Marathon Monday Night Tournament

So about that Monday night tournament. I told you that it was a first for me in the history of the Monday night tournament (well except for when it was 120 people playing at Big Mike's bar). Notorious open shover of the first hand RB showed up after a long long long hiatus so in the spirit of the return to the felt decided to ............. show up late and miss a few hands. Thats not the first time for that. I had to play one half of a league basketball game. I told them to let me play the first half and I would leave for the second. I didnt open shove and I didnt lose on the first hand which incidentally did also happen to me at Big Mike's once and it was to RB who was making his triumphant return. Ahh the circle of poker life. Actually a guy I played basketball with for years before we ever played tournament poker got second place in this very tournament. And the circle continues. I was really very active in this tournament. I made some good hands and I made some good bluffs. Unfortunately I also made some bad bluffs and made the second best hand quite a few times. I remember once after I had chipped up and had about 40% of the chips with 2 tables still playing I boldly asked what 1st was paying. It took less than 10 minutes to go down to about 20 big blinds for that peak. To get that chip stack I basically coolered Jack almost back to back and he still wasnt out. He musta had 50% in play before that. I think I also slow played AA against UTG raiser the nut ball of all tournament players who we shall call the White Rick Ross. The WRR hung in there a long time and even asked what first was paying a coupla times when I was short and he was stacked. So we got down to 6 and the chop talk started from the short stacks. I never said no but I knew it wasnt gonna happen. I doubled up a short stack and got down to 15k when blinds were 500/1000. I opened with 4s for 3500 and got a caller from the blind. The flop is an Ace and I get checked to. I bet another 5000 effectively risking my tournament and the other guy went into the tank. God please dont call. He folded and I showed like an idiot but it did ssend him on tilt and he was out soon. Now I really cant remember much after that. We talked about chopping at 4 handed when everyone was pretty even but there was a hold out. The same guy who won it last week. When we got down to three I tightened up a lot. The dealer gave me a wtf look at one point but I knew I was going to get heads up. The two guys left were gonna clash for sure. We talked about a save but decided to just keep playing. One of them raised every pot basically untill the other finally caught a hand. I had raised a few times in there but only with good hands. So I end up heads up with the non-chopper. This guy will definitely call with marginal hands and push back against raises real light. The last time we played heads up he demolished me. Well this one didnt start off too good. He had way more chips. About 70% of them I think. I was down to 21k in the 6k big blind and he pushed. I had 15k left in my stack and had 8,4. I figured I was live and if I folded I would have to push and gauranteed to get called the next round. I thought a while and opted to push the next hand. I picked up a K and pushed. I got called by an Ace. 30k in the pot and a King hits in the door and holds up. I think I push all-in again with a small pair and he folds. We get allin again and I have an Ace I think and he has Q4 suited. He atually called the allin with that and I win. I dont think he had to call there. I think he wouldve had about 40% of the chips left. Now Im chip leader. At some point he pushes and I call with an Ace. He flops a pair but I river an Ace and its over. 1st payed $400. The thing that had never happened was wining that tournament straight up with no save. I had only played the whole thing out one other time and it was against the same guy. It was 11:45 at that point and I didnt see getting to play cash since I would only really be able to play for 45 minutes (justifiably since I do have a job the next morning). Not that Ive never played until i had to go or be late to work. That really makes for a miserable Tuesday though.

Big Timer Now Biotchez

So Im on the front page of GPC now (Gulf Coast Poker Dot Net). I hoped that one day I would be the worst player with a featured blog and finally its happened. Thanks Yalls.

Lotsa poker to talk about. I almost played 3 days in a row last week once. Im such a degenerate. I havent played no slots or table games though. Goin back to last last Sunday (thats 2 Sundays ago). I played the ole Half n Half game at the Shop. Not much to say. I was the only one folding Omaha hands preflop. I hit some hands and won some money. $260 I think. I had a funny hand where I told the dealer he flashed both the 1 seats cards and then lost a medium pot to the one seat. LOL. I thought he had Ace,4 but he had Ace,2. and flopped the wheel. JJ is thinking about flashing me his cards on purpose from now on.

On to last last Monday. I busted out of the tournament 2 from the money. I started off hot and went dead halfway through. Probably lost most of my chips to James aka Fat Jesus aka the Leprechaun. Off course he is gonna call a raise with 10 high offsuit and call me down with his pair of 10s. Then I played cash. I raised from the BB with AJ of clubs and the UTG limper called and basically anounced he had a bad hand. I flop second pair and a flush draw. I bet, he calls, I bet turn, He calls. Now I check the river to wien his range and induce a bluff. He bets quick. I call. I lose. He had K9 and had flopped top pair. Crapfest. I eventually leave down about $100. My girl was upset about a family squabble so I went to hang out with her.

Now fast forward to Friday night. I meet my buddy down at Harrahs to do something I aint never did before. I staked him. Not just for the night like a sucker but we got an agreed upon bankroll and an agreed upon cashout point. I got there before him and sat. It was a wierd table. The play was pretty tight but everyone was overbetting. I bought in short for $100 and lost it shoving a draw. I actually got called but a bigger draw. Niether of us hit and he won with 9 high. Then I rebought another $100 and eventually got me some pocket Kings. I thnk it went limp then raise to like $35, a call. I shove my $100 and get called by the raiser. I win. So now Im up overall. My buddy shows up and I give him his buy in. This dude is hilarious. He will sit but not play for like 20 minutes while he watches the action. Im sure everyone at the table just wants to bust his ass after that. Anyone with that much audacity deserves a backer right? A little while later I get 66. Someone raises to $13 and about 3 people call. Ok so maybe the game aint so tight. Then the damn small blind min raises to $26. Genius. Everyone calls. I flop a set and the small blind open shoves. Im the only caller and I win. Mr. Small Blind leaves to everyones disappointment. Thats just about the worst possible way to play KK in the history of poker. A little while later I catch AA. The UTG folds and exposes an Ace. Then the next guys goes all in for $40 and gets a caller. I make it $120 hoping to get heads up with shorty. Nope. Call. Now Im praying for a raggeddy no broadway flop. im sure the guy has KQ or something similar. The flop is K,10,6. He checks. I more less go all in by betting $200 and leaving $67 behind. He call. Shit. The Turn is a Queen. He checks. I shove. He calls. Now Im pretty sure by the celebration from the short stack Im behind on that pot. Im really pretty sure Im behind everywhere. The river? A Jack. I win it all with a straight. Weeeeeeeeeeee. That spretty much the story of my night for my part. I win a few more and lose a a few more than that. I went pretty card dead the last two hours but i didnt care. I was sweatin my horse. I end up winning $635. I had an awesome time. There were a lot of friends in the card room that night. A lot of my friends are dealing there now. In fact it was my girl Lindsey who flopped me that set of 6s. Also got to chat with Dana for a good while while I was waiting out the 30 minutes of the most socially inept dealer at Harrahs. I call him the Frog. I alsso had a good time with some cool people at my table. A dude and his girlfriend and an online tournament pro. They were fun to cut up with. It was a wierd table where one half were serious players and the other half were total friggin idiots so there was much makin fun to be had. Now my buddy is going up and then coming back to even all night. I see him stacking chips and I race over there and see him up about $300. Then he comes over and sits after gettting coolered. Then he hits the money hand. Not only did he hit it but he was given it. The guy he beat had flashed his cards. My friend had QJ and he was against K8 with one club he saw and couldnt make out the suit of the other black card. Flop is KQQ. Some money goes in. Then the turn brings a club draw. Now all the money goes in. The river is another club and my boys sphicter went into pin hole mode. No flush though. Just a shitty K8 and a $800 pot. He stood up and looked at me with a big shitty grin and I knew we were up big. He would eventually cash out $500 up. Over half way to the cash out point. I could tell he didnt like winning big and not getting to pocket any of it. I told him we could settle right there and be done with the whole deal but he declined. He called it a night and soon after so did I. I really wanted to sit and smoke a cig and dump $40 into the slots but i didnt. I haven't smoked since Dec 31st either.

Sunday I won the Superbowl bracket with a Steeler victory. The 6th seated Packer busted all other 7 brackets.

Well thats all for now. I will give yall the scoop on the Monday night tournament when I have more time. I will say it is another first in my Love Shack history. Peace.

3 Barreling into Oblivion

Pissed. Starting with my last hand at the Love Shack tonight. Im on the button with a middle pair and I open for $18 against the straddle of $5. I get called by the straddler. The flop is a broadway flop. He checks. I bet 30sih. He reluctantly calls. This player is not someone who is going to put me on a stone cold bluff. He hasnt been sitting long so he hasnt seen me getting out of line in a nitty short handed game. He usually sees me nut peddling in the maniac game. the turn is another 10 and it puts two hearts out. I decide to fire again but first I ask him how much he has. About a $100. I bet $40. He reluctantly calls. i have no real clue about his hand other than he isnt strong but now I figure he is more less committed. The river is a Queen making an Ace a straight. I think he will fold his pair of Jacks now but still pretty much feel like Im probably throwing $60 away. I decide to shove it since i cant win any other way. He calls. He had flopped a gut shot and turned a flush draw. I picked up and cashed out. I was actually pretty pissed. He woulda folded any brick there. I leave down $120 in the cash game. All my loss came in that last hand. Other than that the cash game was pretty uneventful. Again the maniacs were playing Half n Half. I had a couple of other memorable hands. Once I had *#suited and raised the straddle limpers from the buton up to $30 and got 2 callers. One the straddler and the other the UTG limper. The flop is Queen high and the UTG limper bets $20. I would raised him but he only had $50 left. The other hand was me with KQ in the SB and the flop is Queen high. I check/call two streets to the original raiser UTG and shove the river when the flush card comes. He folds. I felt like I played it like a flush draw and think I got to win with the second best.

As for the tourney well I chopped it two ways. The only big hand I remember was when I got to get all in pre-flop against two short stacks when I had AA. I won that and cruised. I stole a good many pots especially right before that when I was trying to chip up or get one of the last cash game seats. I didnt get to crazy earlier because I was watching the damn game. If Auburn won by a TD I won $75 and if they won by less I won $25 and if they lost I lost $75. Im not a huge sports bettor so this was a big thrill for me. I really think Auburn under performed but so did Oregon really. I wonder if Auburn will get to keep this one for the record books or if Cam is gonna lose it for them when more shit comes out.

New Year, New Poker Goals

Got to play poker finally. I've had my son in town so spent all my time with him. I think if you cant put the important relationships in your life ahead of poker then you really need to check urself. I went to the $40 love shack tournament last night. I splashed around and had some fun and didnt last too long. The last few times I played super tight and aggressive and still would get called by J9 for all the money. So screw it. Im gonna play jiggely and either chip up or not. So when I busted out I went to the cash game.

Now sitting down at this cash game I remind myself that last year I played like a loose passive donkey. My goal this year is to play semi-tight aggressive. Im done open limping. That right there will save me $75 per session. My other goal is to stop being scared money and start seeing the chips as chess pieces rather than money. I dont think total disregard for money is the way. I think a little fear is good but not to let it overcome stratgey or fold edges because of variance tolerance. Some other non strategy leaks I wanna bust are missing hands by smoking or gambling in the pit. My goal is to never smoke or stick one more penny in a slot or on a table game. That leak was getting bigger and bigger every trip. Along those lines I ran across a sweet poker table that converts into a craps table and a nice regular dining table. Put it in my side links too. Ok so I bought in semi-short and had the strangest night. I had a lot of good starting hands and hit almost every flop well. I probably drug 10 pots before I lost a pot where I put any money in post flop. On the rare times I open raised and missed and still cbet I won everytime. I didnt cbet everytime though and I even won a pot out of position with no pair that was checked down the whole way. Now thats running good. Unfortunately they opened a half n half game and all the wild boyz went there. I was winning a good amount for the NL game but coulda really donked it off quick in the Omaha game. I know Im weak at Omaha so I didnt play it. When the tables combined later and they all wanted to play half n half so I cashed out with triple my semi-short buyin and went home at midnight. No cigs, no open limps (that I remember), and no slots (of course there were none).