3 peat and Tournament Tip

First  crazy 3 hands in a row yesterday in Omaha.   While you often see big hands in the game due to the many 4 card combinations, this was something I have not seen before.  The player in the 1 seat flopped quad 7's.  This hand normally would stand up for the half hour high hand.  Many full houses had won earlier, including 2's full of 4's and my aces full of 8's (yay!!!).  So, the very next hand, he is knocked off with turned quad jacks by Rudy in seat 4.  Sorry Terry.  Next hand dealt, Victor in seat 3 wins with a queen high straight flush.  Sorry Rudy.  Either of the quads would have won any other half hour except maybe one.  Weird.

My tournament trick of the day was one I picked up from a regular.  I watched him do it, then did it to him.  Playing a short stack in the Wednesday bounty tournament he bet all but one chip.  This was brilliant as it forced the later players to either call or double his bet for a raise, putting more pressure on them as players to act afterwards could re raise or be priced in on a call.  Also, just calling left him with a chip and a chair on a really bad flop though you might say he was pot committed.

As a short stack myself, I did the same with 8/8 and who should call?  Why, my mentor of course.  The flop came out small with 3 spades, he bet enough to put me all in.  I called with my 8 of spades and he showed red jacks.  I failed to find a spade and was eliminated a few spots from the final table but happy to learn a valuable trick. 

Guest Blogger

In a change of pace I have invited a player from the Sunday Omaha game to write this blog.

Hi, my name is Eric the Red though some call me Ginger Snap or Better Red than Dead due to my red hair and beard.  So, after busting out of the $400 end of month tournament (nobody respected my bluffs) I grabbed a seat in the Omaha game just starting.  Playing against a bunch of tight ass old guys I came out raising.....every single hand with any four cards and also straddling at every opportunity.   Sometimes it worked well building giant protected pots but sadly for me I had to keep rebuying like the guy in seat 9 who waited for better hands but kept getting snapped on the river.  He gave me the evil eye for sure.  He lost 3 big pots with a full house and one on a set of aces vs. Set of jacks that hit a straight on the river. Ha ha. I even got him to fold top 2 pairs with a raise to win with bottom pairs on a straight or flush board.  Lucky for me the 2 callers had only nut lows.  I am so smart!  Sadly for me i ran out of money after losing $400 or so but at least with the satisfaction of seeing "Dr. Phil" in 9 seat stuck $200. Can hardly wait to play again!!!!

Beat The Boss

Arriving early for the 11 a.m. tournament joined a new short handed 3/6 game.  Playing squeaky tight just aiming for Monte Carlo hands racked up $45 in winnings in a half hour.  Sweet, now freerolling the tournament with $5. in sugar.

Every Thursday the tournament is "Beat the Boss".  A player is selected to be the boss and given the name badge and $100.  This is a one player bounty so you have a giant target on you.  As boss you can expect some real action when you are in a hand.  That can be both bad and good as when you try to bluff and when you have a big hand.  So, was surprised when they offered the boss bounty to me.  The real upside is that if you survive to the final table you get the bounty!!!  With some fear and trepidation I accepted.

The cards were kind to me, hitting sets twice when behind and taking advantage of loose callers.  I had a final table stack of around 15k with maybe 16 players remaining.  Easy enough to fold my way into the bounty when the button put in a giant raise.  He was running good and was one of the only players with more chips than me.  What do I have in the big blind, oh yeah, pocket aces.  So, easy shove decision and he quickly calls with Q/Q.  Unbelievably the flop is 8/8/Q.  I was this close!!!!  So, resigned to my fate, I watch a brick on the turn then ........What? River ace!!!  We both hit two outers and now I am tournament chip leader.  I snug up and fold to final table missing a double elimination by tossing A/10.

We play down to 5 when a guy suggests we chop for over $200 each.  One guy says play on and two more drop.  Turns out he had issues with that guy, he is now chip leader and offers a deal of reduced 1st place and chop the rest 400/280/280.  We accept and game over.  The 3rd guy was one of the players I would have eliminated earlier playing A/10.  He is a nice guy so o.k. with me.

All in all a great day of poker with a net after buy-in and tip of $365.

New Bounty Tournament

The stakes were raised for what has become my favorite turbo.  Wednesday bounty was changed last week from $50 buy in with $10 bounty to $60 with $20 bounty.  My goal in these is to collect a couple of scalps and make final table when you can cash in all bounties, including your own.  So, that is what happened.  I should have gotten 2 more on a 3 way all in that I won, but was the shortest stack by a few hundred.  We agreed to pay 9th and 10th $40 so I was guaranteed a $40 win for the day.  One player fell early then this came up.  In the 3000 big blind with 9000 behind, it is foldedto the button who shoves 9000.  I have A/J.  I call and am super happy to see his bluff shove of J/8.  Love playing with a dominating hand.  Bad flop though of 10/Q/7 leaving both of us with gutshot draws.  He hits the 9 on the turn and I still have draws to win or chop.  Another 9 on the river leaves me in the small blind with half my chips.  I throw them in when folded to me and big blind shows K/Q vs. my Q/5. Out in 8th place.

What Would You Do?

Playing the morning $40 tournament I have increased my starting stack by 50% early.  A bluffy aggressive player has about the same chip stack.  He raises under the gun , another player calls, I call from the button with K/J suited ( hearts).  The flop comes out king high with 2 clubs.  Player bets 900 into 1800 pot, other player folds.  It is my action, what should I Do?
A. Fold as he is representing a big king or continuation betting with a pair.
B. Call to see the action on the turn in position.
C. Raise to make him fold or define his hand.

Let me know what you would do, answers later.

Yesterday,  morning tournament, early on,, I have starting 4000 stack.  I pick up 10/J is spades under the gun, I raise the 100 blind to $225  and get 3 callers including a short stack and a good player who has just been moved to our table who is on the button.  The flop comes out J/10/x, all hearts.  I bet 600, short calls, a big stack folds, button raises to 1200.  What do I Do?

A. Fold, my top 2 pair is a big dog (17% to make full house by river) against a flopped flush and slightly ahead of a 4 flush with straight concerns.
B.  Call the bigger stack and reevaluate if smallstack shoves or if he calls fold to a heart or straight card on the turn
C.  Raise to get straight and flush draws to fold as well as A/J.  Pot is 3400 and raise minimum 1200, putting half my stack in the pot.

What would you do.  Answer after I get at least one response.

Supporting Local Business

There is a bar/restaurant that I pass driving to poker sometimes.  It is a horrible traffic area that usually takes multiple traffic light changes to drive through due to construction on a small bridge.  Noticed this sign last time by and vowed to support them as it has to have negatively impacted their business.  Darn hard to turn into or out of plus they share parking with construction vehicles, material, etc.

So, hit their happy hour tonight, good food and friendly waitress.  This construction time is a travesty.

German Virgins Continue to Haunt

Playing bounty tournament today I am eliminated (again) with 9/9.  Open shove in cutoff with my 9/9, called by big blind who is playing first hand at our table, just sat down.  I have only 5 blinds.  She is lucky to have pocket queens.  Ouch.

I wrote this a while ago and it laid dormant in my drafts.  So, it seems like deja vu that in today's bounty tournament it happened again.  On the final table, bubble, I shoved 5 big blinds with 9's, called by K/Q, queen on the river.  I hate 9's.

Winning Loss

Sometimes it is o.k. to lose a battle if you win the war.  Playing in a ridiculously loose 3/6 game this morning before the tournament watched stupid play get lucky time after time.  Basically there were several "any two cards, specially suited" players in the game.  Saw some really raggedy cards win, like 8/3 suited, and tried to play only solid hands.  The player to my immediate left was super loose and super aggressive, raising most pots, straddling, calling light.  So, me playing J/J, he raises, and super loose and aggressive guy calls.  Flop comes A/A/K.  I bet, they both call.  Turn is another ace.  I bet again, both call.  River is blank, i bet, they both call.  Guy to my left has 8/8, loose guy has K/8 off.  He takes a nice pot, but the good news is a daily morning promotion known as "waking dead" which is $576.  Qualifying hand is aces full of 8's or better with both cards in your hand playing.  The game is stopped to pay us two "losers" half the money.  Sweet.