Bragging Rights

Don and I had some friendly banter about tournament bragging rights.  I casually mentioned his very early departure from the Aria tournament (his set of aces fell to a flush during the first blind level). So, we briefly discussed a small side bet on "last man standing" for the Venetian tournament on our last day.  Wisely I passed on it as I was eliminated around 30th place while Don cashed in 8th place. So, overall I feel that even though Don had the only cash, I played in more tournaments (3 vs. his 2), and had a total of around 13 hours of seat time, it is almost too close to call.

Orleans Unusual Beat

I am always anxious to "get into the action" when I first arrive in Vegas.  Landing about 3:30 on Saturday a quick omaha session was in order.  Unfortunately, after chipping up about $50 in just a few hands, the table broke down and became extremely short handed.  With high rakes and split pots this is never a good thing so I enrolled in the 7:00 $125 bounty deepstack tournament.  There were lots of entries, around 80- 90 I believe and things went fairly well for me with one $25 bounty.  I had a terrible seat, to the immediate right of a loose and lucky player who had collected 6 1/2 bounties (one chopped pot).  We played down to two tables with about 6 or 7 players on each table and 8 places being paid.

The player to my immediate right was a young man who was very aggressive and got lucky several times.  The hand that knocked me out happened like this.  I was in the big blind with QJ suited (I really like this hand).  Two big stacks limped in and when it got back to the small blind he min-raised to 4000.  I had around 15000 or so, not in great shape, but this looked to be a giant pot with the limpers showing no strength and additional dead money from antes.  We all called.  The flop looked like a dream for me, 4/4/Q.  This is a flop that does not figure to hit many hands as a better queen probably would have raised and the action should have driven any A4 hands out.  So, naturally, when the small blind checked to me, I shoved.  Everyone folded back to the small blind who looked quickly at his cards and said, "I call".  What does he reveal you ask?  K/4 offsuit naturally.  Unbelievable!!!  I am gone, shaking my head as I head to my room at 12:30 p.m. 4 places off the money.  Not a great start to my poker trip.

Respect The Hat

Got some catching up to do, blogwise.  After spending 3 fun-filled days in Vegas and having family visiting all this week, I am seriously behind in blogging.  I would try to consolidate all my Vegas adventures into one easy reading, but think maybe dividing into chunks is the way to go.  I would like to start with my 2nd tournament played.  Don and I were looking for a great tourney and had narrowed it down to the Aria and the Wynn.  The Aria was more "affordable" at $150 buy-in, while the Wynn was playing a huge guarantee with a $300 buy-in.  We opted for the Aria, deepstack with long blind levels (30 minutes).  Don got snapped early with his set of aces cracked by a flush and I played alone for the next 5 hours.  There were around 100 entries and I finally busted out around 30th place.  As a short stack in the big blind, the small blind pressured my by putting me all in....thanks buddy, I have 8/8 vs. your J/9.  He hit a jack on the flop and I was done.

Earlier, I had flopped a set of 7's vs. AK on an ace high flop.  Nice.  He called my flop bet, then wised up on the turn when I bet large.  His comment, "I have to respect the hat".  The phrase has stuck in my head.

More blogs to come soon. 

Nice Flop for Me Today

I checked the flop after hitting my quads then raised the bettors on the turn, they both called with flush draws.  The river counterfeited the low hand, and brought in the flush and I scooped a very nice pot.  bellagirl29 was drawing dead except for a very weak low and by the way, this is why it is not good to chase non-nut flushes or any flush for that matter on a paired board in Omaha hi low.

Intimations of Mortality

As my severe cold (that is all I hope) continues into its third day I got to thinking last night about our short lives and those that we have met in our poker journey who now play in that great full table no bad beat poker game in the sky.  I wanted to take a moment to share some moments, stories or just impressions I had of these players.  My memory is not quite as sharp as it once was, so if the commenter's would like to add to or amend my story, please feel free.

Mr. Wilson:  He was a robust, intense player who generally played very tight but aggressive poker.  I thought he was extremely likable and really seemed like a gentleman but sometimes his temper would flare when the loose aggressive player would crack his big pair with garbage.  Then he would let it fly!  A very funny story that Dawn, a red-headed casino employee told about him was once he walked in and said to her, " Hi Red, does the carpet match the curtains?".  She said that she turned beet red and that normally something like that would not phase her at all, but was so unexpected coming from a gentleman like Mr. Wilson.

Jim:  He was an older gentleman, working his way through cancer treatments.  His most memorable trait was his extensive hat collection.  He had so many hats with funny sayings on them, that in the years I played with him, I never saw the same one twice.  I asked him about it, and he said that his kids kept giving them to him.

Old Jim:  This guy looked like he was in his late 90's.  Very frail and old for his years...I think he was only late 70's or early 80's.  He was a hell of a player, winning several big tournaments including one tournament of champions just before he passed away.

Sarge:  Wow.  Where do you start with this guy?  He was a former hand to hand combat instructor for the Green Berets.  Does that tell you bad ass?  He was probably 6'3" in his prime and actually worked as a bouncer in his '70's.  Is that a bad ass or what?  He retired as a command sergeant major, which is the highest enlisted rank in the army.  He told a very funny story to me once.  He was assigned to the pentagon as an aide to a general.  A young captain had an appointment with the general and as he sat down in the waiting area asked Sarge if he could get him a cup of coffee.  Sarge said, "Do I look like a secretary?  Get your own fucking coffee".  The captain, suitably insulted took his grievance to the general when he met him.  The general eyed the young captain and said, "Sarge there saved my life in Vietnam, you better get your own fucking coffee".
So, my favorite story about Sarge was playing a tournament with him.  He really was not a great player but the deck was running right over him that day.  We ended up heads up, he had most of the chips on the table.  I had maybe 1 or 2 blinds.  He said, "Do you want to chop?"  I looked at him in disbelief and replied, "we really don't need to Sarge, you have most of the chips".  He said, "It's my nap time, let's chop".  So we did, you don't argue with a bad ass Green Beret.

RC:  A fine, class act of a gentleman.  His wife was very sick and when she passed away he did too a few months later.  My favorite story was a tournament we were playing in.  Somehow he, myself, and one of the dealers who was playing got it all in after two of us flopped sets. He had both of us covered, and we revealed pocket 5's, 8's and RC had J's.  The flop was 8/5/x.  The river was a jack and both of us hit the rail.  Nice hand RC.

Sheila:  She was an interesting player at the table.  Tight aggressive and a solid player. She was caring for her sick husband when the big C got her first.  She would show up for poker whenever she felt good enough after her treatments.

Triple Gutter:  Grady was an extremely likable player, even when he was beating you as he did the last tournament I played with him.  We flopped set over set, and I was the one eliminated.  He was a truck driver and did enjoy some adult beverages when he played.  He got his nickname when one night he swore that he could not fold a hand because he had a triple gut shot draw.  Hmmmm.  He even had a jacket embroidered with his nickname.

Old Joe:  As opposed to new Joe, I suppose.  Very nice man and a good player.  He moved to California to be closer to his son and heard through the grapevine of his passing.

Barbara:  Big Joe's mother, she was a tough old East coast bird and a much better player than her son.  I saw them go head to head quite a few times and there was definitely no quarter given.  My last tournament with her we ended up heads up on the final table and she had a massive chip lead.  I jokingly asked her if she wanted to chop but she wanted none of that.  She had so many chips that I just went kamikaze on her, shoving every hand.  She would fold a few, call a few and lose, and suddenly we were even.  I again offered to chop, but no way.  We continued and I eventually won, costing her probably $200.  Wish she had taken my offer.  RIP Barbara.

Head Cold and Cold Deck

Do you sometimes know that you really should not be playing cards?  Last night I was coming down with a cold and had not slept well the night before.  So sick I knew dealing was out of the question.  Really I would have stayed home but wanted to drive my new rig with the wrap still on it down to show the boys. I was so card dead that when a table balance was needed I all but shouted "Yahoo" (not the company, the cowboy word, as if I have to explain this to you my ultra-intelligent readers).  Early on at my new bestest table I limped on the button with A9 suited with a bunch of early limpers.  The flop hit my two pair and when the big stack bet, I raised big.  Fold.  Damn.  I then went card dead again.  At this point in the tournament I have been dealt zero pairs.  I am seeing mostly big little or high medium little cards.  Nothing really playable.

Another table move and I was at 2400 with blinds at 200/400.  Not where I want to be.  The first hand I am dealt is A/4 of clubs.  I briefly consider my options in the cutoff and go for the shove.  I am snap called by a big stack in the big blind.  He turns over JJ.  But hallelujah two clubs flop and a third one joins them on the turn.  Quick double up and I am back in the game.

The very next hand the same player shoves with QQ and is called by a bigger stack who has AJ.  She hits an ace on the river, but the wrong ace.  There are 3 clubs on the board, the ace of clubs gives Mr. Lucky the second nut flush.

The third hand I have AQ of clubs.  The same active player min-raises and I flat call.  The flop is 9 high and I shove.  Snap call, KK.  I fail to find an ace and am gone.  My question is:  How the "F" does one player get JJ, QQ, and KK three hands in a row when I have not had a pair all freaking night?

I congratulate the player and leave with these actual words, "Nice hand, fuck you I won a car". Trying to be a better person, baby steps.

Post script, was sicker than sick last night and not much better today.  Am hoping to feel good enough to play and deal the quarterly $100 tournament tomorrow.

Ace Play Criticized

Sometimes it is not enough for players to beat your aces with cheese.  They sometimes feel compelled to explain how poorly you played them.  So, dealing last night I gave myself aces with a couple of limpers in early position.  Blinds were 15/30, so I added a bit for the limpers and raised to $110.  Everyone folded except for the UTG player.  I expected him to show up with a good hand here that would pay off my aces.  The flop came, 6/6/J rainbow.  Pretty darn good flop for me, so when he checked I bet around $180.  He calls.  The turn was a brick, maybe a 10.  He checked, I bet $225, he check raised me to $480.  I thought for a bit and as it was possible that this particular player had called my preflop raise with A/6 suited, I flat called to see the river.  If an ace came I would definitely own him.  The river was another jack, and he checked.  I checked behind and announced that I had 3 pair and his full house was good.  He turned over a particularly stinky piece of cheese, J/5 unsuited, and collected the pot.  He then proceeded to tell me that I had "played bad".  I guess if he meant that I didn't shove at some point before the river he would have folded.  Hmmm.  I truly believe that a player capable of calling a substantial raise before the flop with that hand and catching top pair would never fold to my shove.  Maybe I am wrong.  I cannot criticize his play as it was tricky and would have gotten folds on the turn from most hands, but I truly feel that I excercised pot control and lost the minimum possible.  Please correct me if I am wrong and tell me what your line of play would have been.  I think that I was extracting maximum value until losing to the 2 outer.  What say you?

Now short stack I played for a while ultimately shoving against small blind, short stack big blind and one very deep stack limper with my A/10.  All but the small blind called and BB had A/9, limper KQ.  I lost to two pair KQ (jack on the river would have saved me). 

Why I Write This Blog

For starters I just plain love to write.  As an English Language and Literature student back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I really wanted a career involving writing.  I was on the high school newspaper and yearbook staff, began college as a journalism major, and was involved with the college poetry publication.

Paths lead to other paths and I ended up being a sales manager, a small business owner several times over, a retail executive, a marketing manager, and now a poker degenerate.  So, my writing and my poker have now converged.  I ran on to a great quote from the foreward in a poker book.  It explains, I think, why I like to analyze my play and share my experiences.

 "The sage never tries to store things up.
The more he does for others, the more he has.
The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance."
               Chapter 81 Tao Te Ching

So, you see that I am doing this for myself but hopefully in a spirit of giving.

Death by Three Outer

Last night's Wheeler game was death by 3 outer for me.  I was playing squeaky tight (do many players actually recognize this?), so I am always super surprised to get some of the calls I get with my assumed range.  The first hand that got me was a raise in front of me by one of my deadly nemesis players.  He nearly always gets me, either with a worse hand that improves or a slightly better hand that holds up.  I check my cards and find KK.  I am now officially calling this hand Hamlet, as the king always gets killed.  I of course re-raise to isolate him.  He has me covered.  Then to my surprise a shorter stack shoves with fewer chips.  This is the player who snapped my aces a few weeks ago with his QQ that rivered quads.  We turn over our hands:

Nemesis:  9/9
Me:          K/K
Snapper:  A/Q

The observant and intelligent poker player will quickly see that I have exactly 6 outs against me, 3 for each player.  My winning percentage according to my handy dandy pocket odds program are:

Nemesis:  18%
Me:           58%
Snapper:   23%

With odd percentages and possible ties = 100%, I am still a favorite, but not as much as you might think.  The flop has an ace, followed by another ace on the turn and the worst starting hand wins hitting 2/3 of his outs.  I win the side pot, winning exactly $350 more than my initial shove, so I am pretty much back to where I started.  Snapper ends up on the final table with the chips he won.

We are down to almost the final table bubble, I have about 2000 with blinds at 150/300.  It is folded to me on the button.  I have Q/10 off which is a problematic situation.  This is too strong a hand in my opinion to fold on the button against two random blind hands.  Also, at least one of the players is a good, observant player who should recognize that I am a tight aggressive player.  So, I raise to 950.  The small blind (observant) asks me for a chip count.  I tell him 1200.  He ponders and finally folds.  The big blind, a fairly new player...couple of years...who overestimates their skill level snap calls.  The flop comes Q/9/5 with 2 spades.  Snap call tanks for several moments and finally checks.  I shove.  They now tank for even longer.  I am tempted to say something like, "Think about my range", or "Your ace is no good", or even, "I have a queen, I will show you", or probably best yet, "I think you have AJ, you would have re-raised me with AK or snap called with AQ.  I really do not want a call with a vulnerable hand but I know in my heart of hearts that they do not have an over pair or a queen so I am definitely ahead but do not want to lose my seat on a two or three outer.  They finally call and table AJ.  O.K., bad call but I am still nervous.  The turn is an ace of course and despite the jack on the river I fail to make a straight and am out.  Done in by the three outer again.