How Do You Miss Like a Million Outs?

Wednesday night poker at the Bayway.  Dealing table 3 I am running very good, up at least almost double starting chips when this hand happens.  In the big blind with Q/5 of hearts and one limper, the small blind, a very short stack of around $250 shoves (blinds no bigger than 25/50).  This is a pretty easy call for me as the limper is "Old Pete" who is tighter than a nun's yoohoo and I figure will fold leaving me heads up with a decent pot odds and probably live cards possibly ahead of his range.  Nope, Pete calls.  The flop is my dream, 2/3/4 with 2 hearts, giving me the open end straight draw, second nut flush draw, even a runner runner straight flush draw.  I check and to my surprise, Pete bets $200.  I call, seeing no way this hits Pete's range, putting him on maybe A/K.  He is not prone to bluff, but this seems logical.  The turn is a brick, and now Pete bets $300.  Yikes, I am now thinking overpair but my draws are still live and according to my odds calculator I still am getting at least 3/1 on my money.  The river is a queen, I now have two busted draws and top pair.  I again check and Pete again bets, 200.  I call and he tables A/A.  Player down and Pete rakes a nice pot.

Later in the game, we are down to 14 players when I shove from middle position (one limper) my pathetic short stack of $725 (blinds at 100-200), with Q/J.  This is the only face card hand I have had in a round or two.  All folds except the limper who calls from his biggish stack with 5/5.  So, I am coin flipping for my life and on the short end of the 53/47 odds.  The flop is great for me, 9/10/x, giving me 14 outs, or a slight advantage.  The turn and river brick and I am out.

So, this brings me to the sad proposition of why I can't connect with my huge draws?  And, an even more perplexing question, when I hit my draws why do I lose?  Playing in the Tri-Cities recently I final tabled two tournaments.  I was eliminated on coin tosses when I hit my hand (A/J on one, K/Q on the other) when my opponents then hit their 2 outers with medium pairs.  To be objective, the pair always has a very small advantage to the overcards, but one would think that when the drawing hand hits and the odds are way against the pair that it would hold up.  Oh well, tonight another chance.

I Can Get Lucky Too You Know!

Playing in an 18 person SNG yesterday I experienced the most luck I have had in weeks.  We were down to bubble play and I was one of the short stacks.  I shoved with AK and was snap called by the biggest stack at the table.  He had A/A.  Now, on most days this matchup would ensure a quick trip to the rail for me, but not yesterday.  I got the miracle 10/J/Q flop and he needed either runners to win or a king to chop.  Nope.  Now doubled up the same guy re-raises my A/10 suited with A/Q.  Yikes!!! No way can I get lucky twice in a row.  Nope.  I flop a 10 and eliminate him.  My bad.  My luck held up and managed to win the tournament.  Maybe the worm has indeed turned.

Pro Advice

I honestly had no clue.  For four hours I sat next to a player in the senior's WSOP circuit event, he was to my immediate left in the 3 seat.  He was fairly friendly, played reasonably tight and when he took a giant hit to his stack I felt bad for him.  He was down to around $700 in chips.  I dispensed helpful advice like, "don't give up, chip and a chair" and "I have seen lots of players come back from less".  Also, "Double up 3 times and you will be the chip leader".  He doubled up plus a little more and when I raised light from the button with 10/J and he shoved.  I had him well covered but hesitated.  I counted the chips in the pot, his bet, and figured that I was getting decent calling odds with a hand that probably had live cards.  So, I called and he tabled A/6 suited.  Better than I thought with him having only one overcard.  I hit a jack on the flop, he hit a 6 on the turn, giving him more outs.  The ace came on the river, doubling him up to close to starting stack.  Yikes, I have created a monster.

We chatted a while about philosophical questions like "What is dumb?"  He was very thoughtful and intellectual in his musings.  I did not find it unusual that a woman came up to him and handed him a website patch like you see on televised poker matches.  The dealer commented to him about being careful, like the site was kind of sketchy, check it out.  Some players were moved from our table to balance them, and off he went.  Shortly afterward, a woman came up to me and asked me "where is Kenna?"  I said, "Who?".  She said, "Kenna James, he was sitting next to you".  Holy shit!  That was the Kenna James, well known actor and poker pro.  I am sure he was laughing at my advice.  In some ways I am glad that I did not recognize him as it may have influenced my play.  If not for the ace on the river I would have knocked him out, but never known about my accomplishment.



Best Live Cash $700,000

Total Live Earnings $3,677,964

 

He moved eventually to the same table as my buddy Don, and was sitting right next to him.  Bottom line on the story, Don placed 19th in the money for $810 and Kenna came in 3rd for $8305.  I am sure my encouragement had something to do with it.

 http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/results.asp?tid=15494&grid=1280

Bad Matchups

Lately I have been the victim of bad matchups.  You know the kind, you have a hand that you are never folding vs. the only or one of the only hands that can beat you.  So, jumping back a couple of weeks to my first WSOP circuit event.  I am on the button with starting chip stack 4 hours into the tournament with KQ suited.  With blinds I think at around 500/1000 this is a hand I will normally shove with.  The only problem is a big stack very tricky player has limped in UTG.  I watched him do this earlier with KK and when it was raised, he shoved, you know.....So, this has put a major damper on my shove plan.  The small blind has just been moved to our table, he is also short with exactly my chip count.  He has no read on Mr. Tricky, so he completes the blinds....priced in I guess.  The flop is Q/7/x and as first to act, he shoves.  The big blind and UTG both fold so I call for all my chips.  He tables.......Q/7 off.  Nice flop sir.  I am done here.

So, that is bad matchup #1.  Fast forward to the Senior tournament.  I am playing well, double starting stack 5 hours in.  I have been moved to a new table seated with my Phoenix/Liberty, MO pal Uncle Donnie.  He has starting chip stack, which is to say he is short.  Don is a good and cagey player, so when he limps in late position I immediately put him on a big hand looking to trap.  As unraised big blind I see 9/3 off.  No action here, or will there be?  The flop comes down Q/9/3 with 2 spades.  I bet half my stack and Don calls.  I am shaking my head, not wanting to knock my buddy out (though there is a $5 last longer side bet pending), trying to tell him to fold his aces already.  Nope, he has called with pocket queens, a flopped set.  Well that sucks, though I would damn sure rather give my chips to him than another player.  That is it for bad matchup #2.  I am out 2 hands later when I shove on the button with 5/5 and the big blind calls with A/9, flopping not one but 2 aces.

Fast forward to last night.  I am getting decent cards but not connecting much or again getting nightmare matchups.  For example, first hand dealt in the tournament, I am UTG with AQ.  I raise and get 3 callers (where is the respect for UTG raises???).  The flop is j/9/x and after checks to me I continuation bet.  Two players call.  The turn is a king.  I now have a gutshot draw to the nuggets, I bet again.  Two callers.  Hmmm.  The river is a brick and suddenly the small blind bets out.  Easy fold but the other caller pays to see Q/10 for the straight.  He has slow played his pocket 9's flopped set into a losing hand.  My final hand of the night after many frustrating limp or raise with re-raises, calls, folds is also with my old "friend" AQ.  A player in the small blind min-reraises my 2 utg raise.  The flop is A/9/x.  He checks the flop and I bet pot size (which in retrospect was a mistake, it was more than 3/4 of my stack, should have either bet smaller to fold on a re-raise or just shoved).  He flat calls, then when a king comes on the turn he shoves.  Pot committed and short stacked I have no choice but to call, expecting to see a slow played AK.  Nope, worse, pocket 9's for a flopped set. 

So kids, that is what I mean about bad matchups.  In each of these hands I had little or no choice and just had a worst case scenario.  If I miss hitting big on any of these I am so gone.

Next blog I promise to tell you about how I dispensed poker advice and philosophical wisdom to a well known poker pro in Vegas for 4 hours.  He must have been laughing so hard.....

But First, An Off-Topic Rant about Healthcare

This is not nor will ever, I hope, be a political blog.  I do have to rant a little about healthcare.  Living on the Oregon Coast leaves us some pretty poor healthcare options.  Seem a lot of doctors don't want to make less money in this generally poor coastal community.  So you get some "surfer dude" doctors and what not.  I could detail past problems with the hospitals and doctors here, but let's just say that if you get really sick you are headed for Portland.

I lost my primary care physician last year due to her move to the hospital side. I was devastated.  She was from Romania, cute, young, and loved Las Vegas.  It took me 2 months to get an "initial evaluation" exam from a new doctor (no choices here, only one available).  I recognize him from a few years ago when I was admitted to the hospital for chest pain.  Turned out moving a bunch of 2 man rocks by myself will pull some chest muscles.  He came by my room late at night and made a very dumb ass insulting comment which I have never forgotten, or forgiven as it seems.  So, I made the decision to set up another "initial evaluation" exam with another doctor in another farther away hospital.  Only got a nurse practitioner but beggars cannot be choosers.

As a Medicare recipient I pay for a Medicare Advantage policy.  Prior to the Affordable Care Act, I was happily receiving treatment in Portland at Kaiser Permanente.  Great hospital, great doctors, happy, happy.  Now, they are out of their coverage zone for me.  I unhappily went with Providence healthcare and was reasonably satisfied with them although they were a bit expensive.  Last year was notified that they were pulling out of the Oregon coast.  I researched available insurers through the .Gov website, eventually talking to a representative who informed me that my only option here is Moda health.  The good news?  The premiums are super cheap, and as it turns out, so is the coverage.
They are in deep trouble, with the state having to bail them out to the tune of $400 million or so.  It won't be long now until they either collapse or substantially increase rates.

I am fortunate to enjoy very good health for a man my age.  Credit that to good genes, healthy living, luck or whatever.  So, this week came down with the killer cold running around the county.  In bed for 2 days then massive cough.  Since childhood, when this happens the cough lingers and is a pain for me so I hauled my sick ass up to Warrenton to the urgent care clinic for industrial strength cough syrup.  I brought a nearly empty bottle from a few years ago to show what worked for me.  After a long wait in the exam room (what happened to the "urgent" in urgent care?), the NP saw me, and wrote a prescription for the same stuff.  Due to the many meth heads and sundry drug abusers today, I was given a written prescription to hand carry to the pharmacy of my choice.  The condescending and rude folks at Safeway looked at it and informed me that they did not stock it, nor could they order it. Industrial Strength Indeed!!!  I went next door to the nicer guys at Rite Aid who checked and said they did not stock nor could order this class 2 narcotic.  They recommended the hospital conveniently located a few blocks away.  Off I went.  There, they told me they were out of stock but could order it and get it tomorrow.  Whatever.  Upon further checking found they could not order at all.  The recommendation was to get a new prescription for a different drug.  So, I called the clinic, they told me to pick it up after 1:30.  Fine, a 20 mile trip back.  Went home, had lunch.  Then drove back at 1:30.

After waiting a while, they came to tell me that for some reason my insurance would not cover the prescription.  Evidently the presence of codeine makes it a "comfort" drug or something.  I asked the cost, they checked, around $20.  Fine, who cares?  Just get me my damned cough medicine. The order turned out to be about twice the available supply at Rite Aid.  I asked how much it would be, $34 for the full order.  How much for half the order I innocently asked.  $21.  Hmm, I am no math expert but seemingly I am being penalized for their lack of inventory.  Oh well, just give me the damn half order he said (speaking in the third person due to spending the entire day chasing this order while sick as a dog).

So, left the house at 8:30 a.m. and returned after 3:00 having driven almost 90 miles on this simple task.  At least I can sleep now.  Wrong, this stuff no way works like the old stuff.  WTF!!!!!  Is our health care system collapsing?  Yep.  Just like my lungs.      

Luckless in Vegas

This trip to Vegas confirmed many of the things I have been thinking about it.  First, it is damned expensive.  Buffets (my go to meal in the morning) have become increasingly expensive.  Then, in a fairly new twist, all the strip hotels are now charging a "resort fee".  The fee at the Rio was $34. a day!!!  For this you receive internet access, pool access, excercise access, and local phone.  In other words everything you would receive in most any hotel anywhere for free with your room charge.  Can you say "rip off"?  Transportation can be managed by free shuttles from the hotel to the strip but they are damned inconvenient, running every half hour until 1:00 a.m.  The good news is Uber, which is quick, easy and cheaper than a taxi.  My pet peeve with the Rio was the new lack of coffee in the room.  Last visit they had Keurigs.  The Starbucks downstairs had continual lines 20 plus deep.  No way.

I avoided my classic mistake of playing poker the first day of arrival until the wee hours insuring that I was groggy and off my game the remainder of the trip.  First tournament was the $365. WSOP event starting at noon Sunday.  There were 6 flights and 1,498 entries.  I was eliminated after about 4 hours or so.  Nothing spectacular, nothing to see here.  My friend Don did well enough to claim our $5. last longer side bet.  Due to my early departure I headed over to my favorite casino, The Venetian to find an Omaha game.  There were none running so I opted in to the 1/2 no limit.  Since I had not eaten since breakfast, had to check my comps.  Last visit, the total was around $160 in the account.  You earn $2. an hour in poker there and it represented a lot of hours over the past few years.  I was surprised when they told me that I had zero dollars.  It was explained to me that if there is no activity in one year the comps go away.  I believed that last year I had played some, but their records indicated no activity since 2015.  Fortunately, the management stepped up and offered to replace $50 of the lost comps, plus pay me $3/hour for my play that day.  Nice.  And the Jumbalaya dinner was also nice.


More to come on this trip.....hopefully more interesting.