A lot can happen in a few days.
I'll start with a list:
UFC 116 at MGM Grand (I'll put up a separate post about this), but the short summary is that it was the best UFC card ever in my opinion!
2+2 party at Aria (yes, another post about this too)
HORSE Tournament at the Bellagio
4th of July in Las Vegas
Cash games at O'Sheas, El Cortez & Aria
I guess poker is a good place to start ... I played a session of $9/18 mixed at Aria following UFC 116. This time the mix was a fairly standard Omaha8, Stud8, Razz & 2-7 Triple Draw. I played OK & finished with a small profit, so was happy with that.
Following the 2+2 party I went to O'Sheas & played some $1/2NL. Things were going reasonably well until I found myself in a huge hand with another player ... and quite a sweat to boot!
There was a player at the table with a pretty big stack ($400+) who had been raising a lot & playing a lot of hands. I had been playing fairly snug & had only shown down premium hands & was sitting with around $250 in front of me. There were also a few players who would play any two cards (this was late night at O'Sheas), so it was an interesting mix of players. Anyway, to the big hand itself. The loose guy with the big stack in in the small blind & I am UTG & have JJ (diamonds & clubs - suits are somewhat important later in the hand). The way the table has been playing I hate raising, getting 4+ callers & being stuck in a multi-way hand out of position with jacks. Obviously folding is not an option, so I decided to limp & see what the rest of the table did before making a real decision about my hand. I was raised to $6 by UTG+2, who seemed to be playing reasonably solid poker (and also seemed to be a regular in the game by his interaction with the dealers), which was called in 4 spots, including the loose guy with chips. With so much out there I thought that this would be a good time for the old limp-raise play, as it is likely to do two things: thin the field & represent a big hand (potentially a bigger hand than I actually have). Anyway, with this in mind I made it $30 to go. Part 1 of the plan succeeded, as the only callers were the initial raiser & the loose guy with the stack. The flop was a reasonable one for my hand - 9d8h3d - though obviously with the draws (both diamonds & straight draws) my hand is definitely vulnerable. I lead at the pot for $55 & was called by the initial raiser & the loose guy folded. So far so good, though the way I played the hand meant that it was difficult to put the caller on a narrow range of hands. He could have a pair (possibly good, possibly bad), a set (bad), a straight draw (possibly good, possibly bad), a flush draw (again bad or good), overcards (good for the moment) ... or complete air! On the flip side, my hand was fairly well defined. I either had a big pair or overcards (with possibly a flush draw), with an outside chance of having a set. In one way it is good that I have the lead in the hand, but it makes it tough given the hand ranges that each of us have. Anyway, the turn was the 7c, meaning the board was now 9873 with a diamond draw. The turn was definitely decision time. After a few seconds I decided to move all-in for my remaining $155.
The scenarios were as follows in my head (from best to worst):
* He folds & I win the pot uncontested
* He calls & I have him crushed & win
* He calls & I am in front, dodge his outs & win
* He calls & I am crushed, but spike a card to win
* He calls & I am in front but he hits ... I go back to hotel to sleep
* He calls & I am crushed & lose ... and go back to the hotel to sleep
He thought for a long time about his decision & said he had a big hand he couldn't fold ... and clarified it as a big draw. Given the way the hand had played out I thought that meant he had ATdd, meaning he had overcards & a flush draw on the flop & picked up a straight draw on the turn. However he did keep in insisting that I had aces or kings, so overcards don't seem so valuable if that is the case. As it turned out, he eventually called & showed 8d6d for a flopped pair & flush draw & picked up a straight draw on the turn. The fact that I had JJ meant I took away some of his outs (a ten was no good as I would make a higher straight) & I also had a diamond in my hand ... however I was relieved to see a black 3 on the river to have scenario number 3 play out & collect a $500 pot. I stayed for a little longer, but nothing much eventful happened & I left about $300 to the good.
I also decided to venture downtown to el Cortez & played in their $1-3-6 game (I still don't know exactly how it is supposed to be structured, but there was a $1 blind - yes, just one blind - and it seemed as though you could raise by anything up to $3 on any street, with the river betting being $6 (although sometimes people bet $3). Perhaps it was a spread limit game? Anyway, I played for a few hours & left with a small profit (yes, old 'nits' are horrible players as well - one of the lessons I learned from the $5/10 game at Crown). Why go to El Cortez I hear you ask? Well it is the hidden (well not any more) agenda of this trip ... to collect $1 chips (and play poker) in as many Las Vegas poker rooms as possible. After my previous trip earlier in the year, as well as the current time I am spending in Las Vegas, I have now played in almost all the poker rooms on the Strip & in the Downtown Las Vegas area. The only one to elude my so far is the Riviera, which seems to have at most 1 cash table running & players who simply rebuy when they bust, making waiting too long to endure! More on the quest as the stay continues ... I have just over a week left!
I also decided (foolishly in hindsight) to play the HORSE tournament at the Bellagio. One of the players at my table was John Joannou, winner of the HORSE event at this year's Aussie Millions. Also in the field were Allen Kessler, Yuval Bronstein, Thor Hansen & others. The reason why it was foolish to play is that I managed to run the worst I have ever run (with the exception of a mixed stud tournament at Crown where I didn't win a hand for the entire tournament) in a mixed event. I rarely picked up hands & when I did, they found a way to get run down. The best example of this was an Omaha hi-lo hand where I had raised in early position with AK62 double suited, only to be called by 4 players (as seems to be standard in split-pot games early in an event like this) to see a flop of J22, which I bet & get 2 callers. I again bet the 8 on the turn, only to be raised & call, then check-call the river 9, only for my opponent to show Q852 rainbow! I was a decent event, but I didn't stick around afterwards, in spite of the view of the Bellagio fountains from the balcony of the Fontana Lounge (where the tournament was held).
Showing posts with label Aria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aria. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
LOOOONG day in tournaments for nothing ... and some bowling with the DC guys!
A long, long day in the 8-game tournament at Aria ... ultimately finishing with nothing. This 8-game tournament featured Badugi (rather than the usual 2-7 triple draw), along with NLHE, PLO & H.O.R.S.E. with the logic being that no-one needed to sit out in badugi, unlike 2-7. The field was small at 38, but with a 15k starting stack & 50 minute levels, it would be a long event. It took over 8 hours (well past midnight) to get down to two tables & with stacks reasonably deep, the pace slowed even more, with very few eliminations. At one point I was chip leader with 13 players left, having about 88k in chips when the average was 43k. Of course it was then when I managed to run poorly & find myself with strong second-best hands on multiple occasions. Unfortunately for me there were three big hands that I lost & I was out in 10th. The first was a razz hand where I had a 87 made, with a draw to a 75 & lost to my opponent's 75 (if I made my 75 I would have won the pot). I then lost a huge hand in O8, with AsKc8s8c & raised in late position, only to be called by the big blind, who was the other big stack at the table. The flop was KsTs2h & it wentcheck-bet-call. The turn brought the 4s & again check-bet-call. The river was a repeat 2 & my opponent checked to me again. My thinking was that there were a lot of hands that would check-call both the flop & turn that would also check-call the river (something like a weak flush with a missed low draw or a straight draw with a 2), so I bet again. My opponent then check-raised me! I was surprised, but decided to call, only for my opponent to turn over KKJ8 for top full house! I had (obviously mistakenly) thought that a hand like that (which makes sense for the check-call, check-call line) would probably lead the river, hoping to make an extra bet rather than risk missing a bet on the end. Of course I was wrong & I dropped a big chunk of my stack. Of course shortly afterwards I found myself in another big hand with the same opponent, this time with AAKJ. The flop was Q75 & we got the rest of the chips in on the flop & I was up against AJ73, which meant I was in decent shape, though there was a decent chance that the pot would be chopped (odds are 22-34 to scoop, with high hand being 65-34 in my favour, with the low being 0-63). Of course a repeat 7 came on the turn & I couldn't find the last A in the deck & was out in 10th place. What made it more disappointing was that this was the first time in over 6 hours that I had been all-in. The previous (and only) time I had been all-in in the tournament was in PLO when I was accused of slowrolling (though my opponent later apologised) when we got the money in on a Qc4c3h flop with my AcAdJd9c beating my opponent's 7654 when I made a flush on the turn (I thought for about 5-10 seconds after betting the flop & my oppoent raising to put me all-in before I called, which lead to the slowroll accusation). Of course with the top 5 being paid & my elimination coming just before 4am (the event started at 5pm), it was disappointing to have played well for over 10 hours, only to walk away with nothing.
The previous evening was the Deuces Cracked bowling night at the Gold Coast Casino. I played one game (scoring 117, which was poor for the lane I was in, but seemed like a decent score compared to other lanes ... a bit below what I would have liked, but its been a while since I've been bowling) before sitting down with Chuck Danielsson for an interview for my podcast. All-in-all a very enjoyable evening & I picked up a DC cap & duck while I was there. If there was any doubt as to whether I was part of a great community poker training site, the events at the WSOP have really confirmed that I made the right choice. Now I just need to find more time to improve my online game & make the most of the fantastic training videos Deuces Cracked have to offer.
Next on the agenda: UFC 116! Great card at the MGM!
The previous evening was the Deuces Cracked bowling night at the Gold Coast Casino. I played one game (scoring 117, which was poor for the lane I was in, but seemed like a decent score compared to other lanes ... a bit below what I would have liked, but its been a while since I've been bowling) before sitting down with Chuck Danielsson for an interview for my podcast. All-in-all a very enjoyable evening & I picked up a DC cap & duck while I was there. If there was any doubt as to whether I was part of a great community poker training site, the events at the WSOP have really confirmed that I made the right choice. Now I just need to find more time to improve my online game & make the most of the fantastic training videos Deuces Cracked have to offer.
Next on the agenda: UFC 116! Great card at the MGM!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
23rd in the H.O.R.S.E. at the World Series!
Yes, I managed to run good in a tournament for once! Not a bad tournament to find the run good in either ... the $1500 HORSE at the WSOP. 827 players entered & I managed to finish in 23rd place, taking home a little over $5200 (after the IRS/US Treasury took their cut) for my three days (well two days & about 20 minutes) at the tables.
I got off to a decent start, building my 4500 starting stack to 5500 by the first break & dropped slightly to 4800 at the dinner break. Post-dinner was horrible for me & I sunk to just 900 at the final break for the day & was pretty much ready to write the tournament off completely. I had a quick chat with Chuck & Joe of http://deucescracked.com who were at a table in the Poker Kitchen & told them of my plight - I almost told them to hold the seat for me because I would be back soon ... but didn't.
The first critical hand for me was the first back from the break. I have only 900 left & we're playing 400/800 Razz. Thankfully I have a 3 as my door card & there is only one other card below a 9 showing (one player has an ace). I look down & see 22 in the hole ... not exactly the A2 or A4 I was hoping for, but with only one other low card I decided that this was the hand ... make or break time! I complete the bet to 400 & the ace calls. Fourth street sees me catch a 6 & the ace catches a 9. I have the lead & bet my last 400 (though I don't make any indication that it is my last chips, nor do I announce that I am all-in) & my opponent insta-folds! Double-up for me! Of course I managed to go on a massive run & built my stack up to a high point of around 13k before losing a few pots just before the end of play to finish at 8900 for the day.
Day two saw me get off to a good start, with my initial table (with Jason Mercier) being the first to break. The second table was good for me, before moving again, where I settled in, stuck between Yuval Bronstein (on my right) & Brandon Cantu (on my left). I managed to keep my stack around the 20k mark for most of the day before winning a big (30k+) pot against Bronstein in Razz, where my 75 improved to a 65 on 7th street to beat out his 75 that he made on 7th street. That got me near the 50k mark, where I stayed for much of the middle part of the day. I picked up a few big pots later in the day which took me over the 100k mark & I was doing great until my table broke.
At the next table (where I remained for the rest of the day) I started well enough, but made a few mistakes (the biggest was thinking I was playing Stud8 when we were still on Stud Hi & I called down an opponent thinking I was drawing to a 6-low, only to make a pair of kings on the river & pay him off in a 15k+ pot) & lost some big hands (the biggest being a 3-way holdem hand where I had top 2 pair & was called down by a player who had flopped a flush draw & made it on the river, with the other player also staying in the hand until the river, for a 50k+ pot) before I found myself at critical hand #2.
By this stage I was getting short on chips (around 30k) & the limits were now 4k/8k. I was BB in the holdem round when it was folded to the button who raised. I called with J9o & saw a flop of AT9, giving me bottom pair. Although it was not an ideal flop, I did have a pair & the button would likely bet the flop trying to represent the ace. As expected, I checked, the button bet & I check-raised (the button was also very short & I only just had him covered), only for the button to respond with a 3-bet. Thinking positively (or perhaps over-optimistically), I surmised that although I was most likely behind now, there were a number of good turn cards that could come for me (I had the Jc to go with the 9c & Tc on the flop to give me a three-card straight flush draw), so I decided to call & see what came on the turn ... BINK! 9 on the turn! I bet both the turn & river (and was called down) & showed my winning J9o, much to the disgust of my opponent, who said he had AJ & I had caught a 2-outer. I guess you just have to run well to make it deep in these things after all!
Anyway, Al Barbieri (who went on to finish 2nd) joined the table late in the day & he managed to run like God (or at least a very fast Kenyan) & collected a large portion of chips on the table, making whatever hand he needed to to win the pot ... including a few from me & I was left with 52,500 at the end of the day.
Day 3 saw a tough table (though with only 3 tables, all were tough). I was seated between Robert Mizrachi (to my right) & defending champ James Van Alstyne (to my left), with overnight chip leader & eventual winner Konstantin Puchkov sitting to his left. The day started with Holdem & I didn't make it out of the round. With levels of 6k/12k I didn't have much room to move & had to find a way to get chips & get chips quickly! First hand of the day sees me pick up A6cc UTG+1 & I decide to raise, only to be 3-bet by Van Alstyne. I decide to call & see the flop before deciding if this is going to be the hand or not & see a not-so-friendly flop of KQ4 & I check-fold to Van Alstyne's bet. When I was BB it folded around to Robert Mizrachi, who raised. I looked down at KQo & 3-bet, knowing I was not folding, regardless of the flop. Thankfully the flop was KJ6 & what was left of my stack found its way into the middle, with Mizrachi tabling J8o for middle pair. He missed & I even managed to hit a queen on the river to make sure of the double-up & I was back to 50k. I then got involved in another hand when in the small blind! A late-position player raised & I looked down at A9ss & made it 3 bets. The raiser called & I bet both the flop & turn before check-calling on the river on a board of 742J3, to be shown 87 for flopped top pair ... and I was back to being the short stack once again! My final hand came when it was folded to me in the cutoff & I looked down at Q8 of diamonds. This would be it ... I raised & the big stack in the small blind asked how much I had behind (which is either a really bad or really good question to hear, depending on the response) & proceeded to re-raise (not the response I was looking for). I re-raised all-in & found out I was in horrible shape against his AQ of clubs. Of course the flop made my predicament worse, falling KQ7 with 2 clubs, meaning I had only 2 outs to survive. I missed my 8 & my opponent found the final nail on the river with a club & I left to get my payout in 23rd place.
Of course the taxman got a decent chunk of my prizemoney (why Australia & America don't have a tax treaty to avoid this situation is beyond me!), but I left with a little over $5200 for my efforts, which was quite a change from the day 1 bustout I was expecting!
Afterwards I went to Aria to play some $1/3NL (in the absence of any mixed or limit games running) & managed to find an awkward spot to lose my stack. I had $107 to start the hand & looked down at AA UTG & raised to $10 ... standard so far. Of course it then proceeded call, fold, call, call, call, etc around the table & there were 8 people to the flop!! Now I have some idea of how Barry Greenstein felt on High Stakes Poker! Anyway, the flop came down 9s8s5c ... not an ideal flop for aces (though I did have the ace of spades) when facing 7 opponents. My dilemma was made worse by the small blind, who lead out for $20, which the big blind called. What to do in this spot? I was really unsure & eventually decided to just call the $20. Everyone else at the table folded & we went to the turn to see the Jc. Again not an ideal card, but it was checked to me, so I put my remaining $77 in the middle ... and the SB went into the tank ... and eventually called. This then got the BB thinking ... but he eventually called as well! Looks like it was either a triple-up or bustout for me ... and then the river 9h appeared. Both players checked, so I was hopeful. The small blind turned over T5ss for bottom pair & a missed straight & flush draws. The BB turned over T9o, for three 9s (flopped top pair & missed straight draw), which was more than enough to beat out my aces up ... oh well ...
Tim Duckworth, from http://pokernews.com & http://www.tiltedbehaviour.com/ had dropped by earlier in the evening & asked about mixed games in Las Vegas & said he was going to try to get a $4/8 HORSE game going (if not already) at the Venetian. After the disappointment of having my aces cracked ... and a meal at Subway ... I headed for the Venetian & joined the HORSE game after a shortish wait & took a seat next to Tim. Also in the game was Heath Chick & some other PokerNews people & after roughly 6 hours at the table, the game broke, with a tick in the small win column for me.
Today I played a tournament at Caesars Palace ... a 'Turbo Double Stack' event, where you started with 30k in chips, with 20 minute levels. I started well, but eventually picked some bad spots to bet & raise before the blinds became enormous. Of course I was crippled when my 76 was run down on a 997 flop where the money got all-in, with my opponents J8o finding an 8 on the turn. I then took my final stand with AJo, only to run into A8 suited, who flopped top pair before I bricked out, to finish in around 100th place out of the 178 or so starters they had for the event. Although it wasn't horrible, I doubt I'll be back there for tournaments while I'm in town.
Next on the agenda: More cash games & some laundry ... oh fun!
I got off to a decent start, building my 4500 starting stack to 5500 by the first break & dropped slightly to 4800 at the dinner break. Post-dinner was horrible for me & I sunk to just 900 at the final break for the day & was pretty much ready to write the tournament off completely. I had a quick chat with Chuck & Joe of http://deucescracked.com who were at a table in the Poker Kitchen & told them of my plight - I almost told them to hold the seat for me because I would be back soon ... but didn't.
The first critical hand for me was the first back from the break. I have only 900 left & we're playing 400/800 Razz. Thankfully I have a 3 as my door card & there is only one other card below a 9 showing (one player has an ace). I look down & see 22 in the hole ... not exactly the A2 or A4 I was hoping for, but with only one other low card I decided that this was the hand ... make or break time! I complete the bet to 400 & the ace calls. Fourth street sees me catch a 6 & the ace catches a 9. I have the lead & bet my last 400 (though I don't make any indication that it is my last chips, nor do I announce that I am all-in) & my opponent insta-folds! Double-up for me! Of course I managed to go on a massive run & built my stack up to a high point of around 13k before losing a few pots just before the end of play to finish at 8900 for the day.
Day two saw me get off to a good start, with my initial table (with Jason Mercier) being the first to break. The second table was good for me, before moving again, where I settled in, stuck between Yuval Bronstein (on my right) & Brandon Cantu (on my left). I managed to keep my stack around the 20k mark for most of the day before winning a big (30k+) pot against Bronstein in Razz, where my 75 improved to a 65 on 7th street to beat out his 75 that he made on 7th street. That got me near the 50k mark, where I stayed for much of the middle part of the day. I picked up a few big pots later in the day which took me over the 100k mark & I was doing great until my table broke.
At the next table (where I remained for the rest of the day) I started well enough, but made a few mistakes (the biggest was thinking I was playing Stud8 when we were still on Stud Hi & I called down an opponent thinking I was drawing to a 6-low, only to make a pair of kings on the river & pay him off in a 15k+ pot) & lost some big hands (the biggest being a 3-way holdem hand where I had top 2 pair & was called down by a player who had flopped a flush draw & made it on the river, with the other player also staying in the hand until the river, for a 50k+ pot) before I found myself at critical hand #2.
By this stage I was getting short on chips (around 30k) & the limits were now 4k/8k. I was BB in the holdem round when it was folded to the button who raised. I called with J9o & saw a flop of AT9, giving me bottom pair. Although it was not an ideal flop, I did have a pair & the button would likely bet the flop trying to represent the ace. As expected, I checked, the button bet & I check-raised (the button was also very short & I only just had him covered), only for the button to respond with a 3-bet. Thinking positively (or perhaps over-optimistically), I surmised that although I was most likely behind now, there were a number of good turn cards that could come for me (I had the Jc to go with the 9c & Tc on the flop to give me a three-card straight flush draw), so I decided to call & see what came on the turn ... BINK! 9 on the turn! I bet both the turn & river (and was called down) & showed my winning J9o, much to the disgust of my opponent, who said he had AJ & I had caught a 2-outer. I guess you just have to run well to make it deep in these things after all!
Anyway, Al Barbieri (who went on to finish 2nd) joined the table late in the day & he managed to run like God (or at least a very fast Kenyan) & collected a large portion of chips on the table, making whatever hand he needed to to win the pot ... including a few from me & I was left with 52,500 at the end of the day.
Day 3 saw a tough table (though with only 3 tables, all were tough). I was seated between Robert Mizrachi (to my right) & defending champ James Van Alstyne (to my left), with overnight chip leader & eventual winner Konstantin Puchkov sitting to his left. The day started with Holdem & I didn't make it out of the round. With levels of 6k/12k I didn't have much room to move & had to find a way to get chips & get chips quickly! First hand of the day sees me pick up A6cc UTG+1 & I decide to raise, only to be 3-bet by Van Alstyne. I decide to call & see the flop before deciding if this is going to be the hand or not & see a not-so-friendly flop of KQ4 & I check-fold to Van Alstyne's bet. When I was BB it folded around to Robert Mizrachi, who raised. I looked down at KQo & 3-bet, knowing I was not folding, regardless of the flop. Thankfully the flop was KJ6 & what was left of my stack found its way into the middle, with Mizrachi tabling J8o for middle pair. He missed & I even managed to hit a queen on the river to make sure of the double-up & I was back to 50k. I then got involved in another hand when in the small blind! A late-position player raised & I looked down at A9ss & made it 3 bets. The raiser called & I bet both the flop & turn before check-calling on the river on a board of 742J3, to be shown 87 for flopped top pair ... and I was back to being the short stack once again! My final hand came when it was folded to me in the cutoff & I looked down at Q8 of diamonds. This would be it ... I raised & the big stack in the small blind asked how much I had behind (which is either a really bad or really good question to hear, depending on the response) & proceeded to re-raise (not the response I was looking for). I re-raised all-in & found out I was in horrible shape against his AQ of clubs. Of course the flop made my predicament worse, falling KQ7 with 2 clubs, meaning I had only 2 outs to survive. I missed my 8 & my opponent found the final nail on the river with a club & I left to get my payout in 23rd place.
Of course the taxman got a decent chunk of my prizemoney (why Australia & America don't have a tax treaty to avoid this situation is beyond me!), but I left with a little over $5200 for my efforts, which was quite a change from the day 1 bustout I was expecting!
Afterwards I went to Aria to play some $1/3NL (in the absence of any mixed or limit games running) & managed to find an awkward spot to lose my stack. I had $107 to start the hand & looked down at AA UTG & raised to $10 ... standard so far. Of course it then proceeded call, fold, call, call, call, etc around the table & there were 8 people to the flop!! Now I have some idea of how Barry Greenstein felt on High Stakes Poker! Anyway, the flop came down 9s8s5c ... not an ideal flop for aces (though I did have the ace of spades) when facing 7 opponents. My dilemma was made worse by the small blind, who lead out for $20, which the big blind called. What to do in this spot? I was really unsure & eventually decided to just call the $20. Everyone else at the table folded & we went to the turn to see the Jc. Again not an ideal card, but it was checked to me, so I put my remaining $77 in the middle ... and the SB went into the tank ... and eventually called. This then got the BB thinking ... but he eventually called as well! Looks like it was either a triple-up or bustout for me ... and then the river 9h appeared. Both players checked, so I was hopeful. The small blind turned over T5ss for bottom pair & a missed straight & flush draws. The BB turned over T9o, for three 9s (flopped top pair & missed straight draw), which was more than enough to beat out my aces up ... oh well ...
Tim Duckworth, from http://pokernews.com & http://www.tiltedbehaviour.com/ had dropped by earlier in the evening & asked about mixed games in Las Vegas & said he was going to try to get a $4/8 HORSE game going (if not already) at the Venetian. After the disappointment of having my aces cracked ... and a meal at Subway ... I headed for the Venetian & joined the HORSE game after a shortish wait & took a seat next to Tim. Also in the game was Heath Chick & some other PokerNews people & after roughly 6 hours at the table, the game broke, with a tick in the small win column for me.
Today I played a tournament at Caesars Palace ... a 'Turbo Double Stack' event, where you started with 30k in chips, with 20 minute levels. I started well, but eventually picked some bad spots to bet & raise before the blinds became enormous. Of course I was crippled when my 76 was run down on a 997 flop where the money got all-in, with my opponents J8o finding an 8 on the turn. I then took my final stand with AJo, only to run into A8 suited, who flopped top pair before I bricked out, to finish in around 100th place out of the 178 or so starters they had for the event. Although it wasn't horrible, I doubt I'll be back there for tournaments while I'm in town.
Next on the agenda: More cash games & some laundry ... oh fun!
Friday, June 4, 2010
USA Day ... later
Its official ... Wireless hotel internet is horrible!
The last few days have been horrible, with the dodgy internet connection I have here continually dropping in & out, creating great frustration.
On the poker front, its been a mixed bag. Tournaments have been frustrating, with a bubble finish in the nightly NLHE tourney at Aria the best of a bad lot. I've also managed to bust from another daily & nightly Aria tournament, as well as a NLHE tourney today at Binions. The personal highlight was when I raised to 300 UTG (50/100 blinds), with a call from UTG+1, then a min-re-raise to 500 from the SB. I called (I held TT), as did the UTG+1. The flop was 555 & when the SB checked, I bet 800, which the SB called. The turn brought a 6 & the SB lead fot 1000, which I called. The turn was the vomit-inducing 5, putting quads on the board. The SB lead for 2000 & I folded ... and he was kind enough to show how skillfully he played the hand with his AQo!
Cash games have been reasonable, with some wins & some losses, but nothing huge either way. Played an interesting game tonight at the Rio - a $10/20 draw mix, rotating between A-5 triple draw, 2-7 triple draw, Badugi & Baduci (or is it badeuci), with Omaha hi-lo being added to the mix towards the end. I picked up a tidy profit of 8 Big Bets. I'm starting to like these lowball draw games, though it could just be that some of the opposition is horrible. I'm almost tempted to try the $1500 2-7 triple draw tourney, but its unlikely unless I make a big score in the next few days.
Public transport is also frustrating here. The 'Deuce', the bus that runs up & down the Strip is typically overcrowded, particularly over the Memorial Day weekend, and is almost as slow as walking. Last time I was in Las Vegas I had a hire car & I'd be tempted to go for the hire car the next time I am in Vegas (assuming of course there IS a next time!) & possibly stay in an apartment off the strip (not needing to be so close 'to the action' if I have a car). Anyway, that's all in the future ... now its just about making some $$$ in either cash games or tournaments.
Next on the agenda: HORSE at Binions
The last few days have been horrible, with the dodgy internet connection I have here continually dropping in & out, creating great frustration.
On the poker front, its been a mixed bag. Tournaments have been frustrating, with a bubble finish in the nightly NLHE tourney at Aria the best of a bad lot. I've also managed to bust from another daily & nightly Aria tournament, as well as a NLHE tourney today at Binions. The personal highlight was when I raised to 300 UTG (50/100 blinds), with a call from UTG+1, then a min-re-raise to 500 from the SB. I called (I held TT), as did the UTG+1. The flop was 555 & when the SB checked, I bet 800, which the SB called. The turn brought a 6 & the SB lead fot 1000, which I called. The turn was the vomit-inducing 5, putting quads on the board. The SB lead for 2000 & I folded ... and he was kind enough to show how skillfully he played the hand with his AQo!
Cash games have been reasonable, with some wins & some losses, but nothing huge either way. Played an interesting game tonight at the Rio - a $10/20 draw mix, rotating between A-5 triple draw, 2-7 triple draw, Badugi & Baduci (or is it badeuci), with Omaha hi-lo being added to the mix towards the end. I picked up a tidy profit of 8 Big Bets. I'm starting to like these lowball draw games, though it could just be that some of the opposition is horrible. I'm almost tempted to try the $1500 2-7 triple draw tourney, but its unlikely unless I make a big score in the next few days.
Public transport is also frustrating here. The 'Deuce', the bus that runs up & down the Strip is typically overcrowded, particularly over the Memorial Day weekend, and is almost as slow as walking. Last time I was in Las Vegas I had a hire car & I'd be tempted to go for the hire car the next time I am in Vegas (assuming of course there IS a next time!) & possibly stay in an apartment off the strip (not needing to be so close 'to the action' if I have a car). Anyway, that's all in the future ... now its just about making some $$$ in either cash games or tournaments.
Next on the agenda: HORSE at Binions
Thursday, May 27, 2010
USA Day 22
In the money!
Officially 4th in the Omaha hi-lo at the Orleans, though the final 5 players made a deal, which saw me take home just over $4k. Not a bad start to my summer in Vegas! There were a few crazy moments, but I stayed out of the way of the action for the most part, though I did get bluffed out of a big hand when we were still at 2 tables. I picked up QQ52 (with two diamonds) in the SB & raised when it was folded to me. The BB (who had been playing fairly loose) called. The flop was JTT with two diamonds. I bet & the BB raised! I decided to call with my overpair & diamond draw, figuring that I might be in front, but even if I wasn't that I still had outs to improve (unless of course I had walked into a flopped full house). Of course the turn didn't help matter, bringing an offsuit ace, with the BB betting again & I called again. The river was another jack, for a final board of JTTAJ with no flush. I checked & my opponent bet (which put him all-in). The hands I could beat were bluffs & bluffs only. Any A, J or T has me crushed, KQ beats me (though unlikely when I have QQ myself) & the fact that he raised the flop & continued to bet when the ace came on the turn (a card I could conceivably hold when raising pre-flop) made me think I was beaten & I folded before too much damage could be done to my stack (it left me with about 130k with blinds at 10k/20k & levels of 20k/40k). Once the deal was made, he mentioned that that was the key hand for his tournament, and that he thought I knew I made a bad fold as soon as the hand was over.
After the tourney I headed over to the Hard Rock to get a ticket for Russell Peters' show later in the week, as well as to chek out the poker room over there. Got a decent seat for the Russell Peters show, but the poker room was dead, with only one $1/2NL table running. I picked up a cap & a magnet from the gift shop & headed back to the strip. Decided to hop on a ridiculously overcrowded Deuce to Downtown to check out Binions & the Golden Nugget, where I'll be playing some tourneys in the coming days & weeks. Both poker rooms were quiet & I was getting tired, so didn't hang around for too long before heading back to my hotel, where I seem to have now finally resolved the booking issues of the first few days.
Next on the agenda: Cash games tomorrow (Aria the likely location) & HORSE at the Orleans on Friday
Officially 4th in the Omaha hi-lo at the Orleans, though the final 5 players made a deal, which saw me take home just over $4k. Not a bad start to my summer in Vegas! There were a few crazy moments, but I stayed out of the way of the action for the most part, though I did get bluffed out of a big hand when we were still at 2 tables. I picked up QQ52 (with two diamonds) in the SB & raised when it was folded to me. The BB (who had been playing fairly loose) called. The flop was JTT with two diamonds. I bet & the BB raised! I decided to call with my overpair & diamond draw, figuring that I might be in front, but even if I wasn't that I still had outs to improve (unless of course I had walked into a flopped full house). Of course the turn didn't help matter, bringing an offsuit ace, with the BB betting again & I called again. The river was another jack, for a final board of JTTAJ with no flush. I checked & my opponent bet (which put him all-in). The hands I could beat were bluffs & bluffs only. Any A, J or T has me crushed, KQ beats me (though unlikely when I have QQ myself) & the fact that he raised the flop & continued to bet when the ace came on the turn (a card I could conceivably hold when raising pre-flop) made me think I was beaten & I folded before too much damage could be done to my stack (it left me with about 130k with blinds at 10k/20k & levels of 20k/40k). Once the deal was made, he mentioned that that was the key hand for his tournament, and that he thought I knew I made a bad fold as soon as the hand was over.
After the tourney I headed over to the Hard Rock to get a ticket for Russell Peters' show later in the week, as well as to chek out the poker room over there. Got a decent seat for the Russell Peters show, but the poker room was dead, with only one $1/2NL table running. I picked up a cap & a magnet from the gift shop & headed back to the strip. Decided to hop on a ridiculously overcrowded Deuce to Downtown to check out Binions & the Golden Nugget, where I'll be playing some tourneys in the coming days & weeks. Both poker rooms were quiet & I was getting tired, so didn't hang around for too long before heading back to my hotel, where I seem to have now finally resolved the booking issues of the first few days.
Next on the agenda: Cash games tomorrow (Aria the likely location) & HORSE at the Orleans on Friday
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
USA Day 20
VEGAS BABY!!!
Yes, I'm now in Las Vegas. Managed to get the perfect seat for the plane to Vegas - a small plane where I had the row being first/business class, where I could actually stretch my legs out straight & only barely touch the seat in front of me. Legroom on a plane ... who'd have thought?
Eventually sorted out my room, after discovering that my booking was cancelled! Always a good start ... but then it was off to do the essentials before hitting the poker tables.
The essentials: a meal at Earl of Sandwich & getting myself a ticket for UFC 116, which is in just over a month.
Poker started with $1/2NLHE at Mandalay Bay, where I managed to find myself on the wrong end of cooler hands on multiple occasions.
Top pair & nut flush draw v small flush = I miss; TT runs into JJ; TT runs into the old UTG limp-re-raise, so I fold & my opponent shows KK; 88 runs into AJo on a board that is 7-high until the river ... jack; and finally manage to run KK into AA for the bustout in style! Of course I knew the lady in the hand had a monster, just wasn't good enough to pick WHICH monster & after flatting pre-flop & on the T-high flop, I reluctantly got it in on the turn before finding out the bad news (yes, I knew from the start that is was QQ+, I just hoped it was the QQ end, not the AA end!).
After leaving Mandalay Bay I found myself ar Aria, which is one of the nicest looking poker rooms on the strip, and sat down in a $4/8 limit holdem game. The play was suitably horrible (plus I found some run-good) & I picked up a tidy profit before the mixed game I had put my name on the list for got started. Of course I was expecting some sort of standard HORSE-like mix (I had played HORSE once before at Aria on my previous visit to Las Vegas), though the floor staff had said it would be up to the players to decide the mix when I registered. By the time I had made it to the table, the mix had been decided & I was up for some learning on the job.
The mix was a five-game mix, rotating ever 8 hands & included Razz, Omaha hi-lo & stud hi-lo, which seems pretty standard. The final two games were 2-7 triple draw (so I would be playing my first live cash session of 2-7, though I had played it in tourneys & a little online previously) & Badeuci (which may or may not be spelt correctly). Badeuci is a split-pot game, with half the pot going to the best 2-7 low hand & the other half going to the best badugi hand (with Aces playing high for both games). Badugi hands are low, unpaired, rainbow cards (with the standard nuts being A234 rainbow). In Badeuci this changes, so the nutss are 23457, with the 2345 being of different suits. This gives you nut-nut, with the 2-7 wheel & the best badugi hand. Of course my knowledge of 2-7 comes almost entirely from the 'Triple the Gold' series on Deuces Cracked, as well as the short playing time in 8-game tourneys, while my badugi knowledge comes from a brief Full Tilt interview with Huck Seed & my badeuci knowledge comes from an interview with Deathdonkey, I think from Deuce Plays, with the key point I remembered being 'aim for a decent badugi & hope to back into a good 2-7 hand' as the way to play to try and scoop. Turned out to be an interesting game, with a number of the players being dealers from Vegas (or dealers in town for the various tourney series over summer), ranging from players who seemed pretty decent TAG-ish ones through to total maniacs. I left the game just after 4am after playing for about 5 hours, and only finished slightly down for the session (though still ahead overall from the Aria visit). Interesting game & one I would definitely go back for. Definitely puts the Aria much higher on my list of best poker rooms in Vegas.
Next: Omaha hi-lo at Orleans.
Yes, I'm now in Las Vegas. Managed to get the perfect seat for the plane to Vegas - a small plane where I had the row being first/business class, where I could actually stretch my legs out straight & only barely touch the seat in front of me. Legroom on a plane ... who'd have thought?
Eventually sorted out my room, after discovering that my booking was cancelled! Always a good start ... but then it was off to do the essentials before hitting the poker tables.
The essentials: a meal at Earl of Sandwich & getting myself a ticket for UFC 116, which is in just over a month.
Poker started with $1/2NLHE at Mandalay Bay, where I managed to find myself on the wrong end of cooler hands on multiple occasions.
Top pair & nut flush draw v small flush = I miss; TT runs into JJ; TT runs into the old UTG limp-re-raise, so I fold & my opponent shows KK; 88 runs into AJo on a board that is 7-high until the river ... jack; and finally manage to run KK into AA for the bustout in style! Of course I knew the lady in the hand had a monster, just wasn't good enough to pick WHICH monster & after flatting pre-flop & on the T-high flop, I reluctantly got it in on the turn before finding out the bad news (yes, I knew from the start that is was QQ+, I just hoped it was the QQ end, not the AA end!).
After leaving Mandalay Bay I found myself ar Aria, which is one of the nicest looking poker rooms on the strip, and sat down in a $4/8 limit holdem game. The play was suitably horrible (plus I found some run-good) & I picked up a tidy profit before the mixed game I had put my name on the list for got started. Of course I was expecting some sort of standard HORSE-like mix (I had played HORSE once before at Aria on my previous visit to Las Vegas), though the floor staff had said it would be up to the players to decide the mix when I registered. By the time I had made it to the table, the mix had been decided & I was up for some learning on the job.
The mix was a five-game mix, rotating ever 8 hands & included Razz, Omaha hi-lo & stud hi-lo, which seems pretty standard. The final two games were 2-7 triple draw (so I would be playing my first live cash session of 2-7, though I had played it in tourneys & a little online previously) & Badeuci (which may or may not be spelt correctly). Badeuci is a split-pot game, with half the pot going to the best 2-7 low hand & the other half going to the best badugi hand (with Aces playing high for both games). Badugi hands are low, unpaired, rainbow cards (with the standard nuts being A234 rainbow). In Badeuci this changes, so the nutss are 23457, with the 2345 being of different suits. This gives you nut-nut, with the 2-7 wheel & the best badugi hand. Of course my knowledge of 2-7 comes almost entirely from the 'Triple the Gold' series on Deuces Cracked, as well as the short playing time in 8-game tourneys, while my badugi knowledge comes from a brief Full Tilt interview with Huck Seed & my badeuci knowledge comes from an interview with Deathdonkey, I think from Deuce Plays, with the key point I remembered being 'aim for a decent badugi & hope to back into a good 2-7 hand' as the way to play to try and scoop. Turned out to be an interesting game, with a number of the players being dealers from Vegas (or dealers in town for the various tourney series over summer), ranging from players who seemed pretty decent TAG-ish ones through to total maniacs. I left the game just after 4am after playing for about 5 hours, and only finished slightly down for the session (though still ahead overall from the Aria visit). Interesting game & one I would definitely go back for. Definitely puts the Aria much higher on my list of best poker rooms in Vegas.
Next: Omaha hi-lo at Orleans.
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