Don't ask me how I did it. I don't know. Maybe it was the water. I swear to the Lord above, I never had more than 11600 in chips until there was 20 some people left. I never saw a river card until Ihad pushed all in with my last 9100 at least 2 1/2 hours into the event. But somehow, I would make the cut and the final table.
You know the story. Wednesday night, Gametime, yada, yada, yada. I got there just before 7 as I was playing on line (Got killed when AA fell to 77, flopped straight beat by the suckout flush and AK was beat by a straight that had AQ even though I flopped a set of Ks.) I went into the second room and ended on the far table. Chimney was there (hope he isn't offended by that comment but that was my first impression. Real cool dude, good player). As were a couple of his buddies. Way too serious guy at the table as well. Took way too much time to either call or bet. Hey, Serious one, it is a free tourney, anything decision that requires more than 15-20 seconds ain't gonna win you any big money. New guys, Lingo guy, who trotted out every phrase that has been said on every poker telecast (except string bet), quiet guy and bad player guy (anyone that goes out on the second hand with just a pair will be branded as bad player guy). Quite a boring table somewhat. Lingo guy was aggressive early, chasing Chimney out of a pot. Two young guys at the table played well, taking spots to show aggression. Me? I folded. A lot. In the first hour, I saw a flop only once when I wasn't in the blinds. I don't even recall the details. I think I had two face cards and bet out on the flop. The one caller folded quickly. That may have been it.
Got moved to another table. This would be the theme of the night. At that table, there was the Miller guy, who has won two of these events and ironically won't be at the finals. Two women, one big stack, a guy who reminds me of my friend John in college and the two young guys from the other table. I think I played two hands at this table. On each hand, I bet out and took down the pot on the flop. Again, nothing strong to play. I think one hand was K Q clubs. The other might have been A x. I tried to limp on A 6 with blinds at 1000/2000. Didn't know it though and tried to call 500. When I was told of my error, I called even though I knew the young dude on my right would raise. Cost me another 2k (hey, I am not going to get bullied out of a pot!). Saw a flop that missed me completely and folded (but I will fold quickly!). If it wasn't for the second pot at the table, I would have had about 7k, but instead was just above 10 gain.
Moved into the main room. I think there was roughly 6 tables still going. I kept looking at my 9 3, 10 2, J 6, A 4, Q 2, etc. Fold. Fold. Fold. Fold.
At the new table, blinds were kicked up to 2000/4000. Interesting table. Serious guy was there. Some young tough with sunglasses and a stack. Little Gus Hansen is there with his healthy stack. Some chick who was attractive (chicks and poker, yes!), a pretty passive dude with the XFL jersey and some bearded guy. I knew I had to push soon. Got A K and pushed my 11600 in. Everyone folded. I then went through the series again (see above). Stole some more blinds to stay afloat. Pushed with 8 8 and my 10500 (I had defended by blinds which whittled me down) again with no one calling, even the girl who was pot committed in the big blind didn't call. Blinds come around and the kick in a 1000 ante as well. Look down and see 6 6. Guy on my right pushes in. I push as well. As I wait for the rest of the table, I quiz the guy. Got a big pair? No. Got a small pair? No. A? Yeah. He shows A 10. No help and I double through. I hit the high point of the night for my chip count and it was the first hand I saw to the river. We are down to like 25 people and I finally saw a river. Amazing is that within 5 minutes, we are down to 20 people and I get moved again. How did I get this far with little to play?
My table would end up being the final table. There was the XFL guy on my right. Young dude from the first table. Raiders fan, Eddie Bauer man, a chubby girl who apparenlty kept getting pocket rockets, J and some other guy. I have about 31k here after my double on the sixes. Blinds are 10000/20000 and 5k antes. I need to push and soon. I steal a pot with something. In the big blind I catch the antes when everyone folds. I go heads up on XFL guy with AJ soon after. One guy had raised to 40k. I pushed all in. He folded and I chipped up a bit. XFL shows J 9 (he was big blind and all in). He hit his 9 to stay alive. We are down to 5 people and clamor for some table consolidation. Apparently the real big stacks are over there. We finally consolidate to the final table. Still don't know how I got here and how I got about 60k in chips.
On my second hand, I look down and see A J and go for it. Young dude calls and Raider fan pushes as well. Young dude shows K Q. Raider fan A K (I think?). Flop come A J rag. Rag on turn. I call for no face on the river and a J hits! Full boat suddenly means I have huge chips! With antes, I quadrupled up. I still don't know how I got here. I knocked Raider fan out with a fluke. He pushed all in (only 20k) and I was the big blind. Folded around to me. I flip my cards up- 6 2 off. Raider fan has A K suited. Flop comes 3 5 face. Turn is rag. River is a 4 to give me a straight. I feel I should go wash my hands because I don't have a clue where I am pulling this from. I knocked stoner Schlitz dude out when I hit a card on the river again. Before I know it, we are down to 3. Smaller stoner dude goes out with the last chick when young dude pulls the full house. She was pissed, but he played it very well.
Now I am heads up, final two. Deja vu! Played two hands. I thought my K high was good enough but the rivered J gave him a pair. Final hand was me with 6 8. Flop came 6 7 9. I bet 25k and he called. Turn was a 7. I bet 50k and he pushed all in. I am open ended and had two pair. I don't think he paired the board. I thought of the possibilities and called. Thought of everything but the straight he had flopped. He showed me his 8 10. No help on the river and it was over. Second place again. I was only slightly disappointed. I could have dragged it out and would have if the stakes were higher but young dude played very well. I have no problem losing to someone like that.
I still don't know how I got that far considering the cards I got all night. To finally see a river card with 20 some people left amazes me.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Badger Poker...He called with that?!?!?!
Some of the play I saw last night shouldn't surprise me anymore. But when the big suckout happens to you, it kinda- no it totally- pisses you off. Tuesday night found me at the Rock Bottom, sitting in a solid chair for once, playing that funky little game we call NLHE. Had dinner before the contest with CP. He always eats the Hickory Burger so I thought I would try it. Good burger but it gave me a good case of gas. You don't want details on that. You want details on this:
Went downstairs just before the contest started. Sat down at the first table I saw that had good chairs. I should clarify what this means. When they set up, night after night, they bring in the poker tables and their own chairs. These are the most uncomfortable folding chairs in the world. If you have ever slept in a hideaway sofa (c'mon, who hasn't?), you could imagine sitting in these chairs. It feels like the chair back cuts into your back like the bar in the sofa. The seat of the chair is plastic that sinks as you sit in so you need to lean forward to be comfortable and fell level. But I digress. I sit at the good chair table without really scouting out the competition. I throw my chips out and stack them, looking around. I then notice Bagman. Yapping away like always, talking about how he has to be somewhere at 9 and he doesn't know why he is here, blah, blah, blah. Has the stupid bag on the table. Mentally, I get ready for war and taking his dumbass out. Next to me on my right is MP3 guy. He sits there bopping around listening to his music. Across was Big Harley Chick. Some guy with glasses was to my right. An older big guy was in the middle. A quiet guy next to Bagman, and HAG- Hairy Arm Guy. I guess it could also be Hairy Aggressive Guy as he liked to push in. First pot I got involved in had me limping in with A 7 suited. Board came in with low cards, 7 3 4. It was checked around (4 people) to Bagman, who predicatably bet out a small bet of 500. I called along with Big Harley Chick. Turn was a 5. Checked around. Bagman predicatably checked as well. Dude has no clue how predictable he is. More on this later. River was a 2. Looky there, a wheel! I bet 1500 and the BHC calls. Bagman predicatably whines and shows his pair of 8s and folds. I turn my cards telling BHC I am hoping for a split. I am relieved when she shows AJ. At this point, I do something funny without even realizing it. I stack the pot into two equal stacks, but keep each color separate to show they are equal. I then pull the green stacks to me. She says something right away. When I realize what I have done, I simply laugh. Freud would have been proud.
A couple of hands later, I take in a big pot, doubling up with 8 9 suited. When the flop came 8 9 10, I pushed all in to try and drive BHC out. She called with JJ. No help for her and I take in the pot. I am sitting pretty just over 20k. BHC would go out on the next hand with 10 10. Table itself was strange. It started extremely tight. A raise of 500 could cause people to fold. Then HAG got started. He started pushing in after the flop or on the turn on a couple of hands. He had some good hands. Showed A A once but otherwise he started making moves with second pair. He would get knocked out with his aggressiveness. Bagman was beginning to annoy as well. At one point, he moved all in for like 7500 to capture the blinds. When he does, he counts out the chips, pushes them in, then grabbed the bag, put the chips into the bag and then slammed the bag on the table. I told him he wasn't starting that crap again. He then dumped the chips out of the bag. He would do this a couple times, same routien. No one called and he takes in the small pot. Someone made a comment about how he made a whole 500 on it. He goes into some diatribe on how J J had just lost and the flops weren't hitting him even when he did raise, blah, blah, blah. I comment on how he will get taken out with a move like that. J J isn't as strong as most people think. Bagman goes on with "well then call me" Yeah, me and my 6 3 suited are calling you. Dipwad! Bagman just about gets knocked out by HAG when he goes all in with A 9 against A J. Bagman dances and begs for a 9 that comes on the turn. Shit! I though the annoying dipwad was done. HAG gets bounced. Quiet guy next to Bagman gets bounced. There is a ruckus at the table next to us. When the 5 players get moved to our table, we gets a bit of the story. Some "Devil Woman" was dealing and mucked someone cards while they were in the hand. The girl had shown someone behind her the cards and placed them back on the table. Devil Woman grabbed them, saying she mucked because she showed someone else the cards. At least that seemed to be the story. Just before the break, I lose a huge pot to a suckout. The funny thing to me was I realized who this assclown was after the break. Blinds were at 500/1000. Assclown raised to 2000. I am in late position, look down and see the Hilton sisters, and call. There is one other in the pot. Flop comes 7 6 2, all spades. Assclown bets only 2000. I call and the other girl folds. Turn is the 6 of clubs. I am certain he has not made the flush and does not have a big pair. I am putting him on A x. He bets 5000. I have him beat at this point so I raise to 10000. He thinks a bit and calls. River is a spade. Shit! He checks. I think for a bit and check as well. Assclown isn't too bright to pull a check raise, but he may have sucked out a spade. Sure enough. He turns over A 2. His A high flush beats my Q high flush. He called me with A 2 needing an ace or spade to hit on the river?!?!? That pissed me off. I knew I had him up to the damn spade on the river. I lost 14000 on that hand. Left me with about 7900. A playable stack but I pissed about the suckout. How do you call half of your stack with no pair and drawing to a flush??? I realize Assclown is a guy I had played against earlier in the series. This guy sucks. He will call down with bottom pair or high card. Amazingly, tonight he was hitting his cards.
Finally Bagman gets bounced. He went out stupid too. Guy moves his small stack all in. Assclown calls and Bagman pushes over the top (yeah, he stuffs his 15k in chips into the damn bag again before dumping). Before he does, the first pusher is egging him on. First push shows A 9. Assclown shows 10 10. Bagman shows A 2. A 2??? He say it won before and it will win now. Huh? Bagman gets all happy when a 2 hits the flop. Board pairs up jacks but the 10s hold up. At this point, Bagman begins to scoop the chips. People stop him telling him he didn't win. He insists for a second that he had two pair. You did Sherlock but the other guy beat you with his pocket 10s. Sheepishly, he leaves the table. What kind of idiot pushes with A 2?
I haven't done much since the break. Figure it is do or die soon. I get A J suited and raise up to 3000. Get two callers, including Assclown. Flop comes Q J 2. Assclown checks, I bet 2500 and the girl to my left quickly calls. I don't like that. Turn is a J. I sigh and push. They both fold. At least I got part of my stack back from Assclown. But it is killing me. Each time I look his stacks I think they should be mine. A hand later, I get A 6 in the big blind. Same players are in. Flop comes A 6 3. I bet 3000, the chick on my left quickly calls as does Assclown. Turn is a 3 and I push. They both fold. Chick says I had the 3. Told her I had two pair. My quick moves there put me around 20k.
Unfortunatley, I didn't get much to play from there. The table got tight again so I stole some blinds. Got dealt K K but Assclown was dealing and flipped over two cards. Immediately after that I got J J, raised to 5000 with 3 callers. Someone bet strong on the flop of A high and I had to fold.
Before I knew it, we were down to 20. Blinds are now 5000/10000. They moved people into our table and dealt for deal. My hope for survival is that I catch the button or it is to my left as I have only 17500 left. But fate deals me an ugly blow. I post the big blind and catch K 6. Luckily it gets called to me and I check. Flop is A K Q. Crap! EP bets and is called. I muck. Can't go against aces and my kicker sucks. Amazingly, a pair of Kings win, but she did have me outkicked so I feel better. Other guy called down with 6 6. Huh? I post the small blind. I call blind my last 2500. Flip over Q 7 to face A 10. No help and I am done in in spot 20, getting my 1 point. Whoo hoo!
I am somewhat amazed that I stayed in that long. Played some good poker (at least to my liking) but didn't catch many cards most of the night. But that suckout still gets me.
Went downstairs just before the contest started. Sat down at the first table I saw that had good chairs. I should clarify what this means. When they set up, night after night, they bring in the poker tables and their own chairs. These are the most uncomfortable folding chairs in the world. If you have ever slept in a hideaway sofa (c'mon, who hasn't?), you could imagine sitting in these chairs. It feels like the chair back cuts into your back like the bar in the sofa. The seat of the chair is plastic that sinks as you sit in so you need to lean forward to be comfortable and fell level. But I digress. I sit at the good chair table without really scouting out the competition. I throw my chips out and stack them, looking around. I then notice Bagman. Yapping away like always, talking about how he has to be somewhere at 9 and he doesn't know why he is here, blah, blah, blah. Has the stupid bag on the table. Mentally, I get ready for war and taking his dumbass out. Next to me on my right is MP3 guy. He sits there bopping around listening to his music. Across was Big Harley Chick. Some guy with glasses was to my right. An older big guy was in the middle. A quiet guy next to Bagman, and HAG- Hairy Arm Guy. I guess it could also be Hairy Aggressive Guy as he liked to push in. First pot I got involved in had me limping in with A 7 suited. Board came in with low cards, 7 3 4. It was checked around (4 people) to Bagman, who predicatably bet out a small bet of 500. I called along with Big Harley Chick. Turn was a 5. Checked around. Bagman predicatably checked as well. Dude has no clue how predictable he is. More on this later. River was a 2. Looky there, a wheel! I bet 1500 and the BHC calls. Bagman predicatably whines and shows his pair of 8s and folds. I turn my cards telling BHC I am hoping for a split. I am relieved when she shows AJ. At this point, I do something funny without even realizing it. I stack the pot into two equal stacks, but keep each color separate to show they are equal. I then pull the green stacks to me. She says something right away. When I realize what I have done, I simply laugh. Freud would have been proud.
A couple of hands later, I take in a big pot, doubling up with 8 9 suited. When the flop came 8 9 10, I pushed all in to try and drive BHC out. She called with JJ. No help for her and I take in the pot. I am sitting pretty just over 20k. BHC would go out on the next hand with 10 10. Table itself was strange. It started extremely tight. A raise of 500 could cause people to fold. Then HAG got started. He started pushing in after the flop or on the turn on a couple of hands. He had some good hands. Showed A A once but otherwise he started making moves with second pair. He would get knocked out with his aggressiveness. Bagman was beginning to annoy as well. At one point, he moved all in for like 7500 to capture the blinds. When he does, he counts out the chips, pushes them in, then grabbed the bag, put the chips into the bag and then slammed the bag on the table. I told him he wasn't starting that crap again. He then dumped the chips out of the bag. He would do this a couple times, same routien. No one called and he takes in the small pot. Someone made a comment about how he made a whole 500 on it. He goes into some diatribe on how J J had just lost and the flops weren't hitting him even when he did raise, blah, blah, blah. I comment on how he will get taken out with a move like that. J J isn't as strong as most people think. Bagman goes on with "well then call me" Yeah, me and my 6 3 suited are calling you. Dipwad! Bagman just about gets knocked out by HAG when he goes all in with A 9 against A J. Bagman dances and begs for a 9 that comes on the turn. Shit! I though the annoying dipwad was done. HAG gets bounced. Quiet guy next to Bagman gets bounced. There is a ruckus at the table next to us. When the 5 players get moved to our table, we gets a bit of the story. Some "Devil Woman" was dealing and mucked someone cards while they were in the hand. The girl had shown someone behind her the cards and placed them back on the table. Devil Woman grabbed them, saying she mucked because she showed someone else the cards. At least that seemed to be the story. Just before the break, I lose a huge pot to a suckout. The funny thing to me was I realized who this assclown was after the break. Blinds were at 500/1000. Assclown raised to 2000. I am in late position, look down and see the Hilton sisters, and call. There is one other in the pot. Flop comes 7 6 2, all spades. Assclown bets only 2000. I call and the other girl folds. Turn is the 6 of clubs. I am certain he has not made the flush and does not have a big pair. I am putting him on A x. He bets 5000. I have him beat at this point so I raise to 10000. He thinks a bit and calls. River is a spade. Shit! He checks. I think for a bit and check as well. Assclown isn't too bright to pull a check raise, but he may have sucked out a spade. Sure enough. He turns over A 2. His A high flush beats my Q high flush. He called me with A 2 needing an ace or spade to hit on the river?!?!? That pissed me off. I knew I had him up to the damn spade on the river. I lost 14000 on that hand. Left me with about 7900. A playable stack but I pissed about the suckout. How do you call half of your stack with no pair and drawing to a flush??? I realize Assclown is a guy I had played against earlier in the series. This guy sucks. He will call down with bottom pair or high card. Amazingly, tonight he was hitting his cards.
Finally Bagman gets bounced. He went out stupid too. Guy moves his small stack all in. Assclown calls and Bagman pushes over the top (yeah, he stuffs his 15k in chips into the damn bag again before dumping). Before he does, the first pusher is egging him on. First push shows A 9. Assclown shows 10 10. Bagman shows A 2. A 2??? He say it won before and it will win now. Huh? Bagman gets all happy when a 2 hits the flop. Board pairs up jacks but the 10s hold up. At this point, Bagman begins to scoop the chips. People stop him telling him he didn't win. He insists for a second that he had two pair. You did Sherlock but the other guy beat you with his pocket 10s. Sheepishly, he leaves the table. What kind of idiot pushes with A 2?
I haven't done much since the break. Figure it is do or die soon. I get A J suited and raise up to 3000. Get two callers, including Assclown. Flop comes Q J 2. Assclown checks, I bet 2500 and the girl to my left quickly calls. I don't like that. Turn is a J. I sigh and push. They both fold. At least I got part of my stack back from Assclown. But it is killing me. Each time I look his stacks I think they should be mine. A hand later, I get A 6 in the big blind. Same players are in. Flop comes A 6 3. I bet 3000, the chick on my left quickly calls as does Assclown. Turn is a 3 and I push. They both fold. Chick says I had the 3. Told her I had two pair. My quick moves there put me around 20k.
Unfortunatley, I didn't get much to play from there. The table got tight again so I stole some blinds. Got dealt K K but Assclown was dealing and flipped over two cards. Immediately after that I got J J, raised to 5000 with 3 callers. Someone bet strong on the flop of A high and I had to fold.
Before I knew it, we were down to 20. Blinds are now 5000/10000. They moved people into our table and dealt for deal. My hope for survival is that I catch the button or it is to my left as I have only 17500 left. But fate deals me an ugly blow. I post the big blind and catch K 6. Luckily it gets called to me and I check. Flop is A K Q. Crap! EP bets and is called. I muck. Can't go against aces and my kicker sucks. Amazingly, a pair of Kings win, but she did have me outkicked so I feel better. Other guy called down with 6 6. Huh? I post the small blind. I call blind my last 2500. Flip over Q 7 to face A 10. No help and I am done in in spot 20, getting my 1 point. Whoo hoo!
I am somewhat amazed that I stayed in that long. Played some good poker (at least to my liking) but didn't catch many cards most of the night. But that suckout still gets me.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Badger Poker...Aw hell, might as well stay home and Party
Went off to play poker at Gametime on Wednesday night. To an extent, I don't know why I bothered. I have been running cold this week. Same thing happened earlier so I know I can get out of the rut.
It started with a good table. Buckman was there as was the chimney. Little Gus Hansen. The brotha I had played with earlier. Slick, an aggressive guy. Spectacled man I had no clue on as well as another sitting next to him. It looked to be a solid table to start with.
And things started well. I limped in with A 8 spades and saw 2 spades hit the flop. I called a 500 bet. Turn was the flush card. Chimney checked to me and I bet 1500. He called. River was meaningless. I bet out 2500. After some thought, he called and I took down a decent size pot. With A 5 suited, I raised it up. Though the flop missed me, I bet it out. Badger visor man is a rather weak player. I knew I could force him out and I did.
But from there on, things went cold. A Q was given no support on the board. I limped with A 2, caught 2 diamond for a flush draw but no help. Lost a good size pot to Slick. Before I knew it was down to roughly 5k. Just bleeding away. Chimney caught his club on the river to win a good pot and stay alive. Slick was getting more aggressive after doing nothing for the first hour. I watched as he couldn't even pair the board but called down 4k in bets.
Me, well, I was done in 50 minutes. Was in the small blind with AK. Bunch of limpers. Then the cutoff suddenly raised 5600. I was suspicious because the size of the bet is too high here with blinds of 200/400. He wanted to steal the pot with a weak hand. I called, putting me all in. He showed 10 10. I liked my chance, but needed help. Help that didn't arrive and I was done. My best hands weren't getting any help. That is a sign that it wouldn't be my night.
So off to the pc to log onto Party and make some money. I love how other sites call Party Poker the big aquarium with all kinds of fish looking to be caught. I had played the play money tables in the past, but didn't do anything there for a while because I didn't particularly like the layout. But after reading how easy it is to make some cash there, I had to go. I only plunked in $100 just to see how it is. The bad beat jackpot tables were worth looking into. Sometimes they are over $100k, which isn't bad. I played them for a bit (2/4) with mixed success. After some bad runs, I decided to lay off until the jackpot was over $150k. It made sense since I was doing well on the $25 no limit tables. I could play rather tight and make $25 in half an hour. Plus, following the actions of others, I started playing 2 tables at once. Roughly 15 days later, and only about 7 sessions, my intial stake is just over 300 bucks. Others have done a lot better than I but this level of success is ok to me. I want to build a stake first before taking on the $50 NL game.
But the fish are there. For example, last night I noticed 2 players continually making the same move. One clown would go all in pre flop (with his 20 some dollars) whenever he thought he had a monster hand. He would collect just the blinds (a whopping 75 cents), maybe more if there had been a limper, but not much. He didn't do this all the time, but enough to get a comment or two when he did. Sad part was no one would call him. Finally, I got a hand that allowed me to call. Was dealt QQ. I was down 2 bucks at the time, but was kinda annoyed by the clown. When he pushed I quickly called. He showed A J. Interesting. Is this the kind of hand he was always pushing on? Q hit the flop and he was done (he just about hit the straight but no K came along). Thus I quickly doubled up. That is the thing about Party. People make these kind of plays all the time. On the other table, something similiar happened. Guy went all in with 10 8 on a board that showed 10 high. I called his 10 dollar bet with J 10 only because I knew he wasn't playing a high kicker.
But let's get back to clown #2. This guy loved to raise the pot from the big blind if everyone limped in. Having noticed this, I would call his 3 dollar raise when everyone dropped out. No matter the flop, I bet out a pot size bet. He folded each time. Nerves of steel over there. But this is the way people play at Party. They bluff with terrible hands, pay off aparent flushes, call you down with 3rd pair or A high. Or you can bluff them out by either continuing your aggressive play or by acting you caught your straight or flush. You just need to be choosy on who you bluff. Best yet, you can throw out the occasional lunatic bet ( an all in move that looks like you are buying the pot) and get paid when you did it with the nuts.
I just find it amusing. I am not there to make huges sums of cash, but of course, want to do well. Hopefully I can continue to make some dough and make something big in one of their tourneys, where they say the fish swim in big schools.
It started with a good table. Buckman was there as was the chimney. Little Gus Hansen. The brotha I had played with earlier. Slick, an aggressive guy. Spectacled man I had no clue on as well as another sitting next to him. It looked to be a solid table to start with.
And things started well. I limped in with A 8 spades and saw 2 spades hit the flop. I called a 500 bet. Turn was the flush card. Chimney checked to me and I bet 1500. He called. River was meaningless. I bet out 2500. After some thought, he called and I took down a decent size pot. With A 5 suited, I raised it up. Though the flop missed me, I bet it out. Badger visor man is a rather weak player. I knew I could force him out and I did.
But from there on, things went cold. A Q was given no support on the board. I limped with A 2, caught 2 diamond for a flush draw but no help. Lost a good size pot to Slick. Before I knew it was down to roughly 5k. Just bleeding away. Chimney caught his club on the river to win a good pot and stay alive. Slick was getting more aggressive after doing nothing for the first hour. I watched as he couldn't even pair the board but called down 4k in bets.
Me, well, I was done in 50 minutes. Was in the small blind with AK. Bunch of limpers. Then the cutoff suddenly raised 5600. I was suspicious because the size of the bet is too high here with blinds of 200/400. He wanted to steal the pot with a weak hand. I called, putting me all in. He showed 10 10. I liked my chance, but needed help. Help that didn't arrive and I was done. My best hands weren't getting any help. That is a sign that it wouldn't be my night.
So off to the pc to log onto Party and make some money. I love how other sites call Party Poker the big aquarium with all kinds of fish looking to be caught. I had played the play money tables in the past, but didn't do anything there for a while because I didn't particularly like the layout. But after reading how easy it is to make some cash there, I had to go. I only plunked in $100 just to see how it is. The bad beat jackpot tables were worth looking into. Sometimes they are over $100k, which isn't bad. I played them for a bit (2/4) with mixed success. After some bad runs, I decided to lay off until the jackpot was over $150k. It made sense since I was doing well on the $25 no limit tables. I could play rather tight and make $25 in half an hour. Plus, following the actions of others, I started playing 2 tables at once. Roughly 15 days later, and only about 7 sessions, my intial stake is just over 300 bucks. Others have done a lot better than I but this level of success is ok to me. I want to build a stake first before taking on the $50 NL game.
But the fish are there. For example, last night I noticed 2 players continually making the same move. One clown would go all in pre flop (with his 20 some dollars) whenever he thought he had a monster hand. He would collect just the blinds (a whopping 75 cents), maybe more if there had been a limper, but not much. He didn't do this all the time, but enough to get a comment or two when he did. Sad part was no one would call him. Finally, I got a hand that allowed me to call. Was dealt QQ. I was down 2 bucks at the time, but was kinda annoyed by the clown. When he pushed I quickly called. He showed A J. Interesting. Is this the kind of hand he was always pushing on? Q hit the flop and he was done (he just about hit the straight but no K came along). Thus I quickly doubled up. That is the thing about Party. People make these kind of plays all the time. On the other table, something similiar happened. Guy went all in with 10 8 on a board that showed 10 high. I called his 10 dollar bet with J 10 only because I knew he wasn't playing a high kicker.
But let's get back to clown #2. This guy loved to raise the pot from the big blind if everyone limped in. Having noticed this, I would call his 3 dollar raise when everyone dropped out. No matter the flop, I bet out a pot size bet. He folded each time. Nerves of steel over there. But this is the way people play at Party. They bluff with terrible hands, pay off aparent flushes, call you down with 3rd pair or A high. Or you can bluff them out by either continuing your aggressive play or by acting you caught your straight or flush. You just need to be choosy on who you bluff. Best yet, you can throw out the occasional lunatic bet ( an all in move that looks like you are buying the pot) and get paid when you did it with the nuts.
I just find it amusing. I am not there to make huges sums of cash, but of course, want to do well. Hopefully I can continue to make some dough and make something big in one of their tourneys, where they say the fish swim in big schools.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Badger Poker...did I play?
Down to the Rock Bottom Brewery for some cards on Tuesday. The Oktoberfest beer was good. Went quite well with the burger. And that is the highlight of the night. Thank you for reading.
Oh, you probably want to read about the NLHE game too. Ok, I will bother. Plunked down at a table with just a few familiar faces. Until the Ultimate Fish, or now known as Bagman, one of the most annoying people you will ever play cards with, sat down. There was one really aggressive guy and a buddy of his sitting right next too him. The Quiet Guy was the one I had to keep an eye on.
On one of the early hands, the aggressive guy got into it with the Quiet Guy. Everyone had limped in to see a flop of A K 8. I had K J so I was hoping to see another card. AG bet out 3000 on a 1500 (roughly) pot. Huh? Too much for me to bear, but Quiet Guy calls. Turn is a J. Crap! AG bet out again and Quiet Guy called. River was a rag. AG bet, QG called and showed K J to win. Damn. I caught J J and bet out. Quiet Guy called me. Flop came K Q 3. Quiet Guy bet and I raised to see where I stood. He called. Turn doesn't help. He checks, I check. Turn is a 10. Now there are 3 hearts on the board and I have 3rd pair. He bets 3000 and I have to fold. From what I would see, he would be playing a lot of drawing hands. At one point, he couldn't even beat 3rd pair on the board but he called it down. I guess I gave Quiet Guy too much credit.
Aggressive guy continued to ram and jam. He should have been knocked out but rivered a club to give him life and triple up after he took out K K and J J on the same hand. Bagman got knocked by an older guy after he over bet a pot. With 4 limpers, he raised the pot 2000. One guy called. Flop came A A 10. Bagman bet 2000. Old man called. Turn was a rag. Bagman bet, old man called. River was a 10. Bagman checked, old man moved all in and Bagman folded and he threw up his 9 9 in disgust. He went that hard with 9s??? Old man showed A 10.
I didn't have much to play. Beside my J J. I raised up with A Q just to have someone raise another 4000. Yes, 4000 with 100/200 blinds and 1500 in the pot. That is too many chips to commit to see a pot. Tried to limp with K J another time but there was always someone making an obscene raise. Thus, I had to change my betting style. That got me into some trouble and I bled out chips. Now, that I think about it, I didn't win a single hand last night.
Went out on 7 7 to off all a-holes, Bagman. With 4100 left, I raised up to 1500. Bagman raised all in to a total of 4300. Stupid thing he did that ticked me off was he threw his chips into a plastic bag that he brought along. He brought along a brown plastic bag that he could throw his chips into just to be an annoying prick. When he did this, I reached onto the table and dumped the chips out and tossed the bag to him, telling him he wasn't using a stupid bag tonight. He makes a comment like "Well, we'll see what you say when I knock you out". Oooh, I am shaking in my shoes. I call and tell him " If you knock me out, I will say good job". Yeah, tough talk right back by me. But that is what he probably wanted. This is a free tourney. Why talk shit? Hell, I could go home and play online and make $50 in a half hour (only made $29), I don't need this. So Bagman turns up A Q. Flop comes K K 2. Turn is a 5 and of course, the river is a Q. I tell him nice hand and leave. Funny thing, is most people find the bag annoying and the guys at the table agreed with me. So did the guys running the show. What sucks is sometimes the cards just don't go your way and you lose to an inferior player. There is always tonight at Gametime.
Oh, you probably want to read about the NLHE game too. Ok, I will bother. Plunked down at a table with just a few familiar faces. Until the Ultimate Fish, or now known as Bagman, one of the most annoying people you will ever play cards with, sat down. There was one really aggressive guy and a buddy of his sitting right next too him. The Quiet Guy was the one I had to keep an eye on.
On one of the early hands, the aggressive guy got into it with the Quiet Guy. Everyone had limped in to see a flop of A K 8. I had K J so I was hoping to see another card. AG bet out 3000 on a 1500 (roughly) pot. Huh? Too much for me to bear, but Quiet Guy calls. Turn is a J. Crap! AG bet out again and Quiet Guy called. River was a rag. AG bet, QG called and showed K J to win. Damn. I caught J J and bet out. Quiet Guy called me. Flop came K Q 3. Quiet Guy bet and I raised to see where I stood. He called. Turn doesn't help. He checks, I check. Turn is a 10. Now there are 3 hearts on the board and I have 3rd pair. He bets 3000 and I have to fold. From what I would see, he would be playing a lot of drawing hands. At one point, he couldn't even beat 3rd pair on the board but he called it down. I guess I gave Quiet Guy too much credit.
Aggressive guy continued to ram and jam. He should have been knocked out but rivered a club to give him life and triple up after he took out K K and J J on the same hand. Bagman got knocked by an older guy after he over bet a pot. With 4 limpers, he raised the pot 2000. One guy called. Flop came A A 10. Bagman bet 2000. Old man called. Turn was a rag. Bagman bet, old man called. River was a 10. Bagman checked, old man moved all in and Bagman folded and he threw up his 9 9 in disgust. He went that hard with 9s??? Old man showed A 10.
I didn't have much to play. Beside my J J. I raised up with A Q just to have someone raise another 4000. Yes, 4000 with 100/200 blinds and 1500 in the pot. That is too many chips to commit to see a pot. Tried to limp with K J another time but there was always someone making an obscene raise. Thus, I had to change my betting style. That got me into some trouble and I bled out chips. Now, that I think about it, I didn't win a single hand last night.
Went out on 7 7 to off all a-holes, Bagman. With 4100 left, I raised up to 1500. Bagman raised all in to a total of 4300. Stupid thing he did that ticked me off was he threw his chips into a plastic bag that he brought along. He brought along a brown plastic bag that he could throw his chips into just to be an annoying prick. When he did this, I reached onto the table and dumped the chips out and tossed the bag to him, telling him he wasn't using a stupid bag tonight. He makes a comment like "Well, we'll see what you say when I knock you out". Oooh, I am shaking in my shoes. I call and tell him " If you knock me out, I will say good job". Yeah, tough talk right back by me. But that is what he probably wanted. This is a free tourney. Why talk shit? Hell, I could go home and play online and make $50 in a half hour (only made $29), I don't need this. So Bagman turns up A Q. Flop comes K K 2. Turn is a 5 and of course, the river is a Q. I tell him nice hand and leave. Funny thing, is most people find the bag annoying and the guys at the table agreed with me. So did the guys running the show. What sucks is sometimes the cards just don't go your way and you lose to an inferior player. There is always tonight at Gametime.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
In the basement...A report for Nate
Since someone at work complained that I didn't have a poker report over the last couple of days (for his sake he will remain nameless), so I will give this little recap from last night. Apparently no one wanted to play as there were only 5 people total. We each tossed in a whole finski and got the game rolling. The roll call was interesting as is varied from beginner to veteran. There was Bob, the guy who wanted to play poker in Vegas this past weekend but didn't while he stayed at the Sahara. Cyndi the beginner who kept her copy of Phil Hellmuth's book on the table with her. Corey, a real putz of a player :). And Eric, one of Corey's friends. Play started slow. I didn't get many good hands. Corey went out first whining about a bad beat when his A J got beat by 10 10. Cyndi followed as it appeared she may have gotten bored. When it was down to 3, I was easily short stacked. So I decided to get aggressive. I went in and stole a couple of blinds but would bet into Eric whenever I could. I knew he may call the flop but if I kept betting he would fold if he didn't have anything. This strategy worked well until I went a tad too far. Went all in with A J on the flop even though it totally missed me. He surprised me when he called with a pair of 7s. I rivered a flush to cripple him and move me into a lead. The chips jockeyed between us for a bit. On one spot I looked down to see 9 9. I seemed to keep getting this pair a lot this night. I limped in from the dealer. Bob in the BB went all in. Crap. I had to think about it as he could have anything. I figured he at least had an A. I also thought that there was a good chance Eric would call him so I mucked. Eric did call and showed A 3 to Bob's A 7. Interesting. When a 9 hit the flop I thought I messed up. But Bob would hit the flush on the river and knock Eric out. That was good. I had a lead on Bob but knew he could be tricky. We went back and forth a bit. Finally, I caught my monster hand. 8 5 in the big blind. Flop came Q 8 4. I checked as did Bob. On the turn I hit another 8. I checked and Bob bet. I then moved all in. He called. My set of 8s held up and he was down to his final chips. He then started going all in on everything. Rivers a straight on me right away. Then a pair holds up for him. Finally I caught an A in the pocket and called his all in again. Got my pair and it was over. Personally I don't like someone going all in blind all the time. That is when I always see Q 3 or J 2 off every time.
I didn't play much in the second game as I tried to push quite a bit with the Hammer. Played my 7 2 aggressively and lost. I was devastated that my pair of 2s didn't hold up. Oh well, I hope the anonymous reader at work liked this.
I didn't play much in the second game as I tried to push quite a bit with the Hammer. Played my 7 2 aggressively and lost. I was devastated that my pair of 2s didn't hold up. Oh well, I hope the anonymous reader at work liked this.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Badger Poker...What a boring night
It was a boring night of poker at the Rock Bottom Brewery. Sat down at the table that was empty except for one person. Tried to talk but he didn't want to. Some stoner dudes sit down and we talk football for a while. A tight aggressive guy sits two to my left and a talker sits across from me. We played with 8 to begin with.
What a tight table it was. For the first half hour, there was little calling. If someone raised, everyone folded. I didn't get much to play but started to steal anything I could. Got Q 4 in the small blind. Called. Bet the flop and he folded, even though I caught nothing. It continued like that for a bit. I never got any real accumulation of chips. At one point I limped in with A 8 suited. Hit an 8 on the flop that is J high. I check, guy to my right checks and one of the stoner dudes, a true calling station bets 500. I call to see another card as does the other guy. Turn is an A. I bet 1500 and get both to call. Interesting. River is another J. I bet 2000 and they both call. They both are holding smaller pairs. That was the biggest pot I would rake that evening. Which sucked. The Calling Station was winning some decent pots and leaving money on the table. I wanted a piece of that action but only had one shot at it. I limped in with 9 10. Flop hit Q J 7. I bet my open ended straight and of course, he calls. Turn is a 4. He checks, I check. I thought of betting but decided to take the free card because I knew he wouldn't go away (earlier he had called down every bet from his buddy with a pocket rockets, even though he was winning the hand all the way). The river paired up the 7s and my straight was no where in sight. He turned over A Q and I mucked.
It was a somewhat frustrating night. Had Q Q and raised it up. One caller. Flop came A 6 3. I bet 800 and he moves all in. Muck. Next hand, I get A Q. I raise 1000 pre flop and get one caller. Flop comes K Q 8. I bet 1500. Guy thinks for a while and calls. I watched him and thought he was doing a bit of acting. Turn is a 10. I think for a bit on how much to bet. High enough to drive him out, but small enough to get away from his acting job. I bet 2000 and he moves all in. Damn! He said he had two pair. I believe it. I figure K 10 or Q 10. Where just a couple hands ago I was just over 10k, I am now down to 4300.
Table is still pretty tight. We have played for 2 hours and no one is gone. With blinds now at 500/1000 I figure I need to push somewhere and do with A Q of spades. I get a caller who shows Q 10. My A Q held up and I double through. But this guy someone irks me as does a number of other people. You have a good hand and push. Someone who has more chips than you thinks about it and proclaims "What the fuck" or "Fuck it, let's gamble" and calls you with an inferior hand. That is usually when you lose is when the guy is checking his watch and thinks about going home that they suck you out and you are done for the night. Time after time I have heard this comment only to that person win the hand. Thankfully, it didn't this time.
After the break, I move to a new table and their is the Ultimate Fish. Somehow he has a bag of chips in front of him. Don't know how he got them (stole them) because he is a bad player. Case in point, he pushed 10000 into one pot with A high. He even complained when his opponent beat him with 9s. She bet preflop and he reraised 5000 with A 5 off. Stupid. But as he sat there with this bag of chips, I was tempted to insist on him taking them out of the bag. When he took the bag and rested it in his lap for one hand, I thought of pushing all in as he only had 800 in chips on the table and I could have had fun showing him that he had to keep the chips on the table to be in play. That could have been fun. The guy is too stupid to understand the rules and unfortunately, another guy who was feeding off the fish with a big stack, let him get away with it as he knew he was going to bleed him.
Anyway, I don't see much action at this table. The most interesting thing was we were playing 500/1000 blinds when we were suppose to be at 1000/2000, but no one had told us. We didn't even know we should be on break. So it was somewhat a shock when we are told to go to 2000/4000. It sucked because I had 7000 left and had to post the big blind. One chick goes all in, the brutha to my right calls. I look and see K 7 hearts. I think that I could muck and see another round, but then again, I could triple up with some luck. I call since I am pot committed and may not see a better spot. Hoping to see a lot of hearts, but instead they flop spades and I am done. Chick had A K clubs, brutha Q J spades. Brutha hit his flush. Nice job.
Overall, it was a boring night. Nothing big happened at either table I was at. The most interesting thing might be the Loud Moron (that is the working name I am giving him). I noticed this guy last week at Rock Bottom and again at Gametime. He has gone all in and when he hits his card and wins he yells "Allright! Yeah! Yeah!". Loud. Really loud. Dude, it is a free tournament. No need to act like you just moved up the money ladder and are going to win 6 figures. Someone even told him to calm down yesterday. He doesn't get it. Funny to me was Ultimate Fish claiming to be the one who taught him to do that. Idiot. That is why you are the Ultimate Fish.
What a tight table it was. For the first half hour, there was little calling. If someone raised, everyone folded. I didn't get much to play but started to steal anything I could. Got Q 4 in the small blind. Called. Bet the flop and he folded, even though I caught nothing. It continued like that for a bit. I never got any real accumulation of chips. At one point I limped in with A 8 suited. Hit an 8 on the flop that is J high. I check, guy to my right checks and one of the stoner dudes, a true calling station bets 500. I call to see another card as does the other guy. Turn is an A. I bet 1500 and get both to call. Interesting. River is another J. I bet 2000 and they both call. They both are holding smaller pairs. That was the biggest pot I would rake that evening. Which sucked. The Calling Station was winning some decent pots and leaving money on the table. I wanted a piece of that action but only had one shot at it. I limped in with 9 10. Flop hit Q J 7. I bet my open ended straight and of course, he calls. Turn is a 4. He checks, I check. I thought of betting but decided to take the free card because I knew he wouldn't go away (earlier he had called down every bet from his buddy with a pocket rockets, even though he was winning the hand all the way). The river paired up the 7s and my straight was no where in sight. He turned over A Q and I mucked.
It was a somewhat frustrating night. Had Q Q and raised it up. One caller. Flop came A 6 3. I bet 800 and he moves all in. Muck. Next hand, I get A Q. I raise 1000 pre flop and get one caller. Flop comes K Q 8. I bet 1500. Guy thinks for a while and calls. I watched him and thought he was doing a bit of acting. Turn is a 10. I think for a bit on how much to bet. High enough to drive him out, but small enough to get away from his acting job. I bet 2000 and he moves all in. Damn! He said he had two pair. I believe it. I figure K 10 or Q 10. Where just a couple hands ago I was just over 10k, I am now down to 4300.
Table is still pretty tight. We have played for 2 hours and no one is gone. With blinds now at 500/1000 I figure I need to push somewhere and do with A Q of spades. I get a caller who shows Q 10. My A Q held up and I double through. But this guy someone irks me as does a number of other people. You have a good hand and push. Someone who has more chips than you thinks about it and proclaims "What the fuck" or "Fuck it, let's gamble" and calls you with an inferior hand. That is usually when you lose is when the guy is checking his watch and thinks about going home that they suck you out and you are done for the night. Time after time I have heard this comment only to that person win the hand. Thankfully, it didn't this time.
After the break, I move to a new table and their is the Ultimate Fish. Somehow he has a bag of chips in front of him. Don't know how he got them (stole them) because he is a bad player. Case in point, he pushed 10000 into one pot with A high. He even complained when his opponent beat him with 9s. She bet preflop and he reraised 5000 with A 5 off. Stupid. But as he sat there with this bag of chips, I was tempted to insist on him taking them out of the bag. When he took the bag and rested it in his lap for one hand, I thought of pushing all in as he only had 800 in chips on the table and I could have had fun showing him that he had to keep the chips on the table to be in play. That could have been fun. The guy is too stupid to understand the rules and unfortunately, another guy who was feeding off the fish with a big stack, let him get away with it as he knew he was going to bleed him.
Anyway, I don't see much action at this table. The most interesting thing was we were playing 500/1000 blinds when we were suppose to be at 1000/2000, but no one had told us. We didn't even know we should be on break. So it was somewhat a shock when we are told to go to 2000/4000. It sucked because I had 7000 left and had to post the big blind. One chick goes all in, the brutha to my right calls. I look and see K 7 hearts. I think that I could muck and see another round, but then again, I could triple up with some luck. I call since I am pot committed and may not see a better spot. Hoping to see a lot of hearts, but instead they flop spades and I am done. Chick had A K clubs, brutha Q J spades. Brutha hit his flush. Nice job.
Overall, it was a boring night. Nothing big happened at either table I was at. The most interesting thing might be the Loud Moron (that is the working name I am giving him). I noticed this guy last week at Rock Bottom and again at Gametime. He has gone all in and when he hits his card and wins he yells "Allright! Yeah! Yeah!". Loud. Really loud. Dude, it is a free tournament. No need to act like you just moved up the money ladder and are going to win 6 figures. Someone even told him to calm down yesterday. He doesn't get it. Funny to me was Ultimate Fish claiming to be the one who taught him to do that. Idiot. That is why you are the Ultimate Fish.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Badger Poker....Only one card can beat me
I didn't feel like playing poker on Monday night. Having been gone for the weekend, I had some errands to run. There was no food in the house. Worse yet, no toilet paper. I had to get to the store. But after talking with a friend and figuring, hey you don't have any food so you have to go out to get dinner, why not go play for a bit. So I went down to the Lava. Very small crowd. Not surprising as there was a football game on. Only 60 had signed up. Could be a good night for points.
Sat down at the far table and sized up the competition. Scrubby guy on my right was an ok player. I knew he liked to bluff so I was ready for any strange play from him. One thing I also notices was that he liked to show his cards. Usually if the flop didn't hit him, and he had raised preflop, he wouldn't protect his cards when looking at them. Many a time I saw his cards. He gave his play away to me. File that one away on Scrubby. Across from me was Gus Hansen. Dude looked just like him except a tad younger. And he acted like him too. Big bets, straight ahead stare. Good player. Brewers hat was there. Hadn't seen much of him before. On my left was the guy that beat me at Gametime. Cowboys fan was there. I like his aggressive play. Usually good as a chip distributor, but can play well when his game is on. On the far side was Ken, guy I had played with at the Pot and just before we started the Ultimate Fish sat down. I have seen him around and have heard others talk. He thinks he is a great player when he really sucks. Last week at Gametime, I remember someone saying how he is always out within the first 15 minutes. Sure enough, he was done in 11. At Lava, he would last about 25.
Play started out slow enough. Caught Q Q on the second hand and raised it up. The limpers went away but Cowboys fan called the 800 raise. Flop came A high. I fired again and he folded. Nice to win a pot right away. Next hand I get A J in late position and raise 500. Gus Hansen calls me. Flop comes 10 9 8. Open end straight draw. I bet 1500 and Gus raises 3000. WTF? I tried to size him up. He stared straight ahead. Didn't even blink. I mucked. Too early to try and draw out. A bit later, I would catch A K and raise it up again. Had Gus in the hand with me. Flop came K high and I fired out 2000 (roughly pot size) out there. He called. Turn was a rag. I fired 3000 and he mucked after thinking. This would add a strange twist to the game. Next hand, Gus raises 3000 pre flop. 3000 pre flop! Cowboys fan would do the same thing soon after. 2500 pre flop raise after losing a big pot. The signal was sent that no limping would be acceptable. Took down a good pot that set Cowboys fan off. I limped in with A 8 hearts. Two callers. Flop came J 8 4. Check, check, Cowboys fan bets 1000. I think and call. I know Cowboys fan could have just about anything, but I put him on a small pair. Turn is an A. I bet out 1500 and both call. River is a J. I bet out 2500. One caller as Cowboys fan folds but shows his 5 5. Caller had 10 10. Take down a nice pot just before the break. At the break I am at 20700. Not bad. Ultimate Fish had busted out without me taking many chips off of him. That sucked. I found it funny that he made a raise with me in the big blind. Someone asked him why he raised and he commented that the big blind could easily re-raise as he has played with me before and knows I would do that with a big hand. Me and my 10 4 suited mucked quickly. He had raised with K 2. Huh? No wonder he lasted all of 25 minutes.
Made 2 big mistakes in the next round. One of the first hands I get A K in late position. Cowboys fan raises to 1200 (this was typical of him. He raised preflop on a lot of hands but would bail if it was re-raised). Ken re-raises to 4000. I called. I probably should have mucked as I felt he had me beat before the flop. Cowboys fan bailed. Flop totally misses me- 10 6 4. Ken bets 4000 and I fold. I should have stayed out because I had no plan for the flop. My choice was to either re-raise or fold. As I did, I asked how big his pair was. He wouldn't say. I still think he had me beat. A couple of hands later, I went for a knockout. Had raised the pot to 1500 with A J. Guy on my right went all in for about 4700 more. I called (again, should have folded as he had complained all night about not getting cards) I called and he showed K K. Shit! No help and suddenly I was pretty short stacked at 5300. Tried to limp in with A 9 but a raise of 3000 had me folding. I was able to steal some blinds by going all in with K K from an early position. Thought I was going to get at least one caller but no. So I had a bit of breathing room but had to find a spot to push.
I would get it soon. Funny thing happened. I was the cut off. UTG raised to 2000 (blinds are 500/1000). Faggy dude (yes, this is an accurate description of him. He had an earring in each ear. When he was moved to the table, I had to take about 10 minutes to figure out whether this was a guy or some really ugly chick. Seriously, I had this debate with myself) doesn't say a word and places his 5 red chips out (2500) and then goes back to grab his black chips. I tell him he can't do that as it is a string bet. He mumbles "don't be a dick". I laugh a bit and tell him to play by the rules. Announce what you are doing. He says mockingly, "what, do you think I was going to raise 500?". I tell him "yes, I have seen stupid play like that already". People at the table tell him he can't do that, but we will let it stand. It didn't really matter. I look down to see the Hilton sisters and I push my 4300 in. New guy who was dealing called my 4300 as well. Gus Hansen, who raised initially, folded. We flipped it up. Dealer had J J. Faggy dude had Q J clubs. My Q Q looked great at this point. I had to be a 90-95% favorite? It had to be huge, as only one card can beat me. Flop came out rags. Turn was the f*#@ing J of hearts! The one card that could beat me came out and I was done. I would have been in a good position having tripled up but my night was done. What can you do when the cards go against you that bad?
Even worse, I went to the food store after playing and this morning realized I forgot the toilet paper. Crap! (guess I have to do that at work)
Sat down at the far table and sized up the competition. Scrubby guy on my right was an ok player. I knew he liked to bluff so I was ready for any strange play from him. One thing I also notices was that he liked to show his cards. Usually if the flop didn't hit him, and he had raised preflop, he wouldn't protect his cards when looking at them. Many a time I saw his cards. He gave his play away to me. File that one away on Scrubby. Across from me was Gus Hansen. Dude looked just like him except a tad younger. And he acted like him too. Big bets, straight ahead stare. Good player. Brewers hat was there. Hadn't seen much of him before. On my left was the guy that beat me at Gametime. Cowboys fan was there. I like his aggressive play. Usually good as a chip distributor, but can play well when his game is on. On the far side was Ken, guy I had played with at the Pot and just before we started the Ultimate Fish sat down. I have seen him around and have heard others talk. He thinks he is a great player when he really sucks. Last week at Gametime, I remember someone saying how he is always out within the first 15 minutes. Sure enough, he was done in 11. At Lava, he would last about 25.
Play started out slow enough. Caught Q Q on the second hand and raised it up. The limpers went away but Cowboys fan called the 800 raise. Flop came A high. I fired again and he folded. Nice to win a pot right away. Next hand I get A J in late position and raise 500. Gus Hansen calls me. Flop comes 10 9 8. Open end straight draw. I bet 1500 and Gus raises 3000. WTF? I tried to size him up. He stared straight ahead. Didn't even blink. I mucked. Too early to try and draw out. A bit later, I would catch A K and raise it up again. Had Gus in the hand with me. Flop came K high and I fired out 2000 (roughly pot size) out there. He called. Turn was a rag. I fired 3000 and he mucked after thinking. This would add a strange twist to the game. Next hand, Gus raises 3000 pre flop. 3000 pre flop! Cowboys fan would do the same thing soon after. 2500 pre flop raise after losing a big pot. The signal was sent that no limping would be acceptable. Took down a good pot that set Cowboys fan off. I limped in with A 8 hearts. Two callers. Flop came J 8 4. Check, check, Cowboys fan bets 1000. I think and call. I know Cowboys fan could have just about anything, but I put him on a small pair. Turn is an A. I bet out 1500 and both call. River is a J. I bet out 2500. One caller as Cowboys fan folds but shows his 5 5. Caller had 10 10. Take down a nice pot just before the break. At the break I am at 20700. Not bad. Ultimate Fish had busted out without me taking many chips off of him. That sucked. I found it funny that he made a raise with me in the big blind. Someone asked him why he raised and he commented that the big blind could easily re-raise as he has played with me before and knows I would do that with a big hand. Me and my 10 4 suited mucked quickly. He had raised with K 2. Huh? No wonder he lasted all of 25 minutes.
Made 2 big mistakes in the next round. One of the first hands I get A K in late position. Cowboys fan raises to 1200 (this was typical of him. He raised preflop on a lot of hands but would bail if it was re-raised). Ken re-raises to 4000. I called. I probably should have mucked as I felt he had me beat before the flop. Cowboys fan bailed. Flop totally misses me- 10 6 4. Ken bets 4000 and I fold. I should have stayed out because I had no plan for the flop. My choice was to either re-raise or fold. As I did, I asked how big his pair was. He wouldn't say. I still think he had me beat. A couple of hands later, I went for a knockout. Had raised the pot to 1500 with A J. Guy on my right went all in for about 4700 more. I called (again, should have folded as he had complained all night about not getting cards) I called and he showed K K. Shit! No help and suddenly I was pretty short stacked at 5300. Tried to limp in with A 9 but a raise of 3000 had me folding. I was able to steal some blinds by going all in with K K from an early position. Thought I was going to get at least one caller but no. So I had a bit of breathing room but had to find a spot to push.
I would get it soon. Funny thing happened. I was the cut off. UTG raised to 2000 (blinds are 500/1000). Faggy dude (yes, this is an accurate description of him. He had an earring in each ear. When he was moved to the table, I had to take about 10 minutes to figure out whether this was a guy or some really ugly chick. Seriously, I had this debate with myself) doesn't say a word and places his 5 red chips out (2500) and then goes back to grab his black chips. I tell him he can't do that as it is a string bet. He mumbles "don't be a dick". I laugh a bit and tell him to play by the rules. Announce what you are doing. He says mockingly, "what, do you think I was going to raise 500?". I tell him "yes, I have seen stupid play like that already". People at the table tell him he can't do that, but we will let it stand. It didn't really matter. I look down to see the Hilton sisters and I push my 4300 in. New guy who was dealing called my 4300 as well. Gus Hansen, who raised initially, folded. We flipped it up. Dealer had J J. Faggy dude had Q J clubs. My Q Q looked great at this point. I had to be a 90-95% favorite? It had to be huge, as only one card can beat me. Flop came out rags. Turn was the f*#@ing J of hearts! The one card that could beat me came out and I was done. I would have been in a good position having tripled up but my night was done. What can you do when the cards go against you that bad?
Even worse, I went to the food store after playing and this morning realized I forgot the toilet paper. Crap! (guess I have to do that at work)
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Badger Poker...What does it take?
Things got off to a better start for me Wednesday night at Gametime. I think it may have been the table. Sat down and watched the table fill with some good players for a change. I knew what to expect from each of these guys. Bucksman knew when to push. Chimney could be aggressive but also wouldn't push on crap. Schlitz was a somewhat loose player but not wild. Cubbie wasn't really good. Johnny Cash was somewhat loose. Germ was there. I had no feel for either of the two new guys. One had a hooded sweatshirt. I thought I was gonna watch someone do the Unabomber impersonation. The other guy on my immediate left was the juicy one. A perfect LAG.
I was able to chip up with some good bets early on as well. Caught A J suited and raised up 800 for a couple callers. Flop came with 2 of my suit, but no pair. I bet 1500 and had Cubbie calling. Turn was no help. Fired another 2500 and Cubbie folded. Apparently he was going for a straight. A little bit later against Cubbie I had 10 10 and called his 700 raise. Flop came with an A high. He hesitated so I made a pot size bet figuring the A was a scare card. He folded. I won another small hand before the break without showing any cards. Nice. Was actually up for once at the break by about 5k.
But to my left, the LAG was in full effect. He was playing and raising anything. He got a pair, raise. Suited, raise. Connected, raise. At the showdown, he was showing busted straights and flushes galore. He was just about out early on. Bucksman put him all in and showed A Q. He flipped A 9. He then flopped his trip 9s. I didn't mind because I wanted a piece of this action. I wouldn't get it for a while. Heck, I didn't play a single hand in the second session. During the whole 200/400 round, I tried to limp from the small blind once, but LAG raised it. My cards were very bad. The preflop raise was routine, which meant I couldn't play the Hammer just for kicks.
I got back in the action at the 500/1000 level. Busted out chimney. He had raised to 2000. I kicked it up to 3500. He then went all in and showed 7 7. My Q Q easily held up and he was gone. I sat tight, waited for cards, and played well. I wanted my chance against the LAG. I would get it when I peeked down to see 10 10. I raised up to 3500, and of course he called. I had him heads up. Flop came Q 7 5, with two hearts. I bet out 3000. He immediately went all in. It would cost me 5200 more. I looked at the board and at him and back to the board because looking at him was no picnic. Did he have a Q? I doubted it. I figured he was drawing to the flush, maybe A high again. If I called, I would still have about 12000 left. I didn't really like my 10s and felt I shouldn't have called, but hey, I wanted the LAG's chips. So I called. He showed A A. Shit! I get a chance to bust him and got clobbered. Oh well, time to move to a new table.
New table was good. I sit down to the left of a massive chip stack. I look at Germ and tell him my plan is to get all of his chips in 3 hands or less. He laughs and tells me to go for it. I would try. The new table would allow me to go on a rush. Soon after sitting down, with blinds at 1000/2000, I looked down and see Big Slick. I raise it up to 3500 and get two callers. Flop comes A A 9. Time to act. I scrunch up my nose, hem, haw, sigh and bet only 2000. I get called quickly by one but the other folds. Turn is a rag. Considering the size of the pot, I look at my last 6000 and "reluctantly" push in. He looks at me and asks what I have. I tell him a winning hand. He calls. I flop over the slickster to the oohs and ahhs of the table. He shows the Hilton Sisters and they get no other hos on the river. I would next see J J and raise up to 5000 with no callers. Next hand, I steal more blinds. Table has gotten real tight and I like it. Before I know it, I am sitting around 45000.
Germ and Bucksman had moved to this table as well. Bucksman is really interesting to watch when he gets short stacked. He will push all in with no fear. And it usually happens that he will win 3 to 4 all in bets before he gets knocked out. I did my own share of knocking out. Caught the rockets and raised up and knocked out two smaller stacks. Got A Q and knocked someone else out when a Q hit the board.
I am in a good spot here. Enough chips to coast into the top 20, and yet enough to pick on the smaller stacks.
They chip everyone up and soon we are at 20 and they move us again. I am very surprised to see the LAG there. I sit down into a small blind. Things are kicked up to 5000/10000 and play is even tighter. Soon they even add the ante. This is where I begin to find things amusing. I raise up to 20000 with A 10, hoping to just steal the blinds and antes. It works. But soon the other table starts losing people. Two guys at my table keep asking how many people are left. They are counting how many points they will earn tonight. Funnier is how they are really short stacked and slow playing just to survive. Me, I think they are missing the point and I look to get their chips. Just as the blinds go by me, they move us to the final table.
I get there to see Johnny Cash and another guy from the first table still in it. They redraw for the button and I will get it soon. I sit by and wait for smaller stacks to fall by. I don't see any need to force a mediocre hand into play. And fall they do. On one hand 4 people go all in. One for 50k, two at 20k, and one at 10k. No one flips over a strong hand. Highest is A 2. And when the deuce hits the river, the guy has quadrupled up. Other small stacks go away. We are down to six. I don't mind finishing at this level, but want one more spot as it would give me an overall lead. I am sitting around 80k or so. I look for spots to move and get them. Catch A J and push all in. Steal the blinds and antes. I do this a couple of times. Next we are done to 5, then 4. One huge stack is pushing people around. Johnny Cash is doing good in second. Me, I am a distant third but have more than 4th who would go out soon. I hung around again as the two big stacks would go to battle. I chipped up enough to keep around and took in some all ins when necessary. I then made a move on the former huge stack. He was playing very loose and I took my shot when I caught A 8 suited. He got no help on his K Q and he was done. I was down to the final two once again. Blinds are 20000/40000 with a 10000 ante. I look to see I am down by about 3 to 1. I need to double up soon. We take a couple of flops. I bet on every one to take them down. Finally, I look down at A 5. He raised 100k preflop. I try to make my move and push it all in. He calls and shows Q 10. Flop comes all rags, except for 2 spades. River is a spade. I call out "no spades, no spades!" River is not a spade. It is a Q. I am done. Bartender at game time is laughing as he liked it. He tells me "you made the right call, but you should have called for no queen either". Oh well. Once again, I come in 2nd place. Later when talking with the organizers, I find out that there is a prize for the points champ. So now I guess there is something to really gun for. I will win one of these. Sooner or later. Hopefully, more sooner than later.
I was able to chip up with some good bets early on as well. Caught A J suited and raised up 800 for a couple callers. Flop came with 2 of my suit, but no pair. I bet 1500 and had Cubbie calling. Turn was no help. Fired another 2500 and Cubbie folded. Apparently he was going for a straight. A little bit later against Cubbie I had 10 10 and called his 700 raise. Flop came with an A high. He hesitated so I made a pot size bet figuring the A was a scare card. He folded. I won another small hand before the break without showing any cards. Nice. Was actually up for once at the break by about 5k.
But to my left, the LAG was in full effect. He was playing and raising anything. He got a pair, raise. Suited, raise. Connected, raise. At the showdown, he was showing busted straights and flushes galore. He was just about out early on. Bucksman put him all in and showed A Q. He flipped A 9. He then flopped his trip 9s. I didn't mind because I wanted a piece of this action. I wouldn't get it for a while. Heck, I didn't play a single hand in the second session. During the whole 200/400 round, I tried to limp from the small blind once, but LAG raised it. My cards were very bad. The preflop raise was routine, which meant I couldn't play the Hammer just for kicks.
I got back in the action at the 500/1000 level. Busted out chimney. He had raised to 2000. I kicked it up to 3500. He then went all in and showed 7 7. My Q Q easily held up and he was gone. I sat tight, waited for cards, and played well. I wanted my chance against the LAG. I would get it when I peeked down to see 10 10. I raised up to 3500, and of course he called. I had him heads up. Flop came Q 7 5, with two hearts. I bet out 3000. He immediately went all in. It would cost me 5200 more. I looked at the board and at him and back to the board because looking at him was no picnic. Did he have a Q? I doubted it. I figured he was drawing to the flush, maybe A high again. If I called, I would still have about 12000 left. I didn't really like my 10s and felt I shouldn't have called, but hey, I wanted the LAG's chips. So I called. He showed A A. Shit! I get a chance to bust him and got clobbered. Oh well, time to move to a new table.
New table was good. I sit down to the left of a massive chip stack. I look at Germ and tell him my plan is to get all of his chips in 3 hands or less. He laughs and tells me to go for it. I would try. The new table would allow me to go on a rush. Soon after sitting down, with blinds at 1000/2000, I looked down and see Big Slick. I raise it up to 3500 and get two callers. Flop comes A A 9. Time to act. I scrunch up my nose, hem, haw, sigh and bet only 2000. I get called quickly by one but the other folds. Turn is a rag. Considering the size of the pot, I look at my last 6000 and "reluctantly" push in. He looks at me and asks what I have. I tell him a winning hand. He calls. I flop over the slickster to the oohs and ahhs of the table. He shows the Hilton Sisters and they get no other hos on the river. I would next see J J and raise up to 5000 with no callers. Next hand, I steal more blinds. Table has gotten real tight and I like it. Before I know it, I am sitting around 45000.
Germ and Bucksman had moved to this table as well. Bucksman is really interesting to watch when he gets short stacked. He will push all in with no fear. And it usually happens that he will win 3 to 4 all in bets before he gets knocked out. I did my own share of knocking out. Caught the rockets and raised up and knocked out two smaller stacks. Got A Q and knocked someone else out when a Q hit the board.
I am in a good spot here. Enough chips to coast into the top 20, and yet enough to pick on the smaller stacks.
They chip everyone up and soon we are at 20 and they move us again. I am very surprised to see the LAG there. I sit down into a small blind. Things are kicked up to 5000/10000 and play is even tighter. Soon they even add the ante. This is where I begin to find things amusing. I raise up to 20000 with A 10, hoping to just steal the blinds and antes. It works. But soon the other table starts losing people. Two guys at my table keep asking how many people are left. They are counting how many points they will earn tonight. Funnier is how they are really short stacked and slow playing just to survive. Me, I think they are missing the point and I look to get their chips. Just as the blinds go by me, they move us to the final table.
I get there to see Johnny Cash and another guy from the first table still in it. They redraw for the button and I will get it soon. I sit by and wait for smaller stacks to fall by. I don't see any need to force a mediocre hand into play. And fall they do. On one hand 4 people go all in. One for 50k, two at 20k, and one at 10k. No one flips over a strong hand. Highest is A 2. And when the deuce hits the river, the guy has quadrupled up. Other small stacks go away. We are down to six. I don't mind finishing at this level, but want one more spot as it would give me an overall lead. I am sitting around 80k or so. I look for spots to move and get them. Catch A J and push all in. Steal the blinds and antes. I do this a couple of times. Next we are done to 5, then 4. One huge stack is pushing people around. Johnny Cash is doing good in second. Me, I am a distant third but have more than 4th who would go out soon. I hung around again as the two big stacks would go to battle. I chipped up enough to keep around and took in some all ins when necessary. I then made a move on the former huge stack. He was playing very loose and I took my shot when I caught A 8 suited. He got no help on his K Q and he was done. I was down to the final two once again. Blinds are 20000/40000 with a 10000 ante. I look to see I am down by about 3 to 1. I need to double up soon. We take a couple of flops. I bet on every one to take them down. Finally, I look down at A 5. He raised 100k preflop. I try to make my move and push it all in. He calls and shows Q 10. Flop comes all rags, except for 2 spades. River is a spade. I call out "no spades, no spades!" River is not a spade. It is a Q. I am done. Bartender at game time is laughing as he liked it. He tells me "you made the right call, but you should have called for no queen either". Oh well. Once again, I come in 2nd place. Later when talking with the organizers, I find out that there is a prize for the points champ. So now I guess there is something to really gun for. I will win one of these. Sooner or later. Hopefully, more sooner than later.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Badger Poker...I finished where?
Tuesday night at Rock Bottom should have been ugly. It was one of those night where, once I sat down and played a couple of hands, I realized it would be a short night. My game sucked. I was playing some bad cards and paying to see cards. One cannot win consistently going for gutshots, yet that is what I was doing. I avoided one bullet though. Playing out of the big blind with 9 8, flop came 3 3 8. I called a 1000 bet. Turn came a K. Guy who had bet 1000 previously only bet 500. I put him to the test and raised to 1500. He called. When a rag hit the river, he came put me all in for my remaining 3500 (yes, I had bled down to 3500 within 20 minutes, that is how bad I was playing). As disgusted as I was with my play, I refused to go down on two pair with my high pair being an 8. I mucked and he showed his pocket Kings. Good part of this was I noticed his betting pattern. He had drained some chips from me earlier when I had Q J in the small blind. I had called his preflop bet of 1200 and the flop had come K Q 9. He bet out 2000 and I folded. It seemed he was slow playing his big pairs, opting for a small raise and raising big with his ace and face. I was on to him now, but it would take a while for me to use the info to my advantage. I make an attempt to knock the Brutha out when I catch J J. I bet 1000 to put him all in. He shows A 2. Flop comes J 4 5. Of course, the turn would be a 3 to give him the straight and more importantly, life. He would go on a nice streak even though he was playing anything conncected or suited. But he still played better than the Albino. Albino made classic/stupid mistake. He bled chips faster than I did and eventually gave someone 5000 of his last 5600 in one hand. He paid the guy off on the flop and turn, but folded at the river and would call in his last 600. WTF? At the end of the first break, I was at 2500. Other friends from work, Pete, Kevin, and Corey were doing much better. I had my little stack and they all had what looked like mountains to me. I knew my only move would be to move all in with a good hand and soon.
I was in the big blind when we started the second session. Got dealt the big Q 9 to start. There were 4 people in the hand when the board came up rags. It checked around. Hey, free cards. Turn was another rag. Checked around. River was a 9. Heck, toss the red chip. One caller who had A high and I just about double up. I don't get much more to play for a while. Try to defend my blinds but I just give chips out again. Blinds move up to 500/1000 and I am just slowly melting away. Still get nothing and hit the next break. Don't know what I am doing here. I look over to see some commotion at another table where everyone is standing. Some dud catches his card on the river and pumps his fist in the air. I see Pete roll his eyes and look away from the clown. I chuckle wondering what happened over there as the dud whoops it up. I comment to someone how it must have been his skill the lucked that card out for him.
Blinds have been kicked up to 1000/2000 and I am screwed. Sitting in the big blind with my last 2200, I push the 200 in without even looking at my cards. There is one caller. They ask to flip and I tell them no. Let's make it a bit more dramatic. The show the flop A 10 2. They start talking about how I may have deuces underneath. Turn is a rag, river an A. The other guy, the Brutha, turns over Q 6 suited (typical of what he was playing). I turn my first card, a 4. Second card is a 10. I am still alive!
Next hand, in the small blind, I get J J. I push again. Only the big blind calls. He has an ace. My jacks hold up. I double again! Next hand, I get A 2. They want me to push a third time. I think about it, even count out how much I have, but decide to fold. Big blind raised 5000 to force small to fold. I wouldn't have caught anything so my muck was good. A couple hands later, I would catch 8 8. I called a 2000 blind on the guy who had the pattern. Pattern man checked pre flop but came out swinging on a flop of K 8 J. He bet out 2000 and I pushed. He folded. I was finally over the 10k staring point. Strangely though, the field was getting quite thin and it was somewhat early in the night. We are down to about 26 people as our table goes down to 5. I look and see 3 other tables playing, with room for our table at the others. The director comes over to chip us up. With my odd chips, I am walking from that table with 17000. He does break us and I am going in between the button and the blinds to save myself a bit of money and time. That is one key strategy to use in the tourney. If you are going to be moved, look around. They do not assign you so you can take advantage of the situation and escape some blinds if you need to.
So I move in to the next table to see Pete, Kevin and Corey still with their mountains looking pretty good. Blinds are sitting at 5000/10000. I get chipped up to 20000 when they get rid of the greens. I don't play anything until I hit the blinds. We have gone under the 20 people so I will get some points. I am amazed at this as I started so bad. But everytime I pushed at the higher limits, I survived. I am surprised to still be here. I am not surprised to be stuck in the big blind and see K 4. Kevin, under the gun, moves all in with 35000. It folds around to me. I look again and think. I am committed here. Any two cards can win. No one else at the table is really short stacked either so I call my last 10000 in there. Kevin flips over A Q. I throw my hand up. Flop comes with a K. He gets no help and I am now at 45000. Pete would go out soon followed by Kevin. Corey would have a good stack to work with. I didn't catch much again until the blinds came around to me. One guy had pushed all in with 55000. I looked down to see 9 9. I had played against the Cowboys fan a couple times before. I knew he was aggressive and expected to see at least an ace from him. I called his all in. He showed A 10. I was done when an A hit and didn't catch any help. I ended up 13th. Not bad for some crappy play earlier. Plus I had lasted longer than Kevin or Pete. Nice!
I was in the big blind when we started the second session. Got dealt the big Q 9 to start. There were 4 people in the hand when the board came up rags. It checked around. Hey, free cards. Turn was another rag. Checked around. River was a 9. Heck, toss the red chip. One caller who had A high and I just about double up. I don't get much more to play for a while. Try to defend my blinds but I just give chips out again. Blinds move up to 500/1000 and I am just slowly melting away. Still get nothing and hit the next break. Don't know what I am doing here. I look over to see some commotion at another table where everyone is standing. Some dud catches his card on the river and pumps his fist in the air. I see Pete roll his eyes and look away from the clown. I chuckle wondering what happened over there as the dud whoops it up. I comment to someone how it must have been his skill the lucked that card out for him.
Blinds have been kicked up to 1000/2000 and I am screwed. Sitting in the big blind with my last 2200, I push the 200 in without even looking at my cards. There is one caller. They ask to flip and I tell them no. Let's make it a bit more dramatic. The show the flop A 10 2. They start talking about how I may have deuces underneath. Turn is a rag, river an A. The other guy, the Brutha, turns over Q 6 suited (typical of what he was playing). I turn my first card, a 4. Second card is a 10. I am still alive!
Next hand, in the small blind, I get J J. I push again. Only the big blind calls. He has an ace. My jacks hold up. I double again! Next hand, I get A 2. They want me to push a third time. I think about it, even count out how much I have, but decide to fold. Big blind raised 5000 to force small to fold. I wouldn't have caught anything so my muck was good. A couple hands later, I would catch 8 8. I called a 2000 blind on the guy who had the pattern. Pattern man checked pre flop but came out swinging on a flop of K 8 J. He bet out 2000 and I pushed. He folded. I was finally over the 10k staring point. Strangely though, the field was getting quite thin and it was somewhat early in the night. We are down to about 26 people as our table goes down to 5. I look and see 3 other tables playing, with room for our table at the others. The director comes over to chip us up. With my odd chips, I am walking from that table with 17000. He does break us and I am going in between the button and the blinds to save myself a bit of money and time. That is one key strategy to use in the tourney. If you are going to be moved, look around. They do not assign you so you can take advantage of the situation and escape some blinds if you need to.
So I move in to the next table to see Pete, Kevin and Corey still with their mountains looking pretty good. Blinds are sitting at 5000/10000. I get chipped up to 20000 when they get rid of the greens. I don't play anything until I hit the blinds. We have gone under the 20 people so I will get some points. I am amazed at this as I started so bad. But everytime I pushed at the higher limits, I survived. I am surprised to still be here. I am not surprised to be stuck in the big blind and see K 4. Kevin, under the gun, moves all in with 35000. It folds around to me. I look again and think. I am committed here. Any two cards can win. No one else at the table is really short stacked either so I call my last 10000 in there. Kevin flips over A Q. I throw my hand up. Flop comes with a K. He gets no help and I am now at 45000. Pete would go out soon followed by Kevin. Corey would have a good stack to work with. I didn't catch much again until the blinds came around to me. One guy had pushed all in with 55000. I looked down to see 9 9. I had played against the Cowboys fan a couple times before. I knew he was aggressive and expected to see at least an ace from him. I called his all in. He showed A 10. I was done when an A hit and didn't catch any help. I ended up 13th. Not bad for some crappy play earlier. Plus I had lasted longer than Kevin or Pete. Nice!
Monday, September 06, 2004
Potowatami Poker Report- The hat that got away
Went to the Pot on Sunday morning. They had only 4 tables running when I got there. Seems some lights had burnt out on 2 tables and stupidly they weren't rushing to get them fixed. So I waited about half an hour for things to get going. When I sat down, the guy next to me starts talking about some common friends we had. Turns out we were both in the same fantasy football league years ago.
Things start out ok. I take down an ok pot with a pair of 3s that became a straight. Didn't get my pocket rockets cracked. I take my time and don't play many hands for a while. I start playing some suited connectors and hit a set when a pair of 4s hit the board. But I begin to notice that all the pots are pretty damn small. Hardly anyone is bettng or raising when they have the nuts. I had A K broken up with the flop paired my A along with a Q and a rag. I bet the flop and turn and got two callers. The old guy was willing to see down every hand, even if he had bottom pair or just a high card. The other guy did some talking but wasn't too bright but he put in a raise on the turn. The river had brought another rag. I checked as did everyone else. Not too bright guy had a set of queens. I don't understand why he didn't bet. Was he planning to check raise? Idiot had already blown his cover. He would do this a couple more times. Not bet preflop (practically no one did) or maximize any pots.
After that things got bad. I stopped playing some hands I normally would like to see a flop on. I passed on J 10. Flop came 10 10 K. Turn was a J. River, the case 10. That would have been a hat. It also could have been a big pot for me as I would have gotten a couple bets out of the full house. Now I wasn't getting any hands. Everytime I looked down, I always saw a Q but with a 2,5,3. One time in the blind I get 8 9 and am able to check in. Flop come 8 9 5. I bet and get two callers. Turn is a J. I bet and they call. River is an A. I check. Guy on the end is about to check but then looks at his cards and bets. I call and he turns over A 5. He called down the flop and river with a pair of 5s. Sonofabitch! I proceed to have my K K beat. A Q taken down twice. A J beat. Nothing was going right. End result is leaving two Bens with bad players. Disgusting!
It had to be bad karma from missing the hat opportunity.
Things start out ok. I take down an ok pot with a pair of 3s that became a straight. Didn't get my pocket rockets cracked. I take my time and don't play many hands for a while. I start playing some suited connectors and hit a set when a pair of 4s hit the board. But I begin to notice that all the pots are pretty damn small. Hardly anyone is bettng or raising when they have the nuts. I had A K broken up with the flop paired my A along with a Q and a rag. I bet the flop and turn and got two callers. The old guy was willing to see down every hand, even if he had bottom pair or just a high card. The other guy did some talking but wasn't too bright but he put in a raise on the turn. The river had brought another rag. I checked as did everyone else. Not too bright guy had a set of queens. I don't understand why he didn't bet. Was he planning to check raise? Idiot had already blown his cover. He would do this a couple more times. Not bet preflop (practically no one did) or maximize any pots.
After that things got bad. I stopped playing some hands I normally would like to see a flop on. I passed on J 10. Flop came 10 10 K. Turn was a J. River, the case 10. That would have been a hat. It also could have been a big pot for me as I would have gotten a couple bets out of the full house. Now I wasn't getting any hands. Everytime I looked down, I always saw a Q but with a 2,5,3. One time in the blind I get 8 9 and am able to check in. Flop come 8 9 5. I bet and get two callers. Turn is a J. I bet and they call. River is an A. I check. Guy on the end is about to check but then looks at his cards and bets. I call and he turns over A 5. He called down the flop and river with a pair of 5s. Sonofabitch! I proceed to have my K K beat. A Q taken down twice. A J beat. Nothing was going right. End result is leaving two Bens with bad players. Disgusting!
It had to be bad karma from missing the hat opportunity.
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Papa's Social Club...The guys weren't kidding
Friday afternoons in the investment world can be brutal. Add in the fact that it is summer and the day before a holiday weekend. That is B R ootal!!! So it is no wonder that the boys were getting up a poker game for after work. It was off to Papa's Pub for some crazy poker action.
Ran into Eric there. He used to work with us. Otherwise it was the usual cast of characters. Nate, Sam, Curly, Pat, Sean and Darren (Little Bladder Girl).
I got there just after they started a game. Curly had just busted out and they were kind enough to let me buy in for 75% of the starting stack. Thank guys, you are sooooo generous. First hand I am dealt a Q J. 4 people see the flop of 8 8 10. I bet out and Eric immediately raises. I had liked my draw but this gutshot isn't worth it. I did like how someone commented that I was trying to buy the pot right away. File that one away. I would bust out of the first game moving in with K Q clubs and getting no help. Eric took game one.
Game 2 started up. Pat seemed to go all in a lot (shocker!). There was a big pot early in the game. I had gone to the restroom and came back to see 4 people had gone all in. Most of them had crap except for Nate's Hilton Sisters. The girls held up and he had a huge lead. Those girls would come back to crack my A A and knock me out. I guess Nate was having his way with the ladies. BOC had arrived and was tossing chips all over the place. I don't know what was going down faster, his chips count or the drinks he was gulping down. Sam seemed to have all of his good hands busted by the board. We seem to lose a bunch of people when this game ended.
It was down to just 5 of us for game 3 and the stakes went up. Somehow I had gotten out to a lead. Don't recall. Hey, I was having my fill of beers too. I just remember that I finally had won a game. Maybe it was because the entry was higher and the winner's share was greater. I won with A J. Flop came out beautifully, K Q 10. I checked to Nate who made a big bet. I went into my best Oscar award winning performance and "thought" about it. I took my time, looked at his stack and pushed him all in reluctantly. The straight held up. It was funny though. Nate had a Q in his hand and one came up on the river. He thought he won. When they showed him the straight he goes "Really?...oh" Maybe he didn't realize the game was over.
They then forced a 4th game. I don't recall the details. I just know I won when I called an all in bet with A 3. Nate showed his A Q and I thought I was done. But a 3 came up to give me another victory.
But let's get to the highlight of the night. Kelly. Now the boys had mentioned the hot waitress at Papas. They were not kidding. Nice rack. Definatley, lived up to every word they said. I had to give credit to Sam and BOC, the pretty boys, who kept her coming back. I thought there could be massive zipper shrapnel every time she leaned forward and pressed her chest against the chair. Nice, sweet girl. I envy her fiancee.
Ran into Eric there. He used to work with us. Otherwise it was the usual cast of characters. Nate, Sam, Curly, Pat, Sean and Darren (Little Bladder Girl).
I got there just after they started a game. Curly had just busted out and they were kind enough to let me buy in for 75% of the starting stack. Thank guys, you are sooooo generous. First hand I am dealt a Q J. 4 people see the flop of 8 8 10. I bet out and Eric immediately raises. I had liked my draw but this gutshot isn't worth it. I did like how someone commented that I was trying to buy the pot right away. File that one away. I would bust out of the first game moving in with K Q clubs and getting no help. Eric took game one.
Game 2 started up. Pat seemed to go all in a lot (shocker!). There was a big pot early in the game. I had gone to the restroom and came back to see 4 people had gone all in. Most of them had crap except for Nate's Hilton Sisters. The girls held up and he had a huge lead. Those girls would come back to crack my A A and knock me out. I guess Nate was having his way with the ladies. BOC had arrived and was tossing chips all over the place. I don't know what was going down faster, his chips count or the drinks he was gulping down. Sam seemed to have all of his good hands busted by the board. We seem to lose a bunch of people when this game ended.
It was down to just 5 of us for game 3 and the stakes went up. Somehow I had gotten out to a lead. Don't recall. Hey, I was having my fill of beers too. I just remember that I finally had won a game. Maybe it was because the entry was higher and the winner's share was greater. I won with A J. Flop came out beautifully, K Q 10. I checked to Nate who made a big bet. I went into my best Oscar award winning performance and "thought" about it. I took my time, looked at his stack and pushed him all in reluctantly. The straight held up. It was funny though. Nate had a Q in his hand and one came up on the river. He thought he won. When they showed him the straight he goes "Really?...oh" Maybe he didn't realize the game was over.
They then forced a 4th game. I don't recall the details. I just know I won when I called an all in bet with A 3. Nate showed his A Q and I thought I was done. But a 3 came up to give me another victory.
But let's get to the highlight of the night. Kelly. Now the boys had mentioned the hot waitress at Papas. They were not kidding. Nice rack. Definatley, lived up to every word they said. I had to give credit to Sam and BOC, the pretty boys, who kept her coming back. I thought there could be massive zipper shrapnel every time she leaned forward and pressed her chest against the chair. Nice, sweet girl. I envy her fiancee.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Badger Poker... Tilt!!!
Wednesday night has me going downtown to Gametime to play more poker. Sat down at a table that wasn't facing the sun. Also sat there because there were two women sitting there. Now before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, it hasn't nothing to do with women playing poker. It has to do with the fact that most women that play in Badger are either very tight or very loose (not in a good way). These two would show to be very tight. One was married (I think it was her husband that was to her right) and the other was a chubby chick. The rest of the table filled up with players I had played with or seen. Germ, the guy I lost to at Lave sat across from me. We killed some time talking about the level of play at the Pot and online. To his right was a friend of his, looked Hawaiian, seemed cool. He started by playing every hand and either showing 3rd pair or mucking at the river. He was paying Germ off well. Otherwise the table was somewhat tight. I got a boost early. Pot was raised to 600 and 4 people called. I had a pair of 7s and flopped 3 3 7- full house. Tight girl to my right bet out 500. I raised to 2000 and everyone folded. I think I overplayed that hand. Probably should have just called, but 7s over 3s could have been busted right away. Took in a decent pot so I was satisfied. Bruins hat slowplayed his A A and made very little. Later, he would have them cracked doing the same thing. I tried to play it easy and just last. It didn't work well. Avoided a disaster when I raised up with J J in early position. Chubby chick called as well as Germ. Pot was about 2400 when the flop showed 10 10 4. I bet 2000. Chubby called me quickly. That alarmed me. She must have something. Germ though went over the top and all in. I knew CC had me beat. But what could Germ have. I decided he either had A 10 or J 10. I mucked. She called and showed K K. He had A 10. Ah, the benefit of having played with someone before. Flip side is I had bled some chips on hands that didn't hit and was sitting at about 3500 at the end of the first session.
Not much happened in the second session. I was determined to find a spot and push. I would double up from the BB. Had J 9 and called a small raise. Flop came 8 5 2. It checked around. Turn was a J. I bet 1500 and was called by the 2 other players. River was an 8. Not a bad card, but not good. I pushed all in after looking at Bruins hat and figuring he probably didn't have an 8. When he quickly called, I thought I was done. He showed J 5, the other one mucked and my 9 kicker won the pot for me. I had tripled to just under the start of 10k. I was back in it. I continued to play it on the tight side. They had moved some people to our table. One big stack walked in and turned out to be an aggressive buckhead. Yes, that is with a B. I think the guy bought all his clothes at Gander Mountain. GM hat and a shirt that said Buckwear. His stack was slightly bigger than Germs. This is where things got interesting. Buckhead starts raising every pot. At first he gets everyone to fold. But Hawaiian takes him on and gets him to show his cards. He has been raising on suited or connectors and sometimes was just calling with big pairs. Germ apparently decided to take him out. The two went to war. Buckhead raises, Germ re-raises. Cards come out, chips fly in. Buckhead starts taking pots. He shows the Hilton sisters and wins. He catches a J on the river and wins. Again, he rivers a win. Germ keeps firing chips and Buckhead keeps calling. Right before my eyes, I am watching Germ tilt. He is melting like an ice cube and getting frustrated that Buckhead is catching his cards. He then busts out. He pushed all in with A J. Ran into A K and K Q. A K held up and he went from a big stack to being out within 5 hands. He is a good player and unfortunately lost it. Buckhead on the other hand was beginning to use his stack well. But then he tightened up as blinds went up. Interesting.
Me, I made it to the next break with about 12000. Played it easy, taking in some small pots.
Blinds moved to 1000/2000 before I got into any real action. In the small blind, I called with K 9. Guy in the BB raised it 2000 more. I had been talking with him and gave him some shit for doing that to me. I chucked in 2000 more. Flop came J 10 7. I fired 3000. He called. Hmmm.... Turn was a rag. I stated him down and checked. I kept looking at him as the river came out. Q. Nice. I push and he calls. I doubled up on my straight. I am now in a position to coast a bit and only play big hands. I catch K K in early position and push. I only get one caller who has a whopping 300 to his name. I took the blinds and knocked him out. Get J J and get no called so I take some blinds again. I would end the session at around 28000.
We are somewhere around 25 players at the end of the next break. Blinds have been hiked up to 5000/10000. After everyone grumbles about the jump (from 2000/4000), I look down to see Siegfried and Roy. I am on the button and push. Everyone else had folded. I get the guy on my right to call (he had me covered) as well as the big blind who was all in. We turned them over and my Q Q was by far the best hand. Small blind had 8 5 clubs. Big blind had J 8. Flop came with A A 10. Rag and the river was another A. So glad no one had an A in their hand. Now I was up to about 60000ish. Blinds knocked me down to about 45000 as there was another quick break as they chipped everyone up to purple. They also hiked the blinds up to 10000/20000. Ouch. We are also down to the last 2 tables so I am getting some points. Play resumes and I see A Q spades. Nice. I am on the button. It folds around and I push. Both blinds have huge stacks. SB folds. BB calls as it is only 15k more. He turns over 8 8. Hmm....I got the over cards. Flop doesn't hit me. Turn is the A. Yes. Looks good as I turn the river. I have a bad feeling. Too bad a feeling. River is the 8 of hearts. Busted. I am out at 18.
I felt better about how I played later in the game. I liked taking advantage of the tight players when blinds had moved up. Too many people stay tight, just hoping to survive to the top 20. However, I still feel I am too loose in the beginning, but didn't suffer any tremendous bad beats. It felt good to gain some point once again. Hopefully, I can continue this and make it a trend.
Not much happened in the second session. I was determined to find a spot and push. I would double up from the BB. Had J 9 and called a small raise. Flop came 8 5 2. It checked around. Turn was a J. I bet 1500 and was called by the 2 other players. River was an 8. Not a bad card, but not good. I pushed all in after looking at Bruins hat and figuring he probably didn't have an 8. When he quickly called, I thought I was done. He showed J 5, the other one mucked and my 9 kicker won the pot for me. I had tripled to just under the start of 10k. I was back in it. I continued to play it on the tight side. They had moved some people to our table. One big stack walked in and turned out to be an aggressive buckhead. Yes, that is with a B. I think the guy bought all his clothes at Gander Mountain. GM hat and a shirt that said Buckwear. His stack was slightly bigger than Germs. This is where things got interesting. Buckhead starts raising every pot. At first he gets everyone to fold. But Hawaiian takes him on and gets him to show his cards. He has been raising on suited or connectors and sometimes was just calling with big pairs. Germ apparently decided to take him out. The two went to war. Buckhead raises, Germ re-raises. Cards come out, chips fly in. Buckhead starts taking pots. He shows the Hilton sisters and wins. He catches a J on the river and wins. Again, he rivers a win. Germ keeps firing chips and Buckhead keeps calling. Right before my eyes, I am watching Germ tilt. He is melting like an ice cube and getting frustrated that Buckhead is catching his cards. He then busts out. He pushed all in with A J. Ran into A K and K Q. A K held up and he went from a big stack to being out within 5 hands. He is a good player and unfortunately lost it. Buckhead on the other hand was beginning to use his stack well. But then he tightened up as blinds went up. Interesting.
Me, I made it to the next break with about 12000. Played it easy, taking in some small pots.
Blinds moved to 1000/2000 before I got into any real action. In the small blind, I called with K 9. Guy in the BB raised it 2000 more. I had been talking with him and gave him some shit for doing that to me. I chucked in 2000 more. Flop came J 10 7. I fired 3000. He called. Hmmm.... Turn was a rag. I stated him down and checked. I kept looking at him as the river came out. Q. Nice. I push and he calls. I doubled up on my straight. I am now in a position to coast a bit and only play big hands. I catch K K in early position and push. I only get one caller who has a whopping 300 to his name. I took the blinds and knocked him out. Get J J and get no called so I take some blinds again. I would end the session at around 28000.
We are somewhere around 25 players at the end of the next break. Blinds have been hiked up to 5000/10000. After everyone grumbles about the jump (from 2000/4000), I look down to see Siegfried and Roy. I am on the button and push. Everyone else had folded. I get the guy on my right to call (he had me covered) as well as the big blind who was all in. We turned them over and my Q Q was by far the best hand. Small blind had 8 5 clubs. Big blind had J 8. Flop came with A A 10. Rag and the river was another A. So glad no one had an A in their hand. Now I was up to about 60000ish. Blinds knocked me down to about 45000 as there was another quick break as they chipped everyone up to purple. They also hiked the blinds up to 10000/20000. Ouch. We are also down to the last 2 tables so I am getting some points. Play resumes and I see A Q spades. Nice. I am on the button. It folds around and I push. Both blinds have huge stacks. SB folds. BB calls as it is only 15k more. He turns over 8 8. Hmm....I got the over cards. Flop doesn't hit me. Turn is the A. Yes. Looks good as I turn the river. I have a bad feeling. Too bad a feeling. River is the 8 of hearts. Busted. I am out at 18.
I felt better about how I played later in the game. I liked taking advantage of the tight players when blinds had moved up. Too many people stay tight, just hoping to survive to the top 20. However, I still feel I am too loose in the beginning, but didn't suffer any tremendous bad beats. It felt good to gain some point once again. Hopefully, I can continue this and make it a trend.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Badger Poker...umm...can I have a second chance?
Tuesday night brings us back to the Rock Bottom Brewery. I heartily endorse you try the Hefe Weissen. Smooth and mellow. Nice. Maybe you can try to play poker too. I did. It didn't go well but I tried.
Tuesday started better than previous night. I liked the table I was at. Some good, but not great players. One guy could be bluffed easily. Another liked to overbet the pot on any hand. A third was going to fire out on anything. Then there was the rock to my right.
Things started ok. A couple hands in I got J J. Raised, but only had one caller. Flop came with rags. Bet out 1000 and he folded. This would be a trend with this one player. Boston Hat would always fold to a big bet. Didn't matter if he had pot odds, he would fold to any big bet. So, when I got K J suited a number of hands later, I raised preflop and had two callers, including Boston Hat. Flop included a J so I bet out a pot size bet. Both folded. I did it again the following hand when Kojak returned, this time, unsuited. Raised from the big blind. Boston Hat and a calling station were in. Flop missed me. Came 9 5 2. I bet out 1000 and the calling station went with me. Boston Hat folded (no surprise). Turn was a Q. I tried again. Bet out 2000. Calling Station called. River was nothing. I checked and he showed 8 9 hearts. Ugh! Calling all that down with just a pair of 9s. Interesting. I would also drop a bunch of chips just before the break when I raised UTG with K 10 hearts. Flop came A J K, one heart. It was me, Calling Station, and the guy who would just fire chips away. CS was all in preflop. I bet out 1500 on the flop and was just called. Turn was a rag. I checked. River was a 10. I bet out 2500. I figured he had a piece of the flop, maybe the A and was just slow playing. Turns out he had A J, beating my own two pair. Bastard!
I started the second session with about 3500. There were a couple small stacks at the table. Talk turned to the second chance table and how some people will bet crazy with the small stack at this point. They will either double or go to the second chance table to get some points. I limped in with Q J. There were 4 callers until the Chip Chucker raised it 2000. The chips were there so I called. He showed J J. Didn't catch a Q so I was done.
I walked up to the bar, hand another Hefe Weissen and got into the second chance area. It started bad as they kept cramming people onto a table. I think we had 12 people just after the start. It seemed like we played a couple hands and brand new players were pushing in. The betting was nuts too. Blinds started at 200/400. Preflop bets were flying around between 2000 and 5000. I held back a bit and waited to see some of these guys out. The guys doing the crazy betting were having big chip swings. I waited for the chance to swing those chips to me. Caught A J and raised to 2000. Got 2 callers. Flop gave me a jack. Bet out and they folded. Soon I caught Q Q. One guy I had played with earlier, who always made big bets, pushed all in. I quickly called. I showed my Hilton Sisters as he showed his 9 9. No help for him and his chips were mine. Next hand I caught A 10. One pushed his 4200 in. Another guy had called as well. A hit the flop and I pushed the other guy all in. He folded. Other guy showed 5 5 and he was done. I was getting a nice stack in front of me, over 35000. Soon, I would catch K J clubs. I raised preflop and got 3 callers, with one going all in. There was over 15000 in the pot when the flop came A 10 rag. The A & 10 were clubs. The other guy with chips had slightly more than I did. He was a weaselly looking guy. He bet 3000. I raised all in. I had the royal, flush, and straight draws. Turn was a Q for the straight. River was another Q. Thankfully, no one had filled a house and I raked in a huge pot. They consolidated tables and we had 9 left. There was one guy who had roughly the same amount as I did. But he didn't use his stack like me. I started raising and stealing blinds. Got caught once, but I don't think it was that bad of a call. Raised with J 10. Got on my left went all in. I placed him for A high and called about 8000 more. Sure enough, he had A 9 suited. Didn't get any help on the board and lost the hand. Nothing too exciting happened as people dropped left and right. What I didn't like was the play by weaselly guy. I had noticed a friend tell him to go all in soon because they had to leave. A couple of hands later he did just that. He pushed all in on the turn when his buddy came back. He had absolutely nothing and basically pushed about 10k of chips to the guy on my left. That was BS. If you are going to leave, don't donate to someone else. It kills the integrity of the game.
We would soon be down to 3. I had lost any semblance of a lead. It was fairly even. The guy to my left is a good player. I was more concerned about him than the yahoo across from me. Yahoo would want to see a flop. Usually, you could bet and he would fold. He also liked to slam his cards down to show he had a good hand. Things went back and forth for a bit. It was funny how someone volunteered to deal. It was good because things went quicker. But Yahoo couldn't handle it and whined to deal. Things changed when I dropped a huge pot. With blinds 1000/2000, I raised it to 5000 with A J. Yahoo called. Flop came Q J 10. Yahoo went all in. I called. He showed Q J. Didn't catch an A or K and I was slammed hard. I had about 10k left after that. I managed to double up twice. Pushed with A 2 against K Q. Then again with A 10. But went down when my K 10 ran into A J. Nothing for placing third.
Strangely enough, I had more fun at the second chance table. There were better players in that group than maybe the final table. Game became a bit more strategy than just firing chips.
Oh well, there is always tonight.
Tuesday started better than previous night. I liked the table I was at. Some good, but not great players. One guy could be bluffed easily. Another liked to overbet the pot on any hand. A third was going to fire out on anything. Then there was the rock to my right.
Things started ok. A couple hands in I got J J. Raised, but only had one caller. Flop came with rags. Bet out 1000 and he folded. This would be a trend with this one player. Boston Hat would always fold to a big bet. Didn't matter if he had pot odds, he would fold to any big bet. So, when I got K J suited a number of hands later, I raised preflop and had two callers, including Boston Hat. Flop included a J so I bet out a pot size bet. Both folded. I did it again the following hand when Kojak returned, this time, unsuited. Raised from the big blind. Boston Hat and a calling station were in. Flop missed me. Came 9 5 2. I bet out 1000 and the calling station went with me. Boston Hat folded (no surprise). Turn was a Q. I tried again. Bet out 2000. Calling Station called. River was nothing. I checked and he showed 8 9 hearts. Ugh! Calling all that down with just a pair of 9s. Interesting. I would also drop a bunch of chips just before the break when I raised UTG with K 10 hearts. Flop came A J K, one heart. It was me, Calling Station, and the guy who would just fire chips away. CS was all in preflop. I bet out 1500 on the flop and was just called. Turn was a rag. I checked. River was a 10. I bet out 2500. I figured he had a piece of the flop, maybe the A and was just slow playing. Turns out he had A J, beating my own two pair. Bastard!
I started the second session with about 3500. There were a couple small stacks at the table. Talk turned to the second chance table and how some people will bet crazy with the small stack at this point. They will either double or go to the second chance table to get some points. I limped in with Q J. There were 4 callers until the Chip Chucker raised it 2000. The chips were there so I called. He showed J J. Didn't catch a Q so I was done.
I walked up to the bar, hand another Hefe Weissen and got into the second chance area. It started bad as they kept cramming people onto a table. I think we had 12 people just after the start. It seemed like we played a couple hands and brand new players were pushing in. The betting was nuts too. Blinds started at 200/400. Preflop bets were flying around between 2000 and 5000. I held back a bit and waited to see some of these guys out. The guys doing the crazy betting were having big chip swings. I waited for the chance to swing those chips to me. Caught A J and raised to 2000. Got 2 callers. Flop gave me a jack. Bet out and they folded. Soon I caught Q Q. One guy I had played with earlier, who always made big bets, pushed all in. I quickly called. I showed my Hilton Sisters as he showed his 9 9. No help for him and his chips were mine. Next hand I caught A 10. One pushed his 4200 in. Another guy had called as well. A hit the flop and I pushed the other guy all in. He folded. Other guy showed 5 5 and he was done. I was getting a nice stack in front of me, over 35000. Soon, I would catch K J clubs. I raised preflop and got 3 callers, with one going all in. There was over 15000 in the pot when the flop came A 10 rag. The A & 10 were clubs. The other guy with chips had slightly more than I did. He was a weaselly looking guy. He bet 3000. I raised all in. I had the royal, flush, and straight draws. Turn was a Q for the straight. River was another Q. Thankfully, no one had filled a house and I raked in a huge pot. They consolidated tables and we had 9 left. There was one guy who had roughly the same amount as I did. But he didn't use his stack like me. I started raising and stealing blinds. Got caught once, but I don't think it was that bad of a call. Raised with J 10. Got on my left went all in. I placed him for A high and called about 8000 more. Sure enough, he had A 9 suited. Didn't get any help on the board and lost the hand. Nothing too exciting happened as people dropped left and right. What I didn't like was the play by weaselly guy. I had noticed a friend tell him to go all in soon because they had to leave. A couple of hands later he did just that. He pushed all in on the turn when his buddy came back. He had absolutely nothing and basically pushed about 10k of chips to the guy on my left. That was BS. If you are going to leave, don't donate to someone else. It kills the integrity of the game.
We would soon be down to 3. I had lost any semblance of a lead. It was fairly even. The guy to my left is a good player. I was more concerned about him than the yahoo across from me. Yahoo would want to see a flop. Usually, you could bet and he would fold. He also liked to slam his cards down to show he had a good hand. Things went back and forth for a bit. It was funny how someone volunteered to deal. It was good because things went quicker. But Yahoo couldn't handle it and whined to deal. Things changed when I dropped a huge pot. With blinds 1000/2000, I raised it to 5000 with A J. Yahoo called. Flop came Q J 10. Yahoo went all in. I called. He showed Q J. Didn't catch an A or K and I was slammed hard. I had about 10k left after that. I managed to double up twice. Pushed with A 2 against K Q. Then again with A 10. But went down when my K 10 ran into A J. Nothing for placing third.
Strangely enough, I had more fun at the second chance table. There were better players in that group than maybe the final table. Game became a bit more strategy than just firing chips.
Oh well, there is always tonight.
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