So I can't get to the mortar house and play poker so I've resorted to playing online where sit n gos are my main event. I've been working with my bud, Mitch, and trading online strategy. I've been pretty successful at the six man tables. The play here should be tight/aggressive...you can't make moves out of position with suited connectors etc. When it gets four handed, loose aggressive play will work to a point.
Feel your table out look for the one who wants to give away his chips by calling out of position.
Wait for them to make a mistake and JUMP on them.
Sit back and be patient...it will work for you.
When heads up be somewhat aggressive.
Don't Tilt!
HAVE FUN!
You all stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Down but not out...
So in the year 2009 I have not pulled out a win in six attempts so I am down, thus far, for the year! I cannot remember the last time that I had a bad start ahhh, yes I do, when I first started playing back in '02, and if it wasn't for that bad beat jackpot that I gave Dave the cab driver at the end of that year to get me close to even, that would have been my worst year.
So let me get into my last cash session, I got to the beau a few weeks ago and some of the fellas were out there some playing in the tournaments that were going on and one playing cash at the same table I happened to sit down at...he introduced himself by asking me how much I had behind when I raised my second hand after sitting down at the table with pocket kings. Parfait shocked me a tad bit and we got a little laugh from it.
So yes, second hand I look down at two brotha kings...i'm in early middle and I open for $15, hijack,button, small and big blinds all call. The flop is 447 rainbow, sb bets, bb calls what should I do here? Well I called, and hijack calls behind leaving the button who folds. The turn is a 3 but brings a flush draw...sb checks, bb checks I contemplate and push out $100, I look at the hijack seat, a pretty lass with a lot of chips in front of her and she contemplates and I feel like she wants to raise but eventually she just calls, sb fold, bb fold. The river is a 3, I believe, not so sure but it was a baby and the board was double paired. I FELT LIKE I WAS BEAT WHEN THE LASS CALLED...so I feebly check and she pushes out two stacks, covering me...now odds say call but I really felt like I was beat...I painfully mucked my big pair and watched her take it down. Now what I am about to tell you is somewhat embarrassing for me and it is something I really do not like, this was the first time that I had ever done it knowing that it is an asshole thing to do. The pretty lady got into a hand heads up with the 10 seat, she was in the 9 seat and they went to the river on a paired board and either he checked (he had position) or bet but it was a called river and he turned his hand over to show a full house, she smiled and threw her cards face down towards the dealer, the dealer reached for the cards and I asked to see them. She got upset, floor came over and explained that on a called hand any player at the table can see the other hand etc. She had pocket queens, which she probably had in the hand with me or Aces as the rest of the table told me as she had slow played them earlier against two other guys. Well she racks up a few minutes later and leaves...one of the guys said, "Way to chase away the best pair at the table," got a good laugh from that and when I re-looked at her she was better looking than I thought. Ahh well...
So I grind it out for another two hours and I get this bald guy on my right after Parfait took a pretty bad beat, and he proceeds to widdle his $300 down to about $100 plus bucks, he's in the sb, I am in the bb and hijack opens for $12, he's pretty tight aggressive and I know he's got a decent pair or AJ and higher, bald man calls I look down at a couple of street walkers (pocket queens...there is a reason why I'm calling them street walkers) I want to take this pot down now, i'm out of position with a good hand but would rather not see a flop and fold to an ace so I repop to about $35, hijack, reluctantly folds, sb shoves! HUH!!!!! Did you really slow down on aces or kings just to wait for me to open? Freaking confused, I SHOULD FOLD THE STREET WALKERS, but I feel like I have the best hand and he's just trying to make some ground up, so it is about $70 more to me...FOLD! But I did not I called and we watched the flop come 7710A2, when the ace hit I said you got there huh? He said, not in a vicious way at all, I got there all the way on the flop and he turns over pocket sevens. I smile and just watched him beat me every time we were in a pot heads up, I have A7 in the sb, he limps on the button, flop comes ace high, I check to him he checks, turn is a Q I bet he calls, river is a deuce I bet again, he calls and turns up A8...he wins, finally down to my last $40 bucks I'm under the gun and he pops it, I just shove with pocket 10's, it gets back to him and he calls. The door card is...YES A 10! For a 1089 flop, the turn is a 2 and the river is a Queen he goes, dude i'm sorry but I hit a straight, as he turned his pocket Jacks over...I get up and say thanks guys, but I gotta go, he's got all my money. Ever have that kind of night? It has rarely happened to me and I have always been the guy on the other end of it but it was so eerie being abused by this guy, yes abused, so that is my sad tale but there will be bad times, must fight through them and get positive, I know it'll come around. 'nuff said. You all stay frosty!
Talk again soon...stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
So let me get into my last cash session, I got to the beau a few weeks ago and some of the fellas were out there some playing in the tournaments that were going on and one playing cash at the same table I happened to sit down at...he introduced himself by asking me how much I had behind when I raised my second hand after sitting down at the table with pocket kings. Parfait shocked me a tad bit and we got a little laugh from it.
So yes, second hand I look down at two brotha kings...i'm in early middle and I open for $15, hijack,button, small and big blinds all call. The flop is 447 rainbow, sb bets, bb calls what should I do here? Well I called, and hijack calls behind leaving the button who folds. The turn is a 3 but brings a flush draw...sb checks, bb checks I contemplate and push out $100, I look at the hijack seat, a pretty lass with a lot of chips in front of her and she contemplates and I feel like she wants to raise but eventually she just calls, sb fold, bb fold. The river is a 3, I believe, not so sure but it was a baby and the board was double paired. I FELT LIKE I WAS BEAT WHEN THE LASS CALLED...so I feebly check and she pushes out two stacks, covering me...now odds say call but I really felt like I was beat...I painfully mucked my big pair and watched her take it down. Now what I am about to tell you is somewhat embarrassing for me and it is something I really do not like, this was the first time that I had ever done it knowing that it is an asshole thing to do. The pretty lady got into a hand heads up with the 10 seat, she was in the 9 seat and they went to the river on a paired board and either he checked (he had position) or bet but it was a called river and he turned his hand over to show a full house, she smiled and threw her cards face down towards the dealer, the dealer reached for the cards and I asked to see them. She got upset, floor came over and explained that on a called hand any player at the table can see the other hand etc. She had pocket queens, which she probably had in the hand with me or Aces as the rest of the table told me as she had slow played them earlier against two other guys. Well she racks up a few minutes later and leaves...one of the guys said, "Way to chase away the best pair at the table," got a good laugh from that and when I re-looked at her she was better looking than I thought. Ahh well...
So I grind it out for another two hours and I get this bald guy on my right after Parfait took a pretty bad beat, and he proceeds to widdle his $300 down to about $100 plus bucks, he's in the sb, I am in the bb and hijack opens for $12, he's pretty tight aggressive and I know he's got a decent pair or AJ and higher, bald man calls I look down at a couple of street walkers (pocket queens...there is a reason why I'm calling them street walkers) I want to take this pot down now, i'm out of position with a good hand but would rather not see a flop and fold to an ace so I repop to about $35, hijack, reluctantly folds, sb shoves! HUH!!!!! Did you really slow down on aces or kings just to wait for me to open? Freaking confused, I SHOULD FOLD THE STREET WALKERS, but I feel like I have the best hand and he's just trying to make some ground up, so it is about $70 more to me...FOLD! But I did not I called and we watched the flop come 7710A2, when the ace hit I said you got there huh? He said, not in a vicious way at all, I got there all the way on the flop and he turns over pocket sevens. I smile and just watched him beat me every time we were in a pot heads up, I have A7 in the sb, he limps on the button, flop comes ace high, I check to him he checks, turn is a Q I bet he calls, river is a deuce I bet again, he calls and turns up A8...he wins, finally down to my last $40 bucks I'm under the gun and he pops it, I just shove with pocket 10's, it gets back to him and he calls. The door card is...YES A 10! For a 1089 flop, the turn is a 2 and the river is a Queen he goes, dude i'm sorry but I hit a straight, as he turned his pocket Jacks over...I get up and say thanks guys, but I gotta go, he's got all my money. Ever have that kind of night? It has rarely happened to me and I have always been the guy on the other end of it but it was so eerie being abused by this guy, yes abused, so that is my sad tale but there will be bad times, must fight through them and get positive, I know it'll come around. 'nuff said. You all stay frosty!
Talk again soon...stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Guest Blogger...a local's point of view...Welcome P-Back.
I returned to Harrah's this weekend and sat down at a juicy table and got felted after two and a half hours...fraking embarassing. One good thing is I ran into one of the young regulars that I used to play with and against...used to think he was a lunchbox...not really...he wanted to give you a little of his perspective and I told him to write me something, thinking he was messing with me...he did. Enjoy...
Return to the poker life/ Harrah’s New Orleans Gripes It had been awhile since I last sat down. Lots of changes in my life have come since. A baby arrived, a real job, and also having to cater to the needs of a fiancée who is still in college. It had been exactly 11 months since my last “session”. What I consider a real session of poker would consist of a minimum of 6 hours of uninterrupted poker. As we all know, with these added responsibilities, my poker life had been put on the back burner. Being a New Orleans native my whole life, Harrah’s has always been the home track. So when I walk in to Harrah’s on March 7th, 2009 it was sure to be an exciting return to the world I was so accustomed to. But Harrah’s, arguably the most profitable business in NOLA, had to make some changes. The first sign that I had returned to my home for so many years was the beautiful sound of the word “cocktails” flowing out of the mouth of our lovely waitress. So I ask for the usual, a tall double crown and coke. She informs me that due to the current state of the economy, Harrah’s will not allow her to serve me a double. In a stunned silence I finally muster the courage to just order a single. If Harrah’s cannot afford to offer drinks to their players, doesn’t that take away from the “house advantage”. Think about every poor decision you have made in a casino. How many of those were NOT alcohol influenced? Back to our girl. Now I understand that people may call me an asshole for the following exchange I had with her, but it is what it is. She kind of brought it upon herself. After I have had around 6 of these “single” crown and mostly cokes, she must have realized I was only tipping her every other drink. She notifies me that she will be leaving and this is her last round and kind of stands there for a second. So I turn to her and say, “well with the current state of the economy, I can only tip you every other drink.” I don’t think it went over well, but it got quite a few laughs from the guys near me. Harrah’s is ridiculous. I feel bad for their waitresses who work off of tips because they give them no wiggle room to hook you up. That’s how they make their money. Not anymore. On to poker. I kind of prepared myself for a session full of getting a feel back for the game(1-2 NLHE). My expectations weren’t set very high. I had a couple of goals in mind for the night. 1- Play a patient game- Premium hands only so I could cut down on tough decisions and not risk a lot of $. 2- Pick my spots well- Recognize which players I could profit from most. 3- Pay attention- Pick up on everything that used to come natural. Betting/Raising patterns, tells, % of hands each player was involved in. All of which are crucial to playing winning poker. Needless to say, I felt much like a kid playing his first session of no-limit. Nervous, timid, and somewhat scared to stick my foot into the water. Kind of embarrassing. The first hand I choose to get involved with is my kryptonite (J10s). Older fella raises to $17 preflop and with 1 caller to me and the button in front, I opt to call. This guy had been playing a ton of hands and 75% of them that he played were a raise and take situation. Not many people had stood up to him. This was evidenced by the $1400 he had sitting in front of him. Flop comes down Jc8s7h. He leads out with a $25 bet which prompts the other player to fold. Well, I decide to just flat it, keep the pot small and see if he is going to fire again. Turn card is 2s. Picking up 8 more outs here makes me feel comfortable raising if bet into. He shoots $50 into the pot of approximately $105. I have only $145 more so I ship it. I can’t recall the last time I had that feeling. Hand shaking towards the betting line with a handful of checks, heart pounding, and hoping to just take it down now. God do I miss this. He eventually folds showing 99. I drag in the pot and a little confidence. By the end of the night, I had opened the game up. Raising suited connectors in position, calling raises with any 2 cards knowing I could steal at some point. I did happen to get caught in a pot drawing out at a nut flush/gut shot draw for a little over $100. All in all I leave my first session after 8 hours up a shade over $300. Not bad for a night where I cost myself at least $200 more. 2nd session I return on Tuesday after working early that morning. I arrived around 3pm. The room was surprisingly full. I sit down and immediately flop set over set against the big stack. This guy played with a reckless abandon that I hadn’t seen since the Biloxi days. He was the type that if you bet, he pushed in. It just so happened I didn’t have to wait that long for my double up. Sitting on $600 after about the first hour was nice. I was knocking back single shots of crown at an alarming rate and I know I’ll be here awhile with the old lady at the Britney Spears concert. I knew it was just a matter of time until I loosened things up a bit. Enter the douche bag. This guy was 6’2 275-300lbs, approximately 23 years old. Announces his presence at the table prior to sitting. No bull shit. Proceeds to inform everyone that he is an internet player and that he only knows 2 things, raise and fold. Super was the first word that popped into my head. This is gonna be fun. First hand, he calls the $12 raise. A weak continuation bet of $10 is shot into the pot of $38 and insta-raised to $35 by our internet soldier. Takes down the first pot. Very next hand, he raises preflop to $22 and takes it down. At this time we are switching dealers. The new dealer sits in and asks everyone how they were doing. This douche bag announces that once he doubles up twice through that guy(pointing at me) he will be doing better. LOL!! Can’t wait! Another interesting thing he was doing is whenever I took down a pot, he would ask me for a count and rebuy for ½ my stack. Nearly an hour and a half in and after telling all 3 dealers the same thing about doubling through me I had had it. Our little internet tough guy raises to $22 and gets 3 calls around to me on the button with 67o. I decide its time. 5 way pot with a flop of A Q 3. It checks around to me. First thing that hits me, is that this guy isn’t the type to check an AK or AJ in this spot. Too aggressive. Hasn’t missed a bet yet. So I decide to see where I stand with the other 3 players. I fire $45 dollars as to which our tough guys looks down and decides to raise to $135. I am sitting at nearly $900 after my bet and he is around $550. Quick folds around to me and my first thought was to fold and not to get too deep. WRONG!! “Go with your instinct”, I told myself. “He doesn’t have an A and you know it.” I put him on JJ or 1010 just trying to steal from me. So I re-raised to $285 total and waited. He goes to moaning and telling me I have 2 pair and I am lucky and how he can’t wait till I miss a flop and folds eventually. I gladly turn over my 67o and show him the goods. He freaks out and calls me a sicko and wonders how I can make that play. “Because I know you have 1010 or JJ” to which he then says he had 1010. Not too much went wrong on this night. My reads were pretty strong and I played well. End up leaving after 8 hours up $975. Strong work for the second night back. 3rd /4th sessions back I returned Harrah’s Friday night and immediately picked up where I left off. I was sitting on a gold mine of a table. No familiar faces, all young guys and all here for different bachelors parties. You don’t find games any softer than this. All drunk 21-25 year olds with money to spend getting drunk and carrying an ego problem. Not to mention not much in the way of live NLHE poker experience. This one guy from Staten Island was obnoxious. If he didn’t say the word fuck or a derivative or it 500 times, he didn’t say it once. From a poker standpoint there really wasn’t much to this night except for wading through all of the bull shit and bluffs. I have never in my life, besides at a 3-6 limit game, seen more gutshots hit while people were banging the pot. I witnessed my biggest pet peeve about these jackasses who chase this shit is that when they finally hit it, they don’t bet! Chase a 4 outer and hit it and then are too scared/stupid to bet it. Were you really taking less than 2 to 1 odds to hit this and then sit on your hands when you get there? I really guess I should be thankful they don’t bet because I would’ve lost a lot of $ early. My night was cut a bit short because a family emergency and I end up with 5 hours logged and another $509 to the good. Saturday night saw the same stable of players. Mostly the same crew but a little more intoxicated than the night prior. I sat with $300 instead of the normal $200 because I was very familiar with the game and felt good about making big money. I run into my first barn door when I run my 2 black Aces into a flop of all hearts with 6, you read right, 6 players for $25 preflop. Jh6h3h and I lead out a feeler bet of $40. To my surprise, I only get 1 caller and he isn’t part of the stable crew. Actually, he was a pretty solid player. On the turn was a Kc. In my mind I was looking to check raise at this point depending on the strength of his bet. His bet turned out to be a bit stronger than I hoped at $60. At this point I was confused as to what he could’ve been holding. I tanked for about a minute and a half and decided to call. The river was a 2c putting a board of Jh6h3hKc2c which didn’t seem too bad. I decided to check and let him dictate the action hoping one of two things. 1- I put him on Ah Jx meaning top with flush draw on the flop and hoping he would take another stab at the pot thinking he was good or… 2- He had 2 pair with KJ or a small flush Well bet he does with $50. Here is my dilemma, either way I feel I have to call. Couple reasons. 1- $50 into a pot of nearly $400 with an overpair that has what I felt as a 20% chance of being good is plenty enough odds. 2- He is an unknown and I would just like to see how he played this hand for future considerations I make the call and this guy had 4d5d for the straight. I was totally confused. Did he really think I had shit? Had I raised preflop and then led into the pot with 5 donkeys waiting behind me? Was he really expecting to take the pot down on the turn for $60 into $280? Doesn’t matter. After that hand I had to rebuy and was now in for $500. I switch tables/stables after a couple of those guys leave and “rocks” sit down, whom I am all to familiar with. I find a table that looks a little weak besides one young Indian guy I have played with 2 of the last 3 days. He is all kinds of tight and in my opinion, overthinks himself way too often. First day I sat down with him he folded 88 preflop for $12 and told me he didn’t want to be in a coinflip. OK? It’s a flip for the first $12 and then you decide your fate after the flop, right? Wouldn’t you want to see a flop of A85 and have a chance to stack another $300? I would. I think that’s what makes me dangerous. I’ll play any 2 cards at any time in any position. DECEPTION. You never know what I’m holding. Back to the action. About 5 hands into this new table I have noticed that every pot has been raised preflop. Not the normal $15-22 raise, the chicken shit “I have nothing” $5-10 raises. Well this guy in early position, who looks as if he has no business at a poker table, raises to $12. He looks like he belongs in the middle of a mosh pit at a Limp Bizkit concert. Well I look down at QQ. I repop it to $26. As he is completing the bet I point out to a guy on my right that his hand is trembling. I know this guy has AA and tell this guy that I am about to stack him if I hit a queen. Flop comes out Q103. He checks to me and I know he is going to check-raise. I lead out $30 and he makes it $90 and I jam it in there. He insta-calls and proudly fires over 2 Aces. Really? I didn’t know you had those? I show my QQ and the dealer(Maria) shows me an Ace on the turn. Done and Done. I am shipping another $250 on top of the $90 he already has committed. Great game! Knowing where you are the whole way and having your nuts kicked in on the turn. I wonder what thoughts if any went through this guys head? Any rational and decent poker player in his spot should know that the 1 hand that he still has beat with that flop is KK. Would I reraise twice with JJ, 1010, 99 or AQ? Wouldn’t you think you were beat and save the other $250? Or even give it a second to settle in? Na! Insta-call. Steaming, I proceed to rebuy for the last $200 that I am willing to donate with the way the night is going. I dump off about another $30 in a rage with shit like 3d6d, 94o, A4. I go take a walk and regroup determined to play my game and get this back. Well I get into a pot with Mr. 2 outer when he raised to $17 and I had 77. 4 handed flop comes down AA4 and we check it around and the turn was a J. Fred Durst himself checks and I bet out $20 bucks and both fold. Before he mucks his cards he shows them to the guy next to him and under his breath says, “it’s ok, he only took $17 off of me when I took $400 off of him with the same hand”. He is lucky, lucky that I didn’t get up and kick the shit out of him. Punk bitch! I can’t wait for the next time I sit down with him. I think Keith was his name. He’s got red hair and a long goatee. Also, he has those earrings that stretch your earlobe to the point where you can put your fingers through it. If any of you sit with this assclown just watch his hands tremble and hope to flop him. He will give it all to you. I sit for the next couple hours grinding my ass off. No real big pots, just a bunch of $25-60 pots. I make one move on our Indian friend who is ever the thinker. I raise out of desperation to represent a hand with A9o in the cutoff. He flats out of the BB. Flop is A75 rainbow. He checks over to me and I bet $25 and he min raises to $50. I know if he didn’t flop a set or is holding AK that he is going to fold. So I push in my last $185 on top and he quickly folds face up AQ. WOW!! This guy either respects my game too much or doesn’t have a spine. Either way when I look back at it, this was the key hand of the night. Up to around $550 and an old friend arrives. Big Ray comes and graces the table with his presence and instantly tightens the table. I dunno if it is because they are scared that if they take his money that he will follow them outside and literally crush them or what. But, he has that effect. I immediately open my game up. Playing all sorts of madness. One of the key hands is 4c5c. I have a great record with this hand, probably around the range of 76-0 with it. I call a raised pot with 5 players to me. Nearly $75 in the pot preflop. I am in position and board falls Qs9c4h and we check it around. Turn another 4 with a rainbow on board. Bet of $45 into me and I flat it. River is a 2 and the guys lays another $100 to me. Am I beat? I think not. He was not the original raiser, and not the type of guy that would check a set into 5 others. I call and he says he missed. I guess J10? Or maybe KJ. Who cares. Here’s a story about the legendary 4c5c. My buddy B and I went out to Vegas in Dec 05. We were there for nearly 2 weeks. First night there I get hit in the face with the deck. I couldn’t miss. I pull $3500 out of a 2-5 game at the Rio. The rest of this trip was basically about proving a point. I wanted to break a table so bad. Just sit down and take every dollar off of it. B and myself go to the Mirage and sit in a 2-5 and for the most part, stay out of each others way. Well I bought in for $500 and was sitting on nearly 2K when I looked down at what else but 4c5c. I was on the button and action to me was a raise to $35 and B going all in for $120+. I am not folding my hand and this other guy, who I didn’t think was going to repop it but I knew he was going to call had nearly 1,500 in front of him. So I call and the flop is Kh 3c 2c. I remember it like it happened last night. This guy bets out $300 and I push. He tanks for awhile and calls with KQ. Nice call sir! What are you still doing with this hand? My buddy B starts cheering for an Ace because he has AQ. I look over at him and say, “B, you don’t want an Ace man.” The turn was the Ace and he turns his hand over and says, “what do you mean I don’t want an Ace?” I show him the 45 and he goes crazy. “Mike blah, how do you call $125 preflop with 45 blah?” I didn’t have an answer and probably never will. It is my hand and I don’t know if I can ever fold it preflop. I’m a sicko I guess. That trip was great. I made over $6k in just cash games. I got more hours of massage than I did of sleep and stayed in one on the nicest suites I could ever imagined. The best part, it was FREE! Saturday’s session ended with me leaving the table with $1350, extremely happy with a profit of $650 on the night. For the 4 sessions since I returned I am up a total of nearly $2500. Much better start than I could've expected considering the fact I was on a limited bankroll and still a bit rusty. Hope things keep up!
P-Back
Thanks P-Back...
You all stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
Return to the poker life/ Harrah’s New Orleans Gripes It had been awhile since I last sat down. Lots of changes in my life have come since. A baby arrived, a real job, and also having to cater to the needs of a fiancée who is still in college. It had been exactly 11 months since my last “session”. What I consider a real session of poker would consist of a minimum of 6 hours of uninterrupted poker. As we all know, with these added responsibilities, my poker life had been put on the back burner. Being a New Orleans native my whole life, Harrah’s has always been the home track. So when I walk in to Harrah’s on March 7th, 2009 it was sure to be an exciting return to the world I was so accustomed to. But Harrah’s, arguably the most profitable business in NOLA, had to make some changes. The first sign that I had returned to my home for so many years was the beautiful sound of the word “cocktails” flowing out of the mouth of our lovely waitress. So I ask for the usual, a tall double crown and coke. She informs me that due to the current state of the economy, Harrah’s will not allow her to serve me a double. In a stunned silence I finally muster the courage to just order a single. If Harrah’s cannot afford to offer drinks to their players, doesn’t that take away from the “house advantage”. Think about every poor decision you have made in a casino. How many of those were NOT alcohol influenced? Back to our girl. Now I understand that people may call me an asshole for the following exchange I had with her, but it is what it is. She kind of brought it upon herself. After I have had around 6 of these “single” crown and mostly cokes, she must have realized I was only tipping her every other drink. She notifies me that she will be leaving and this is her last round and kind of stands there for a second. So I turn to her and say, “well with the current state of the economy, I can only tip you every other drink.” I don’t think it went over well, but it got quite a few laughs from the guys near me. Harrah’s is ridiculous. I feel bad for their waitresses who work off of tips because they give them no wiggle room to hook you up. That’s how they make their money. Not anymore. On to poker. I kind of prepared myself for a session full of getting a feel back for the game(1-2 NLHE). My expectations weren’t set very high. I had a couple of goals in mind for the night. 1- Play a patient game- Premium hands only so I could cut down on tough decisions and not risk a lot of $. 2- Pick my spots well- Recognize which players I could profit from most. 3- Pay attention- Pick up on everything that used to come natural. Betting/Raising patterns, tells, % of hands each player was involved in. All of which are crucial to playing winning poker. Needless to say, I felt much like a kid playing his first session of no-limit. Nervous, timid, and somewhat scared to stick my foot into the water. Kind of embarrassing. The first hand I choose to get involved with is my kryptonite (J10s). Older fella raises to $17 preflop and with 1 caller to me and the button in front, I opt to call. This guy had been playing a ton of hands and 75% of them that he played were a raise and take situation. Not many people had stood up to him. This was evidenced by the $1400 he had sitting in front of him. Flop comes down Jc8s7h. He leads out with a $25 bet which prompts the other player to fold. Well, I decide to just flat it, keep the pot small and see if he is going to fire again. Turn card is 2s. Picking up 8 more outs here makes me feel comfortable raising if bet into. He shoots $50 into the pot of approximately $105. I have only $145 more so I ship it. I can’t recall the last time I had that feeling. Hand shaking towards the betting line with a handful of checks, heart pounding, and hoping to just take it down now. God do I miss this. He eventually folds showing 99. I drag in the pot and a little confidence. By the end of the night, I had opened the game up. Raising suited connectors in position, calling raises with any 2 cards knowing I could steal at some point. I did happen to get caught in a pot drawing out at a nut flush/gut shot draw for a little over $100. All in all I leave my first session after 8 hours up a shade over $300. Not bad for a night where I cost myself at least $200 more. 2nd session I return on Tuesday after working early that morning. I arrived around 3pm. The room was surprisingly full. I sit down and immediately flop set over set against the big stack. This guy played with a reckless abandon that I hadn’t seen since the Biloxi days. He was the type that if you bet, he pushed in. It just so happened I didn’t have to wait that long for my double up. Sitting on $600 after about the first hour was nice. I was knocking back single shots of crown at an alarming rate and I know I’ll be here awhile with the old lady at the Britney Spears concert. I knew it was just a matter of time until I loosened things up a bit. Enter the douche bag. This guy was 6’2 275-300lbs, approximately 23 years old. Announces his presence at the table prior to sitting. No bull shit. Proceeds to inform everyone that he is an internet player and that he only knows 2 things, raise and fold. Super was the first word that popped into my head. This is gonna be fun. First hand, he calls the $12 raise. A weak continuation bet of $10 is shot into the pot of $38 and insta-raised to $35 by our internet soldier. Takes down the first pot. Very next hand, he raises preflop to $22 and takes it down. At this time we are switching dealers. The new dealer sits in and asks everyone how they were doing. This douche bag announces that once he doubles up twice through that guy(pointing at me) he will be doing better. LOL!! Can’t wait! Another interesting thing he was doing is whenever I took down a pot, he would ask me for a count and rebuy for ½ my stack. Nearly an hour and a half in and after telling all 3 dealers the same thing about doubling through me I had had it. Our little internet tough guy raises to $22 and gets 3 calls around to me on the button with 67o. I decide its time. 5 way pot with a flop of A Q 3. It checks around to me. First thing that hits me, is that this guy isn’t the type to check an AK or AJ in this spot. Too aggressive. Hasn’t missed a bet yet. So I decide to see where I stand with the other 3 players. I fire $45 dollars as to which our tough guys looks down and decides to raise to $135. I am sitting at nearly $900 after my bet and he is around $550. Quick folds around to me and my first thought was to fold and not to get too deep. WRONG!! “Go with your instinct”, I told myself. “He doesn’t have an A and you know it.” I put him on JJ or 1010 just trying to steal from me. So I re-raised to $285 total and waited. He goes to moaning and telling me I have 2 pair and I am lucky and how he can’t wait till I miss a flop and folds eventually. I gladly turn over my 67o and show him the goods. He freaks out and calls me a sicko and wonders how I can make that play. “Because I know you have 1010 or JJ” to which he then says he had 1010. Not too much went wrong on this night. My reads were pretty strong and I played well. End up leaving after 8 hours up $975. Strong work for the second night back. 3rd /4th sessions back I returned Harrah’s Friday night and immediately picked up where I left off. I was sitting on a gold mine of a table. No familiar faces, all young guys and all here for different bachelors parties. You don’t find games any softer than this. All drunk 21-25 year olds with money to spend getting drunk and carrying an ego problem. Not to mention not much in the way of live NLHE poker experience. This one guy from Staten Island was obnoxious. If he didn’t say the word fuck or a derivative or it 500 times, he didn’t say it once. From a poker standpoint there really wasn’t much to this night except for wading through all of the bull shit and bluffs. I have never in my life, besides at a 3-6 limit game, seen more gutshots hit while people were banging the pot. I witnessed my biggest pet peeve about these jackasses who chase this shit is that when they finally hit it, they don’t bet! Chase a 4 outer and hit it and then are too scared/stupid to bet it. Were you really taking less than 2 to 1 odds to hit this and then sit on your hands when you get there? I really guess I should be thankful they don’t bet because I would’ve lost a lot of $ early. My night was cut a bit short because a family emergency and I end up with 5 hours logged and another $509 to the good. Saturday night saw the same stable of players. Mostly the same crew but a little more intoxicated than the night prior. I sat with $300 instead of the normal $200 because I was very familiar with the game and felt good about making big money. I run into my first barn door when I run my 2 black Aces into a flop of all hearts with 6, you read right, 6 players for $25 preflop. Jh6h3h and I lead out a feeler bet of $40. To my surprise, I only get 1 caller and he isn’t part of the stable crew. Actually, he was a pretty solid player. On the turn was a Kc. In my mind I was looking to check raise at this point depending on the strength of his bet. His bet turned out to be a bit stronger than I hoped at $60. At this point I was confused as to what he could’ve been holding. I tanked for about a minute and a half and decided to call. The river was a 2c putting a board of Jh6h3hKc2c which didn’t seem too bad. I decided to check and let him dictate the action hoping one of two things. 1- I put him on Ah Jx meaning top with flush draw on the flop and hoping he would take another stab at the pot thinking he was good or… 2- He had 2 pair with KJ or a small flush Well bet he does with $50. Here is my dilemma, either way I feel I have to call. Couple reasons. 1- $50 into a pot of nearly $400 with an overpair that has what I felt as a 20% chance of being good is plenty enough odds. 2- He is an unknown and I would just like to see how he played this hand for future considerations I make the call and this guy had 4d5d for the straight. I was totally confused. Did he really think I had shit? Had I raised preflop and then led into the pot with 5 donkeys waiting behind me? Was he really expecting to take the pot down on the turn for $60 into $280? Doesn’t matter. After that hand I had to rebuy and was now in for $500. I switch tables/stables after a couple of those guys leave and “rocks” sit down, whom I am all to familiar with. I find a table that looks a little weak besides one young Indian guy I have played with 2 of the last 3 days. He is all kinds of tight and in my opinion, overthinks himself way too often. First day I sat down with him he folded 88 preflop for $12 and told me he didn’t want to be in a coinflip. OK? It’s a flip for the first $12 and then you decide your fate after the flop, right? Wouldn’t you want to see a flop of A85 and have a chance to stack another $300? I would. I think that’s what makes me dangerous. I’ll play any 2 cards at any time in any position. DECEPTION. You never know what I’m holding. Back to the action. About 5 hands into this new table I have noticed that every pot has been raised preflop. Not the normal $15-22 raise, the chicken shit “I have nothing” $5-10 raises. Well this guy in early position, who looks as if he has no business at a poker table, raises to $12. He looks like he belongs in the middle of a mosh pit at a Limp Bizkit concert. Well I look down at QQ. I repop it to $26. As he is completing the bet I point out to a guy on my right that his hand is trembling. I know this guy has AA and tell this guy that I am about to stack him if I hit a queen. Flop comes out Q103. He checks to me and I know he is going to check-raise. I lead out $30 and he makes it $90 and I jam it in there. He insta-calls and proudly fires over 2 Aces. Really? I didn’t know you had those? I show my QQ and the dealer(Maria) shows me an Ace on the turn. Done and Done. I am shipping another $250 on top of the $90 he already has committed. Great game! Knowing where you are the whole way and having your nuts kicked in on the turn. I wonder what thoughts if any went through this guys head? Any rational and decent poker player in his spot should know that the 1 hand that he still has beat with that flop is KK. Would I reraise twice with JJ, 1010, 99 or AQ? Wouldn’t you think you were beat and save the other $250? Or even give it a second to settle in? Na! Insta-call. Steaming, I proceed to rebuy for the last $200 that I am willing to donate with the way the night is going. I dump off about another $30 in a rage with shit like 3d6d, 94o, A4. I go take a walk and regroup determined to play my game and get this back. Well I get into a pot with Mr. 2 outer when he raised to $17 and I had 77. 4 handed flop comes down AA4 and we check it around and the turn was a J. Fred Durst himself checks and I bet out $20 bucks and both fold. Before he mucks his cards he shows them to the guy next to him and under his breath says, “it’s ok, he only took $17 off of me when I took $400 off of him with the same hand”. He is lucky, lucky that I didn’t get up and kick the shit out of him. Punk bitch! I can’t wait for the next time I sit down with him. I think Keith was his name. He’s got red hair and a long goatee. Also, he has those earrings that stretch your earlobe to the point where you can put your fingers through it. If any of you sit with this assclown just watch his hands tremble and hope to flop him. He will give it all to you. I sit for the next couple hours grinding my ass off. No real big pots, just a bunch of $25-60 pots. I make one move on our Indian friend who is ever the thinker. I raise out of desperation to represent a hand with A9o in the cutoff. He flats out of the BB. Flop is A75 rainbow. He checks over to me and I bet $25 and he min raises to $50. I know if he didn’t flop a set or is holding AK that he is going to fold. So I push in my last $185 on top and he quickly folds face up AQ. WOW!! This guy either respects my game too much or doesn’t have a spine. Either way when I look back at it, this was the key hand of the night. Up to around $550 and an old friend arrives. Big Ray comes and graces the table with his presence and instantly tightens the table. I dunno if it is because they are scared that if they take his money that he will follow them outside and literally crush them or what. But, he has that effect. I immediately open my game up. Playing all sorts of madness. One of the key hands is 4c5c. I have a great record with this hand, probably around the range of 76-0 with it. I call a raised pot with 5 players to me. Nearly $75 in the pot preflop. I am in position and board falls Qs9c4h and we check it around. Turn another 4 with a rainbow on board. Bet of $45 into me and I flat it. River is a 2 and the guys lays another $100 to me. Am I beat? I think not. He was not the original raiser, and not the type of guy that would check a set into 5 others. I call and he says he missed. I guess J10? Or maybe KJ. Who cares. Here’s a story about the legendary 4c5c. My buddy B and I went out to Vegas in Dec 05. We were there for nearly 2 weeks. First night there I get hit in the face with the deck. I couldn’t miss. I pull $3500 out of a 2-5 game at the Rio. The rest of this trip was basically about proving a point. I wanted to break a table so bad. Just sit down and take every dollar off of it. B and myself go to the Mirage and sit in a 2-5 and for the most part, stay out of each others way. Well I bought in for $500 and was sitting on nearly 2K when I looked down at what else but 4c5c. I was on the button and action to me was a raise to $35 and B going all in for $120+. I am not folding my hand and this other guy, who I didn’t think was going to repop it but I knew he was going to call had nearly 1,500 in front of him. So I call and the flop is Kh 3c 2c. I remember it like it happened last night. This guy bets out $300 and I push. He tanks for awhile and calls with KQ. Nice call sir! What are you still doing with this hand? My buddy B starts cheering for an Ace because he has AQ. I look over at him and say, “B, you don’t want an Ace man.” The turn was the Ace and he turns his hand over and says, “what do you mean I don’t want an Ace?” I show him the 45 and he goes crazy. “Mike blah, how do you call $125 preflop with 45 blah?” I didn’t have an answer and probably never will. It is my hand and I don’t know if I can ever fold it preflop. I’m a sicko I guess. That trip was great. I made over $6k in just cash games. I got more hours of massage than I did of sleep and stayed in one on the nicest suites I could ever imagined. The best part, it was FREE! Saturday’s session ended with me leaving the table with $1350, extremely happy with a profit of $650 on the night. For the 4 sessions since I returned I am up a total of nearly $2500. Much better start than I could've expected considering the fact I was on a limited bankroll and still a bit rusty. Hope things keep up!
P-Back
Thanks P-Back...
You all stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Dead Money tournament...my goals, the fun and my mistakes.
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to play in a satellite with nice deep stacks and levels set up for those who like to play poker. The week before I went I thought of some goals I wanted to accomplish. Everyone there knows that I can be aggressive and if I get chips...LOOK OUT! Here was my gameplan...play tight aggressive, get a feel for the table and then start making moves against those that you can make them against. We had two lunchboxes, and I mean that in the nicest way, who I had to watch closely. My other goals were this, I wanted to knock Tex out very baddly, not because I don't like him-far from it-because he is one of the better tourney players at the table besides Davey. Again, I wanted to knock him out, I did not want to see anyone else do it. I also wanted to get into it with Geno and WildBill. I wanted to outlast Davey and Parfait, two of three that I wanted heads up. So there we have it, I know that the other guys had ideas on what they wanted to do but I wrote notes to myself about how each of them played from my many sessions of watching and playing with them, in a way...it helped.
So I tried to play tight aggressive, I was in the hi-jack seat on the first hand and almost everyone limped to me..."YOU CANNOT LIMP TO ME, WHEN I AM IN POSITION!" I wanted to play tighter but I looked down at 9-5 clubs and raised about 5 times the big blind. Everyone folded around to me. Davey, wanted to see how a master played so I showed him and we had a chuckle. I did try to play tight aggressive and my clues as to what the others were doing fell right into line, it took a while but my reads became good and I was happy.
The day went well and we talked about the different guys who we've played with, Big Mike going to jail, Flyboy, the old 5-5 no limit game where you could buy in for whatever and listening to the stories of the local boys, most of the table were from Houma. We watched the game and I did call the Arizona Cardinals that day and forward into the superbowl. Basically it was well worth the trip and the experience was like none other.
Well, one of the lunchboxes is getting hot and heavy and involved in a lot of hands but is not showing down many of them. He is up and than he starts to lose a little bit, I have him covered in this hand...I open from position with A2clubs and get two callers, the flop is all clubs...he bets into me, I call the other player folds. The turn is a blank, he bets into me again, I min raise and he shoves. Now I have him beat but can he have a set here, or does he have a lesser flush and thinks I'm making a move on him. I try to get a read, just in case the board pairs and he shows a set for the full house. He is stoic and seems like he wants a call, must have a flush. I call he turns over 9-7 clubs, I show my hand and we shake hands as the river bricks out. First one out caused by me, I proceed to put lots of pressure on the table. Tex is getting into hands with good hands and cannot connect, I see the frustration but I also see the calm before a storm brewing in him. He raises and I believe the blinds are 50-100, to $1000, he threw the wrong chip out there. Everyone folds to me in the big blind I look down at a couple of 8's, normally I put him on a big ace and I don't want to race, but he is short stacked, and he is my primary goal. Now, I only made this play to tell him to fold but alas he did not. I say "All In." He contemplates and eventually calls, I think he had AK or AQ. He missed, I have more chips. YES! I KNOCKED TEX OUT! I DID! YES! At the same time I felt bad, I do consider him a friend. Well I got involved with Geno three times and went 2-3 against him, he ended up finishing right outside the mula. I only bluffed you once Geno, if you had a pair on our last head to head you had me beat, the one where you took a while to fold. I got involved with Wild Bill and could not get him to go away. I can't remember the hand that well but there was three to a flush on the turn and he bet into my flop raise, I contemplated and talked out loud on what he might have and raised him BIG on the turn and he called. I gave up when the fourth flush card hit. He showed Ad 8c for the winning hand, he had me the whole way but I could not get him to go away. Maybe he'll talk about it but it twisted me up for a minute. Davey went on a long run and made me fold some good hands because he was to my immediate right, good meaning K 10 suited, q 10 suited, junk like that, LOL! We really did not get into many confrontations. Parfait got smacked around by the other lunchbox, Robert, hope I got that right, he's a cool cat, the cards worked well for him and he chipped up against the likes of Parfait, Geno, Davey and eventually me.
Finally my mistakes, well not plural I just kept making the same mistake over and over again and it kills me! We got three handed and i was short stacked, well I chipped up twice, had both of the other two smashed but could not do anything because after playing for eight hours I believed that both Joe and Robert would eventually start making moves against me. Alas, I was wrong everytime, they were card racks but I stayed in there with second and third best everytime...that is what cost me this satelitte. I was not outplayed. I gave it away. Do I sound arrogant there? Sorry, I really am not trying to but I am telling the truth I messed it up for myself...I got involved in two huge pots when I had the worst of it because I did not believe he could have the hand that he eventually showed me. LOL!
So, I have rambled on long enough, it was a great time and I hope Davey, Wild Bill or Geno set one up again, heck maybe play one of those every other month...this time for the cash...
Well until next time...
Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
So I tried to play tight aggressive, I was in the hi-jack seat on the first hand and almost everyone limped to me..."YOU CANNOT LIMP TO ME, WHEN I AM IN POSITION!" I wanted to play tighter but I looked down at 9-5 clubs and raised about 5 times the big blind. Everyone folded around to me. Davey, wanted to see how a master played so I showed him and we had a chuckle. I did try to play tight aggressive and my clues as to what the others were doing fell right into line, it took a while but my reads became good and I was happy.
The day went well and we talked about the different guys who we've played with, Big Mike going to jail, Flyboy, the old 5-5 no limit game where you could buy in for whatever and listening to the stories of the local boys, most of the table were from Houma. We watched the game and I did call the Arizona Cardinals that day and forward into the superbowl. Basically it was well worth the trip and the experience was like none other.
Well, one of the lunchboxes is getting hot and heavy and involved in a lot of hands but is not showing down many of them. He is up and than he starts to lose a little bit, I have him covered in this hand...I open from position with A2clubs and get two callers, the flop is all clubs...he bets into me, I call the other player folds. The turn is a blank, he bets into me again, I min raise and he shoves. Now I have him beat but can he have a set here, or does he have a lesser flush and thinks I'm making a move on him. I try to get a read, just in case the board pairs and he shows a set for the full house. He is stoic and seems like he wants a call, must have a flush. I call he turns over 9-7 clubs, I show my hand and we shake hands as the river bricks out. First one out caused by me, I proceed to put lots of pressure on the table. Tex is getting into hands with good hands and cannot connect, I see the frustration but I also see the calm before a storm brewing in him. He raises and I believe the blinds are 50-100, to $1000, he threw the wrong chip out there. Everyone folds to me in the big blind I look down at a couple of 8's, normally I put him on a big ace and I don't want to race, but he is short stacked, and he is my primary goal. Now, I only made this play to tell him to fold but alas he did not. I say "All In." He contemplates and eventually calls, I think he had AK or AQ. He missed, I have more chips. YES! I KNOCKED TEX OUT! I DID! YES! At the same time I felt bad, I do consider him a friend. Well I got involved with Geno three times and went 2-3 against him, he ended up finishing right outside the mula. I only bluffed you once Geno, if you had a pair on our last head to head you had me beat, the one where you took a while to fold. I got involved with Wild Bill and could not get him to go away. I can't remember the hand that well but there was three to a flush on the turn and he bet into my flop raise, I contemplated and talked out loud on what he might have and raised him BIG on the turn and he called. I gave up when the fourth flush card hit. He showed Ad 8c for the winning hand, he had me the whole way but I could not get him to go away. Maybe he'll talk about it but it twisted me up for a minute. Davey went on a long run and made me fold some good hands because he was to my immediate right, good meaning K 10 suited, q 10 suited, junk like that, LOL! We really did not get into many confrontations. Parfait got smacked around by the other lunchbox, Robert, hope I got that right, he's a cool cat, the cards worked well for him and he chipped up against the likes of Parfait, Geno, Davey and eventually me.
Finally my mistakes, well not plural I just kept making the same mistake over and over again and it kills me! We got three handed and i was short stacked, well I chipped up twice, had both of the other two smashed but could not do anything because after playing for eight hours I believed that both Joe and Robert would eventually start making moves against me. Alas, I was wrong everytime, they were card racks but I stayed in there with second and third best everytime...that is what cost me this satelitte. I was not outplayed. I gave it away. Do I sound arrogant there? Sorry, I really am not trying to but I am telling the truth I messed it up for myself...I got involved in two huge pots when I had the worst of it because I did not believe he could have the hand that he eventually showed me. LOL!
So, I have rambled on long enough, it was a great time and I hope Davey, Wild Bill or Geno set one up again, heck maybe play one of those every other month...this time for the cash...
Well until next time...
Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
My disagreement with MIKE CARO
What's up? So I am reading the november issue of bluff magazine, yes the one with the two blondes on the front cover and I work back to Mike Caros article called Mental Malfunctions. Mike Caro is brillant and has had a lot of impact in the world of poker. Today, I am going to have to disagree on a point that he made under his topic-The pot is too big to fold-at the end of this portion of his article he says this "Another mistake players sometimes make is to play low quality hands before the flop when many players have already entered the pot. You might assume you're getting good odds, but thing about this: Everyone can't be getting good odds, so someone must be taking the worst of it. If you're playing 8-7 off-suit, that someone is you."
I totally disagree, my understanding is that his many players refers to three or more limpers before it gets to you, 8-7 in a multiway pot is golden. This hand will hit or miss and when you miss it is easy to let it go. On the other hand, he might be talking about you being the second one in and than having many players limp in after, that would be a bad move because if they had not limped in after the price was not right. But in general when you have odds greater than 3 or 4 to 1, almost anything is playable in my eyes. I don't know maybe I'm wrong here hit me back and correct me, is Mike Caro right and I cannot see what he is talking about or am I right understanding that the odds before a flop with a holding of 8-7 off at 3-1 is not a bad play? Heck there may be even more that I am not seeing, help me see it. I know I kept it short and sweet, just going to wait for any responses.
Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
I totally disagree, my understanding is that his many players refers to three or more limpers before it gets to you, 8-7 in a multiway pot is golden. This hand will hit or miss and when you miss it is easy to let it go. On the other hand, he might be talking about you being the second one in and than having many players limp in after, that would be a bad move because if they had not limped in after the price was not right. But in general when you have odds greater than 3 or 4 to 1, almost anything is playable in my eyes. I don't know maybe I'm wrong here hit me back and correct me, is Mike Caro right and I cannot see what he is talking about or am I right understanding that the odds before a flop with a holding of 8-7 off at 3-1 is not a bad play? Heck there may be even more that I am not seeing, help me see it. I know I kept it short and sweet, just going to wait for any responses.
Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
E-GADS! Not three in a row...
11-15-2008
Had to let this one settle in before I told the tale...finished a marathon session last week in a 1-2 NL game that I should have left much earlier but just would not do it. You see I was that guy in highschool that got all the signs that the girls were digging me but had no idea until I went to college and they told me about it, two summers later, FRAK!!! Well I am the same way in a bad game, got all the signs to get out but I don't. I think I know what a bad game is for me now.
I went six dealers until I got a playable hand, 30 min a down, three hours, I mean is that a long time? Yes. My first playable hand, not including the big blind, where I had to fold to all raises and check down to the river and muck, anyways, my first playable hand came during the last dealer where I picked up pocket nines in the hi-jack, I pop to 12 after two limp in, the button calls and big blind re-pops for a bunch...into the muck I go! The button re-popped himself and they got it all in pre-flop, button aces, big blind kings. Button snaps off the big blind. BIG SMOOVE GET OUT OF THIS GAME! Six dealers later I get three hands in a row, yes six dealers later. The hands pocket nines, raise, get four callers, ace hits the board bet into me, call, raise, I fold. Second hand, pocket eights, raise, get five callers, ace hits along with queen, again, bet, call, raise, re-raise, I fold. Third hand, pocket 10's, raise, four callers, flop is AK10, bet into me, raise, re-raise, all in...my lord, I fold. The jack hits the turn and a deuce on the river. Goondingy, GET OUT OF THIS GAME! I am not telling bad beat stories, this is how I know when to get out of a game, six hours and four hands! Gotta get out, the final nail in the coffin, about three more hours later I pick up pocket fives in the cutt-off and I have a maniac to my left, he has raised 95% of the time and admits to being a maniac and wanting to change but cannot. It was quite funny, anyways, I open with my fives, get re-popped by the button, min raise and get two callers at $24 to me. Shoot, okay, $12 more, i call to close the betting down. The flop is QQQ. Checks around to me, now here is what I figure, let me make a bet, I get a call, that's the other queen, I get raised I may be beat but I may be able to call, but hopefully this bet will shut it all down. I cut out $50 and bet, MANIAC pops it another $100, the first caller contemplated for sometime, (HE SAID HE HAD POCKET 10's), but folds and everyone folds around to me. I look at the maniac, who when is confident is very talkative and full of fun, at this time he is stoic and stares straight ahead. I ask how come he's not talking. Folks, another reason to leave a game is when you don't have anymore bullets to fire (rebuys) and you feel like you are scared to lose what is in front of you. Well the maniac does not say anything, but the whole time I am thinking, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, tens, and jacks. I'm thinking now, why the hell did I bet, drek, I could be beat but the kid is stone quiet, not like him, he thinks he's beat, but maybe he did it with AK, "GOON you're good here, just call, and check call the rest of the way," I say to myself but I don't want to lose what's in front of me. After about three long minutes I fold and as I am folding I want my cards back because why would he raise with the queen, well I reverted back to the kid that did that to me with AQ when two hit the board two weeks ago. So I let it go. The kid finally breathes and says to me, I did not want that other kid to call, I was pushing FOURS!!!! ARGH!!!! UGH!!!! SHYTE!!!! I knew I was good but could not commit, if I was Davey I think I may have raised right there, he has this knack for seeing those things better than me. Well, after that it was over, I continued to grind away getting nothing but face card deuce, etc. It went like that for hours, very embarrased because I should have recognized when to get out, yet okay with the way I played for the most part. Going to take sometime off and get ready for this Christmas thing but I got someone to hook me up on full tilt so you might see me in there sometime soon. 'nuff for now.
Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
Had to let this one settle in before I told the tale...finished a marathon session last week in a 1-2 NL game that I should have left much earlier but just would not do it. You see I was that guy in highschool that got all the signs that the girls were digging me but had no idea until I went to college and they told me about it, two summers later, FRAK!!! Well I am the same way in a bad game, got all the signs to get out but I don't. I think I know what a bad game is for me now.
I went six dealers until I got a playable hand, 30 min a down, three hours, I mean is that a long time? Yes. My first playable hand, not including the big blind, where I had to fold to all raises and check down to the river and muck, anyways, my first playable hand came during the last dealer where I picked up pocket nines in the hi-jack, I pop to 12 after two limp in, the button calls and big blind re-pops for a bunch...into the muck I go! The button re-popped himself and they got it all in pre-flop, button aces, big blind kings. Button snaps off the big blind. BIG SMOOVE GET OUT OF THIS GAME! Six dealers later I get three hands in a row, yes six dealers later. The hands pocket nines, raise, get four callers, ace hits the board bet into me, call, raise, I fold. Second hand, pocket eights, raise, get five callers, ace hits along with queen, again, bet, call, raise, re-raise, I fold. Third hand, pocket 10's, raise, four callers, flop is AK10, bet into me, raise, re-raise, all in...my lord, I fold. The jack hits the turn and a deuce on the river. Goondingy, GET OUT OF THIS GAME! I am not telling bad beat stories, this is how I know when to get out of a game, six hours and four hands! Gotta get out, the final nail in the coffin, about three more hours later I pick up pocket fives in the cutt-off and I have a maniac to my left, he has raised 95% of the time and admits to being a maniac and wanting to change but cannot. It was quite funny, anyways, I open with my fives, get re-popped by the button, min raise and get two callers at $24 to me. Shoot, okay, $12 more, i call to close the betting down. The flop is QQQ. Checks around to me, now here is what I figure, let me make a bet, I get a call, that's the other queen, I get raised I may be beat but I may be able to call, but hopefully this bet will shut it all down. I cut out $50 and bet, MANIAC pops it another $100, the first caller contemplated for sometime, (HE SAID HE HAD POCKET 10's), but folds and everyone folds around to me. I look at the maniac, who when is confident is very talkative and full of fun, at this time he is stoic and stares straight ahead. I ask how come he's not talking. Folks, another reason to leave a game is when you don't have anymore bullets to fire (rebuys) and you feel like you are scared to lose what is in front of you. Well the maniac does not say anything, but the whole time I am thinking, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, tens, and jacks. I'm thinking now, why the hell did I bet, drek, I could be beat but the kid is stone quiet, not like him, he thinks he's beat, but maybe he did it with AK, "GOON you're good here, just call, and check call the rest of the way," I say to myself but I don't want to lose what's in front of me. After about three long minutes I fold and as I am folding I want my cards back because why would he raise with the queen, well I reverted back to the kid that did that to me with AQ when two hit the board two weeks ago. So I let it go. The kid finally breathes and says to me, I did not want that other kid to call, I was pushing FOURS!!!! ARGH!!!! UGH!!!! SHYTE!!!! I knew I was good but could not commit, if I was Davey I think I may have raised right there, he has this knack for seeing those things better than me. Well, after that it was over, I continued to grind away getting nothing but face card deuce, etc. It went like that for hours, very embarrased because I should have recognized when to get out, yet okay with the way I played for the most part. Going to take sometime off and get ready for this Christmas thing but I got someone to hook me up on full tilt so you might see me in there sometime soon. 'nuff for now.
Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Harrah's Week Two, 11/01/08
Returned to Harrah's this past Saturday and met up with Bill and Davey. They were on table 15 sitting next to each other and the game looked...hmm, not good. Though they did have that cat who thinks he's nice that I would not have minded sitting in the game to break it off in him. But alas I would be put on table 23, I think, by the poker room cage. Before I got there I talked to Davey and Bill for a minute, Davey was up quite a bit, but I know how he plays and I am sure he opened this table up, and had probably pissed a few people off, but that's my boy. Bill was chilling waiting for his time. I got called to my table and said my see ya's and told them that I'll make a table change and be back soon.
So I sit down, (mental checklist, tight aggressive, watch for a bit, play position.) I get in under the gun, look down at AQ of spades and make it $12 to go in the 1-2 NL game. I get three callers. The flop is JJ2, big blind bets, I call, turn pairs the board again, BB beats I call, river is a blank, BB beats again, I call. WHY? WHAT THE HELL CAN I BEAT? MAYBE A BLUFF! MAYBE!!!! Well he shows AJ off and I muck quickly and smile at myself...first hand, mental checklist out the window and $75 down.
Another thing that I like to do is get to know the guys next to me or at least be nice to them, you see I am a very large guy and quite intimidating, so that it is easier to take money from them. Well it worked, had a very loose weak aggressive player to my left and a nice young weak tight kid to my right. We talked and it was more small talk then anything. I was back on my game plan and up a couple hundred at this point. The guy two to my right was another decent player who had about six hundred in front of him due to hitting quad kings versus pocket aces, where they got it all in on the flop, he turned the quads...lol! At least that was the story I got when I got back from the bathroom.
Well, here is how being nice sorta works out. I am in the big blind, 7-4 off, three limpers to the flop, weak aggressive, descent player on the button and weak tight in the small blind. The flop, 10 7 7 rainbow, YAHTZEE! Check around to the button, $10 bet. SB calls, I call, the rest fold. Turn card, 7, UNO!!!! Well, that was the first thing that came to mind. SB bets $20, I call button calls. River is a deuce. SB checks-"WHAT THE HELL!"-I can't check behind, because I notice the button wants to check also. Shoot! Well I cut out $70, slight overbet, or it looks like it and bet. The button stands up and looks at me, "You got quads?" In the amount of time that I am typing this I had to answer, which I did, "Yes, I do." I tried to sound like a liar. He said that according to the way I had been playing he believed me. I did not like that he said that but oh well, I really was hoping for a call, he folded. The SB with about $100 left goes, "Do you really have quads?"
I answer, "Yes, I do," now with a lot of confidence.
"Will you show if I fold?"
"NOPE!" I said quickly. Now I figured he was not going to call.
"Well, I gotta see them. Right?"
He cuts out $70, and slowly pushes it across the line and quickly flips up his 10 8 off. I show my 7-4 off and pull in the pot.
"Guess you were telling the truth," as he smiled at me, pushed away from the table and said good game as he cashed out.
I don't know if he called because it was easy to give me his money or because he thought I was a liar, I'm going with easy because I think I was likeable.
Well the game eventually broke and I was up real nice for a 1-2nl game. I move to another table where the action was a little crazy. Four way limped pots and a $20 bet when the flop would hit...YUMMY! I entered with about $350 and after an hour I was down to $125, freaking crazy, I had to let a lot of big hands go. Well I straddle, I have my reasons for straddling in a loose game. I may give that away another time. There are six callers including the blinds, here is a funny thing, the big blind completes and at this point I am raising with whatever I have to take this pot down, when the one seat, about middle middle position, throws out four red chips. The dealer said you already called. He looks a little frustrated so instead of raising, I look down at 10-5 off and knock the board. The flop comes 10 5 2, check around to the guy who wanted to raise. He throws out $20, this guy who has been playing slow, min raises quickly. YIKES, I think, big hand. 5's, deuces? Folds around to me and I just call the $20. Folds to the bettor and he re-raises all in, about $60 more. I look down at what I got left and go F it! I'm all in, the other guy beats me in the pot. The two guys to my left say I like your hand, the original bettor turns over pocket kings, the slow player who got fast all of a sudden turns over pocket deuces. I still have not turned my cards over. The kings go, "what you got man?"
"I'm in second and you're in third place," I respond.
The turn is five. "I just took first place, fellas."
The river is an ace, I show my 10 5 off and they don't look happy. The original bettor goes, "shoulda raised."
I get up after a few big blinds and get away up $60, from that second session and head home. I may get to get away again for a third week in a row...wish me luck.
Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
So I sit down, (mental checklist, tight aggressive, watch for a bit, play position.) I get in under the gun, look down at AQ of spades and make it $12 to go in the 1-2 NL game. I get three callers. The flop is JJ2, big blind bets, I call, turn pairs the board again, BB beats I call, river is a blank, BB beats again, I call. WHY? WHAT THE HELL CAN I BEAT? MAYBE A BLUFF! MAYBE!!!! Well he shows AJ off and I muck quickly and smile at myself...first hand, mental checklist out the window and $75 down.
Another thing that I like to do is get to know the guys next to me or at least be nice to them, you see I am a very large guy and quite intimidating, so that it is easier to take money from them. Well it worked, had a very loose weak aggressive player to my left and a nice young weak tight kid to my right. We talked and it was more small talk then anything. I was back on my game plan and up a couple hundred at this point. The guy two to my right was another decent player who had about six hundred in front of him due to hitting quad kings versus pocket aces, where they got it all in on the flop, he turned the quads...lol! At least that was the story I got when I got back from the bathroom.
Well, here is how being nice sorta works out. I am in the big blind, 7-4 off, three limpers to the flop, weak aggressive, descent player on the button and weak tight in the small blind. The flop, 10 7 7 rainbow, YAHTZEE! Check around to the button, $10 bet. SB calls, I call, the rest fold. Turn card, 7, UNO!!!! Well, that was the first thing that came to mind. SB bets $20, I call button calls. River is a deuce. SB checks-"WHAT THE HELL!"-I can't check behind, because I notice the button wants to check also. Shoot! Well I cut out $70, slight overbet, or it looks like it and bet. The button stands up and looks at me, "You got quads?" In the amount of time that I am typing this I had to answer, which I did, "Yes, I do." I tried to sound like a liar. He said that according to the way I had been playing he believed me. I did not like that he said that but oh well, I really was hoping for a call, he folded. The SB with about $100 left goes, "Do you really have quads?"
I answer, "Yes, I do," now with a lot of confidence.
"Will you show if I fold?"
"NOPE!" I said quickly. Now I figured he was not going to call.
"Well, I gotta see them. Right?"
He cuts out $70, and slowly pushes it across the line and quickly flips up his 10 8 off. I show my 7-4 off and pull in the pot.
"Guess you were telling the truth," as he smiled at me, pushed away from the table and said good game as he cashed out.
I don't know if he called because it was easy to give me his money or because he thought I was a liar, I'm going with easy because I think I was likeable.
Well the game eventually broke and I was up real nice for a 1-2nl game. I move to another table where the action was a little crazy. Four way limped pots and a $20 bet when the flop would hit...YUMMY! I entered with about $350 and after an hour I was down to $125, freaking crazy, I had to let a lot of big hands go. Well I straddle, I have my reasons for straddling in a loose game. I may give that away another time. There are six callers including the blinds, here is a funny thing, the big blind completes and at this point I am raising with whatever I have to take this pot down, when the one seat, about middle middle position, throws out four red chips. The dealer said you already called. He looks a little frustrated so instead of raising, I look down at 10-5 off and knock the board. The flop comes 10 5 2, check around to the guy who wanted to raise. He throws out $20, this guy who has been playing slow, min raises quickly. YIKES, I think, big hand. 5's, deuces? Folds around to me and I just call the $20. Folds to the bettor and he re-raises all in, about $60 more. I look down at what I got left and go F it! I'm all in, the other guy beats me in the pot. The two guys to my left say I like your hand, the original bettor turns over pocket kings, the slow player who got fast all of a sudden turns over pocket deuces. I still have not turned my cards over. The kings go, "what you got man?"
"I'm in second and you're in third place," I respond.
The turn is five. "I just took first place, fellas."
The river is an ace, I show my 10 5 off and they don't look happy. The original bettor goes, "shoulda raised."
I get up after a few big blinds and get away up $60, from that second session and head home. I may get to get away again for a third week in a row...wish me luck.
Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!
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