Bodonkey

Somehow I was at the top of the heap when the first break of the Bodog blogger tournament began. I was a bit surprised. It has been months since I played a hold em tournament. Plus I knew I wasn't playing a great game. I was leaving bets on the table and not being aggressive enough. Yet it was working.

My first major drop came halfway through the second round. I tried to collect the bounty on Rizen. With A Q I flat called his his raise. Flop was Q high. I raised his bet to just about put him in. He just called leaving 15 behind. Hmm. The remaining chips went in on the turn and he showed K K. No help on the river and I had my first major set back.

I then went out in grand fashion by calling a big bet with nothing. I put him on a bluff. I did hit my flush but he had his full house by then. It didn't matter too much. I was dead tired from working so much lately and a warm bed was better than a final table.

My share of suckouts

I just about went ballistic when the guy called my push with a crap hand in the Saturdays with Pauly PLO game. When he flopped two pair to take out my A A x x hand I was ready to go on major tilt. A Phil Hellmuth moment was ready to leap out of my mouth to be heard by no one but my cat. How can I be so unlucky I thought?

But I stopped and took a breath instead. How could I be so unlucky?

I realized it was luck that had me in a position in the money. Twice I had sucked out on Pauly. I went runner runner flush midway through the tournament to stay alive. At the final table, the board would counterfeit his two pair.

There was one hand in particular that I don't think I could have gotten away from. I flopped a full house with A 6 x x in the BB. Board was A 6 A on the flop. I eyed the other stacks and was counting them in my hand. I checked and got a bet. I smooth called. Turn was a rag. I check called again. River was a 9. Again my opponent made a small bet. I immediately bet pot. He thought and pushed his remaining chips in. No way I could fold, right?

Suddenly I had a feeling I was behind. Was he really going to show A 9 x x? That would be a nice catch for him. It would be the same sick suckout that I had managed twice before. Of course he took the pot. I wouldn't recap it if he hadn't.

But I am happy with 3rd. I had some fun and was content with my game. If one card fell my way I may have won it. Then again, many cards fell my way to get me there.

I look forward to playing in the Bodog game tomorrow. Hope to see you there.

Doesn't sound fair to me

You just got in to Vegas and checked into your hotel. You have the itch to get into a poker game right away so you toss your bags into the room and run back to the casino. It takes you a little bit longer to get to the poker room as the place is more crowded than you have ever seen it.

You wait about 15 minutes before you get a seat. In the first 10 minutes of play you fold every hand and sit back in amazement at the level of play you are seeing. Your opponents look like they haven't a clue what they are doing. You think to yourself that this is going to be easy money, especially after the confused guy at the end the table just lost a big hand.

But then you notice a floor employee walk up to the guy with the winning hand and say something as he makes a gesture. The guy who won the pot breaks off a stack of chips and gives it back to the loser of the hand. You are not sure what has happened and figure he just made a loan.

The game goes on and you are slowly amassing a nice stack. The $300 you started with has become over $500 in no time at all. Then you see someone sit down and buy in for $20. You chuckle to yourself that this guy is wasting his time by buying in for so little. The guy folds and folds as you watch to see what he is going to do.

A big pot goes down and it happens again. The winner has to give some of the money back to the loser but this time the guy who sat down with just $20 is give another $20 from the winner. You have no idea what is going on here. You try to get the attention of the dealer but he keeps going. You try to waive down a manager but they are busy. You can get up after the next hand.

Then you dealt J 10 of clubs. There is an early raise t0 $10. Two other guys call and you do as well from the button. Flop is nice. 8c 9c Ad. An open ended straight flush draw. You begin to wonder how much the jackpot is at when the bet comes to you. The initial raiser bet out a pot size bet and the other two called. You call as well. You hit your bingo card, the Queen of clubs. You try to keep your jubilation to yourself and look uninterested. You had put the initial raiser on a hand like A A and the second guy on any suited A, believing his call on the flop meant he had A x of clubs. You know he will pay you off if he does. You have no clue what the last guy has but you don't care. You are still taking glances at how much of a bonus you will get.

The initial bettor puts out a stack of 200 now. The next guy just calls. The third calls as well. You look at the pot and decide to raise. They have so much invest right now that they are committed. You know the guy with the aces can't lay them down. Hell, he wouldn't have bet with a flush and straight possibility on the board. Nut flush ain't gonna drop either and you are hoping the 3rd guy is clueless as to what is happening. You go with a min-raise to boot. Just $200 more.

The first guy calls and the nut flush pushes all in. The third guy calls the push. You do your best acting job to keep the last guy in. Yeah, you are greedy. Finally you call as does aces. Dealer tells everyone to flip their cards. You flip them and stand up. Not in victory but to get a clear look at how much the bonus is. $1500! Not bad. Just over that in the pot. You will have made 10xs what you sat down with. The last card is the 8s. You then look and see you were right. First guy had pocket aces. Next had the nut flush. The last guy turned over pocket 9s.

The dealer begins to move over the massive pile of chips to you. You give him a nice toke and begin to stack chips. As you do, you notice an employee walk up and stand just over your shoulder. You figure he is there to give you papers for the bonus. But first he asks that you count the size of the pot you just won so he can know how much it is. He then gives you a form to put your name and players club number on. You fill the form out and finish stacking the chips. You are not sure why he made a request for the size of the pot but you do so anyway. Maybe he is curious to know how large that pot had gotten.

You skip the next two hands as you do your counting. The floor guy finally comes back and sets $1000 in chips in front of you. As you are about to ask where the other $500 is, another employee starts giving chips to the rest of the people at the table. He then asks you how large the pot was. You tell him just over $2000. He tells you to cut $700 from your stack and give it to the guys who had just lost. It is just now you realize where the other $500 of your jackpot just went.

You tell the floor guy no way. Why should you give away the pot you just earned to the people who just lost? These people stink at the game. They should have spent many an hour doing what you did. Reading poker books and blogs. Honing your skills and learning to how to beat the game.

At this point you notice twenty dollar man get a rack and leave. He hadn't played a single hand but walked out of here with over a hundred dollar. Most of it from your jackpot hand.

This really sets you off. You tell the floor there is no way in hell you are giving this money to anyone. You spent years learning the game and getting good at it. You took the risk. You earned this money fair and square. It is not your fault that the other players didn't take the time to build up their skills and get good at the game.

The floor guy directs you away from the table and distributes your money out. He then explains that it wouldn't be fair to not let everyone enjoy the success you have had. He is just looking out for the others at the table. He then gives some of your money to people on the waiting list telling you that he is also looking out for those who follow after you. He is just spreading the wealth around so everybody is happy. You scream that it is your money that he is giving away but your protest falls on deaf ears. It is the rule of the casinos that they must now make sure all games are fair and that everyone wins.

Would you play in such a casino? Hell no.

So why would you want someone to do the same thing with your paycheck? You work hard on a daily basis. Went to college to get a degree to ensure you made a good living. Put in hard hours to advance up the ladder. Now someone is telling you that you are too successful and you must give your money to those who have not gone to school, who goof off on the job and for those who have decided they don't want to work.

Sound fair? Think about that when you go to vote on November 4.

Game time

My goal is to not get knocked out of the LeTune Challenge wihtin the first 15 minutes. I have the fridge full of beer and nothing to do but throw cards around and drink beer. It feels like Christmas!

I did start with the Rogue Dead Guy Ale. Smooth. Nice. Tasty. I am sad that I have only one bottle.

I made it through the first 15 minutes without busting out. Small victory if I hadn't gotten a tad loose in the Omaha round. Time to tighten up a bit. I have faith in my O game if I don't get stupid. I have time and beer on my side.

I have folded the last round of hands. Game has switched back to hold em and it looks like Jordan is trying to bully the table. He has jumped out to a nice lead by playing his style. Tough to beat him when he gets into his groove. Unless you hit your hand. I need my hand.

I soon feel like I dodged a bullet. I didn't think Jordan had squat and that my two pair was good. A flush possibility was on the board and I was fully prepared to check raise him but he checked behind with trips. Wow was my read terrible. I live to fight another day.

Game switches back to O8 and my patience pays off. I call from the button with 3 4 6 6. Flop isn't too bad for me, J 5 4, two clubs. The flush is a small concern but I am hoping there isn't a big get to push me off. The SB, RakeBrain staff vadim bets only 100. Jordan calls and I call as well. Turn is 7d. Nice! Wait, there are now two flush draws. I hope that vadim will bet again so the pot is high enough for me to push all in with the 800 I have left. He does, Jordan calls and I push. They fold and I am back above the Mendoza line. Patience pays off.

On to the next beer. I looked into the fridge and found myself with a tough decision. So many good beer to choose from. Lucky guy am I. I chose to go with the Arrogant Bastard Ale. How can you not like a beer that has a label like this?



Back to hold em and I play Big Slick hard. Raise and bet the flop that I totally whiff on. I get a fold which is nice. Next hand I call a raise with K Js. Flop misses me but the turn is a K. Buddy Dank, the raiser, bets out half the pot and I just call. River is a Q and he bets half the pot again. I think I am up against A K. Not sure about it either and I am not smart enough to lay this down. I call. He shows A Q and I am over 2500. I think I can hear him cussing me out for calling that bet.

I take a nice pot from the SB and I am feeling good about my position so far. I am sitting around 12 with 19 left. Not great but I am still in.

Not much happens as the second hour starts. I need to find a place to double up. It is going to be tough with Jordan and Mookie having big stacks. Plus Lucko is stealing my blinds. Damn. Must be patient. Kinda tough as the Arrogant Bastard is living up to its name.

So much for patience. I totally fuck up a hand against lucko. I called big raise preflop when I should have folded. Flop totally missed me and I knew I was screwed. Down to 1491. Basically I have one hand left to play. Double or nothing.

I go with A K from the BB. Jordan had limped in from UTG. He calls. Flop is two clubs, 7 high. I push and he insta calls, showing Q 9 clubs. No club, no club! He doesn't get the club but does get a Q. FMTH!

I had fun though. Still have beer to drink.

I am ready, are you?

I think I am ready for the RakeBrain Le Tune Challenge. tonight.



Which beer do I drink first? I am thinking of going with the big bottle on the right, the Rogue Dead Guy Ale. If it is as good as the Double Dead Guy Ale I will be in heaven.

RakeBrain and the LeTune Challenge

Things have been very busy for me as of late. So much that I haven't been able to spend my time at the tables. That changes this week when I make a triumphant return in the RakeBrain Le Tune Challenge. RakeBrain offers this unique tournament a couple times a year. Better yet it is a HA game. Hold em and Omaha. Pot limit to boot. One mistake early and you could be done.

RakeBrain also has some other good promotions. Like their Full Tilt Rake Race. Keep scrolling down to see the other rake races they offer. By joining the race you can build your bankroll even faster.

See you at the tables this Thursday. For once I will be playing instead of watching the WSOP.

Motivation

I haven't been to motivated to play poker lately. Been busy with buttons. Who would have thought?

It seems the last game of poker I played was at a friends house a couple of weeks back. It was poker as much as it was playing cards. Those fun games like Black Mariah, Guts, In between the Sheets and other games where it seems 2 cards are wild and you can buy an extra card with a 4. Games where 5 of a kind would win even though it isn't truly possible to attain such a hand.

I felt a bit guilty going into this game. I knew how the flow of it would be. These junk games are all the same. People throwing in quarters every round hoping they get a wild card and get lucky. These are the games where you get ridiculed if you fold. They are also the games where you can jack the pot up pretty high and keep the suckers throwing their money in.

I guess that is why I felt guilty. I knew the crowd I was playing. I knew they wouldn't fold and they wouldn't complain if I kept betting with a nut hand. I knew there might be some whining at the end when I walked away up $20 on a dime/quarter game.

It amazes me how these so called friendly games are anything but. There was one hand in particular that amazed me. The game was 221. A split game where anyone close to 2 gets half the pot while the person(s) closest to 21 gets the other half. All numerical cards carried that value while face cards were good for 1/2. I recall getting dealt an 8 and a 5. With 13 I stayed in one round to get a card. It was only a quarter so I thought I would take one and fold as needed. I hit the jackpot when I was dealt the case 8. Yeah I was drawing terribly thing but it is a junk game and I had to give some money back. With the cards on the board, you could tell two people were going low and me and another girl where going high. I thought she might have hit 21 as well but her body language gave it all away. She was confident in her betting. I knew right away she had either 20 or 22. Thus I kept raising everyone and betting just a bit more with each card that was dealt. The fifth person in the hand was trying for a 21 but kept getting low cards. She kept tossing money in hoping to get lucky. She didn't realize it was hopeless and all she was doing was handing the cash over to me. She finally got a 9 and folded knowing her 27 wasn't going to win.

Best thing was the two going for a low had no concept of being quartered. My 21 beat the 22 and they both showed 1.5 to tie for the low. It was like taking candy from a baby. Maybe I should organize a game over there before the next UFC PPV...