/fold, and the player checks behind me! The turn came a J, and I bet 300. The player folds, and I win the first pot. I'm in the BB 2 hands later a bunch of people limp and I have KJd. The SB bumps it another 100 and everyone calls. The flop comes K89 and the SB checks. I bet 300 and the guy to my left calls, everyone else folds. The turn is the Ad, and I push all in. The guy only has 100 left and he couldn't reach for it faster, it's now obvious he had A9 and I say "I think you got me, and he has AJ! Called 3/4 of his chips with no pair on the flop!!! WOW...the river is no help and I'm in trouble now.
Only having 450 left, I need to pick up a hand. The blinds have now gone up to 50/100 and I fold for a couple of hands. I eventually get AhQs in the cutoff and one player goes all in for 150, I push in for 450, I get called by that pesky player to my left, who I want a call from now, based on his crappiness earlier, and the SB goes all in for 275. Side pots a plenty and here's what I'm up against. SB has K2, MP player has A2, and the pesky guy has KJ, 2 live cards. Well, the flop came QJ3 alll clubs. The guy to my left has the Kc and honestly, I didn't even see that I had flopped the best hand, all I saw was that he paired his J and had a club draw. When the club draw hadn't gotten there, I announced that I was done, and started to get up. The dealer informed of my tomfoolery and I felt like an ass.
After busting 2 players getting a nice stack, I went on a run on the motormouth of the table in the 8 seat. The player in the 10 seat raised to 300, and I looked at 88 in the BB. I had to keep to my strategy and reraise with any hand I thought had value in it. I asked how much he had left, and he had another 300, which was definitly going in on the flop. I took a bunch of chips out of my hand and proceeded to make it 600, but I had 7 chips in my hand. The dealer told me that all the chips I brought out played, so the bet was 700. I was not too happy but obliged to the rules. The motormouth, who was the chipleader at this point, called quite smugly, and now I was concerned. The flop came KdJd8c. I was first to act, and no doubt had the best hand in my mind. Here's where the other guy made a cruicial mistake in my eyes. I only had 700 left roughly and would he call all of it here? It was then that I noticed him eyeing my stack and putting chips in his hand. Why would he do that and let me know he would call? I've seen plenty of people do that and be bluffing to get a free card, shit I've done it. But it was here that I knew I had to push in, no sense to trap, the pot was 2K. I pushed in and he called quickly with....99....yes, 99. Now why woud he call so quickly with 9's when those overcards came out and I had reraised before the flop. He almost seemed proud when he did it too, which made the next moments all that much sweeter. The dealer asked us what we had, to which I replied "just a set." The dealer lost it, apparently never hearing that one before. The other guy told me he had a set also, he was just gonna get it on the river, with no joking in his voice at all. Well, he didn't get it, and thankfully so. I then busted the pesky player to my left when we were 3 handed and I found A5c and moved in. He called with Q9o. The flop came A43, and it as over for him. After playing a few hands we decided to chop the pot, with both of us taking $160. We each tipped the dealer and with the cash game I played for 2 hours, I was a $101 winner today. Well, I leave on Tuesday, and I'll finally tell all about Eddie's game 2 weeks ago, and this past week, (one is more interesting than the other). Later, and leave comments dammit!!
Friday, April 08, 2005
Strong showing in 2nd Bohemia Game
I went to Simpson's Bohemia game again last night, and enjoyed a 10 person deep stack tournament. At this game, you can pick wherever you want to sit, and with the other players probably not too keen on the art of position, I sat myself to the left of Tieds, and the most aggressive player that I remember from Tuesday. After noticing that I was on Tieds' left, he smoothly stated "You know what, this chair isn't that comfortable, I think I'll sit over here" and sat down directly to my left. Pretty funny stuff if you're Long, Simpson, Tieds or I.
The game as they see it, consists of hanging out and drinking beer and being loud. I almost think that some people think that if they lose a pot, their masculinity is in question, and are forced to call to "be a man." One guy did it with 5 high last night after Tieds went home.
I never drink anymore when I play cards, too many losing sessions. I prefer to play the game as well as I can, whenever I can. This being said, the beer started flowing promptly, and off we went to start the game!
I waited patiently for a little bit to see what kind of hands were being showed down. I caught alot of hands being won with middle pair, little kickers. I then raised every time I got 2 picture cards, KT, any Ax (with x being above 7). Funny that I mention KT, but I bluffed off alot of my chips when I got called down on the river with 4th pair! Tieds and I then conferred that why should I bluff off my chips here? They're going to call anyway, just don't get impatient. So, I buckled down and played some boring ass poker for a while.
The aggressive player from my right opened up with a raise to 14 with the blinds at 2/4. It folded to the player to the right of Simpson who re raised to 24. The button then went in for 165. He got 3 callers, and we only started with 265 chips. There was a side pot, then another side pot for another player who went all in with a flush draw that missed. The original raiser showed QJh, another player showed AJ, and the all-in player showed 89o!!! The AJ took it down when he turned an A.
Now, this player was obviously very late to a date with his girlfriend and she would keep calling him during the game. It was obvious that he was going to dump his chips eventually, I just had to be there to pick up the pieces. The problem was, he had so many, that playing recklessly with him could get costly.
Tieds would eventually raise with JJ and Long would move over the top with AA. They got it in and Tieds was eliminated.
I was now the short stack at the table, and when it was time for the blinds to go up, Long mentioned it. The owner of the house said that they should stay where they are because "we were betting." Knowing that I would be crippled if the blinds went from 5/10 to 10/20, and I only had 135 chips left, I thanked him verbally. To this he said "why are you thanking me?" It was then that I realized that he didn't know the logic of raising the blinds. I proceeded to say something in jibberish and shut up about it.
I managed to pick up some hands and had a slightly less than average stack when we lost another player. Now we were down to 4 people, and I found 7's in the SB and decided to call a raise from the HUGE stack with the girlfriend problem. I figured If I found a favorable flop, I could move in. The flop came 885. I moved in for 435, and it folded to the big stack who thought for a bit, and decided to call!!! The only problem was he flipped over 99!! DOH! I thanked everyone for the game and grabbed my jacket, and a 7 peeled off on the turn!!! No 9 came, and I was right back in it.
He was eliminated soon thereafter going in blind with J6 against Long's AQ. I had 7's again, and called his all-in, but Long pushed me out with a re-raise to 400. I questioned him on it at the time, but my 7's would've been no good as he flopped a J and Long turned an A.
Now we were down to 3. Long, myself, and the owner of the house who was...drunk....Well he had at least 9 beer cans behind him. Well, this hand came up and changed alot of things.
I got KhJs and decided to raise 3x the blind to 60, we were at 10/20. Both players called and the flop came Qh9h4h. I liked my hand here as to me, I had 15 outs that would give me the best hand. 9 hearts, 3 10's and 3 K's. I checked here, hoping to get a free card but would call any modest bet. It checked to the button and he bet 200, which was a huge bet so far. With the pot laying me a little less than 2-1 and my odds being close to 55%, I made the call. The turn was the Kc. I instantly moved in now for 435, and the button began to think...and think....and think...I figured I was good now, but he waited and waited and made the call. He flipped over J6h for a flopped flush!!! Geez....well, now I was down to 7 hearts in the deck giving me a 12% chance to win. Well, the 2h came on the river, and I took out the other player as I had him covered by 50 chips. Talk about getting lucky!
Heads up now between Long and I and we traded blinds like no tomorrow, rarely seeing a flop. The last hand went a little something like this. I called on the button with J6, and Long raised me 150 more. I called because this was his standard play. I planned on taking this hand away from him later. Well, the flop came TJQ rainbow and he bet 400 and I moved in. Questionable play? Probably, but I felt it was the best move at the time. He thought about for a long time and decided to call and flipped over AJ! Wow, that whole time he thought he was beat. I guess he gives me more credit than I thought. Well, the turn was a 8h, and the river was a 6s giving me two pair and the win for the evening. I got lucky 3 times exactly when I needed to last night, and it paid off in dividends. Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta.
I went to Simpson's Bohemia game again last night, and enjoyed a 10 person deep stack tournament. At this game, you can pick wherever you want to sit, and with the other players probably not too keen on the art of position, I sat myself to the left of Tieds, and the most aggressive player that I remember from Tuesday. After noticing that I was on Tieds' left, he smoothly stated "You know what, this chair isn't that comfortable, I think I'll sit over here" and sat down directly to my left. Pretty funny stuff if you're Long, Simpson, Tieds or I.
The game as they see it, consists of hanging out and drinking beer and being loud. I almost think that some people think that if they lose a pot, their masculinity is in question, and are forced to call to "be a man." One guy did it with 5 high last night after Tieds went home.
I never drink anymore when I play cards, too many losing sessions. I prefer to play the game as well as I can, whenever I can. This being said, the beer started flowing promptly, and off we went to start the game!
I waited patiently for a little bit to see what kind of hands were being showed down. I caught alot of hands being won with middle pair, little kickers. I then raised every time I got 2 picture cards, KT, any Ax (with x being above 7). Funny that I mention KT, but I bluffed off alot of my chips when I got called down on the river with 4th pair! Tieds and I then conferred that why should I bluff off my chips here? They're going to call anyway, just don't get impatient. So, I buckled down and played some boring ass poker for a while.
The aggressive player from my right opened up with a raise to 14 with the blinds at 2/4. It folded to the player to the right of Simpson who re raised to 24. The button then went in for 165. He got 3 callers, and we only started with 265 chips. There was a side pot, then another side pot for another player who went all in with a flush draw that missed. The original raiser showed QJh, another player showed AJ, and the all-in player showed 89o!!! The AJ took it down when he turned an A.
Now, this player was obviously very late to a date with his girlfriend and she would keep calling him during the game. It was obvious that he was going to dump his chips eventually, I just had to be there to pick up the pieces. The problem was, he had so many, that playing recklessly with him could get costly.
Tieds would eventually raise with JJ and Long would move over the top with AA. They got it in and Tieds was eliminated.
I was now the short stack at the table, and when it was time for the blinds to go up, Long mentioned it. The owner of the house said that they should stay where they are because "we were betting." Knowing that I would be crippled if the blinds went from 5/10 to 10/20, and I only had 135 chips left, I thanked him verbally. To this he said "why are you thanking me?" It was then that I realized that he didn't know the logic of raising the blinds. I proceeded to say something in jibberish and shut up about it.
I managed to pick up some hands and had a slightly less than average stack when we lost another player. Now we were down to 4 people, and I found 7's in the SB and decided to call a raise from the HUGE stack with the girlfriend problem. I figured If I found a favorable flop, I could move in. The flop came 885. I moved in for 435, and it folded to the big stack who thought for a bit, and decided to call!!! The only problem was he flipped over 99!! DOH! I thanked everyone for the game and grabbed my jacket, and a 7 peeled off on the turn!!! No 9 came, and I was right back in it.
He was eliminated soon thereafter going in blind with J6 against Long's AQ. I had 7's again, and called his all-in, but Long pushed me out with a re-raise to 400. I questioned him on it at the time, but my 7's would've been no good as he flopped a J and Long turned an A.
Now we were down to 3. Long, myself, and the owner of the house who was...drunk....Well he had at least 9 beer cans behind him. Well, this hand came up and changed alot of things.
I got KhJs and decided to raise 3x the blind to 60, we were at 10/20. Both players called and the flop came Qh9h4h. I liked my hand here as to me, I had 15 outs that would give me the best hand. 9 hearts, 3 10's and 3 K's. I checked here, hoping to get a free card but would call any modest bet. It checked to the button and he bet 200, which was a huge bet so far. With the pot laying me a little less than 2-1 and my odds being close to 55%, I made the call. The turn was the Kc. I instantly moved in now for 435, and the button began to think...and think....and think...I figured I was good now, but he waited and waited and made the call. He flipped over J6h for a flopped flush!!! Geez....well, now I was down to 7 hearts in the deck giving me a 12% chance to win. Well, the 2h came on the river, and I took out the other player as I had him covered by 50 chips. Talk about getting lucky!
Heads up now between Long and I and we traded blinds like no tomorrow, rarely seeing a flop. The last hand went a little something like this. I called on the button with J6, and Long raised me 150 more. I called because this was his standard play. I planned on taking this hand away from him later. Well, the flop came TJQ rainbow and he bet 400 and I moved in. Questionable play? Probably, but I felt it was the best move at the time. He thought about for a long time and decided to call and flipped over AJ! Wow, that whole time he thought he was beat. I guess he gives me more credit than I thought. Well, the turn was a 8h, and the river was a 6s giving me two pair and the win for the evening. I got lucky 3 times exactly when I needed to last night, and it paid off in dividends. Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
NOT...the King of Clubs...
Well, quite a hefty update for today. Since our last chat, many events have taken place. Let's start with some live ring game action the night after the heads up tournament.
I went to Hall's and played for a while and had a losing session. Probably around -$30 or so in a 3/6 game. After working in the city for most of the week I was home on Wednesday and went to Eddie's game as per usual. I forget how many people he had, probably around 26 (that's the danger in me taking time off during reports, I forget details and stuff.) Actually, after checking his website, http://www.freewebs.com/lpt1 there were 26 people. Nothing really eventful happened and I made the final table, and was busted out first, coming in 10th. I seem to be having trouble in these events lately. Overall, I'm just about even in my winnings/event fees, cashing 2 times with one win. The win was $265 and I had a 3rd place for $90. So I'm +25 for this season so far. Oh well, better than being down $330.
I came home again on Friday night and ended up playing a tournament at Hall's for what reason I'm not sure. I don't know why, but it seems to me that I feel like every time I play there I feel rushed. I asked Mike to raise the chip amount to play some more solid poker as I felt like we were moving in every hand after an hour. He agreed, and we played a good game actually. I had a big hand where I had 2 black aces 2 off the button. With the blinds at 75/150, I raised to 525, and Hall just called, but looked like he wanted to raise. I'm guessing he didn't put me on a big hand and was going to try and take it from me later. We got one other caller, a very loose guy in the SB. Flop came 3 rags with all spades. I decided to bet 2/3 of what Hall had left so he had no choice but to push in if he wanted to call. He pushed in and I called. Hall showed QsQh. I had him down to the last 2 queens because of my As. No help for him, and Hall made an early exit. I made it down to the final 4, and was knocked out after my 6's did not hold up against AJ.
Now on to Tuesday of this week. I did not go to Hall's season tournament because I don't like the idea of paying extra money that I can't compete for later in the freeroll as I am not available for the whole season. (Run on sentence maybe?) Instead, Simpson brought me to a new game in Bohemia that is detailed on http://www.tieds.com/pn. I had a hard time adjusting to the game and the way that it was run. In my opinion, they took the action out of the game, by increasing the blinds when they felt like it instead of at predetermined times. I got bored and antsy about 2.5 hours sitting through and bluffed off alot of chips with KJ and someone called on the river with A2 for top pair but no kicker. The horror was that as he was calling he said "I know I'm beat." I don't know why you would put money into a pot if you "knew you were beat." That's just assinine to me, I don't mind anyone calling me down, but don't say you're beaten as you do it.
I left there and went to Hall's 3/6 game around 11:30. I sat down and was stuck about $84 out of my $100 buy in in about an hour. I then went on a run of cards like you wouldn't believe and went from having $14 to $245 at my highest peak. I had KK and the flop came K33, and I couldn't get any action. But my good hands held up most of the night, and I was able to get paid off most of the time. I went down to even for the night, and thought about cashing out. I decided to stay however, and ran my stack up to $180 and cashed out.
Now....Eddie's last night. Well, I ran well in the tournament and the field was pretty deep, 29 players. I got Aces in the first level of the tournament and there was a raise before me to 250. I decided to smooth call it in MP with hopes of action before me to build a pot. This being the relatively smart game it is, people respected the action, and got out of the way. Flop came KQ7 rainbow. He led out 200 and I thought about a good amount I could get out of him, but the KQ scared me as this was the only 2 pair I could see him having if he had me beat. I decided to find out and raise it to 600. He eventually folded, and he asked the dealer to run out the cards. He was happy to see the 10 on the river and said he would've won, so I assume he had AJ. Good way to win that pot when I did.
I then ran into the force that is Joline, Eddie's girlfriend at the table. She has an uncanny way of getting a huge amount of chips early on in a tournament, and where was she? Directly to my left. She lost a couple of big pots by calling all ins with AJ when she was dominated and other assorted situations. So, I think mentally she decided her only move was all in. However, I didn't find this out until I opened 2 pots with a 3-4x raise, and she went over the top for like 15x more. I had to wait for a hand where I could trap her into doing this again, but I literally could not pick up a hand until we made a final table.
So down to the final 10, I have 5500 with the blinds at 300/600 with a 100 ante. It's costing me 1900 this orbit alone, and the blinds are going up to 400/800 in 6 minutes. I have to double up or go home. I basically just want to find an Ace and move in. Well, it didn't take long. Sof went out in 10th place after having a nice stack and getting decimated by Eddie in a hand before and losing with his JJ the very next hand. Down to 9, I found an A in MP. There were 2 folders and I saw the Ac, and didn't look at the next one, ala Doyle on the WSOP freeroll. I moved in for 4800 and got a short stack of 600 and another short stack of 2000 to call me. Now Joline, my archnemesis in the BB, goes all in!!!! We all flip over and short stack #1 has A2o. Short stack #2 has A10o. I have A4c...well...er...they're suited...and Joline?? Well of course she was KK! The flop comes 993 with 2 clubs!! I couldn't ask for a better flop, cause I'm dead to any A. I scream for a club, but NOT the King of Clubs. Well, almost like I had asked for it to appear, the turn was the Kc, and I nearly lost it. I was dead to her full house. I left in 7th place because of all the short stacks, I had the most chips. What I didn't like was that there were people below me on the stat sheet who will now catch up to me and now my ranking is perhaps in jeopardy. Well, that's all for me. I'm going to Simpson's friend's crazy game tonight. I have to make a better showing this time. Later!
Well, quite a hefty update for today. Since our last chat, many events have taken place. Let's start with some live ring game action the night after the heads up tournament.
I went to Hall's and played for a while and had a losing session. Probably around -$30 or so in a 3/6 game. After working in the city for most of the week I was home on Wednesday and went to Eddie's game as per usual. I forget how many people he had, probably around 26 (that's the danger in me taking time off during reports, I forget details and stuff.) Actually, after checking his website, http://www.freewebs.com/lpt1 there were 26 people. Nothing really eventful happened and I made the final table, and was busted out first, coming in 10th. I seem to be having trouble in these events lately. Overall, I'm just about even in my winnings/event fees, cashing 2 times with one win. The win was $265 and I had a 3rd place for $90. So I'm +25 for this season so far. Oh well, better than being down $330.
I came home again on Friday night and ended up playing a tournament at Hall's for what reason I'm not sure. I don't know why, but it seems to me that I feel like every time I play there I feel rushed. I asked Mike to raise the chip amount to play some more solid poker as I felt like we were moving in every hand after an hour. He agreed, and we played a good game actually. I had a big hand where I had 2 black aces 2 off the button. With the blinds at 75/150, I raised to 525, and Hall just called, but looked like he wanted to raise. I'm guessing he didn't put me on a big hand and was going to try and take it from me later. We got one other caller, a very loose guy in the SB. Flop came 3 rags with all spades. I decided to bet 2/3 of what Hall had left so he had no choice but to push in if he wanted to call. He pushed in and I called. Hall showed QsQh. I had him down to the last 2 queens because of my As. No help for him, and Hall made an early exit. I made it down to the final 4, and was knocked out after my 6's did not hold up against AJ.
Now on to Tuesday of this week. I did not go to Hall's season tournament because I don't like the idea of paying extra money that I can't compete for later in the freeroll as I am not available for the whole season. (Run on sentence maybe?) Instead, Simpson brought me to a new game in Bohemia that is detailed on http://www.tieds.com/pn. I had a hard time adjusting to the game and the way that it was run. In my opinion, they took the action out of the game, by increasing the blinds when they felt like it instead of at predetermined times. I got bored and antsy about 2.5 hours sitting through and bluffed off alot of chips with KJ and someone called on the river with A2 for top pair but no kicker. The horror was that as he was calling he said "I know I'm beat." I don't know why you would put money into a pot if you "knew you were beat." That's just assinine to me, I don't mind anyone calling me down, but don't say you're beaten as you do it.
I left there and went to Hall's 3/6 game around 11:30. I sat down and was stuck about $84 out of my $100 buy in in about an hour. I then went on a run of cards like you wouldn't believe and went from having $14 to $245 at my highest peak. I had KK and the flop came K33, and I couldn't get any action. But my good hands held up most of the night, and I was able to get paid off most of the time. I went down to even for the night, and thought about cashing out. I decided to stay however, and ran my stack up to $180 and cashed out.
Now....Eddie's last night. Well, I ran well in the tournament and the field was pretty deep, 29 players. I got Aces in the first level of the tournament and there was a raise before me to 250. I decided to smooth call it in MP with hopes of action before me to build a pot. This being the relatively smart game it is, people respected the action, and got out of the way. Flop came KQ7 rainbow. He led out 200 and I thought about a good amount I could get out of him, but the KQ scared me as this was the only 2 pair I could see him having if he had me beat. I decided to find out and raise it to 600. He eventually folded, and he asked the dealer to run out the cards. He was happy to see the 10 on the river and said he would've won, so I assume he had AJ. Good way to win that pot when I did.
I then ran into the force that is Joline, Eddie's girlfriend at the table. She has an uncanny way of getting a huge amount of chips early on in a tournament, and where was she? Directly to my left. She lost a couple of big pots by calling all ins with AJ when she was dominated and other assorted situations. So, I think mentally she decided her only move was all in. However, I didn't find this out until I opened 2 pots with a 3-4x raise, and she went over the top for like 15x more. I had to wait for a hand where I could trap her into doing this again, but I literally could not pick up a hand until we made a final table.
So down to the final 10, I have 5500 with the blinds at 300/600 with a 100 ante. It's costing me 1900 this orbit alone, and the blinds are going up to 400/800 in 6 minutes. I have to double up or go home. I basically just want to find an Ace and move in. Well, it didn't take long. Sof went out in 10th place after having a nice stack and getting decimated by Eddie in a hand before and losing with his JJ the very next hand. Down to 9, I found an A in MP. There were 2 folders and I saw the Ac, and didn't look at the next one, ala Doyle on the WSOP freeroll. I moved in for 4800 and got a short stack of 600 and another short stack of 2000 to call me. Now Joline, my archnemesis in the BB, goes all in!!!! We all flip over and short stack #1 has A2o. Short stack #2 has A10o. I have A4c...well...er...they're suited...and Joline?? Well of course she was KK! The flop comes 993 with 2 clubs!! I couldn't ask for a better flop, cause I'm dead to any A. I scream for a club, but NOT the King of Clubs. Well, almost like I had asked for it to appear, the turn was the Kc, and I nearly lost it. I was dead to her full house. I left in 7th place because of all the short stacks, I had the most chips. What I didn't like was that there were people below me on the stat sheet who will now catch up to me and now my ranking is perhaps in jeopardy. Well, that's all for me. I'm going to Simpson's friend's crazy game tonight. I have to make a better showing this time. Later!
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