Pre-Day 5 and 6: Obv Brag Post

Hello all, and thanks for stopping by. Before we continue with the Vegas Trip Report, I need to insert f a bragging post. I hit one of my goals for the year, and I'm damn happy.

I won the $10 PLO8 re-buy on Stars. 264 entrants, 365 re-buys, and 167 add-ons. $7960 in the prize pool. Here's a screen shot.

But wait, Bill! You say. That shows a SECOND place finish, and OPR says you finished second as well. How can you claim the win?

Well friends, let me tell you. I'm not going to use the winners name as he was a complete tool and I don't want him to find this post in a search and read about what I did to him, as that would spoil the fun.

So, let us discover the tale together, shall we?

I got into the tourney a bit late, after about 45 minutes. Got it all in on a flip and had to double rebuy. With the add-on, I was in for $51 and hoping to cash to at least break even for the night. As I tend to do, I had two cash games running and ran a SnG as well (which I won) which basically turned this thing into a free-roll, so the pressure was off. I did well, hanging out above the chip average for most of the tourney coming out of the first break on a good run.

Around bubble time, I got in a bit of trouble. I had AA67ds, we got it all in pre-flop and ended up (luckily) chopping for the low end versus A288 when he flopped a set of 8s on a 9 8 K board. Runner runner low (including the deuce) kept me from going out. The next hand I had AA23ds and got quartered with A2TT when the flop came T 9 4. Runner runner for the low again, but I wasn't moving the wrong way. I was down to bubble time with 8413 in chips and 1000/2000 blinds. Not good. I got it in with KK53 and chopped, no luck. I can't call in the blinds with the action in front of me, and I'm down to 4913 and in last place. I have QQK2 and shove, and find out I'm up against A24dJd. Urp!. Board comes out 6 9d 5d and I have a LOT of outs to dodge. Turn is the 9h, and I just have to hope for no diamond, no ace. Kh on the river and I'm up to 11826. The bubble pops! Weeeee! I made $0.74 at least!

I go card dead for a few orbits, and drop down to 8326, again almost last place. I find KKT7 in the SB and the CO raises, but not pot. I shove, he calls and shows A289. K 6 6 flop and I'm golden. 9 on the turn and I scoop. Lucky when I need to be! Up to 18652!

The big hand comes when I get involved with one of the big stacks at the table. I have AhKhQhJs on the button and smooth-call a pot raise. Flop is 8d 3c Jd. The bettor insta-bets enough to put me all in. I tank for a minute, and burn some time off my clock. It is do or die time and I call. He shows As Kd 9h 7d with just the 2nd nut flush and bad low draw. 3s on the turn and Jd on the river and suddenly I have 46k and I'm average stack.

I three bet with AA35 and the original raiser mucks, and I'm up to just under 60k. I get the chance to take out a shorty with A2K7, suited A and he shows AA34 no suits and the board flops K 9 7. Now I'm the table CL and we are getting down to the final 3 tables. I can smell that FT!

New player at the table sits and starts to be really active. He's up to 107k when I find AA38 double suited in late position. He again raises, and I re-pot. The button has under 10k and I have 80k. Button calls all in and player smooth-calls. Flop is T 4 8, rainbow. Big stack checks, and I shove, trying to get him to fold and leave some dead money in the pot. He calls and tables 2346. Button shows AKKJ. I'm happy with the 9 on the turn, but the 2 on the river means I just chop up the blinds and button. But now I know this guy is loose, so I make a note.

I take a hit when my flopped 2 pair lose to a wheel. I should have though the hand through more, I moved too quickly. He had an obvious low draw and I should have been able to muck on the turn when he 3-bet and saved about 24k. I drop back to under 60k. By this time, the jerk that "won" has got to the table and we are moving toward the FT bubble.

I get down to under 50k and find A229 with the blinds at 2k/4k. The active player pots and I smooth call in position. The flop is 9 9 Q. Bingo! He checks and I decide to look weak and only bet out 12k. He insta-calls. 4d on the turn and he checks. I shove, he calls and shows AKJT. He needs an 8, T, J or K. Q on the river and I am back up to just under 100k.

Then the hand that gave me the confidence happened. With about 16 players left, an aggressive player at the table that was making a lot of plays at pots. I found A762 with the ace suited in middle position. Aggro and one player smooth call and I pot it. Blinds fold, and both limpers call. One is short with 26k, the aggro has 110k, and I have 92k. Flop is T Q 4 with one of my suit. The aggro checks. Shortie shoves for 4500. I call, aggro just calls. He would normally be shoving here, so I start to try to put him on a hand. 2 on the turn doesn't help. He checks, I check. River is another 2. He bets out about half the pot. This was totally out of character and got me to tank for a minute. Could he have a boat? Would he have played QQ or TT this way? I finally decide he must have what I had, A2xx, and neither of his other cards paired, so he didn't have a boat. Why? Why would he let me draw at a low when he could have shoved the turn to isolate and push me out, creating some dead money in the pot? This was the late in the tourney, so he wasn't trying to just get a player out, he was trying to win. A2xx was the only choice. I call and he tables A257. We chop up the shortie, but now I feel good.

I move up to 5th in chips by bullying a little with 12 left. It looks like the shorties are trying to hang on for the Final Table, so a few of us start abusing them a bit. I knock out the FT bubble boy when I 4-bet him with A39J with a suited A. He shows AAQ7, 4 suited. Board runs out 4 A T K Q and I scoop. Whoops. I make it to the final table 2nd in chips with almost 200k! Sometimes, you have to get lucky. And boy, did I, once we made the FT.

I get to the CL with 8 left after flopping a set of 3s on a 3 8 3 board from the BB. I check the flop to see what people want to do. CR the bettor (who is the tool in this story) and he calls. J on the turn and I shove, he folds. I'm up to 400k. We get down to 5-handed and I make a play against the CL with a nut flush and backdoor low draw on the flop, and he folds. After we 3-bet PF. That gives me the CL again from him.

I take out the aggro player from earlier in 5th place with AK87 vs A358 when we get him all in PF. He has 185k and I have 506k with 5k/10k blinds. Board runs out 4 6 6 T 6 and I scoop. Now I'm up to 700k in chips. The 2nd place guy has 276k. 3rd has 152k and 4th 147k. I can smell the win.

Two hands later I get AKT2 with the K suited and pot. 2nd place re-pots and I decide to put hi all in. He shows AKT4, so most likely we will chop. Board runs out J J 3 9. Then the 2 on the river gives me the scoop. How sick is that? Now I have 967K, 2nd has 167k, 3rd has 142k. Blinds at 5k/10k.

Third place guys says "let's just give Illini the first and split second and third". I of course, agree :) But 2nd, the tool stays quiet. I go into aggro mode and start hammering the guy who wants to make the deal as he is the BB on my button. I start hammering the tool when it is his BB and my SB. If the SB limps on my BB, I'm jamming. I double the tool up with J873 vs A295 when he is down to 25k in chips, so not a big deal. I have 972k at the time :) I double him again with KJ33 vs K987 when he hits two pair. Now he's up to 91k, and I still have 922k. 2nd place is getting smart and starts jamming on his button and I have to fold. He moves up to 251k in chips.

I double the tool again with KK33ds from the SB when I jam into his A248. He flops 2 pair. Now he's up to 170k. I have 861k, and 2nd has 245k. Still comfy lead. 2nd is still trying to get the tool to agree to a deal, but he's not talking. We think maybe he is chat blocked. Nope, turns out he's just an asshole. I keep hammering and get back to 951k, tool is at 206k and now the other dealmaker is in 3rd with 120k when the tool speaks up. I propose the deal when I get 1st and they chop 3nd and 3rd evenly. He says "no". I propose 1400 for me (first is 1552.20) and they chop the rest. "no" again.

Okay, I keep hammering. No mod yet, so I jam a few more pots. The 3rd place guy is getting frantic, he "just wants 1k". The tool wants a chop of 1350/1225/1025. I say I can't take less than 1400 with my stack. The tool starts being a jackass, saying that "he's the best player and can't take less than 1250". I stick to my guns for the 1400. 3rd finally gives in and takes the 950 and change, getting 75 more than 3rd and the tool gets 75 more than 2nd. I'm okay with giving up the 150 to get the "win".

So the mod restarts the tourney and I'm happy with my "win". I take out 3rd in the first hand after the deal, but strangely, the tool folds. What? Didn't we just make a deal? What's this asshole's problem now? I jam every hand and he's just folding. Huh? Does he really want to play this out? Let's just get it over with it's friggin 3:20 in the morning, you know?

But he decides to be an ass. He's folding, waiting for a big hand. My stack is over 1M in chips and the blinds are 8k/16k. I debate sitting out and making him blind me out for an hour just to piss him off. But then I realize, in a moment of insight, that this guy still thinks he can beat me and WANTS to beat me. He thinks he shouldn't have taken the deal. So I figure out what make him even MORE pissed. I decide to throw the game and (hopefully) make him think that he gave up $300, not gained $75. It's brilliant. He definitely has the ego to believe it.

So, I throw the game. I make donkey plays. I re-raise into a board of A8A8 with 9974 when he has an obvious A. I call his raise from OOP with K443 and get lucky with a 567 flop. I 4-bet with QQ36 when this guy is only playing AA or A2xx, still, HU. I know he has one of those, he's a 1-D player, but I want him to think he's the shit and gave up value. I hope I am tilting him all to hell.

Please, oh please, make him think it was a "real" win!! I can't wait to meet him in a tourney again and pound the crap out of him. Sure, he "won" the tourney, it says so right up there. But we all know the real story now, don't we.

So the BR got a nice boost. I'm happy. I was able to get some revenge on him. Now I can play some higher cash and SnGs. I might play a WCOOP event. I can't play the FTOPS, as I can't get out of work on the 12th for the PLO8 event. Hopefully I can keep the streak alive and move up some more. I have the momentum and the confidence. So watch out!

I'll cya at the tables.

Vegas, Day 3 and 4

Hello all, and welcome back. First, a clarification. Jody: Mike and I shower separately during all parts of this trip. I know this is a disappointment due to your jealousy/man crush on either myself or Mike. (probably both, cause who doesn't?)

Moving on.

Day 3 (wow...this is longer that I expected. We did a lot on Tuesday!)
When last we left, I had finally turned around the trip with a cash in Binion's PLO8 Poker Classic Event. Mike had crashed early on Monday, so he was up and ready to go early Tuesday. We get up and hike down to MGM as Mike likes the room and I want another shot at winning at the room, and I want to play the 11am $65 buyin. I sign up when registration opens at 9:30, and we are sitting in the 1/2 NLHE again for a bit. I get a bit worried when someone asks "Who's playing in today's turbo?" Uh oh. I didn't check out the structure before signing up. I look, and it is a fast tourney, so I know I'm going to have to keep chipping up. I have another down session in NLHE and decide that I just have bad luck in the room (I had AA cracked this time vs 77 and JJ. Of course, the 77 hit his set)

We get started with 70 runners. They allow "re-entry" as an alternate for the first hour, so we end up with 82. First place is $1600ish. Not bad for a $65 buyin. I start slow and bleed chips for the first few levels, just watching people play. I work on my reads, and take my time with decisions. This really is the key for me in this tourney. I don't rush and react. I stop, I think about the action, I put people on ranges, and then I make my decisions. After level 3 I start to step up my game and double up with JJ versus A8. No A and I'm doing well. We have a few players busting, and we are the last table to break prior to the FT, so I will have some time and be able to build an image at the table. I check on Mike, who is at the first table to break. He doubled early and is in good shape as well.

I get decent cards and am able to apply pressure well. I have one bad fold where I have 99 in the small blind. The button, who has been playing solid, raises with 200/400 blinds to 1000. I have about 8.5k and reraise to 2500. She insta-shoves. I think for a few, and finally fold, not wanting to race at that point. She lets out a breath and flashes me 77. I think I acted too quickly and didn't think through what she was doing. She was solid, and wouldn't have been shoving with AK or AQ, she had to have a pair. And the way she played it should have screamed middle pair, which I had domintated. But for me it wasn't a big mistake, we had basically the same chip count and she could have easily had TT, JJ or QQ. Might have been a slight mistep, but I manage to start chipping up again. I win a few very nice hands and I'm up to 1st or 2nd in chips. We get down to the final 2 tables and Mike is still in as well. Possible double final table? They will pay the top 8, so just making the FT won't be enough.

Mike finally busts on the FT bubble. He shoves with JT on the button and one of the blinds wakes up with KK (I think, correct me if I'm wrong). I still have a big stack, with around 35k. We get re-seated at the table, and the other big stack is to my immediate right. We are pretty close, I think he has about 1k more than me. The floor says we can chop now for $480 each. I say "sure" and the other big stack says "I'm not ready to discuss a deal, yet". There are quite a few short stacks (>3k) at the table and the blinds are up to 300/600. We play 2 hands and I ask the other big stack if he would be willing to take $130 out of first so we can loosen up the play a bit and pay out the whole FT, with 9 and 10 getting their buyin back. He agrees, we call the floor, proposed the deal, and everyone agrees. This sigificantly loosens up the table and people start shipping with a bigger range.

I take out the 9th place guy when he shoves from MP. It folds to me and I look down at 77 on the button. I start to study the MP shover and he isn't looking happy. I give him a long look, and he notices and looks away. He is trying not to make eye contact, and he looks nervous. I finally put him on a medium Ace or small pair and I reraise to get the blinds out. He tables A9. 9 on the flop, and he's happy. 7 on the turn reduces him to a 2-outer, which he misses on the river. I am happy with the outcome, but more happy with my read. I'm on, finally.

We get to 6 and the floor says we will now each get $700ish. Again, I think it sounds good but the other big stack says "I'm not ready to discuss a deal, yet". Sigh. I have a good sized ($40k) stack, but that could change quickly as the blinds are up to 800/1600. We get down to 4, and the floor again states that we will chop now and get $860 each. Again, big stack says "I'm not ready to discuss a deal, yet". Yikes! 4th will pay $450, so we have the potential to lose 400 if we are the next player out. I've started to lose some chips and I'm down to $25k. 4th is close with $23k, second has about $35k. He's got like $70k, so I can see his point. We play a few rounds and I turn and ask him what he would need for a deal. He asks what 1st pays. I tell him that it is about $1500. He says "I'll take $1000". I call the floor, we all talk. Big stack gets just over $1k, the rest of us get $790.

Now it gets crazy. There's a Finnish player who doesn't speak English well, and his wife is helping to translate. He is adamant that he wants the "Tournament Champion" card cover that first place gets. I'm wondering if he understands that he's potentially paying $300 to NOT get the cover. I'm not happy that I could get out at any time. I finally ask if they would be willing to give out 2 covers, the floor says "sure" and we have a deal. Whew. So I cash for $790. Maybe MGM isn't as bad as I thought!

We walk over to Excalibur to see the electronic tables and see if there is a PLO or PLO8 game going. Nope. Nothing good. We call Bleu and ask if he wants to try the tourney at Hard Rock that night, and he's in the Limit O8 at WSOP that day. So we head back to the hotel for a quick nap prior to the Hard Rock tourney, planning to go rail Bleu after. Nap, wake up and cab it to HR.

The buyin is $70, so we are hoping that there are a few folks there. Unfortunately, we start with 11. Ick. Top 3 pay. The highlight of the night is when we get to the final table, and start talking with Dawn. She was playing at Binion's on Monday night with Mike after busting out of their PLO8, and she starts hitting on him pretty hard. I find it hilarious. I egg her on a bit. She's not a good player, and is planning to play in the WSOP $1500 PLO8. She says she tried to play the cash game at the Rio (she was playing cash at Binion's with Mike) and didn't do very well. She says she wants to hang out with us, even if she busts and asks what we are doing next. I imagine that she's looking to get Mike to invite her back to his room and steal his wallet to help finance her tourney. I finally bust her in 7th and she says "I'm going to go change into my evening wear. Don't leave without me!"

No deals for final 4, the cash isn't very big to begin with. Mike finally busts as the bubble boy again, but at least I busted him and kept the chips in the family. I'm 2nd in chips. In the BB I pick up Kh9h. Button is short and calls, SB checks. Flop is 3 hearts. Gin! SB checks and I decide to bet out, hoping they don't think I'm wiley enough to bet out with the flush. I'm right as the button shoves, and the SB calls. I re-ship and he calls. Button has AJ with the Jh. SB has a pair with a Q kicker. SHIP IT!

So I get to HU with a 2-1 chip lead. Don't offer a deal (bad idea, I know). I get him all in with A9 vs KQ and he flops a Q. Gah. Now even in chips. We play a few more and he's very passive. I steal for a bit and get back up to 2-1. Then, I flop top 2 pair with KT on a K T 4 board with 2 hearts. I bet, he calls. Turn is 6h. I bet and he ships. I react, and don't think (see a pattern here?) and call. He shows 9h7h. No K or T on the river and I'm now short. Too late to deal. I finally bust with A4 vs T6 all in PF. He rivered a 6. Sigh. But I collect $130 for the trouble, and I'm happy with my day.

Dawn did return, in a gold sequinned dress when we were down to 4 players. Very sparkly. She looked a bit like a hooker, which got me thinking that maybe she was and she was trying to get Mike to give her some business. She asked what our plans were and we said we were going to Rio to rail our friend and play some cash. She was upset as she was afraid of the Rio cash games and wanted us to go somewhere else with her. She got pouty, and I was trying very hard not to laugh. She said she would be playing cash in the room and not to leave without her. After the tourney was over, we did a quick walk through, and she was gone. Must have found another John for the evening :-D We had seen her 2 days in a row and expected to run into her again as you end up seeing the same people at different places in Vegas, as the poker community isn't very big. Too bad we didn't see her the rest of the week.

We head to Rio and chat with Bleu. He's doing well and so we head over to check out the cash game action. Then call Virge and Lusky to see what they are doing. It's about 11, so they are getting ready for dinner. Lusky agrees to pick us up and we head out to a place called PTs in Henderson. Have some dinner and then head to the casino/resort "M" that is really far off the strip. It's about 1:30am. There are NO poker games running. In fact, I only see a few people in the central bar. Not good for a Vegas casino to be that empty. Granted, it isn't on the strip, but it's a nice resort and I would expect there to be a few people. We don't even see anyone playing slots. We head out to the deck off one of the bars and chat for a while overlooking the pool and decide to call it a night. Lusky gives us a lift back to IP. Mike decides to play cash at IP, but I'm beat so I hit the sack.

Day 4
Mike gets back to the room at around 5am. I sleep until 9ish and finally give up and get up and shower, and head over to Treasure Island for their Bounty tourney ($125 buyin, $50 to the prize pool and $50 to bounties). I collect 2 bounties and am basically on a freeroll. They have 40 runners, so it's a nice tourney.

Mike finally drags his butt out of bed just after 11am, and calls to see what I'm doing. I tell him and he heads over. He's hungry and I could use some lunch as well, so I make him my "food bitch" (his term) and send him off to Wendy's to bring back food. He heads back and I chow, and he takes off for MGM as the cash game at TI leaves much to be desired.

I FT again, and lose 88 versus A4. I was short, so it wasn't a bad call at all, especially with the bounty factor. I was a bit upset at the time, but then after thinking about it I realized that it was right for him to gamble, as he was 3rd in chips and even doubling me wouldn't have hurt him too bad. I finish in 8th.

I call Mike and he's still at MGM. I decide to head over to Rio for cash and to check on Bleu. I get over there and find out that Bleu didn't make it to Day 2, so I get on the list for the 5/5 PLO8 game. Sit after a while and there's a few PLO8 regulars there. MegaDisgruntled, Cincy's Finest, Poker Dave. I play for a bit and then Dave starts punishing my limps, being directly to my left. He wants to play for stacks when I'm trying the tight/passive preflop thing. I finally give up after a few hours, down about $150. I call Mike and he's still at MGM so I head back to IP after a burger at the Sports Deli (best burgers in Vegas!). I debate heading over to the Sahara for the 12:30 am bounty, but finally just go to sleep a early. Definitely not as packed of a day as Day 3, and not as profitable. Such is life.

That's it for today. I'll post the final report (Days 5 and 6, if you aren't paying attention). Meanwhile, I'll cya at the tables.

Vegas, Day 1 and 2

Hello all. I've had people giving me guff, so I guess I better get to posting. Boats gave a pretty good account of the week, but here's my thoughts and spin.

We arrived early on Sunday, getting out of Cincy on a 9am flight. Luckily, the IP had a room available when we arrived at 11am, so we were able to drop our stuff off and head out.

We go to meet up with a friend and hope to play in the Venetian in their noon tourney. No luck, they are down for their Deepstacks event. Record fields of 900+. Amazing setup. Unfortunately, this time around I never do make it back to play in the 4/8 Omaha Hi/Lo game. Such is life.

Since Dave and his wife have a rental car, we are lucky enough to have a ride up to Binion's to play in their Poker Classic. Sunday is a $150+10 NLHE game. I get into a good comfortable spot and am doing pretty well. We get to level 6 and I'm still average stack or just below. Sitting directly across from me is a Joe Hachem look alike. The guy has the glasses, the "soul patch", the long sleeve, black, ratty t-shirt. It's so sad it's kind of funny. Anyway, he has been hammering on my BB for a few rounds. I finally played back with JTc and shoved over the top when I was getting short, and he called. My str8 hit and he doubled me up. So we have a history when we get to my bust-out hand.

The blinds are up to 300/600 and I have about 8400. Hachem-wannabe again opens in MP for 1800. Folded around to me and I smooth-call after finding 66 in the BB. Flop is a wonderful J J 6. Gin! I check as this guy C-bets everything. True to form, he bets out 3500 into the 3900 pot. I think, then check-raise all in. He beats me into the pot and slams his KK down, saying "I got you this time!" My response "Not this time, I'm ahead sir." And table my 6s full. The poker gods obviously hate my response and deliver a J on the river, giving him the bigger FH. GG me.

We stick around and get onto the list for the 1/3 PLO8 game to warm-up for the action on Monday, and Mike is ahead of me on the list, so he gets the first seat. I sit in the 1/2 NLHE game and drop 100 to the rock in seat 9 that, when he plays a hand, refuses to fold. I raise to $10 with AQc and he calls in position. The flop is 7c9cTh. I bet $20, he calls. Turn is the Js, giving me the OESD and nut flush draws. I bet $40, he calls. River is a blank and I bet $40 one more time. He insta-calls and tables 7s5s. Bottom pair, no draw. Nice. I can't find a hand versus him and get called up to the PLO8 game.

I slowly start to creep up, but the jet lag is hitting me. Finally stand up and take a walk to see what's going on in the NLHE tourney, and see the Hachem-wannabe has been doing good work with my chips, and is 3 out of the money. Just one hand and I could have been there, but that's poker. I wanted the call and just got unlucky. I head back and Mike looks like he's ready to go as well, so we call it a night. I count and end up down for the session about $30, so I made back $70 of what I'd lost in NLHE.

Not a good start, but I'm not too upset. I played well and was thinking about hands instead of just reacting. I took my time, weighed my options, and didn't go on tilt, even when I was getting the worst of it. I felt good about the day on Monday, where we would be playing in the PLO8$210 at Binion's.

Day 2
Well, I try to sleep, but I keep waking up. First time is 4am (7am eastern). I manage to doze on and off until about 7am and finally give up. Will be a long day if I FT the Binion's, but I just can't sleep, so I get up. Mike is up too, so we shower, and hit the strip. Breakfast at BK next door at O'Sheas food court, then down to MGM on the monorail for some early NLHE. Mike loves the room and always does well there, and I haven't played in it so I decide to give it a shot. I originally at at a different table than Mike, but I do get a table change as there is an all-in-or-fold guy that is a pain sitting to my right. When I move, I sit with $200 and bleed, but have some great reads. Here is the big one.

I have AcAd in MP and the UTG guy opens for $12. I smooth call (yep, there's my first mistake) and we get 5 in to the flop. Flop is AhKjTh. The SB that was a caller leads out for $2 and we all laugh. The pot is $60. Then UTG does something that starts to smell fishy. He calls. I decide to raise to $17 to see where I'm really at. Next player re-raises to $67. Button Calls. SB folds, surrendering his HUGE lead out bet....and then UTG smooth calls again. Now I'm in full-blow spidey sense tingling mode. Mike is to my right so I show him my AA, and then muck. He's going nuts. Says I'm a moron, that the pot odds say I have to call and hope to hit my boat. Turn is the 2c and UTG checks. The $67 raiser now shoves for $80 more, button and UTG both just call. River is another 2 and Mike whispers "See, you should have stayed". I say "nope, that's not good enough". UTG checks and button checks. UTG goes nuts, saying "How could you not bet there!!!???!!" He's berating the button. Then he shows his QhJh for the flopped Royal. Spidey sense was right and I was drawing dead. All-in shows his monster ATo, and button mucks what he claims is a small flush.

I add another $100 after a bit and get Ac4c in the BB. MP raises (button from the Royal hand) and 3 call ahead. I call and the flop is two clubs. I check, one bet, MP raiser raises, then back to me. I call. Bettor goes all in and Button calls. I have invested about $45 at this point, and debate mucking. I show Mike again and he says "Do the math before you muck!" and the dealer gives him a warning. I don't feel it and think I should fold, but then I do the math and there's $140ish out there. I have $140 left, and the all in has me covered as does the other player. I'm getting the right price and reluctantly call. The shover has top set (I think it was 8s) and they hold, and I'm felted. Mike is up, so we decide to cut and run to Binion's for the 2pm. He graciously pays for the cab with his winnings, and I'm not happy, I'm already down a couple of hundred and it's only day 2. Yikes!

We decide to prop bet on the entrants in the PLO8. I set the number at 215, and Mike takes the under. I hardly ever lose prop bets, but of course, the final count is 207. Sigh. The bad luck continues.

I had a blast in the PLO8 tourney. There were several folks at my table that I've played with online, and didn't even start talking to the guy to my right until the second hour. Turns out he and I played quite a bit over on FT when I was playing NLO8 over there, trying out a short-stack shove stategy developed by Predator06 in the micro-games. He knows Pred as well and we got along well online, so it's nice to have a "friend" at the table. He plays professionally, and does pretty well. I'm up and down a bit and finally pick up A25Kds on the button. My "friend" raises and I re-pot, he puts me all in and I call. I scoop the hand and this doubles me up to about 16k with 400/800 blinds. After a bit, we get a few other pros at the table. Whothedonk and RedRaider80 sit. If you don't know Red, his real name is Justin Phillips and he's the guy that hit the Royal Flush versus quad Aces in the 2008 WSOP. He's a blast and was fun to play with for a few hours.

I stay ahead of the average and finally take out Matt (the "friend") when we have about 40 left. The Top 27 pay. I get a call from Bleu, and he's on the way over with his sister, who just turned 21 on Sunday and was in celebrating. He shows up and says hello and heads off to the 1/3 PLO8 game. Then, I have some bad luck. My nut flush/nut low draw misses, and I'm down to about 18k. I manage to hang on into the money and lose another hand, but get out cheaply and am down to 12k. Finally pick up AA46 and double to 24k. We get down to the final 2 tables, and I finally get it all in with A25J and lose to A3QJ when he flops his Q. We got it all in PF, and I'm out in 17th place. I cash for $310 and things are finally turning around. Mike had already caught a ride back to the hotel, so I go to get on the 1/3 PLO8 list to play with Bleu. I go to sweat him as I'm 8th on the list. I manage to meet up with Truthiness27, a mod on the 2+2 Omaha Hi/Lo forum, and he's on the list for 1/3 as well.

While sweating Bleu, I see at least one other 2+2er at the table, MegaDisgruntled. The two of them got involved in absolutely the biggest pot I've ever seen in a 1/3 PLO8 game. 4 players, 3 of which get all in preflop. Bleu has the 3rd biggest stack at $530ish and Mega has them all covered. The pot is easily $1500-1600 preflop. The short stack shows A246, the second player (who was a donkey from the night before, information that I gave Blue earlier in his session) has K874, Mega has A2xx, and Bleu has AA3Q. Flop is 35Q, turn is the 7, and the river is a Q. Bleu and Mega chop the K874, and then the short stack 3/4ers the main pot with Mega. It was nuts, but the dealer did a great job keeping the pots straight and getting all the money chopped and done in about 2 minutes.

I stick around until about midnight, but it doesn't look like they are going to start a 2nd table, even with 9 on the list. Tru decides to leave, and I give it up too. I take the Duece back to the IP and Mike's been sacked out for a bit. I hit the sack and hope that my luck has turned.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll have Days 3 and 4 up later in the week. I'll cya at the tables.

Mike Matusow has nothing on me...

Hello readers. Time for my monthly-ish post. Thanks for stopping by. Today's topic: running bad. Being the tail of the probability curve. How bad? Come along and find out.

I decided to bring out a cash game graph. Granted, I play more touneys than cash, but these will give you an idea of how I've been running....



This first one is all of my PLO8 hands for the year. Looks like I've made some bad plays and should be down, but I'm about 3bb/100 below expectation. So, let's see what my all-in equity looks like, shall we?

Yikes! Looks like I'm getting all in ahead, and still losing. Not a lot of hands, really, since I'm playing Pot Limit, but still running -3.5 behind expectation. Yuck!

There is also a "probability graph" that it looks like I'm running at the low end of the normal distribution, and I'm about 1 SD off the mean. That's bad. I'm in the bottom 33.3%.

So what made me decide to pull up these graphs? I've had 2 pretty brutal live sessions as well.

Our company gives us Good Friday off every year, so I decided, as a true gamboooler should, to use that day to hit the boat and play some poker. I play at the Argosy in Lawrenceburg, and they have a tourney at 11:15am. I got up and was on my way in plenty of time, but barely missed the start due to a wreck on the interstate and ended up #5 on the alternate list. Argosy has done a great job recently and their tourneys have a ton of play. I didn't expect to get in as the stacks are deep to start, but I stuck around and sweated a guy I sometimes play live with in a home game. I was on the 1/3 NLHE list, and wanted to get some play in. He was doing decently, and nearing the end of the first hour I wasn't going to take a spot even if they opened one up, so I grabbed a pager and went up for some lunch.

Came back and I was #2 on the list. They announced the start of a new table, so I went to buy in and grabbed a seat.

This was the most brutal 3.5 hours of poker I have ever played. I won exactly 1 hand. In 3.5 hours. I was coolered 4 times with a pocket pair vs higher pair situation. None of my draws got there. AK sooooooted, flop 2 of my suit and a gutshot draw. Pair my A on the turn. Lose when a blank hits the river to JTo. Play a middle suited connector in position with a lot of limpers. Stright and flush draws. Nothing gets there. I mix up my play and try a few strong bets in position, some of them bluffs at boards that I represent I have a good hand. Get called down by bottom 2 pair. AA runs into J6 (who played because it was SOOOOTed, he states) who gets 2 pair on the turn and flushes the river. I finally win a hand after rebuying for $200 and I'm down to my last $41. I open-shove after 2 limpers from the Cutoff with A-6 SOOOOTed. Yeah, I'm probably steaming a bit. It holds up to the BB who calls me with 86 offsuit. Yeah, it was that kind of game and I couldn't win a hand. I tightened up after a bit since the table was so loose, and I still couldn't catch a break. Final hand I have AJ hearts and run into KK. Flop is J 8 4, no hearts. No A on the turn or river and I'm done. Worst run at the boat ever, but it happens to everyone, right?

So I shake it off, come home, and play some online poker. Lose 2 buyins at $25 PLO8. I give up. Decide to wait on another day.

Then, last night is my poker league night. I'm out of the running for the main prize, but there is still prize money to be won every night. I play tight, aggressive. I mix it up with some hands. Slide from the initial 10k down to about 4.5k, and then start to see some chips move my way. A few well-timed bluffs, steal some blinds when we hit the 150/300 and 200/400 levels, and I'm back to about 12k. Then I have T2 on the button and decide to raise again. The BB has a lot of chips and decides to see a flop. Flop is T 8 2 with 2 clubs. He leads out 800. I call. Turn is the 6s. He leads out 800. I debate a raise to 2800 but smooth call. River is a club. He bets 1200. I raise to 2500 and he insta-calls and tables 87 clubs. Should have raised that turn, but I was trying to get max value on my 2 pair. Such is life.

I make the FT with about 6k in chips. Blinds are up to 300/600. I float for a while, then manage to pick up AA UTG with only 5700 left. Blinds are 400/800 and I raise to 2400. Folded to a tight player in MP who smooth-calls. Folded around and we see a flop of Q Q 3. I put my last 3300 in and MP goes in the tank. Now I know that he's got a pair, as this player is very tight and would fold anything but a pair here. I go into weakness mode and give him a stare. He says "Man, I think you have AK. Or AJ. " Please! Call me! I look away and he thinks for another 30-40 seconds. Counts out a call and he has me covered by about 1500. He'd be crippled if he's wrong. He finally calls and I show him the AA. He tables 66 and no 6 hits (surprisingly!) on the turn or river and now I have just under 13k. I find AhJh on the button a few hands later when an UTG shoves his last 5200 and Mr 66 calls. Folded to me. I think and make the call. The open-raiser has QT suited and Mr 66 has A6 off. Flop is J J 8 and I take out 2 more. We are now into the points, but not the money yet. The last man to go out loses to the CL and we are in the money.

Final 4 have me versus the big stack with 2 smaller stacks. The 2 shorties are still in the running for the title as was the 5th place finisher so it means something to these guys. The CL is the guy who hit the flush vs me earlier in the T2 hand. I have about 30k, he has about 50k, and the other two guys have about 15k each. I'm in a good spot to win at least 150, if not the 250 if I can make some moves and get even with the CL.

My BB, and I find AdQd. UTG folds, and the CL is the button and calls 2k. Blinds are 1k/2k with a 200 ante. SB calls. I raise to 7k. Button calls and SB folds. Flop is J T 9 with 2 hearts. I bet out 8k. Button insta-raises to 16k. He does this when he has an overpair or a made hand. I think about it and he's played overpairs like this more. There's 37k in the pot. And I have to call 8k. If he's got KK or AA i'm about 30%. The call is good. If he's got QQ I'm probably a bit better. If he's got JJ, TT, or 99 I'm down to 25%. But overall a call here is correct. That leaves me with 7300. I probably should shove, but I call.

Turn is a beautiful 8c. I shove, not caring if he calls or not. He thinks about it and says "I guess you have the straight, but I call". I show him the bad news and he tables Kh Kc. The UTG player says "Crap, I mucked Q3". That leaves 2 Qs for him to hit. And guess what he pulls out on the river? Yep. Qc. GG me. I haven't had a hand tilt me in quite a while. I usually shrug it off and say "That's poker" and move on. This one had me steaming. I'm glad I didn't have more chips as I would have been reckless. I just lost a 60K+ pot, not to mention about $110 in real money (at least) on a 2-outer. I would have had a good chip lead, but instead now this guy has about 80k in chips and takes out the other two in about 8 hands. I get $40 for my troubles.

Other guys are talking about "How sick was that beat?" and "He couldn't fold there!". Why can't he fold there? I've repped the draw or a set with my betting. The draw gets there and I shove. Sure, there is ~53k in the pot and he needs to just call 7300. But if I have what I've repped, and even have just a set of 9s, he's still drawing to 6 outs on the river. Rough math is 6 outs makes 12%. 12% of the pot is ~6200, and he's calling 11oo more. He doesn't have the right price there. If I have the straight (which is what it looks like I have) he's in worse shape. He's down to about 6% (and 4% if we can believe UTG folded a Q, but we don't know that when he's making this decision). Granted, knocking out a player means a lot here. But I've repped the hand I have and he knew I had it (he even said "I guess you have the straight? I'll call"). And STILL made the call. He can fold and still be comfortably in 2nd place and make a run. That is what tilted me more than anything.

So, again, I'm WAYYYY DOWN in the tail of the distribution. Mike, eat your heart out. You've got nothing on me. You're not the "unluckiest man in poker".

Enough whining and moaning. I think I've shaken off the tilt for now. Time to get back to the tables. Hopefully, I can put together a nice run and head out to Vegas with some folks around WSOP time. My BR has taken quite the hit this year, so it is still up in the air.

Meanwhile, I'll cya at the tables.

Poker < Life

Hello all, thanks for stopping by for a gander. It's been a while, but I fell off the horse there for a bit. Real life stepped in, as sometimes it tends to do.

I haven't had time to play much lately. I've still been grinding at O8, but mostly the Stars 8:30 Rebuy and SnGs. Cash, I'm back to NLHE. I'm running badly in O8, but NLHE has taken up some of the slack. I just haven't had time. The wife broke her right leg slipping on the ice in one of our snow dumps in Feb, and I've had to be chauffer/dad/cook/maid for the last month and a half. Work picked up quite a bit, so I've been swamped. That hasn't left a lot of time at poker. I've played the rebuy 4-5 times with a cash, and been running badly in the $16 SnGs. I dropped back to the $6.50s for a bit while I rebuild.

But now the itch needs some scratching. Not playing as much has given me some time to sit and thik about where I want to go with poker. I still am not sure, but when I figure it out, you will all start to hear from me again. I need to get back.

In the meantime, it's my favorite time of year. March Madness. My buddy Boats has everyone over for a "between the tourneys" game on Thurs and Fri. I've made it a tradition to take the two days off every year, and this is no exception. Boats is doing something different this year with HORSE on Thursday and No Limit Omaha on Friday. Even if I don't win, it will be great to get back into some live action. And NLO. My oh my. I might just try to fold into the money :)

I also have joined a poker "league" and have managed to scrape up a few points and some cash. Halfway through the season and I'm stuck in the middle of the pack. One gent is out in front and it looks like he'll win the top prize ($2500 for a WSOP prelim and $2500 for travel/accomodations). We will get back some cash if he makes it deep, and he's definitely got the skills to get there. I'm hoping to get to Vegas with predator and see some old friends in Bleu, Virge, Lusky, and I'm bringing the German, again this year. So look for me in Vegas sometime in June. If pred bails, I'll probably go with the guys from the poker league.

That's it for now. Just a quick post. Hopefully I'll cya at the tables.

Back on game...hopefully

Well, I'm at a crossroads. I really enjoy playing O8 but I've been beat up pretty well over the last several months. I made the attempt to move from PL to Limit thinking that would help, and only made the slide worse.

Everyone goes through rough patches. I quit posting here as well, just taking my lumps and hoping to come out the other side. I'm hoping that 2009 will start better than 2008 has been, and I took my first step into the "new year" today. Yeah, I know it isn't here yet, but I'm on vacation until Jan 5th, so I'm in a fuzzy zone hear. Let me have my delusions, okay?

Being off work, I decided to head down to the boat (Argosy, IN) to play in their Noon bounty tourney. I've played it a few times in the last couple of years. Early this year, on MLK I played it and was first out. I was hoping to improve on that finish, especially with the 11 month hiatus.

I started out slow. There were a few active players at our table and we had one bounty in the first hour. Lots of raise-and-take-it preflops. Some flops that were not contested. Only 4-5 hands made it to showdown. Then, when we moved into hour 2, the table started to move. I took the second bounty soon after crippling a guy with Q9 vs KT when I made a Q-hi straight. Then the someone finished him off with....Q9 vs his A8. I don't think he took it well, but bad luck happens. Soon after, the same gentlemen that took out A8 with his Q9 took out one more and our table broke. After starting with 46, there were 29 left. I had about 4.5k in chips and the average was about 5k. We started with 3k in chips.

The second table didn't have a lot of action. The highlight for me was the chip race at the end of hour 2. I lost that too. I did manage to stay afloat and even move up a little. I had just under 6k when we moved to the final 2 tables. With 19 left, I was the third largest stack (yeah, with just under 6k). There were a bunch of us between 4 and 6k, so it was going to be a grind.

I watched a few hands and the guy next to me made a comment about the big stack being unable to fold. The guy had about 22k in chips and was doubling up the 2 shorties at the table on a regular basis. He was 4 to my right, and I was just hoping to have something when he started raising again. Finally, he popped it to 1600 PF when we were at 400/800 blinds. I looked down to find 3h3d. I have about 9k. I called, as did the SB and an EP limper. Flop was 3 6 8 rainbow. I checked. EP limper checked. Big stack continuation bets 2k. SB folds and I smooth call, hoping limper comes along for the ride. Unfortunately, he folds. The turn is a 9. I check. Big stack bets 1500. I check-raise to 5k. He says "all in". I stop and think. He's made this play with 2 pair once and top pair once. I start to see monsters under the bed and think I might have stepped in it and he's holding something crazy. Like T7. After 15 or 20 seconds of studying him, I think he's getting nervous about me taking my time. I finally decide it is do-or-die time and call off my last 3600. He flips up K9 for TP, not so good kicker and he's drawing dead. Suddenly, I have the big stack with about 23-24k. I vow not to become the bully and continue to play the poker that got me the big stack. I have fallen into the "calling" trap that the big stack just got into myself once or twice.

I get hit with the deck a bit and chip up to about 40k with 12 left. There's 138k in play, so I have almost 1/4 of the chips, and realize that I can definitely make it to the money as long as I don't get unlucky and don't get stupid. I have 2 whole bounties when we get to the final table. The chip leader that I got with my 3s is still around and has made a comeback to about 12k.

We draw for seats and I get to see a few hands with the new folks before I get hit with any blinds. The table has become a little tight as they are only paying the top 5 out of 46 runners. I decide to bide my time. The guy to my immediate left has about as many chips as I do, so I have to be careful not to get into a spot where he can 3-bet me if he thinks I'm getting to out of line. Then, he gets into a confrontation with another big stack and he takes the guy out. He's now sitting on about 50k with 8 left. There are a few shorties, hanging on to 7-8k stacks. I have about 35k, and 3rd looks like he's got just under 20k. We spar a bit, and I manage to take a nice pot in a blind-vs-blind battle when my A8 misses the 6 5 6 flop with 2 hearts. I decide to see what the big stack is made of and bet into him on every street. The third bullet finally gets him to fold. Good thing no more hearts came, as that is what he says he was drawing to.

A few hands later and I'm the big stack with about 37k. I'm on the button. UTG smooth calls the 1600 big blind and she has about 6.5k total. Folds to me and I look down at Tc9c. Not the best hand, but it is suited, connected, and most likely 2 live cards. I raise to 5k straight. Folded back to her and she insta-shoves. She has 1.7k more. I think, and figure she's on a pair or a big A. I call, she shows AK offsuit. Flop is QJ4 with 2 clubs. Perfect flop, now I'm the favorite. Turn is a 6. River pairs her K and I take us down to 7, collecting my 3rd bounty. At $20 each, I only need 3 more to be freerolling. Maybe I'll make it.

Big stack from the earlier table is now the shortie and manages to double up twice. Finally get down to 6, and it is time for the next break. I knocked out 7th and can't for the life of me remember the hand, but I now have 4 bounties. I step out to call the wife, and then Predator to get a pep talk for the final table. Guy to my left has made a bit of a comeback and I'm down a bit after folding to a shove on a flop of K 2 4 from a mid-stack that called my PF raise of 3.5k with 500/1000 blinds. I had AJ. He later claimed to have the nut flush draw, but there were 2 clubs out there and my A was a club. I'd guess he had a middle pair and was hoping I didn't have AK, and took a chance. It was a good play, and his body language said he wasn't bluffing, so I made the laydown. We come back and I've won the chip race and see that I have the player to my left covered by about 4k.

The action out of this break gets fast and furious. I knock out 6th and the money bubble is over when I have KK in the CO and he shoves with KT off. 5th goes to the former CL from the early table when my AT flops an A vs his QQ. I now have 80k in chips just like that. The other 3 are all getting somewhat short, with only 58k left and 1500/3000 blinds. I start to steal a bit now with position and the stack to strike fear. I manage to crest at 88k and there comes a 3-way all in confrontation between the other 3. A7 hearts versus JJ versus KT hearts. The hearts actually come out and we are down to 3. The next hand I fold my 82 off in the BB when the button shoves. SB wakes up with AQ and it hits vs the button's 55 and we are HU.

I have a pretty good lead and am not very impressed with the HU play of my opponent. He's folding about 70% of his buttons without any movement from me. I make it up to just over 90k to his 48k when I find Kc7c in the BB. He min-raises. I decide that he's been weak and want to see what happens if I come over the top. He thinks and calls. He shows QcJc and I'm very very happy. Until the Q flops. But wait! There's 2 clubs! The turn pairs my 7, and now any 7, K or club and I win. The river pairs a 2 on the board and he wins with his 2 pair. Looks like my luck finally broke.

I manage to fight back to about 80k in chips again, as he's still playing very passive. I can take down just about any pot with a bet. If he raises or calls, I know he has something and I can slow down. I manage to get back up when he limps and I check my 72o. Can the hammer win? Flop is 2 2 4. He checks, and I decide to set a trap and check. Turn is a Q. He now bets out about 10k. I decide to smooth and get it in on the river. River is a T and he checks. I shove, he calls and I show him the bad news.

I finally make my first big mistake. I play Qc7c from the Button, raising to 18k with 3/6k blinds. He smooth calls. The flop is all rags. He checks, I check. Turn is the Qs, but is the 3rd spade out there. He checks. I debate pulling the trigger, but he has always bet his big hands so I check. River is a 4th spade and here's where I blow it. He stops dead and looks at his hand, doing a "spade check". I remember hearing a pro one time say "if they look back, they don't have it and they are trying to represent it". But this guy isn't into 2nd or 3rd level thinking, he's just playing his cards. I forget that when he bets 20k. I get to thinking about how he's just trying to represent it contrary to all the evidence I've seen thus far, and I call. He shows the As5h and scoops a big one. Crap.

I am unable to recover from that one. I have about 49k and we break. We return to 4/8k blinds and I'm pretty well into all in or fold poker. He's finally found a spine somewhere at the break and comes out swinging. My first hand is 74o in the BB, he raises to 20k. I fold. 2nd hand I have 82o. I fold. I am down to 37k and find 78o in the BB. He raises to 28k. I shove the other 9k and he calls with QT. Flop is Q Q 5. Turn is a 7 and I'm done. I manage to get 2nd, but I'm a bit disappointed in my mistakes at the end. I'm not complaining, and I get $785 and $120 for the bounties, so after the tip I take home a $760 profit. Not bad for a day's work.

So maybe I'm just getting unlucky at O8. Maybe it is time to return to NLHE for a bit and see if I can get some of the cash back and then move back to O8 when I have a decent BR again. So we shall see in the next few weeks. Look for me to be playing a bit of NLHE and see if I can get back on the horse.

I'll cya at the tables.

Help out someone with poker!

Hello all, thanks for stopping by. I'm here to ask for your help this time around. Someone in the poker community is having some issues with medical bills due to his fight with kidney disease. You can help out this Wednesday, Nov 12th at 9pm EST. Here's the details:

Full Tilt
Tournament #67971755
$10+$10
Bad Beat on Kidney Failure
PW: CailtyssRulien

Help someone out and maybe make some cash. I hope to see you there!