Epic no chop story

I went up to Red Rock last night and played in the 2/5 game for a couple hours.  Game was decent.  I played one hand that was pretty interesting.

Folds around to the small blind, I'm in the big blind.  Guy asks if I want to chop.  I say I always play.  I've played with this guy before and he has given me shit about not chopping, although I never got in a situation where I didn't chop with him specifically.  He gets grumpy about it and calls. 

I look down at Q-Q.  Perfect situation, not chopping here.  :-)  So I raise it to 20 total. 

He snap-shoves on me for like $430!!!!

I just sit back in my chair and am like whoa... I did not expect to be in this situation.  I had about $530 in front of me so I had him covered.  As a general rule I do NOT want to put a ton in preflop with Q-Q.  I mean Q-Q is a hand where if I raise to 20 and someone raises me to 60, I'm either set mining or sometimes even folding.  I just don't like to F around with Q-Q (although maybe this is a weak spot in my game).

Kenna James at Red Rock 2/5 NL

Anyway, I have played with this guy a bit and have heard good people talk about how he is good for the game and it sounds like he's not a very good player.  And I've seen him go crazy in some hands.  So adding that info together with the fact that I know this guy is pissed off that I don't chop, I decided to call.

So I call and he says good call, and that he was going to do that with any 2 cards basically to teach me a lesson because he thinks it's disrespectful to casual players to not chop and blah blah blah, and he flips up the 10-9 offsuit!  Sick spot.

Flop : J-9-4.  Turn, 10, gross, but at least I have a ton of outs (K, Q, J, 8, 4).  16 outs, pretty damn good draw to win still.  River, brick.  So I ship this guy a $850 pot.

 That was pretty gross.  I didn't sweat it though, just rebuy casually.  I think I broke the guy's brain, he obviously 100% didn't expect that to work out and even though that he won the pot, I mentally owned him at that point and I think I'll have some kind of magic mental control over that guy for a while.  He went on some weird tilt after winning, and eventually left the game.  He kept complaining that I was a "professional" and obviously could not handle my mad skillz at the table.  :-)  Also I think he got frustrated when I raised with 6-4 suited, checked to the river, I hit a 6 and check-called him when he bet with 9 high.

Later I got some of it back.  Bunch of people limp and I raise to 20 on the button with 6-6.  Flop is sick, K-6-3 rainbow.  Does not get better than that.  Checks to me, $50, 1 caller.  Turn is the worst card in the deck, 7.  Makes the only draw.  He checks, I bet $75, he calls.  So I think I'm probably OK now.  River is a 2, great card.  He checks, I bet $200, he calls.  Said he had 2 pair.  So I did get some money back.

I ended up losing $320, but it was a ton better than losing the $600 I was down at one point.  Pretty good night considering the beat I took, and also that besides the set I didn't have any other really good hands to play. 

Venetian 2/5 Sunday, Monday

Super quick post about a couple sessions this weekend at Venetian.  Nothing that interesting, just some nice hits.

One SICK pot I played was with pocket aces.  Guy raises to 20.  I reraise to 55.  Guy cold calls out of the blind, and the raiser calls.  Flop comes Q-J-5.  Checks to me, I bet out 75.  They both call.  This pot is getting ridiculously big.  Turn is an offsuit 4.  Check to me.  At this point there is like (55*3) + (75*3) = 165 + 225 = 390 in the pot.  I have a little over 400 left, so I just shoved.  The guy in the blind folded.  The other guy took a little while and called.  It was great he didn't snap call because I figured as long as I didn't get snap called I was good.  River was a jack which was a little scary (nowhere near as scary as a queen though) and my aces were good.  $1200 pot.

Later I got A-A again on the button and made it 30 after a bunch of people limped.  Guy in the blind makes it 100.  He had me covered, so I was a little scared to play A-A this deep.  So I over-raised it a bit (in my opinion) and made it $300 total.  He folded.  I normally would have made it a bit less (like $240) but I didn't want to get called and have to play super deep with a pretty tough hand to play, even in position.  Lot of potential to lose a bunch playing A-A there.

Played a TERRIBLE hand on Sunday that really haunted me for the rest of the day, but I have to just let it go.  :-)  I raise with K-J offsuit to 15, get called out of the big blind.  Flop comes A-A-10.  I bet 15, he calls.  I figure I have the gutshot so I can bet it.  When he called I just didn't really feel like he had the ace.  I really put him on a 10, but that was completely based on feel and ignored the fact that he was a 70 YEAR OLD MAN.  LMAO.  I am such an idiot.  But fine, maybe he just has a 10.  The turn comes out and it's a 4.  He checks, I bet 40, he calls.  At this point I should be 100% confident that the guy has an ace.  It's completely insane to think otherwise.  But the river comes out another blank, he checks, I bet like 110, he insta-calls with A-Q.  STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!  That one really pissed me off because I've heard people talking about 3 barrel bluffs on podcasts saying that in general, you're just throwing money away doing them.  And plus if you just LOOK at the guy and what his typical play style will be, it was SO retarded to throw away the last 110 on him.  On the turn, maybe a bad idea but fine.  But on the river that's just suicide.  Competely stupid. 

On Monday I played a short session and cashed out +$225.  Basically flopped a set and got some value out of an old lady, that was my main hand. 

More poker tonight!  Probably more Venetian, I'm running good there so far.

Best session in a while

Bellagio

I played a ton of poker this weekend.  On Friday night, I played 1/3 NL with my wife at the Wynn.  On Saturday, I played 1/2 at Red Rock and later, 2/5 NL at Bellagio.  On Sunday I ventured over to the Venetian.  When all was said and done, I won $400 this weekend.  My best session though was at the Bellagio.  I played for 5.5 hours and broke dead even, but I think I played about as good as I've played in a very long time.

Few hands from the Bellagio 2/5 on Saturday:

I call 20 preflop with 10-10.  The raiser was in early position.  Flop comes out 9-7-3.  He bets 20.  I raise to 55.  He calls.  Turn is a 3.  He checks, I check.  I figure he probably has one of two hands : an AK/AQ type of hand, or a JJ+ type of hand.  Since my hand has good showdown value I'm just going to try to check it down, and maybe use it as a bluff catcher on the end.  The river is another card below 9.  He now bets out 110.

I definitely thought about calling.  However, I felt like this person was a pretty tight player overall and I didn't feel like this was a bluff.  He was looking at me (not away) which is one of those Caro tells that someone is bluffing.  However, based on the fairly large bet size, the fact that I thought he might be a reasonably good player, and the fact that I hadn't seen him bluff other times, I figured I'd just let it go.  If he bet less I think I may have called.  Just the overall feel of the situation I got was that he didn't look nervous, and there were really no legitimate betting hands that I could beat.  In my mind this was one of those spots that would have been easy to call, but overall I think it was a good fold and I saved myself $110 there.

I had a couple huge hands where I got zero value, which was frustrating.  Maybe there wasn't anything I could do to get more out of them, but either way I think I could have played them differently.

First, I called a raise out of the blind with 4-4.  Flop comes K-7-4 and there are 3 people in.  I check to the raiser, he bets 30, I raise to 75, he folds Q-Q faceup.  This one I think I played fine.  If he didn't have a king, it was going to be hard to get much more out of him.  I could have lead out, but whatever. 

lol

Next, I raise with Q-J suited.  Flop comes K-T-9 with the T-9 of my suit.  SICK flop, just absolutely hammered this flop.  Now some guy leads out into me for $30.  This seems like a pretty good spot to raise.  I didn't actually hit anything on the flop so it's more likely that he has a king.  If he has a flush draw or a straight draw, I want to raise.  Basically there was no reason against raising here, but I just called.  In retrospect I could have put in a small raise, like to 75 maybe.  Or hell, maybe even a min-raise even though I'm not generally a fan of that.  So I just called, the turn was a blank, I bet 80, he folded.  I also could have bet much less on the turn, like $50 I think.

Next, I call a raise out of the blind with 5-5.  Flop comes 8-5-4.  I check, it checks around (3 ways).  The turn is an 8.  I guess I should have bet there, but I checked again.  I figured nobody hit anything on the flop, and I seriously doubted the 8 would help anyone, so I might as well check again (plus there is like zero chance of being drawn out on).  River is a 10 and it brings a flush.  I bet out 40, everyone folds. On this one, I could have pretty easily bet out on the flop small, or maybe the same on the turn.  Definitely a small feeler type of bet seems like it would have made the most sense.  Like whatever the preflop raise size was, putting that out on the turn could potentially have gotten a call from as weak of a hand as A-K.  I probably couldn't have gotten much out of that one but I should have tried.

Then I played some pretty big pots, and some fun ones.  :-)

I raise UTG to $20 with AJs, 2 callers.  I'm not really loving that raise honestly, but whatever.  Flop comes T-8-4 and I flop a flush draw.  First guy checks, I bet 35, call, and then I get check-raised 70 more.  I felt like I had reasonable odds to call especially since this guy probably had a big hand, so including the implied odds I felt it was worth a call.  60 preflop + 110 on the flop + 70, so I need to call 70 to win 240, so around 3.5 to 1 odds.  I need like 5 to 1 or so if I'm only going to see one card, but that's where the implied odds kick in.  So I call, I miss, he bets 150, I fold. 

Neverending nightclub line

Fun with floating : I raise preflop in late position with 7-5 offsuit.  Girl in the blind calls me.  Flop is J-6-3.  She bets out 15.  I call.  I figure I have the gutshot, and maybe I can take it away later.  Plus F you for betting out into my raise!  :-)  Turn comes a king, she bets out 25, now I raise to 75.  She folds.  I love representing strength when an overcard comes on later streets, thats something new I'm messing around with.  It's pretty nice because it's hard to have the turn hit you if the flop also hit you.  She could have flopped a set here, but at least if that happened I can easily give up.  And if she did have a somewhat big hand maybe I river my straight and get paid.

This one was fun.  Guy raises to 20, I call with 87s.  There are 4 people on the flop.  It comes A-K-6 with 1 spade.  Checks around.  The turn is an ace.  Checks to the raiser, he bets out 35.  I'm just like, this guy does NOT have an ace here.  I thought he would for sure bet it if he had it on the flop.  So I just call, planning on taking it away on the river.  River kinda messed up my plan, it was another ace.  :-)  So now I basically have to represent quads if I want to bluff.  AND, the guy bets out 65!  Still, I went with it and decided to rep quads.  I figured a min-raise would be great, totally looks SO strong.  So I make it 130 and he insta-folds.  Even though I have to represent quads there which is a little silly, it did fit completely with the story I was trying to tell, in my opinion. 

This next hand was the best I've played in forever.  At least, it felt amazing.

I limp in with A2s after another guy limps.  I was listening to some podcast that talked about limping with suited aces to encourage others to limp with dominated flush draws, so that's what I was thinking (whether it's actually smart or not).  Next guy makes it 30 to go.  2 people call, I call, and we see the flop 5 ways. 

Bellagio hallway

The flop is T-8-7 with 2 of my suit.  First guy checks, I check, preflop raiser fires out 70.  Guy behind me calls.  I was thinking about calling the 70 already but when the guy behind me calls I think I definitely have to call.  I'm getting 4 to 1 on the call (70 to 150 + 140), definitely good odds.  So I call.  Turn comes out an offsuit king, and there is now like 360 in the pot.  First guy checks, and I fire out 175!  :-)

I was thinking, the pot is fucking huge.  The guy behind me had something like 350 or 400 left.  If he shoved, I'd just call and hope to hit.  But I figured again, it's an overcard to the board so unless this guy flopped a set, he would be pretty scared by my big bet.  Even if he had A-A he would have to be a little afraid that I flopped a set or straight or something.  Well, I guess that doesn't make THAT much sense since my call did close action on the flop.  Maybe it would have made more sense if I put in a monster raise on the flop.  Either way though, they both folded and I took down a huge pot with nothing.  That felt unbelivably good.

It was fun playing at Bellagio.  There are a lot of things to hate about Bellagio.  The self park is really far.  The room is SUPER crowded.  The tables are too close together.  The floor is not particularly friendly.  But the room does have an amazing energy that you just don't get anywhere else.  It's SUPER busy.  At 1 AM, there were still 5 2/5 NL games and even 5 5/10 NL games, each with a 20 person waiting list.  That is completely unheard of in Vegas.  There are a ton of high limit games running, and I saw an all star lineup playing in Bobby's Room : Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Gus Hansen among others were in there.  I also saw James Woods out in the hallway talking to some people.  It's just THE place to be for poker in Vegas.  So for that reason I did really enjoy it.  I'll probably go back again next weekend.

I ended up losing $300 on Saturday, and winning a whopping 1 dollar at 2/5 NL.  Overall though I was really happy with how I played and it gave me good confidence in my game going forward at 2/5 NL.

Monday at Wynn

Played last night at Wynn.  Nothing special, and I bounced back and forth between 1/3 and 2/5 NL.

Sat down at 1/3 NL, played for 10 minutes and lost $70.  Haha.  Basically played like 4 hands, raised 2 or 3 of them, cbet the flop and got called, had to give up on both.  lol.  Then went over to 2/5 NL.

The 2/5 game was too tough.  It was bad for a couple of reasons.  First, there weren't any really terrible players there.  There were 1 or 2, but at a 2/5 game I can do so much better than that.  There were a couple guys that seemed really good, a few just super tight old guys, and one LAG guy that might not have been great but he was definitely putting the pressure on.  Second, I was in literally the worst seat at the table.  The two best players in my opinion were in the two seats to my direct left.

Raised a few hands and the guy 2 seats to my left would just call me, call a cbet on the flop, and take the pot away from me on the turn.  I tried to trap him a bit once when I had KK.  I raised preflop, cbet the jack high flop, checked the turn out of position (and he checked) and then bet the river and he folded. 

Biggest pot I played at 2/5 was against the LAG guy (pictured, white v-neck).  I am in the big blind and call 10 more with 10-9 suited.  Heads up the flop comes K-7-6.  I check and call 15.  His bet looked weak, and I have a gutshot and overs that could be good as well.  Turn is a good card for me (maybe), a 10.  I check/call 45.  River, 9.  Gives me 2 pair.  I check, he throws out a $100 bill.  I throw out a bill.  8-6 (straight).  Damn.

Eventually I just figured the game was too tough and there was no reason for me to play it when I could just play 1/3 instead.  Live to fight another day.  So I got on the 1/3 list and they immediately started a new game, which was nice.

Jumping between 1/3 and 2/5 is really nice.  When I go back to 1/3, I feel like I just have such a huge edge on the game.  The money feels a lot smaller, which makes bluffing a lot easier.  The players aren't as good so the game feels easier in general.  And I can buy in relatively deep ($500) and feel comfortable with that amount of money, whereas other people in the game might have 200-300 in front of them and be scared about losing it.  I think the main difference is one of confidence.  I feel comfortable in that game, and once I start playing 2/5 the 1/3 game seems like it's beneath me, which is fantastic.  It's the opposite of the way I see myself at 2/5.  When I go to 2/5, I have $500 and I know I look super short and weak to the other guys at the table.  Often times people have 2k, 3k+ in front of them.  That's who I want to be eventually, and it's great to ease into that by playing a little there, gaining some experience, and moving back to just crush 1/3 when I'm not playing 2/5.  Plus it's awesome because it gives me a wider range of games I can play.  Or if I get a huge win at a game, I can always go to the other stakes and immediately get off my table and lock up a win if I want to.  In the future I imagine I'll want to play deeper, but for now locking up $600 is a good idea with my somewhat short bankroll.

So I get a little beat down at 2/5, go back to 1/3 and just own for a while.  :-)  I won the first like 5 out of 6 pots and I don't think I paired up once.  Straddle with K-Ts.  2 callers.  Raise 20 more (to 26).  2 callers.  Flop Q-Q-x, first guy checks, I bet out 40, win.  Raise with A-K, one caller.  Flop is all babies (9 high) and I just check, because in the book I've been reading lately it says that people peel more liberally on a board with all small cards.  Plus I do have some showdown value against all high card hands.  Checks around on the flop, turn, and river (which was a queen).  Guy had J-Ts so I won that pot too.  I was up like $75 in the first few minutes.  Ended up going up $150, eventually only ended up winning $71, but I was still happy with it.

Overall I lost $220 yesterday, but I got some good experience playing 2/5 which is always good.  Not playing tonight, maybe tomorrow though!

Big day - Wynn and the Nugget

It's been an up and down weekend.  On Friday night I went to Red Rock and played 2/5 NL and won $600 in like 2 hours.  On Saturday, I went back to the Rock and gave it all back.  Then today, everything's coming up milhouse.  Had a good win at both the Wynn and downtown at the Golden
Nugget.  Won almost $1000 today.

So many hands, I'm not sure where to begin.  I got a little crazy with bluffs this weekend but luckily it worked out overall.  At Red Rock on Friday I ended up 4-betting A-Q suited to $150 preflop.  I raised to 15, aggressive guy reraises me to 45.   I reraised to 150, hoping to take it down.  He calls *gulp*.  Flop comes bad, like K-9-x with 2 clubs (and I have no clubs), I bet out $225, he folds.  And I show. 

Today at Wynn I had a pretty crazy bluff hand too.  I called a $10 raise with A-J.  The preflop raiser had gone crazy with some hands and I was hoping to flop something big on him.  We saw the flop 4 ways and the flop was 9-9-3.  The raiser bet out $14.  I raised to $37.  He called.  I didn't think his bet felt very strong, so I thought I could just take it there.  Then he called and I thought maybe he had overcards or something.  Turn was a king.  He checked.  I bet $50.  He raised to $110.  At this point, I thought he probably hit a king.  But I thought that since I raised the flop and bet out on the turn, I could really represent a super strong hand like a 9 with a reraise here.  So I counted out a $150 raise, and made it $260 total.  He folded and I felt indestructible.  Unfortunately, later I saw him coming out of the bathroom and he said that he had J-7 and knew I was bluffing but didn't think he could raise me off of the hand, but whatever.  Not sure if that is true or not.  Again, I showed this bluff and I really need to stop doing that.  At least after I showed I played super tight and waited for some big hands.  Didn't really capitalize on it, but I did get to bet-bet-bet my way to success with A-2 on a Q-2-2-?-J board and got called all the way by Q-8.  I think it was a limped pot and I bet 7, 22, and 65 after the flop.

Of course, I had some bluffs go wrong too.  I think I reraised preflop on Friday night with A-Q suited at the Rock as well, bet $75 on the flop when I missed and got called, and had to give up on it.  Then today at Golden Nugget I sat down with $500 at the 1/2 NL game and the very first hand I was dealt I got A-K.  I raised to 10.  Got 3 callers.  Flop came all small cards with 2 clubs.  I don't think I had any hope for a flush.  Checked to me, I bet 25, 1 caller.  Turn was a small overcard, like a 9 after the 7 high flop.  Guy bets 25 into me.  I felt like the bet was weak and maybe he was trying to set the price with a flush draw.  So I raised to 85.  He called.  On the river he bets 80 into me and I fold, and it sounded like he flopped a big hand.  My bluff was stupid here, I had no reason to think he was bluffing me at all.  I literally just sat down and had no reads on anyone, and just wanted to be a hero. 

I got my stack back to even at the 1/2 game at the Nugget by flopping a set of jacks vs AA and getting some value out of it.  Not a ton.  I called a $20 reraise preflop out of the blind with J-J and 3 people saw the flop.  Flop was K-J-x and I check-called 40.  Probably should have just bet out.  Turn was a blank and we both checked.  River was a queen, and I bet out $80.  He called.

After that, I got called for the $5/$5 NL game they had going.  There was about a billion dollars on the table and people were yelling and going crazy.  Sounded like a good game and I was hoping to just flop some big hands and crush.  I get in and on my 3rd hand (in the small blind) I have pocket 3s.  I had $500 in front of me to start the hand.  It gets raised to 30 and I call.  5 people saw the flop.  The flop was pretty damn good for 3s.  3-4-7 with 2 diamonds.  I check, it checks to the raiser and he bets $100.  The next guy calls $100, and clearly this guy was a really crazy player that everyone could not stop talking about.  Like this guy was busting everyone and just playing insane.  The action is on me next, and with all that money in the pot I just ship the rest of my stack in for $475 total.  The preflop raiser folds, and the crazy guy calls.  He called me with 4-6 suited (not diamonds).  So he had middle pair and a gutshot.  Luckily the turn and river were a deuce and an ace, and I more than doubled up.  When the ace hit the preflop raiser started going crazy, because he had folded pocket aces and would have made a bigger set on me!  I was also lucky this guy didn't happen to have 4-5 instead of 4-6.  Hand would have gone exactly the same and he would have made a straight on me. 

I didn't really play many hands after that.  I had Q-Q and called a raise preflop once, and had pocket aces twice and in both cases I didn't get to see a flop.  In one hand I limp-reraised the crazy guy from 15 to 55 and he folded.  I was OK with that though because I didn't want to play that hand postflop with $1200 in front of me anyway, he would have made it really difficult.  And the second time there was a $10 straddle, and after a few callers I made it $50 and everyone folded.  I didn't really want to play that much anyway.  Once I get over $1000 at a 2/5 game (or in this case, 5/5 but basically the same thing) I just don't feel super comfortable.  I'd rather sit down with $500, double up or run it up to maybe 1200-1300, and just cash out.  Maybe play 1/2 or whatever for a while, lock up the win, and come back.  I'll probably feel more comfortable playing deeper once I have a bigger bankroll.  Right now I'm sitting on about $6k which is great, but I'd like to avoid the possibility of losing $1200 in one pot if I can for now.

Overall, great weekend.  Was pretty much a wash (up $60) between Friday and Saturday, but then I end up winning almost $1000 today.  Felt awesome.  :-)

Red Rock 2/5 NL

Played 2/5 at Red Rock last night.  I had a limited amount of time to play so I got there and just said, put me on every list.  I was fine with playing 2/4 limit, Omaha, 2/5, whatever.  It's nice to have that freedom, because in the past I definitely wouldn't have been OK with playing 2/5 since my bankroll was pretty short.

I immediately got into a 2/5 NL game, so I was cool with that.  I sat down and it was a full game, but I quickly realized it was a must move game.  They didn't fill me in on that when I sat down, but whatever. 

I figure if I'm going to play 2/5 and eventually higher limits, I'm going to have to learn how to play at shorter tables anyway.  So if I'm at a must move game that is 6 or 5 handed, I should just embrace it and continue to learn how to play under those conditions.  In theory if I'm playing well and we are shorthanded with some bad players, it will be better for me than playing full ring anyway.  Once I get better at playing shorthanded.

I didn't play for that long, and I didn't get in that many interesting hands.  I'm struggling to determine what the best raise size for me is preflop.  I've been using really small raise sizes at 1/2 and 1/3.  Basically like 6 or 7 dollars at 1/2, 8 dollars at 1/3 if nobody else is in the pot yet.  At 2/5, you can't raise in non-$5 increments.  So I'm thinking $15 or $20 for my opening raises.  I've been using $15 and probably will continue to do so, although I'm raising to $20 in earlier positions sometimes.  I do tend to raise with garbage so that's why I like $15 more than $20 in a lot of spots.  Just keep the pot smaller when I'm raising with non-premium hands. 

Back in the day, $30 was my standard raise.  I would play super tight and always make it $30 preflop.  I feel like I'm probably raising too small right now, but I don't know.  Often times in these games I do see the guys that I perceive as better players raising larger amounts, but not all the time.  Maybe I'll play around with some larger raise sizes.  I think at $15 and $20 the different isn't that big as far as making people fold hands preflop, so I tend to just like $15.  Once you start getting to $25 though that seems like a big enough raise where people might fold more preflop.  I guess hey, why not explore $10 too?  Seems pretty lousy but I can give it a shot sometimes.  Like maybe under the gun with 4-4, that type of thing.  Weak raise, but at least I raised so people might think I have a big hand.  Then when I lead the flop with my set it won't be as obvious.  And plus I think putting a raise out there typically blocks people from reraising, because someone might open to 20 or 25, but they aren't going to reraise as often even if it's to the same 20 or 25.  Just my opinion though, I don't really have facts to back that one up.

In one hand a guy in middle position opened to $15, another guy called (actually, the two guys in my picture above), and I called on the button with K-Q.  Flop came either 10-10-8 or 10-8-8, I think the latter.  It checked around (about 5 people in the pot).  Turn was another blank.  Checked to the preflop raiser, he bet 40.  Other guy folds, I raise to 110, he folds.  Seemed like a good spot to pick up the pot.  While that flop is probably a way ahead, way behind kind of flop for something like A-A, there are a lot of people in the pot, and plus there are some draws out there.  I don't know if there was a flush draw or not, but it didn't seem like a great spot to just check if you had an overpair.  If it was like 10-3-3 rainbow, that could have made more sense.  So I was happy with that play.

At one point this old guy next to me was exposing his hand EVERY TIME.  It was crazy.  He had about 800-900 in front of him, and I could see his cards every single time.  He was playing SO tight!  I couldn't even believe it.  One time this kid raised in early position to $15 total.  Old guy looks down, 8-8.  FOLD.  WHAT?!?!???!?!  Wow, so ridiculous.  I think maybe he was on his phone and just was not trying to play a pot while he was on his phone, but if you are folding 8-8 there, just get up and leave the table.  That makes ZERO sense. 

Of course, the one time I don't see his hand was in this pot.  This tilted me a bit.  I am under the gun and look down at 10-10.  I make it 20.  Old guy calls, and I'm already like, wow, what kind of hand can he possibly have here, he has been playing so tight.  And I didn't get a chance to see his hand.  2 other people call.  Flop comes Q-x-x with a flush draw.  I bet 45, old guy raises to 145, I fold.  I felt like I had to bet the flop, although on average this guy is calling with a pretty damn strong range I think.  Maybe he didn't expose his hand that time, I'm really hoping he didn't.  Because after that he was covering his cards with another hand when he looked at them.  I think just when he was on his phone he was exposing his hand.  That sucked, I could tell you his exact 2 cards every other hand, but this one time I don't see them and I'm in a pot with him and he beats me out of it.  I guess just based on the fact he was playing SO tight, maybe I could have just check-folded that flop, but that seems SO tight I don't think it makes a lot of sense.

Had another hand where I had A-10 suited in early position and made it 15.  Got called by the two worst players at the table, so it was a good situation.  Flop was A-J-4 with 1 heart.  I bet out 20 and got called by 1 guy.  Turn was a 5 of hearts.  So now I pick up the flush draw.  I bet 35, he calls.  River, queen.  He had about 130 left.  At this point, I didn't know exactly where I was at but I didn't feel like he had 2 pair.  I figured he had a weaker ace.  A-K through A-J didn't make sense, because I didn't put him on a strong hand preflop, and if he had A-J I figure I would have gotten raised by now.  Probably same for A-4, A-5.  So on the river I bet the rest of his money and he folded.  In retrospect maybe I should have just bet like 75.  Only thing that sucks there is if he raises I have to call or else I'm folding for an extra $50.  But maybe $75 could have been perceived as more of a bluff than putting him all-in.  Probably overthinking it though, I think my bet was fine. 

I ended up winning $40.  At my min/max, I was up like $120 and down about $50, so leaving up $40 is fine.  Wasn't the most exciting game, but it was nice to get some more table time at 2/5 NL.  The dream of playing 2/5 again is way more exciting than the reality of it, but I'm definitely excited to get back into it and see where it takes me.  I'm optimistic that I can definitely win some good money playing 2/5 in the coming months.

Wynn last night, new blog promotion idea

Last night I went up to the Wynn to play.  I didn't know if I would play 1/3 or 2/5.  I figure 2/5 is probably tougher than average at Wynn so I might just wait and play elsewhere.  Also, maybe I should just focus on weekend play for 2/5.  So I ended up playing 1/3.

The game was fucking tough.  I lost.  It was frustrating.  And yet, at the end of the session I had an awesome time and it was one of the more enjoyable sessions that I've had in a while. 

There was one guy there that was FUCKING GOOD.  Like the best I've seen at 1/3 basically ever.  Or maybe he was just a maniac with no talent, but it looked like he was playing awesome.  3 betting constantly, and 4 betting preflop multiple times as well.  Just really owning the table.  I was in awe for sure.  I just never see anyone crushing like that.

Some other guys were good too.  There were a couple just old rocks that were playing super tight.  There was one younger guy, talking about how they have a team of people they are backing in WSOP events, and he seemed to be positionally-aware and was playing pretty TAG basically.  The rest of the table just seemed relatively tight.  Not a good table, and if I was really smart I should have just changed tables.  But, I didn't.  :-)

I was in a ton of interesting hands.  Here are some of them.

Few people limp to the button, the TAG guy I described earlier.  He raised to 18.  Pretty big raise, but there were some limpers.  This guy seemed to be playing more hands around the button and cutoff.  I had Q-Q in the blind.  I figured the guy on the button could be stealing so my hand was most likely the best hand (for SURE), so I'd just reraise and probably take it down.  Plus it would help me avoid having to play this tough hand out of position.  I raised to 48.  Folds back to him, he makes it 125.  This hand was crazy.  You NEVER see 3-bets at 1/3 without a huge hand, and 4 bets, thats just insane.  That guy ended up playing pretty snug overall so I think I made a good fold and he probably had aces or kings. 

Really good LAG guy raises to 13.  I have A-Q suited in position.  I reraise to 33.  Now this guy 4-bets me up to 75!  To other people I'd definitely fold, but I've seen this guy be super aggressive and I thought this could even be a bluff.  Just like F you, get out of my pot, I own this table.  I thought about reraising, but I didn't want to commit my whole stack and obviously I didn't have a great hand to reraise with.  It would have basically been a bluff if I did reraise.  However, I still thought my hand might be ahead of his range (maybe this is me being an idiot though) so I called.  I was definitely thinking about making a big move on the flop.  Flop came out K-x-x with 2 diamonds.  I have spades.  He bets out 69.  I definitely thought about just pushing over the top here and took a while to think.  I just didn't think this guy had a good hand every time and thought he could still easily be bluffing here.  Although, again, maybe that's just me being a dumbass.  I thought about it, and obviously this board is terrible for me.  I have no redraws, one overcard, just nothing going on.  No backdoor flush, nothing.  Plus, maybe this guy really does have A-A or K-K or whatever.  Who knows.  So I folded.  I'll pick a better spot.  I guarantee I would have shoved if I flopped a spade draw, and maybe if the board was just all babies I could have shoved too.  For better or worse.  :P  Overall it's probably better the board came the way it did, I don't really need to shove 300 in with A-Q no pair.

LAG guy raises to 15 in the cutoff.  TAG guy calls him on the button.  I'm in the blind with A-J.  I figure I can easily be ahead of both of their ranges.  The LAG guy raises in position a LOT (and just raises a lot period).  The TAG guy has been pretty quiet but he has been calling the LAG guy in position sometimes.  My guess is because he knows the LAG guy has a wide range and he is probably ahead of a lot of it.  So my A-J looks pretty good to me right now.  I reraise to 50.  Probably could have made it 60.  The LAG guy thinks about it for a while, grabs a huge stack of chips (which had me mentally freaking out) and eventually he just calls.  The other guy just shakes his head like, this pot is pretty crazy right now but how can I fold, and he calls too.  So now I'm in a super bloated pot with A-J out of position against the two best people at the table.  lol.  I still think my hand is probably ahead of a lot of their range.  Flop comes K-9-x with 2 clubs (I have no clubs).  At this point, I showed a lot of strength preflop and I'm not just giving up.  So I bet out 110 and cross my fingers.  They both fold.  Whew.  I'm not usually getting myself in spots like that.  But it was pretty exciting. 

Another fun hand.  I had 9-9 and again, the LAG guy raises, this time to 13.  I call.  Everyone else folds.  Now this guy bets 25 dark and says "I have a good feeling about this one".  So the dealer is about to put the flop out and I do something I have literally never done before in my life... I call dark!  LOL!  So the flop action is already done before the flop even shows up.  My reasoning was, I think my range is well ahead of his preflop.  I don't want to be scared off of the flop, so I'm just going to completely ignore the flop and call dark.  The flop was A-Q-4, so I was pretty happy I called dark (or maybe sad) because I certainly would have had a hard time calling if I considered the flop.  In fact if he hadn't bet dark I would have folded the flop.  Turn was another 4.  He checks, I check.  River, 7.  He says, I bet you have 7s and checks.  I check too and flip up the 9s.  He had pocket 8s.  :-)  So I won that one.

I was down as much as 300 at one point, but eventually only ended up losing 130.  I was pretty happy with that because I didn't flop a ton of big hands or anything, and I really thought through some tough situations and played some real poker.  It was a ton of fun.

As far as my blog goes, I don't think anyone's reading it (although comment on it if you are!).  What I'm thinking about doing is just printing up some pieces of paper with my blog address, Twitter account info, and email (the.best.ever.poker@gmail.com).  Then if someone is like "what did you have?" I can say I'm not going to tell you, but I'll blog about it and you can see the blog here.  That might get people viewing my blog and talking about it, and getting me more interested in it.  In fact I think I'll do that today!

Excalibur on Monday

Not the most appealing ad IMO

It's Monday night, I had a successful weekend of poker, and I was all pumped up to kick some serious ass.  I didn't know where to play, so I just rode up the strip to see what looked like a good idea.  I saw the Luxor and Excalibur, and thought where would the shittiest players in the world play?  Those places.  So I pulled into Excalibur.


They had 1 table of 1/2 NL going and 1 table of 2-6 spread limit.  :-)  I got on both lists and after about 40 minutes got in the 1/2 game.  Right away people were just fucking hammering me!  It sucked.  Plus people were pretty short stacked, which handcuffs you into playing tighter than I really want to play.

I played a ton of hands that didn't go very well.  First, I raise with A-J in late position to 11.  Get 3 callers.  Flop J-9-8 with 2 diamonds.  Checks to me, I bet 23.  Guy raises all-in for like 100 total.  Argh.  I thought about calling for sure but eventually just folded.  He didn't look like he was bluffing, and I figure even if he did just have a draw, my cards don't play very well against a draw.  So he either has a 2 pair / set hand which kills me, a draw which isn't good for me either.  The only hands I really do beat are QJ / KJ.  So I think that was a good fold.

Little bit later I raise in late position with 7-6 suited (probably not a great idea given everyone's short stacks).  Flop comes 7-5-4 with 2 clubs.  Looked pretty damn good to me.  We're heads up, guy checks to me, I bet 10.  He raises me to 25.  I'm just like fuck you, all in (other guy had like 90 total when we saw the flop).  He calls.  He has 4-5.  Coin flip, I lose. 

Later on, I have Q-10 suited and raise in late position to 8.  Flop Q-x-x with 2 of my suit.  Like 6 people saw the flop.  Guy leads out for an all-in bet of 16.  2 guys call, and I raise to 80.  Probably more than I should have raised, but whatever.  I figure worst case I get all-in and I can't be in THAT bad of shape.  The guy with the bigger stack folds, the other guy calls for 60, I brick the turn and river, he has A-Q. 

Excalibur

 

I tried not to get too tilted.  It was definitely frustrating.  I was now down $300 playing against basically the shittiest players around in the shittiest casino around.  Also, I couldn't play all night, so I wanted to make my money back but it seemed questionable.  Especially since everyone was short stacked, so I'd have to bust multiple people to get back in it.  But whatever, I was hanging tough and kept a good attitude. 

Few other hands:

Raise with A-A under the gun to 10, everyone folds.  Sigh.  I also learn later that they have an "aces cracked" promotion where you get to spin the wheel, which would have given me a better reason to limp with aces if I wanted to.  Totally could have chosen that path especially based on the promotion.

In the big blind, straddle to 4.  Few people call.  I raise to 20 with AK.  Guy in the straddle calls me.  Flop 9-6-4.  I bet 25, he raises all-in for about 125, I fold.

Raise with Q-Q to 8.  One caller in the blind. Flop Q-J-10 with 2 clubs.  Checks to me, I bet 10, he calls.  Turn 8.  Check, check.  River, king.  He bets out 45, I fold in disgust, he shows the ace.

I did win a couple hands really late in the session, with K-Q and K-J, nothing big though.  Also, I had this hand with 4-4 that I think I played really shitty.  I limp with 4-4 (for 4, there is a straddle).  Comes around to the straddle guy, he raises to 21.  He only has like 125 or so, maybe 140.  The two guys before me fold.  I call, hoping the next two people are going to call (although I have no information telling me they will).  They both fold.  Flop is 9-5-4.  He bets 25, I call.  Turn jack, he checks, I bet 45, he folds.  Limp was fine, calling the 21 was really stupid I think just because the guy has nowhere near enough money to make it worth it, plus I didn't think he would necessarily just spew all of the chips he did have if I hit.  So I won, but it was not good.

Overall I ended up losing $240.  Not really that bad considering I lost a couple flips (essentially) and didn't have much else going on.  Going to play some more tonight for sure, perhaps at Wynn.  Maybe even 2/5!  :-)

Another long weekend of poker

The World Series of Poker

 Another big weekend playing poker!  It was a ton of fun and I also won some good money.

On Friday night after work I went up to the Rio.  I hadn't been up to the Rio since the WSOP started, so I wanted to get up there and give it a shot. 

The game didn't appear to be all that great at first.  I found that a little annoying.  I got there and the game seemed pretty tight.  I wondered if I would have been better off playing somewhere else, like the Wynn where I have had some good recent success.  The guy to my left looked like he might have been decent, and the first pot I raised I had to fold to him on the flop and I felt like he would be trying to take pots away from me all the time.  Although even as I write this, there's really no good reason to think that.  He just had a lot of chips in front of him, and he liked to talk a lot, but there was no reason to think that he was not only going to be playing loose, but also really good.  He probably was just playing super tight, doubled up with AA or a set or whatever, and there you go.

I turned the nut straight in one hand with AK, got all-in, and had to chop it with another guy who also had AK.  :P  Pretty annoying.  Later I did win some decent pots.

Friday night at Rio

For example, I had Q-Q in early position.  Guy under the gun (and to my immediate right) raised to 10 and I just called.  I thought about raising, and I probably should have, because with an under the gun raise and a call you are probably getting a ton of callers.  With QQ that's going to be hard to play.  Anyway, I did just call and the flop came 10-x-x.  The raiser bet out 25 into about 50.  I raised to 65.  I figured if he came over the top I'd fold.  Now the next guy takes forever and just calls.  This guy was playing pretty lousy and he took a really long time and seriously looked like he was making a tough decision, so I didn't feel like he necessarily flopped a set or anything.  The original raiser folded.  The turn was a total blank.  I had about 200 left, and I didn't really see how I was getting away from this hand if he did flop a set.  So I just bet 125, with the intention of calling a shove.  I could have just shoved but I figured this would not look as strong if I did have him beat.  He goes all-in over the top, I call.  River was a jack, which was a particularly bad card because I thought J-J was one hand he totally could have here.  But he instead had Q-10, so I doubled up. 

I ended up winning over $400 on Friday.  Definitely a good win.  As my bankroll continues to grow, I thought that it felt like it was time to take a shot at 2/5 NL.  It has been a long time since I tried it, and it's always been my goal to get back there.  Now that I've been doing well and building up a bankroll, I wanted to finally take that step.  And I did on Saturday night.

On Saturday night I went back up to the Rio and got right into a 2/5 NL game.  I was definitely nervous.  I wanted my first time back to be a good one.  If I was successful, I could potentially play there and stay there, leaving 1/2 behind.  If I lost, I'd probably be at 1/2 for a while still.  So this was a big night for me.

I sat down and instantly started winning.  I got AK, raised to 20, 3 callers.  Flop K-J-5.  Bet 55, 1 caller.  Turn 2.  I bet 135, he folds.

Next hand I raise with AQ to 20, get 1 caller.  Flop 6-6-2.  I bet 20, he calls.  Turn 10.  We both check.  River, 2.  Now the guy leads out for 40.  I thought it felt weak, I called.  He was bluffing, and my ace high won the pot.

I raise with 9-9 to 20, get 1 caller.  Flop 10-6-5.  Checks to me, I bet 20, get called.  Turn, 2.  He checks, I check.  River 5.  He checks, I bet 45, he calls, I win.

Later on in the session, I am in the big blind.  It folds around to the small blind and I tell him I don't chop.  He raises to 15.  I look down at J-J.  I reraise to 40.  He calls.  Flop was sick, J-10-5.  He checks, I bet 35, he calls.  Turn was an ace.  A little scary because K-Q would totally make sense here.  I thought about checking, but there was also a flush draw on the flop and I didn't want to give him a free card.  He checked, I bet 75, he folded.  He said he didn't like the ace and probably had me on the flop.  Damn... why wasn't that turn card less scary?  :-)

Eventually I was up about $550 and decided to leave the table.  A guy sat down with $1k and he appeared to be a foreign kid that was pretty good.  He immediately busted this other guy at the table and he just looked pretty scary to play against.  I figured I'd lock up a win, go sit at 1/3 for a while, and come back later.

Bad decision.  :-|

So I go to 1/3.  I played a couple hands super bad, just really terrible.  I tried to go with my gut on the first and it was a total fail.  The on the second, I just don't know what I was thinking.  But I ended up losing $400 at 1/3 in about an hour.

The first hand : I raise to 10 under the gun with 10-10.  Get a few callers.  Flop J-J-8 with 2 spades.  I had the 10 of spades.  I bet out 25.  One caller, and the button min-raises me.  I basically didn't think I had a good reason to fold just yet, so I called.  The other guy folded.  The turn was a blank.  I check.  Now he bets 100.

He had about another 100 behind.  For whatever reason, I had it in my head that he was bluffing.  Why, I don't really know.  Maybe he looked like he was bluffing.  I thought the turn bet size was really big and looked kind of like a bluff, but at the same time there were a ton of draws out there.  Long story short, I push all-in after a long debate, he calls with K-J, I do not hit a 10, I lose $300 on that hand.  Looking back on it now, it feels SO stupid.  It was stupid because I didn't really have a good reason to think this guy was bluffing.  I hadn't seen him bluff before.  Calling on the flop, fine.  On the turn, I now have this information : he raised me after I raised under the gun preflop and bet the flop, and I called, so I'm definitely representing that I have a strong hand that I'm not easily going to fold.  Now he's betting out into me again on the turn for a large bet.  Obviously that shows a ton of strength.  Whether I think he's bluffing or not, I basically need to give him credit there and just fold.  So that one was really bad.

The next one was stupid too and I think it was mostly carry-over from the TT hand.  I raised with A-K, missed, bet the flop (J-x-x), got called.  Checked the turn, this guy bet.  I basically just hated this guy and wanted to beat him so I called, then I check-called the river (again with no pair) and of course he had a pocket pair and beat me.  So I threw away another 100 there.

Later I got into another 2/5 game, and that game was considerably worse than the one I was in earlier.  I played fine though, and ended up losing about $150.  Just basically got blinded off, raised some hands that didn't work out, etc.  Not bad.

Finally, today I went to Red Rock and played some limit Omaha high-low!  :-)  4/8 with a half kill.  I brought my iPad so I could sit there and do some work while I was playing.

Crushing Omaha 8/B

The iPad worked out AWESOME!  It was so enjoyable.  I totally got some things done, completely ignored the game except when it was my turn to act, it was heaven.  Especially for a game where I'm not even trying to do anything but play tight and play my cards.

Of course, I started out losing about $150 and thought maybe I was making a big mistake by playing it.  I haven't played it in a really long time.  I used to play a lot, at Palace Station I made that my primary game for a long time way back in the day.  I played there every day for at least a month and did alright, when I first moved to Vegas.

The game was fine, I just wasn't hitting any hands today.  So I got down about $150.  Then I won some pots and creeped up a bit... down $60, up $50, up $150.  Then I went on a SICK heater, OMG, it was insane.  I don't remember the pots really but all I know is I was instantly up about $450.  There was a period of time where I must have won 7 out of 8 pots in a row.  At my peak I was up about $550.  The game eventually got shorthanded and I left winning $440.  An excellent day at the Omaha table.

Can't wait for the next session!  2/5 NL is definitely in my future, and my bankroll is now over $5000.  So awesome.

Boulder Station

I went up to Boulder Station last night to play some poker.  I was planning on playing the Omaha game (4/8 limit with a half kill, high only).  However they had been getting a 1/2 game going also so I figured maybe I could check that out. 

I got there and got on all of the lists (2/4, 4/8, Omaha, 1/2 NL).  Got on the 1/2 game first.  The game looked alright as far as people, but there wasn't much money on the table.  A lot of people with 100 bucks or less.  So I was definitely ready to get over to the Omaha game as soon as possible.

Luckily enough though, I was able to do pretty well at the 1/2 game.  I played a bunch of hands, some were pretty fun.  I made a flush with 10-7 suited against pocket kings and got a $60 bet out of him on the river when he made a set (but with a 1 card straight out there... just needed a 10).  I raised with J-J and flopped a set on a J-5-6 board with 2 diamonds, and got 40 on the turn when I got min check-raised from 20 to 40.  I reraised to 120 total and he folded.

Couple fun bluff-related hands though.  I had 9-8s and called a raise from early position from an older black guy that was playing pretty tight.  Maybe 5 people saw the flop.  The flop was K-10-x with one of my suit.  He bet $5.  I just called, figuring whatever... maybe I can take this later or turn a flush or straight draw, etc.  So a few people call.  The turn is a total blank and everyone checks.  On the river, he bets out $5 again.  I grab some chips and he's like "Don't raise if you don't mean it!", LMAO, and I made it $25.  Folds to him, he sits there and thinks and thinks, says he knows I'm bluffing, etc.  I mean, it did look pretty obvious that I was bluffing, but whatever.  So eventually he folds and I immediately show the bluff.  Haha.

Then later I raise in early position with A-Ks.  I get one caller, this guy that I was just crushing all day.  Literally every big pot I won was off of this guy.  Flop comes J-6-7.  I check, he checks.  Turn, 8.  I check, he bets 10.  I didn't feel that he was super confident or anything, and it seemed like a good spot to bluff, so I figured I'd peel one more.  River, 10.  So now there is a 1 card straight on board.  I check, he bets 20.  Again I wasn't sensing confidence from him.  Also, the board was super scary.  In the past that would make me lean towards folding.  However, after listening to some recent podcasts I was able to think about it in a different way.  Would this guy bet middle pair or even a jack here?  Probably not, because he's scared of the 4 card straight.  So it's pretty likely that he either has the straight or nothing.  And if he has nothing, A-K could definitely be good.  He probably wouldn't bet with something like bottom pair either because it has some showdown value so these people wouldn't be smart enough to turn that into a bluff.  So I call.  He just sits there.  He says, I have queen high.  I say, REALLY?!?!?!  And joyfully flip up the AK.  :-)  He had Q-5.  That felt awesome. 

Some other pretty funny hands too.  I had Q-9 suited and called a raise with it in position.  Flop came A-10-x with 1 of my suit.  The raiser bets 5 (less than the preflop raise).  I call, thinking maybe I can turn a flush draw or take it away from this guy later.  3 people see the turn.  I turn a flush draw.  He bets out 15.  I call.  Guy behind min-raises to 30.  He calls, I call.  Haha.  River, the sweet 5 of hearts giving me the flush.  The one guy only had like 22 bucks and he goes all-in.  The preflop raiser was thinking about it for a while and folded, and I of course call with the flush and win. 

The funny part about that one was that the black guy across the table could NOT believe what just happened.  He was just like, you called a bet on the flop with that?  You had no pair, if he had the ace you were beat, what were you thinking?!?!?!  It just shocked him to the core.  Haha.  Granted, maybe it wasn't the best play and I did it thinking I might be able to steal the pot later.  But it's pretty funny to see the guy go crazy seeing that.  He was like, if you keep playing that way this game is going to turn!  Haha.  Awesome.

So I wound up winning $211 at the NL game.  It started to slow down some and I put my name back on the Omaha list.  I went and played there for about an hour and a half, and literally didn't win one hand.   It was frustrating.

Omaha definitely wasn't as fun as I remember it.  It was an exercise in patience.  There were a ton of people on each flop.  Each pot was like 7 people to the flop, 9 people... it was insane.  And people were winning with garbage hands.  I played pretty damn tight.  I did some stupid things in the pots I was involved in though, like raising to isolate people when I really didn't have that great of a hand.  Like top two pair with no draws.  Probably could just fold and play a different hand. 

I literally didn't win one pot outright.  I had Q-10-10-9 and turned a straight, that held up but I had to chop it.  The only other hand I flopped was when I flopped top set on a K-6-4 board with 2 clubs.  My hand was pretty sick in that one, I had A-K-K-5 double suited.  But of course the flush came on the turn and I didn't improve to a boat on the river. 

I think I used to enjoy Omaha more because I played SO tight at NL holdem.  I would play super super tight and since I was obviously playing tight, I wouldn't get the action I wanted all the time when I did get a big hand.  Playing Omaha that way was fun because even if you play super tight, the hands you do play are like 7 way action to the flop and you're getting paid no matter what.  Now that I'm playing way looser in NL holdem, that game is a lot more fun to me overall. 

I think it's still a good idea to try out that Omaha game from time to time.  Especially when I can put in some long hours and just grind it out hardcore.  Actually if they allow iPads at the table, that would be a perfect spot to bring my iPad and do other stuff while I sit there and nut peddle.  I should check on that.  :-)  Since I'm playing so much looser at NL holdem, it would do me some good to play in a game where I have to play super super tight, just to give me some practice at the discipline needed to fold for hours on end.  It really is brutal and it's SO tempting to play more hands, especially when you see the shit hands that are raking in $100+ pots every other hand.  I mean it doesn't matter, K-Q-7-5 single suited, J-7-3-3, people just don't give a fuck.  X-X-X-X is absolutely a playable hand to pretty much all of these guys.  It's torture playing tight while people are racking up $300+ profits in the matter of one or two orbits.  Of course, maybe I'm not playing right either and I'm playing way too tight, but so many hands are garbage.  I don't think I was playing too tight overall, and I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable calling with 10 high flush draws and whatnot like these idiots were doing all night.

I ended up losing $98 playing Omaha, so overall I won $113.  Not a bad night.  I'm not playing tonight, but definitely Friday and on the weekend.  :-)

Poker tonight!

It's been a few days so I'm itching to play some poker!  :-) 

The WSOP is rolling so I'm considering going down to the Rio to play in the big room with 100 cash game tables or whatever.  On the Bravo Poker app it looks like they consistently have 8+ 1/2 NL games going so there is plenty of action to be had.

Then again, it might be a better idea to just play somewhere else local.  Especially during the week.  On the weekend I think the Rio would be a good idea.  Tonight thought I might hit up Boulder Station.  They have a 4/8 (w/ half kill) Omaha high-only game that runs all the time.  They get 2 or 3 tables of it, and at least when I used to play the action was super good.  Also, it looks like they are getting 1 table of 1/2 NL there nightly as well.  That game potentially could be really good.  If you are a super good 1/2 player, I doubt you are going to Boulder Station because the game isn't even running very often.  So maybe when it does run, the people TOTALLY suck.  Who knows.  I think it's worth a gamble going over there, playing the Omaha game, and getting on the list for 1/2 so when it runs I can scoop up the really terrible players' money.  Then go back to Omaha if it doesn't work out.

I'm considering playing some PLO too.  Maybe once my bankroll gets a little bigger.  I just feel like if I can get into that, maybe playing SUPER tight preflop, the action should be really good and maybe I can start really kicking ass.  Plus people on average aren't going to know how to play it that well.  Granted, I personally don't know how to play it that well either.  :P  But if I just play super tight, and everyone is playing bad, I figure on average I'll be doing pretty good. 

Finally, I'm considering jumping into some 2/5 games.  I think what I want to do is play somewhere that has both 1/2 and 2/5, maybe only with one 2/5 game, and just constantly monitor that game.  If it looks good, I jump on the list and get in.  When the game turns bad (or maybe it was already bad and I didn't notice), I get out.  Red Rock seems like a good opportunity for this because they generally only have one or two 2/5 games and they are located right next to the 1/2 games.  So I could play 1/2 but also watch those games and jump in when I feel comfortable.

The thing is that right now I have $4200 in my bankroll.  That is a great time to jump into 2/5... and win.  :P  If I jump in and lose $700, it's not a big deal at all.  But at the same time, I'll want to wait a bit before I jump back in.  Maybe until I get back over $4k.  But if I win, I can essentially stay there, which would be so sick.  So for that first session I really want to find the best game I can, kill it, and not have to look back. 

But whatever.  Tonight, Omaha and 1/2.  Let's crush.  :-)

Mesquite - where the players win

We were up in Mesquite this past weekend to visit my mom, who was in town for a golf tournament.  We played some poker while we were there.  It turned out to be a pretty good game.  They had 2-8 spread limit hold 'em, and they also got a 1/3 NL game going.  I was really excited about that.  It didn't work out all that well, but it taught me some lessons about adjusting I guess.

The spread limit game was insane and I got hit with the deck right when I sat down.  I seriously had a good hand every hand for the first round or two, which is all we played until we got moved to 1/2.  I flopped a set of 2s, then got TT, AQ, and this hand came up.  I got pocket aces and raised to 5 (you can raise to anywhere from 4 to 10).  Guy raises me the max, to 13.  I reraise to 21.  He reraises to 28.  I think that was the cap preflop.  This was insane action for the game and everyone was already blown away.  Flop came J-T-x with 2 clubs.  I bet 8.  He raised.  I reraise.  He reraised.  It went on and on like this and we got all-in.  I figured there was no way he could have J-J or T-T based on the preflop action, just because I know when people in these games 3-bet or more preflop they basically always have A-A or K-K.  Anyway, we get all-in and I flip up my aces.  He flips up A-K with the flush draw.  He missed and I won a ridiculously large pot.  That took me by surprise.  I mean after I reraise him, he reraises me, and I reraise him again, at some point you just have to call with your flush draw (in my opinion).  I mean why keep jamming it up in a limit game when you know you are beat.  Made no sense.

The NL game did not treat me as favorably.  I played some hands badly though and I did not adjust when I needed to.  I got into a hand right away where I had A-K and raised to probably 11.  One caller.  Flop came Q-10-x with 2 clubs (I had the ace of clubs).  Checked to me, I bet 13.  He raises me 25 more.  I called, thinking if I hit a jack I could be good, maybe he's just messing around, who knows.  So I turn a club.  He bets 35, I call.  River, brick, he bets, I fold.  I probably should have just folded on the flop or better yet, checked the flop.  I'm in position, the flop hits a range of calling hands pretty good (K-J, K-Q, J-10, Q-10, and so on).  Basically any 2 broadway card combination hits that flop in some way.  Might as well take my free card.  On the turn I don't know that I had odds to call especially considering that when I hit, 4 clubs are on the board so I'm not getting much action at all.  And this guy is an old man, I know he's not bluffing on the flop so it's stupid to ever factor that in at all.

Then I basically fell into this routine : raise with whatever, bet the flop, get called, bet the turn, get called, give up.  That routine had been working well for me at other places lately.  It failed more this weekend because I didn't end up making anything like, ever, but also people were NOT folding.  It was crazy.  Like nobody ever folded to a c-bet or even the 2nd barrel, ever.  It got really frustrating and I was going on tilt.

Luckily I pulled it back and calmed down.  I used some techniques I picked up on the Tommy Angelo episodes of Deuce Plays.  Like sitting up straight in my chair and taking deep breaths, focusing on the action, etc.  I also came up with a pretty reasonable compromise, I just decided to play tighter and only value bet, no bluffs or even c-bets.  I figure if nobody is folding to a flop or turn bet, I wouldn't c-bet at all unless I hit.  It worked out and in the second session I was down about 150 and ended up winning 100 (as opposed to the first 1/2 session where I lost 300).  Overall I lost a little over a hundred this weekend but it turned out pretty well considering how bad I started out.

A bit of a frustrating poker weekend but it was still fun.  We also played 2 freerolls - the Wynn freeroll and a weekly freeroll in Mesquite.  The Mesquite one let you qualify after 10 hours of live play, so we played 10 hours on Saturday.  :-)  In both I busted out really early, but it's all good.  Was still cool getting to play in them.

Hopefully more poker this week!  My bankroll is at $4200 and I'm ready to start crushing.

Last night at Aria

Went to Aria last night.  The game seemed to not be that great.  My wife and I sat down at 1/3 NL and the table was shorthanded, and everyone looked to be decent players (based on appearance only).  As it turns out a bunch of the people were retarded.

I played a big pot with 9-9.  Raised under the gun to 10, got 1 caller.  Flop 9-6-3.  I bet 10.  Guy raised to 20.  I figured that it didn't make sense to slowplay here especially since I'm out of position, so I made it 65 (although maybe I should have made it more).  He called.  Turn, 5.  Not a good card because the straight came in, but I always have outs on the river to fill up if needed.  I bet 75.  He called.  At this point I only had 72 left, so I pushed it in dark.  That might have been somewhat stupid, as I think it looks pretty strong.  But whatever.  I knew I was 100% committed on the river.  This guy is getting like 5 to 1 to call at that point.  The river was basically the grossest card possibly, a 7.  So now either an 8 or a 4 makes a straight.  He called though and mucked when I showed top set, so I doubled through.

Another interesting pot I played was with 6-4 offsuit.  I limped with it in late position.  Flop was sick, 2-3-5.  Flopped the nuts.  There was a flush draw on board.  Checked to me, I bet 5.  There were only like 3 people in the pot.  Guy calls.  Turn, I don't remember (and I wish I did because I think it was very important).  I believe it was a 9, but I'm not 100% sure.  Checks to me, I bet 15, guy calls.  River, 4.  Shitty card because it counterfeits my straight somewhat, but might actually be good if the guy had an ace high flush draw or something.  Checks to me, I bet 40.  Now the guy raises me 70 more.

At that point, I'm thinking how could he have 6-7 here?  Seemed really unlikely.  I figured he had one of a few things : ace high flush draw turned into a straight, A-6 flush draw turned into a straight, bluff.  I should have factored in the 6-7 suited flush draw.  Anyway, I couldn't figure out how he had me beat, so I called.  He flips over 6-7 offsuit.  My tragic mistake was not noticing the 9 if the turn was indeed a 9.  If so, he would have peeled on the flop with 2 overs and a gutshot, picked up a double gutter on the turn and called, and got there.  I couldn't figure out how he could have 6-7 which is why I called, but once I realized that he might have had the double gut on the turn, I was really mad at myself for calling. 

I ended up winning 27 bucks.  Not a big deal but I'll take it.  Better than losing.  :-) 

The stereotypical poker players were there in full swing yesterday.  Giant headphones, sunglasses.  It was hilarious.  Everyone looks like a moron and they play like morons.  People were making terrible plays against my wife and getting super lucky, which sucked for her.  Then this guy next to her is some old man with giant headphones and sunglasses (flip-up sunglasses, lol).  And a shirt with a poker patch on it.  Of course, my wife points out that every time he looks at his hand, she can see the cards.  LOL.  So this idiot is sitting here with sunglasses on and he can't even protect his hand.  So stupid. 

Looking to play some more this weekend.  Definitely tonight, and then the Wynn $50k freeroll tomorrow.  Wish me luck!