Tournaments weren't good

There isn't much to say about the tournaments I played while in Vegas. Binions 2 am saw me out around 22 of 33. I may have notes at home on what happened but it doesn't matter. I believe I took a heck of a beat that crippled me.

I played in the World Poker Classic on Thursday. The H.O.R.S.E bucked me pretty good. Played loose in the H & O and found myself not hitting at all. So I tightened up. Really tightened up. It was until two hours into the tournament that I won my first hand in the Stud portion. It was that bad. I would soon be out when the H got back around. I played poorly in this event. No ifs, and, or buts about it.

The WPBT tournament was a cluster fuck. Bad structure and a dick for a director. I started off well. With Grubby on my right and bayne on my left, I knew I couldn't get too tricky. I chipped up early by restealing from Grubby when he acted like he would muck then tried to buy the pot. Even got away with laying down the Hammer and getting the pot with a pair of 7s.

But with the tournament in turbo mode, I knew I either had to chip up quickly or have no chance to get deep. I was willing to gamble to get there. When Fuel55 got aggressive, I followed his act. He pointed out that at level 3, we basically had an M of 10. So, I raised with 7 7 in EP and called his push. I knew I had him covered and if I won the hand, I would run over the table. I expected to see A high from him but was surprised to see J J. Ouch! The flop was live for both of us- 8 9 10. I caught a nice 6 on the turn for my straight. But in grand suck and resuck fashion, a Q hit to give Fuel the higher straight. Two hands later I would be out. Such is the game.

Ironically, cash game were better for me, especially playing the 1/2 NL at the MGM and Hooters. In the past I made bad moves, trying to be overly aggressive and push people around or make calls when I knew I was beat but talked myself out of it. I listened to what Blood had to say. If he said the table was beatable if I played conservatively, I went with it. I guess that is why I even sat down at the 2/5 at the Rio late one night.

Following his advice, I played some straight forward poker to begin with. Nothing fancy, nothing aggro. Once I got a read for the table, I began to loosen up against certain players. Yep, play the players, not the cards. I got a feel for who I could push off a hand, who I could maximize value with, who I should avoid, etc. I came away with a feeling of confidence. In fact, there was only one hand that I wish I would have played differently.

2/5 NL at the Rio. Again, Blood told me to take a seat saying I could handle the higher stakes with these players. I was up about $50 when I decided to call 10 more from the BB with 10 7s. Flop came 10 high. I decided I was going to check raise the guy. He didn't seem strong and I felt my 10 was good. He bet 30 and I raised to 75. He called. Maybe I should have raised more. I then checked the turn. Here is where I think I made a mistake. I should have bet out, showing strength. I believe he may have folded. He checked behind and the river was checked as well. He showed A 10 for the win. Would anyone have been more aggressive there?

Apart from that hand, I was pleased with my NL game this trip. I look forward to developing it next time I am out there. I may even make a trip to the Indian casino in town.

I only played a bit of limit at the MGM. 4/8 on a very loose table. I felt like I was just unlucky. People kept hitting on the turn and beating me. I didn't play my best because of that. Plus, I had to sit next to the mimosa drinking Falstaff. Guess that explains the skirt! But I got the waitress to call him mimosa boy and had her ask the bartender if he wanted to see the lady that was pounding down the girlie drinks.

Final thing. Big congrats to Mrs. Spaceman! She took down the WPBT event in a very tough, entertaining match up with Grubette. The head to head battle was very exciting to watch as these ladies dumped my horse at the table. Yeah, I bet on Waffles to take it down and had confidence he would. But a suckout later he was done. At least I had some side action against Grubette. Nothing against her, I just took a bet against the huge stack from winning it all. Once again, congrats to Rachel for the win.