Bay 101 is my friend !

so i got a fantastic session in at Bay 101 in San Jose last night. but first....a couple of weird things they do there.

they have an enormous building with lots of empty space and 20 people or more waiting on every poker game being spread. the board is a white board and pen (even oceans 11 has a projection system for the board in both rooms for cripesaxe). they claim to have food service available for poker players, but there was about 1 service person in the room for about 35 tables. i think i saw her one time and i was lucky enough to flag her down for a scrap. the blind structure: wtf? 2-3-5. the small blind is $3, the big blind is $5 and the "button" blind (??) is $2. since when and/or where is the button forced to put money in the pot blind? AND THERE IS NOT EVEN A BAD BEAT JACKPOT. they use standard shuffle machines. but the dealers are not allowed to deal with them if there is a flashing red light. they are forced to stop the action and call a floor man over to deal with the shuffler and make sure all 52 cards are accounted for in the spare deck. why then do we have to stop playing the hand in progress???

ok, enough complaining. on to the poker.

it was a pretty incredible night. i was off to a relatively slow start down about $200. i don't really remember how, but i worked back to up 400-500. i was playing a bit looser than i normally do and playing well after the flop. 10-8 is the nuts baby!

i raised in middle position with Ah9h and the blinds both called. i completely missed the flop, but they both checked to me so i bet. the big blind called. he checked again on the turn so i bet again. he called. the river paired the board. he checked. i bet. he thought and thought and called with AQ high, and won the pot. wow. 3 bullets - 3 calls. he said he had a read on me.

a bit later i got it back "in spades" from that guy. 3 of us ended up in a pot. the third guy had only $60 behind before the hand. i was about $800 back and the small blind (the guy who called with AQ) was about $650 deep. i held Ad5d. the third guy made a small raise and we both called preflop. the flop was: Jd9d4d. the nuts! we all checked around on the flop. the turn was the A of spades. we both checked and the short stack moved in for like $40. the small blind called and i made a small raise. then something truly beautiful happened: he re-raised me big. "got meself one on the line here betty!" i came back over the top. he called! i was praying for the board to not pair on the river. i could have kissed the 3c. he checked, i value bet and he called. i said, "sorry dude, i got the nuts." he showed pocket Js and had flopped top set. he was left with about $110 after the hand. tough beat, but he was behind any 2 flush cards. his play surprised me a bit since he had made a great call on the river with AQ high. my impression was that of a pretty good player. i guess my 2 street slow play earned me a nice pot here.

i was able to play pretty loose with a big stack. it's fun to play in a lot of pots. i started calling some small raises and doing some betting in the dark. there was a small raise to $15 when i was on the big blind, so i called dark with 4 other players already in the hand. the flop was K-4-3 with 2 spades. i didn't know what 2 cards i held yet, so i had no reason to bet. i checked. the initial preflop raiser bet $15. the next player raised to $100. the cutoff was now thinking about his action, so i decided to peek at my hole cards. i held KhKd. uhhhhhhh......huh huh huh. what? i flopped the stone cold nuts? is that possible? meanwhile the cutoff raised to $200. (!!!) i was next to act in the big blind. how to get the most money in the pot ?? i raised it to $400. the $15 bettor folded and the next player who had raised to $100 tried to re-raise it to $600 [side bar: bay 101 has a couple of other rules. the maximum bet or raise is $200 and there were just 3 raises allowed per street]. his attempted raise to $600 was overruled and he was forced to just call my $400 bet. the cutoff folded. the turn was a third spade, which i didn't really like all that much. i checked and he bet $200. i called. the river was a blank and i checked and he threw in his last $60. i called. he showed AA and my three Ks took it down. thanks dude for getting all your money in the pot with 1 pair. crazy hand! the cutoff said he folded AK!

ok, i just have to say thank you for bad players. he could and should have gotten out of the hand for $115, but instead it cost him $675. i mean how could you think you're still good with AA after a bet, his raise, a re-raise, and my re-raise? it could easily have been set over set, with him in 3rd place. at the very least, one of us has to have at least 2 pair or a set. would i be re-raising from the blinds with KQ?? i know there is a tendency to fall in love with AA, but seriously guy -- you played that hand terribly.

occasionally you flop the nuts. rarely someone bets into you. never do you have a better, a raiser, and a re-raiser before you've acted.

the chip runner came over to help me rack the mountain of chips. i played a few more hands, but left soon thereafter after one of my best nights in poker.

Syndicate event #2

we haven't played very many re-buy tournaments in this group, but this one was. i chipped up early and never ended up re-buying, but of course i did the add on. so in the end it was $20 cheaper for me than a regular $100 freeze out. i came into the final table in pretty solid position relative to the other players, but not so much relative to the blinds. with a small turnout, there just weren't that many chips in play, so the average chip stack was pretty short compared to the blinds / antes.

i called a raise by a fairly strong young player (a new guy named David) with KcQc in position. flop was AQ7. he checked, i bet, he called. i was pretty much done with the hand now. on the turn, he checked again, and i felt like he was trying to induce a bet, so i checked behind. with my stack, i would have had to shove, and i didn't like my KQ that much. i folded to his bet on the river. he later said he had AK. i think my cash game sloshed over into tournament land on this hand, as KQ is so easily dominated and can make 2nd best hands all day long.

i re-stole a time or two, but didn't get too many hands at the final table. a couple of my steal attempts were foiled too. so now i was short stacked. that one hand with KQ crippled me just due to the large blinds and antes.

i open shoved with 66 on the button with a relatively short stack. brady called instantly in the big blind with KK and i was out in 6th. oh well. i felt like i played well except for that KQ hand. i didn't need to bet on the flop as i was either way ahead or way behind. i'll get em next time.

i was glad to see a couple of new faces in the money for this second event. congrats.

Sat. 8/4 session

the bottom line is that i won money in the session. i left a little bit disappointed though, not because barry bonds chose saturday night (the night after we went to the game) to hit his record-tying 755th home run, but because i made a bad call to lose a big pot right before i was going to leave.

after sitting down at a new table when my first one broke, the first hand i witnessed was for $600 (and one guy's whole stack) and was won by a pair of 5s with a 6 kicker with 3 overcards on the board. wow. the winner of the hand is a notorious donator, but the point was do not bluff him. he called a $100 re-raise preflop with 5-6 suited !

i raised in late position with AK and got 2 callers including this maniac. flop was KQ5. i like this flop vs. 2 players. he checks to me, i bet the pot, the button calls, and the maniac raises! i call and the button calls. turn is a J. checks to me, i check, and the button goes all in. the maniac calls, and i end up folding. the button had KJ and the maniac wins the pot with 5s full of Queens when he rivers a 5. and his Q-5 was not suited. just sick.

i later called his straddle in early position with KK. by the script he raised, got a caller, and i re-raised. i knew he was coming along too. he called. flop of course had an A. (i had KK three times in the session and twice an Ace flopped.) he checked, i bet, and he called. turn was another Ace; check-check. he went all in on the river for about $165 with about $240 in the pot. if he didn't have an Ace, i had him crushed, but if he did.......i thought his range was so wide here, and i'm getting a good price, so i called. he showed down A-8.

about 1 orbit later, he later paid me off when i ended up getting all my chips in with AA on the turn. he didn't show, but he couldn't beat 1 pair thankfully. i think he was in the 2/3 NL game for over $1800.

that table broke and i got a seat at the 1 remaining table. there was a lot of money on the table and the game was fast the action was hot.

there was a remarkable hand that played out soon after i sat down. the early position player on my left called the blind, along with a couple of others. the cutoff raised to $12. two callers. the player on my left re-raised to $125. the cutoff smooth called, everyone else folded. the EP player had about $450 to start the hand and was covered by the cutoff. the flop was Q-10-4, they got another $300 in the pot. the turn was a Q and the player on my left went all in and was called by the cutoff! now $900 in the pot. the river was a 7 and then they showed down: the early position showed pocket 8s and the cutoff showed AK, no pair! he won a $900 pot with a two 8s. incredible and / or ridiculous read.

i chipped up pretty well at this table including your standard flopped sets, 2 pair, etc. one hand i doubled up with pocket AA. i re-raised an early position raiser from $10 to $20. 3 players to the flop, which was King high. it checked to me, so i bet $50. the initial pre-flop raiser raised to $120. i shoved and he insta-called. uh oh. until i turn an A. he showed down pocket Ks and had flopped a set, which lost to my turned set of As. suckout, re-suckout. sorry guy. weird though, that he raised to $10 preflop, which was a tiny pot building raise. if everyone just called he could be playing one pair vs about 6 people out of position. then i min-raise him and he just calls??! wow. i didn't feel that badly though, cuz he should have re-raised my $20 bet preflop and we would have gotten it all in anyway.

the hand that left a bad taste in my mouth was literally right as i was going to leave. i was about 13-14 hours into the session and i had As10s in the small blind. i called a mini preflop raise. the flop was 6s9s7d. i flopped the nut flush draw and a gut shot with 2 overs. pretty good flop for me. but with 4 players in, i decided to check and see what happened. there was a bet and a raise on the button. i called the raise and the bettor folded. turn was the 7s, giving me an Ace high flush. i didn't really like that card as it paired the board. i would have rather seen the 8h or the Qs, or a total blank. i'd rather have a draw to the nuts, than have a made flush drawing to 1 out (8s).

checked and called $50 by the button. the river was a blank. i still had an Ace high flush. i checked hoping to show down, but the button bet $200 with about $240 in the pot already. i could beat 2 pair, a straight, or a weaker flush. if he had pocket 6s or 9s, or 9-7, i was dead. he raised the flop bet, so he could have A-9, 6-7, or 8-10, or Ks8s. i called.

what would you have done there?


he showed 9-7 offsuit for the turned boat. don't like my call there. there are just too many ways i'm beat.

but like i said, i still left a winner, just not as winner-ish as i would have liked.

8/1 O11 session

a couple of hands of note from last night.

has the curse been lifted?? i won two hands with AQ last night!! in the first one, i called a button raise in the blind. 3 players to the flop. i checked the top pair of Qs on the flop planning to check-raise, but neither of the other guys bet. i turned another Q, so i could at least feel confident that i had the best hand. haha! i led out on the turn and they both folded.

the second hand i won i called a raise in the blind again with AQ. 2 players to the flop. i checked the raggedy flop and he made an underbet. there was a chance i was still good, so i called his small bet. i checked dark before the turn, which was an Ace. he checked behind. i bet the river and he called. he must have had a decent pocket pair like 9s or 10s.

there was a hand later in the night that ended up bugging me.

UTG raises to $25, which was a pretty large raise for that table. he was a loose player though. the player on my right makes it $80 to go. i look down and find two Queens. i have about $250 behind. i could raise to (hopefully) isolate with the player on my right -- he didn't have that many more chips after his raise -- or i could call. obviously folding this in a cash game is very weak, so i didn't consider that. so i just flat called. what would you have done in that spot?

after everyone else folded, the UTG player immediately pushed all in for $110 more than the raise. the player on my right called all in for about $50, but i would have to call another $110. i thought even if i am ahead right now, it is likely that i have to avoid an Ace and/or a King, the large raise by UTG and the immediate push led me to believe he was very strong. i ended up folding the hand face up and he breathed a sigh of relief. the UTG player held 10s and the player to my right never showed, but i'm guessing he lost his race with AK. my Qs would have been good for a large pot. bummer.

on the very last hand of the night, i was on the button and called a loose but solid player's raise from the straddle with J-10. there were 5 players to the flop. i flopped the nuts with a 9-Q-K board, 2 clubs. the straddler / raiser led out for $45 and it folded to me. with both blinds still in the hand i couldn't give a free card to a flush draw or to a possible set. i raised to $105. both blinds folded and the straddler ended up making a great fold. i'm pretty sure he held AQ or AK. this is one of those hands where taking the risk of just calling the flop bet might have won me a bigger pot. if a blank came on the turn, he might put me on a flush draw and make a nice bet, which i could then raise. but with 2 unknown hands in the pot, i was happy to take it down right there. that's the thing about straights, you can't improve, but you sure can lose to boats and flushes.

conclusive proof re: AQ

2 more hands i remembered from sunday night's session at oceans 11. AQ is my cursed [read that curse-ed] nemesis. i am just going to snap fold it pre flop....

i raise in early position with AQ and get 4 callers. i flop top pair of Qs so i lead out and get 1 caller. turn is a blank so i bet 3/4 pot, he calls again. he pretty much has to have a spade draw here. i dark check the river with top pair/top kicker, and the river is Js. he bets $100. i ask him if he really chased those spades all the way and he says, "Yep." i fold and he shows me 3s7s. [this is the same guy who cracked my Aces a week earlier with 4s8s.]

later, when we were 4 handed, i pick up AJ on the button and min-raise the straddle to $12. matthew, a dealer who is a fast player, re-raises to $24, i call. flop is A high and i call his $20. turn is a blank and he bets $40. i fold and show him AJ, and he can't believe it. he shows me AQ.

i can't win with it and i can't beat it.

Syndicate Event #1 / Oceans 11 babble

So congratulations to me for my first ever royal flush at the Syndicate's first event of the season! Of course it was in the first level of the tournament, so I got about 1000 chips out of it, but hey, I'm just that good. I did well at my first table, but then really slowed down when my table broke. I finally picked up AA and made a 2.5x BB raise to 1000 under the gun. Mark re-raised to 5000, and I went all in for 7400 more than his raise. He called with QQ and windowed a Q to knock me out. I'm told Felix "Luck Box" T. won the event on a runner runner flush hand. Congrats. It was fun to get back and see the group again and welcome some new faces.

So obviously I headed directly to Oceans 11. I end up sitting next to a girl who had an American Idol wrist band on. Turns out she is trying out at Qualcomm Stadium today along with tens of thousands of others. Good luck. She said she is gonna sing "I'm Bringing Sexy Back". I later busted her with KK.

There were some interesting hands / moments last night. I called a raise in the blinds with 33, then check called a $30 bet on the flop. I asked him if he had made a pair yet, and he reflexively smiled -- I just didn't think he had a pair. I turned a 3 for a set after checking dark, then check-raised his $50. He went all in and I immediately called, and he said he was bluffing and mucked. What?!? I just check-raised on the turn and he has 2 high cards??? Thanks.

File this one under WOW: I flopped bottom set of 6s with about 5 players in a mini-raised pot. I bet in middle position and get 2 callers. The early position player goes all in on the turn (board is J-9-8-6 no possible flush), and the next guy calls the all-in bet for about $50. I raise to $120. When he hesitates calling my raise, I tell him I have a good one and just go ahead and lay it down. He's not happy about it, but he lays it down. I river a boat with an 8 and win the hand, but get this: the guy who folded tells me he had 10-7 for a flopped straight! He actually says to me, "You said you had a good one, so I thought you might have a full house." Ummm, buddy, the board wasn't paired on the turn when I raised, and you had and the 2nd nuts.......good fold.

I ran a double barrel bluff with AK high after raising preflop and got called all the way down by 2-3 offsuit = bottom pair / no kicker. He called $50 on the river when the only thing he could possibly beat was a bluff! No re-draw or anything. Wow. Then a few minutes later, that hand became a bit more believable when he called all-in on the flop for over $500 with 1 pair and a straight draw. He led out on the flop, got raised and re-raised on a coordinated board and called all in. The other two guys had both flopped straights, and the pot was close to $2000 for the guy who had the nut straight with Q-10.

Later in the night we had fun 3, 4, and 5 handed. I played in the dark quite a bit and won several pots, betting completely in the dark. We straddled every hand and even called blind raises just to juice up the action a bit. Very gambly, but fun.

It was getting late and I announced that it was my last hand on the button. I pick up 87cc and make the standard min-raise to $6 with 4 players sitting. The new guy in the SB who had tried to run a huge bluff right when he sat down re-raised to $26 as he had been doing quite a bit. The cutoff called, so I called. Great, it's my last hand, I'm up....I don't want to get involved in a huge hand that costs me. But I'll see a flop. The flop is 8 high, giving me top pair and a backdoor straight possibility. The re-raiser leads for $30, the cutoff folds, and I raise to $75 knowing his range is huge in that spot. He could have a hand as bad as A-9 high from what I know about him. He calls my raise. Turn is an 8, giving me trips. He checks, I bet $55, he calls. So he at least has something here. River pairs the board and fills me up, but he didn't call my $75, so I don't know what he had but he said he had a huge hand.

Nice way to end the night. Next Syndicate event next Saturday.

The Syndicate, Season 3, "San Diego's Finest Poker"

After generating some nice ratings in Season 2, The Syndicate is back for a third season starting on July 29!! It even has a web site now (thanks Jerry!) for fans to capture a behind-the-scenes look at the players, the group, event results, and the upcoming schedule.

http://www.sdsyndicate.com/

With two players having WSOP Main Event experience and 4 others gaining WSOP experience in 2007 preliminary events, The Syndicate can promise a high level of tournament poker (followed by an equally low level of live poker -- with Tequila added!).
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Congratulations to Tom Standring who became the first Syndicate representative to cash in a WSOP event, a $2000 No Limit Hold-Em event.

Let's spread the word to San Diego poker players that we have a terrific set up and a great product to offer. The higher the attendance throughout the season, the more prizes we will have to divvy up at the end.

As we approach the beginning of the Syndicate season, I look forward to further honing my skills in a good group of players. Of course, it will be kinda nice to have a target on my head as the one to beat -- I'm looking forward to the challenge.

As I look back on Season 2, I remember not taking the first several events as seriously as I might have. I hadn't studied the game very much at that point, and I didn't have realistic expectations of winning the title. With more focus at the beginning of the third season, I hope to put myself in a stronger position coming down the stretch. I have put in a lot of hours of tournament (and live) poker in the last year, and I feel my game is much stronger now compared to the beginning of Season 2.

I really want to get back to the big dance in 2008. Syndicate members beware.

[and thank you, Heather, for your understanding as I go for another win in Season 3]