Final Table Finally!

There are a couple of ways to "make the final table".  I did it both ways last night.  Arriving after a drive from Seattle an hour before the game I was in no condition to deal.  However, I can never say no to the organizers who work so hard to put the game on.  There were more players signed up than normal (33), so we had to break out the 4th table.  I had agreed to deal if needed, and was asked to deal table 1, the final table.  Oh great, now I am stuck here until at least 11 p.m.  The upside of course is the 40% of tips which will definitely cover my buy-in.

I was running pretty good early and had chipped up to over 3000 when I raised with the dreaded AQ that definitely is not my best friend and was re-raised all-in by a short stack about 1/2 my chips.  I call, he turns over 9/9 and we are racing.  His 9's hold up and now I am short.  I win a few pots, and am up to around 4000 when a tricky good player with a giant stack raises in early position with an oversize bet...around 2500 I believe.  It is folded to me with.....pocket aces.  I re-raise all-in and he tanks for a while, counts the pot and finally calls with fair pot odds.  He tables 8/9 suited.  Rut row.  The flop however has an ace (I am recalling the lady on table 2 who got knocked out earlier tonight when she flopped a set of aces), and sure enough, he has a straight draw.  Thankfully the board pairs the jack and I am doubled up plus.....It goes on the board for high hand of the night.  I am not overly optimistic as I have never won this ($2 from each player goes into high hand fund), even when I had quad 8's which were snapped heads up on the final table.

I get it most of it all in again with AQ vs. 9/9 (unbelievable) against a guy who just won $5000 in a big Lincoln City tournament last weekend.  This time I win the flip, and eliminate him.  Unbelievable.  We are down to two tables and I go heater knocking 4 players out.  I am 3rd in chips when we form the final 9.  Down to 7, we pay the bubble, get down to 5 with one player holding over 50% of the chips in play.  He was one of the co-winners in Lincoln City for $5000 (they did a 3 way chop).  He plays aggressively and often any two cards so danger was in the air.  Three of us each had 10000 in chips and one had 13000.  It was proposed that the leader take 1st and we chop the rest for $165 each.  Done deal.

Total for the night
$165 win
    66 high hand
   41  tips for dealing final table
less $40 buy-in
less $ 12 dealer tip
Net:  $220
  

One Guys Owns Me Friday

I really hate it when there is one stinking player who owns your ass.  Every time you get in a pot with him he either has better cards, gets a better flop, or gets lucky on the river.  "Michael" was my nemesis on Friday.  Dealing table 2 (as usual), I was playing very well and had increased my stack to about double starting chips.  I then called a short stack shove (JJ) with my dreaded AQ suited.  After the flop several people commented that they had folded an ace.  Great.  No 3 outer for me this time. Now down to 3/4 of starting chips I bled off some more in blinds.  Now officially short (I think 900 with blinds @ 200/400), there is one limper (nemesis) under the gun with me in cutoff.  I have 5/5 and figure on callers but a good chance to triple up if lucky.  Shove.  Surprisingly the blinds both fold, despite having fairly good stacks.  The nemesis calls and I am flat out shocked to see.....2/3 suited.  You may recall from earlier post about the "cupcake" or "Oregon Aces".  But this looks like a sure thing for me.  The flop is awesome, 9/10/6 or something like that.  When the turn brings another 9 I am very happy.  However......the nasty river is another 10, counterfeiting my 2 pair and my 5 kicker is no good!  Chop pot!  Wow.  I pick up a lousy 300 chips and am still on fumes.

So, with about 1000 remaining, there is one limper and I shove with A/K.  Nemesis calls with A/7 from small blind, and limper calls with 10/J.  Flop has an ace and no reasonable draws for the short stack limper.  Turn is a brick, and the river.....you guessed it....a 7.  Players down.

Having some fun earlier, I proposition bet a player that he would see the "biggest hand of the night" at my table.  He accepted my bet.  I then pulled these cards out of my pocket (top cards next to regular ones).

Extra large deck stocking stuffer from Christmas.  Where is the joker?  Dealing the cards, silly.

Wheeler 3-Peat Cash

This is becoming my favorite game!  I was on the fence about going last night, but finally decided to go.  After dodging not one, not two, but count 'em three state police radar traps in the short 20 minute drive I arrived safely at the Tsunami Grill.  After a warm up beer (my new favorite Old Chubb, a dark strong beer), we began play with 2 tables, 18 players.  It was decided to pay 4 places, the advantage of no rake and no external management.

I chipped up pretty well by the final table but then went completely card dead.  Think double down blackjack hands like 9/2, 7/3, 8/3, etc. and really bad blackjack hands (adding up to 13-16).  The entire night probably had no more than 2 pairs.  One kid was kind of annoying and lucky.  He kept overplaying his hands and winning.  I was looking to trap on the button with AK suited and him in the small blind.  To my surprise he bet really big and with a similar stack I folded my AK face up.  He turns up A/10 off.  That is what I am talking about overplaying, but I chose not to flip at this point in the game as I put him on a middle sized pair.  There would be other opportunities.

As I got shorter and shorter a mini-miracle happened.  We were at 6 players when 2 short stacks went all-in and were called by a bigger stack who had QQ.  The weak AJ suited and the other hand (random cards, just a small stack looking for a big pot) both fell and we escaped the bubble payment option with 4 remaining.  The bluffy player to my right was relentlessly raising every blind of mine and I kept on folding.  Finally, with only about 3 blinds left he was messing with his chips in the small blind and I said, "I am calling any bet of yours, you have been raising every one of my blinds".  He min-raised, I called and the flop was 10 high on my 10/3 hand.  I shoved when he bet into the flop.  He turns over.....QQ!!!!  Crap!!!!!  Except look at the turn card, another 10.  Nice.  Except that there are now 3 diamonds on the board and he has (naturally) the queen of diamonds.  River bricks, I double up.  Whewwww.

It comes around to my big blind again, and he is now the short stack and shoves.  I have K/9 suited and insta-call. He shows his 5/8.  The flop has a king and he is now drawing officially dead.  Player down in 4th place.  We amiably shake hands and now play 3 handed.  I get some great cards like AK twice and am now in 2nd place when this hand comes up.  I have K/Q in the small blind, it is folded to me and I raise to 2400 with 400/800 blinds.  The big blind, with 5800 total chips re-raises all-in.  I call, he has A/10.  I have about 3000 remaining when I flop a king but he rivers an ace.  My next big blind the small blind limps, I check behind with 8/9 not having enough chips to move him off the hand.  The flop is: 5/5/4 and he puts me all-in.  I insta-call with my two over cards and he tables 6/7 for the open-ender which he hits on the river.  Player down in 3rd place for $144.

If not for the river on the big pot I would have had 14,600 in chips out of a starting pool of 19,800 chips.  Hmmm.  That river cost me a probable first place.  I had joked when we were at 4 players and me the short stack that we could 4 way chop but that it was my "final" offer.  Had I won that pot there would have been regrets.

Nothing To See Here, Move On

My poker adventures seem to be at a standstill.  The online poker is driving me crazy and I haven't cashed at the Legion for months.  Planning a trip to Wheeler tomorrow for their game, I heard that they had 23 players last week (zero rake?  gotta ask them.) so should be a good payout.  When the tourist traffic dies down and the days are a bit longer a trip to Spirit Mountain will be in order.  Have not made the 1 hr 45 min (each way) trip for probably 2 years.  I am anxious to see what bad changes they have made.  It kept on going downhill the past few visits....like no cel phone usage in the entire room!!!  What the what!!!  Their tournaments do sound enticing however so must go.

On a side note, the weather here has been amazing for February.  Forecast is for near 70 today.  I actually mowed my yard yesterday.  The beach was jam packed due to Valentine's day and President's day.  Looked and felt like summer here.

Distracted, Cupcake, and Another Bad Beat

At the Legion last night I volunteered early to deal table 2.  The reason you ask?  I am running really bad lately so just looking to play cheaply and cut some losses.  I have said before that it is very distracting to play and deal.  Last night was a prime example.  I am in a hand with top pair (K/10 on a king,3,3 board), and it is being bet into me, but fairly small, so I am calling.  An ace comes on the river, we both check, he shows K/Q and I muck!!!! A player who often deals points out the chop but too late.

Later, we are discussing "cupcake", the 2/3.  Bad discussion for me as a big stack calls a raise from a short stack with his 2/3 of diamonds.  I also call with 7/8 of diamonds.  The flop comes 3/3/7, the short stack shoves, 2/3 calls, and I raise to 1500 putting the big stack on a flush draw.  He re-raises all-in and I muck.  Short stack down and me now short.

My last hand with only 500 in chips (blinds @ 2/400), I call with A/9 leaving 100 behind....don't laugh....I actually love this play.  Three handed we see an A/K/X flop.  One of the players bets pretty big, I call, the other player mucks.  We turn over our hands and she is betting the king.  Sweet.  That is until the other king hits the river for her two outer win (well, more as she could have also hit her 9 kicker).  But still.........

Continuing my theme of folks hitting their 2 or 3 outer against me, I also am eliminated in a 45 person SNG this morning with my pocket aces vs. pocket queens.  Maybe I should "take a poker break"?  I did fail to mention eliminating a player Friday night who had AA vs. my KJ however.  Got lucky on the flop with 2 jacks.  So, not always unlucky I guess.  

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.

Striking Out in the Tri-Cities

You know, a 6 hour drive to play poker just makes absolutely no sense, yet that is what I did last week.  I wanted to get in as many tournaments as possible and stay away from the (usual losing) cash game.  Friday morning I played two tournaments.  There were a ton of players, between 40 and 50 for this $25 buy-in turbo with $100 cash added.  Nice payouts, and with the big numbers playing 4 or 5 spots.  The first one was not memorable, finished around 15th place.  The second made the final table and lost to an aggressive button raiser with my A/5 suited in the big blind vs. his K/6 suited. He flopped a king, knocking me out 1 short of the money.

Saturday I also made the final table with tons of players.  I was 3rd in chips with 6 players remaining.  The short stack (he had lost most of his chips with his AA vs. AK), was all in short of the big blind.  with one limper plus the big blind I shoved from the button with AQ.  The big stack at the table made a horrendous decision to call with A/6 suited.  I flopped a queen but there were 2 of his diamonds on the flop.  Sure enough, a diamond hits the turn and two of us are out.  Wow.  Talk about a bad decision turning out well.  Had I won, chip leader.

Later that day I signed up for the $40 deepstack in Richland.  I really enjoy this one and have done well in the past due to the chips and structure.  Going deep with 42 players, I reach the final table and am in fair chip condition, maybe 38,000 with blinds at 2/4000.  Well, less than 10 blinds, so not that great.  There are 6 players remaining and they pay 3 spots.  I find the good old AQ in the small blind and when it is folded around to me I shove.  The big blind insta-calls and oops, he has AA.  I flop a queen for some hope but am gone.

Drifting back to Pasco I sign up for the cash game, mostly because my buddy Ron is playing and I have internet access there plus beverages!!!  Despite my misgivings buy in to the game for $100 and cash out several hours later for $203.  My win really was not due to great play (although I did play o.k.) but to hitting a "Monte Carlo" hand with my QQ on a queen high flop.  After my poker buddy Lynne bet into me I reminded her of my keepsake card protector (featuring QQ) and we checked to the river which was the other queen.  $100 quad hand which I normally share 25% with Ron, but at the other table he had hit the high hand for $100 so we had a wash on our sharing.

So, after 4 tournaments and one cash game, my financial scorecard was:

Tournament 1    -$25
Tournament 2   -$25
Tournament 3   -$25
Tournament 4   -$40
Cash game        +$103
Total for trip     -$12

With only a little touch of not bad luck at crucial tournament times would have had a huge weekend, probably in the $300-500 range.  C'est la vie.

Why We Play

While playing the $40 deepstack Joker's tournament in Richland Friday, I had a discussion with someone who is an excellent player, WSOP player (You too Lynne).  We were talking about why we play poker.  That got me thinking.  He claimed to play because he enjoys the "decision making process".  For him that is probably true as he is an old time Hanford employee making big bucks so the small profit he might enjoy is probably pretty inconsequential.  So here are some "reasons" to play.

For a Living

Obviously there are people who make their living doing this.  I equate that to playing professional sports as many of the best professionals are doing what they love and what?  I also get paid millions for it?  Sweet.  If I were able to make a living playing poker I would not only be doing something I love, but also profiting from it.  Doesn't get much better than that.  I have heard the expression, " A hard way to make an easy living" and it probably applies with all the variance everyone experiences.  We try to always move up to the next level of play, and as we do, run into increasing skill levels.  If you don't believe this, play a little 3/6 limit, then buy into a 2/5 no limit game sometime.  The typical "grinder" I see in Vegas plays those low limit games due to his/her very large skill advantage.  Sitting next to a guy one night, we were both racking up big stacks and began chatting.  He was a cabbie and when not driving would hit the tourist games.  I play so much that he could tell that I was an out of state grinder.  He claimed an average daily win of around $200, which equates to $4000 a month tax free income, or more like $70,000 in a taxable job.  Not too bad.

Love of the Game

This was also stated as a reason.  If you love doing something, you usually are pretty good at it, thus you are a winning player which finances your tournament and cash game buy-ins.  You go girl!  If you love it but are not so good it becomes an expensive hobby (think golf), but you stick with it.  I think most players do love the game for whatever other reasons they might play.  It is entirely possible to have multiple motivations for any actions.  The biggest danger in my mind is confusing our reasons, thus deluding ourselves as to the whys.

Love of Competition

Will have to confess here that my primary motivation lies in this area.  I have always been a very competitive person although will also have to confess that I certainly lack advanced skills in many of the areas I have competed in.  Here is an example:  Many years ago, when in my 30's, I played flag football.  Our team was virtually unstoppable having beaten the league champions by several touchdowns, and ultimately losing only to the all star team the league assembled.  Our front line consisted of a former NFL center, an all-american WSU shot putter, a weight-lifting fireman.  The quarterback was a former CFL player and his back up was a former Kamiakin starting quarterback.  We had a couple of very fast receivers who played college ball.  I did not play a single down in that particular game (take note, Brian Williams), but in a previous game had been paid a nice complement that I had the motivation and drive to have played pro ball (unsaid that I sorely lacked the physical skills).  I had the opportunity to play against a future NFL safety and knocked him down a few times until he figured out he could line up a few steps back and just run around, not through me.  Also, I have played racquetball on a tournament level and had a lot of trophies.  Again, it was motivation and drive, not particularly athletic skills that got me that far.  So, basically, I just enjoy competition and testing myself against the best I can find.  Sometimes coming up short, but love the challenge!

Income Supplement

If we are honest there are many players who add this element.  I would have to confess that it motivates me.  I really like the small profit I usually enjoy from participating in something I would do anyway (think play money internet games).  If I can win a few hundred bucks a month it is fine with me.  I think many players are in this category.  They really don't "need" the money but it is great to win some walking around cash.

Bored/Distraction from Problems

There are a few players who play recreationally to escape from their issues.  I try not to think about myself in this category, but will admit that too often I am playing online just to kill a few hours.  Of course the other elements for me also kick in but some folks are into pure escapism.