March highlights - part 1

I messed up by not writing blogs all through March.  At this point I don't think I have the stamina to go back and write about ALL of those sessions.  I played so many times in March, basically every day.  But I figured I'd look through my notes and pick out some of the big or interesting hands from the month and write about them.

Red Rock March 5th - Playing Pocket Tens The Right and Wrong Way

I have Q-J and check in the big blind (or limp small blind, don't remember).  There are about 5 people in the pot.  Flop comes 10-8-6.  It checks around.  Turn is a blank, lady bets out, and the rest doesn't matter.  But the point is that she had pocket tens (flopped a set).  I had a free shot to win a big pot with a 9 on the turn, so sick.  She limped on the button or in the cutoff with tens (after other people had limped), checked her set behind, and finally bets the turn.  Just terrible in my opinion.

I'm against the same lady later on.  Blind vs blind.  I don't chop, as usual.  :-)  She limps in the small blind, I raise to 12 with pocket tens, she calls.  Flop is a dream, T-8-4 with 2 clubs.  She checks, I bet 15, she calls.  Turn is an ace.  She checks.  I bet 40.  She check-raises to 85.  So awesome.  I raise her the rest of her chips, she maybe had 40 more.  She calls, I show the tens, and she just sighs knowing she is probably drawing dead or to the two aces.  I win a big pot.

Golden Nugget - Thursday, March 7th

I'm sitting with about $600 in the 1/2 game at the Nugget.  No max buy-in, so I typically keep myself at $500 or a little above.

There is a short stack limper, and an old guy raises to 12.  Small blind calls.  I'm in the big blind and look down at A-K.  I raise to 50.  The limper calls all-in for around 50.  The old guy calls, and the small  blind calls.  The pot is out of control big.

Flop comes 2-3-4.  Now the small blind bets out 50 into 200.

I made it 150.  I thought that it was pretty likely that this guy could have an overpair.  If I make it 150, paired up with the preflop action my hand looks really strong.  I'm basically repping a super big overpair, kings or aces.  And even if the guy has jacks and calls, I have 10 outs twice.  There is no way someone is going to bet into me again on the turn without a set or better.  It kinda sucks that I have to still show down no matter what vs the limper, but he could just have overcards where I'm still ahead.

Anyway, I made it 150, the old guy folded, and the small blind went all-in for 600.  :P  I fold obviously.  He flopped a set of threes.

Another thing that pissed me off about this session was a high hand bonus and the chips that came with it.  The guy next to me (set of threes guy) got a straight flush and won $600.  Must be nice.  There is no max buy-in at the Nugget game.  He gets the chips.  I ask, are you playing those?  He says yes.  Fine.  I'm fine with it either way obviously, but you have to pick one way or the other.  Table stakes.

He gets dealt a hand, folds, etc.  Then other idiots at the table are saying, you can take those chips off, etc.  So now this guy takes the chips off of the table and out of play.  I'm sorry, once you get dealt a hand with those chips on the table, those chips are in play.  You can NOT take them off.  And I for sure want people playing as deep as possible there so I can stack them in a massive pot when I have the goods.  That really pissed me off.