Pendleton Redux

Pendleton has been a total disaster to me in the past.  I have written previously about the bad beats taken in the many tournaments over the years.  I have jokingly called my entry fee a $230 buffet, one that I often would eat after the active players had gone through.  So, while not overly excited to try it again, it would be nice to reconnect with Pasco friends and hey, a bad day at poker is lots better than a good day doing most other things.

Monday Day One
The long drive to Tri-Cities.  First stop is to see my old friend, Bob Pischel.  We enjoy a visit and catch up on each others lives.  He is getting very frail and failing on many levels but maintains his intellect, humor, and sweet disposition.  We should all be so lucky to hit our 90's like him.  I drive out to my friend Ron's house and find his hidden key.  Making myself comfortable I watch some t.v., surf the web and wait for Ron.  He never shows up before I go to bed at midnight.

Tuesday Day Two
Ron and I catch up on things in the morning, I stop to say bye to Bob, then play in the morning Crazy Moose tournament.  I play poorly and unluckily getting knocked out before the final table so head to Pendleton.  It was good to see the "usual suspects" but the super turbo 10 min. blind tournament is basically just gambling.  I arrive in Pendleton, check into the hotel and head down to the poker tournament.  The horse tourney is in full swing so I sign up for the 4/8 omaha table.  A tri-cities dealer is in the game and also Larry, a Cannon Beach friend.  Later, another tri-cities player joins it. Omaha is a streaky game and it does not go well for me.....at first.  After 3 100 buy-ins I catch fire and sometime after midnight cash out for $625.  A fine day of poker, and a long one.

Wednesday Day Three
A short night of sleep, maybe 6 hours and I wander down to the poker room.  I sign up for a $43 sit and go single table tournament.  Running good, I win one of the two prizes, $200 in vouchers for any tournament.  Since I had already bought in for the noon Seniors Tournament, sold the vouchers to a guy standing in line.  I am now freerolling the big tournament.

The seniors does not start off well for me.  I fail to connect on a couple of big draws, lose 1/2 my chips to a stubborn lady who cannot find a fold with top pair against my middle pair missed straight draw on a paired, three suited card board.  I get knocked out right before the first break, but decide to re-enter.  I really was not playing that badly, just not getting any luck.  My re-buy turns into a good decision as I make the money in 20th place (out of 324 entries), cashing for my first time in Pendeleton for $500.  Had a lot of ups and downs, doubling up several times, and doubling others up a few times as well.  Some memorable hands:

1.  I called an older guy's button raise from the big blind with A/7.  He was tight aggressive and wore a "final table" Wildhorse hat.  The flop was mostly rags with a 2, and his small bet on the flop got called by me.  He checked on the turn when another 2 came, I bet and he called. An ace on the river got all his chips in.  He had quad 2's.

2.  Same table, second break.  I am always looking for steals here, either mine or others.  Folks are anxious to hit the restrooms (specially us seniors) so when someone bets, people usually fold quickly. A lady on the button raises my big blind fairly large (she has the bigger stack).  Everyone else has left the table.  I see a weak ace and decide to defend.  The flop comes A/A/x and I decide to shove.  She snap calls with...rut row.....K/K !!!!  The turn seals the deal for me with another ace...QUADS!!! and I get a much needed double up.  There is a giant guy at our table who has been knocking player after player out.  They break our table and we both head to the same table.  He will continue chipping up there as well.

3.  I double up a few times, lose some chips at the new table.  I get all in several times with AK, JJ, and have a very presentable stack.  My final hand when down to 20 players was at the 8000/16000 blind level, 2000 antes.  With around 80K in chips was just looking for a spot to shove.  It is folded around to my button and I find J/10 unsuited.  The player to my immediate left is a medium stack and the big blind is chip leader.  He has shown himself to be a very loose aggressive player, raising with crap and calling with crap.  However, he has been observant and respectful of my play and even folded an ace earlier against my re-raise shove...I showed my ace, but not my 3, when he commented that I had him outkicked...he must have had a 2. LOL!!!  So, anyway, I was surprised that the small blind flat called me, leaving him open to a 3 bet from the big blind.  Despite the size of the pot, around 190K with 24 already invested, and "only" $50K to call (almost 4/1 on his money), he folded pocket 4's.  The small blind turns over A/2 suited!!!!  WTF?????  Would he have folded if unsuited? Anyway, not needing help he hits an ace on the flop.  Player down.  Had I folded, there was a 4 on the river and I could imagine a scenario where he would have been eliminated before me.  My key question is always, "If I had it to do over again would I play it the same?".  And yes, I would.

So, cashing for $500 and heading for bed I again could not sleep.  5 hours later I am up and later join a Seattle friend for breakfast in downtown Pendleton. Exhausted by two back to back 12 hour poker days I am on the road home by 11:00, finally believing I may have broken the Pendleton curse.  

Celebrating Friend's Success

A couple of my local poker buddies flew to Lake Tahoe this weekend to play in the $365 buy in turbo WSOP circuit event.  I haven't gotten the update on Michael, but Bob Turk came in 5th for a $3000 win.  Good job, Bob.  Looking forward to hearing all the war stories on Wednesday.

Winning Week, Bad Shoves, Hero Calls and Fear The Fedora

Interesting poker week for me.  On Wednesday I managed to get money back on the bubble. Had I played it differently (i.e. folding rather than shoving) would have moved up one place on the payout ladder.  Here is what went down.  I am rather short stacked (around 3500 with blinds at 300/600) and am in the big blind.  There is one limper (Kyle a.k.a. "Juicy") when the extremely aggressive button (Scott) who has a big stack raises to 1800.  I consider his raising range and knowing that he plays very loose aggressive style and also we are 5 handed.  I shove.  Previously he folded to my shoves when I had big hands, QQ, KK, etc.  Kyle gets all thoughtful, and with a similar stack to Scott's, mucks his cards, but holds them aside for possible later viewing.  Scott calls and as I table my A/8, he rolls over A/J.  I comment that "8's are lucky for me, you are in real trouble".  And he is as the flop is 5/2/8 !!!!  But then he hits his 2 outer jack on the turn and I am out.  Kyle turns over 5/5. Had I folded, Kyle would have called the original bet and Scott would have been out when the jack hit on the turn for sure if not sooner.  Oh well, a cash is a cash.

That brings me to Friday's game.  Early on I got stung by a hero call.  Kurt, in the big blind with 2/3 and me on the button with 4/8 suited get a flop of 2/3/k with 2 clubs.  Kurt, a tight player min-bets.  I am definitely priced in and I call.  The turn is a brick for me, Kurt bets 2 min-bets and again I call. The river is a great card for me to bluff, another king.  When he checks, I bet 3 min-bets (around 125 as I recall) and unbelievably he calls.  There is absolutely nothing that I have other than air that he can call with his counterfeited 2 pair.  Hero Call!!!!

Later I hit a big jackpot with 6/6.  I am seated to the left of "Junior" a very loose aggressive player. He has chipped up nicely, nearly knocking a player out on the first hand of the tournament.  I limp under the gun, several other players limp as well, and Junior uses this opportunity to punish us limpers by betting big on the button.  I consider folding briefly, but then decide to shove just cause I think he will fold on a steal.  Nope, he ponders briefly and calls with......10/5 suited!!!!! Wow!!!  So the flop comes down with a 6 for my set, the board pairs for a full house and I am now pretty deep in chips.  Not too many hands later I have 6/6 in the big blind (blinds at 50/100) when the good young player Chris to my immediate left raises big (500) with A/K suited.  I call for the additional 400 and the flop comes down perfect for me, 6/A/x.  I check, he shoves, I call.  Player down.

At the break I am up about 3x initial chips and already thinking about the final table.  I win a few and lose a few after we get down to 2 tables, and easily make the final table with a healthy chip stack. I lose a big blind vs. blind hand to Robert (a.k.a.RB...or Rat Bastard) for a healthy chunk of my chips when he rivers a flush vs. my top pair.  He also short stacks the dealer when he had K/10 vs. K/J on a king high flop by rivering a 10.  He is one very lucky player we all concede.  Later I get most of those chips back from him.  We play down to 6, agree to pay the bubble, then 2 more players are eliminated.  Now 4 handed I am chip leader, we take a break, and at the end of the break agree to a 4 way chop which gives us all 2nd place money.  I take the silly points for 1st place, which absolutely no one cares about except me who has been point deficient all year.  Total win, $237 less buy-in and tip netting $177.  Hey, nobody said you get rich playing this stupid game.

Oh yes, I was dressed all in black, wearing my black fedora.  Might be my new poker look.   

Hand Classifications

Doing some studying lately on James "splitsuit" Sweeney's website (www.splitsuit.com), came across this interesting thoughts.  Hands can be classified into several varieties.

1.  Bluff Hands.  You have no pair, perhaps no draw.  You are purely bluffing.

2.  Semi-Bluff Hands.  You have a draw.  Perhaps you are 4 to a straight or flush.

3.  Showdown Hands.  You have a hand with "showdown" value.  Ace high, top pair no kicker.  You would like to see a cheap river.

4.  Value Bet Hands.  You have the probable best hand and are looking to extract an extra bet from your opponent.  Say you have top pair, top kicker or maybe random two pair, even a flush that is not the nuts.

5.  Stone Cold Coconuts Hands.  Do we really need to talk about this?

So, the important thing to do is to figure out exactly what kind of hand we really have and proceed from there.  When you are raising an early position bettor with your ace high flush draw, this is obviously a semi-bluff situation.  You may indeed have the best hand (value), but it is not a pure bluff either.  It could develop into a showdown hand if you do not (heaven forbid) get re-raised off your nut draw.  You are raising to help define your hand, get a free or cheap card on the turn, or even take the pot down now.

For me, the value bet is where things get dicey.  Often with top pair top kicker for instance you think you are value betting, but in reality you have at best a showdown hand.  It will often be the best, but if you bet and are either called or check-raised you will probably lose.  A lot of "value" is lost on the river either from overplaying the hand or failing to bet it.  You have to know your opponent and figure out his range.  For instance, say you have QJ and a board something like J/3/5/9/2.  You have bet and/or raised all the way vs. a tight player.  You really have to believe that at best you have a showdown hand.  His calling range is just too tight to see him continuing with a worse kicker.  On the other hand, a loose player may call with a worse kicker.  However, being loose he may have a random 2 pair hand that is just looking for the river bet to check raise with.  That for me is the dilemma.  On the one hand we want to extract value, but on the other we don't want to give away more money than we are losing anyway.  I see the latter happen probably more than the former.  The guy just can't help betting his queen high flush only to lose to the king high.  The king high will always call (or some will re-raise) but will seldom bet, fearing the ace and looking for the donkey bluff or bet with a worse hand.  So, to me the value bet is really a very high skill talent and my hat is off to those who successfully read the players to accomplish it.

Bad Calls? The Nature of Lucky Players

Here are a couple of examples of what I consider bad calls and the player getting lucky.  Last night at the Legion, I frankly was running very card dead.  Near the break I was down to about 1/2 the starting stack of 2150 (around 1125), with blinds at 60/120 I raised 2 UTG to $250 with A/K. It was folded to the big blind who called.  The flop came down 3/3/2, and when he checked to me I shoved $875.  He called.  I am in shock to see what he called my raise with, 10/2 off suit.  He had a good but not great stack.  He explained that  it was "not that big a raise".  Hmm.  Guess he was feeling lucky as he had over-called a shove and a previous caller earlier with K/10 off and had won the pot with his king (vs. 10/10 and AQ).  So, I was prepared to walk but got a river reprieve when a king hit the board.  Yowza!

So, again running cold after the break, I am down to $900 on the button with blinds at 200/400.  I am dealt A/9 and after the table folds to me I naturally shove.  The short stack small blind folds and the chipped up big blind calls with 7/5 off.  He hits a pair on the flop, 2 pair on the turn, and a flush on the river with his 5 of diamonds.  Unbelievable.  It is true that I was too short stacked to have any fold equity and may have made the same call in his position, but sheesh.

Heading home early, decide to play in America's Card Room $10 freeroll (that is the total prize pool, with 10 spots paid).  Over 3 hours later, still playing and down to the final table.  I am 3rd in chips, running very good when I raise UTG with AQ.  One player calls, who has me outchipped.  The flop comes down K/Q/x and as 1st action I shove.  The other player snap calls with J/J.  Sweet!!! With only 2 outs against me I am looking to double up and be the massive chip leader, also laddering up one step on payouts. The turn is a 10.  Rut Row!  He now has an open ender but I am partially blocking the top with my ace.  Sure enough, the ace comes on the river giving him the runner runner straight and I am out in 8th place.  Un-freaking-believable.  A horrible call pays off big for the villain.

The screenshot below was taken maybe 10/15 minutes before the hand.

Pokerstars

I am frustrated with Pokerstars website.  I really enjoyed my daily omaha games and small buy in sit n goes.  So, when they eliminated those it was disappointing and so far have not researched other sites where I could enjoy these guilty pleasures.  Yesterday decided to enter the 50K tournament just cause I am so done with the site that I don't care about my bankroll.  There were 782 players and frankly I just wanted to min cash (however the min cash didn't even pay back your buy in.  Bastards! They have upped the rake so much it is just stupid.  They were paying 136 players, which is also dumb.  So, anyway, just putzed along and decided to play very tight thanks to some youtube videos I have been watching......will write about that soon.  Seizing a couple of opportunities I got it in bad (lower pair over higher pair, dominated hands, etc.) several times but got lucky.  Eventually I was eliminated in 5th place for a total win of $638,000.  It is fun to work your way through a huge field and only wish that could happen in a live game.

As an update, my friend Mike says that Pokerstars has reinstated the small buy in SNGs.  Will check it out today.  

Don't Give Rides To Good Players and Don't Eat Fried Foods and Drink Coffee Late at Night

It could have been worse.  Only in the sense that I could have been knocked out of the game early. Very uncharacteristically of me, I phoned a local friend and asked if he wanted a ride to the Bayway poker Wednesday night game.  I know that he hates to drive at night, so yes, he would love it.

We are seated at different tables and my cards are running so bad.  Lots of blackjack double down hands.  You know the ones, 9/2, 8/3, 7/4.  I chase a flush draw and lose 20% of my stack.  My bad, particularly early.  The other table is knocking out player after player (20 original entrants).  Players from my table are moving over constantly.  Finally I win the lottery ticket and get to move.  Yay!!! My cards do not improve.  At least immediately.  Finally, as a short stack I get them all in against a shorter stack with a king high flush draw.  As I turn my cards over I apologize that "I am on a draw", but when he tables his J/7 of spades (no pair) vs. my K/9 of spades he is in trouble.  I hit a king, not that I needed it, on the river.  Player down.  Now with a few more chips I again get them all in against a shorter stack and knock out another player.  This table really is dangerous, the other table has not lost anyone except the dealer.

I shove several times with premium hands picking up only the blinds and lose a couple of pots with QQ and AQ.  Down to 10 players I am under the gun with AJ off and only 3+ big blinds.  An obvious shove situation so that is what I do.  I am called by the player next to me, who would have been very short had he not made a hero call on a monster bluff a few minutes before with king high.  He has AK and I am out when he hits a king on the turn.  A player on the other table gets knocked out the same time and the final table is set with 8 players.  I would love to drive home now but guess what?  My "good karma" friend who I gave a ride to is one of the chip leaders!!!  They play down to 2 players and the guy who knocked me out refuses to chop, but is eliminated in just 4 hands.  I spend the time visiting with a couple of other players hanging out and watch the staff clean the floors and prepare to close.


Home much later than usual unless I have won the tournament I lie in bed with indigestion and insomnia due to the consumption of fried foods and coffee very late in the evening.  On the positive side I have some leftover broasted chicken to eat for lunch today.