Ugh

Sigh. Bought in for $400, lost 2, bought 200 more, lost some more, bought 200 more. Drinking, hanging out, down $350 right now. Sucks. Played some hands stupid. Not very happy about it.l

Golden Niblet Monday

More 1/2 action on Monday night! Started at 6 PM.

Raised 33 to $10, one caller.... Wait! Johnny just gave me some feedback, interesting hands only! :) [DELETED]

Raise 77 to $10. Short stack reraises to $20, ugh. He has like 70 left. Button calls, he has about $150. I call. Flop K62 with 2 hearts. I check, raiser checks, button bets $60, everyone folds.

Guy to my left is this Asian guy with sunglasses, he is playing pretty aggressive. 3 bet twice preflop, which is a rarity in this game. Unfortunately he is sitting to my direct left. I bought in for $300 and was considering putting more on the table but I am not going to until I move.

KK under the gun. I raise to $10, button calls. Flop JT7 rainbow. I bet $15, he calls. Turn 5 putting 2 spades on board. I bet $40, he calls. River is an off suit 8. I check, he bets $60. I thought about it. Pot was 20+30+80+60=190, and 60 for me to call. I only have to be good 20% of the time to call. I figured he could do this with missed spades, QQ, KK, KQ. Value hands would be JJ, TT, 77, JTs, 89s, Q9s maybe. Although he would likely have raised sets and 98s on the turn because of the flush draw. Then again you might say the same of QQ. Combos I beat - as far as flush draws let's say AJs, AQs, AKs (I had red kings). I'll finish this later. He had T9.

Bought in for another $200. Down $150.

77, call $10. 4 way. Flop JT6 with 2 diamonds. Raiser checks and it checks around. Turn off suit 7, boom. Checks to me, I bet $20, Asian guy calls. River 3 of diamonds. Kinda scary. I bet $40, he folds. Not sure what I would do against a raise.

Moved to the other side of the Asian guy. Bunch of people left for the tournament. Hopefully get some fresh meat in here. Two guys sat down with $200 and $300 so that's cool.

Raise 99 to 10, 2 calls. Flop 842 with 2 clubs. Check to me, $25, old guy with a suit on calls. Turn 10 putting a different flush draw on board. Check, I bet $55, he calls. River 4 of clubs. He goes all in for $60. I fold. Old guy, I just don't think there's any way he's bluffing or value betting worse. Then he talked forever about how I was never ahead, "you know I didn't have a flush draw", etc. yeah yeah yeah.

K2 in the blind. Check, 4 way. Flop K54 with 2 hearts. I don't have hearts. I check, another old guy bets $11, folds to me and I call. I figure a 2 is huge, and I can continue with a 3 as well. Or maybe even check raise if a 6 or ace hits. Anyway, turn is the 3 of hearts. I check, he bets $35, I check raise him all in for another $110 or so. He folds.

AKdd on the button. Raise to $15, 2 calls. Flop Qd85. First guy checks, Asian guy bets $20. I raise to $65, everyone folds.

Only down $50 now! Was down $200.

Soooooo sick. Wow. I have been playing a ton of hands - just legitimately getting a ton of good hands. Flopped 2 sets, not getting action but I'm raising preflop and betting the flop, turn... I look like a maniac. So in this hand, old guy opens to 8. Asian guy calls. I look down at KK. Yes. Reraise to $35. Guy to my left goes all in for $140. Younger guy, I'm definitely calling that. Then to his immediate left, a different old guy is like "I'm all in" and shoves his $235 into the pot. Wow.

Folds to me. I have KK. Wtf???? I think about it.... What could this guy be doing that with? AA obviously. KK. QQ? Maybe... AKs? Maybe.... Sigh.... But it's a super old guy with a cold 4 bet in front of him. QQ and AKs seem unlikely, but possible. I decide fuck it and throw it away. He flips up AA and wins the pot. I save $200. Hell yes.

Btw before that, I called a $10 raise with 66 and flopped a set on a 962 rainbow board. Asian guy bet $20 and I raised to $65 like in the AKs hand, and he insta folds. I was kicking myself a bit, that's a perfect board to slow play in position.

Raise AJ in late position to $15 after 2 limpers. The button and one of the blinds calls. Flop ATx with 2 clubs. Old guy in the blind bets $30. I think about raising but I have the guy behind me too. I call. Turn is a club. He checks, I check. River ten. He bets $40, I don't see any way I can fold. He has QT. Sigh.

Then that same old guy wins another MONSTER pot playing ridiculous. Seat opens two to his left and I knock an old lady over running to that seat. ;) I also put another $200 on the table. My total buyin is now $700, and I have about $580 in front of me. Let's stack this idiot.

Sick again! 

I have AA. The guy I'm trying to stack limps. I raise to $15, get 2 calls. Flop A45 with the 45 of diamonds. Old guy checks, I bet $30, some new Native American guy calls. Turn is a bad card, 8 of diamonds. Everything gets there. I check, he bets $55. Ugh. He has like $70 or so left at most. So I think about the odds. $45 pre, $60 on the flop, and now $55. $160 total in there and I have to call $55. About 3:1. I need 4:1 or so to draw. With the implied odds I think I'm good enough to call, so I call. River 4, I bet the rest, he calls, ship it. Would I / should I have folded the turn? Don't know on either. I think it's just too hard to fold there.

Either way I'm killing it right now, running over the table. I'm finally up, up $130 or so. $830 in front of me. Feels good whether I bought all of it or not.

Wowwww so sick, the huge stack and this other guy just got all in and the big stack got bigger. He now has over 1k. I'm considering buying in for more... I'm already 400bb deep, but it is against a pretty bad player IMO. What's another 100bb between friends? :) I'm waiting for now though.

9:28 PM : have been card dead for the last hour or more. Old guy next to me comments on how I only play aces. Hilarious because I was playing soooo loose earlier. Did just raise with 86s to $10, button goes all in for $23, I call, he has TT and I river a flush. :)

Super anticlimactic ending. Literally nothing happened the last 2 hours I was there or so. Left at 10 PM up $120 so I'm not complaining.

Nug Sunday

Back at it. Starting at 2:22 PM. Bought in for $400. 

Fold 64o in the big blind for $4 more. Flop 875 rainbow. Lol.

Limp 87o on the button after a bunch of limpers, 7 way flop, miss, fold. Should I just be folding or raising that?

Limp 86dd in the cutoff, 5 way. Fold the QJ8 flop after a bet and raise.

BTW what do you think I should do with this blog? Should I post all of my hands or should I just post the interesting ones? Johnny I'm asking you because nobody else is reading this. Haha. How's it going bro.

Guy straddles, 2 limp. I have AK, raise to 22. Everyone folds.

AQ in early position (very next hand?) raise to 10. Big stack calls. Flop KJ8, I bet $15, he folds.

Huge uproar at the next table. Apparently a guy says "I'm going to fold because of the king out there". But then he doesn't fold. Guy goes nuts and the floor comes over. Floor says that's not a fold. If that's actually what happened, I tend to agree with the player. "I'm going to fold" should be a fold IMO. Not here I guess.

Raise 22 in early position to $10, 4 callers. Flop KKJ, 2 checks to me, I check, next guy checks out, final guy checks. Turn is a 10 putting 2 diamonds out. Check around. River 9 of diamonds. Checks to the button, he bets $15, everyone folds. I felt like I had some small amount of showdown value and didn't feel like there was a good reason to bet earlier, especially against 4 others.

In the blind, and there is a straddle. 4 limps. I look down at 88 and raise to $25. The straddle and another guy call. Flop K74 rainbow. I bet $60, the straddle calls, the other folds. Ugh. Turn is a 10. I think for a while and check. He goes all in for his last $102. Seems really unlikely that he's bluffing to me. Old guy. Just got unlucky that he had a king IMO, or flopped a set. Doubt he would semi bluff a straight draw all in on the turn. Sucks though. Down $100.

Buy another $200, bringing me up to $500. I'm drinking a Coors Light and my wife brings me over a shot of Jamison, and we shoot it. People are asking me about the shot, etc. I wave my two hundred dollar bills around and say "money up for grabs!!!!"

Next hand two black queens. Few limps, I raise to $15. Black guy with $400 or soon front of him calls. Flop T7x, he checks, I bet $25, he folds.

I asked the old guy next to me what he had on that straddle. He said AK and I have no reason to think he was lying. I told him I had 88. That makes me feel really good about the fold, he sounded 100% genuine.

Moved seats, got directly to the left of the biggest two stacks at the table. Best possible position. 5 handed right now though, hopefully the game doesn't break.

Big stack limps, I raise to $10 with QJs, blind (old guy from 88 hand) calls, big stack calls. Flop A62 with the ace my suit, check to me, $25, blind calls. Turn off suit 8, he bets $60, I fold.

 Called $12 more out of the small blind after calling $3 with A4s on a button straddle. Miss, fold.

3:45 PM - down to $469. Down $131.

Old guy walks up "no cap?", buys $500 red, and takes out 4 black chips and 4 green chips from his pocket. Ready to play.

4:39 PM - I'm drunk, but playing tight. My wife said some nice things to me about how she believes in me playing, and how I'm going to run good soon, she wouldn't have moved to Vegas if she didn't believe in me, and so on. It was really nice.  I haven't been doing very well at cash lately. I felt better after she said that though. Im just going to hang in there and play my best.

5:00 PM - I don't think I've played a hand since the last update. Super slow here. Lot of money on the table.

Guy straddles. I'm under the gun with ATs and raise to 15. The button calls, blind makes it 45. Fold.

98s, raise to 10 after a few limp. 5 on the flop. Flop is K98 with 98dd. Guy bets 10, I raise to 45, everyone folds.

Next hand I have my signature hand, 84s. :) big stack raises to 6, I call. Flop 8 high, he checks, I bet $11, easy money. Down $101 at 5:16 PM.

2nd to act with AQ, guy limps, I raise to $13. One caller. Flop K84 rainbow, I bet $20, he folds.

Button straddled. Bunch of people limp. I look down at 93o. Raise to $25. Everyone folds. Show it. Haha. I'm going to leave soon, figure I'm going to play super tight anyway, might as well get some people fired up.

Straddled button again, had K8s, raised to 19 with 3 others in. Small blind called. Flop QTx none of my suit, we both checked. Turn he bet $30, I folded.

Sigh. Raised to 10 with 76o. One caller. Flop 842 rainbow. I bet 15. He raises to 40. I reraise to 100 with my gutshot. He goes all in for 240, I fold. :P

Omg fuck yeah bro. Look down at AA under the gun. Raise to 10, 2 callers including the big stack (who is in the big blind). Flop J85 2 hearts, I bet $25, button folds and the big stack calls. Turn 6, he checks. $60, he calls. River he checks dark. It's an off suit 10. I throw out a bill and 3 red chips. He says it's yours and calls. He has QQ, and I'm even!!!!! Fuck yeah!!!!!!!

Check 76dd in the big blind. 4 way. Flop AKT 2 diamonds. Small blind bets 7, I call, one other caller. Turn off suit queen. First guy checks, I bet $22, they both fold. Big stack shows an ace. They are talking about it, I don't mess around on those boards, someone could just have a jack accidentally, and so on.

One guy limps and I raise AT early. 4 callers. Flop T85 2 spades. I bet 35, old guy calls me. Turn blank. He checks, I bet 85, he calls. My plan was to bet and check the river. River jack of spades. He checks, I check, I win. Fuck yeah. Now I'm up like $145.

Few people limp. I raise to $17 with 72o hahaahahhahahaahhaha. 4 callers, lmao. Flop is sick - K72 rainbow. Guy bets out $35. I raise to $110. He insta folds and shows a king. Alright.

6:58 PM - I have $835 in front of me. Up $235. Yeah!

Cashed out $825 (up $225) at 7:21 PM. Yes! I'm back baby!

Nug Saturday

1:13 PM

Waiting for a seat in a 1/2 game at the Nug. Only one NL game going. Sitting at another table, 3 people here. I'm 2nd up, or hopefully they get some more people and we can play soon.

I'm planning on focusing and playing tighter today, and thinking more post flop. Hopefully can make some moves and make some good aggressive decisions. Have to get in the game first though.

1:29 PM : 5th person sits down. I say "I'm down to play with 5 if you are." Guy drinking agrees. It's on!

A8s in the small blind, folds to me, $6, first hand win. Everyone just has $100 on the table. Super short but that's ok. I bought in for $300.

53o in bb, check after small blind limps. Flop A53 2 spades. Check, bet $5, call. Turn 10 putting 2 flush draws on board. Check, $15, he folds.

74s, check big blind. Button and small blind in. Flop 422 with 2 hearts. I bet $5, small blind calls. Turn 5. Check, I bet $10, he calls. River 6 of hearts and he shoves his remaining $70. I fold.

Raise to $10 with AQ on the button, limper folds, I win.

Check JTo in big blind. Loose guy who is drinking limped. Thought about raising but decided against it. Flop KQ8 with 2 spades. I bet $6, he calls. Turn 8. I check. He bets $17. I thought for a while. Could call and represent the flush if it hits, but this guy probably isn't folding much. Fold.

Raise 84hh in middle position. 2 calls, the loose guy and this older Asian dude with only like $50. Flop KK2 2 diamonds. Loose guy checks, check around. Turn 10d, check around. River 3d. Check to me, I bet $10. Fold, and the loose guy folds trip kings face up.

Good info. That guy also showed pocket aces on a 456Q board. Didn't raise preflop or bet the flop, and raised the turn when I bet my Q2s (limped small blind).

AQ raise to 8 in late position. Loose guy on the button raises to 18. Call. Flop all low cards, 2 hearts. We both check. Turn another heart and I have the ace of hearts. Thought about betting but I checked. He bets $10. I check raise to $40, he snap folds.

2:04 PM : Loose guy leaves, won about $100. Weak. I'm up $13. Couple people with $200 on the table now, most people have $100 or less though. Full game, 10 handed.

2:15 PM : Limp J7cc in middle position after 2 limpers. Few other limp, small blind makes it $5, everyone calls. 7 way. Flop J97. 3 checks to me. I bet $30. Short stack goes all in for $45, I call the additional $15. He has J8o, doesn't catch up, I win my first decent pot. Stack at $381.

In bb with AK. Bunch of limpers. I raise to. $17. 2 callers. Flop super dry, Q74 rainbow. I bet $40, everyone folds.

A2cc open to $8. One call, guy is pretty short, about $60 left. Flop T53 all hearts. I bet $12 and plan on giving up. He calls. Turn off suit king. I decide to bluff the scare card, I bet $30. He goes all in for $46 more. I fold.

99 raise to $8 in early position. 2 callers. Flop QJ7. I just check and give up, guy bets $20 and the other two fold.

Check AJ in the small blind, 5 way. Flop J53 2 diamonds. I bet $10, guy raises me to $25. I thought my hand was too good to fold right now, maybe a bad assumption but I call. Turn king. I check and fold to $25 again. Probably could bet/fold the turn but he was super short anyway, so any bet would commit me to the pot.

Q4dd limp button. Flop 6 ways, 774 with 1 diamond. Checks to me, I bet $11, one caller. Turn is a blank, he bets $20, I fold.

2:46 PM : I'm up $3. :P I feel like I'm playing decent.

Fold 44 in the big blind for $10 more because the guy only had $60 total. 4 way, flop TT4. Hate to see that.

Q9 in the small blind and it folds to me, raise to $6, win. Hate chopping.

Thought about floating the turn on a A734 board when the second spade hit the turn. Had 62dd and limped the button. Could represent the flush or hit the straight. Thought better of it and folded.

Call a raise to $7 with 62s from the big stack on the table when I was on the button. Getting a little loose. Also feeling like its hard to pay attention. I think I'll take a break in a minute.

3:21 PM : Taking a break. I'm down $14. Not a big deal. Just need to refocus and play a little better. Tighten up. I'm not getting any good cards which is frustrating, but I have to just let it come on its own.

I'm a lot happier about how I'm playing today compared to last week. I'm fucking around a little bit, but overall playing a lot better. I think if I should do one thing it's play less hands and play the ones I do play more aggressively. Try to raise and get it heads up so I can win post flop without having to hit.

Man it's freaking cold out here. Going back in.

First hand when I come back, I post in middle position. Don't want to wait. 2 limpers, look down at JJ, raise to 12. 3 callers. Flop K74 with 2 diamonds. 2 guys check to me and I just check. I figure it's a 4 way pot and I have showdown value, no need to bet. Turn, a black jack. And now a guy leads for $30. Hell yeah. I raise to $110. I have $160 or so more. He thinks forever. Finally folds. Damn. I think I made the right raise though. He just couldn't call with his weak king or whatever. 

Thought about having a beer. Didn't. Trying to keep a clear head while playing.

This idiot is sitting at the table with $6. Just lost a big pot. Now he has $6 in front of him and isn't rebuying. Earlier he "short bought in" for $40 after busting out. I don't even think that's legal. 

Call $8 with 87s after another guy called the early position raise. 5 people saw the flop - 862 with 2 spades. Raiser bets $20, next guy calls.  I thought about making a big raise but it didn't really make much sense. Would have been a better option if one of my suit was out there. Plus with 2 behind me and 2 people that already showed interest in the pot that's probably a good fold.

Limp with Q5ss in the small blind. 6 or so people in. Flop 864 with 2 clubs, 1 spade. I check, 3 more check, old guy bets $10. I decide to get a little frisky and check raise to $35. Now the guy to my left that checked cold calls $35. Lol, not what I wanted. And he only had about $70 left. The guy who bet $10 folds. Turn is the 7 of spades, giving me a flush draw. I say fuck it and put him all in. He says I just want to go home, I'm drawing, maybe already dead. I'm like fuuuuuck am I about to lose a huge pot to ace high? Haha. River is the 3 of spades so I hit my flush. Say "sorry" and flip it up. I was actually way ahead anyway, he had JT of clubs so I had a bigger kicker if we both missed. Funny hand. :) As of 4:07 PM I'm now up $148.

Raise button with JT, other big stack calls. Flop AAK. He says "I like it". Check, I bet $15, he folds.

Raise next hand with 97dd. Flop AK7 2 spades 1 diamond. 3 people in. First guy checks, next guy bets $10. I call, other guy calls. Turn is the 4 of spades. Check, next guy checks and says "now we'll see if you have the spades". I check. The middle guy is the one I got out when I had the Q5s and check raised him, he would have turned trips and he has been sore about it. I know he's waiting to pick me off. River off suit 10, first guy bets $25, we both fold. Says he had T7 but who knows.

Bunch of people limp. I raise the button to $15 with A7. Small blind calls. Flop QQ4. He checks, I check. Turn 7 putting a flush draw out there. He checks again, I bet $22. He calls. River ten. He checks. He only has $38 left. I put him all in, he calls with JJ. Argh. I thought my aggressive image might get me a really loose call, but he had a big hand and under represented it. Oh well. I guess I could check the river but I really thought I had the best hand and who knows, AK, 55 might call.

Up $61 at 4:37 PM.

Few people limp. I raise to $15 with AT. 3 callers and I'm in position. Flop K45 with 2 hearts. Checks to me and I check. Turn ten. Check, 2nd guy bets $20. This is the guy that was mad at me about the other hand. I call. River off suit 8. He says "50" and puts it out there. I called, he had pocket 8s for a set on the river. I thought he might just be trying to out play me. Nope, he got there. I'm down 50 now.

Raise AQ to 10 in early position. Get one caller. Flop 866, he bets $12, I fold.

Put another $100 on the table. Have $341 in front of me, bought in for $400 total.

I don't feel too bad about the 88 hand. To call $50 on the end, it's a half pot bet, I only have to be good 25% of the time to break even.

Raise Q3s in late position to 7, get 2 callers, check fold the flop. Dumb.

Raise 65s to 10, get 3 callers, fold to a $10 bet on a 999 flop.

Left at 5:30 PM. Lost $35. A little disappointing after being up $150, but no big deal. Overall I think I played ok, maybe a few mistakes but I didn't get a ton of cards to win a bunch with either. Better luck next time!

My current bankroll

$2144 pictured, plus I "owe myself" another $1250 from the bank account. $3394 total right now. Not a good week last week, but I'll keep plugging away.

Listening to the 2+2 Pokercast before I head out to work. Have friends in town again this week so it's going to be tougher to find time to play, but I'll get at least one session in. Looking forward to tightening up a bit preflop and looking for some good spots to put pressure on after the flop. And 3 bet more. I think I definitely want to play less hands preflop but 3 bet more. That's been something I've never been super confident with.

Off to work. Ready to play some poker soon!

Wynn last night

Played last night at Wynn, 1/3 NL. Got absolutely destroyed. I was playing drunk, we had a friend running the Las Vegas marathon last night so we were spending time on the strip. Just drinking and playing super loose, and it was not working out. 

Not many interesting hands to speak of. Just played terrible overall. Made some bad calls and bad moves. Got crushed a couple times vs trips - once I had a lower kicker. The other time I had pocket aces. In both cases though I could have saved a lot of money if I was paying attention.

Overall lost $440. Not proud of it, but figured I'd post about it. I know I need to avoid drinking and playing, and this is a great example of that. Or at least I need to play way tighter to make my decisions easier.

After playing super loose over the last few days and not having good success, I think I can safely say I need to dial it back. I can still play super loose but cut out most non-Broadway off suit hands, suited queens and below if they aren't one or two gappers. Also tighten way up when I'm way out of position, like the first couple of spots. And if I tighten up it should allow me to get more bluffs to work later.

Pretty disappointing weekend of poker but I'm still really excited to play, and I'm looking forward to the next one. Might. It play until next weekend, not sure. Excited to play though. :)

Nuggin' It Up

Saturday afternoon at the Nug. Writing some updates as I go! Bought in for $300. Started a little before noon.

Guy with a lot of chips raises to $7 on the button. I 3 bet from the small blind to $21 with J8s. He folds.

Folded Ac8c to a $22 bet on a Kc5c5x board. Full pot bet. Didn't think it was a great idea to chase on that board.

Check the big blind with 7s6s. 4 way. Flop 455. I bet $6, one call, turn 7. I check, he bets $5, I call. River king. I'm thinking about what to do (thinking blocking bet), he bets $10 out of turn. I call, he had 86 for the straight. In retrospect it's some old guy, I could have just folded.

Call $10 with Ac6c. Flop K53 2 clubs. Check around. Turn blank. Guy (not preflop raiser) bets $22. I call, guy behind calls. River queen. Checks around, other guys have 97 and pocket tens. Probably not the best call on the turn but not terrible either.

Buy another $100. Have $317 in front of me now. Two really big stacks at the table, 3 short stacks (around $100 each).

Raise A8o to 7 on the button. Bb calls. Flop 955 rainbow. He checks, I bet $10, he raises to $20, I fold. 

Raise 98o to $7. Bb calls. Flop K67 2 diamonds. Check, I bet $12, he calls. Turn 4d. I have no diamonds. We both check. River Qd. He checks, I bet $15, he folds.

Raise to 6 with JTo. Guy calls in position. Flop A97 2 clubs. I bet $10 he calls. Turn 6. I check, he bets $13. Seems kinda weak. I check raise to $45. It wasn't weak, he goes all in for a little over $100. Lol. I fold.

Buy another $100. In for $500, have about $350.

I've been playing too loose, too many hands. Not getting lucky either but I could dial it back a bit.

Pocket tens, couple limp, I raise to $12. Bb calls and fold to $16 on the 995 flop.

In retrospect I probably would be better off doing that check raise against someone with a lot more money. That way I can get paid when I hit the 8.

Sick... Guy raises to $10. Guy with a lot of money makes it $26. In the small blind I look down at QQ. I just fold. Figured, I'm out of position, this guy isn't 3 betting light. Just is a tough spot. Flop was K high, they got all in, KK vs AK. :) Lucky, almost lost $75 or so.

63 call 5 on the button. Checks to the river. Bluff 7 on the river when an ace hits and it checks to me, the 3 others fold.

12:50 PM, down to $343.

African American dude talking to waitress. "You know Adam was a white guy because if God said I have to give one of my ribs away I'd say where's the barbecue sauce". Not even sure what that means, but it seems racist. Haha.

Limp QT in small blind at new table (got moved from must move). 6 or so people in. Flop KJ9. Booyaaa. Bet $10, get called. Turn 9. Bet $30, call. River blank. Bet $75 he folds.

Guy with a ton of chips who looks to be a good player raises to $8. I call to his immediate left with QcJc. 3 way. Flop is J96 rainbow. Raiser bets $20. I raise to $55. He calls. Turn ace. We both check. River 7. He bets $85.

I thought about it for a while. I didn't think he would call my flop raise with AK/AQ. I didn't think he would bet a jack like KJ. I thought he could have the straight, but he also could have a missed draw. QT, 78. Or AJ, or a set of aces. I looked at him and he didn't look worried, but I didn't really know what to look for either.  I decided to call. 

Ace jack. Top two. Drawing dead on the turn.  Buy another $100, in for $600 now with a little over $300 in front of me.

Not sweating the call that much. Actually feel ok. Kept it going and played super aggressive the next round, won like 3 small pots in a row. Keeping at it. $352 in front of me as of 1:30 PM.

Q72 board, Q8 in the blind, 4 way, win it on the flop with a $7 bet. Chipping up...

KK on the button and it folds to me. Perfect situation. Raise to 7, small calls. Flop ace high all clubs, I have a club. Guy leads for $10. I just call, don't want to get blown off my draw. Then again it's not great because I'll have a hard time getting action. Turn blank, he bets 25, I fold. Little frustrating but I didn't lose much.

Try to steal in cutoff with T6s ($7), missed that there was a early position limper. 3 way, KQx, I fold to $16.

4 limpers. I'm in the big blind with 99. Make it $22, everyone folds.

Call 7 with 97s, 7 way, miss and fold.

Straddle button, J9, check. Flop KT7, double gutter. Two checks, bet 10, both call. Turn is the flush card, everyone checks. River I miss, both of these guys made flushes. Glad I missed the river.

Have $316 at 1:55 PM. Down $284.

KTo raise to $7 win.

Limp 87o. Flop K87 rainbow. Checks to me, $7, 1 call. Turn jack. Check, $16, win.

Q9 check in big blind. Flop all rags 2 hearts check. Turn jack, I bet $5 into 2 people, both call. Turn is a queen but it's a heart. Bet $10 planning to fold to any raise. AJ calls.

Straddle button. It comes around to me, I have J9o and raise 14 more. Idiot dealer says I checked so my raise doesn't work. :P Kinda fine because the hand is garbage. Flop 874 2 clubs check to me, $10, 2 calls. Turn 9, check to me, $27, call. River ace, old Asian guy fires out $59 immediately, fold.

Taking a break for a few. Getting a little frustrated. It's 2:17 PM and I'm down $300. Not a huge deal, but frustrating. You always want to win. :) haven't had a ton of great cards, that's for sure. Definitely playing way too many hands, but that's how I want to play right now. I know it's going be hard to win that way anyway. Need to hit some big hands to capitalize on that style. And learn how to play more later streets with bigger bets. It's all good. It's education. I'm willing to have some losing nights if it's fun and I'm trying to learn how to play better and experiment with some different things.

Losing isn't even a bad thing. I need to stop worrying about it. I have a 4k bankroll. Who fucking cares. Let's just play. I'll win some and lose some. I want to get to where I can play more aggressive and break out of the 2006 mindset. If that costs me some money, no big deal. It's my poker bankroll. That's what it's there for.

Going back in. Let's focus and do this.

Straddle for 4. Guy raises to 8. I call with 94o just because I was like F folding in the button to a min raise. 4 way. Flop T93. He bets $16, I call, other guy calls.

Raise to $7 with 88. Few calls. Now this old guy with like 70 left limp reraises $22 more. I call, but I acknowledge that's pretty bad. 2 other callers though so it was a huge pot. Flop 864 all spades. Check check, raiser checks. I bet $60 everyone folds. Still a good pot.

Raise Q8s, 4 way, flop KJJ with a flush draw (not mine) and I let it check to the river. Ace high won.

Back up to $386. It's 2:49 PM. Have to leave in an hour and a half or so. Dinner with my boss from work at 6.

AK (finally), raise to 10. 4 way. Flop T8x 2 spades, I have ace of spades. Guy leads for 10, another calls, I just call. Turn blank, he fires $40, fold. Sigh.

Very next hand pocket tens. Raise to 10. 3 calls. Now this limper goes all in for 50 more. I think about it, raise to 100. Don't want to play this out if position. Everyone folds. Flop 10 high 2 spades, turn ace of spades, river blank, I win. Comeback!

AK, raise to 17 from the blind. 3 calls. Flop T8x 2 hearts. Bet $50, one guy calls.  Turn ten. Check, check. River, queen. Check, he goes all in for $92.  I think forever. He could have a ten, but he could also have a flush draw. Old guy with a suit on. He IMMEDIATELY went all in on the river. He just kept moving his cards around. Don't know, but I folded. 

Straddle button. Q7s, check. 4 way. Flop 654 1 spade. Guy bets $15, I call. Turn ten. He checks. I think about it but take the free one. River 8. He bets $15. I put him all in for $60 or so. He had a set of sixes and I win another big pot! $487 in front of me!!!! Almost there baby!

AJ in small blind. Raise to $17, Asian guy calls. This guy calls a lot. Flop KT8 with a flush draw. I bet $25, he calls. Turn 7, giving me the double gutter. I think for a bit and bet $70. He calls. River blank, fuck. Check, he goes all in for a little over $100, I have to fold.

Back down to $340. 3:27 PM.

Raise to $7 with QT. One call, guy reraises to $16. I call, 4 way. Flop KJ4 2 diamonds (I have no diamonds) now he leads for $5. One call, I make it $30, 2 calls. Turn diamond, check around. River jack of diamonds. Check around. Lose of course. Preflop reraiser had AJ, othe guy had KQ with the Q of diamonds.

Down to $300 again.

Pocket aces in early position. Raise to $10, 4 calls. Was hoping for the reraise but no good this time. Flop 853 2 hearts. Bet $30, Asian guy calls. Turn 5. Bet $60 he calls. River 3, I go all in for $192. He folds. Probably a flush draw. I think if he had something decent he probably would have called.

Straddle button. Guy goes all in for $35. Look down at JJ, call. Asian guy calls. Flop T76. He checks, I bet 50, he calls. Turn 6 of diamonds putting 2 diamonds out. He checks. I go all in, he has about 100 left. He folds. Other fucking guy says "I think I got you" and flips up 66. Sigh. Still won a few bucks on the hand but frustrating. At $434 now.

Asian guy was down to $100, put $200 on the table. 

Pocket aces. Raise to $10. 4 way. Flop AJx with 2 hearts. I bet $25 everyone folds. Couldn't really check with the flush out there. $460.

JT in small blind, call. 6 way. Flop T63 2 diamonds. Bet $10, guy calls. Turn queen, bet $20, he folds.

Up to $470. Moved seats to the immediate left of the Asian guy that is playing loose.

Raise Q6o in the cutoff to $7. I think I'm playing too loose.

Cash out $418. Lost $182. Could be worse. Until next time!

The Nug

Playing some 1/2 at the Nug. Bought in for $300, started a bit before 6.

Raise to 6 with T7o in late position. 7 way. Flop KT6 2 clubs. Checks to me, I check. Turn 6. Guy bets 11, I call, another call. River jack of clubs. Check around and I'm up against K8 and KQ. Could have bet big on the river and won for sure, looks like I could have had the flush draw.

Raise to 6 with A6s in early position. 6 way. Check fold.

I'm straddling the button when it gets to me too, btw. First straddle got raised to 30 and I folded.

Straddle button, guy raises to 12, I fold T3s.

Loose guy raises to 12. I call in position with 67o. He had been betting really big after the flop a lot of the time so I figured maybe it would be good to see a flop in position against him with connected cards even if they aren't suited. 5 way to the flop, T32 2 hearts, old guy goes all in for 50 and wins uncontested.

Down to $248 from my original $300 buyin. Considering putting 100-200 more on the table. No cap on the buy in here!

Old guy limps. Ace hits the flop. Shows me his cards - QQ. "Mother FUCKING hand" he says as he throws them away. Lol.

Same guy gets dealt AA and shows them to me while I'm in the hand preflop! He gets it all in preflop and doubles for $100.

My button, I buy another $100. 

Loose guy raises to 10. Lady calls. I raise to 30 with AQhh. Old guy who limped for 2 calls, loose guy calls. Flop Js8s2. Check to me, I check. Turn blank, check around. River spade, old guy goes all in for about 100, we both fold, he shows AsQs for the flush.

Down about 90 after a half hour.

KK raise to 15 from the bb. 2 calls. Flop q high with a flush draw, bet 30, they both fold.

Button straddle. Bunch of limps. I look down at 99. Raise 25 more, to 29. Blind calls. This other guy looks like he's going to raise but he calls. Loose guy goes all in for 211 more. I think forever and fold. Definitely tempting but probably a good fold. Not 100% sure. He hadn't done anything like that before.

Limp with 96s. Blind raises to 16. 2 calls and I call in late position. Miss, fold.

Raise to 6 with AK utg. 2 calls. Flop AQ6 with 2 hearts. Bet 15, one call. Turn 2c. We both check. This guy had shown a tendency to bluff a bit so I figured I'd give him a shot at it. River 6, I bet 35, he calls, I win.

Loose guy makes it 10. I call 8 more out of the bb. Not a great move with KJo. 5 way. Flop AsTs8c. Checks to a guy who bets 10. 2 calls and I call. Turn 4s. Checks to a guy that bets 20. I fold. Would have riveted the red queen for a straight. Thought about check raising the turn and representing a flush but I thought it was too likely someone already had it.

Button straddle. Loose guy who just got sucked out on in a huge pot goes all in for about 70, everyone folds.

Raise to 6 with AJ. 4 calls. Flop T63. Checks to me, 20, 2 calls. Turn jack of hearts putting 2 hearts on board. Now old guy leads for 40. I fold. He shows JT.

Raise to 6 utg with KQ. 3 calls. Flop K84. Bet 15, loose guy calls. Turn blank. Bet 30, another call. River I check trying to induce a bluff, which is retarded because I have no history indicating he will bluff. He checks his king, I win. Could have got a huge bet I think.

Next hand KK, just call 12 from old man who raised in sb. Should have reraised. 4 way and I win it on the q high flop with a $20 bet.

Down $52, have $348 in front of me. 7:12 PM.

Raise 94cc in the cutoff to 6. Lol. Small blind calls. Flop Q9d7d. Check, I bet 8, he calls. Turn 9h. Check, 20, call. River ten. He bets 35. I thought about raising but I couldn't think of a hand that could call that I have beat. Anything less than a 9 is just folding. So I call, he had A7, I win.

Back up!!! Up $5 at 7:43. Actually up $5.50. Lol at silver on the table.

Raise 44 to 6 utg, couple calls, loose guy goes all in for 80, fold. He shows 99.

Button straddle, blind raises to 24, fold again. Straddle not working out today.

Call 15 pre with 76o from the crazy guy. Heads up. Flop 874, he bets 15, I call. Thought about raising but thought maybe I could raise the turn or something too. Turn perfect card, 5. He bets 20. I raise to 75. He goes all in and had me covered! Sick. I thought about it for a bit but I have seen him do enough stupid shit that he could do this with a set maybe, whatever. I call. River 4, ugh. Luckily he had 76 and we chop.

That's it, left the Nugget at 8:15 up $18. Nothing too special, but it was a somewhat fun night of poker. Played loose and won some money, nothing wrong with that. :)

Aria Saturday tournament

More live update style... Writing this as in play the tournament today.

25/50, 10k stack

Limp with 43s (clubs) after 3 limpers. 7 people in, big blind raises to 450. 1 caller, I call, the button calls. Flop 322 with 2 spades, blind bets out 4500 (lol), he wins.

50/100, 9400 stack

Fold T9s in early position first hand... Was tempting :) missed anyway though.

Next hand early position AQ. Min raise to 200. Middle position and big blind call. Flop J77 rainbow. Check, 275, win.

64s in blind, check. 4 way. Flop AJ7 2 of my suit, check around. Turn 4. I bet 150, 1 call, guy makes it 650. I think for a while and fold. 2 pair might not be good if I hit and it's going to be hard to get much more if the flush hits.

QTs limp in late position after limper. Small blind calls. Flop T82 with 2 of my suit - monster. Blind bets 200, limper calls. I raise to 750, they both call. Turn off suit 6. Blind leads for 2000. We both fold.

Next hand limp with A2s in late position. Thought about raising but I've shown a little weakness by folding some hands post flop and I think it's fine to see this multiway for a limp. Miss, fold.

A8s next hand. Limp after a limper, fold when I miss, same reasoning.

Down to 8500. Not bad really, I felt like I had some big losses in those other hands but they weren't bad at all.

3 people limp. I'm in small blind with AQ. Raise to 700, everyone folds.

Very next hand on button A9s. One guy limps and I raise to 250. He calls. Flop Q76 with 1 of my suit. Check, 200, win.

Middle position raises to 350. I call with black 2s. Old guy to my left makes it 2350. We both fold.

Last hand of the round fold KQ in early position.

100/200, I have 8950

Guy in early position with a somewhat short stack makes it 400. I call with pocket tens. Late position guy and blind calls. Flop Q9x all spades. I have the ten of spades. Check to me, 700, late position guy calls. He didn't look super interested on the flop but I'm not good at reading people. Turn ace of spades. I bet 1100, he folds.

Call 500 in late position from early position raiser. I have 77. Button calls too. Flop AQ6, fold to 1100.

100/200/25, stack is 9500

Guy in middle position raises to 500. I reraise out of the blinds with AK to 1500, he folds.

200/400/25, stack is 9700

Guy who has been playing a decent amount of hands (all for a raise) open limps the button. Small blind calls. I raise to 1800 with A9 just trying to pick it up. Small blind says "are you sure you want to do that?" And I say "what's done is done." Limper calls. Flop 532 with 2 clubs and I have the ace of clubs. Bet 2000, win.

300/600/50, stack is 10800. 38 left out of the original 66.

Move tables. Second hand get 77. Guy in late position raises to 1800. Next guy who seemed to be bluffing the previous hand reraises to 4000. I go all in. He calls with KQ. Hits a K, game over.

Nugget live updates

Playing right now at the Golden Nugget. Live updates...

Very first hand at 2/4, waiting for 1/2 NL. KK, 4 bets preflop, 6 ways. Lose on the river to a flush (J3s), 2 other people had an 8 for a straight.

T8 in the blind. Flop JJ7, bet it all the way, lady folds on the river when I miss.

Lady next to me - halitosis.

Last hand at 2/4 53s. About 6 or 7 way to the flop. Flop 652 and a guy to my left is talking about not being able to get people out. I call 2, he raises to 4, I call 4. 4 people on the turn. Turn K, check to him 4, fold to me, call. River 5. Check, he has pocket tens, I win. Probably not that great. 

Move to 1/2.

All of the money is to my right so it's pretty good. I have $514 total, up )14 from the other table.

Fold 74s to a $15 raise from a $500 stack first hand. Turns out its AA vs KK all in preflop.

Sitting in the 10 seat, I accidentally tip someone's card and it flips up when it's coming out. Ace of hearts. Lol.

Lady goes all in on the river after she and 3 others called $20 on the turn. River brought the flush and paired the board. Everyone folds, she shows A3. Called the turn with a gunshot, shoved the river with nothing. I was impressed, didn't think she was capable of that. Stupid to show it though.

After an hour not much going on. Pretty boring.

Call 1 more with 72 in the small blind. See the flop 4 ways, Q72 with 2 hearts. Bet 10, 2 calls. Turn 9h. Bet 22, guy calls. River ten. Bet 35, he raises to 100, fold.

A-10, raise to 17 on a button straddle. Straddle and the big blind call. Flop ten high, bet 35, straddle calls. Turn is a jack and I check the turn and river. Win vs 77, back up a few bucks.

So sick.... 

Call 8 with 77. I tell myself I'm check raising if I flop a set. Flop A76 with 2 hearts and 1 diamond. Check, other guy checks, button who raised bets 20. I raise to 65, call. Turn 3 of diamonds. Bet 100. He raises me all in for 350 more. Ugh...... Not sure what to do. He could have AA or 66, so that's a wash in my opinion. He could have turned the straight... He raised preflop, but he was on the button. He might also have something like AKdd. Anyway, I call. River ace. He had 45. So sick. Bought in for 500, up to 1050. Never hurts to get lucky.

Wow, even against a range of only AA, 66, 54s I should call there given the odds. That's surprising. Little less than 40% to win vs that range. I was getting around 2 to 1 to call. That makes me feel better.

Left a couple rounds later. +$545 on the night. Ship it. Everyone needs some luck sometimes.

Binion's Weekend Deepstack (part 2)

Continued from the last blog - make sure to read that one first!  When we last joined our hero, it wasn't looking so good and I was on the ropes.  Still at the 200/400 blind level.

200/400

Lady in early position raises to 1600.  I look down at pocket aces - hell yes.  Call.  Blind calls too.  Flop is K-9-x.  They both check to me, I bet 2500, they fold.  Not bad.  That lady had put a lot of money into the pot a couple other times so I was hoping to win a huge pot from her here, but no such luck.  Still a good pot.

300/600 - stack at 16,225

Lose 25 in the chip race.  One weird thing about Binion's is that they don't do any ante levels with the 25 chips, they start them with the 100 chips later.  Really weird IMO.

Lady limps in early position. I'm in the big blind with pocket tens and raise 1500 more.  She calls.  Flop is 8-6-4 with 2 to some suit.  I lead out for 1700.  She says "I'm all in" and I SNAP call.  She was short but she is like, "I have a 5k chip too!"  Like I thought it was almost nothing more to call and I didn't see her chips.  I said "I don't care" and flipped up my tens.  She did not expect that and showed some serious anguish as she turned up A-8 suited.  Turn, jack.  River, jack.  Boom.  Ship it.  Up to 27,600.

Raise to 1300 with A-10 on the button.  The big blind calls.  Flop is J-8-x with two of the same suit as my ace.  Check, I bet 1200, and I take it down.

Something happened to me during that hand, even though it was pretty inconsequential.  I tend to stress out about my bets and try not to give away tells, although I think I probably am constantly giving off tells.  This time I was just like I'm going to think about the best size for what I want to do.  I'm going to throw it out there, and that's that.  In my mind I've made the optimal decision to try to get the other person to make a mistake.  So I don't have to stress about it.  No matter what they do, I think I made the right decision and they are going to make mistakes.  This is harder to explain than I thought it would be, but basically I started to feel really confident in my bet sizing and because of that, didn't have to worry about anything else.  Just confidence is what I was feeling and it felt great.

400/800 - stack at 28,300

Guy raises to 1600 and I just call on the button.  Sometimes I like to pot control a bit with A-K preflop especially if I have a decent stack.  I don't want to get in a huge flip with A-K if I can avoid it.  I miss the flop and fold to a 2500 bet.  Flop was 5-5-3.  As it turns out, another guy had 9-9.

I get A-K again, raise to 1600, win.

Raise K-10 suited to 1600, win.

Raise to 1600 with K-Q suited under the gun.  Check and fold on a 10-9-8 flop against 2 other people.

500/1000 - stack at 26,500

I open on the button to 2100 with 10-8 suited.  The big blind calls.  Flop is sick.  Q-3-2 all of my suit.  Flop the flush, wham.  Love it.  He checks.  I bet 2000.  Now he check-raises to 7000!!!!  Whoa.

I wasn't super worried about flush vs flush.  If that happens, it's a cooler and what can you do.  I was more worried about my tournament life and wanted to play the best way to preserve that.  So I decided that I would just call and make sure I see a safe turn before committing the rest of my chips.  If another spade comes it would be pretty bad.  The ace of spades seems like a reasonable card to make that check-raise with.  Maybe that plus a pair.  Or a set.  So I just call.  Turn is an 8 and he checks.  Now I go all in for 16,000.  He calls!  I flip up the 10-8 and he is like "Arrrghhh, you did hit it".  He flips up Q-3 for top two pair on the flop.  I fade the 4 outs on the river and win a monster pot!

600/1200 - stack at 54,500

I raise the cutoff to 2400 with Q-10.  The blinds both call.  Flop is J-9-x rainbow.  It checks to me.  I have a big draw and definitely can bet, but I decided to just take the free card.  Check.  Turn is the best possible card, a king!  Now one of the blinds bets out 2300.  I raise to 7000.  He calls.  River is a 5 and I still have the nuts.  He checks.  I bet 15,000.  He folded.  I guess I could have bet less, but I don't think that was too big of a mistake if a mistake at all.

I raise to 2400 with K-8 suited.  Guy raises to 5000, I fold.

To be continued again!  At this point I have a great stack in the tournament and am doing really well.  Time to crush!!!!

Binion's Weekend Deepstack (part 1)

I had been wanting to play the weekend Binion's tournament for a while.  It's the best tournament in town for the money, hands down.  20,000 chips to start.  20 minute levels for the first hour, but then 30 minute levels after.  They also start at 50/100 which I don't even think is a bad thing, because the levels progress pretty reasonably slow after that.  There also is a 10k guaranteed prize pool.  There ended up being 109 entries in this one.

50/100 - 20,000 starting stack

Ready to play and I am going to have fun today.  I'm drinking a little bit (nothing crazy) and I made a deal with my wife that we would swap 20% of our action with each other.  Let's do this!

I raise 86s in middle to 225, win preflop.

I raise AJ to 225, old ponytail guy makes it 875, I fold.

100/200 

Call with 5-5 from lady's under the gun raise to 400, miss, fold.

Very loose headphone idiot raises to 525 on button. He had been raising a lot and had shown down some weak hands.  I reraise to 1200 with A2s from the small blind.  He calls.  Flop is K-8-6 with 1 of my suit.  I bet 1400.  He gives up.  Whew.  :)  This tournament is GREAT because you can take chances like that and if it doesn't work out, you are still in OK shape.

150/300

Loose headphone guy from the last hand raises to 750. I call with A6s. Flop the world, T-6-6. He checks. I bet 1000.  Now he check-raises to 3000!  I call.  Not sure what the best play was there.  I figured I had the best hand, but I thought a reraise would be too scary.  Turn is a 7 and he checks.  I bet 3000 and he gives up.  Stack up to 24,600 and I'm getting off to a great start.

Starting table

Next, I get pocket sixes and raise to 600. 2 calls, both in the blinds. Flop is 5-5-3 with 2 diamonds.  It checks to me, I bet 850, call (guy to the right of the cowboy hat in the picture).  Turn is a queen.  He checks.  I bet 1300, he calls. I'm planning on checking behind a lot of rivers.  River is another 5, giving me a full house.  He checks.  

At this point I really felt like he was weak and I honestly thought I had the best hand.  I figured if he had a queen he would bet the river.  I thought it was more likely he had a flush draw or maybe even a 3.  He had lost a BIG pot earlier where he flopped the nut flush and another guy turned a boat, so he was short and only had a little over 6k left.  I looked at his stack and tossed a couple white chips in (5k chips) to put him all in.  

Now he goes into the tank.  I'm trying not to give anything away, but I want a call at this point for sure.  I'm just staring at the flop and waiting.  This goes on for a LONG time.  Finally he grabs his chips and shoves them in.  I show the 6-6.  He flips up... pocket tens.  Bigger boat.  FUCK!!!!  Seriously thought I had the winner.  I had a pretty good stack building up and that took a big bite out of it.

Time to get back to work.  I raise A-Q in early position to 600.  Miss the flop, check and fold.

200/400 - stack is 16325 

30 minute rounds now.  Took a pretty big hit to my stack but really, I still have over 40 big blinds so I'm not in any danger yet.  

Lady in early position limps and the small blind limps.  I'm in the big blind with pocket 8s and raise to 1600.  They both call.  Flop is A-6-3.  Small blind checks and I bet 1500.  The lady folds, but the small blind check raises to 5000.  I fold.

This next hand is hilarious.  I'm in the small blind with Q-Q.  I want to raise a little more than usual.  I've been taking a beating and maybe the big blind will think I'm on tilt and do something crazy.  I raise to 1500.  He is like "whoa" and is thinking about a call.  Then I realize - I didn't raise to 1500.  I thought I threw out a 1k chip and a 500 chip.  Nope.  I threw out a 1k and a 5k chip, raising to 6000!  LOL!!!  Just your standard 15 big blind raise.  At least I have a good hand!  The big blind is agonizing over it and clearly has a good hand, so maybe this will work out OK for me.  He ends up folding face up - pocket tens.  Good fold.  Big mistake by me though.  Honestly I was just a little drunk and that's probably why I messed that up.  Stack at 13625.

I call 600 more with pocket 3s from the big blind.  See the flop 4 ways, miss.  Down to 12625.

Pretty much in a free-fall at this point.  Making mistakes, not running too hot, it's not looking good.  More tournament action in the next blog!

Aria Friday night tournament (part 2)

Continuing my tournament post.  If you haven't read part 1, go back and read it!  I have a lot of poker to write about so this week will be more blog heavy too.  As I'm sure you could tell by the fact that the last blog was posted on Monday instead of Tuesday!

600/1200/100 - stack is 13800

Raced off the green chips at the break.  2 greens.  I get a jack and a 5, no good.

Button and small blind limp. I'm in the big blind with 33 and go all in for 12500.  They both fold.

Very next hand in the small blind I have A-Q, raise to 3000, and win.  Stack is up to 18500.

Moved tables to the upstairs section, table 6, 10 seat. Came in at the best possible spot, where the small blind should be but I get to wait one hand.  Free round!  All of the big stacks are directly to my right as well.  Really good position for me here.

I check 10-7 in the big blind and we see the flop 4 ways.  Flop is 9-8-4.  I bet out 2600 and everyone calls.  Pot is big... come on baby.  One time.  Turn is a blank.  I check and fold.  Interesting thing is that 2 people get all in on the turn, and one guy had limped with 9-9 and flopped top set.  So freaking sick - where is that 6 when you need it???  That guy needs to get punished.

Shove the small blind with pocket tens after the button limps and pick it up preflop.

200/800/1600 - stack is 16700

Guy goes all in for a little more than the antes.  Next guy with a decent amount of chips shoves over the top.  I look down... ace.... king.  Here we go!  I go all in as well.  Super short guy had 9-2, other guy that shoved had 4-4.  Off to the races.  Flop trip kings and I win a big pot!  Up to 34000.

I min-raise the button with pocket nines.  The big blind calls.  Flop is A-7-3.  He checks and I check.  Turn is a jack.  He leads for 3500 and I just fold.  Down to 27300.

Min-raise with 3-3, win preflop.  Up to 30500.

1000/2000/300 - stack is 27300

2 tables left!  Getting close to the money.  83 people started the tournament, down to 20.  Pays about 9 places.

Table change again and this time the seat was not super favorable, I was in the blinds pretty quick.  Blinds pass through me and I have 23100.  

Pick up pocket tens on the button and shove.  Win uncontested, up to 26600.

In 2 hands it folds to me and I look down at 7-7.  I have about 12 big blinds.  All in.  Big blind calls - pocket kings.  Fuck.  No seven.  The dealer counts down the chips and I am still in but super short, I have 2000 left.  

I am not too sure about that hand.  I think 12 big blinds is more than I should have shoved with pocket sevens.  It's hard to imagine too many hands where I'm going to get called and have the best hand.  Basically just hoping to flip.  I could have min-raised, folded to an all-in, and still had 9 or so big blinds.  I mean folding would make me feel sick but I think it would be safe to say I was either flipping or crushed.

Time to get lucky, I have one freaking big blind left.  :)  In a couple hands I look down at A-9 suited and call all in.  We see the flop 4 ways.  Flop is pretty good, K-9-x.  One guy bets in position and everyone else folds.  He flips up K-Q.  Come on baby.  Turn... ACE!!!  Yes!  River changes nothing and I basically 5x up my stack.  Yes!  Up to about 10,000.

Small blind limps.  I have K-J and shove.  He folds.  10,400 in my stack and hanging tough.

In the cutoff I look down at A-10 suited and shove.  Win preflop.  Up to 17,600.  Almost 10 big blinds, I'm still in this!  

1500/3000/400

Early position guy limps, button limps.  I'm in the big blind, look down, and see that beautiful sight - pocket kings.  I shove a little less than 6 big blinds.  The button thinks about it and calls.  He flips up Q-10 suited and I'm in a great spot to pick up a big pot.  Flop A-Q-x.  Turn, 10.  Fuck.  River blank.  Out.

Went out in 15th place.  Disappointing, but I did have to get pretty damn lucky to get there in the first place.  Sick tournament run continues!  I'm doing absolutely awesome lately and even though I didn't cash in this one, getting this deep really felt good.

Other Thoughts

You know what else I'm thinking about poker lately - tournaments are 100% the way to go.  I just think there is SO much more dead money in tournaments.  It's not even close.  In cash games I just don't see people making absolutely massive mistakes constantly.  In tournaments though it happens nonstop.  Maybe once you play much higher stake tournaments everyone is great and it's about the same between tournaments and cash.  But I really think that compared to 1/2 games, the tournaments are just so much softer.  Easier to navigate too, your decisions are just a lot easier.  

For me personally it seems easier to make that big bluff or some other big move in a tournament as opposed to cash.  You are going to lose your money if you don't make a move anyway, so it is easier to stomach.  Whereas in cash, if you make a big move and lose your whole stack, even if it was the right move it's hard to take.  

Plus I think the wild variance of tournaments makes it WAY easier to think you are good when you aren't.  These old guys play all the time, they all think they are the shit, and they are awful.  And yeah they are going to get 8 handed and chop sometimes, so they think they are doing well.  But overall they aren't good and are probably donating.  It's a lot harder to tell though for them because it's a slower bleed when you are only losing one buy-in per night and maybe 3 per week max.  In cash you might drop 4 buy-ins in a night and when that happens you are ready to killl yourself.  

That's it for this blog.  Stay tuned for more exciting poker action!  Thanks for reading guys!