Yes, I'm missing days in my update! The first sign of slacking off perhaps??
Played the California State Championships Main Event & finished in 99th place out of 175 starters. Quite a rollercoaster of a day, with a poor start having me down to under 5k early (started with 10k), only to double up a few times when my AA beat AK, JJ beat 88, then I got lucky with JJ against KK & I managed to get my stack up to around 17k at the high point of the event. Eventually lost a big hand when my AK suited could not beat 99, in spite of flopping huge with the nut flush draw & overcards. Eventually my demise was a combination of blatant stupidity & dumb luck. I was down to 6k with the blinds at 150/300/25 when a player was moved to my table. As he was unracking his chips, he was dealt into a hand & was under-the-gun. He takes a look at his cards & casually throwns in a blue chip (500) & three red chips (1000). He apologises (obviously meaning to raise to 800, not 3500) & there is no problem until I look at my cards ... AK suited! Obviously I'm going to play the hand with such a short stack, so I ship my few remaining chips into the pot. It folds back around to the UTG player who now pretty much HAS to call with any two cards as it is only another 2500 for him to call, with over 10k already in the pot to be won. Yes I would have made the same play (moving all-in for 6k) with an initial bet of 800, however my opponent would be far less likely to call with the substantially worse odds to call. Anyway he called & showed 89hh ... not the best hand to be up against (live suited connectors), but still not an entirely unpleasant situation (62-38 or thereabouts pre-flop). Of course the flop didn't help my cause: QhTh6c giving my opponent a gutshot straight-flush draw, as well as the double belly-buster straight draw, to go with the fact that any pair would put his hand in front of mine! 21 outs to dodge!! FML, I'm now an underdog to survive (57-43 to be more precise!). Of course there was no waiting around ... BOOM ... Ah on the turn & making a pair has sealed my fate ...
After grabbing a bite to eat I headed to the hustler Casino & played some $2/5NL, which went well for the most part (helped by the fact that I had two retads sitting to my immediate right. I stacked the same guy three times before another player stacked him for the fourth & final time. Of course the other retard started my slide ... I was up over $250 when we got it all-in on a J66 board (he only had $60 or so left) with my QQ against his JT. Of course I only have to dodge a jack or running tens ... and what turns up on the river but one of the two remaining jacks! I managed to find a few similar (though not quite so unlikely) beats to drain most of the profit for the evening before the table broke & I decided to pick up my chips & head home with a small win.
Today I was hopeful of going to the planned 'Deepstacks Live' WSOP Preparation seminar/lecture at the Bicycle Casino, however it was cancelled due to a conflict with the Bike's own Deepstack series (hooray for forward planning, both from Deepstacks University & the Bicycle Casino!), so I headed to the COmmerce for the $220 donkament that was the Player Appreciation event (with $10k added to the prize pool, with the qualification that you had to have played at least 2 events in the series to enter). Of course I managed to find a seat at the table with the three maniacs to my direct left. Just the seat I was looking for! Of course one maniac started playing every hand & winning most of the pots, until one of the other maniacs decided to take over 'control' of the table, managing to go from the 3k starting stack to around 10k by the end of the second level (20 minutes per level, so it was a pretty fast tourney). Anyway I was short & after seeing another player do it, pulled the old limp-re-raise trick with AK suited UTG. Of course the maniac raised, a few called, then another (shorter than me) stack shoved. I shoved as well, which got everyone else out of the way & I was up against QQ & lost the flip. Not even shorter, I resorted to the limp-re-raise again ... this time from the small blind! The button limped, I limped (25/50 level) & the maniac in the big blind made it 200 to go. The button called & I shoved my remaining 1075 into the middle, which the maniac called & my 66 managed to double up against his KQo. Of course the maniac then donked off most of his remaining stack calling an all-in with A6 suited & not improving against QQ. I finished off this maniac when my 33 held against his 49 & another player's J8. Of course this meant that the third maniac now took over, managing to double-up through, and then bust the woman on the table, both times by hitting a king on the turn (first with T9 v QJ on a QJ5 flop & later with KT v 86 on a flop of K66). I managed to get it all-in against him with JJ against his TT ... and of course he hit his ten on the turn to send me packing in around 90th place from 142 starters.
To finsh off the evening I went for a drive over to Santa Monica Beach before heading back to the hotel, with a stopoff at the laundromat.
I'm hoping to put together another episode of the Donkcast tonight (or tomorrow) ... and then it off to Las Vegas on Monday morning (yes, I will need to speak to the agent who booked my flight at such a ridiculous hour!!).
Next on the agenda: Donkcast episode 3 ... then Vegas baby!
Showing posts with label California State Poker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California State Poker. Show all posts
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
USA Day 16
Now with iPod Touch!
Decided to go shopping this afternoon & picked up an iPod Touch. I like the larger screen size, but am particularly interested in the various apps that are available for it. Yes I already have an iPod classic, but that is limited in its uses - it plays music & video, but does little else. I briefly flirted with the idea of buying an iPad, but it just doesn't seem to be anything in particular. Its not portable enough to be an iPod style MP3 player plus, yet its also not sustantial enough to be a laptop substitute. Anyway, iPod Touch it is. I've already put a few useful poker apps on it (as well as some non-poker ones), but any suggestions for other apps that are worth adding would be greatly appreciated.
As for poker, I played a few hours of $2/3 NLHE at the Bike tonight & picked up a tidy little profit of $200, in spite of a few beats & major sweats.
The big beat of the night was with good old Big Slick (suited mind you!). I raised on the button after a few limpers & 4 of us saw a flop of KT8. I bet about 2/3rds pot & got one caller. The turn was the innocent-looking 2d (though it did bring a diamond draw) & I bet a bit over half pot & was again called. The river was the 4d & my opponent lead out for about 1/3rd pot ($45 on the end). The only hands that made sense for him in this spot (check-calling to the river & then leading at the river) were either a rivered flush or a set, with the flush being much more likely. I figured there wouldn't be much else that he could play that way (if he had 2 pair he most lilely would have raised the flop with a hand like KT) & was expecting him to turn over the flush or a worse king after I made the call. Of course he turned over K4 for a rivered 2 pair! FML indeed!
The sweat of the evening was relatively brief, but definitely concerning while it was a sweat. I picked up AA under-the-gun & made it $10 to go. The cutoff raised to $35. I thought for a while & re-raised to $75 & the cutoff snap-shoved his remaining stack into the middle (roughly $140 total). I called (obviously), but was about ready to throw up in my mouth when I saw the flop: KQ9! In my mind the snap-shove would most likely be either the other AA, KK or QQ ... so I'm probably now either crushed or chopping. When the board ran out with two low cards I turned over my aces, expecting to see a set, however the delay from my opponent was something I wanted to see. he reluctantly showed his hand ... pocket jacks! I scooped the pot worth a little under $300. All in all a reasonable evening.
Next on the agenda: California State Champs Main Event at the Commerce!
Decided to go shopping this afternoon & picked up an iPod Touch. I like the larger screen size, but am particularly interested in the various apps that are available for it. Yes I already have an iPod classic, but that is limited in its uses - it plays music & video, but does little else. I briefly flirted with the idea of buying an iPad, but it just doesn't seem to be anything in particular. Its not portable enough to be an iPod style MP3 player plus, yet its also not sustantial enough to be a laptop substitute. Anyway, iPod Touch it is. I've already put a few useful poker apps on it (as well as some non-poker ones), but any suggestions for other apps that are worth adding would be greatly appreciated.
As for poker, I played a few hours of $2/3 NLHE at the Bike tonight & picked up a tidy little profit of $200, in spite of a few beats & major sweats.
The big beat of the night was with good old Big Slick (suited mind you!). I raised on the button after a few limpers & 4 of us saw a flop of KT8. I bet about 2/3rds pot & got one caller. The turn was the innocent-looking 2d (though it did bring a diamond draw) & I bet a bit over half pot & was again called. The river was the 4d & my opponent lead out for about 1/3rd pot ($45 on the end). The only hands that made sense for him in this spot (check-calling to the river & then leading at the river) were either a rivered flush or a set, with the flush being much more likely. I figured there wouldn't be much else that he could play that way (if he had 2 pair he most lilely would have raised the flop with a hand like KT) & was expecting him to turn over the flush or a worse king after I made the call. Of course he turned over K4 for a rivered 2 pair! FML indeed!
The sweat of the evening was relatively brief, but definitely concerning while it was a sweat. I picked up AA under-the-gun & made it $10 to go. The cutoff raised to $35. I thought for a while & re-raised to $75 & the cutoff snap-shoved his remaining stack into the middle (roughly $140 total). I called (obviously), but was about ready to throw up in my mouth when I saw the flop: KQ9! In my mind the snap-shove would most likely be either the other AA, KK or QQ ... so I'm probably now either crushed or chopping. When the board ran out with two low cards I turned over my aces, expecting to see a set, however the delay from my opponent was something I wanted to see. he reluctantly showed his hand ... pocket jacks! I scooped the pot worth a little under $300. All in all a reasonable evening.
Next on the agenda: California State Champs Main Event at the Commerce!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
USA Day 14 & 15
Yes, I skipped a day. Not much different to other days ... it was more poker!
Played in a 7pm tourney at the Bike & took the now standard bad beat with myself and another player all-in pre-flop 3-ways. I have KK, the short stack has TT & the guy who has us both covered has JJ. Of course the J hits on the flop & I'm out just after the first break.
Also played the $335 at the Commerce (event 19 of the Cal State Champs) & had Jerry Yang (2007 WSOP Main Event winner) sitting directly to my right. After folding for the first level or so I went on a rollercoaster for the whole tournament, which didn't end until I busted (yes, I lasted longer than Jerry Yang!). To give you an idea, here are some of the highlights:
doubled up with J8cc v KQo on a flop of Qc9h6c when I rivered a flush; doubled an opponent up the very next hand with AQ v 33 on a Q43 flop; doubled up another short stack All-in pre-flop with AQ v KT on a QJ9Q6 board; tripled up with AJ v AQ (after a slowroll when all-in pre-flop) when I flopped top 2 pair; finally eliminated when I ran AK into 77 on a board of A747T.
Ah, love this game. Hopefully the main event will be somewhat smoother sailing.
Also played some cash as well, with mixed results. It seems like I run horribly in many of the bigger pots in the hi-lo mix game at Hollywood Park, whether it is Omaha or Stud & somehow my opponent(s) always seem to find the card(s) they need to scoop or quarter me.
Also getting psyched up for Vegas ... LOTS of poker awaits & plenty of mixed game tourneys to try and take down!
Oh, and I'm hoping to do another podcast episode in the next day or two.
Next: more poker ... hopefully with some run good!
Played in a 7pm tourney at the Bike & took the now standard bad beat with myself and another player all-in pre-flop 3-ways. I have KK, the short stack has TT & the guy who has us both covered has JJ. Of course the J hits on the flop & I'm out just after the first break.
Also played the $335 at the Commerce (event 19 of the Cal State Champs) & had Jerry Yang (2007 WSOP Main Event winner) sitting directly to my right. After folding for the first level or so I went on a rollercoaster for the whole tournament, which didn't end until I busted (yes, I lasted longer than Jerry Yang!). To give you an idea, here are some of the highlights:
doubled up with J8cc v KQo on a flop of Qc9h6c when I rivered a flush; doubled an opponent up the very next hand with AQ v 33 on a Q43 flop; doubled up another short stack All-in pre-flop with AQ v KT on a QJ9Q6 board; tripled up with AJ v AQ (after a slowroll when all-in pre-flop) when I flopped top 2 pair; finally eliminated when I ran AK into 77 on a board of A747T.
Ah, love this game. Hopefully the main event will be somewhat smoother sailing.
Also played some cash as well, with mixed results. It seems like I run horribly in many of the bigger pots in the hi-lo mix game at Hollywood Park, whether it is Omaha or Stud & somehow my opponent(s) always seem to find the card(s) they need to scoop or quarter me.
Also getting psyched up for Vegas ... LOTS of poker awaits & plenty of mixed game tourneys to try and take down!
Oh, and I'm hoping to do another podcast episode in the next day or two.
Next: more poker ... hopefully with some run good!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
USA Day 13
Another cash in an 8 game tournament!
Decided to fork out for the $1k 8 game tourney at Commerce today. The event ended up having 19 starters, including 'Miami' John Cernuto & David 'Chino' Rheem to name just two. I thought I played pretty well, doing my usual thing of trying to pick my spots, as well as finding some run good when needed. Also managed to stay out of the way of trouble hands & spots for the most part, even if it meant I may not have accumulated as quickly as I did. Maybe its just my risk-adverse nature that makes me want to avoid the 'gambling' spots.
Anyway I managed to make the final table & when we got down to 4-handed after eliminating the short stacks we started talking about deals. Personally I preferred the option of reducing the prize money for 1st & 2nd to crate a 4th place prize (the original payout was 1st-3rd with 4th being the money bubble), though one of the players was strongly against that. That player was talking about a chop based on chip count that ended the tournament (rather than playing it out). Of course this was all put on hold as one of the players got shorter & shorter ... but talks were resumed when the short stack managed to survive 2 or 3 all-ins & clawed his way back to close to average.
In the end I officlally took 2nd place, which saw me collect the main event seat & around $2700 in cash (yes, after the silly 7% 'out of state' tax withholding).
I guess that means I'll be playing the main event in a few days. Might also consider another tourney or two in between, but it definitely lifts my mood from the horrible run at Hollywood Park the previous day.
Next on the agenda: more poker ... and a main event later in the week!
Decided to fork out for the $1k 8 game tourney at Commerce today. The event ended up having 19 starters, including 'Miami' John Cernuto & David 'Chino' Rheem to name just two. I thought I played pretty well, doing my usual thing of trying to pick my spots, as well as finding some run good when needed. Also managed to stay out of the way of trouble hands & spots for the most part, even if it meant I may not have accumulated as quickly as I did. Maybe its just my risk-adverse nature that makes me want to avoid the 'gambling' spots.
Anyway I managed to make the final table & when we got down to 4-handed after eliminating the short stacks we started talking about deals. Personally I preferred the option of reducing the prize money for 1st & 2nd to crate a 4th place prize (the original payout was 1st-3rd with 4th being the money bubble), though one of the players was strongly against that. That player was talking about a chop based on chip count that ended the tournament (rather than playing it out). Of course this was all put on hold as one of the players got shorter & shorter ... but talks were resumed when the short stack managed to survive 2 or 3 all-ins & clawed his way back to close to average.
In the end I officlally took 2nd place, which saw me collect the main event seat & around $2700 in cash (yes, after the silly 7% 'out of state' tax withholding).
I guess that means I'll be playing the main event in a few days. Might also consider another tourney or two in between, but it definitely lifts my mood from the horrible run at Hollywood Park the previous day.
Next on the agenda: more poker ... and a main event later in the week!
Monday, May 10, 2010
USA Trip Day 5
Bustouts & disliking shallow no limit holdem ...
Played 2 tournaments ... first the Omaha hi-lo at the California State Championships at the Commerce Casino. There were 146 players & I finished in around 100th place. Interesting table talk with Jerry Buss at the table, so quite a lot of talk about the NBA (Buss is one of the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers). Of course this meant that the TV nearest to Jerry was changed to the Suns v Spurs game (Suns won to win the series 4-0 & likely play the Lakers in the Western Conference finals), and Jerry was consulted whenever someone wanted to do anything to the TV.
I played too weak-tight early & didn't adjust to the structure until it was too late. The small starting stacks (4k) mean that you need to pick up chips early so that you can survive & have a stack to play with through the middle stages. I tended to call much more in multi-way pots in order to minimise any damage caused by bad river or turn cards (which can be particularly brutal in Omaha hi-lo), meaning that the pots I won (or split, being hi-lo & all) were relatively small. This would not be so bad in a cash game, but with the blinds continuing to go up in a tournament this is much more of an issue. Of course when I did adjust & play more aggressively, I managed to find the brutal turns & rivers that you hate to see in O8 & my stack went south ... In particular I am starting to develop a dislike for Barry Greenstein's book, not because of the content, but because of the number of times the dealer managed to find an ace on the river, which inevitably conterfeited what would have been a winning low hand, which at the same time often gave me a decent high hand (the old 'I have top pair/two pair now ... I have to call'). Of course the beneficiaries of these 3-outers were invariably horrible players who would most likely find a way to donk off these chips well before the money (for example one player on the button called my raise from early position, with another tight player calling in between with the O8 monster 5678 with one suit. Of course the flop is Q95 & he calls my bet & the other player's raise (I have a bunch of low cards & a short stack, so get out of the way while the damage can be minimised) to bink the magical 7 on the turn, get in a raise & take down the pot on the river against the opponent's AAxx hand. Love them tournaments ...
Decided to play some No Limit at the Commerce after busting, and sat down at a $100NL table (blinds $2 & $3), thinking it would play similarly to the $2/3 game at the Bike (which has a $100-300 buy-in) or Crown (which has a $50-200 buy-in), however because people call with all sorts of hands & you don't have a deep enough stack to get them to fold, you simply can't play post-flop. This means that if you want to get chips you either have to play very LAGgy & try to hit flops & stack people (but obviously take the risk of being stacked yourself) or be a total nit, wait for a huge hand & hope you get paid off & dodge whatever outs your opponent might have. Either way I find this frustrating & think in future I will stick to limit games at Commerce (unless I can somehow find a big enough bankroll to play in bigger games where you can buy-in for around 100BBs). Needless to say, in spite of a promising start (picked up KK early & won a decent pot), the session was not a good one for the bankroll.
Decided to have a crack at the midnight Bike tournament & had a rollercoaster night, dropping from the 4k starting stack to just over 1.5k before doubling up, then busted some players & was up to almost 10k by the time my initial table broke. My new table proved to be horrible, which wasn't helped by an ill-timed bluff early (flopped a flush draw, played it fast & was called down by QQ on a 7-high paired board). Eventually finished in 15th place from 45 starters.
Next on the agenda: HORSE at Commerce ... and a much more aggressive approach! Methinks it will either be a short night or a very long one. Lets hope for the long night!
Played 2 tournaments ... first the Omaha hi-lo at the California State Championships at the Commerce Casino. There were 146 players & I finished in around 100th place. Interesting table talk with Jerry Buss at the table, so quite a lot of talk about the NBA (Buss is one of the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers). Of course this meant that the TV nearest to Jerry was changed to the Suns v Spurs game (Suns won to win the series 4-0 & likely play the Lakers in the Western Conference finals), and Jerry was consulted whenever someone wanted to do anything to the TV.
I played too weak-tight early & didn't adjust to the structure until it was too late. The small starting stacks (4k) mean that you need to pick up chips early so that you can survive & have a stack to play with through the middle stages. I tended to call much more in multi-way pots in order to minimise any damage caused by bad river or turn cards (which can be particularly brutal in Omaha hi-lo), meaning that the pots I won (or split, being hi-lo & all) were relatively small. This would not be so bad in a cash game, but with the blinds continuing to go up in a tournament this is much more of an issue. Of course when I did adjust & play more aggressively, I managed to find the brutal turns & rivers that you hate to see in O8 & my stack went south ... In particular I am starting to develop a dislike for Barry Greenstein's book, not because of the content, but because of the number of times the dealer managed to find an ace on the river, which inevitably conterfeited what would have been a winning low hand, which at the same time often gave me a decent high hand (the old 'I have top pair/two pair now ... I have to call'). Of course the beneficiaries of these 3-outers were invariably horrible players who would most likely find a way to donk off these chips well before the money (for example one player on the button called my raise from early position, with another tight player calling in between with the O8 monster 5678 with one suit. Of course the flop is Q95 & he calls my bet & the other player's raise (I have a bunch of low cards & a short stack, so get out of the way while the damage can be minimised) to bink the magical 7 on the turn, get in a raise & take down the pot on the river against the opponent's AAxx hand. Love them tournaments ...
Decided to play some No Limit at the Commerce after busting, and sat down at a $100NL table (blinds $2 & $3), thinking it would play similarly to the $2/3 game at the Bike (which has a $100-300 buy-in) or Crown (which has a $50-200 buy-in), however because people call with all sorts of hands & you don't have a deep enough stack to get them to fold, you simply can't play post-flop. This means that if you want to get chips you either have to play very LAGgy & try to hit flops & stack people (but obviously take the risk of being stacked yourself) or be a total nit, wait for a huge hand & hope you get paid off & dodge whatever outs your opponent might have. Either way I find this frustrating & think in future I will stick to limit games at Commerce (unless I can somehow find a big enough bankroll to play in bigger games where you can buy-in for around 100BBs). Needless to say, in spite of a promising start (picked up KK early & won a decent pot), the session was not a good one for the bankroll.
Decided to have a crack at the midnight Bike tournament & had a rollercoaster night, dropping from the 4k starting stack to just over 1.5k before doubling up, then busted some players & was up to almost 10k by the time my initial table broke. My new table proved to be horrible, which wasn't helped by an ill-timed bluff early (flopped a flush draw, played it fast & was called down by QQ on a 7-high paired board). Eventually finished in 15th place from 45 starters.
Next on the agenda: HORSE at Commerce ... and a much more aggressive approach! Methinks it will either be a short night or a very long one. Lets hope for the long night!
Friday, May 7, 2010
USA Day 2
Today was a big day of poker.
Started at the Commerce with the $220 NLHE Event 1 (Day 1B) of the California State Champs. Today had 670 entrants & eliminations were fast & furious with a 3k starting stack (though with 40 minute levels & starting at 25-25 its not a complete shove-fest). I started well & was up to around 4500 when I ran into a set with QQ on a J74 flop, with one of my two opponents in the hand having 44. I struggled on with a short stack for a while, but eventually shoved with K8 suited just before the break & had a player wake up with JJ, which held to eliminate me.
I then headed downstairs for some $4/8 Limit Holdem (with a Kill) action. After a reasonable start I found my mind wandering after a few beats & my play suffered as a result. After a few hours, my buy-in had gone, so I left the Commerce to get some dinner & consider what to do for the evening.
After grabbing some food I found myself heading to Gardena & the Hustler Casino. I found a seat in a $2/5 NLHE game, and after a promising start I found some cooler hands (QQ v 99 on a 944 flop & JT v 77 on a AT7T board after it was checked on the flop) & my initial buy-in of $300 had dropped to just over $60. Thankfully I picked up some hands & picked up some chips, eventually finishing a little over $200 ahead after a marathon 8 hour session.
I think I'll avoid re-entering event 1 of the California Champs & save my tourney time for my preferred events, HORSE, Omaha hi-lo, 8-game & the like.
Agenda for tomorrow: sleep ... and maybe some other stuff later!
Started at the Commerce with the $220 NLHE Event 1 (Day 1B) of the California State Champs. Today had 670 entrants & eliminations were fast & furious with a 3k starting stack (though with 40 minute levels & starting at 25-25 its not a complete shove-fest). I started well & was up to around 4500 when I ran into a set with QQ on a J74 flop, with one of my two opponents in the hand having 44. I struggled on with a short stack for a while, but eventually shoved with K8 suited just before the break & had a player wake up with JJ, which held to eliminate me.
I then headed downstairs for some $4/8 Limit Holdem (with a Kill) action. After a reasonable start I found my mind wandering after a few beats & my play suffered as a result. After a few hours, my buy-in had gone, so I left the Commerce to get some dinner & consider what to do for the evening.
After grabbing some food I found myself heading to Gardena & the Hustler Casino. I found a seat in a $2/5 NLHE game, and after a promising start I found some cooler hands (QQ v 99 on a 944 flop & JT v 77 on a AT7T board after it was checked on the flop) & my initial buy-in of $300 had dropped to just over $60. Thankfully I picked up some hands & picked up some chips, eventually finishing a little over $200 ahead after a marathon 8 hour session.
I think I'll avoid re-entering event 1 of the California Champs & save my tourney time for my preferred events, HORSE, Omaha hi-lo, 8-game & the like.
Agenda for tomorrow: sleep ... and maybe some other stuff later!
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