We arrived in Las Vegas late in the afternoon on Thursday. We caught our shuttle to the Bellagio where we checked in and dropped off our luggage. We then headed over to the Rio so that we could register for Friday's $1500 No Limit Texas Hold 'em event. Amazingly there were no lines during any of this process. Usually the check in lines at the hotels in Las Vegas are notoriously long, but we got very lucky. We spent a little bit of time walking around the Rio's Convention Center, visiting the Amazon Room, the large room that was now being used as the room that the events move to after their initial starting location, the Pavilion Room. When we got to the Pavilion Room I just couldn't believe how large the room was. It had over 300 tables in the room, and there was still plenty of walking space and the tables didn't seem to be too crowded amongst each other, either.
After getting familiar with the new setup of the convention center we registered for the event and got our names on the cash game list. I was called first, and was seated on the far side from where the board was that contained the lists. After sitting at this table for just a couple minutes I could tell that this was a good table at which to be. I played a few hands and then my friend Dan got seated at the same table. Figures. I travel 2000+ miles to play poker, there's 20 tables running the cash game we both want to play, and he gets called to my table. Table change requests can be made, but I had already witnessed too much awful play to consider leaving so I just decided to deal with it.
Well, this ended up working out very well for me. Before the end of the night I was up $850. I got dealt some good hands, having gotten dealt AA two or three times and also was dealt KK twice. One of the times I got pocket Aces I was against the "perfect" player for the hand. He was a player who would call a lot of hands preflop, but never raised. His girlfriend/wife was sitting behind him and watching the action, too. Well, after he called my preflop raise and then he bet in to me on the flop I knew that I was going to have a chance at a big pot. We got it all in on the flop, and I never even got to see what he had because after the board paired the turn and an Ace hit on the river I turned over my AA to show the full house I now had.
I picked up another decent-sized pot when I reraised a pot preflop with AK suited. One of the players on my right called my reraise, and the flop came: 5-5-5. Once again, even though I was the preflop raiser the other player bet in to me. Usually when this happens it's because the player is trying to "feel" out where they are at in the hand, so I sent a message by reraising enough to put him all in. He called, so now I figured he had a pair and I'd need an Ace or King to get there. What I didn't count on was the 5 that came on the turn. This actually gave me the nuts! It turned out he had 6-6, so I now had him outkicked with our quads.
There was one other pot that was sort of fun, and that was one where I had 6-4 offsuit. I picked up a pair on the flop, where I called a player's bet, and then picked up a double-gutshot straight draw card on the turn, so I raised the player to steal it but got called. The river got there so when I bet it she really didn't see the straight. In fact, after she called and I turned my hand over, she had to look long and eventually I had to point out that the 4 in my hand gave me a straight, which disgusted her to no end and she left.
All of these hands got the trip started off on the right note as I finished that session up $850. We called it quits sort of early knowing that we'd be starting our event at noon the next day.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
My World Series Trip Begins Tomorrow!
I always get excited at this time of year. I think part of it is because whenever I head out to Vegas for the World Series of Poker I'm brimming with confidence, ready to take on whatever gets thrown at me. I think part of it is being out there with so many other people that all have the same dream while they're out there: to win a WSOP bracelet. I think part of it is getting to see some of the best poker players in the world playing in the highest stakes series of tournaments for that year. I think part of it is knowing that I've got a chance; it may not be as much of a chance as a player like Phil Ivey might have, but I'll be sitting at that table with the best of them, and as long as I am, I'll still have a chance.
Anyway, we head out tomorrow, and I'm real excited to be getting out there. World Series, here I come!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
One Last Really Good Run at Poto
When I went to Potowatomi on Friday I went down full of confidence, but I was telling myself to not play too reckless just because I was running well. I decided that I would just enjoy watching the Brewers game on the monitors, and was planning on leaving shortly after that. Well, the table I got seated at appeared to have much of the same idea. Not a lot of players were getting involved in large pots, and I spent most of the first three hours that I was there in a range between being down $120 and up $180.
As the game ended I noticed a couple players getting ready to rack up and leave, and that a couple players that were waiting for a table were regulars that I feel play loose. Well, two of those players got seated at our table so I decided to hang around for a while, and I was glad I did. The first big hand that came up after that point was one where I was dealt Q – J in one of the blinds. There was a raise to $25, one of the loose players called, and I decided to make the call. One of the things to note about the loose player that called in this hand is that he likes to make a move where he calls a bet on the flop, and then will try to raise big on the turn to take down a decent-sized pot. I recalled this when the flop came Q – 5 – 2. The preflop raiser bet $55, and the loose player called. Now, I could be beat there, but I looked at it like this: if the preflop raiser is continuation betting and the loose player is setting up his move I very easily could have the best hand. With the bets that were in there the pot was $190 and it was $55 to call, so I thought it’s an easy call here, and I can reevaluate on the turn. Well, the turn was a great card for me. It was a Jack, giving me top two pair. I checked, the preflop raiser now checked (confirming the continuation bet theory), and now the loose player bet $200. I check-raised for the remainder of my stack, which was about $415, and after some thought, the loose player made the call of the remaining $215. He stated that he was on a draw, but it didn’t get there because the river was a Jack, giving me a full house. I raked in a nice pot there.
I had a hand that came up that I have to talk about just because it was such a rarity. I was dealt the 3s – 4s in the small blind. Two players limped (the two loose ones), so I limped as well. The flop was: 7s – 6s – 5s. This gave me a straight flush! Now I’ve made a straight flush before, but I’ve never gotten one with just the flop. I didn’t get much action on the hand, and I only got paid a little on the river because one of the players had the Qs and the turn card for that hand was the Ts. It was still pretty neat to see.
I wasn’t done raking pots, though. I picked up the Ah – 2h in a hand where the preflop betting was all limps. The flop there was: Th – 9h – 7h. I had flopped the nut flush. The betting after that was very weird. The early position player bet $15, the next player called that, the next player made a minimum raise to $30, the next player called that, and finally the action was on me. Usually there won’t be four players that would all want to put bets in to a one suit flop, especially since none of them could have the Ah with another heart! Normally, I would have slow played this, but given all the action I figured a raise was appropriate to try and get this hand to at least heads-up play, so I raised to $120. This drove out the first three bettors, but the last player was still thinking about it. I told him “If you’re thinking about it you better have the 8h” (for the straight flush draw). He actually turned over 8 – 8 with one of them being the heart. He decided to fold, and I showed the flush, which I don’t think surprised anyone.
I had one last hand in this session that I can go over. I was dealt 6 – 5 and decided to raise because I was in late position and thought I could steal the blinds and limps. I bumped it to $25 preflop and got two callers. This is not what you want when you’re raising with garbage so now I needed to hit something. Well, the flop was nice enough to oblige me by putting out 9 – 8 – 5, giving me bottom pair with a gutter-ball-straight draw. I didn’t say it hit me a lot, but it did hit me. This was good enough in my opinion to follow up with a continuation bet, which I made for $55. Both players called, so I decided to be done with the hand, but everyone checked on the turn when a 2 popped off. Well, the river was very kind to me, and brought me a 7 to complete my straight, but one of the tighter players at the table led out for $90. I actually took some time to contemplate this, especially because of the player who made the bet. He never really bet the river without having the nuts, or near nuts. Now, Jack-Ten actually fit the betting for everything in the hand, and although I don’t play “afraid of the nuts” all the time, I didn’t like the river bet. If I raise and he has me beat, he’s going to reraise since J – T is the stone cold nuts here, and I’ll have lost the extra raise chips. I decided calling was best. Folding really wasn’t an option. It was either call or raise. Well, unexpectedly, the player behind me also called. It turns out the first player had a set of 8s that were no longer good, and the other player had two pair (which makes sense why he also called), so my straight was good and I picked up a healthy pot! It doesn’t seem like there was a lot of betting there, but because it was a 3-way pot the pot ended being over $500! It was a nice way to wrap up the session.
My confidence was still riding high, and I felt ready to take on Vegas. Time to bring on the World Series of Poker!!
As the game ended I noticed a couple players getting ready to rack up and leave, and that a couple players that were waiting for a table were regulars that I feel play loose. Well, two of those players got seated at our table so I decided to hang around for a while, and I was glad I did. The first big hand that came up after that point was one where I was dealt Q – J in one of the blinds. There was a raise to $25, one of the loose players called, and I decided to make the call. One of the things to note about the loose player that called in this hand is that he likes to make a move where he calls a bet on the flop, and then will try to raise big on the turn to take down a decent-sized pot. I recalled this when the flop came Q – 5 – 2. The preflop raiser bet $55, and the loose player called. Now, I could be beat there, but I looked at it like this: if the preflop raiser is continuation betting and the loose player is setting up his move I very easily could have the best hand. With the bets that were in there the pot was $190 and it was $55 to call, so I thought it’s an easy call here, and I can reevaluate on the turn. Well, the turn was a great card for me. It was a Jack, giving me top two pair. I checked, the preflop raiser now checked (confirming the continuation bet theory), and now the loose player bet $200. I check-raised for the remainder of my stack, which was about $415, and after some thought, the loose player made the call of the remaining $215. He stated that he was on a draw, but it didn’t get there because the river was a Jack, giving me a full house. I raked in a nice pot there.
I had a hand that came up that I have to talk about just because it was such a rarity. I was dealt the 3s – 4s in the small blind. Two players limped (the two loose ones), so I limped as well. The flop was: 7s – 6s – 5s. This gave me a straight flush! Now I’ve made a straight flush before, but I’ve never gotten one with just the flop. I didn’t get much action on the hand, and I only got paid a little on the river because one of the players had the Qs and the turn card for that hand was the Ts. It was still pretty neat to see.
I wasn’t done raking pots, though. I picked up the Ah – 2h in a hand where the preflop betting was all limps. The flop there was: Th – 9h – 7h. I had flopped the nut flush. The betting after that was very weird. The early position player bet $15, the next player called that, the next player made a minimum raise to $30, the next player called that, and finally the action was on me. Usually there won’t be four players that would all want to put bets in to a one suit flop, especially since none of them could have the Ah with another heart! Normally, I would have slow played this, but given all the action I figured a raise was appropriate to try and get this hand to at least heads-up play, so I raised to $120. This drove out the first three bettors, but the last player was still thinking about it. I told him “If you’re thinking about it you better have the 8h” (for the straight flush draw). He actually turned over 8 – 8 with one of them being the heart. He decided to fold, and I showed the flush, which I don’t think surprised anyone.
I had one last hand in this session that I can go over. I was dealt 6 – 5 and decided to raise because I was in late position and thought I could steal the blinds and limps. I bumped it to $25 preflop and got two callers. This is not what you want when you’re raising with garbage so now I needed to hit something. Well, the flop was nice enough to oblige me by putting out 9 – 8 – 5, giving me bottom pair with a gutter-ball-straight draw. I didn’t say it hit me a lot, but it did hit me. This was good enough in my opinion to follow up with a continuation bet, which I made for $55. Both players called, so I decided to be done with the hand, but everyone checked on the turn when a 2 popped off. Well, the river was very kind to me, and brought me a 7 to complete my straight, but one of the tighter players at the table led out for $90. I actually took some time to contemplate this, especially because of the player who made the bet. He never really bet the river without having the nuts, or near nuts. Now, Jack-Ten actually fit the betting for everything in the hand, and although I don’t play “afraid of the nuts” all the time, I didn’t like the river bet. If I raise and he has me beat, he’s going to reraise since J – T is the stone cold nuts here, and I’ll have lost the extra raise chips. I decided calling was best. Folding really wasn’t an option. It was either call or raise. Well, unexpectedly, the player behind me also called. It turns out the first player had a set of 8s that were no longer good, and the other player had two pair (which makes sense why he also called), so my straight was good and I picked up a healthy pot! It doesn’t seem like there was a lot of betting there, but because it was a 3-way pot the pot ended being over $500! It was a nice way to wrap up the session.
My confidence was still riding high, and I felt ready to take on Vegas. Time to bring on the World Series of Poker!!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
I Can Dodge Bullets, Baby!
I have some greater detail about the last two sessions at Potowatomi. I decided to jot some notes down to put some hands in the blog. My run these last couple of weeks has been incredible. I ran off at least 10 consecutive sessions without reporting a loss. Not all of the sessions were huge, but to have that many consecutive sessions without losing was pretty nice. No matter how hot you’re running, you expect that at some point you’re going to take a loss. I kept waiting for that shoe to drop.
I was able to get off to a quick start when I was able to double my $400 buy in when I was dealt Aces and took it up against a player who’s very aggressive and plays drawing hands very strongly on a regular basis. Things slowed down for me a little, and even took an unexpected turn for the worse when I made a set. Here was the scenario: I was dealt 3-3 and limped before the flop. The player on my immediate left made it $25, and at least 3 other players had called that bet so when the action was back on me I decided to call. The river was a complete brick for me (K-J-7). The action was checked to the preflop raiser, who now bet $30! This was a very small bet in relation to the size of the pot (the pot had $150 in it). Everyone folded around to the player on my right, and he called. After some brief thought I also called that bet. You might be wondering why I did that. Well, after the bets that were out on the table the pot was now $210. It was going to cost me $30 to win that, and if I hit I’m likely to get paid a lot more than that. So the 7 to 1 that the pot was laying me in addition to any other money that I could get would make the call worth it, and if I don’t hit it’s a pretty easy hand to throw away if I don’t hit. Well, the turn was a 3, giving me bottom set. The player on my right and I both checked to the preflop raiser, and he checked as well. The river was a heart, putting three hearts on the board. The player on my right now bet $75. I decided to raise with my set to $150. He then thought about it for a while and raised it back to me another $150. I thought about reraising, but after going through several scenarios I thought it was better to call. The scenarios I thought about were: Scenario #1: He also flopped a big hand, possibly a set, and was slowplaying the flop and turn. The way the betting went that made sense. Scenario #2: He has two pair, and thinks it’s good. I can beat that. Scenario #3: He somehow made a flush. The betting fits the story, but the cards don’t seem to fit that story. Well, my hand was too good to fold, but I didn’t think it was strong enough to raise here. I was right, but it still cost me. He had a heart flush. It turned out he had the Kh Qh, so he flopped top pair, and the 3h on the turn picked up the flush draw. He and I had similar stacks, so looking back on it it was probably good I checked the turn because he wasn’t going to fold there, and I would have just lost more money at the river.
Things continued the downward trend when I was dealt the Ah Kh a little while later. We had a new arrival at the table who had about $2100 in chips and had everyone covered. He was also raising and reraising almost every hand, so when I was dealt big slick (AK) I decided to limp and wait for him to raise. He obliged by raising to $30, and then I repopped it to $105. He called. Once he called there I knew he had a legitimate hand so I felt I needed to hit the flop. The flop was K-6-4. I bet $185, leaving myself $200 and was prepared to get the rest in if he raised. He called, and before the turn card was dealt I put my remaining chips in “blind”. He also called that. It turns out he had picked up a big hand, pocket Kings, and after the 6 on the turn gave him a full house I was now drawing dead going to the river.
I bought in again for $400, and since it was getting late in the poker room I started to get a little more aggressive. I limped with 2d 6d from under the gun, and as the action went around the table the tightest guy at the table raised it to $25. This guy was soooo tight. He hadn’t raised all night. Another player was already calling, so I threw my $20 in there, too. The flop was pretty good considering the trash I was holding: 2x – 8d – Jd, giving me bottom pair and a flush draw. I checked, and when he bet $75 at the flop I shoved all in for $350. He thought about it for a while, and I was almost certain he had Aces, so I said to him, “I had you on Aces or Kings.” He continued to think, and so I asked him if he’d like to see a card. He didn’t turn me down, so I reached down and turned over the 2d, which I knew was on top. I actually would have had no problem if he called, since with my flush draw I also had a two pair draw and a trips draw, for a total of 14 outs, making the situation about a coin flip (49.8% to 50.2% to be exact). He showed Aces and folded. I then showed the 6d just to rub it in a little. He said he thought I had a set of 2s.
Well, that got me some chips, but I still had a ways to go. I picked up 5-4 offsuit shortly after that, and after a 6-5-3 flop, got all my chips in against another player. He called, and he tabled 6-5 for top two pair. I spiked my 2 by the river and made my straight to double up. It was shortly after this where I absolutely got away with one that I shouldn’t have gotten away with at all. I was dealt T-T and limped before the flop, as did 3 other players. After the flop was 9 – 8 – 3 I was pretty sure my overpair of Tens was good. The early player, who was also the guy who folded the Aces earlier bet $15 in to the $20 pot. The next player called the $15, and I bumped it to $75. It got back to the $15 “bettor”, and he made a comment about how “sick” I was. I think he thought I had two pair or a set of something. He only had $175 left, and I would have called if he put the rest in the pot. Well, he shows the player on his right his hand before he folds, and I noticed that the player to whom he showed his cards nearly had his eyes bug out of his head. The last player folded, and then I was told that he had Aces…again!! I almost couldn’t believe it. I never put him on it because he limped with them preflop, and since I had the overpair I thought I was good. Usually if you limp with Aces preflop you’re trying to trap somebody. Well, the guy did everything he was supposed to…except put the rest of his stack in the middle. It was unreal. I was thankful to have him at the table, since he obviously thought the nuts was always in play.
I quit shortly after that, very thankful to be on the positive side of the ledger for the evening. Apparently, to quote Phil Hellmuth, "I can dodge bullets, baby!"
I was able to get off to a quick start when I was able to double my $400 buy in when I was dealt Aces and took it up against a player who’s very aggressive and plays drawing hands very strongly on a regular basis. Things slowed down for me a little, and even took an unexpected turn for the worse when I made a set. Here was the scenario: I was dealt 3-3 and limped before the flop. The player on my immediate left made it $25, and at least 3 other players had called that bet so when the action was back on me I decided to call. The river was a complete brick for me (K-J-7). The action was checked to the preflop raiser, who now bet $30! This was a very small bet in relation to the size of the pot (the pot had $150 in it). Everyone folded around to the player on my right, and he called. After some brief thought I also called that bet. You might be wondering why I did that. Well, after the bets that were out on the table the pot was now $210. It was going to cost me $30 to win that, and if I hit I’m likely to get paid a lot more than that. So the 7 to 1 that the pot was laying me in addition to any other money that I could get would make the call worth it, and if I don’t hit it’s a pretty easy hand to throw away if I don’t hit. Well, the turn was a 3, giving me bottom set. The player on my right and I both checked to the preflop raiser, and he checked as well. The river was a heart, putting three hearts on the board. The player on my right now bet $75. I decided to raise with my set to $150. He then thought about it for a while and raised it back to me another $150. I thought about reraising, but after going through several scenarios I thought it was better to call. The scenarios I thought about were: Scenario #1: He also flopped a big hand, possibly a set, and was slowplaying the flop and turn. The way the betting went that made sense. Scenario #2: He has two pair, and thinks it’s good. I can beat that. Scenario #3: He somehow made a flush. The betting fits the story, but the cards don’t seem to fit that story. Well, my hand was too good to fold, but I didn’t think it was strong enough to raise here. I was right, but it still cost me. He had a heart flush. It turned out he had the Kh Qh, so he flopped top pair, and the 3h on the turn picked up the flush draw. He and I had similar stacks, so looking back on it it was probably good I checked the turn because he wasn’t going to fold there, and I would have just lost more money at the river.
Things continued the downward trend when I was dealt the Ah Kh a little while later. We had a new arrival at the table who had about $2100 in chips and had everyone covered. He was also raising and reraising almost every hand, so when I was dealt big slick (AK) I decided to limp and wait for him to raise. He obliged by raising to $30, and then I repopped it to $105. He called. Once he called there I knew he had a legitimate hand so I felt I needed to hit the flop. The flop was K-6-4. I bet $185, leaving myself $200 and was prepared to get the rest in if he raised. He called, and before the turn card was dealt I put my remaining chips in “blind”. He also called that. It turns out he had picked up a big hand, pocket Kings, and after the 6 on the turn gave him a full house I was now drawing dead going to the river.
I bought in again for $400, and since it was getting late in the poker room I started to get a little more aggressive. I limped with 2d 6d from under the gun, and as the action went around the table the tightest guy at the table raised it to $25. This guy was soooo tight. He hadn’t raised all night. Another player was already calling, so I threw my $20 in there, too. The flop was pretty good considering the trash I was holding: 2x – 8d – Jd, giving me bottom pair and a flush draw. I checked, and when he bet $75 at the flop I shoved all in for $350. He thought about it for a while, and I was almost certain he had Aces, so I said to him, “I had you on Aces or Kings.” He continued to think, and so I asked him if he’d like to see a card. He didn’t turn me down, so I reached down and turned over the 2d, which I knew was on top. I actually would have had no problem if he called, since with my flush draw I also had a two pair draw and a trips draw, for a total of 14 outs, making the situation about a coin flip (49.8% to 50.2% to be exact). He showed Aces and folded. I then showed the 6d just to rub it in a little. He said he thought I had a set of 2s.
Well, that got me some chips, but I still had a ways to go. I picked up 5-4 offsuit shortly after that, and after a 6-5-3 flop, got all my chips in against another player. He called, and he tabled 6-5 for top two pair. I spiked my 2 by the river and made my straight to double up. It was shortly after this where I absolutely got away with one that I shouldn’t have gotten away with at all. I was dealt T-T and limped before the flop, as did 3 other players. After the flop was 9 – 8 – 3 I was pretty sure my overpair of Tens was good. The early player, who was also the guy who folded the Aces earlier bet $15 in to the $20 pot. The next player called the $15, and I bumped it to $75. It got back to the $15 “bettor”, and he made a comment about how “sick” I was. I think he thought I had two pair or a set of something. He only had $175 left, and I would have called if he put the rest in the pot. Well, he shows the player on his right his hand before he folds, and I noticed that the player to whom he showed his cards nearly had his eyes bug out of his head. The last player folded, and then I was told that he had Aces…again!! I almost couldn’t believe it. I never put him on it because he limped with them preflop, and since I had the overpair I thought I was good. Usually if you limp with Aces preflop you’re trying to trap somebody. Well, the guy did everything he was supposed to…except put the rest of his stack in the middle. It was unreal. I was thankful to have him at the table, since he obviously thought the nuts was always in play.
I quit shortly after that, very thankful to be on the positive side of the ledger for the evening. Apparently, to quote Phil Hellmuth, "I can dodge bullets, baby!"
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Time to Build a Bankroll
As I get ready for the 2010 World Series of Poker I’ve been playing some poker at the local casino, Potowatomi Casino, which is located near downtown
I don’t have details from every session, but I can give you some of the highlights of some of the larger hands. I had a session that wasn’t going particularly well for me one night. I was in to my second buy in and only had that $400 in front of me, so I was down about $400. I was in seat 6, and the player in seat 2 was playing at me aggressively because I had shown him a bluff earlier and I think he was trying to “even the score”. In this hand I was dealt 8-8. I had limped, and was able to see the flop cheaply along with 5 other players, including seat 2. The flop came 8-7-4, giving me top set. Normally in this situation I would check the flop and hope for someone to bet, but since seat 2 was in the hand and was raising me almost every time I bet the flop since the “bluff” hand I decided that betting here would also prompt that same response. I led out for $65, and when he repopped it to $155, I moved all in for the remainder of my chips. Seat 2 had me covered (he had approximately $1300 in his own stack). He called almost instantly, which actually startled me momentarily in to thinking that maybe I got unlucky and he was holding 5-6 (which would be a straight), but he was holding 9-6 for an open-ended straight draw. The draw didn’t get there, and I dragged home that pot.
Winning that pot got me just back to the “plus” side, even though I had just over $800 in front of me. I got involved in a very large pot almost immediately after that. In fact, it was only two hands after the hand I just described, which is partially why it’s so shocking. In this hand I was dealt 5-5 and was in early position. I had limped with the hand, and the player in seat 9 made it $20 to go. Seat 9 had been playing very tight. I suspected he might have a large hand, but since it was only another $15 and other players were also calling I also called when it got to me. There ended up being 5 players who saw the flop, including seat 2. The flop came 6-5-2 with two hearts. I had once again flopped a set. This time I decided to check it, figuring that seat 9 would bet and it would give me an opportunity to check-raise him. He only had about $300 in front of him, and since the pot was about $100 already, almost any bet he put out there would pot-commit his stack if he had a big hand like A-A or K-K. Well, the player in seat 8 bet before seat 9 got the opportunity. I had played with seat 8 before. In fact, he was on the losing end of the largest pot I ever won, which I talked about in a prior post. He bet $35. I knew he was just fishing for information with that bet. Well, he got his answers very quickly. Seat 9 raised, making it $125. This is pretty much what I expected, and I suspected he had Aces. I didn’t expect what happened next. Seat 2 reraised, moving all in for approximately $900!! The player between seat 2 and I folded and I looked back to make sure I had the set of 5s I thought I had. I didn’t think long, but I figured if he actually had 3-4 (for the straight), or 6-6 (for a better set) that he wouldn’t have played it like that. I said, “Well, I call.” and moved my $782 in to the middle of the table. Seat 8 folded, and seat 9 was thinking about it for a while, but while he was thinking about it I could hear seat 2 mumbling/whispering, “Oh, wow, he busted me.” I’ll be honest, I was glad to hear that. Seat 9 eventually gave up the hand, stating that he had Aces. Seat 2 turned over the Ah Qh, for a flush draw, so I still had to fade some cards. No heart got there, and now I was raking in a +$1700 pot! I understood what seat 2 was trying to do, but I think he forgot to account for the other players and their stacks when making his move. I think he figured his “all in” declaration was only putting about $300 in play (which would have covered either seat 8 or seat 9). He could have reraised to $300, at which point I would have still moved all in, but he might have been able to throw it away and save almost another $500. He still might have called with his flush draw, but by moving all in he gave himself no option to do that, and as it turned out, I was just fine with that.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
2010 WSOP just around the corner
If you follow the blog you've noticed that I haven't been posting a lot. Well, now that the 2010 World Series of Poker is about to begin that's going to change. I've been working on building the bankroll for the trip, and most of that has come through playing at Milwaukee's own Potowatomi Poker Room, which I refer to as Poto for short. In my last post I discussed a huge hand with which I got involved. Shortly after that hand occurred, I went up to the Wisconsin State Bowling Tournament and tore the MCL in my right knee in an "accident" that occurred while up in the Fox Valley area. Due to the brace that I had to wear and the pain I had in the knee, I took some time off from playing at Poto. I've been out of the brace for about a month now so I've been trying to keep a regular schedule of playing there, and it's been working out for me so far.
I'm almost afraid to discuss it in too much detail, because I've just been on an incredible "heater" down at the poker room and I don't want to jinx it. The bankroll for the WSOP trip is shaping up nicely, and I'm really looking forward to this year's World Series of Poker. This will be the 5th consecutive year that Dan and I have made the trek to Vegas for this poker extravaganza. In our prior trips, we have typically gone out to Vegas for the opening of the World Series. This year due to some scheduling conflicts that wasn't possible so we are heading out near the end of June. I've been looking at the schedule of events, and it looks like we will be out there for all of the following events:
Now, our flights are scheduled to return home on the 29th, so I would only get in to an event that started on the 28th or 29th if I had a significant cash in a tournament prior to that, or if I won A LOT in the cash games, but it would have to be A LOT. As it stands right now, I plan to enter Event #45. As the trip nears, I'll talk a little more about the winning streak I've been on which will explain where I'm sitting at on the bankroll situation. All I can say right now is I'm REALLY excited about this year's WSOP! Shuffle up and deal already!
I'm almost afraid to discuss it in too much detail, because I've just been on an incredible "heater" down at the poker room and I don't want to jinx it. The bankroll for the WSOP trip is shaping up nicely, and I'm really looking forward to this year's World Series of Poker. This will be the 5th consecutive year that Dan and I have made the trek to Vegas for this poker extravaganza. In our prior trips, we have typically gone out to Vegas for the opening of the World Series. This year due to some scheduling conflicts that wasn't possible so we are heading out near the end of June. I've been looking at the schedule of events, and it looks like we will be out there for all of the following events:
| Fri, Jun 25th 12:00 PM 3-Day Event |  | Event #45: No-Limit Hold’em Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now | | $1,500 | |
| Fri, Jun 25th 5:00 PM 3-Day Event | | Event #46: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now | | $5,000 | |
| Sat, Jun 26th 12:00 PM 4-Day Event | | Event #47: No-Limit Hold’em Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now This event may take 4 playing days & 5 calendar days to complete depending on field size. | | $1,000 | |
| Sat, Jun 26th 5:00 PM 3-Day Event | | Event #48: Mixed Event Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now | | $2,500 | |
| Sun, Jun 27th 12:00 PM 8-Day Event | | WSOP Tournament of Champions Structure Sheet | | freeroll | |
| Mon, Jun 28th 12:00 PM 3-Day Event | | Event #49: No-Limit Hold'em Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now | | $1,500 | |
| Mon, Jun 28th 5:00 PM 3-Day Event | | Event #50: Pot-Limit Omaha Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now | | $5,000 | |
| Tue, Jun 29th 12:00 PM 3-Day Event | | Event #51: Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now | | $3,000 | |
Now, our flights are scheduled to return home on the 29th, so I would only get in to an event that started on the 28th or 29th if I had a significant cash in a tournament prior to that, or if I won A LOT in the cash games, but it would have to be A LOT. As it stands right now, I plan to enter Event #45. As the trip nears, I'll talk a little more about the winning streak I've been on which will explain where I'm sitting at on the bankroll situation. All I can say right now is I'm REALLY excited about this year's WSOP! Shuffle up and deal already!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Sometimes, It Just All Works Out
I know that some of you may have noticed that I haven't been posting as much lately. Sorry about that. I haven't been playing online as much, so I'm not getting nearly as many hands and stories to talk about. I've been enjoying the game down at Potowatomi Casino. They started offering a decent promotion during the football season that enticed me (and lots of poker players) down to the poker room on Monday evenings, and the action was pretty good so I decided to apply my poker bankroll toward playing some more live poker.
I had a very interesting session recently, and it involved one of the largest pots I've ever played in a cash game. The session started pretty quickly for me, with me going from my $400 buy-in up to $900 in the first 15 minutes I was at the table. The "big" hand being a hand where a player had straddled. To straddle means that the player that would normally be in the position to act first puts a bet of double the big blind out on the table. In order to play the other players need to call or raise that bet, but the player who straddled gets a chance to raise as well, so it's almost like having three blinds. Also, it's important to note that often times when a player straddles, if no one raises, the straddle will often raise regardless of the cards that he/she is holding. I had observed this particular player do just that the first time he had the opportunity to straddle. This was his second opportunity to straddle, and I had limped holding the Ac 7c. He raised his straddle from $10 to $50, and I elected to call with my moderate hand. Three other players also called, and five of us got to see the flop. It was: Jd 7d 2s. Now, because of the straddle's early position he often times will have to act first. This player immediately bet $75 in to the pot, and quite frankly, I didn't believe that he had anything. I didn't have much myself, but I had already seen two players already pick up their cards and were just waiting to fold, so I decided that a raise would probably take the hand down right then and there. I raised to $250, which was pretty much committing my stack. Everyone else folded except the straddle, who moved all in. He had me covered, and it was only going to cost me my remaining $100 to see the $800 pot so I called. It turned out he had nothing but a couple diamonds and was chasing the flush. He missed, and my measely pair of 7s took down the $900 pot.
Shortly after that I was moved to the main game, and that's when the fireworks really started. There were three players at the table that would raise almost every pot to anywhere from $30-$60 preflop. Now, no one can get that many good hands to be able to raise so often, so it was pretty clear that they were just trying to pick up the pots with pure aggression. We had a stretch of hands over a 45-minute period where no pot was under $500. I managed to avoid the "landmines" and worked my stack up to just under $1200 when the hand of the evening came up.
I was holding the Qc Jc. I just called the $5, but one of the three aggressive players was on my immediate left, and he raised it up to $40. I will just call him the villain for the purposes of this. He was actually a very nice guy, and I had enjoyed talking with him over the course of the evening so far. He also had around $2200 when the hand started. Everyone else folded, which was unusual, and since I felt his raising range of hands was very wide I decided to call with my hand. The flop was very uneventful: Kc Kh 9d. I really had no piece of this board. Since I missed I checked, fully expecting the villain to bet at which point I would fold and let him have the hand. Well, he checked behind me. The dealer put out the turn card: 9c. Once again, this didn't really help me, but because of the villain's check I didn't think he had much here and I had decided that I would call a smallish bet in an effort to chase down the flush. I checked, and once again the villain checked. The river changed everything. It was the 10c. Combined with my hand I now had a straight flush (9c 10c Jc Qc Kc)!! Unfortunately, the pot was SOOO small and I didn't think the villain had anything. I can't just check there since I have to act first so I fired a bet of $40, just praying that I would get called. Well, the villain thinks for a second then asks me, "So, you flopped the King, did ya?", to which I answered (truthfully), "Honestly, I didn't flop the King." He then paused for another couple seconds before asking, "Well, can I steal it from you?", to which I answered (truthfully again, mind you) "No, you can't steal it from me." You might be wondering why I told the truth. Most people don't ask a direct question about your hand, they'll ask questions similar in meaning like this. I find that telling the truth at a poker table works very well in these situations. No one ever believes what anyone tells at a poker table anyway, right? If he had asked me if I had quads or a straight flush I would have just said nothing, but when someone asks indirect questions like this about my hand I will just always tell the truth (OK...not ALWAYS, but I can't recall the last time I lied in that situation).
He paused, and then said "$120". This meant he was raising it to that amount. I now sat back in my chair. At this point I wasn't sure what he had. I knew I was winning, but I had to hope he had a King here. A King would be something that he almost certainly couldn't fold. I can tell you that I thought he was just trying to steal it, and that when I put out the next raise the hand would be over. I even went back to double check my cards to be sure I had the straight flush. After pausing for about a minute I said "$300". Before I finished getting that out he said "All In.", and just as he finished saying that I said, "I Call!" and immediately turned over the straight flush. My opponent had King-Ten for the best possible full house, but that wasn't going to win the hand. I had just won a pot of just under $2400!! Everyone at the table was going nuts talking about it.
I played for about another hour, I made a couple more bucks, and it ended up being a very nice session for me. That hand was the single largest hand of poker I ever won. Even I was shaking a little bit after playing a hand like that, and I've played plenty of poker, but....WOW...Sometimes, it just all works out.
I had a very interesting session recently, and it involved one of the largest pots I've ever played in a cash game. The session started pretty quickly for me, with me going from my $400 buy-in up to $900 in the first 15 minutes I was at the table. The "big" hand being a hand where a player had straddled. To straddle means that the player that would normally be in the position to act first puts a bet of double the big blind out on the table. In order to play the other players need to call or raise that bet, but the player who straddled gets a chance to raise as well, so it's almost like having three blinds. Also, it's important to note that often times when a player straddles, if no one raises, the straddle will often raise regardless of the cards that he/she is holding. I had observed this particular player do just that the first time he had the opportunity to straddle. This was his second opportunity to straddle, and I had limped holding the Ac 7c. He raised his straddle from $10 to $50, and I elected to call with my moderate hand. Three other players also called, and five of us got to see the flop. It was: Jd 7d 2s. Now, because of the straddle's early position he often times will have to act first. This player immediately bet $75 in to the pot, and quite frankly, I didn't believe that he had anything. I didn't have much myself, but I had already seen two players already pick up their cards and were just waiting to fold, so I decided that a raise would probably take the hand down right then and there. I raised to $250, which was pretty much committing my stack. Everyone else folded except the straddle, who moved all in. He had me covered, and it was only going to cost me my remaining $100 to see the $800 pot so I called. It turned out he had nothing but a couple diamonds and was chasing the flush. He missed, and my measely pair of 7s took down the $900 pot.
Shortly after that I was moved to the main game, and that's when the fireworks really started. There were three players at the table that would raise almost every pot to anywhere from $30-$60 preflop. Now, no one can get that many good hands to be able to raise so often, so it was pretty clear that they were just trying to pick up the pots with pure aggression. We had a stretch of hands over a 45-minute period where no pot was under $500. I managed to avoid the "landmines" and worked my stack up to just under $1200 when the hand of the evening came up.
I was holding the Qc Jc. I just called the $5, but one of the three aggressive players was on my immediate left, and he raised it up to $40. I will just call him the villain for the purposes of this. He was actually a very nice guy, and I had enjoyed talking with him over the course of the evening so far. He also had around $2200 when the hand started. Everyone else folded, which was unusual, and since I felt his raising range of hands was very wide I decided to call with my hand. The flop was very uneventful: Kc Kh 9d. I really had no piece of this board. Since I missed I checked, fully expecting the villain to bet at which point I would fold and let him have the hand. Well, he checked behind me. The dealer put out the turn card: 9c. Once again, this didn't really help me, but because of the villain's check I didn't think he had much here and I had decided that I would call a smallish bet in an effort to chase down the flush. I checked, and once again the villain checked. The river changed everything. It was the 10c. Combined with my hand I now had a straight flush (9c 10c Jc Qc Kc)!! Unfortunately, the pot was SOOO small and I didn't think the villain had anything. I can't just check there since I have to act first so I fired a bet of $40, just praying that I would get called. Well, the villain thinks for a second then asks me, "So, you flopped the King, did ya?", to which I answered (truthfully), "Honestly, I didn't flop the King." He then paused for another couple seconds before asking, "Well, can I steal it from you?", to which I answered (truthfully again, mind you) "No, you can't steal it from me." You might be wondering why I told the truth. Most people don't ask a direct question about your hand, they'll ask questions similar in meaning like this. I find that telling the truth at a poker table works very well in these situations. No one ever believes what anyone tells at a poker table anyway, right? If he had asked me if I had quads or a straight flush I would have just said nothing, but when someone asks indirect questions like this about my hand I will just always tell the truth (OK...not ALWAYS, but I can't recall the last time I lied in that situation).
He paused, and then said "$120". This meant he was raising it to that amount. I now sat back in my chair. At this point I wasn't sure what he had. I knew I was winning, but I had to hope he had a King here. A King would be something that he almost certainly couldn't fold. I can tell you that I thought he was just trying to steal it, and that when I put out the next raise the hand would be over. I even went back to double check my cards to be sure I had the straight flush. After pausing for about a minute I said "$300". Before I finished getting that out he said "All In.", and just as he finished saying that I said, "I Call!" and immediately turned over the straight flush. My opponent had King-Ten for the best possible full house, but that wasn't going to win the hand. I had just won a pot of just under $2400!! Everyone at the table was going nuts talking about it.
I played for about another hour, I made a couple more bucks, and it ended up being a very nice session for me. That hand was the single largest hand of poker I ever won. Even I was shaking a little bit after playing a hand like that, and I've played plenty of poker, but....WOW...Sometimes, it just all works out.
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