My trip to the Isle of Capri...Biloxi

This past Saturday night I made a trip out to the Isle. The poker room is on the second floor in a secluded area with nine tables. They run daily tournaments and the room is very nice, several flat screens spread out around the room and the dealers and floor staff are knowledgable and very respectful.



My first hour and a half was in a 4-8 hold'em limit game, I gave away $100 trying to get back on the bicycle. In my last hour of play I got my hundred back plus another hundred...awesome limit session! All those lunchboxes that kept chasing runner runner, hit me several times in the first thirty minutes...seriously, I had a lady chase diamond, diamond with her Kd5d, did not flop a pair, but did flop a left field diamond draw and a right field straight draw. Another gentleman chased with Ac10d and made a straight. These are a couple of the many examples of my first thirty minutes...I locked the doors and I got it all back from those chasers, that was awesome!



It is now about Two am and I am in the 1-2 NL game, their biggest game, the buy in is $60-$300 or half the biggest stack. They rake the pot, 10% up to $4, and they rake one dollar for the bad beat jack pot, which is Aces full of queens beat, but you must have an ace in your hand...like AAQK2, one player must have AQ the other AK. AAA102..one player has AK, the other player has pocket queens this is not bad beat jackpot eligible.



Okay, onto the game...there were a mix of players and only three lunchboxes. The rest of the table was filled with tight passive players. The only time they would push is with the nuts. Not a completely easy game but beatable. My no limit session was a bust...I served as the fourth lunchbox...in my opinion. I made moves from position after raising with several limpers only to get check raised causing me to fold. Not once did they make a move at me except once, and we had the same hand, he just had position. My mistake was I only had twenty dollars left and should have put it in on the turn but did not and folded on the river! LUNCHBOX!!! The cooler was on, two hours later, when I limped under the gun with 2c2s, the big blind, who had sat down three hands ago, raised to $10, there were four limpers behind, I called and so did two of the four limpers...the last two, who should have called, had position, tight passive! The flop was Qc7s4d, bb checks we all check around, the turn is a 2d, bb checks, I bet $40 just in case someone picked up a diamond draw, they are getting odds of two to one to call but they are about 3-4 to one to hit on the river. Well I get called by the bb. I only have $125 left. The river is an Ac...bb bets out $85...I am utterly confused and I sit there and think about it for awhile. "Did he hit the whee!?, maybe he slow played AQ?." I thought maybe a set but why wait, when I bet $40 and the other two folded to him, why not raise to get me off the flush draw or the goofy straight draw? Nah, not a set could not be. I call...he has pocket sevens! Cooler, just the way he played it. I proceeded to lose another hundred plus and the game broke at about 8 am.



This session was a mind bender. I kept asking myself "WHAT THE ...!?!" and I believe I may have played a little faster than I needed to do, soft tilt.



Four things that I need to watch out for and maybe these will help you...



1) Do not bluff bad. The lunchboxes that call with A2 will not fold when that Ace hits and you make a continuation bet representing a bigger Ace.

2) Check yourself! Do not become a pattern that even the lunchboxes can pick up! Raising from the cut-off seat or the hi-jack seat(one before the cut-off). With multiple players making a continuation bet into a scary flop, they will pick it up eventually.

3) When you do not have it yet, play the pot small. For example, I made a raise under the gun with 10c10d, I got three callers. The flop is KdJd7c, checked around, the turn is an 6d, I bet hoping to represent the flush and if I get called I have the flush to hit or maybe the last tow tens are good, I get two callers...heck I am out of position, someone could have the nut flush already, they got a freaking free card! Don't bet the draw as a semi-bluff when you are out of position, in position maybe, but that depends.

4) Take a walk when you feel tilted.


Until next time...stay nice as rice and mello as jello!