|
Pat's Poker Page
[Recent Entries][Archive][Friends][User Info]
Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "pstarfish" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
|
01:03 am
[Link] |
Happy New Year!
I played tournaments and live games all day today, and I guess I would have been better off just watching football. Crushed in most games I played in, and the one big money tournament that I was doing well in was canceled because Full Tilt lost their servers for a few hours mid afternoon. I did get a fair settlement for my position in the tourney at the time things went down, but it still doesn't look like much compared to what the final table would have paid.
Played golf with friends on Saturday. Beautiful day and I started the round playing really well. Thirty-Nine on the front side at Greyhawk is terrific, but I don't want to talk much about the huge number I shot on the back. Lets just say it was a little bigger than 40. Or 50. :)
One week left to Australia. Can you tell I'm excited?
|
|
07:22 pm
[Link] |
Happy Holidays!
Hope everyone had a great holiday. Spent mine with friends and family, and ate way too much. So basically, I did exactly what everyone else did.
Not much to report on the poker front. I did play a tournament on Wednesday at Casino Arizona, but nothing good happened. The last hand I played was the last hand before the break. 7 tables left, 200-400 blinds, i was in the BB with 2700 in chips and two black aces in my hand. UTG player limped, as did the button. SB called, and I raised 1100 more. UTG asked for a count of my remaining chips, and then decided to move in for about 5000. Button thought for about 10 seconds before calling all of his 4500 stack. SB thought forever and decided to fold. UTG showed QsTd, button has 9d8d. Board was Q23T5 and I'm out.
For anyone reading this who has played live poker with me lately, or for anyone who I'm close enough with to talk about how I'm running (Laura and Bobby mostly), I apologize for my recent demeanor about poker. I've let a little downturn in my results let me forget how lucky I am to be doing this for a living. Not many people get to play games all day and call it a job, and if it was supposed to be easy everyone would be doing it. Attitude adjustment in place. Feel free to tell me how silly I've been!
I find myself thinking about this Aussie trip all the time. I really am very much looking forward to it!
|
|
01:23 pm
[Link] |
I feel like Jodie Foster...
in 'The Accused'. Movie quote alert! Played in the 60-120 mixed game last night at Casino Arizona. Before I relay what happened in a particular hand last night, understand that I had the seat directly to the left of the player whose hand I'm going to describe for over 4 hours, and I managed to book a nice loser in the game. So maybe there is something to his strategy...
In an Omaha hand, player x limped in 3rd position after one limper and one folder. Three players folded and then the button raised. Both blinds called, the limper called, and then player x called. Flop was 356 rainbow. All checked to the button who bet. Small blind raised and all folded to player x. He went to look at his hand, and a card fell on to the table. It was the 7d. He picked it up, looked at me, and said he really didn't have much and showed me his hand before he folded. 777Q. No suits.
The button called, and then sure enough the last 7 fell on the turn. Now player x is beside himself. He cant contain his frustration, and whispers to me that he is absolutely sure that the board is gonna pair on the river. And it does, with another 5. Lots of action on the turn and river between the two remaining hands, and it turns out the small blind flopped a set of 6's and the button had AA25.
For the next three hands, all of which he of course plays, player x grumbles to me how stupid he was to give up on his hand, and how he won't do it again!
Net result for the night? player x wins 2000 while I'm in the game, I lose 1500. Think he gives lessons?
|
|
02:50 pm
[Link] |
Sunday on Full Tilt
Played in the 500k guaranteed event on Full Tilt yesterday. Short story here. 1237 entrants, played well for about 3 hours but really didn't have any action on my good hands. Tourney paid 180 spots but I exited with 300 left. Had 5400 with 200-400 blinds and a 50 ante. In the BB with AKo, the player utg made it 1200. I'm not usually a fan of the all in with AK, but with the current average at 11,500, I needed a double up. I cant say that the utg player was extremely loose, but he also didnt seem to be altogether tight either. I pushed, and was pretty excited to see AQ off, but the Q flopped and I left.
Today is Eric's birthday! The 11 year old wants me to make him Salmon for dinner. Nice to know that somebody likes my grilling!
Brian and I have our fantasy football team in first place with only 2 weeks to go. It's not hard to do when you have Tomlinson and Brees lighting it up every week. I'm in second in my other league, and I have no idea how because on paper my team isn't very good. I guess I'm just lucky.
Good day online today. Slowing building myself a bankroll there too!
|
|
07:29 pm
[Link] |
New job
I've been hired at Casino Arizona as Executive Poker Host. Once I get done with all of the certification stuff, I'll be making a little extra while I play here in Arizona, and I'll be able to get sick again without panic. Pretty excited to get the gig because they haven't hired a poker host in over 4 years at CA, so I feel special! I guess they put the "executive" in the title because they have told everyone who asked for a job over the last few years that they wouldn't be hiring anymore, and also because I'm going to be working as an ambassador of the casino when I travel to play in national events.
Played in a couple little satellites last night online. Won a seat in another Aussie qualifier for tonight, so I'm playing that now. I'm skipping the Belagio tourney, mainly because 15k in one tournament is a little stiff for my current bankroll. But I do have Australia to look forward to!
|
|
03:53 pm
[Link] |
I feel like it again!
I don't know if I'll feel like it tomorrow, or if I'll wait another 15 months, but I feel like writing. So here goes!
No way possible to update the last 15 months effectively, but I'll try to at least hit the highs and lows...
Took my family to Spokane for Christmas last December. Spent a wonderful week with my parents, who now live out in the sticks miles away from the city. Really enjoyed the peace out there, but it rained/snowed every single day we were there. Just another occasion to remind me how much I love Arizona. I'm sure I'll travel a good bit for the rest of my life, but I don't think I'm ever going to move away. It's just too beautiful here, and I miss the sun after just a few hours of overcast weather.
Spent most of January in Tunica, Mississippi. Despite winning 26k for 2nd place in one of the tournaments there, I got reamed. It's not uncommon for poker players to win a big tournament and then start playing in games that are too high for their bankroll, and I fell into the same trap. I'd like to believe that I'm good enough to play in big games, but maybe the truth is that I'm not there yet. The games are different, the players are better and more aggressive, and the losses sting much more. I'm sure that I ran bad in Tunica (the first 4 days of the trip were 46 hours of Ace-to-Five and Duece-to-Seven Triple Draw. I made 0 wheels, and only 2 #2 hands. I lost one of them, and split the other), but I also am sure that I was playing in games that were too high for my bankroll. So, combined with bad trips to Commerce and to Bellagio, I was pretty short of money by February. Not close to broke, but not anywhere near as deep as I was after winning the bracelet in June.
February was my first losing month in Arizona in the previous 10. I followed that up with losers in March and the first two weeks of April as well. The slump had stretched to about 5 months, and I was really beginning to doubt myself. I also noticed that I wasn't having as much fun while playing. This might seem obvious, but when frustration mounts it is very easy to stop enjoying what you are doing. I found that I was very irritable at the tables, to the point of being visibly frustrated much of the time. This is a total no-no for a professional player, for more reasons than I am going to list here.
I decided to step down to the 20-40 limit games at the casino, and try to get my mojo back. Try to book some wins, but more importantly try to start enjoying the game again. I'm doing this because it's what I love to do, and I never really stopped loving it, but after the first couple of bad beats of the day I was getting very testy. It turns out that this decision was monumentally good for me. I started winning again, and I started enjoying the game as well. Chicken and egg and I'm sure I'll never know which came first.
I did have some tournament success along the way. At the end of March, I made it to the last 2 tables of the WPT event in Reno. Went out in 17th when I made a move with AQ at the wrong time. I Learned a tremendous amount during the tournament, and oh, do I wish I had that hand back! Also in April, I won a limit holdem event at Caesars Palace. 48k for first with no deals, and I came back from an extremely short stack to win it. I'm gonna save the details for a later post.
I had a couple of friends back me in the Reno WPT event. I wasn't going to go to the tournament, but they talked me into playing for them and it worked out for all parties. One of them continued backing me at the World Series, and it worked out nicely for both of us! I won my 2nd bracelet in the Seven Card Stud Hi-low split event, and got to share 170k with my buddy! Another topic for another day, but obviously a wonderful experience.
Have been pretty flat since October. Not losing money, but only making about half of my historical earn in the Arizona games. A little frustration rearing it's ugly head, so I'm back down playing 20-40 until I get under control.
My best friend Bobby won a seat in the Aussie Millions tournament on Sunday night. He'll be down there trying to win the big bucks for 2 weeks in January. I thought I might miss him, so I won a seat on Monday night! I cant wait!
Hopefully more updates to come!
|
|
12:28 pm
[Link] |
A week as Mr. Mom
Due to a family obligation, I spent last week at home with Laura and the boys. I had the opportunity to switch roles with Laura for the week, which meant that I would get an up close and personal view of all the things that just magically happen every day while I sleep or play poker. I'm not saying that I do absolutely nothing around the house, but it's close. Anyway, for a week I cooked, I cleaned, I taxied, I laundered, I did it all. And it sucked. I already knew that I loved my new job playing poker, but i have a little renewed appreciation after this week.
On top of the other responsibilities, I tried to play poker on the internet too. Big mistake. After a week of playing whenever I had a few spare minutes, and having to constantly get up in the middle of games to handle whatever came up, I found that I lost almost every session. I'm trying to figure out how I ever won as a poker player when I was working. It is so much easier to play when you can focus all of your attention, and if the situation comes up again I won't play at all. Lesson learned.
Tuesday night was my first night back in the casino, and I was really excited. I arrived at the casino late in the afternoon, and played in a 60-120 holdem game for about an hour and a half. Booked a nice win, and then went to an early dinner with two friends when the game got bad. On returning from dinner, we started a 75-150 game with players who were waiting to get into the 60-120 game. One player in particular, who is normally very solid, was way off his game. He was playing almost every hand for a raise, and firing after the flop on nearly all of them. This was a really profitable situation, because I can see a lot of flops with him, and get paid big when I win. On one hand, it was folded to this player in the small blind, he raised, and I called with Qd 5d. Not exactly a big hand, but against a player who is playing a random hand, I'm certainly getting the right price to call, and I'm in position. And he's going off for money, so it's a must call.
Flop was Q 2 5. He bet, I called. Turn was a 5. He bet, I raised, he raised, I raised, he called. River was a 5. He bet again, I raised again, and he called. I'm pretty sure that the river 5 convinced him that I didn't have one, and he probably had aces. But the hand shows how much can be made from a super aggressive player in a spot like this.
So, I booked a really big win my first day back. Wednesday was a win as well, but a smaller one. Key hand of the night was a losing hand, where called a raise from the big blind with pocket 3's, and flopped 3 7 9 rainbow. 3 way action, four bets on the turn when an 8 hit the board. Ten on the river and I lose to the JJ straight. Needless to say, I'm pretty happy about the money that I put into this pot, even though it turned out sour.
Last night, I had another big win. Posted behind the button in the 40-80 game and was dealt the 2-8 offsuit first hand. 3 limpers, flop was A Q 2. Checked around to me, and I must have been feeling a little frisky, because I fired. All called. 2 on the turn, and the small blind led out. Nice! Big pot with a trash hand to start the night. Only other hand I played in the half hour that I played this level was a beauty. Good player raises from under the gun. Folds around to me in the small blind, I find aces. I call, big blind folds. Flop is A J 4. I check, she bets, I call. Turn is a King. I check, she bets, I raise, she raises, I raise, she thinks for a few seconds, and raises again. If she was a lower caliber player, I'm calling after the 3 bet because it might be the QT in her hand. But she didn't raise first in with that hand. I'm sure it's Kings. I raise again. She calls, and I give her the dark bet on the river. She says she can't believe I called with QT and calls. She's right...
Played in the 60-120 later in the evening, and had one disaster hand. Aces for me, Kings for another good player, 6-5 suited for a more creative player. The hand was capped before the flop by the 6-5 hand. Needless to say, I thought that the 2 4 7 flop looked pretty good. Board paired on the turn, and we had a monster pot. Didn't work out though, because the 8 ball showed on the river and the pot of the night went the other way. But it was still a big win.
I'm going to take my streaky self back in to the casino tonight. Hope to keep it rolling.
|
|
03:04 pm
[Link] |
Two more near misses
The World Championship of Online Poker concluded Sunday afternoon. I had two more really good opportunities to make a big payday, but fell short in both.
Friday afternoon in the $500 Pot Limit Omaha event, I had the chip lead with 30 players left. My stack of 125,000 led the field by more than 10,000, putting me in excellent position to make the final table. At 1,000 blinds, a big stack player raised under the gun, which I felt probably represented aces. I held the TJJQ in the big blind, and decided to call the other 5,000. I was happily rewarded with a flop of J 9 5 rainbow, and decided that this could be a big hand for me. I checked to try to induce a bet, and the other big stack player bet the size of the pot. I called, and watched a 4 come on the turn. I checked again, and when the other player bet the pot, I raised him all in. He called instantly, and when he turned over his hand I found out why it was an easy decision for him. He held AA23, so any A, 2, 3, or 6 would win him the pot. Of course, I still was a nice favorite to win this pot, and with 225,000 in the middle, I would either have a monster lead, or be left with only 20,000. A duece fell on the river, and my stack was crippled. I lost the remaining chips with two kings a few hands later, and finished 26th. The $1620 payout was nice, but first place paid 90,000 so I was pretty bummed.
The next day's event was limit holdem. I made the money again, but never really had a large stack. I flopped two pair on my last hand, but lost to a river straight and finished 39th.
The final event was Sunday, and I never really got anything going. I got very lucky and beat KK with my JJ on the river, but lost every hand after and was out in a couple of hours.
Three cashes and one final table in 8 events is a great accomplishment, but I'm feeling a bit empty now that it's over. As I said in the previous post, it's always disappointing to lose, no matter how far you get. I'll just have to be content with keeping myself in the hunt, and hope that it carries over to the Foxwoods tourneys in October and November!
|
|
01:06 pm
[Link] |
No matter how far you get, if you don't win...
you are disappointed. I have played in a few events on Poker Stars' World Championship of Online Poker, which has been underway for about 10 days now. Tuesday, I played in an event called a Triple Shootout. The format for the event was different than most tournaments. Each starting table is a single table tournament, and one winner moves on into the next round. 81 winners then square off in round two as 9 single table tournaments, and the 9 winners make up the final table of the event.
The best thing about this format is that the tournament is generally much faster. The event started at noon, and the final table started at about 4:45. This was probably 10 hours before any of the previous tournament final tables, so it didn't take all day to know if you had some success.
My first table took only 1:20 to complete. When the table was down to 3 players left, I had made it into 2nd place, only trailing the leader by a slim margin. The key hand for the first table came when the chip leader made a small raise from the button, and I called with 5h3h. Flop was Qh 4h 6d. I checked and called, and was presented with the 2d on the turn. I check raised a small amount, and the chip leader moved in for the rest of his stack. When I called, it turned out he had QdTh and was drawing dead. A couple of small pots to finish it off, and I was off to the second round.
Winners of the first round were guaranteed a profit of $1750, so it was already a successful day. Early on in the second shootout, I called a raise from the big blind with 55. Flop was a beautiful 5 6 7 rainbow, that is until the raiser and I got our chips into the middle and I found he had raised with 4c3c!!! Now I was drawing to pair the board, or exit the tournament. The last 5 in the deck saved me on the river, and I had doubled up.
I kept the chip lead for most of the way, and ended up winning when I saw a free flop with Jh5h, and the flop came Q 5 5. All the chip in and the other player had only a Queen.
Well, now I had made the final table. 9 players left, with 9th making just under 11k, and 1st paying a terrific 175k. Very exciting, but as the title of the entry stated, I ended up really disappointed. I finished 9th. Had 3 hands to play at the last table. First was KcJc, I flopped a king and was up against AK. Board was scary, so I didn't lose much. Next hand was QQ, called by only the big blind. Flop came king high with 3 spades, and I didn't have the spade queen in my hand. I called the flop, but laid it down on the turn to another bet. Last, I had AK and re-raised a player, who unfortunately had aces. I flopped one king, but couldn't find another and was done.
The result was terrific, but nowhere near what I wanted once the final table started. I think this is the first time that i have made a final table and went out first, but i don't feel that I misplayed any of the three hands so overall I'm happy about the outcome. There are four events left in this set of tourneys. Maybe I have a higher finish in store for the weekend!
|
|
08:38 pm
[Link] |
The Layoff is over!
No poker layoff, just a long period where I was too lazy to write. Actually, the lack of new journal entries is pretty representative of my life over the past month or so. Maybe it's a normal thing, but since returning from the World Series, I've become tremendously lazy. Most of the things that I wanted to accomplish personally have been put off, I've missed appointments, and I've been really non-communicative in general. On top of all of that, my poker has been pretty lazy too. And my results have been bad, as they should be when I'm not playing at the top of my game.
Had a nice long talk with myself this week. I'm not sure what exactly turned the light on for me, but it's pretty obvious that my discipline has been lacking. I'm not a naturally disciplined person, and when I'm not concentrating its very easy to be lazy. It's my natural state. So, I needed to kick my own ass a little. Started back to the gym this week, and took care of a few other things that I've been putting off. Also went back to playing more solid poker, and what a surprise, I had two huge wins this week. One big loser day too, but a positive week overall.
I think the laziness is attributable to having success in the World Series. It is very easy to be complacent, and forget the things that caused the success in the first place. I have to recognize that, and always try to monitor if I'm working hard enough, both at the table and away from it. Being honest with myself is one of the mandatory requirements of this occupation, and the truth is that there is a wide gap between my best game and my worst, and if I don't force myself to play my best, I can't be nearly as successful as I can be. As I choose to be.
As far as an update to specific results, they have been mostly negative over the last month. I was knocked out on the first day of the Legends of Poker main event, when I called off all my money with Aces against a set. I also lost at the Arizona State Championship, but that wasn't from poor play. Got all of my chips into the middle pre-flop with QQ, and was called by an A2. Both of us had really large stacks at the time, so it would have been a key hand to win as well, but an Ace flopped.
Took my sons to the ASU-LSU game last night. What a terrific game, but what a terrible result. Many reasons for the loss, including some really questionable decisions during the last drive, but overall I think ASU will be very entertaining this season.
OK, that's it for now. Hey, this was fun. Maybe I should try to write more frequently than every five weeks?
|
|
10:26 am
[Link] |
Loser!
I am very streaky. I'm not sure that I have any explanation why, but I seem to win and lose in streaks. On returning from Vegas and the World Series, I went on a one week heater where I won every day. I followed that up with my longest string of losing days yet, totaling 8. Happily, the losing days totaled less than half of my winnings from the previous week, but the losing still isn't any fun.
The games in Arizona are phenomenal as usual. In the past week, we have seen a few players try Omaha 8 or better for their first time, at the 60-120 level. Needless to say, it may have been a better idea to start out a little lower!
I'm not much for reporting bad beat stories, but the only hand of any note from the week was losing the whole pot holding JJA2, on a flop of J57. River 2 of spades counterfeited my low, and also made a flush for the winner.
I'm in Spokane this week for a family vacation. My parents retired here a couple of months ago, and we're enjoying the terrific weather. I'm in Los Angeles for the Legends of Poker tournament at the Bicycle club next week, but will return to Arizona on the 13th for the day for the Arizona State Championship.
Oh, and the losing streak stopped on the last day before I left. Long live the new streak!
|
|
12:45 pm
[Link] |
A strange Stud hand
Now that I have posted as to how much tougher the games feel in Las Vegas, let me share a hand that I played against one of the players who would fit into the 3 rating.
400-800 stud high only game. This game is only spread at Bellagio during the World Series, and Grant Strauss informs me that they don't even play 75-150 there otherwise. Some very tough stud players in this game, but at least two weak players. I'm in the 4 seat, with the "3" player on my left in the 5 seat.
A five brought it in for $100 on my immediate right, and I completed the bet ($400) with (JJ)6. There was another 6 on the board, and only one overcard (a queen) behind me. The 5 seat called with a 9 up, and the 8 seat also called, with a 7 up. 4th street brought a 7 for me, a Ten for the 5 seat, and a 2 for the 8 seat. The 5 seat was high and checked, the 8 seat checked, and I bet. They both called.
Fifth street was a good one for me. I caught another Jack, and the 5 seat paired his Ten. The eight seat caught a 4. The 5 seat bet his open Tens, the 8 seat folded, and I decided to raise. The raise here is in general too early, but the player has shown to be ready to call down anything. I didn't think he would fold his probably Tens and Nines hand, so I raised. He called.
On sixth street, I buried him. I caught the case Jack, and he caught a 2. Now, I bet, but I'm sick that I made the raise on 5th. I'm not sure what hand he thought I had on 5th, but the Jack has to improve me. Probably my worst possible holding was pocket aces or kings, but that even has him beat. I'm fully expecting a fold, but... He raises! Oh, how good is this! He can beat Jacks up or Aces up! I raised him back and he called.
OK, time for a review. Here are the hands:
Me (JJ)67JJ
Him (xx)9TT2
On the river, I make a 5. I bet. He raises! He has to have 4 Tens! I look down at his stack and see that he has another 8,000 in front of him, and I'm sure I'm getting all of it! I raise him back. Then he just calls! I turn over the hand that I have to have, and he grumbles and shows his Tens full of Nines that he made on 5th street.
I know that he loses with a big hand, but what can he beat when I raise him back on 6th? He loses an extra $1600 on the river that any good player would have saved. And even though hands like this don't come up often, they are absolutely a big reason why good players win and bad players lose over time.
I told this story to my wife over the phone the next day. She has never played stud, and doesn't play holdem any higher than 4$-8$. I didn't tell her my hole cards, just to see when she would know where I was on the hand. When I'm explaining the action on 5th street, she says "Well you have to have Jacks up. No, wait, didn't you say you raised third street? You probably made trips there". So, I think the five seat should have figured it out eventually too.
|
12:16 pm
[Link] |
Poker in Phoenix
I'm starting to notice a trend. I haven't looked back through my poker logs to prove this, but it seems that every time I travel to play poker for any length of time greater than a couple of days, I kill the games here when I return. Five sessions since returning from the World Series, five nice wins. I'm up almost 30k in the last six days, and I took Sunday off!
I spoke to one of the best players in town about this yesterday. We shared a room in Vegas for much of the Series, and he hasn't had a losing day since returning either. I told him that I think I learn new things to add to my game each trip, and he agreed. But he also pointed out that we were playing higher games (400-800 for much of the trip), and that we just have to play very, very well to win at those levels in Las Vegas. He believes that we get used to playing well because we have to, and that we continue playing at that higher level when we return home. Unfortunately, that level of play is not required to consistently beat the games here, and eventually we revert to playing at a lower level that will still beat the local games.
I agree with his assessment completely. Looking at my starting hands over the last week, I find that I have played fewer hands than normal. I remember throwing away pocket 8's under the gun in an eight handed holdem game a few days ago. This is a strong hand in these games! You just can't play hands like that in big money games against tough players. They are losers in that situation for sure, but my results since returning home indicate that they are probably losers here as well. I'm going to set a goal for myself to try to retain playing a higher level for longer and longer periods after returning from a trip. Obviously, it would be best to play at the highest level 100% of the time, but I like to set attainable goals!
Yes, this post does suggest that poker players in Phoenix are not as talented as those in Las Vegas. I think that is probably also true, but I am really trying to say that players in high limit games are generally tougher. If I were to rate poker players from 1 to 10, with 10 the highest rating, the distribution of ratings in the 75-150 game in Phoenix would be very different from the 400-800 games in Las Vegas. In the Phoenix game, you might well find players that would rate a 9 or a 10, but there will rarely be more than 1 or 2 of them. More importantly, there will often be three or even more players that would rate at 4 or below. A normal game distribution might be:
10 - 1 player
9 - 1 player
7 - 1 player
6 - 1 player
4 - 2 players
3 - 2 players
1 - 1 player
In the 400-800 game in Vegas, it looks more like this:
10 - 1 player
9 - 1 player
7 - 4 players
6 - 1 players
3 - 2 player
With more than half of the table at a 7 or above, you are forced to play much more carefully. Marginal hands just wont work, unless you are sure to be playing against the worst players at the table.
|
|
07:04 pm
[Link] |
Back Home!
Finally back to Phoenix after a very long month and a half in Las Vegas. Even though the experience was a great one, it's very hard to be away from family and friends for so long. I've been home for two days, and have been doing absolutely nothing. I guess I was much more worn out than I knew!
The main event was great fun, and it started out as well as I could have hoped. I had only one name player (Al Krux, final table from 2004) at my table, and it wasn't a terribly aggressive table. Two players at the table played very, very well, but I never was in a bad spot at any time during day one. I flopped a couple of sets, won an all in hand with Aces against Krux's Kings, and late in the day had built my stack to 38,000.
I was moved to the TV table with 2 hours left to play. Phil Hellmuth was at the table as well, and I couldn't help myself. I needled him a little after the first hand he played, and he made it clear that I was welcome to keep my mouth closed. To be fair, I started things off on the wrong foot, but he makes himself an easy target.
I raised a hand from middle position with AT, and was called in one spot. I flopped an ace and bet, and the other player called. I bet rather large on the turn, and he called again. The river was a King, and I couldn't pull the trigger on another bet. I checked, and he showed A9 for the losing hand. Phil needled the gentleman about how bad he played the hand. About 4 hands later, Phil raised and was re-raised by the same guy. Phil called, and the flop came A 4 4. Phil checked, and the other man checked. I think a 7 came on the turn, and Phil checked again. This time, the man over bet the pot. Phil thought for some time, and eventually (after a ton of table talk), made a great laydown of AK, face up. The other man says nice laydown, and flips up pocket aces. Well, now Phil is up telling the world how great he is for making the laydown. He goes on for 5 minutes, and finally I tell him how much I wish that the man hadn't shown his hand, so he would still feel like he was playing bad.
Later, a man who is on obvious tilt from a tough beat gets all his chips in the middle pre-flop against Phil. He has KJs, Phil has AK. The river is the Jack, and Phil loses the hand. Now we get to see the bad loser side. He calls the man an idiot, says he doesn't know how to spell Poker, says that amateurs like him shouldn't be allowed in the World Series of Poker. He goes off for 10 minutes, then when he finally comes back to the table, he gets all of his chips into the middle pre-flop with a less than stellar hand and goes home. Yes, I think he can play great. But he has absolutely no ability to suffer a beat gracefully. And he's a steamer, at least on this occasion.
I had a better than average stack going to day 2, but nothing went right. I had no cards, and finished day 2 as one of the smaller stacks in the field. We made the money early in day 3, and I survived until the last level of the night, but eventually 2 days of high blinds with no cards caught up with me. I finished in 253rd place, with a pretty nice paycheck nonetheless.
I'm very much looking forward to getting back to work. I think I'll go in tonight and show off the bracelet!
|
|
12:02 pm
[Link] |
Day 2 of the Omaha tourney
I haven't been nervous to play poker in years. Not at the final table of tournaments, not in big cash games, nowhere that I can remember. But I went down for breakfast before day two, and I couldn't eat. Each bite was making me more queasy! I called home, and Laura said that it meant that I was human, so it probably wasn't all bad. The second day action started at 2pm, and she decided that she wanted to see the final table if I got there, so she set out driving at about noon. Well, we started at 2:20, and by 2:21, the final table wasn't really looking good. I took my nerves to the table, picked up a big hand on the very first deal (AA34 double suited), and lost 21,000 chips! I noticed my hand shaking as I grabbed chips for the first raise, and couldn't believe that I was actually nervous. Well, losing a third of your chips on the first hand does wonders for the nerves! It was the last time I was nervous all day.
When we were reduced to 2 tables, I had the pleasure of a tremendously bad seat. Minh Nguyen on my direct right, Toto Leonidas on my direct left, and Carlos Mortensen on Toto's direct left. Not exactly great, but it turned out to be ok. Toto and Carlos were out quickly, and I beat Minh in a big pot right before we were reduced to the final 10. That pot moved me into 5th chip position at the final table.
We started the final table at about 6:00, and there were some very tough players left. Minneapolis Jim Meehan had a good chip count, and had been at this final table both of the previous two years. Jeff Duvall has a couple of bracelets, and is a very good Omaha player. Dan Heimiller and John Lucas also have a ton of World Series experience. Minh Nguyen was still alive. And Darryl Dycken was probably the most aggressive player left.
I continued to play very, very tight, probably playing fewer hands than anyone else at the table. Bobby was there for the whole final table, and Laura got there with 8 players left. At one point, I did have to make a big re-raise with a weak hand against Minneapolis Jim, and I believe it stopped him from running me over when I did play pots. Eventually, my stack started growing, and at the dinner break I felt very confident that I was the best player at the table. I told Laura that I was going to win it.
One of the best things about playing this final table was having friends around to share it. Laura and Bobby were there, Mike Minetti came over late and sweated me the last 4 hours, and Tad, Brad, and Jeff were all there by the end as well. At one point, Mike said out loud so I could hear it that it had taken me 26 hours to get half of the tournament chips, but it would only take me another hour to get the other half!
Jeff Duvall was eliminated third, and I was happier to be facing John Lucas heads up. He's a very good player, but I thought that Jeff was a little tougher. By now, I was by far the most aggressive player. We probably played 30 hands heads up, and I raised from the button on every opportunity. On the final hand, I raised again with the garbage 5789. The flop was Q66, and when John checked I checked as well. The Ten on the turn gave me many straight outs, so I called John's bet. The 8 came on the river, giving me a straight. John bet his last chip, and I called. The moment that he turned his hand over was magic. I could see that he had no full house, but he had middle cards like me. Both hands were face up, but it was a few seconds before the tournament director and the dealer knew that I had won the hand. I'll always remember those few seconds, because although the excitement would start for everyone else in a moment, I had the chance to stand up and stomp and be excited first.
It was a great moment, but it didn't end there. I've received a ton of congratulations from friends all over, both in and out of poker. Plus, the live games have been terrific. I'll get into this more in a later post, but tournament winners are not always regarded as tough live players, so I'm reaping the benefits.
More later. I have to get back in action!
|
|
11:45 am
[Link] |
Finally back home!
Well, it's been so long I'm not sure where to start...
I decided not to take a laptop with me to Las Vegas for the first week of the World Series of Poker. Big mistake! My plan was to stay for a week, and play 3 or 4 events. That plan went out the window when I won the Omaha High/Low split event! So I've been in Vegas ever since. Apologies to all for not spending a little time with a blog update, but I'll try to catch up now.
I went on the trip with two friends who happen to be terrific poker players. The trip started badly for me, in that I whiffed in my first two tournaments, and also lost in the live games. The tournament losses were ok, because that happens most of the time in tournaments even if you are very successful. The live games were bothering me though, because my friends were helping to stake me playing in the bigger games. I played one day of 400-800, some mixed games, some stud high only, and lost all day. It was my first time being staked by these friends, and my first time playing in such a big game, and the loss really stung. I didn't lose any confidence in myself, but I was certainly worried about how my friends felt. They are the two best poker players in Arizona, and I hoped that they didn't feel they had made a mistake by taking some of my action.
Well, I think I've fixed that problem. The Omaha tournament turned out to be a marathon, but it sure didn't look good early. I was very, very lucky to have a starting table without any big name players. I even had a couple of weak players who I had spent a good deal of time playing with at the Belagio, and I knew they would help me. As it turned out, I also had an extremely good player at the table, I just didn't know it because I didn't recognize him.
Early on, I played a couple of key hands that got me going. First, 4 players limped on my big blind. The flop of K J T rainbow looked pretty good for my normally bad A Q 9 7 hand. I bet out, and was called in one spot by one of the weak players I mentioned above. He called again when a 4 hit the turn, and called quickly after the river Q. Amazingly, he had 8 9 in his hand, and was drawing to the weak straight. How he thought I was betting anything but the nuts into 4 people is beyond me.
The hand that I am most proud of in the entire tournament happened during level 3. I was on the button with A 3 5 8. 2 players limped in, so I called as well. Flop was 2d 4c Jd, and I have no diamonds in my hand. Betting went bet, raise, call to me. If it's only the A 3 in my hand, I let go here, but the 5 gives me scoop or 3/4 possibilities, so I call. 9s on the turn, and it's check-check-check to me. Great! A free card is just what I need here. I check too. River is the 9c. Check-check-check again! OK, I'm taking this pot if nobody wants it. I bet. First two players fold. 3rd player now raises me. I want to puke for a second, but then I realize that there is just no way that this guy is checking from that spot on the river with a hand. No way at all. So I raise. And he folds. And I am pumped! Nice pot for no hand...
The next 4 hours was a total train wreck. I lose every pot imaginable to one of the really bad players at the table. Finally, I get almost all of my chips into the middle on a draw to the nut flush and the nut low, but miss both and am forced to fold the river. I have 300 left, and the blinds increase on the next hand to 100-200. Meaning that I should be stone dead at this point.
Rewind a moment to the night before. The two friends that I mentioned earlier are talking about a hand from that day's tourney. One of them says that he probably should have played the hand until the end, because "if you don't get chips in these things, you're dead". I tell him that even if you are short, you aren't dead, but he doesn't agree. Well, this is where I get to prove him wrong. It's not his fault. He's a great live player, but has very little tournament experience.
So, I get all my chips in on my next big blind. I have the A2TJ double suited. I'm against two other players. Flop is QQ6. First player checks, second bets, first folds. I tell him that if he has a Q, I'm in terrible shape. He says no, and flips over KKJT. I need to go runner-runner low for half the pot, or catch a lucky A for the whole thing. Cards come 5 A, and I get to scoop the pot. Now I have 1300! Average at this point is about 5000, so I'm still in bad shape, but I'm breathing!
I have a relatively easy time moving my stack up from there. The next time I'm all in, it's with AA24, and after that I win just about every hand I play for the rest of the day. By the end of day 1, I have 63000 in chips, and I stand 6th with 22 players left.
My buddies take me for beers at 2am when we end day 1. I'm exhausted, but the beers taste great, and I sleep like a baby.
Day 2 recap after I get some lunch!
|
|
12:50 pm
[Link] |
Big week
Well, I guess it's time to take a breath and write a few things down again! This week was my biggest ever. I won every day, and pretty solid wins at that. I know that I am having a stretch of good fortune, which certainly won't always be the case, but I also know that focus on poker is definitely improving my game by leaps and bounds. During a stretch like this, I don't want to take a day off!
A little specifics of the good fortune. Thursday night I played in a home game tournament for pretty high stakes, and didn't win. I then returned to the casino for a very good 75-150 holdem game. I started out the session horribly, with Aces and Kings getting beat in a short handed game. But I got even and then some on the this hand: I'm in the big blind with the J9 of hearts. A raise and 2 callers in this 4 handed game, so I decide to make it a family pot and call. Flop is 10h Qh 5s. We like it. Small blind checks, I check, original raiser bets, 2 calls, I call. Turn is the Kh. Bingo! Small blind checks, I check, original raiser bets, next player raises! Small blind folds, I call, original raiser raises! Next player raises to cap it. I get 4 bets in on the turn without exposing the strength of my hand. It doesn't get any better than that.
River is the 5c. I bet out because this card looks like it will help me. Original raiser thinks for awhile and calls, other player raises. I raise, original raiser folds. Then we go raise, raise, raise, raise before the other gentlemen decides that even though he has 4 5's, he's probably not winning this pot. First time I've ever been involved in a hand that win a jackpot on the smaller limit tables. I guess the implied odds on making that original call were ok here!
Brian and Eric finished their respective sports seasons last week, and I had the opportunity to watch some pretty fun baseball games. This week school lets out, and I'm taking Brian to New York for the weekend so he can see a big city up close. But I'll probably squeeze in a little poker this week before we go!
|
|
12:48 am
[Link] |
Final table in the stud, good games here
Only 60 entries in the Stud tournament at Mirage on Tuesday. Stud is always less popular than holdem, but the field size was also affected by the PPT tournament that started at 12:00. It was a free entry tourney for many of the big name players, and certainly the stud field would have been over 100 if it weren't held concurrently.
The event had a better structure than some of the stud tourneys in Los Angeles, as we started with a sizable stack, but the limits went up pretty fast and by the 5th hour, we all to gamble some. Took a big loss in a hand early when I had Aces and Queens in 4, but was up against rolled up 6's. We started with 4000 in chips, but after that hand I had only 800 remaining about 2 1/2 hours into the event.
I had a really good run of cards, and one very good river call against a bluff, and moved my stack up to above average with 3 tables left. Then I really went on a rush, and had a very temporary chip lead with 15 players remaining. But aces, kings, and kings again went down in flames in the next 30 minutes, and I was a short stack again.
I made the final table 7th in chips, and that's where I finished. Small win money wise, but good to have a little tourney success!
Played in 3 different games at the Bellagio after the tourney, and beat the tough one (80-160 holdem) while losing in the 2 easy ones (150-300 mixed and 40-80 mixed).
One interesting hand from the 150-300 mixed game. Omaha 8 or better, I am dealt Ad2dAsJs on the button. We are playing 6 handed. It's folded to the cutoff seat, who raises. I 3 bet, and the big blind and cutoff call. Flop is QsTs7d. I don't hate it, but I'm not completely thrilled either. BB checks, cutoff checks, I bet, the BB calls, and the cutoff raises. I decide he likely has two pair, so I 3 bet to try to knock out the BB. Both call, and we see the 5d on the turn. What a card that is! Now I have the nut flush draw in two different suits, the nut low draw, a gutter ball nut straight draw, and an over pair to the board. So I love my hand. BB checks, cutoff checks, I bet, BB calls, cutoff goes into the tank. Know now that he was drunk, and certainly the best reason to be in the game. He announces to me that he isn't sure whether to raise or call, and that my bet was bad, because he "has so many outs it's sick". Yeah. Right. I smile to myself, but it's hard to keep it inside when the 8s comes on the river. As I said in an earlier post, Nut-Nut is my new favorite hand. Check-check to me, I bet, BB calls, cutoff in the tank again! Says that he should raise, but is just going to call. I take down a very nice pot, and it turns out the BB had the K high flush and A3, for 2nd-2nd. All the cutoff had was a wrap, but I had to hear about how lucky I had been to catch that spade for the next 20 minutes.
All that said, the games are still much, much better here. Played Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, and won each night. Finally decided to take a day off on Sunday, but we'll get back at it Monday!
|
|
09:44 am
[Link] |
Vegas report
Well, a couple of days here helps me realize just how good poker is in Arizona. My own experience here after two days, plus conversations that I had with a few friends who are playing here all the time, tell me that I won't have to travel here much. Weekends seem to be good, but the high limit games during the week are populated with good players.
Played in two terrible games Sunday night, an 80-160 holdem and a 75-150 mixed game, and lost about 800 before going over to the Mirage to look in on the room and see how the satellites for the tournament were going. No big games at Mirage, but I did play one satellite. Finished 4th of 10, but no money in that!
Played the 1k no limit tournament yesterday. Very short stay! First hand that I played, I called a raise from the BB with AQ of spades. Flop was Js 10c 9s. Pretty huge draw for me, but it didn't come. Next hand was AQ, flopped Q high, but the other player had KK. Nothing much good happened, other than having plenty of time to play live games.
Before heading back to Bellagio, I walked over to the new Wynn casino. It's terrific. They obviously spent a ton of money and did everything first class, but there were no poker games higher than 20-40, so I went back to Bellagio.
Played in a much better 80-160 game last night for 7 hours and won 4500. No real interesting hands to speak of. Most of the session, had 3 very poor players in the game, so the game was ok even though there were several tough players.
Gus is working in Vegas for the moment, and I had a chance to talk to him about the games for a bit. I also talked to Mike on the phone for awhile, and we may get together later tonight for a drink.
Ken Aldridge, or "Teach", as everyone knew him on the cruise last year, called Sunday night. We had a terrific talk about poker in North Carolina, er, I mean, they don't play there because it's against the law. Yeah, that's it. It was great to hear from him, and he was very, very excited for me in my new career.
The 7 card stud tournament starts at 2 today. Looking forward to playing my best game again...
|
|
12:14 pm
[Link] |
Friday win, Saturday tournament loss
Played Friday night in two separate sessions, starting about 8:45 pm. First session was 75-150 Omaha-8/Any-Any. Second hand, from the small blind in the Omaha, I'm dealt Ac2c9hJh. 3 limpers, and I raise. BB folds, and all the limpers call. Flop is Jc4c5d. I bet, two callers, one raiser, I re-raise, all call. 9h on the turn, I bet again, all call. 8c on the river, making my new favorite hand. Used to be Aces, now it's Nut-Nut. 2 callers and a big pot for me to start the night. I make over 2k during the first half hour, and am up 5700 after 2 hours, but the game gets tougher so I decide to move to the 40-80 holdem.
While waiting for the holdem game, another 75-150 game starts. This one is Hold-em/Any-Any. I believe these are my 2nd and 3rd strongest games, behind Stud high only, which isn't played at higher limits in our casino any more. So I can't wait to get back in!
First hand in the Holdem, I'm in the big blind. Raise and re-raise to me, and I look down and find two black aces. Life is good. Big, big pot to start this session as well. JJ holds up a little while later in a 4 way pre-flop capped pot, and now I'm up almost 10k between the two sessions in a little less than 3 hours.
I have decided before coming in for the evening that I have to leave by 3, because the free-roll tourney for the world series seat starts at 10 Saturday morning, and I need a little sleep. Well, the last 3 hours of the evening are a horror show. Two pretty notable hands: In the holdem, I raise from first position with the AQs, and am called by the Q7. Flop is QJ7, and I get to lose a few bets to this hand. Not too special, but the second one is a classic.
Any-Any, I have the (2d3d)6c. 5 people in the hand. One player in the game has decided that he needs to raise every time it gets to him, on most of his playable (by his standards) hands. Player in seat one has a 4 up, wild raiser in the 3 seat has a 7, I'm in the 5 seat with the 6, a relatively good player in the 8 seat has the 3s, and the 9 seat has a 6. The seven seat had to bring it in with the high card, the 8 seat limped, as did the 9 and 1, the wild man raised, I called, the 8 seat re-raised, call, call, raise, call, raise, call, call, call, call and we are capped on 3rd. On 4th street, the one seat now has 44, the 3 seat has 78 offsuit, I have (2d3d)6cAc, the 8 seat has 3s2s, and the 9 has 67. 8 seat bets, 9 and 1 call, 3 raises, I call, 8 raises, 9 calls, 1 caps it, and we all call. When the 1 seat caps it, I'm pretty sure he has 3 4's. Almost positive. Now, on 5th, the one seat has 44A, the 3 has 78A, I have (2d3d)6cAc5d, the 8 seat has 3s2s2c, and the 9 has 67J. I bet, 8 raises again, 9 folds, 1 raises, the wild man calls, I cap it, and everyone calls. OK, now here is where things get strange. As the action is completing on 5th street, the 3 seat, who I believe is probably under the influence of something, reaches over and looks at the 1 seat's hole cards! Unreal! The game stops, and everyone is on this guy asking if he is out of his mind! He promises not to fold, says he made a mistake. But here is another strange part. Nobody calls the floor! I can tell you the reason that I didn't: I know he's drawing stone dead. And I don't want the guy who is totally giving his money away leaving the game because we call the floor on him. As it turns out, from talking to the floor later, he wouldn't have done much, outside of killing his hand. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what I needed...
On sixth, the one has 44AJ, the 3 has 78AK, I have (2d3d)6cAc5d10s, and the 8 catches a horrible card. The last A, and it's a spade. I check, he bets, and it's call, call, call. It has to be, because he has just caught the last Ace, and if he has the last 4, assuming my read on the 1 seat is correct, now he has a wheel and I'm drawing dead. I'm just hoping he is full, or that he had a spade draw. Well, no luck. He has the wheel, and scoops a 5k+ pot when the 444 hand doesn't fill.
By 3 am, I have lost back what I won in the second half of the session, and go to get some sleep up 5700 for the night.
Saturday morning's tourney starts off great. 90 players, 9 tables. 2 from each table make it to the finals on Sunday, and I get the best draw possible. I sit down to a table full of players I don't recognize, except for one other solid player. I couldn't ask for better. Which lasts me all of about 30 minutes!
My first big blind, there are 3 limpers to me, and I have the J8 offsuit and check. Flop is Jc8d6c. I make a pot sized bet, and get one caller. When the 5d rolls off on the turn, I make another big bet, over betting the pot. He calls again. 5c on the river and I puke. He makes a small bet, I donkey it up hoping he has AJ, and lose. But still, I have 1650 of my starting 3000, so I'm by no means dead. 15 minutes later, it's a call and a small raise (150) to me. I'm in the small blind and find KdKh. I make it 600. Limper folds, original raiser moves me in. I have just under 1000 left, and I just can't fold the KK pre-flop to a novice player. Unfortunately, he does have the Aces, and I get to see Brian's baseball game after all!
We've had a very nice mother's day morning, and I'm off to the airport in about an hour. Going to play the first two events of the Mirage tournament, and scout the rooms in Vegas a bit. Very excited to see the new poker room at the Wynn casino!
|
[<< Previous 20 entries] |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
pstarfish's journal