Little poker

I haven't been playing much poker lately. With it being Summer and all, there are a lot of other things going on that keep me busy away from the felt. Like beer gardens. I love beer gardens. Give me a reason to sit outside and drink beer and I will be there.

But I digress..

I did play in the RiverChasers tourney last night. Can't believe Al became such a fuggin' sadist and made it a double stack. Give donkey more chips and watch the fur fly.

I was involved with two plays that I found interesting. Neither was a bad beat so I don't owe anyone a dollar.

The first was an interesting re-raise. It is one of those calls that people usually say "what a dumb play, how can they make that bet!" as they get pissed by a really good play, not knowing what the other player is thinking. I was in the BB with 6 6. UTG gave a 3xs raise and I called hoping the flop would hit me. 2 3 5. Not bad, not great. I had an overpair with a gutty. I thought about betting out but decided I wanted to see another card, so I called his 2/3 pot bet. Turn was a 7. No help and now the board looks dangerous. I let him bet again, knowing I would re-raise a lot. He bet out half the pot this time. I popped it to 1400, thinking he had A K or A Q. I was a bit surprised that he then went all in. Hmm....was I wrong? With just 670 to call, I had to. He turned over 8 8. River was no help and I was down to 1100.

I like the bet. I had been on the aggressive side and had pushed him out of a pot earlier with pocket 4s. Making a move with just 8s there is dangerous. I had to call the last bet not just because of the odds I was receiving but it was a RiverChasers tourney. The play can be craptacular and I may just hit the jackpot early. Besides, I have confidence I can chip back up.

That is basically what I did. Got back over the starting stack, getting myself into a position where a double up would put me right back into the game. There would be no double as I floated like a piece of driftwood on the sea. Hands were bad and it didn't help that I was table changed to some crazy people. I had to tighten up. I figured it would help my image. Was I wrong.

I didn't play many hands and utilized position to steal the blinds. So when I had K Qo in the SB and there were two limpers, I figured it was a good spot to steal. I pushed knowing the first limper would have A rag at best and would fold. Wrong again. They called with A 8o. I would get no help. In fact an A would hit the river to rub it in. Someone willing to toss in 25% of their stack with A 8 on a tight player. I noted them and can't wait to see them at the table again.

I may be playing some live poker next weekend. Going camping and may end up in a casino in Iowa. There is a Friday tournament with a $50 buy in. I have no idea if the structure is any good. The website says each player get 1000 in chips and does not specify blind levels. Hopefully I can't go make me some corn fed cash!