Poker Break

No posts cause no poker.  Just not feeling the love and busy with other things.  Finally played a turbo Saturday with bad results.  Played well but victim to a lucky player.  She had knocked out the guy next to me who had K/K.  Two spades on flop, she called his all in with A/5 suited, caught spade on turn and rivered straight flush.  She moved tables and came back with even more chips.  She raise huge 2 UTG,  maybe 6x BB.  This usually represents a small or medium pair that does not want to see a flop out of position.  Also AK, again not wanting post flop play out of position.  I have Q/Q on the button w8th about 8 bbs,  blinds 200/400..  Easy play for me to go all in, would do it every time.  She turns over.......aces!!!  Unreal.  With no ace or king on flop all the chips go in anyway, but just saying.

Time for another long break, also busy the next two weeks.

"Every Hand"

A new player had just been seated at our Thursday Omaha game.  She asked, "Is there a bad beat?". Meaning of course, is there a bad beat jackpot.  A regular quickly answered, "Yes, every hand". Very funny,  so true, and so prophetic. We began short handed, 5 players, and I won a large first pot with trips.  Good start, but definitely not my day.  Lost with an underful and lots of 2nd best hands and flopped sets that were crushed by flushes or straights.   The nail in my coffin was a 7 player limped pot with 9/9. Was pleasantly surprised with a flop of A/9/9.  Thinking primarily of the half hour $100 high hand, bet $4 since the mandatory $20 pot was already in play.  Got 2 or 3 callers.  Next card? Ace.  Great, I checked to allow an ace to bet but everyone checked.  The river brought another ace.  Unbelievable.  I checked and the tightest player at the table bet.  I showed my hand to the dealer, called him the worst dealer in history and folded...The player's quad aces held up for high hand. What is amazing is that I only lost $8 on the hand and folded quads.

Recently tried the 1/3 pot limit Omaha game.  It played very big with button straddles 80% of the time and most pots 100-200 or more.  I was stacked on a set over set flop with the player next to me, but got most of it back a few hands later when she raised with A/A, I called with J/J, flop came 6/6/J.    Another happy moment when a big game (1500 buy in) player I recognized raised my A/A on straddle.  We got it all in and he flopped 2 pair, but running 2's counterfeited his pairs and I doubled up.  My poker pal (Gail, visiting from Cannon Beach) went broke in Hold'em so we left with me down "only" $80. Good experience though.

Catfishing

Here is a funny story.  I am playing on WSOP play money website.  You can choose your avatar or use your Facebook photo.  I change around for fun and recently chose a young attractive woman as mine.  Better than the grumpy old man or baseball hat kid.  So, this morning the guy, Mel (my onscreen name is "adventuresinpoker"), next to me sends me a rose.  He then wants to know where I live, I tell him.  He lives in Longview.  He claims he is divorced and asks my marital status.  I tell him happily married.   He asks how long, I tell him more years than I can count.   Getting very weird so I check out.  So easy to catfish.  Reminds me of a player years ago living in Vancouver, B.C. who wanted to come to Seattle and party.  The web is a scary place.

Not feeling very o.k.

Thank you Dewey for your concern, and yes I remember Mondo very well, a lot of fun to play poker with.  I was already mourning the loss of a classmate on Monday before the WSOP when I get a reply email from an army buddy, but it is his wife telling me he died of a heart attack on Monday.  Wow, really bad week.  After returning from Vegas hear another classmate has died.  Super bad week.

Be careful about what you don't wish for

Yesterday in the Omaha game, the player sitting next to me came up with this pearl of wisdom after I said " was wishing I played that hand, until my full house was beaten by bigger full house".  He said, " Be careful about what you don't wish for, cause it may not come true".  Still scratching my head over that one.

It has been a few weeks since I played oh8 at Tulalip, and didn't like the outcomes then.  I was catching a cold and felt pretty bad but was determined to play.  The retired dealer next to me asked if I was o.k. because he said I was wheezing.  Not really but thanks.  He moved seats shortly later.

Caught a straight flush too early, before high hand bonus started but later posted aces full of kings good for $100.  Quit early up $122 thanks to high hand and one $180 pot.

WSOP Update

Some of you may have been wondering why it has been almost a month since my last post, or perhaps not....The reason is that I was so incredibly bummed out in Vegas that I could not write about it.  Enough time has passed now (time heals all wounds) that can now attempt it.  So, after busting out of the senior event, my next game was on Friday.  The day started well with a good run on the 1/3 no limit cash game at the Mirage,  making enough ($200) to enter the deepstack at The Golden Nugget with Seattle buddy, Jim W.  We were seated next to each other for a couple of hours and I was fortunate enough to accumulate a pretty good stack before our table broke.  My draw was horrible as there were 2 giant stacks, probably tournament chip leaders at my new one.  They were very aggressive so had to lay low most of the time as my cards were running fairly bad.  I finally picked up J/J and shoved.  All folded except one player with fewer chips, calling off with A/Q.  He rivered a queen to make me desperately short.  I went all in shortly afterward with 7/8 suited and was out in around 120th place out of 560 entries.  They were paying about 65 spots.

Next day, my last in Vegas, signed up for the 11 a.m. $120 buy in at Mirage.  It had a strange structure for a deepstack, with blinds starting at 100/200.  I ran very very good, quickly becoming one of the chip leaders.  I was moved to another table when we were down to 18 (76 or so entries) and ran into trouble early, losing a bunch of chips but recovered them plus a few.  We formed the final table with me as chip leader.  They were paying 7 spots with likelihood of bubble payout so it would have been easy to coast.  Because of the aggressive blind structure a chop was likely.  So, with 8 remaining I (again) pick up J/J.  The blinds and antes were average stacks and in late position I shoved.  The button, with fewer chips, but a very workable stack called with ......are you ready for this?.......A/Q.  Exactly the same matchup as the Nugget tournament.  Again, I lose the coin flip when he flops an ace, and I am now the short stack!!!  To add insult to injury, he quotes the odds as 55/45.  Thanks genius, you willingly took the worst odds?  I wanted to stand up and smack him as much as I have ever wanted to hit anyone at the poker table.  So, I limp in a few hands later with J/10 suited.  Same guy raises to put me all in and another player calls with 8/9.  He hits a 9 on the flop, shoves and I am unable to find my overcards and now out in 9th place.  I have not left the area when they start talking about paying the bubble.  I join a cash game and a few minutes later hear them high fiving as they chop for $1000 each.  Cash game (3/6 limit) is crap,  I lose with K/K to 6/8 and leave stuck some more.

So, that dear readers is why I was totally bummed in Vegas.  Could not wait to leave (at airport 3 hours early) and didn't play poker again for almost 2 weeks after returning.     

2019 WSOP

Flew in last night and registered for seniors tournament today.  Met at airport by my lifelong buddy Don who drove here from Phoenix.  Standing in line was right behind Tri City player Tony Simpson who was there with Clark Watkins....out playing satellite.  Spoke briefly then to hotel to rest up for the big day.  Sent text to my old Seattle buddy Jim to connect sometime.  Looking for the Cannon Beach crew as well. 

One random act of kindness yesterday when a guy in power scooter registering heard me talk about how i needed water stat.  He reached in basket and gave me a bottle.  Good karma for him.