My first table last night was pretty dead with several short stacks and not much money on the table, so I requested a table change. Within the first 10 minutes of changing tables, I flopped quad 6s holding a pocket pair and actually got a little bit of money from a guy with top pair. I kept getting AK on the button and raising, and people obviously stopped believing me that I had a real hand. In one pot a EP limper re-raised to $60 after I raised to $17 on the button, and 3 of us saw the flop. I flopped the nut flush draw with AhKh, a straight draw, and 2 overs, and the guy in early position went all in for a little more than 1/3 of the pot. I called and the other guy folded from the blinds. Don’t ask me how, but I missed all 84 of my outs, and his pocket 5s held up.
Right about that time, we hear some rumblings and then some loud cheering from the table that I was initially sitting at. Brutal, they hit a bad beat jackpot! A guy I know (tyler – I’ll get you!) had just shown up and sat in the seat that I had been sitting in at that table and they hit a jackpot 10 minutes later. This happens about 20-30 minutes after a jackpot was hit on a 4-8 limit holdem table right next door.
After another table break I ended up back at the jackpot table. The 40% share guy ($8600) was keeping his rack of white chips on the table as a display of dominance, consistent with his jackassical ways. I’ve played with him before and he is a pretty bad poker player and has actually been kicked out of oceans 11 for being obnoxious. Anyway, he doubled people up twice soon after I sat down, with terrible river raises holding nowhere near the nuts. He apparently still hadn’t learned his lesson when I raised with AJ and got 5 callers, including him. I was in fairly early position, so I checked the Ace on the flop and Jackpot bet. I was the only caller and he says, “There it is!” we both checked the turn, and I felt pretty good about my AJ on the river, nothing scary out there, so I bet for value and he min-raised me. Against a good player I would probably muck here, but I called and he showed down A8, 1 pair.
The table started breaking up and we were down to 4 handed, which obviously is a much looser style game. I turned top 2 pair with 6-4 and made a nice bet when checked to, but was raised all in. I dumped top 2 pair and he showed 5-2 for straight. I later check raised when I turned two pair with 10-7 and the guy came over the top of me. I had bottom and 2nd pair and made a good laydown in a 4 handed game. he showed pocket 7s for a flopped set. I got a bunch back when I flopped two pair with K-10 and turned a K to fill up. The guy paid me off the whole way with what I assume was AQ, top pair, good kicker.
At this point I was right about even, being in the game for 2 buy ins. Our table broke and I had a choice to sit in a full game, so I did. On the very first hand I pick up pocket KK. In 10 hours, the biggest pocket pair I had up to that point was JJ. I raise in early position to $17, which was a pretty standard raise for the game, but I wasn’t sure how this table was playing. Hoped I didn’t scare everybody off. 1 caller and the small blind re-raises to $50, and the big blind cold calls 3 bets! I’ve got almost $300 more behind, so I’m faced with get the money in now and probably take down the pot, or see if I fade that damn Ace on the flop and then get the money in. there’s $117 in the pot of other people’s money, I won’t sweat it if I just take it down now. I shove. The small blind tanks for a bit and then calls……and then the big blind calls too! Obviously the small blind doesn’t have AA, but I’m hoping they both have Qs, Js, and/or 10s. well a Q and a J flop, which I pretty much hate. I river a K, and win a huge pot with top set vs. AK’s top pair. I was good the whole time though. The big blind didn’t show, but he had to have 9s or 10s. it turns out i had 56% equity in the hand vs. AK and 10s. but i got 3:1 on my money so i'm happy with the calls.
So after clawing my way back from down a buy in, I cash out up close to 2 buy ins. Nice way to wrap up. That session hurt my august bb/hour winrate though……down to +27 bb/hour.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
wsop main event on tv
espn began its coverage of the main event last night, airing the first two episodes of the series. i thought there was a chance that i would get a couple seconds of air time sitting next to varkonyi when he was all in on the flop and chris ferguson was in the tank thinking about the call.
apparently though, they separated the four starting days (Day 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d) into 4 episodes, so maybe i'll be on next week on the third show. not that i'll have any of the focus whatsoever, but i was sitting at a table with two previous main event champions. i know i'm going to become famous from an anonymous 2.5 seconds of air time!
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thinking of playing the viejas ace of aces $300 tourney this saturday. the first levels are fine, but it becomes a turbo after about 5-6 levels with the blinds and antes doubling every level. if you don't catch some nice cards, you're done. i've done well at the live games there, so that might push me over the edge on whether to go.
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i did a quick spreadsheet of my stats since Aug. 1 and they are on the high side of the variance curve to say the least! i've been running at the completely unsustainable rate of + 29 big blinds / hour over 65 hours of live play, sitting mostly at 2/3 NL. can it continue?
apparently though, they separated the four starting days (Day 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d) into 4 episodes, so maybe i'll be on next week on the third show. not that i'll have any of the focus whatsoever, but i was sitting at a table with two previous main event champions. i know i'm going to become famous from an anonymous 2.5 seconds of air time!
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thinking of playing the viejas ace of aces $300 tourney this saturday. the first levels are fine, but it becomes a turbo after about 5-6 levels with the blinds and antes doubling every level. if you don't catch some nice cards, you're done. i've done well at the live games there, so that might push me over the edge on whether to go.
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i did a quick spreadsheet of my stats since Aug. 1 and they are on the high side of the variance curve to say the least! i've been running at the completely unsustainable rate of + 29 big blinds / hour over 65 hours of live play, sitting mostly at 2/3 NL. can it continue?
Monday, August 20, 2007
syndicate #3
busted 7th out of 26 or so. considering i was 1 for 3 with KK, doubling people up twice, i think 7th was a pretty good showing.
the first time i held KK vs KJ. you would think i'm a slight favorite against that hand, yes? well he flopped a flush draw and came over the top all in on my flop bet and hit clubs on the turn and river to double through.
really the only sizable pot i won was when i was in the big blind with Q-4 in an unraised pot. i checked the two 4s on the flop and got a bettor and an all-in raiser. i pushed over the top and the AA limper had to fold! [thanks for limping mark!]. my trip 4s held up over top pair.
later i was a mild underdog when i raised in late position with 6-7 and the short stacked big blind pushed. he held AK. i felt like the guy from pechanga the other night who called my all in with 8c9c, except that i still would have had some chips left if i lost this hand. i hit a 7 and knocked him out.
the 2nd time i held KK, we were down to 7 players. i limped under the gun, UTG + 1 limped as well, then there was a nice raise from middle position. i of course, pushed all in, and the raiser called with AK. the other limper who had folded preflop said he held A-10. that left two Aces in the deck. i was about an 80% favorite to more than double and take the chip lead....until the ace on the turn left me with 1 out.
i never limp / re-raise from early position as i just think it makes my hole cards transparent. if i had raised from UTG, then called a re-raise, i could have pushed all in on the flop when he missed. oh well. of course if the KK had held up, i look like a genius as the chip leader.
i'll get em next time.
the first time i held KK vs KJ. you would think i'm a slight favorite against that hand, yes? well he flopped a flush draw and came over the top all in on my flop bet and hit clubs on the turn and river to double through.
really the only sizable pot i won was when i was in the big blind with Q-4 in an unraised pot. i checked the two 4s on the flop and got a bettor and an all-in raiser. i pushed over the top and the AA limper had to fold! [thanks for limping mark!]. my trip 4s held up over top pair.
later i was a mild underdog when i raised in late position with 6-7 and the short stacked big blind pushed. he held AK. i felt like the guy from pechanga the other night who called my all in with 8c9c, except that i still would have had some chips left if i lost this hand. i hit a 7 and knocked him out.
the 2nd time i held KK, we were down to 7 players. i limped under the gun, UTG + 1 limped as well, then there was a nice raise from middle position. i of course, pushed all in, and the raiser called with AK. the other limper who had folded preflop said he held A-10. that left two Aces in the deck. i was about an 80% favorite to more than double and take the chip lead....until the ace on the turn left me with 1 out.
i never limp / re-raise from early position as i just think it makes my hole cards transparent. if i had raised from UTG, then called a re-raise, i could have pushed all in on the flop when he missed. oh well. of course if the KK had held up, i look like a genius as the chip leader.
i'll get em next time.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
one guess on my bust hand from pechanga.....
yep. some of you probably got it: AQ vs. KK. hit the Q but that wasn't enough. it was a frustrating tournament for me in that i didn't win those medium sized pots to accumulate any chips. i won some small pots, but the big ones just escaped me. i had a couple of 2nd best hands and even with position couldn't make some mildly bad calling stations lay down 1 pair.
a hand that really crippled me was JJ. i raised 1 limper in middle position and got 3 callers including the small blind, the big blind, and the limper. the flop was ok, but not great: 2-3-4. they checked to me so i put out close to a pot sized bet. everyone called!! the turn was just about the worst possible card: 5. the only cards i didn't want to see were an Ace and a 5. we all checked around. the river was a 10 and the small blind immediately went all in and the big blind insta-shoved all in. what a sickening turn card. i tossed in my rags, and they showed some pretty quality hands to be calling raises with out of position: A-3 and A-6. the 6 high straight took it down.
i nursed a short stack for a bit and then another sucky hand came up. UTG made a pretty decent raise. 2 callers, and i look down at AsKs in the small blind. i call. the big blind re-pops it big to take it down. UTG immediately shoves for a bit more than the BB's raise. it folds to me. i have a chance to triple up, but stand a good chance of being dominated. to call was for all my chips. i folded. it was QQ vs. JJ and UTG got knocked out. i would have made the nut flush had i stayed in and more than tripled up with all that dead money in the pot.
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flip side: had just a sickly incredible cash session after busting! played 2/3 NL and logged a +5 buy in session! i can't believe how hot i've been running lately. just hitting the crap out of some flops and playing pretty well.
flopped 2 pair with 2c4c in an unraised pot and had a 2 guys call my flop raise and 1 guy pay me off on the river with 1 pair. my table was just sooooo juicy. it was a saturday night and there was the token drunk guy who was bluffing almost every time when checked to. he kept pulling money out of his pocket which was a beautiful sight. [side bar: he reminded me of "Urlacher" of oceans 11 infamy]. i got a bunch of chips from him when i flopped a set of 5s and he had top pair. he made, for him, a good laydown with top pair on the river.
i thought this would never happen again in my entire poker career, but this was a pretty amazing hand: i called a $6 straddle in the dark in late position and with a big stack. the big blind raised to $26. alright......i'll look at my cards: QQ. "okay, i call." the small blind called as well. flop is Q-8-4 rainbow. how can i flop the nuts again? and this time in position. please bet, please bet......neither of them bet. so i checked behind. turn was a 6. okay, there are some straight cards out there but i wasn't that scared. the SB lead out for $15, the BB raised to $30 and i raised to $65. they both called! the river was a 7. any old 5 had made a straight, but i didn't think either of them had 55 and had lead out with a gut shot on the turn. the small blind bets $100. without the nuts, i just called on the river. do you raise on the river?? he had about $300 more behind.
he had flopped top two pair with Q8 and the big blind had 99. nice pot.
the last big pot i played was for close to $700. i re-raised a middle position player with KK in the cutoff. the button and the raiser called. flop was J high with 2 clubs. checked to me, i bet 2/3 pot. the button called and the other guy folded. i had played with the guy on the button before, and i knew he liked to mix it up quite a bit and play position poker. he was definitely not scared to throw chips in the pot and try to take down orphan pots. but he had smooth called a raise and a re-raise, so i thought he probably had some kind of hand this time.
the turn was a 3rd club. i did have the Kc, so i had an over pair and the 2nd nut flush draw. i check-called his $90 bet. i actually thought he was using the 3rd club as a scare card to try to get me off the hand. maybe he had AJ with the Ac. the river was an offsuit Q. now the only real hands i'm scared of here are JJ or QJ for 2 pair. there was no straight, and he needed two club hole cards to make a flush. pot on the river is $380. i check to him. he fairly quickly moves all in for $135. i'm getting close to 3:1 on the call. if he had a hand like 1 pair with AJ, i would think he would be happy to show down. does he have JJ/QJ or a flush? i tanked for a bit and went with my read of this guy. i called. he showed 5s6s for bottom pair! do you really want to play for your whole stack with 56 in a re-raised pot? soon thereafter he moved to 5/5 NL. hahaha.
anywho, running hot and loving it. or maybe CG has cursed me into becoming a cash game player now!
a hand that really crippled me was JJ. i raised 1 limper in middle position and got 3 callers including the small blind, the big blind, and the limper. the flop was ok, but not great: 2-3-4. they checked to me so i put out close to a pot sized bet. everyone called!! the turn was just about the worst possible card: 5. the only cards i didn't want to see were an Ace and a 5. we all checked around. the river was a 10 and the small blind immediately went all in and the big blind insta-shoved all in. what a sickening turn card. i tossed in my rags, and they showed some pretty quality hands to be calling raises with out of position: A-3 and A-6. the 6 high straight took it down.
i nursed a short stack for a bit and then another sucky hand came up. UTG made a pretty decent raise. 2 callers, and i look down at AsKs in the small blind. i call. the big blind re-pops it big to take it down. UTG immediately shoves for a bit more than the BB's raise. it folds to me. i have a chance to triple up, but stand a good chance of being dominated. to call was for all my chips. i folded. it was QQ vs. JJ and UTG got knocked out. i would have made the nut flush had i stayed in and more than tripled up with all that dead money in the pot.
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flip side: had just a sickly incredible cash session after busting! played 2/3 NL and logged a +5 buy in session! i can't believe how hot i've been running lately. just hitting the crap out of some flops and playing pretty well.
flopped 2 pair with 2c4c in an unraised pot and had a 2 guys call my flop raise and 1 guy pay me off on the river with 1 pair. my table was just sooooo juicy. it was a saturday night and there was the token drunk guy who was bluffing almost every time when checked to. he kept pulling money out of his pocket which was a beautiful sight. [side bar: he reminded me of "Urlacher" of oceans 11 infamy]. i got a bunch of chips from him when i flopped a set of 5s and he had top pair. he made, for him, a good laydown with top pair on the river.
i thought this would never happen again in my entire poker career, but this was a pretty amazing hand: i called a $6 straddle in the dark in late position and with a big stack. the big blind raised to $26. alright......i'll look at my cards: QQ. "okay, i call." the small blind called as well. flop is Q-8-4 rainbow. how can i flop the nuts again? and this time in position. please bet, please bet......neither of them bet. so i checked behind. turn was a 6. okay, there are some straight cards out there but i wasn't that scared. the SB lead out for $15, the BB raised to $30 and i raised to $65. they both called! the river was a 7. any old 5 had made a straight, but i didn't think either of them had 55 and had lead out with a gut shot on the turn. the small blind bets $100. without the nuts, i just called on the river. do you raise on the river?? he had about $300 more behind.
he had flopped top two pair with Q8 and the big blind had 99. nice pot.
the last big pot i played was for close to $700. i re-raised a middle position player with KK in the cutoff. the button and the raiser called. flop was J high with 2 clubs. checked to me, i bet 2/3 pot. the button called and the other guy folded. i had played with the guy on the button before, and i knew he liked to mix it up quite a bit and play position poker. he was definitely not scared to throw chips in the pot and try to take down orphan pots. but he had smooth called a raise and a re-raise, so i thought he probably had some kind of hand this time.
the turn was a 3rd club. i did have the Kc, so i had an over pair and the 2nd nut flush draw. i check-called his $90 bet. i actually thought he was using the 3rd club as a scare card to try to get me off the hand. maybe he had AJ with the Ac. the river was an offsuit Q. now the only real hands i'm scared of here are JJ or QJ for 2 pair. there was no straight, and he needed two club hole cards to make a flush. pot on the river is $380. i check to him. he fairly quickly moves all in for $135. i'm getting close to 3:1 on the call. if he had a hand like 1 pair with AJ, i would think he would be happy to show down. does he have JJ/QJ or a flush? i tanked for a bit and went with my read of this guy. i called. he showed 5s6s for bottom pair! do you really want to play for your whole stack with 56 in a re-raised pot? soon thereafter he moved to 5/5 NL. hahaha.
anywho, running hot and loving it. or maybe CG has cursed me into becoming a cash game player now!
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