To start the day I thought I'd make a return to the Gamblers Book Shop, primarily to get John Fox's book 'Play Poker, Quit Work & Sleep till noon' as I'd recently heard some good things about it, along with the fact that it seemed to be a rare book not available in many places. Of course to get there I had to catch two buses - the 202 down Flamingo, then the 110 on Eastern. Sounds fairly straightforward & it should have been. The issue was the transfer between buses - to get from the stop on Flamingo to the stop on Eastern, you need to walk 50 metres to the intersection, cross the road & then walk another 50 metres to the bus stop on Eastern. The first part was easy enough - got off the 202 & as I got to the intersection, I noticed the 110 at the opposite intersection waiting at a red light. Anyway, this means that I, along with the three or four others from the 202 who want to get on the 110, have to wait for the lights to change (and the bus to make it through the intersection to the bus stop) before we can cross the road. All seems to be going to plan - the bus stops & lets people off, the lights change & a group of us walk across the road ... and the bus waits at the stop. Fantastic! The driver has obviously seen that the other bus had just arrived & is waiting for those passengers to get to the 110. Anyway, as I am about 5 metres from the back of the bus (I've gone for the powerwalk option & lead the group fomr the 202) the engine is taken out of neutral ... no problem, I'm almost there. As I get to the middle of the bus it pulls out from the kerb & takes off! Talk about a slowroll! Not only do I get within literally 10 metres of the door, but I now have to wait another 20+ minutes for the next bus! So sick ....
Once I got to the bookshop I found the Fox book I was after & picked up a few other books while I was there, including the Doyle Brunson biography, which should be a good read if I ever get around to it. The return trip was relatively smooth, though I got withing 100 metres of the bus stop before the bus passed me, meaning I again had a 20 minute wait for the 110.
Rather than heading back to the strip, I took the 202 to the Rio, as I had a few mates who had made it through to day three who I wanted to check up on, as well as seeing what day 3 of the main event was like. Of course the two people I was looking for, Theos Rippis & Peter Aristidou, had both busted by the time I arrived, but it was good to see quite a few Aussies still in the hunt. Another disappointment of the day was the fact that the cash game area, which had been buzzing a week or so ago, was now almost dead, with barely 20 tables running ... and those tables were all no-limit holdem. So much for that idea!
After leaving the Rio, I dropped my shopping off in my room & headed to Caesars Palace for some poker (yes, I thought I'd try to fit some in). I found a seat in a $1/3 no-limit holdem game & won a few small pots before (as seems to be a habit) I had my huge pot for the evening. There were two limpers in front of me & I had AhQs on the button & raised to $15. Of course not only did the two limpers come along, but both blinds joined in making it five to the flop. The flop was Qh8h6d & it was checked to the cutoff who bet $40. I wasn't sure quite where I was in the hand, so decided to just call the $40. The blinds folded & the limper who was UTG+1 then made it $140 to go! The cutoff thought for a while before eventually folding. I had $37 left after the $100 raise & the guy who had put in the raise had made some strange plays earlier (including a call down with queen-high that beat his opponent's 8-high missed straight draw). I decided to put the rest of my stack in, hoping he just has a draw or a worse top pair rather than two pair or a set. The fact that he took more than half a second to call made me think I had a decent chance & when the board ran out Kh3s & I showed my hand & he mucked, so I took down a pot worth over $450 with one pair! I stayed for another 30 minutes or so, but was feeling tired, so left with a decent profit for the evening.
Next on the agenda: stuff ... will probably try to get another episode of the podcast done before I leave, though no guarentees. Maybe a tourist stop as well.
Showing posts with label Rio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rio. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Last Imperial Palace mixed game
As I am now into my last week in Las Vegas, last night's $3/6 mixed game at the Imperial Palace would be my last for this trip. This time there were two mixed game tables running & I seemed to be at the much friendlier of the two. It turned out to be a reasonable night financially, though not the marathon session of previous weeks. I finished with a small profit, but the table broke just before 1am (unlike the 9am finish the previous week) & as there were no seats on the other table I decided to call it a night.
Hand of the night for my was in A-5 hi-lo, which is a 5-card triple draw game, with the pot split between the best 5-card poker hand (high half) & best A-5 low (low half, though there is an 8-or-better qualifier for low). As with most split pot games, it seems like the best way to play the game is to aim for the low & hope to back into a high hand. Of course this is all good in theory, until you are dealt some sort of strong-ish high hand, when you hope to win the high hand with no-one making a qualifying low. This often leads to unusual split pots when heads-up, so that two players with decent lows end up chopping (eg: A2467 v A3568 is a chop, with the A7 winning low & A8 winning high).
Anyway, to my favourite hand of the night ... I am dealt 2d2h4d4c8s on the initial deal. I decide to call & draw one, keeping the 2244, looking to hit a 4-outer to fill up (two pair 4s-up is unlikely to win multi-way in this game). Of course I draw the 3d, so now have 22344 with three low diamonds. This gives me something of a dilemma ... the 2d3d4d now looks tempting to play as a potential scoop hand, but then I'm throwing away two pair ... ultimately I decide to go for glory & discard two (of course no-one at the table notices that I have gone from drawing one to drawing two) ... and I manage to draw like a champion! 5d8d! I now have an 8-high flush & an 85 low! Of course this is again an improvement, but not ideal. If someone makes a 7-low I am crushed for the low & an 8-high flush is most definitely beatable for high, so that half is far from locked up. Regardless, I decided to raise & stand pat with my 8-high flush & am pleased to see that the other three players in the hand are all still drawing. Of course it probably helped my cause that a few hands earlier I had stood pat with a weak low & wound up winning the high when the only hand that called on the river was a better low (see the explanation above). I bet after the last draw & was called by two others & showed my 8-high flush .... and scooped! Not a bad finish for the last mixed game session at the Imperial Palace. Definitely a game I would recommend people playing if they are in town & looking for a fun game to play on a Sunday night.
Next on the agenda: More poker, back to the Rio to rail the main event ... and thoughts of packing & how to fit everything into my bags!
Hand of the night for my was in A-5 hi-lo, which is a 5-card triple draw game, with the pot split between the best 5-card poker hand (high half) & best A-5 low (low half, though there is an 8-or-better qualifier for low). As with most split pot games, it seems like the best way to play the game is to aim for the low & hope to back into a high hand. Of course this is all good in theory, until you are dealt some sort of strong-ish high hand, when you hope to win the high hand with no-one making a qualifying low. This often leads to unusual split pots when heads-up, so that two players with decent lows end up chopping (eg: A2467 v A3568 is a chop, with the A7 winning low & A8 winning high).
Anyway, to my favourite hand of the night ... I am dealt 2d2h4d4c8s on the initial deal. I decide to call & draw one, keeping the 2244, looking to hit a 4-outer to fill up (two pair 4s-up is unlikely to win multi-way in this game). Of course I draw the 3d, so now have 22344 with three low diamonds. This gives me something of a dilemma ... the 2d3d4d now looks tempting to play as a potential scoop hand, but then I'm throwing away two pair ... ultimately I decide to go for glory & discard two (of course no-one at the table notices that I have gone from drawing one to drawing two) ... and I manage to draw like a champion! 5d8d! I now have an 8-high flush & an 85 low! Of course this is again an improvement, but not ideal. If someone makes a 7-low I am crushed for the low & an 8-high flush is most definitely beatable for high, so that half is far from locked up. Regardless, I decided to raise & stand pat with my 8-high flush & am pleased to see that the other three players in the hand are all still drawing. Of course it probably helped my cause that a few hands earlier I had stood pat with a weak low & wound up winning the high when the only hand that called on the river was a better low (see the explanation above). I bet after the last draw & was called by two others & showed my 8-high flush .... and scooped! Not a bad finish for the last mixed game session at the Imperial Palace. Definitely a game I would recommend people playing if they are in town & looking for a fun game to play on a Sunday night.
Next on the agenda: More poker, back to the Rio to rail the main event ... and thoughts of packing & how to fit everything into my bags!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Time at the Rio & crushing small stakes
I spent some time at the Rio checking out day 1C of the main event. Took a few photos of some Aussies & had a brief chat with Brian Devonshire of PokerRoad before being kicked out of the hall (as all spectators were) just before the end of play for the night. Devo (as he is known on PokerRoad) seems like a really nice guy, very down-to-earth & willing to interact with fans of the show. Good to see some of the Aussies doing well at the Rio as well.
The following day I went to the Riviera again, only to find a deserted poker room (the quest for the elusive poker session & $1 chip there continues), so I decided to venture off the strip for some poker. I caught a bus to Palace Station casino, which is a short distance west of the Strip. They had two games going - $4/8 & $2/4 limit holdem. The 2/4 game was the only one with a seat, so I sat & proceeded to run fantastically after a slow start (which included getting aces cracked by 42 suited). Of course I managed to get aces another three times in the two hours I was there (and they held each time) & my big hands held up when there were only a few people to the flop. I also decided not to get carried away in multi-way pots, so would often just call with biggish hands in late position & fold if I missed the flop. All-in-all not a bad effort, finishing $100 to the good in only two hours.
Next on the agenda: The elusive session at the Riviera, some time at the Rio & more cash games
The following day I went to the Riviera again, only to find a deserted poker room (the quest for the elusive poker session & $1 chip there continues), so I decided to venture off the strip for some poker. I caught a bus to Palace Station casino, which is a short distance west of the Strip. They had two games going - $4/8 & $2/4 limit holdem. The 2/4 game was the only one with a seat, so I sat & proceeded to run fantastically after a slow start (which included getting aces cracked by 42 suited). Of course I managed to get aces another three times in the two hours I was there (and they held each time) & my big hands held up when there were only a few people to the flop. I also decided not to get carried away in multi-way pots, so would often just call with biggish hands in late position & fold if I missed the flop. All-in-all not a bad effort, finishing $100 to the good in only two hours.
Next on the agenda: The elusive session at the Riviera, some time at the Rio & more cash games
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Rough day at the tables & some history
After yesterday's good run at Planet Hollywood I decided to play a Venetian tournament. A big field (think it ended up being 649) filled the tables surrounding the poker room that have been set up for the Deepstack Series. I got off to a great start, with a dubioud play working out and putting a player on tilt at the same time! Blinds were 50/100 & it folded to the cutoff who raised to 300. I had A3dd on the button & made the call, as did the big blind. The flop came down T42 with one diamond & the cutoff bet 600. I called, deciding to peel with the gutshot while I had chips (starting stack was 12k) & could make such plays & the BB called as well. All fairly standard so far. The turn brought the Kd, giving me a flush draw as well. The cutoff bet 1100 this time & I called again, only to see the big blind raise to 4100. The cutoff quickly folded & I thought about the bet. I knew my ace-high was behind, but with at least 10 clean outs (any 5 or a diamond that doesn't pair the board) & as many as 15 (diamonds that pair the board or an ace might win me the pot, but I thought it was unlikely), combined with the 8450 already in the pot (with 3000 more to call), I decided to gamble a bit & make the call. The river was a magic card for me, the 5d & the big blind almost instantly moved all-in! I called instantly & showed my Ad3d & this sent the big blind into a spin as he dejectedly showed his TT for flopped top set. This began something of a tirade from the player 'you called with a gutshot!'; 'were you hoping to hit an ace?'; 'you know a diamond that paired the board was no good!'; 'you really called 3000 more on the turn!' ... which I ignored, though there was another player at the table who decided to give the simple explanation for me ... he flopped a gutshot, turned a flush draw & got there. Conveniently for me a level or so later the same player gave me the rest of his chips when I raised with QQ & he moved all-in almost immediately. I called & my hand held up against his A3o. An excellent start to be over 25k at the first break. Of course shortly after the break (where I picked up my 'free' souvenir card protector - it was either that, a t-shirt [only small sizes left], a cap or a $10 food voucher) I was moved to a new table where there were a few stacks bigger than mine. Of course I lost some chips early at this new table, but reovered them when I picked up AK in back-to-back hands. I stayed around the 20-25k mark until I found a way to get rid of them all in one hand. 200/400/50 & I raised to 2200 in the cutoff, after two limpers, with 87 of clubs. The small blind called & we saw a flop of KcQs6c so I have a flush draw & the betting lead against an opponent who has me covered (he recently doubled up against a tight old lady who had been moved to the table when his 96 flopped 2 pair against her QQ & held up). I lead on the flop for 3300 & my opponent called. The turn brought the blank 2d & I bet 5000 after it checked to me again. My opponent quickly put the rest of his 5k chips in the middle, effectively putting me all-in. I thought about it for a while & eventually decided to put my remaining 10k at risk in an attempt to win the 33k+ that was in the middle. The river paired the king (meaning it wasn't a club) & my opponent's AQo won the pot & I left the Venetian.
I decided to head to the Luxor to see the Titanic exhibition that is on there. Of course there are ways to get more money from tourists, so they price a single exhibit at $27 & offer a 3-exhibit pass for $54, so I picked up tickets to Bodies (also at Luxor) & CSI (at MGM) while I was there. The exhibit itself was very interesting, with a number of artefacts & recreated areas of the ship on display. The big draw of the Luxor exhibit (which is a 10-year exhibit, unlike many of the shorter temporary displays like the one on in Melbourne at the moment) was the creatively titled 'Big Piece', which is a section of the side of the boat which is roughly 5mx2m in size. Also of interest was one of the passengers on board, a journalist named William Thomas Stead. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, primarily the W.T. Stead resource site, I discovered that Mr Stead introduced the interview to journalism in the mid 1880 & was also credited with creating the Titanic mummy curse myth. Sounds like an interesting character!
After the exhibition I decided to head to the Rio, looking to either play some satellites for the $2500 8-game tournament, or play some cash mixed games. The satellites were somewhat disorganised (as they often seem to be) & although I put my name on the list for an 8-game satellite, I took a seat at a $20/40 mixed game before the satellite was called. The mix was 2-7 triple draw, razz, Stud hi-lo, Baduci (2-7/bagudi split) & Badaci (A-5/badugi split) ... interestingly without badugi, as it apparently 'played too slowly' (which makes no sense at all ... but the mix was set before I arrived). Anyway, I proceeded to run horrendously, with the exception of one baduci hand where I was dealt 76432 with a 64 badugi on the initial deal & was called down to the last draw by two players after I made it four bets pre-draw, with one player calling on the end to see the bad (for him) news. Of course I managed to have the unique honour of the night of being quartered in badaci, with my 7642A with 642A badugi being up against 6542A with a 642A badugi, in what was the only quartering while I was at the table. The run good (of my opponents) saw me leave with a lighter wallet & crushed my hopes of playing the 8-game event at the WSOP.
Next on the agenda: being a tourist in Las Vegas & finding some run good in cash games ... and a break from tournaments for a few days.
I decided to head to the Luxor to see the Titanic exhibition that is on there. Of course there are ways to get more money from tourists, so they price a single exhibit at $27 & offer a 3-exhibit pass for $54, so I picked up tickets to Bodies (also at Luxor) & CSI (at MGM) while I was there. The exhibit itself was very interesting, with a number of artefacts & recreated areas of the ship on display. The big draw of the Luxor exhibit (which is a 10-year exhibit, unlike many of the shorter temporary displays like the one on in Melbourne at the moment) was the creatively titled 'Big Piece', which is a section of the side of the boat which is roughly 5mx2m in size. Also of interest was one of the passengers on board, a journalist named William Thomas Stead. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, primarily the W.T. Stead resource site, I discovered that Mr Stead introduced the interview to journalism in the mid 1880 & was also credited with creating the Titanic mummy curse myth. Sounds like an interesting character!
After the exhibition I decided to head to the Rio, looking to either play some satellites for the $2500 8-game tournament, or play some cash mixed games. The satellites were somewhat disorganised (as they often seem to be) & although I put my name on the list for an 8-game satellite, I took a seat at a $20/40 mixed game before the satellite was called. The mix was 2-7 triple draw, razz, Stud hi-lo, Baduci (2-7/bagudi split) & Badaci (A-5/badugi split) ... interestingly without badugi, as it apparently 'played too slowly' (which makes no sense at all ... but the mix was set before I arrived). Anyway, I proceeded to run horrendously, with the exception of one baduci hand where I was dealt 76432 with a 64 badugi on the initial deal & was called down to the last draw by two players after I made it four bets pre-draw, with one player calling on the end to see the bad (for him) news. Of course I managed to have the unique honour of the night of being quartered in badaci, with my 7642A with 642A badugi being up against 6542A with a 642A badugi, in what was the only quartering while I was at the table. The run good (of my opponents) saw me leave with a lighter wallet & crushed my hopes of playing the 8-game event at the WSOP.
Next on the agenda: being a tourist in Las Vegas & finding some run good in cash games ... and a break from tournaments for a few days.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
New Logo! Oh ... and some poker
The Donkcast now has a logo! Many thanks go to a former student of mine, Diarmaid Murray, who decided to spend some time with photoshop ... and the results are at the top of the page! Hope you like it.
I should also give a plug for Diarmaid's blog while I'm singing his praises http://anydaytuesday.wordpress.com/
In other news I played the 1pm deepstack tournament at the Rio today, ran horribly and busted early (yes, I was out before the first break). Of course I ran TT into AA on a 7-high board; rivered trips into a rivered flush; AK into AK to chop; and finally lost a race when my TT could not hold up against the might that is AK.
With that over I decided to head to the WSOP shop & picked up some gear (a hoodie, t-shirt, cap & magnet) before heading to the cash tables. I began with some limit holdem. Of course I continued the trend from the tournament, with players finding ways to beat whatever hand I had. Of course it would feel much worse because they would raise & bet with their draws, which inevitably got there on the river ... yet when I tried the same I simply got called down & missed, tabling the 'queen-high, I missed' or similar on the end, only to see the pot being shipped elsewhere.
I thought it was a good thing to be called for my HORSE table, however a combination of having similar things happen there, combined with some poor play on my part meant that I left the Rio tired & with a lighter wallet than I had arrived with. Of course mentally I keep telling myself to avoid problem spots, yet somehow I still keep finding myself in them after not following my own advice. T865 with a suit in Omaha hi-lo ... yes its been raised in front of me, but there are two callers & I'm in the big blind ... so rather than making the simple play & folding the hand like I should, I find the evil voice putting thoughts like 'well I am getting 7-to-1'; 'what if I flop a straight & it holds'; 'a ten-high flush might scoop a big pot' and the like, so I play the hand, wind up with some kind of dodgy draw (or even worse a dodgy combo draw), which either misses, or worse still, gets there & is no good ... and the chips I work hard for at other times seem to disappear twice as fast! Such is the dilemma of the poker player ...
**Correction** In yesterday's blog I said that I went to the Gamblers Book Shop, when in fact I went to the Gamblers General Store ... yes the first place does exist (and I might make a trip there some day), but it wasn't the place I went to.
Next on the agenda: Something relaxing (considering the Titanic Artifacts exhibition at the Luxor) or another bookshop trip, with some poker mixed in before another Deuces Cracked meet-up, this time at O'Sheas
I should also give a plug for Diarmaid's blog while I'm singing his praises http://anydaytuesday.wordpress.com/
In other news I played the 1pm deepstack tournament at the Rio today, ran horribly and busted early (yes, I was out before the first break). Of course I ran TT into AA on a 7-high board; rivered trips into a rivered flush; AK into AK to chop; and finally lost a race when my TT could not hold up against the might that is AK.
With that over I decided to head to the WSOP shop & picked up some gear (a hoodie, t-shirt, cap & magnet) before heading to the cash tables. I began with some limit holdem. Of course I continued the trend from the tournament, with players finding ways to beat whatever hand I had. Of course it would feel much worse because they would raise & bet with their draws, which inevitably got there on the river ... yet when I tried the same I simply got called down & missed, tabling the 'queen-high, I missed' or similar on the end, only to see the pot being shipped elsewhere.
I thought it was a good thing to be called for my HORSE table, however a combination of having similar things happen there, combined with some poor play on my part meant that I left the Rio tired & with a lighter wallet than I had arrived with. Of course mentally I keep telling myself to avoid problem spots, yet somehow I still keep finding myself in them after not following my own advice. T865 with a suit in Omaha hi-lo ... yes its been raised in front of me, but there are two callers & I'm in the big blind ... so rather than making the simple play & folding the hand like I should, I find the evil voice putting thoughts like 'well I am getting 7-to-1'; 'what if I flop a straight & it holds'; 'a ten-high flush might scoop a big pot' and the like, so I play the hand, wind up with some kind of dodgy draw (or even worse a dodgy combo draw), which either misses, or worse still, gets there & is no good ... and the chips I work hard for at other times seem to disappear twice as fast! Such is the dilemma of the poker player ...
**Correction** In yesterday's blog I said that I went to the Gamblers Book Shop, when in fact I went to the Gamblers General Store ... yes the first place does exist (and I might make a trip there some day), but it wasn't the place I went to.
Next on the agenda: Something relaxing (considering the Titanic Artifacts exhibition at the Luxor) or another bookshop trip, with some poker mixed in before another Deuces Cracked meet-up, this time at O'Sheas
Books & Limit Holdem
Today was a relatively quiet day. Caught up with Theos Rippis, a mate from my chess days in Sydney who has also become something of a poker player (he cashed in a $1500 NLHE at the 2008 WSOP) & spent some time at the Gamblers Book Shop. I picked up two books, the new David Sklansky essay-based book 'DUCY?' & 'Tales of Old Las Vegas' by Sam O'Connor, which I'm hoping can compare to 'When the Mob Ran Vegas' by Steve Fischer, which I picked up on my last trip to Las Vegas. When the Mob Ran Las Vegas covered for the most part Las Vegas in the 1950s & 60s & explained the growth of Las Vegas, from a desert into a thriving tourist destination. It was surprising to learn about the mob connections (from multiple parts of America) to many of the casinos in Las Vegas (including places like Caesars Palace & the Riviera) & interesting to discover some of the people & personalities of Las Vegas in those days. Another interesting part of Las Vegas of the 50s & 60s was the mob-enforced principle that no murders were to happen in Las Vegas, because it was not good for tourists & tourism, so any hits that were arranged by the mob were conducted outside Las Vegas. Really makes you wonder why some people who were on the hit list ever left Vegas ... but they did ... and often never returned.
Turning to poker, I played a session of $10/20 limit Holdem at the Rio. Nothing too eventful, though I did manage to run into runner-runner quads, with my AJ being no match for QQ on a A22QQ board. Also managed to repeat my trick from the other night, binking a set on the river on a board of AT83Q after getting four callers on the flop, checking the turn (I was the button) & getting in a raise on the river against a guy who I assume held AT by his reaction. I also had my name down for a mixed game, but was already at the limit table by the time I was called & was feeling tired, so just left the Rio when I got up from the holdem table, rather than taking a (now open) seat in the 415/30 mixed game.
It was also good to see another familiar face at the Rio, with Peter Aristidou playing a $2/5 NLHE game. I had a talk with him at the table while waiting for my name to be called. Peter played the Razz event earlier in the day & said he got nothing going & was out early. He was impressed with the Venetian (where he is staying with 'Carwash' George Cotaidas) & staggered at the standard serving size of meals over here, though he is missing good coffee! Although I didn't mention it, Peter would be a great interview of the podcast ... might see what I can do on that front.
Next on the agenda: Probably looking to play the 1pm Deepstack event at the Rio, with the backups options being cash games at the Rio, or the Pokerati/Deuces Cracked night at the Hard Rock Casino, which features a $1/2 PLO/NLHE mix
Turning to poker, I played a session of $10/20 limit Holdem at the Rio. Nothing too eventful, though I did manage to run into runner-runner quads, with my AJ being no match for QQ on a A22QQ board. Also managed to repeat my trick from the other night, binking a set on the river on a board of AT83Q after getting four callers on the flop, checking the turn (I was the button) & getting in a raise on the river against a guy who I assume held AT by his reaction. I also had my name down for a mixed game, but was already at the limit table by the time I was called & was feeling tired, so just left the Rio when I got up from the holdem table, rather than taking a (now open) seat in the 415/30 mixed game.
It was also good to see another familiar face at the Rio, with Peter Aristidou playing a $2/5 NLHE game. I had a talk with him at the table while waiting for my name to be called. Peter played the Razz event earlier in the day & said he got nothing going & was out early. He was impressed with the Venetian (where he is staying with 'Carwash' George Cotaidas) & staggered at the standard serving size of meals over here, though he is missing good coffee! Although I didn't mention it, Peter would be a great interview of the podcast ... might see what I can do on that front.
Next on the agenda: Probably looking to play the 1pm Deepstack event at the Rio, with the backups options being cash games at the Rio, or the Pokerati/Deuces Cracked night at the Hard Rock Casino, which features a $1/2 PLO/NLHE mix
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Back on the HORSE
Played another HORSE tournament, this time at the Golden Nugget. Had a table that was good in some ways & bad in others. Good because many players were horrible; bad because of the attitude, things done at the table & time taken to play out hands.
Personally, I didn't get much going & busted just before the dinner break, largely due to a big Stud8 hand where one of my opponents couldn't fold & caught up on 6th or 7th street. There is a short stack (showing a 7) at the table who completes after a limper (showing an A). There is a caller (showing an 8) & I raise (showing a J, with AA in the hole). The limper called, the short stack moves all in for half a bet more (1500 total playing 600/1200), the caller asks if I have the option to raise & folds when he is told that I can, so I re-raise & the limp/caller calls again. To make a long story short, my board ends up (AA)JK9T(5), with the short stack eventually making a 7-high straight (which scooped the main pot) & the other player in the hand (who called bets on every street except 7th) finished with a board of A29Q & showed AKT in the hole, to win the side with aces with KQ kickers! Yes, he called me down & caught his magic card on 6th or 7th ... which of course left me crippled.
To make matters worse, he'd taken quite a bit of time to call on each street (yes, even calling the re-raise on 3rd!) ... and then proceeded to call the clock on another player in the very next hand when he took more than 5 seconds to think about a decision on 5th street! And people thought Tiffany Michelle was bad for calling the clock in the Main Event a few years back ...
Of course to complete the day, I managed to get all-in pre-flop in holdem with Q9o & saw a final board of 4QQ9T, with one player betting all the way & being called down to the river ... only to see him turn over Q9 as well (so I only got half of the main pot!) & then finally went out with 56 suited, which flopped a straight & flush draw, but missed everything & I was playing the board by the river!
After that wonderful performance I headed to the Rio to see if they had any mixed games going. I put my name on a few lists, then went to have a look at the tournaments that were running. When I returned to the cash game area it was only a short wait before I got a seat in a $10/20 Omaha8 game & proceeded to run horribly before being called for $10/20 HORSE. I topped up my stack at the HORSE table & when it finally got going (lots of people walked past while there were three of us at the table waiting for players to start ... they checked the mix, looked at the table & walked off, often never to return) I managed to make up for both the earlier Omaha8 session, as well as re-couping my buy-in from the afternoon's tournament at the Golden Nugget. All-in-all, not a bad day.
Next on the agenda: Catching up with Theos Rippis, a mate of mine from my chess days in Sydney who I have not seen for years, who arrived yesterday ... and more poker!
Personally, I didn't get much going & busted just before the dinner break, largely due to a big Stud8 hand where one of my opponents couldn't fold & caught up on 6th or 7th street. There is a short stack (showing a 7) at the table who completes after a limper (showing an A). There is a caller (showing an 8) & I raise (showing a J, with AA in the hole). The limper called, the short stack moves all in for half a bet more (1500 total playing 600/1200), the caller asks if I have the option to raise & folds when he is told that I can, so I re-raise & the limp/caller calls again. To make a long story short, my board ends up (AA)JK9T(5), with the short stack eventually making a 7-high straight (which scooped the main pot) & the other player in the hand (who called bets on every street except 7th) finished with a board of A29Q & showed AKT in the hole, to win the side with aces with KQ kickers! Yes, he called me down & caught his magic card on 6th or 7th ... which of course left me crippled.
To make matters worse, he'd taken quite a bit of time to call on each street (yes, even calling the re-raise on 3rd!) ... and then proceeded to call the clock on another player in the very next hand when he took more than 5 seconds to think about a decision on 5th street! And people thought Tiffany Michelle was bad for calling the clock in the Main Event a few years back ...
Of course to complete the day, I managed to get all-in pre-flop in holdem with Q9o & saw a final board of 4QQ9T, with one player betting all the way & being called down to the river ... only to see him turn over Q9 as well (so I only got half of the main pot!) & then finally went out with 56 suited, which flopped a straight & flush draw, but missed everything & I was playing the board by the river!
After that wonderful performance I headed to the Rio to see if they had any mixed games going. I put my name on a few lists, then went to have a look at the tournaments that were running. When I returned to the cash game area it was only a short wait before I got a seat in a $10/20 Omaha8 game & proceeded to run horribly before being called for $10/20 HORSE. I topped up my stack at the HORSE table & when it finally got going (lots of people walked past while there were three of us at the table waiting for players to start ... they checked the mix, looked at the table & walked off, often never to return) I managed to make up for both the earlier Omaha8 session, as well as re-couping my buy-in from the afternoon's tournament at the Golden Nugget. All-in-all, not a bad day.
Next on the agenda: Catching up with Theos Rippis, a mate of mine from my chess days in Sydney who I have not seen for years, who arrived yesterday ... and more poker!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Some run good in cash!
Played some cash games yesterday. I started at the Rio, playing $10/20 limit holdem. Of course the easy way to make money at limit holdem is to run good & that's exactly what I did. Top pair, middle set, etc. The best of the lot was when a player raised from early position, there was a call from the cutoff & I called in the big blind with 99. The flop came down T54 & I checked, the pre-flop raiser bet, the cutoff called & I decided to peel one off. My 9s might be in front, but I couldn't really be sure. Of course the turn made it easy for me ... BINK ... 9! I lead into the pot on the turn & the pre-flop raiser made it two bets, the cutoff folded & i made it three bets. The pre-flop raiser called & called my bet on the end & after I showed my 99, turned over AT in disgust. While at the Rio I also had a look at some of the tournaments running at the time ... quite a few pros still in lots of events.
I then decided to go to the Hard Rock to see what was going on there on Sunday night, in particular hoping to play a mixed game, which apparently happen there from time to time. There is also the Pokernews game there on Wednesday nights, which includes the Pokerati $1/2 NLH/PLO game. Of course there was nothing but $1/2 NLH running, so I sat down for a while. The run good continued, with the big double-up plus hand coming in a limped pot. I had AJo in the small blind & saw a flop of JT7. The plan was to check-raise the flop to try & build a pot & get it heads-up, so I checked ... it was checked around to the cutoff, who bet $12. The button then raised to $24. I wasn't so pleased with my top pair, top kicker, thinking there was a chance I was up against two pair or better, however I could also still have the best hand, so I just called. To make matters worse, the drunk guy who was playing any two (and hitting from time to time) then re-raised to $48! The initial bettor folded & the button called, so I also called. The turn was another Jack, which was either a great card for me (because I was now in front) or a horrible card for me (as I was still behind a straight or full house, but now could not fold). I checked again, knowing that I couldn't fold my remaining stack (just under $100) & the crunk guy moved all-in for around $150. This got the button to fold, though he did take some time & show his cards to players nearby at his end of the table, which made me think he had bottom two pair that had now been counterfeited. I called & the dealer put out the river ... another jack! Runner-runner quads! Not a bad hand. I showed my AJ & the $350+ pot came my way. I stayed a little longer & left with a reasonable profit ... not a bad day in the office for a change!
Next on the agenda: Back to tournaments downtown. Probably HORSE at the Golden Nugget, but maybe PLO8 at Binions.
I then decided to go to the Hard Rock to see what was going on there on Sunday night, in particular hoping to play a mixed game, which apparently happen there from time to time. There is also the Pokernews game there on Wednesday nights, which includes the Pokerati $1/2 NLH/PLO game. Of course there was nothing but $1/2 NLH running, so I sat down for a while. The run good continued, with the big double-up plus hand coming in a limped pot. I had AJo in the small blind & saw a flop of JT7. The plan was to check-raise the flop to try & build a pot & get it heads-up, so I checked ... it was checked around to the cutoff, who bet $12. The button then raised to $24. I wasn't so pleased with my top pair, top kicker, thinking there was a chance I was up against two pair or better, however I could also still have the best hand, so I just called. To make matters worse, the drunk guy who was playing any two (and hitting from time to time) then re-raised to $48! The initial bettor folded & the button called, so I also called. The turn was another Jack, which was either a great card for me (because I was now in front) or a horrible card for me (as I was still behind a straight or full house, but now could not fold). I checked again, knowing that I couldn't fold my remaining stack (just under $100) & the crunk guy moved all-in for around $150. This got the button to fold, though he did take some time & show his cards to players nearby at his end of the table, which made me think he had bottom two pair that had now been counterfeited. I called & the dealer put out the river ... another jack! Runner-runner quads! Not a bad hand. I showed my AJ & the $350+ pot came my way. I stayed a little longer & left with a reasonable profit ... not a bad day in the office for a change!
Next on the agenda: Back to tournaments downtown. Probably HORSE at the Golden Nugget, but maybe PLO8 at Binions.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Running bad, folding aces & making a profit
Decided to go to the Rio today to play the $200 1pm daily deepstack event they have there. It looks like it has a pretty decent structure, 30 minute levels, 15k start stack & the fields are growing by the day. There were 431 today, with the top 45 being paid. Of course I did my usual trick in tournaments & ran horribly. I ran top pair into aces, top pair (as pre-flop raiser) into top two pair & eventually got my money in pre-flop with KJ suited against 67o. The flop came down KQ2 rainbow, which you would think was a safe flop, but of course my opponent found running 6s to send me out. Standard!
I then went to the cash section & played some $1/3NL (the $10/20 mixed game that I would have preferred was not running). Things were going well, until of course I ran JJ into AA. The player with AA had limp-called pre-flop & check-raised the 952 flop, bet the T turn & checked the Q river ... and of course check-called my river bet! This meant I had to start over again (with half the stack) & it went well for the most part. There was one hand where I made what some people might consider to be a big fold ... 2 limpers in front of my & I raise to $12 in the hijack with AA. I get called by the big blind only. We are both about $450 or so deep (150BBs). Flop comes 976 rainbow & she leads for $20. I raise to $45 & she 3-bets it to $105 total. She seemed to be playing reasonably solid without getting out of line much at all, so I simply dumped the hand, figuring I was probably behind ... and even if I wasn't there weren't too many turn cards that I would be overjoyed with (with the possible exception of an Ace, though even then I'm still behind T* for the flopped straight). Eventually I left with a little over 100BBs in profit, so not a bad day at the 'office', in spite of the horrible tournament run continuing.
Next on the agenda: Back to the Rio ... cash games & possibly a satellite for the HORSE
I then went to the cash section & played some $1/3NL (the $10/20 mixed game that I would have preferred was not running). Things were going well, until of course I ran JJ into AA. The player with AA had limp-called pre-flop & check-raised the 952 flop, bet the T turn & checked the Q river ... and of course check-called my river bet! This meant I had to start over again (with half the stack) & it went well for the most part. There was one hand where I made what some people might consider to be a big fold ... 2 limpers in front of my & I raise to $12 in the hijack with AA. I get called by the big blind only. We are both about $450 or so deep (150BBs). Flop comes 976 rainbow & she leads for $20. I raise to $45 & she 3-bets it to $105 total. She seemed to be playing reasonably solid without getting out of line much at all, so I simply dumped the hand, figuring I was probably behind ... and even if I wasn't there weren't too many turn cards that I would be overjoyed with (with the possible exception of an Ace, though even then I'm still behind T* for the flopped straight). Eventually I left with a little over 100BBs in profit, so not a bad day at the 'office', in spite of the horrible tournament run continuing.
Next on the agenda: Back to the Rio ... cash games & possibly a satellite for the HORSE
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
USA - Mixed games at the Rio
An evening at the Rio ...
Mixed games were the order for the evening at the Rio. Tonight it was a $10/20 mix, which rotated between Badugi, Baduci, Omaha hi-lo, Stud hi-lo & 2-7 Triple Draw. After a poor start I managed to play a bit better & run reasonably well, managing to finish the night with a reasonable profit. Also at the table was Lisa Parsons (one of the last women to be eliminated in the 2008 WSOP Main Event), who was obviously playing some of the draw games for the first time.
While there I said hi to Joe Tall & Rob Cole of Deuces Cracked & saw quite a few pros in the cash game room. Looks like Chinese Poker is popular with some of the bigger players, with Barry Greenstein being one of the players sitting at a Chinese table playing $100/point.
Next on the Agenda: HORSE at the Golden Nugget
Mixed games were the order for the evening at the Rio. Tonight it was a $10/20 mix, which rotated between Badugi, Baduci, Omaha hi-lo, Stud hi-lo & 2-7 Triple Draw. After a poor start I managed to play a bit better & run reasonably well, managing to finish the night with a reasonable profit. Also at the table was Lisa Parsons (one of the last women to be eliminated in the 2008 WSOP Main Event), who was obviously playing some of the draw games for the first time.
While there I said hi to Joe Tall & Rob Cole of Deuces Cracked & saw quite a few pros in the cash game room. Looks like Chinese Poker is popular with some of the bigger players, with Barry Greenstein being one of the players sitting at a Chinese table playing $100/point.
Next on the Agenda: HORSE at the Golden Nugget
USA - Golden nugget Omaha8
Same again ... beginning to become a grind.
Played the Omaha hi-lo at the Golden Nugget & again came away with another mid-field non-cash finish. Things were going great until the dinner break. I'd had a combination of good play & good running to build my stack from the 12k starting stack up to about 32k. Of course after the break it all went downhill. I was moved to a different table & with the blinds continuing to rise (after dinner the average stack was just over 6 big bets) any pot that you lost became significant. Of course I managed to find a few hands where my huge draws missed & others where my nut hand was counterfeited on the river (the good old river A or 2). I eventually finished around 50th out of the 138 starters.
After leaving downtown I went back to the Imperial Palace to find that they had a $3/6 mixed game up & running. I put my name on the list & sat down at a $1/2NLHE table in the meantime. Of course I ran fantastically there, with the highlight being picking up kings in the small blind. The table had been playing fairly loose, but of course when I pick up a hand there was only 1 limper & when I made it $6, even the big blind folded. The limper came along & my c-bet on the J-high flop took the pot without a fuss. Of course most other draws missed, but proved costly, combined with some uber-slowplay in one hand. There were about 5 or 6 limpers & I decided to call on the button with JT suited. The flop was 7-high & it was checked through. The turn was a J & the cutoff bet $6. I called & everyone else folded, so I thought there was a decent chance my hand was good. Another low card fell on the river & I called his $16 bet, only to be shocked to see him turn over KK!! Yes, I run good!
Anyway, I eventually got a seat at the mixed game & was dealt into a baduci hand. No problem, I've played it a bit since I got here ... and following Deathdonkey's tips I'd been making some money. Anyway, I managed to end up with an 87 low with a 7 badugi, only to see my opponent (who had been betting all the way) turn over AJ642. What a great start ... a scoop ... but no! It seems that at the Imperial Palace they play baduci with the ace playing low for the badugi half of the pot! WTF??? This meant that my opponent's 642A badugi took half the pot! At least I didn't get scooped ... of course I mentioned the fact that this was the only place where the ace played low for half the pot & how it was stupid from a strategy perspective because you could never have a nut-nut hand, only to have some of the players respond with comments like 'but the ace is low in badugi'; 'well that's part of the strategy - to keep the ace or not' & other silly comments. Of course this meant that the game would be good, but it also meant that I would need to stay focused to avoid becoming one of the other donkeys at the table. Anyway, the game was fairly uneventful for the most part, with a reasonably standard mix of games being played - Baduci, razz, stud8, Omaha8, badugi and the 'novelty game' double-board Omaha, with my run good continuing to mean I was down a little, until the table I was at broke & I was moved to the other table (yes, there were 2 tables of this game running). Of course they were on a different part of the rotation & I found myself playing 3-2-1 Omaha. Of course this prompted the standard 'how do you play this' question & I went & got myself one of the Mixed Game sheets they had around the room. In 3-2-1 Omaha, there are 3 flops, 2 turns & 1 river card dealt (so all up a total of 12 'board' cards on the table) & being Omaha, you must use 2 of your 4 hole cards, combined with 3 cards from the board to make the best 5-card poker hand. The catch is that you can only use one of the flops, one of the turns & the river to make your hand. Sounds simple, but its a little confusing when trying to play this for the first time. To give you an idea, lets say you have a J in your hand & there is a J on each of the three flops, this means that you have one pair (of jacks), which can not improve to three jacks because all the jacks are out & you can only use one of the flops in your final hand. Of course as I soon realised, this means that the winning hand is almost always a straight or better (often being a flush or full house), which makes high suited cards the most valuable in this game, with high pairs also being good to have.
Of course the game broke before we got to the next odd game in the mix - 4 card ocean crazy pineapple! My first thought was WTF? Turns out you get 4 cards to start the hand & a flop is dealt & there is a round of betting. Sounds normal so far, but after the round of betting, players discard one card from their hand. This leads to the flop & another round of betting and another discard. The river is dealt & there is another round of betting. This isn't the end of the hand however, as there is another board card (the ocean) & another round of betting. At the end of the hand there are 6 cards on the board & 2 cards in the hands of the players' hands, with the best 5-card hand from any combination of the 6 board cards & the 2 hole cards of each player. Sounds interesting, though I didn't get a chance to play it.
Anyway, I finished the night with a small loss ... another case of run good!
Next on the agenda: A day off from tournaments, possibly playing cash games at the Rio or elsewhere, with the possibility of an episode of the Donkcast in the works as well.
Played the Omaha hi-lo at the Golden Nugget & again came away with another mid-field non-cash finish. Things were going great until the dinner break. I'd had a combination of good play & good running to build my stack from the 12k starting stack up to about 32k. Of course after the break it all went downhill. I was moved to a different table & with the blinds continuing to rise (after dinner the average stack was just over 6 big bets) any pot that you lost became significant. Of course I managed to find a few hands where my huge draws missed & others where my nut hand was counterfeited on the river (the good old river A or 2). I eventually finished around 50th out of the 138 starters.
After leaving downtown I went back to the Imperial Palace to find that they had a $3/6 mixed game up & running. I put my name on the list & sat down at a $1/2NLHE table in the meantime. Of course I ran fantastically there, with the highlight being picking up kings in the small blind. The table had been playing fairly loose, but of course when I pick up a hand there was only 1 limper & when I made it $6, even the big blind folded. The limper came along & my c-bet on the J-high flop took the pot without a fuss. Of course most other draws missed, but proved costly, combined with some uber-slowplay in one hand. There were about 5 or 6 limpers & I decided to call on the button with JT suited. The flop was 7-high & it was checked through. The turn was a J & the cutoff bet $6. I called & everyone else folded, so I thought there was a decent chance my hand was good. Another low card fell on the river & I called his $16 bet, only to be shocked to see him turn over KK!! Yes, I run good!
Anyway, I eventually got a seat at the mixed game & was dealt into a baduci hand. No problem, I've played it a bit since I got here ... and following Deathdonkey's tips I'd been making some money. Anyway, I managed to end up with an 87 low with a 7 badugi, only to see my opponent (who had been betting all the way) turn over AJ642. What a great start ... a scoop ... but no! It seems that at the Imperial Palace they play baduci with the ace playing low for the badugi half of the pot! WTF??? This meant that my opponent's 642A badugi took half the pot! At least I didn't get scooped ... of course I mentioned the fact that this was the only place where the ace played low for half the pot & how it was stupid from a strategy perspective because you could never have a nut-nut hand, only to have some of the players respond with comments like 'but the ace is low in badugi'; 'well that's part of the strategy - to keep the ace or not' & other silly comments. Of course this meant that the game would be good, but it also meant that I would need to stay focused to avoid becoming one of the other donkeys at the table. Anyway, the game was fairly uneventful for the most part, with a reasonably standard mix of games being played - Baduci, razz, stud8, Omaha8, badugi and the 'novelty game' double-board Omaha, with my run good continuing to mean I was down a little, until the table I was at broke & I was moved to the other table (yes, there were 2 tables of this game running). Of course they were on a different part of the rotation & I found myself playing 3-2-1 Omaha. Of course this prompted the standard 'how do you play this' question & I went & got myself one of the Mixed Game sheets they had around the room. In 3-2-1 Omaha, there are 3 flops, 2 turns & 1 river card dealt (so all up a total of 12 'board' cards on the table) & being Omaha, you must use 2 of your 4 hole cards, combined with 3 cards from the board to make the best 5-card poker hand. The catch is that you can only use one of the flops, one of the turns & the river to make your hand. Sounds simple, but its a little confusing when trying to play this for the first time. To give you an idea, lets say you have a J in your hand & there is a J on each of the three flops, this means that you have one pair (of jacks), which can not improve to three jacks because all the jacks are out & you can only use one of the flops in your final hand. Of course as I soon realised, this means that the winning hand is almost always a straight or better (often being a flush or full house), which makes high suited cards the most valuable in this game, with high pairs also being good to have.
Of course the game broke before we got to the next odd game in the mix - 4 card ocean crazy pineapple! My first thought was WTF? Turns out you get 4 cards to start the hand & a flop is dealt & there is a round of betting. Sounds normal so far, but after the round of betting, players discard one card from their hand. This leads to the flop & another round of betting and another discard. The river is dealt & there is another round of betting. This isn't the end of the hand however, as there is another board card (the ocean) & another round of betting. At the end of the hand there are 6 cards on the board & 2 cards in the hands of the players' hands, with the best 5-card hand from any combination of the 6 board cards & the 2 hole cards of each player. Sounds interesting, though I didn't get a chance to play it.
Anyway, I finished the night with a small loss ... another case of run good!
Next on the agenda: A day off from tournaments, possibly playing cash games at the Rio or elsewhere, with the possibility of an episode of the Donkcast in the works as well.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
USA - Golden Nugget Stud8
Another Tournament, another non-cash.
Played the Stud hi-lo at the Golden nugget today. A much better structure than Binions, so I'll probably return for some events later in 'The Grand' series there. Managed to finish in around 60th place out of the 119 starters, though did run rather badly late in the tourney, which didn't help my cause. Did the usual stud8 trick of having huge draws on 4th-6th streets that all missed by 7th street (or even worse, a draw completed & it was second best!), so it wasn't my day.
I'll be back to the Nugget tomorrow for the Omaha hi-lo. Think I'll go for the aggro maniac approach, if only because my usual tight aggressive approach seems to be rather ineffective when I simply don't run well! Will see how it goes, though I suspect I'll either have a huge stack or be playing cash games at the Rio by the time the dinner break rolls around. Hopefully the former, but I'll let you know.
Also trying to get another episode of the Donkcast up in the next few days. As mentioned previously, I'm hoping to have Danzasmack from Deuces Cracked on the Donkcast in an upcoming episode.
Next on the agenda: Omaha hi-lo at the Golden Nugget & cash games at the Rio
Played the Stud hi-lo at the Golden nugget today. A much better structure than Binions, so I'll probably return for some events later in 'The Grand' series there. Managed to finish in around 60th place out of the 119 starters, though did run rather badly late in the tourney, which didn't help my cause. Did the usual stud8 trick of having huge draws on 4th-6th streets that all missed by 7th street (or even worse, a draw completed & it was second best!), so it wasn't my day.
I'll be back to the Nugget tomorrow for the Omaha hi-lo. Think I'll go for the aggro maniac approach, if only because my usual tight aggressive approach seems to be rather ineffective when I simply don't run well! Will see how it goes, though I suspect I'll either have a huge stack or be playing cash games at the Rio by the time the dinner break rolls around. Hopefully the former, but I'll let you know.
Also trying to get another episode of the Donkcast up in the next few days. As mentioned previously, I'm hoping to have Danzasmack from Deuces Cracked on the Donkcast in an upcoming episode.
Next on the agenda: Omaha hi-lo at the Golden Nugget & cash games at the Rio
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
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
USA Day 26
First WSOP Event
I suppose its annoying when you are frustrated & distracted playing your first WSOP event. I decided to play the Omaha hi-lo event at the WSOP (the only 'small' buy-in O8 event at the series), but also had a ticket to see Russell Peters in his only Las Vegas show (He recently did a tour in Australia, but I was in Los Angeles when it was on).
What did this mean for the tournament ... well the plan going in was to try to chip up early from the 4500 starting stack, then take a cab to the Hard Rock for the Russell Peters show (which started at 9pm, which was just before the scheduled hour-long dinner break), enjoy the show, then return to the Rio, crush & make it to day 2. Unfortunately only one part a small part of that plan actually worked (the cab to the Hard Rock & enjoying the Russell Peters show). I got off to a poor start, with many of my big hands finding ways to be scooped or quartered (both horrible things to happen in a split-pot game). By the time the first break came I had slipped to just under 3k, which was not what the plan had been. After the break there were a few changes nearby, with a crowd building on the rail as Phil Ivey sat down at the table next to mine, while Sorel Mizzi joined my table. I managed to tread water for a while until just before I left for the Hard Rock. I managed to scoop a decent-sized pot (around 2k) when I rivered top set on a 63J9K board with KK42 (which picked up a flush draw on the turn) against Sorel Mizzi. This meant that I left the Rio with 5075 in my stack.
The show at the Hard Rock was great. Russell Peters was hilarious as expected with his take on different people & some of his life experiences. He's also able to improvise very well, with plenty of interaction with the crowd. Its also good to know that you get stuff before the rest of the audience. The one that stuck out for me was when he was talking about the terror attacks in India in 2008 & comparing them to the attacks on the US in 2001 he mentioned the comedy value of the date of the attacks, which co-incided with an anniversary of sorts of the USA attacks, with the difference being that the attacks on India were in July (at which point I started laughing, as I could see the punchline coming) ... and then Russell explains that yes, India ironically had their own 7-11, and the crowd joined in with my laughter. Of course as soon as the show ended, I tried to get outside to catch a cab to the Rio. This is where my plan really began to come unstuck! Once outside I saw that there was a line for cabs ... not a problem as there were a few cabs already queueing to pick people up ... but then I walked down the lime looking for the end of it ... and I walked ... and walked ... and walked ... until I finally found the end of the line, at least 60 metres from the door! At this point my genius really kicked in ... no problem, I'll just hail a cab on the street. Sounds like a plan, except all the cabs that went past (and there were a few) were either taken or ignored my outstretched hand. As I continued to walk down Paradise Road I came up with another plan ... go to another casino. If there are cab lines at the Hard Rock, then surely there would be cabs at other casinos too ... so I headed for nearby Terribles casino. Of course there were no cabs to be found at any of the three entrances! So back to plan B ... hail a cab on the street ... and waiting. I returned to Terribles as I saw a cab pulling in to the parking lot, only to see a couple who had been sitting at the entrance since before I got to the casino hop in the cab and drive off ... back to the streets. Eventually I found a vacant cab & jumped in ... TO THE RIO! Of course I also discovered traffic in Las vegas on a long weekend (Memorial Day) was horrible! Eventually I made it back to the Rio & power-walked my way back to my table.
As I returned I found I still had 4600 in chips, which was reasonable, with blinds at 150/300 & playing 300/600. Obviously I would like more, however it was still enough to get by, provided I could win a few pots before the next break. Of course I then managed to find ways to get either horrible or mediocre starting hands, which I folded, or good starting hands which either missed the flop completely (the old A23x double suited looks less impressive on a JQK rainbow board) or managed to make second-best hands (which are never good because you put chips in the pot, only to see them go elsewhere). Of course I managed to pick up mediocre aces (AA78 with spades) & was called by Sorel Mizzi (who was short) & another player. I lead out on the T55 flop, only for Sorel to announce 'I'm all in' with his stack of green $25 chips. As it turns out, he had more than a raise left, so he made it 600 to go, with only 100 behind. The other player in the hand called & I (somewhat foolishly in hindsight) decided to call as well, figuring it would only cost me the extra 100 to see the river. I was right about seeing the river for Sorel's remaining stack, but when he turned over a 2356 he managed to scoop the pot, with trip 5s taking the high & his 23 being good for the low (the board finished up T5567). Another classic of mine was raising with AQQ8 with diamonds after one limper (I was one of the only people at the table who did not open limp at times - perhaps that is a mistake on my part, perhaps not. More stategy later). After the obligatory calls from the limper & three people in late position we saw a flop of 468 rainbow. Not exactly the type of flop I was looking for & when I lead out, was called in two spots & raised by the button & called in front of me, I decided that my hand really didn't look so good after all & folded. Of course the board ran out QQ, so I would have rivered quads & taken half of a pretty sizable pot (4 players saw the river). Of course in a sense I was right (one player had 57 for the straight, while the other three all had A2 to chop the low), however it made me more frustrated with the tournament, with my stack dwindling & my better hands losing & my folded hands turning into winners. Of course just to rub salt in the wounds, our table broke when I had only 800 left. This was compounded when I sat down at my new table to find I was in the big blind (sitting next to Chad Brown, with Brock Parker & Mel Judah also at the table). I posted my big blind, saw a raise & 2 callers before it was back to me, pondered about whether I should look at my cards or simply go all-in blind, but looked & saw the less-than-inspiring 9972 with a suit & decided it wasn't the best hand, but it might make something with the right flop & with 3 people already in the pot I figured I might as well take a stand & hope to pick up as mich of the 3200 I was playing for as I could. I managed to flop a gutshot straight draw, however with a low card coming on the turn, it meant that my gutshot would also make a low possible, but it left me with some hope. The miracle 8 arrived on the river on the JT458 board, however my hope was crushed when one opponent turned over A2 for the nut low & the other showed Q9 for the nut straight ... and my brief stay in the blue section was over, with 520 or so players from the original 818 still remaining.
In more positive news, my friend Angelo made it through day 1 of the $1k NLHE event, so at least there was some positive news on the poker front.
Next on the agenda: Laundromat & cash games
I suppose its annoying when you are frustrated & distracted playing your first WSOP event. I decided to play the Omaha hi-lo event at the WSOP (the only 'small' buy-in O8 event at the series), but also had a ticket to see Russell Peters in his only Las Vegas show (He recently did a tour in Australia, but I was in Los Angeles when it was on).
What did this mean for the tournament ... well the plan going in was to try to chip up early from the 4500 starting stack, then take a cab to the Hard Rock for the Russell Peters show (which started at 9pm, which was just before the scheduled hour-long dinner break), enjoy the show, then return to the Rio, crush & make it to day 2. Unfortunately only one part a small part of that plan actually worked (the cab to the Hard Rock & enjoying the Russell Peters show). I got off to a poor start, with many of my big hands finding ways to be scooped or quartered (both horrible things to happen in a split-pot game). By the time the first break came I had slipped to just under 3k, which was not what the plan had been. After the break there were a few changes nearby, with a crowd building on the rail as Phil Ivey sat down at the table next to mine, while Sorel Mizzi joined my table. I managed to tread water for a while until just before I left for the Hard Rock. I managed to scoop a decent-sized pot (around 2k) when I rivered top set on a 63J9K board with KK42 (which picked up a flush draw on the turn) against Sorel Mizzi. This meant that I left the Rio with 5075 in my stack.
The show at the Hard Rock was great. Russell Peters was hilarious as expected with his take on different people & some of his life experiences. He's also able to improvise very well, with plenty of interaction with the crowd. Its also good to know that you get stuff before the rest of the audience. The one that stuck out for me was when he was talking about the terror attacks in India in 2008 & comparing them to the attacks on the US in 2001 he mentioned the comedy value of the date of the attacks, which co-incided with an anniversary of sorts of the USA attacks, with the difference being that the attacks on India were in July (at which point I started laughing, as I could see the punchline coming) ... and then Russell explains that yes, India ironically had their own 7-11, and the crowd joined in with my laughter. Of course as soon as the show ended, I tried to get outside to catch a cab to the Rio. This is where my plan really began to come unstuck! Once outside I saw that there was a line for cabs ... not a problem as there were a few cabs already queueing to pick people up ... but then I walked down the lime looking for the end of it ... and I walked ... and walked ... and walked ... until I finally found the end of the line, at least 60 metres from the door! At this point my genius really kicked in ... no problem, I'll just hail a cab on the street. Sounds like a plan, except all the cabs that went past (and there were a few) were either taken or ignored my outstretched hand. As I continued to walk down Paradise Road I came up with another plan ... go to another casino. If there are cab lines at the Hard Rock, then surely there would be cabs at other casinos too ... so I headed for nearby Terribles casino. Of course there were no cabs to be found at any of the three entrances! So back to plan B ... hail a cab on the street ... and waiting. I returned to Terribles as I saw a cab pulling in to the parking lot, only to see a couple who had been sitting at the entrance since before I got to the casino hop in the cab and drive off ... back to the streets. Eventually I found a vacant cab & jumped in ... TO THE RIO! Of course I also discovered traffic in Las vegas on a long weekend (Memorial Day) was horrible! Eventually I made it back to the Rio & power-walked my way back to my table.
As I returned I found I still had 4600 in chips, which was reasonable, with blinds at 150/300 & playing 300/600. Obviously I would like more, however it was still enough to get by, provided I could win a few pots before the next break. Of course I then managed to find ways to get either horrible or mediocre starting hands, which I folded, or good starting hands which either missed the flop completely (the old A23x double suited looks less impressive on a JQK rainbow board) or managed to make second-best hands (which are never good because you put chips in the pot, only to see them go elsewhere). Of course I managed to pick up mediocre aces (AA78 with spades) & was called by Sorel Mizzi (who was short) & another player. I lead out on the T55 flop, only for Sorel to announce 'I'm all in' with his stack of green $25 chips. As it turns out, he had more than a raise left, so he made it 600 to go, with only 100 behind. The other player in the hand called & I (somewhat foolishly in hindsight) decided to call as well, figuring it would only cost me the extra 100 to see the river. I was right about seeing the river for Sorel's remaining stack, but when he turned over a 2356 he managed to scoop the pot, with trip 5s taking the high & his 23 being good for the low (the board finished up T5567). Another classic of mine was raising with AQQ8 with diamonds after one limper (I was one of the only people at the table who did not open limp at times - perhaps that is a mistake on my part, perhaps not. More stategy later). After the obligatory calls from the limper & three people in late position we saw a flop of 468 rainbow. Not exactly the type of flop I was looking for & when I lead out, was called in two spots & raised by the button & called in front of me, I decided that my hand really didn't look so good after all & folded. Of course the board ran out QQ, so I would have rivered quads & taken half of a pretty sizable pot (4 players saw the river). Of course in a sense I was right (one player had 57 for the straight, while the other three all had A2 to chop the low), however it made me more frustrated with the tournament, with my stack dwindling & my better hands losing & my folded hands turning into winners. Of course just to rub salt in the wounds, our table broke when I had only 800 left. This was compounded when I sat down at my new table to find I was in the big blind (sitting next to Chad Brown, with Brock Parker & Mel Judah also at the table). I posted my big blind, saw a raise & 2 callers before it was back to me, pondered about whether I should look at my cards or simply go all-in blind, but looked & saw the less-than-inspiring 9972 with a suit & decided it wasn't the best hand, but it might make something with the right flop & with 3 people already in the pot I figured I might as well take a stand & hope to pick up as mich of the 3200 I was playing for as I could. I managed to flop a gutshot straight draw, however with a low card coming on the turn, it meant that my gutshot would also make a low possible, but it left me with some hope. The miracle 8 arrived on the river on the JT458 board, however my hope was crushed when one opponent turned over A2 for the nut low & the other showed Q9 for the nut straight ... and my brief stay in the blue section was over, with 520 or so players from the original 818 still remaining.
In more positive news, my friend Angelo made it through day 1 of the $1k NLHE event, so at least there was some positive news on the poker front.
Next on the agenda: Laundromat & cash games
Sunday, May 30, 2010
USA Day 25
Min cash time!
The HORSE tourney went south fairly quickly, with my demise coming in 48th place out of the 125 starters. Of course I simply ran horribly in the stud games & that was the end of my tournament. Of course the positive of this bustout was that I finished in time for the Omaha hi-lo to begin. I began very well & spent most of the tournament in the top few chips positions. Of course the structure for the Omaha was horrible (and was in fact the same as the HORSE, which started the previous day, when the Omaha was down to two tables!), so it became a game of flips when down to two tables, with each pot potentially creating a new chip leader. Of course I managed to run horribly when down to two tables & went from chip leader (or second) at the table to out in 13th place.
Decided to play a little limit Holdem after busting from the tournament (might as well play some cash at the Orleans, not just tournaments) & in typical limit fashion I managed to have AA cracked by A4cc after flopping top set when the board came running clubs & unless I managed to flop a set, any other pocket pair was also a loser.
Next on the agenda: a dilemma. I have a ticket to Russell Peters at 9pm, but am seriously considering playing the Omaha hi-lo at the WSOP, which starts at 5pm. Might play the WSOP, and skip a few hands to go to the Russell Peters show (which conveniently is around the time of the dinner break) & hope it doesn't effect my stack too much.
The HORSE tourney went south fairly quickly, with my demise coming in 48th place out of the 125 starters. Of course I simply ran horribly in the stud games & that was the end of my tournament. Of course the positive of this bustout was that I finished in time for the Omaha hi-lo to begin. I began very well & spent most of the tournament in the top few chips positions. Of course the structure for the Omaha was horrible (and was in fact the same as the HORSE, which started the previous day, when the Omaha was down to two tables!), so it became a game of flips when down to two tables, with each pot potentially creating a new chip leader. Of course I managed to run horribly when down to two tables & went from chip leader (or second) at the table to out in 13th place.
Decided to play a little limit Holdem after busting from the tournament (might as well play some cash at the Orleans, not just tournaments) & in typical limit fashion I managed to have AA cracked by A4cc after flopping top set when the board came running clubs & unless I managed to flop a set, any other pocket pair was also a loser.
Next on the agenda: a dilemma. I have a ticket to Russell Peters at 9pm, but am seriously considering playing the Omaha hi-lo at the WSOP, which starts at 5pm. Might play the WSOP, and skip a few hands to go to the Russell Peters show (which conveniently is around the time of the dinner break) & hope it doesn't effect my stack too much.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
USA Day 23 & 24
Day 2 again ...
Made it through to day 2 of the $330 HORSE at the Orleans today. 125 started, with 62 making it through to day 2. A sick, sick structure with plenty of play & deep stacks meant that there weren't that many bustouts during the day & some of the players complained about the structure being too slow, lamenting that there were too many players left at the end of the day! Yes, poker players will complain about anything!
The day before I headed to the Rio to check out the WSOP. Things were still getting set up, but the tournament area is just huge! Saw quite a few pros playing in the $50k 8-game satellite, including Gavin Smith, Jason Mercier, Sorel Mizzi, Allen 'Chainsaw' Kessler, 'Chino' Rheem & others. I decided to play a satellite & managed to dust off my 2k stack in a $330 mega satellite when my JJ ran into 22 on a 432 flop. Of course I then decided to play a $125 Sit'n'go & managed to donk off my 1k stack when I ran AK into QQ. After these brief disappointments I left the Rio & ended up at Aria & played $1/3NL for a few hours until I managed to run into monster after monster after a good start.
Next on the agenda: Day 2 of the HORSE, Russell Peters & probably some events downtown.
Made it through to day 2 of the $330 HORSE at the Orleans today. 125 started, with 62 making it through to day 2. A sick, sick structure with plenty of play & deep stacks meant that there weren't that many bustouts during the day & some of the players complained about the structure being too slow, lamenting that there were too many players left at the end of the day! Yes, poker players will complain about anything!
The day before I headed to the Rio to check out the WSOP. Things were still getting set up, but the tournament area is just huge! Saw quite a few pros playing in the $50k 8-game satellite, including Gavin Smith, Jason Mercier, Sorel Mizzi, Allen 'Chainsaw' Kessler, 'Chino' Rheem & others. I decided to play a satellite & managed to dust off my 2k stack in a $330 mega satellite when my JJ ran into 22 on a 432 flop. Of course I then decided to play a $125 Sit'n'go & managed to donk off my 1k stack when I ran AK into QQ. After these brief disappointments I left the Rio & ended up at Aria & played $1/3NL for a few hours until I managed to run into monster after monster after a good start.
Next on the agenda: Day 2 of the HORSE, Russell Peters & probably some events downtown.
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