A lot can happen in a few days.
I'll start with a list:
UFC 116 at MGM Grand (I'll put up a separate post about this), but the short summary is that it was the best UFC card ever in my opinion!
2+2 party at Aria (yes, another post about this too)
HORSE Tournament at the Bellagio
4th of July in Las Vegas
Cash games at O'Sheas, El Cortez & Aria
I guess poker is a good place to start ... I played a session of $9/18 mixed at Aria following UFC 116. This time the mix was a fairly standard Omaha8, Stud8, Razz & 2-7 Triple Draw. I played OK & finished with a small profit, so was happy with that.
Following the 2+2 party I went to O'Sheas & played some $1/2NL. Things were going reasonably well until I found myself in a huge hand with another player ... and quite a sweat to boot!
There was a player at the table with a pretty big stack ($400+) who had been raising a lot & playing a lot of hands. I had been playing fairly snug & had only shown down premium hands & was sitting with around $250 in front of me. There were also a few players who would play any two cards (this was late night at O'Sheas), so it was an interesting mix of players. Anyway, to the big hand itself. The loose guy with the big stack in in the small blind & I am UTG & have JJ (diamonds & clubs - suits are somewhat important later in the hand). The way the table has been playing I hate raising, getting 4+ callers & being stuck in a multi-way hand out of position with jacks. Obviously folding is not an option, so I decided to limp & see what the rest of the table did before making a real decision about my hand. I was raised to $6 by UTG+2, who seemed to be playing reasonably solid poker (and also seemed to be a regular in the game by his interaction with the dealers), which was called in 4 spots, including the loose guy with chips. With so much out there I thought that this would be a good time for the old limp-raise play, as it is likely to do two things: thin the field & represent a big hand (potentially a bigger hand than I actually have). Anyway, with this in mind I made it $30 to go. Part 1 of the plan succeeded, as the only callers were the initial raiser & the loose guy with the stack. The flop was a reasonable one for my hand - 9d8h3d - though obviously with the draws (both diamonds & straight draws) my hand is definitely vulnerable. I lead at the pot for $55 & was called by the initial raiser & the loose guy folded. So far so good, though the way I played the hand meant that it was difficult to put the caller on a narrow range of hands. He could have a pair (possibly good, possibly bad), a set (bad), a straight draw (possibly good, possibly bad), a flush draw (again bad or good), overcards (good for the moment) ... or complete air! On the flip side, my hand was fairly well defined. I either had a big pair or overcards (with possibly a flush draw), with an outside chance of having a set. In one way it is good that I have the lead in the hand, but it makes it tough given the hand ranges that each of us have. Anyway, the turn was the 7c, meaning the board was now 9873 with a diamond draw. The turn was definitely decision time. After a few seconds I decided to move all-in for my remaining $155.
The scenarios were as follows in my head (from best to worst):
* He folds & I win the pot uncontested
* He calls & I have him crushed & win
* He calls & I am in front, dodge his outs & win
* He calls & I am crushed, but spike a card to win
* He calls & I am in front but he hits ... I go back to hotel to sleep
* He calls & I am crushed & lose ... and go back to the hotel to sleep
He thought for a long time about his decision & said he had a big hand he couldn't fold ... and clarified it as a big draw. Given the way the hand had played out I thought that meant he had ATdd, meaning he had overcards & a flush draw on the flop & picked up a straight draw on the turn. However he did keep in insisting that I had aces or kings, so overcards don't seem so valuable if that is the case. As it turned out, he eventually called & showed 8d6d for a flopped pair & flush draw & picked up a straight draw on the turn. The fact that I had JJ meant I took away some of his outs (a ten was no good as I would make a higher straight) & I also had a diamond in my hand ... however I was relieved to see a black 3 on the river to have scenario number 3 play out & collect a $500 pot. I stayed for a little longer, but nothing much eventful happened & I left about $300 to the good.
I also decided to venture downtown to el Cortez & played in their $1-3-6 game (I still don't know exactly how it is supposed to be structured, but there was a $1 blind - yes, just one blind - and it seemed as though you could raise by anything up to $3 on any street, with the river betting being $6 (although sometimes people bet $3). Perhaps it was a spread limit game? Anyway, I played for a few hours & left with a small profit (yes, old 'nits' are horrible players as well - one of the lessons I learned from the $5/10 game at Crown). Why go to El Cortez I hear you ask? Well it is the hidden (well not any more) agenda of this trip ... to collect $1 chips (and play poker) in as many Las Vegas poker rooms as possible. After my previous trip earlier in the year, as well as the current time I am spending in Las Vegas, I have now played in almost all the poker rooms on the Strip & in the Downtown Las Vegas area. The only one to elude my so far is the Riviera, which seems to have at most 1 cash table running & players who simply rebuy when they bust, making waiting too long to endure! More on the quest as the stay continues ... I have just over a week left!
I also decided (foolishly in hindsight) to play the HORSE tournament at the Bellagio. One of the players at my table was John Joannou, winner of the HORSE event at this year's Aussie Millions. Also in the field were Allen Kessler, Yuval Bronstein, Thor Hansen & others. The reason why it was foolish to play is that I managed to run the worst I have ever run (with the exception of a mixed stud tournament at Crown where I didn't win a hand for the entire tournament) in a mixed event. I rarely picked up hands & when I did, they found a way to get run down. The best example of this was an Omaha hi-lo hand where I had raised in early position with AK62 double suited, only to be called by 4 players (as seems to be standard in split-pot games early in an event like this) to see a flop of J22, which I bet & get 2 callers. I again bet the 8 on the turn, only to be raised & call, then check-call the river 9, only for my opponent to show Q852 rainbow! I was a decent event, but I didn't stick around afterwards, in spite of the view of the Bellagio fountains from the balcony of the Fontana Lounge (where the tournament was held).
Showing posts with label Omaha hi-lo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Omaha hi-lo. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
LOOOONG day in tournaments for nothing ... and some bowling with the DC guys!
A long, long day in the 8-game tournament at Aria ... ultimately finishing with nothing. This 8-game tournament featured Badugi (rather than the usual 2-7 triple draw), along with NLHE, PLO & H.O.R.S.E. with the logic being that no-one needed to sit out in badugi, unlike 2-7. The field was small at 38, but with a 15k starting stack & 50 minute levels, it would be a long event. It took over 8 hours (well past midnight) to get down to two tables & with stacks reasonably deep, the pace slowed even more, with very few eliminations. At one point I was chip leader with 13 players left, having about 88k in chips when the average was 43k. Of course it was then when I managed to run poorly & find myself with strong second-best hands on multiple occasions. Unfortunately for me there were three big hands that I lost & I was out in 10th. The first was a razz hand where I had a 87 made, with a draw to a 75 & lost to my opponent's 75 (if I made my 75 I would have won the pot). I then lost a huge hand in O8, with AsKc8s8c & raised in late position, only to be called by the big blind, who was the other big stack at the table. The flop was KsTs2h & it wentcheck-bet-call. The turn brought the 4s & again check-bet-call. The river was a repeat 2 & my opponent checked to me again. My thinking was that there were a lot of hands that would check-call both the flop & turn that would also check-call the river (something like a weak flush with a missed low draw or a straight draw with a 2), so I bet again. My opponent then check-raised me! I was surprised, but decided to call, only for my opponent to turn over KKJ8 for top full house! I had (obviously mistakenly) thought that a hand like that (which makes sense for the check-call, check-call line) would probably lead the river, hoping to make an extra bet rather than risk missing a bet on the end. Of course I was wrong & I dropped a big chunk of my stack. Of course shortly afterwards I found myself in another big hand with the same opponent, this time with AAKJ. The flop was Q75 & we got the rest of the chips in on the flop & I was up against AJ73, which meant I was in decent shape, though there was a decent chance that the pot would be chopped (odds are 22-34 to scoop, with high hand being 65-34 in my favour, with the low being 0-63). Of course a repeat 7 came on the turn & I couldn't find the last A in the deck & was out in 10th place. What made it more disappointing was that this was the first time in over 6 hours that I had been all-in. The previous (and only) time I had been all-in in the tournament was in PLO when I was accused of slowrolling (though my opponent later apologised) when we got the money in on a Qc4c3h flop with my AcAdJd9c beating my opponent's 7654 when I made a flush on the turn (I thought for about 5-10 seconds after betting the flop & my oppoent raising to put me all-in before I called, which lead to the slowroll accusation). Of course with the top 5 being paid & my elimination coming just before 4am (the event started at 5pm), it was disappointing to have played well for over 10 hours, only to walk away with nothing.
The previous evening was the Deuces Cracked bowling night at the Gold Coast Casino. I played one game (scoring 117, which was poor for the lane I was in, but seemed like a decent score compared to other lanes ... a bit below what I would have liked, but its been a while since I've been bowling) before sitting down with Chuck Danielsson for an interview for my podcast. All-in-all a very enjoyable evening & I picked up a DC cap & duck while I was there. If there was any doubt as to whether I was part of a great community poker training site, the events at the WSOP have really confirmed that I made the right choice. Now I just need to find more time to improve my online game & make the most of the fantastic training videos Deuces Cracked have to offer.
Next on the agenda: UFC 116! Great card at the MGM!
The previous evening was the Deuces Cracked bowling night at the Gold Coast Casino. I played one game (scoring 117, which was poor for the lane I was in, but seemed like a decent score compared to other lanes ... a bit below what I would have liked, but its been a while since I've been bowling) before sitting down with Chuck Danielsson for an interview for my podcast. All-in-all a very enjoyable evening & I picked up a DC cap & duck while I was there. If there was any doubt as to whether I was part of a great community poker training site, the events at the WSOP have really confirmed that I made the right choice. Now I just need to find more time to improve my online game & make the most of the fantastic training videos Deuces Cracked have to offer.
Next on the agenda: UFC 116! Great card at the MGM!
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 8, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
USA Day 22
In the money!
Officially 4th in the Omaha hi-lo at the Orleans, though the final 5 players made a deal, which saw me take home just over $4k. Not a bad start to my summer in Vegas! There were a few crazy moments, but I stayed out of the way of the action for the most part, though I did get bluffed out of a big hand when we were still at 2 tables. I picked up QQ52 (with two diamonds) in the SB & raised when it was folded to me. The BB (who had been playing fairly loose) called. The flop was JTT with two diamonds. I bet & the BB raised! I decided to call with my overpair & diamond draw, figuring that I might be in front, but even if I wasn't that I still had outs to improve (unless of course I had walked into a flopped full house). Of course the turn didn't help matter, bringing an offsuit ace, with the BB betting again & I called again. The river was another jack, for a final board of JTTAJ with no flush. I checked & my opponent bet (which put him all-in). The hands I could beat were bluffs & bluffs only. Any A, J or T has me crushed, KQ beats me (though unlikely when I have QQ myself) & the fact that he raised the flop & continued to bet when the ace came on the turn (a card I could conceivably hold when raising pre-flop) made me think I was beaten & I folded before too much damage could be done to my stack (it left me with about 130k with blinds at 10k/20k & levels of 20k/40k). Once the deal was made, he mentioned that that was the key hand for his tournament, and that he thought I knew I made a bad fold as soon as the hand was over.
After the tourney I headed over to the Hard Rock to get a ticket for Russell Peters' show later in the week, as well as to chek out the poker room over there. Got a decent seat for the Russell Peters show, but the poker room was dead, with only one $1/2NL table running. I picked up a cap & a magnet from the gift shop & headed back to the strip. Decided to hop on a ridiculously overcrowded Deuce to Downtown to check out Binions & the Golden Nugget, where I'll be playing some tourneys in the coming days & weeks. Both poker rooms were quiet & I was getting tired, so didn't hang around for too long before heading back to my hotel, where I seem to have now finally resolved the booking issues of the first few days.
Next on the agenda: Cash games tomorrow (Aria the likely location) & HORSE at the Orleans on Friday
Officially 4th in the Omaha hi-lo at the Orleans, though the final 5 players made a deal, which saw me take home just over $4k. Not a bad start to my summer in Vegas! There were a few crazy moments, but I stayed out of the way of the action for the most part, though I did get bluffed out of a big hand when we were still at 2 tables. I picked up QQ52 (with two diamonds) in the SB & raised when it was folded to me. The BB (who had been playing fairly loose) called. The flop was JTT with two diamonds. I bet & the BB raised! I decided to call with my overpair & diamond draw, figuring that I might be in front, but even if I wasn't that I still had outs to improve (unless of course I had walked into a flopped full house). Of course the turn didn't help matter, bringing an offsuit ace, with the BB betting again & I called again. The river was another jack, for a final board of JTTAJ with no flush. I checked & my opponent bet (which put him all-in). The hands I could beat were bluffs & bluffs only. Any A, J or T has me crushed, KQ beats me (though unlikely when I have QQ myself) & the fact that he raised the flop & continued to bet when the ace came on the turn (a card I could conceivably hold when raising pre-flop) made me think I was beaten & I folded before too much damage could be done to my stack (it left me with about 130k with blinds at 10k/20k & levels of 20k/40k). Once the deal was made, he mentioned that that was the key hand for his tournament, and that he thought I knew I made a bad fold as soon as the hand was over.
After the tourney I headed over to the Hard Rock to get a ticket for Russell Peters' show later in the week, as well as to chek out the poker room over there. Got a decent seat for the Russell Peters show, but the poker room was dead, with only one $1/2NL table running. I picked up a cap & a magnet from the gift shop & headed back to the strip. Decided to hop on a ridiculously overcrowded Deuce to Downtown to check out Binions & the Golden Nugget, where I'll be playing some tourneys in the coming days & weeks. Both poker rooms were quiet & I was getting tired, so didn't hang around for too long before heading back to my hotel, where I seem to have now finally resolved the booking issues of the first few days.
Next on the agenda: Cash games tomorrow (Aria the likely location) & HORSE at the Orleans on Friday
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
USA Day 21
One tourney, one cash!
Today was the Omaha hi-lo at the Orleans. 168 players & I managed to make it to the final 15 who will return tomorrow to play the tourney out.
I'll keep it brief as I need to get some sleep, but the summary is horrible structure (chip leader at the moment has lass than 10 big bets!), horrible dealers (with a few exceptions), some strange rules (one guy arrived late & had to wait for 25 minutes to be big blind before he was dealt in!) & a bunch of nitty, grumpy old men ... oh, and some run good for me! Highlight of the run good was shipping a 70k+ pot when all-in with levels of 4k/8k with ace high! Also managed to follow that effort up a few hands later by making quad kings for a large scoop!
Lets hope the run good continues for the final two tables!
Today was the Omaha hi-lo at the Orleans. 168 players & I managed to make it to the final 15 who will return tomorrow to play the tourney out.
I'll keep it brief as I need to get some sleep, but the summary is horrible structure (chip leader at the moment has lass than 10 big bets!), horrible dealers (with a few exceptions), some strange rules (one guy arrived late & had to wait for 25 minutes to be big blind before he was dealt in!) & a bunch of nitty, grumpy old men ... oh, and some run good for me! Highlight of the run good was shipping a 70k+ pot when all-in with levels of 4k/8k with ace high! Also managed to follow that effort up a few hands later by making quad kings for a large scoop!
Lets hope the run good continues for the final two tables!
Monday, May 17, 2010
USA Day 12
Run bad has hit!
After an afternoon shopping (where I picked up some CDs & DVDs) I returned once again to the Hollywood Park $20/40 Omaha/stud hi-lo mixed game. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but it seemed everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
Not only did I find myself in what turned out to be the worst seat at the table (directly in front of the two crazy aggressive Asians), but it seemed like almost every worst river card hit ... repeatedly. Highlights included running into a low straight flush (and of course making two pair myself, so I paid off on the end); having people raise & re-raise with the bare nut low (A2 with no redraw) in multiway pots, so that they simply end up losing more money when I join the calling party with another nut low; getting counterfeited a number of times on the river - its generally never good to see an A or 2 on the river in )8 when you have the nut low without a redraw; opponents catching miracle (often running) cards to scoop pots;
Of course what made it even more frustrating was so often these pots went to players who were horrible. Cold call 2 bets with 369J ... of course! 3 bets with 459T single suited ... a surefire winner! I had intended the evening to be something of a practice session for the 8 game at Commerce tomorrow, but I'm now reconsidering whether I should play or not. I suspect I will, but I'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Next on the agenda: Possibly the 8-game & some tourist time
Saturday, May 15, 2010
USA Day 10
Back on the HORSE ... or at least the OE
Spent some time this afternoon at Commerce. Played some Omaha hi-lo (and didn't win a hand or see a river in the hour + I was there) before playing a satellite for the California State Champs main event. They got just over 20 runner, so 2 seats up for grabs. I was sitting just below average when a move I made didn't work. I had opened from the button & was called by both blinds. I bet the JT4 rainbow flop (called by the BB) & shoved the offsuit K turn. Thought it seemed like a very good board & spot to bluff - the J & T hit a large part of my range & even if I missed the flop, the K turn is also a scare card which could very well be in my range of hands. My opponent agonised for over a minute before calling with AT & my A9o had 4 outs to chop, but without the required Q on the river, I left the tournament & Commerce for the evening.
After leaving Commerce I headed over to Hollywood Park, hoping to play some more of the hi-lo mixed game that I played the other night. Of course with there being horse racing on at Hollywood Park Racetrack (right next to the casino) the carpark was packed. Once inside the casino itself, there was actually two OE games running & a list, so I put my name on the list. Of course rather than doing the simple thing & just waiting for my seat, I heard the call of 15 Holdem, seats available. I decided to sit in at the $15/30 game while waiting for a seat in the OE game. Of course this game soon became shorthanded & its been a while since I've played much middle-limit holdem, and longer still since I've played shorthanded, so I went to my default tight-passive approach, which works well in low-limit no-foldem-holdem games, but not so much in this game. As a result I finished down more than I was hoping to be before my OE seat was available.
After getting some more chips, I took my seat at the $20/40 must-move OE table & tried to avoid making some of the mistakes I had made previously with 'evil brain' taking over periodically. Unfortunately for me, I still made some mistakes, however I still managed to make a tidy profit, more than covering the earlier holdem losses & making it a decent night out.
I think there will be more visits to Hollywood Park in the future ...
Next on the agenda: More cash games
Friday, May 14, 2010
USA Day 9
Crushing Hollywood!
After a relaxing start to the day that included some episodes of Cold Case & a trip to the laundromat, I decided to head to Hollywood Park Casino for the evening to have a crack at the higher-limit mixed game they have there.
The game of choice for the evening was $20/40 limit Omaha hi-lo/Stud hi-lo, with a half kill, with the game changing every 10 hands. In the case of a kill (scooping a pot in Stud8 or Omaha8 over $200) the game became a $30/60 game. Would have been nice to know in advance, but I only discovered this when the dealer pulled a kill button from his tray & the player posted $30 blind after scooping an Omaha hand about 10 minutes after I had sat down. There were actually two tables going, so I started at the must-move second table (and left before I would have been forced to move to the 'main game') & began with Omaha hi-lo. ABC poker seemed to be good enough in this game, with most players (myself included) being fairly passive, though there was one player who seemed to be raising every second or third pot, often with rather junky holdings. I felt that I played well for the most part, though there were probably about 4 or 5 hands that I misplayed (anywhere from missing a value bet or two, through to complete butchery) & this is definitely one area I still need to improve in my game. This is because limit poker (of whatever kind, be it holdem, Omaha, stud, or something else) is as much about saving bets as it is about winning bets. To give you an idea of how this is a problem, I'll run through one Omaha hand I managed to butcher completely. I have just scooped a pot, so have posted the $30 blind (on the button mind you, so I have position!) & there is a limper, a raise from the loose guy & 3 calls before it gets back to me. I have 3479 double-suited, which is pretty much a piece of cheese in Omaha hi-lo. The flush draw is nowhere near the nut flush, the low will rarely be best & if I make a straight, it will either be for half the pot (because there will be a low possible) or will not be the nut straight. In short, I should simply be happy to have scooped a sizable pot on the previous hand & let the $30 go without a fight ... next hand. Sounds simple, right? Yes, but of course my logical brain disappears for that few seconds of thought between the action being on me & folding my hand & 'evil brain' decides to call the raise, obviously because there is so much money out there already ... and of course if the flop is A25 rainbow I'll scoop the pot ... so why not see a flop?? Anyway, rather than flopping me the nuts, the dealer puts out the flop of 764 rainbow, which seems at first glance to be one of the more reasonable flops for my hand. The big blind (a lady who had been playing fairly conservatively) lead out at the flop & everyone called, so why not join the fun & see a turn ... evil brain at work again ... I have 2 pair, a gutshot, a live 3 (yes, it is a low draw, though not a great one!) & a backdoor flush draw ... SOOOOO much potential ... of course the turn further entrenches the thinking of evil brain ... the Ten of diamonds, so I now have a flush draw with my powerhouse 93 of diamonds! The big blind leads again & this time everyone gets out of the way ... except me! I've picked up a flush draw now! I HAVE to call ... and the river makes my downfall complete, with an offsuit 5. I've improved again! I have a 7-high straight, which doubles as a low & the big blind bets again. Of course it is about this moment when logical brain returns & I ponder my river decision. I'm fairly certain that the big blind has one half of the pot locked up, most likely the low with A2 given that she was betting into the entire table on the flop & turn. Of course logical brain considers the possibility that she has a better high hand ... its definitely possible, though she would need an 8 & another card near it to make a straight higher than my monstrous 7-high one, which is a somewhat less likely holding because middle cards are usually bad in Omaha hi-lo (for the reasons mentioned above). Of course logical brain considers other possibilities, that she could be betting a hand like A2 with a flopped set (say A266) into the field, so with so much in the pot already, even logical brain finds a crying call, only to see my opponent turn over A248 for the 8-high straight & the nut low ... so I get scooped & my soul is crushed briefly (until the next hand is dealt) while I try to remove evil brain from my head for future hands.
In spite of these occasional setback, I managed to chalk up a reasonable win (roughly 15 big bets in a 3 hour session), which made for a good night out.
Next on the agenda: I'm thinking in the next few days that I'll play some more cash games, probably go on one of those hop-on-hop-off guided bus tours of the city & maybe play a tournament or two ... but in no particular order.
USA Day 8
Relaxing mostly ...
A relatively quiet day today after the third place finish yesterday. Turns out Rusty beat Jeff heads-up to take down the 8 game in spite of Jeff's chip lead when beginning heads up.
Had a quiet day catching up with things online & played a bit of limit holdem & Omaha ;ate at night, first at Normandie Casino & later at the Bike. Obviously I'd used up my run good in tournaments & it proved to be a frustrating night ... a seemingly never-ending run of 2s & 3s in holdem, followed by 8s & 9s in Omaha hi-lo make for a very uninteresting night.
Next on the agenda: Hit the laundromat & maybe have a crack at 7 card stud tourney, so I can work on my worst game in the HORSE mix.
A relatively quiet day today after the third place finish yesterday. Turns out Rusty beat Jeff heads-up to take down the 8 game in spite of Jeff's chip lead when beginning heads up.
Had a quiet day catching up with things online & played a bit of limit holdem & Omaha ;ate at night, first at Normandie Casino & later at the Bike. Obviously I'd used up my run good in tournaments & it proved to be a frustrating night ... a seemingly never-ending run of 2s & 3s in holdem, followed by 8s & 9s in Omaha hi-lo make for a very uninteresting night.
Next on the agenda: Hit the laundromat & maybe have a crack at 7 card stud tourney, so I can work on my worst game in the HORSE mix.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
USA Day 3
Coolers at the Bike, grinding at Commerce ...
Started late after a long sleep & decided to head to the Bicycle Casino for some poker. Sat at a $2/3 NLHE game & it was one of those nights ... The first hand I played saw an UTG limper, a mid position raise to $20, a caller, and I look down at KK in the BB, so raise to $75. The UTG limper shoves for $90, the initial raiser folds & the caller & I see a flop of J52 with two spades. I shove the flop, which leads the other player to fold & the player who is all in says 'I think I have 2 outs' and asks me what my hand is. I tell him I have kings, just as the dealer turns the Queen of spades. Of course my opponent has QQ & even though a fourth spade comes on the river, my black king is a club, so I'm off to a great start!
I tread water for a while, until the next big cooler lands in my lap. This time there is a pre-flop limp, a raise to $15, a call on the button & I look down at 77 in the SB. I really hate playing small-mid pairs when out of position, so just call, hoping to flop a set or get away cheaply. The BB comes along for the ride as well. The flop comes down Q72 with two spades. I lead at the pot for $26, the BB calls & the pre-flop raiser makes it $75 to go. Perfect spot for me, right? ... Ordinarily the answer would be yes, but this is coolers at the Bike ... so I shove for about $170 total, the BB folds & the raiser insta-calls ... because he has QQ! FML indeed! The dealer then announces 'chips to table 7', in case the rest of the casino was unaware of my plight ...
Of course the rebuy starts off fantastically when a short stack raises pre-flop, I re-raise with AK & move him in on the flop for a little extra. Of course he has JJ & in case I thought of finding an ace or king, he turns a jack to seal the hand & my torture continues. I then run into another short stack who has a straight flush with JTs on a board of 9s8s6c7s3s & of course I pay off with AK with the king of clubs, thinking my hand was good after the turn went check-check. To complete my wonderful evening at the Bike I pick up 99 in the BB when short & raise to $20 with only $40 behind. Of course 4 of the 5 pre-flop limpers decide to call & I decide to shove pretty much any flop. Its A55 & I get one caller ... and I fear the worst, only to have my suspicions confirmed by the dealer pairing the ace on the turn & the caller turning over AJ for the winning full house ...
I decide its time to go find some food & jump in the car to see what I can find that isn't a McDonalds drive thru & before I find anything that fits my criteria I'm driving past the Commerce Casino & decide to go in ... of course a great way to overcome a tilt-inspiring session is to sit down in a limit Omaha hi-lo game ... but sometimes I break the rules!
Anyway, I decide to sit down in a $4/8 limit Omaha hi-lo (with a kill) game & proceed to play an 8 hour session & leave with a tidy $275 profit, simply by playing a tight ABC game & waiting for the many donkeys in the game to give me their money. Thankfully they mostly obliged. Of course the Omaha game with a kill occurs when a player scoops a pot that is over 5 big bets. After a long session, I leave at 9am with the sun already beating down ...
Next on the agenda ... sleep ... and a sense of de ja vu
Started late after a long sleep & decided to head to the Bicycle Casino for some poker. Sat at a $2/3 NLHE game & it was one of those nights ... The first hand I played saw an UTG limper, a mid position raise to $20, a caller, and I look down at KK in the BB, so raise to $75. The UTG limper shoves for $90, the initial raiser folds & the caller & I see a flop of J52 with two spades. I shove the flop, which leads the other player to fold & the player who is all in says 'I think I have 2 outs' and asks me what my hand is. I tell him I have kings, just as the dealer turns the Queen of spades. Of course my opponent has QQ & even though a fourth spade comes on the river, my black king is a club, so I'm off to a great start!
I tread water for a while, until the next big cooler lands in my lap. This time there is a pre-flop limp, a raise to $15, a call on the button & I look down at 77 in the SB. I really hate playing small-mid pairs when out of position, so just call, hoping to flop a set or get away cheaply. The BB comes along for the ride as well. The flop comes down Q72 with two spades. I lead at the pot for $26, the BB calls & the pre-flop raiser makes it $75 to go. Perfect spot for me, right? ... Ordinarily the answer would be yes, but this is coolers at the Bike ... so I shove for about $170 total, the BB folds & the raiser insta-calls ... because he has QQ! FML indeed! The dealer then announces 'chips to table 7', in case the rest of the casino was unaware of my plight ...
Of course the rebuy starts off fantastically when a short stack raises pre-flop, I re-raise with AK & move him in on the flop for a little extra. Of course he has JJ & in case I thought of finding an ace or king, he turns a jack to seal the hand & my torture continues. I then run into another short stack who has a straight flush with JTs on a board of 9s8s6c7s3s & of course I pay off with AK with the king of clubs, thinking my hand was good after the turn went check-check. To complete my wonderful evening at the Bike I pick up 99 in the BB when short & raise to $20 with only $40 behind. Of course 4 of the 5 pre-flop limpers decide to call & I decide to shove pretty much any flop. Its A55 & I get one caller ... and I fear the worst, only to have my suspicions confirmed by the dealer pairing the ace on the turn & the caller turning over AJ for the winning full house ...
I decide its time to go find some food & jump in the car to see what I can find that isn't a McDonalds drive thru & before I find anything that fits my criteria I'm driving past the Commerce Casino & decide to go in ... of course a great way to overcome a tilt-inspiring session is to sit down in a limit Omaha hi-lo game ... but sometimes I break the rules!
Anyway, I decide to sit down in a $4/8 limit Omaha hi-lo (with a kill) game & proceed to play an 8 hour session & leave with a tidy $275 profit, simply by playing a tight ABC game & waiting for the many donkeys in the game to give me their money. Thankfully they mostly obliged. Of course the Omaha game with a kill occurs when a player scoops a pot that is over 5 big bets. After a long session, I leave at 9am with the sun already beating down ...
Next on the agenda ... sleep ... and a sense of de ja vu
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