High On Poker

I don’t know what Ace Queen’s problem is. Lately, whenever I am sitting at a poker table, virtual or real, Ace Queen keeps showing up like the neighbor chick you hooked up with while drunk at college and now can’t seem to shake. I’m trying to bring AA home, but once AQ sees me at the bar, she has to comes up, all drunk with smeared lipstick, being all, “Why haven’t you been calling (with) me? Let’s hang out,” as she paws me and tries her best not to spill her nasty well drink. Sure enough, AA is too high class for this shit, and even KK, QQ and JJ are in the corner looking at me and tsk’ing while AQ insists on getting her attention. More and more, I just want to kick the bitch to the curb, but most often I’m desperate for some action and I’m willing to put up with the bitch as long as she is willing to put out. Yeah, that’s the problem though. AQ is a cock tease, so usually after first base (the flop) she falls asleep on me, drooling while we are crammed on the couch semi-spooning with my hand on her boob.

You hear that AQ?! Quit falling asleep on me!

So, I returned to NiceLook card club last night. I left directly from work, having realized that I forgot most of my poker gear. No hat and no sunglasses makes Jordan a very different player. In all actuality, my play wasn’t too different, and I took the lack of camo with stride, but I also knew that I couldn’t do my usual eye-darting madness at the table.

Most of you know this, but for those who don’t, the reason why I wear sunglasses at the table is not because I don’t want people picking up my eye tells. It’s not like I blink twice whenever I get a pocket pair. It is actually to hide my eyes so players don’t realize that I’m carefully watching them. I’ll turn my head forward, but my eyes are straining all the way to the right trying to catch a glimpse of how you throw the chips into the pot. I don’t want to be staring right at you because then you know I am paying attention and you could get cute with me and throw in fake tells or overact. I want you comfortable and seemingly anonymous as you make your actions. Also, I have glaucoma, or at least that’s what I tell the players stupid enough to ask why I’m wearing glasses.

So, without the cover of sunglasses, I had to just let my eyes dart out in the open. I’ll sometimes lean back in my chair as well, so that I am not where players expect me to be when I’m watching them. This really only works when I’m not in the hand. You can get your best info when you are out of a hand.

It was an interesting table when I first sat down. There was definitely a mix of gamblers and rocks, with a decent amount of solid players. In my second hand, I was dealt AKo UTG, a tough position with that hand, made even tougher by the fact that I had no reads on the table yet. I raised to $15 in order to thin the herd, but in hindsight, I probably should’ve limped. Whatever the case, I got three callers, including a call from the SB, a female player who was channeling Phil Ivey. Femme Ivey was a coffee-with-creme skinned black or mulato girl with her curly hair bulled back. She wore a grey fleece and had thin fingers with short fingernails (she was two seats to my right, so her hands were the easiest things to watch. Aside from her pretty face, you’d think she was a guy. She barely talked, not once during a hand, but when she did chat between hands, it was clear that she was confident and intelligent. Out of everyone, all males except for Femme Ivey, it was Femme that instantly intimidated me the most. Mind you, it wasn’t intimidation that would throw me off my game; rather, it was intimidation that would heighten my senses and make me especially cautious against her.

The flop came down KJ9. Ostensibly, that’s a decent flop. I have top pair top kicker, but there is a possible straight, and with all those highcards, I thought two-pair would be a possibility also. Whatever the case, I didn’t know the table, so after Femme Ivey checked to me, I bet $50, less than the pot. One player, a round-faced Asian guy in his early twenties wearing a hoodie and believing with all his might that he was a shark (more accurately, he was a big fish), called me. Femme Ivey then raised to $150 total ($100 on top). When it got back to me, I had to really think this through. I tried to figure out if she could possibly be check-raise bluffing me. The $100 on top was a tall order, without reference to the pot of course, and she may have thought that I would fold since I only sat with $300 total, the maximum buy-in. Also, she could have put me on a lesser pair making a continuation bet. Still, I couldn’t comfortably buy that argument. She was out of position, and facing a confident raiser and a caller. Ultimately, I envisioned her holding KJ for two pair. I wasn’t going to go out like that. I folded, as did the Hooded Asian.

Later, when she pulled that move on another player or three, I leaned past the guy on my right and said to Femme Ivey, “I swear, you are like Carbon Monoxide.” She looked at my quizzically, so I continued, “the silent killa.” Yeah, I’m a dork.

I was definitely bummed about being down $65 so quickly, but I remembered that it was all a matter of playing smart and the money would eventually come back to me. An orbit or so later, I’m in the SB when I’m dealt…AQo. By the time the action got to me, there was a straddle for $5 and about 5 callers. I considered raising to push all those $5 off of their hands, but ultimately, I did not want a call and be out of position with AQo, the Fickle Bitch. The flop came down AQ2, and I checked, expecting one of the many limpers to have an Ace and therefore bet out. It checked around. The turn was a 7. This time, I decided that I had to bet and threw a handful of redbirds ($5 chips) into the pot, for a total of $35. I had hoped that it looked like an out of position bluff because of the fact that the flop was checked down. To my delight, the player on my immediate left decided to push all-in for his remaining $76 or so, total. It folded around to me and I called. The river was a blank. Before I showed my cards, a squib (a personal term for someone who I do not like for no discernible reason) on my immediate right called out “AQ?” I tabled my hand, “Nice call,” I replied to the squib. Sure, he read me correctly, but calling out my hand like that actually fired me up even more. I made it a goal to get under his skin later. Meanwhile, the player on my left who was all-in showed A7. I guess it is good that I checked the flop. Oh, and yes, AQ paid out. Thanks, you cheeky whore.

I’ll just quickly mention that I got AQ about 4 times yesterday. This was the only win. (No, I’m not complaining. I just wanted to explain why I bitched and moaned about AQ following me everywhere, and then mention only one AQ hand that I won).

Sadly, not every poker story can be filled with my genius. There will inevitably be days when I don’t win, and I’ve come to accept that unescapable fact. Following the AQ hand, I was a little above even. Over the course of several orbits, I ended up down about $50-60. A player in the 10s (I was in the 7s) was particularly playing well, with well over $1000 in front of him. I’d seen his type many times before. He was slightly overweight, dressed comfortably, but not sloppily, wearing an army green baseball cap and sporting a full beard. He was a young guy, definitely in his 20s, but he had an aire of confidence that is an absolutely necessary thing to have at the table. I had been re-raised off a bunch of hands, and one hand in particular saw that guy, we’ll call him Army Cap, raising my $30 continuation bet in a move that could only be designed to push me off of the pot. Sadly, I held AQ, and the KTx board scared me enough to fold.

So it was with this knowledge, that I bet out to $15 from EP with 77. In hindsight, I’m not so sure that it was a smart raise. On one hand, I wanted to narrow the field and then bet out on a ragged flop when I would only be called by one or two players with overcards. On the other, I probably should’ve limped and played for set value out of position. Alas, I bet, and I got three callers. The flop was J36 with two hearts. That wasn’t too bad for me. I really only feared someone flopping the Jack, or possibly someone with a small overpair like 88 or 99, because otherwise, I believe TT-AA would probably raise me preflop. I bet out $30, and Army Cap raised me to $90. It folded to me and I had a decent amount of chips behind me. I decided to push all-in. At the time, the thought was that I figured he was playing the player. He had seen me fold to him and other players to re-raises on my continuation bets. If he was on a Jack, maybe I could push him off. After all, this was the first time I had pushed all-in, which often is a sign of supreme confidence. But really, I just played stupid. He called and by the river he showed his two pair, 36c. He then said to the table, a couple of whom were obviously oblivious to strategy beyond Bet Good Cards, that “That is the reason why you call with 36c.” He wasn’t being a dick, and his comment didn’t bother me. Truth be told, I was in decent shape when we were all-in. If the Jack paired or the turn and river paired eachother, then I’d have a better two pair. But still, stupid play. I was stacked.

I immediately rebought for $300 more. The Squib on my left was licking his chops. Earlier he commented, after winning a big all-in bluff, that he was still stuck several hundred. That actually pleased me a bit. He was a normal looking guy with brown hair and scattered stubble on his plain, slightly hick-ish looking face. He wore a long-sleeved collared t-shirt thing (like a rugby shirt) with broad stripes. He just had an aire of arrogance around him that I immediately sensed.

In one hand, I held KTo, and decided to limp on the button along with 5 or so other players. The flop was Ace-high and we call checked. The turn was a Ten. A new guy to my immediate left bet $10. He got a bunch of callers, myself included. The river was a blank. It checked around, and all of the other players held their cards tight. I was on the button, so there was no way I’m showing first. Proper rules has the players show in order from the SB on. The dealer got impatient and said, “Come on guys. Show the winner.” Slowly, the players showed their hands. One player paired a duece. Another had K3o for nothing. Another player had 33. Once I had seen them all, I said, “My tens are good?” I tabled my hand. The chips were pushed my direction and the Squib, who was out of the hand, decided to chime in. “Wow, first you slowplay the Ten, then you slowroll?” This piqued my interest. Notably, he wasn’t even in the hand. I turned to him slightly. “First off, I don’t slowroll. Second, who is slowplaying? There is a ten out there.” I don’t know why I was justifying my play. He replied, “Yeah, but you are stuck a couple of hundred. This was my openning. Eariler in the night, when the Hooded Asian and his two goofy whiteboy sidekicks were stacked three in a row, he wouldn’t stop saying, “They’re all going to tilt now.” Meanwhile, I was thinking, and finally said, “Shut up. If they hear they are tilting, they are going to get control of themselves.” Now, the Squib was telling me that I should’ve bet out with middle pair because I was stuck a few hundred. “Actually,” I replied, “betting more because you are stuck is called tilting. I don’t make my money tilting.” It sounded better in person. In text, it just seems ghey. But I was basically putting him back in his place. Little bitch.

I was eventually down to about $240 or so, and I started feeling the crunch of being stuck. I decided that I was leaving at 9pm no matter what. I was also going to keep playing smart and wait for my opportunity to win my money back. It was all a matter of time.

I was dealt KQc in EP, and decided to limp. By then, the table became a lot more limp-friendly. There was an older man with a tattered t-shirt, wild white hair and a scruffy face sitting in the 9s. He played tight, mostly, and raised to $12. The Hooded Asian called, still tilting from eariler losses, and I called as well. The flop was a gorgeous Jx9c8c. I had an inside straight draw and the second-nut flush draw. I checked. The old man bet $25 and the Hooded Asian called. I called as well. The turn was a Ts. I had the nut straight. Of course, I checked. Let them do the betting for me. The old man bet $45 and the Hooded Asian called. I looked at my stack, $168 total, and pushed all-in. The old man asked how much, and the dealer told him $168. I could tell that I would have to induce the call. I’ve said this many times before, but excuse me for repeating myself. When you want a call like this, your best strategy is to keep quiet…until it is clear that your opponent is going to fold. Then, start talking. Do anything. You can’t negatively affect the outcome, but you may be able to talk them into calling. More often than not, players see chattiness as a sign that you are playing mind games because you don’t have the goods. A smart player will catch on and know that talking (especially when someone appears comfortable while they chat) is a sign of a good hand, but that is why I start quiet and then get chatty when it looks like my opponent needs encouragement to call. I interrupted, “Actually its only $123 more.” The dealer was actually rude, “Yeah, but its $168 total.” “Sure,” I replied, “but I’m trying to induce the call.” There it was, announcing my intentions. Remember my tip from earlier this week. For whatever reason, people are more likely to tell the truth at the table than they are to show it through their actions. I was announcing my freaking strategy. The old man folded though, and I turned my attention onto the Hooded Asian. “Come on, man. It’s only another $123 more. Double me up.” “I call.” (Sweet!). The river was an offsuit King. I showed my nut former straight, now the second nut straight. He folded and said “Damn.” I was making strides back to even.

From there, I just had fun. The Hooded Asian and his two whiteboy cronies were tilting, but they were just kids and fun to have around. I buddied up to the guy on my immediate left because I had seen him around and knew he was a good player. It’s better to be friends with good players. I had some fun, raising to $4 total (min raise) with ATo. The redheaded sidekick called along with a chubby, nerdy new player. The flop was Ten-high. It checked to me and I bet out $4, a paltry sum. Only the red-headed sidekick called. The turn was a blank, or at least its a blank to me now. I bet out $10, another paltry sum. He tossed in the chips without a care. The river was another blank. Hell, maybe the turn or river was an overcard to my Ten. I just don’t remember. He checked and I bet $35. “Sorry man, you checked too much.” He called and when I showed the AT, he mucked. This was just me goofing around and slowly building a pot.

There wasn’t much else happening. I had fun chatting with the table, but I started to feel hunger pains. When 9pm rolled around, a new dealer took the box. This one was a chick, and while she was a solid 6.5 out of 10, she paled in comparison to the female weekend dealer with those oh so fluffy dirty pillows. Still, when she sat, I wanted to finish the 3 hands left in the orbit, and I asked her how that worked. I had seen players not pay time ($5 per half hour) and play a hand or two before walking. I asked her if I could finish my orbit. She looked at me with a funny smile. “Orbit?” “Yeah, I just want to play the next few hands.” “Orbit?” I guess she never heard the term before. To me it is standard terminology. Each time that the button goes around the table is an orbit. I wanted to play until I was the BB. We joked a bit as she explained that it was a weird word. Okay, lady, but if I smile and play along, will you let me play some more hands for free. The house rule is that you get one free hand, but she gave me the full three. “Enjoy your orbit.”

The first hand she deals me, I am in MP and get KK, my best hand of the night. Hallelujah! or Damnation! I’m not sure which, yet. I bet out $12, one of my smaller bets of the evening, and only get one caller, the red-headed sidekick. He was still steaming when his JJ flopped a set against another player with AA. When they got into a betting war, Red-Head got all-in, only to lose to a turned Ace, set over set. He was amazingly pissed and shocked. I just found it funny.

So, he’s on tilt. Fine. He has been the entire night. So, I have KK and I get a shitty flop, Ax6s7s. What to do? I check. I don’t want to lose money right before I leave. He bets $20. Okay, I’m willing to lose $20. The turn was an 8s. This hand was just getting worse. I didn’t have a spade either. I checked, and he sheepishly checked. It was then that I knew he didn’t have the Ace. The river was a blank and I bet $35. He called, and growned when I showed my KK. Immediatley after, his friend, a white Sanjaya (I kid you not), said, “If he bet $50, you would’ve folded.” “Hell no!” First, I wanted to reinforce the Red-Headed kid’s bad play (not like I played the hand so great). Second, I disagreed sincerely. If he bets $50 on the flop, I would have called easier or raised. $20 wants to be called, $50 does not. Him and his buddies all started to ask how that could possibly be, and I got rude, on a rush of adrenaline, “Dude, I’ll teach you how to play after my two hands.” It’s then when the guy to my left said to me quietly, “Really? How can you call a $50 turn bet after the $20 flop bet?” Shit! I misheard them. I leaned over and apologized. “My bad, guys. I misunderstood. You are right. Shit, sorry about being such a prick.” I meant it too, especially since I was leaving.

Two hands later I racked up and was down $53 for the night, after tipping the dealer $3 for letting me play a few extra hands. Not bad,, as I was stuck $400 at my lowest point. I had tinges of self doubt when I was down, but I shook them off quickly. I knew that I had the skills and bad competition to win it all back. I’m confident that if I stayed longer, I would’ve gotten to even and thensome, but its all just one long session.

When I left, I strolled over to Brgr, a burger place around the corner. I thought wifey Kim’s friend Michelle recommended the shakes, so I ordered a burger, fries and shake. On the way home in a cab, while drinking my shake, I called Michelle to thank her recommendation. She didn’t know what I was talking about. Smooth, Jordan. I must’ve hallucinated the good review.

Another day, another dollar. Down $50, but feeling fine. The plan is to play in the EBB Team game next week. It’s $330 total for the three-player team. Right now, its me and Matty Ebs, but he’s going to find us a third. It should be interesting. Meanwhile, 23Skiddoo may be in town on Thursday, so that’s two nights of poker in a row. Giddy-up!

Until next time, make mine poker!

Hey all. Not much going on in Casa del High. I had a nice evening last night meeting up with good pals Platinum and Johnny Ads. These two aren’t pokerphiliacs like us, and I’ve noticed that the routine of life and the use of poker as the ultimate passtime has limited my social interaction with the outside world. No, I’m not quite a hermit, but when I have a free night, I’ll be at the local cardroom or playing online at a Battle of the Blogger Tournament game. (Side note: It is rather impressive how the BBT re-energized my and many players’ interests in the weekly blogger tournaments. Kudos to its organizers.)

Wifey Kim was planning on having dinner with a college friend yesterday, and I found myself in the same spot I face on a weekly basis. I could go play poker live at the NiceLook (1/2 NL cash) or Salami ($60 tournament) clubs, go home and play the Mookie (which would actually start after wifey Kim got home) or find something else. Normally, I’m one to grab the opportunity for poker, but I didn’t feel like it yesteday. My online account has dwindled since my Big Game loss, and I didn’t have my poker gear at the office, so a trip to the cardroom would involve a couple of subway trips (I didn’t even have enough money in my ATM to bring my usual 2 buy-ins).

With that in mind, I did something different. I called Platinum and Ads and we met for drinks, dinner and more drinks. And I couldn’t have had a better night. Poker can be all consuming, and its refreshing to take a mental break every once in a while. Meanwhile, I spent the evening not thinking about the poker club a scant 5 blocks away or the many poker stories saved in my head, which would undoubtedly only bore my dinner companions. Or at least I spent the evening trying not to think of these things.

When I got home, a bit drunk, wifey Kim was there to greet me. Poker seemed to call my name, but I ignored that beyotch and settled on the couch next to my lovely wife.

Tonight, I make my return to NiceLook. Sure, a day off is nice, but I’m itching to get back in there, especially since I won in probably 90% of my live game sessions this year. In the last three trips, I’ve taken down scores of about $800, $120 and $340, not bad for a 1/2 NL player. I prepped for work this morning slowly and painstakingly, as I was nursing a killer hangover and doing my best to avoid wifey Kim in a polite way. She was chipper from sleeping late (for her) whereas I was grumpy from waking up early (for me). Once I was in my monkey suit (I have a client meeting this morning and a deposition later today), I grabbed my backpack and filled it up with my poker gear. This time, I’m going to NiceLook straight from work, and while I considered playing in my suit, I like to be comfortable at the table. Instead, I’ll be wearing my Flash t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, a big step up from the ole suit. I couldn’t find my new elephant card cap so I grabbed the red and gold buddha. Part of me feels this is a bad omen, but an even larger part of me doesn’t care. After all, if buddha is the reason why I lose, then I’ve got some serious problems.

I received an interesting email from the Extra Big Bet club, a club I’ve only visited seriously on one occassion. I guess NiceLook must be taking all of their players, because each email I get from EBB seems more and more desperate. The recent one included a pathetic call for more players, along with something that seemed kinda interesting. EBB will be holding a team tournament, where 10 teams of 3 players each will compete for an as yet unnamed buy-in. Each player will sit in a 10-person SNG, and the winners of the SNGs will be awarded points. The team with the highest points wins.

Team poker is an interesting concept, and I guess this just goes to show that competition, in this case between illegal underground card clubs, really does spur a wider variety of products and services. I still need to know the buy-in, but if its agreeable, I’ll be playing with Matty Ebs and another player we have yet to choose. Mikey Aps might be our man. He can be a real asshole at the table, but that could work to our advantage, especially since he won’t be at our table. But if anyone else is interested, feel free to drop a comment. No promises, but I wouldn’t mind certain people on my team (SoxLover for instance).

Oh, and the title to this post is my new self-proclaimed poker nickname. After seeing a funny post by Dawn about the worst poker nickname (apparently, some dude is known as The Donator) and seeing Dawn’s nickname, Crackmaster, I’ve decided I need my own. Jordan “Delicious Chips.” Smoothhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…………

Until next time, make mine poker!

I love Buffalo. I mean, really love it. In another world, I’d be living there, but alas, I am in NYC, the Center of It All, and the thought of leaving the Big Leagues of Everything (we are, after all, a world capital of finance, art, theatre, law, fashion, jewelry, and business, to name a few) to move to NY’s most depressed (economically) city is hardly a smart move. Still, when I left college in Buffalo, when I was offered a job working for a Buffalo law firm after a mediation competition held at my alma mater, and after visiting this last week, I can’t help but picture my life in Buffalo. Ideally, wifey Kim and I could afford a nice house in a good neighborhood. We can enjoy all of our favorite restaurants from our college days, and discover new ones throughout the city. We can work in an environment that stresses family life over work life. And we can enjoy the people, who may be wearing head-to-toe Buffalo Sabres sweats at the supermarket, but are also invariably kind. Sadly, all that is not meant to be. My roots are in NYC, but at least I have branches in Buffalo.

When wifey Kim first told me of her speech pathology convention in Buffalo, I heard opportunity knocking. I had been itching to visit Buffalo again, and I had heard that, since my graduation, two new casinos had openned up. When I was a student, the only casino was Casino Niagara, a Canadian casino just over the border. It didn’t have poker, but that was before the poker boom. Even so, with little money to my name, we would make monthly jaunts to gamble on roulette or try our best to beat blackjack. Whenever I was up $100, I’d always think, “I should lock up this win,” then think, “Wait, this is Canadian money! I need to win more to get an even $100 USD.” Then I’d proceed to give it all back.

But remember, that was before my poker days, and before Buffalo’s poker days. From what I heard, there was now a second Candadian casino and the US finally got wise to the fact that American money was gambled away to our retarded brother up north. Hence, the Seneca Niagara Casino was born, a casino owned by Americans (American Indians) on the American side of Niagara Falls. Poker rooms popped up in all of the casinos, and we had ourselves a perfect poker storm. I just thank god that it wasn’t there when I was going to school. At least I went to some classes.

The first day and a half in Buffalo were fantastic. It seemed that most of our agenda involved visiting old food haunts, and Wednesday night, after checking in, we immediately went for some Mexican food. Thursday morning involved our favorite greasy spoon diner, a jaunt around campus, and a late lunch at Duff’s the best wings on the planet. Sadly, as delicious as Duff’s is, it is also usually an intestinal wrecking ball, so dinner was skipped altogether.

On Friday, wifey Kim and I got up early to grab some grub. After breakfast, we decided on our day. Wifey Kim was going to a 1:30-4:30 class, and once I dropped her off (I was driving a sporty PT Cruiser, cause thats how I roll), I was headed to the NY casino to play my first poker ever in Western New York. Wifey Kim was kind enough to suggest that I drop her off early to get more game time in. I took the offer, and after changing into my poker uniform (say it with me now, black dollar-sign Superman shirt, cargo pants with a slew of pockets, baseball cap, hooded sweatshirt, new elephant card cap, sunglasses, and iPod), I dropped wifey Kim off at her destination and started the 30 minute drive to the casino.

God bless GP-systems. I didn’t remember everything in Buffalo, and I sure as hell never went to the posh hotel where wifey Kim’s convention took place when I was but a young student. The casino was new, so that was going to be a tricky ride for me too. GP made it easy and even told me the exact minute when I should expect to arrive at my destination. Let me tell you, when you can shave off a minute, that’s a fine feeling. I have a casino speed that I automatically walk at when I enter a casino, and its somewhat true of the driving as well. Add a time limit to the play, and I was able to shave a whole 2 minutes from my less-than-30 minute drive!

The NY casino certainly looked nice. It’s a tall building in the middle of a semi-urban area that really feels depressed, like an industrial city gone to dirt (which I expect it was). There are remnants of the tourism heydays, but most of the strong touristy stuff (not good, but strong as in established and likely to last in reasonable condition) are on the Canadian side. But that tall casino/hotel with bright-colored lights changing on its exterior looks like a gambler’s oasis in the den of dead commerce. Parking, to my delight, was free, and once I found the entrance, I moved swifty to the casino floor.

In Buffalo/Niagara (including Canadian casinos), you cannot step onto the casino floor without going through velvet ropes where a guard inspects your ID. I handed him my ID and asked about the poker room. He pointed down a long hallway, separate from the ding of slot machines and the -EV table games. For this reason, I never did quite enter the casino-proper. Rather, I made my way down the hall and got ready for some poker action.

When I got to the poker room and showed my ID, I reviewed the list of available games. I’m pretty much a NL guy when it comes to live cash games, largely because of the opportunity to make good money. There is certainly more at risk and you can felt yourself with one hand, but it works both ways, and I’ve found that more likely than not, when all the chips are on the line, I have the best of it. The options were 1/2 NL with a 100 max buy-in and 2/5 NL with a 400-max. I thought about the 1/2, but those were some mighty short stacks for live poker, and would likely dissolve quickly into a push-monkey contest. I’m not against playing that style of poker (or player), but I’d rather have more room to maneuver. In Atlantic City, I’m much more used to the 1/2, 300-max tables, so I considered taking my $700+ bankroll (all I brought with me for this trip) and trying out 2/5, 400-max. I put my name on both lists and within 5 minutes, was called to the 2/5 table.

This was my first time playing 2/5 NL, but the way I saw it, it couldn’t be too different from 1/2. Sure, you can expect a certain better caliber of player, but there are donkeys at every level, and this was 2/5, not 100/200 NL.

When I sat down, it didn’t take me long to realize that I was playing with a bunch of regulars. Players shared tasteless jokes back and forth, none worth remembering, and referred to each other by name. It was a chummy group, but I felt every bit the outsider as I grabbed my seat and prepped by sporting all of my accoutrements. I tried to add my 2 cents on certain conversations as a way of getting a rapport with the table.

Early on, it became clear that the 40-year-old burly guy with a goatie and pony-tail would be the loose donkey of the group. He looked like a real shlub and was sending out more signals than a cat in heat. He was playing most hands and raising with seeming reckless abandon. His main play was to check-raise all preflop and it worked to his benefit at least a half-dozen times at the table. When he did reach showdown, his cards were rarely exceptional. Later on, a Sopranos-wannabe joined him on his left. The Sopranos-wannabe was an early 30s Italian with thinning slicked-back/spikey hair, wearing a tracksuit opened to expose his gold cross and white tanktop. He was mark #2.

I also noticed pretty quickly that players did not know how to use their straddle. They would straddle, get a bunch of callers and then check. This is how NOT to straddle. Instead, if you are playing against a straddler, you want to raise more often than not, because the straddler is essentially going to be out of position for the rest of the hand (assuming you are not a blind) and also likely has crap cards that can’t call a raise. If you are the straddler and you get some limpers, the optimal move is to raise more often than not, because the limpers probably put you on crappy cards, and part of the reason to straddle in the first place is to gain position preflop. By checking, you are just wasting that position you blindly paid $10 for.

Seeing this, I decided to raise to $50 after the pony-tail guy, we’ll call him D-Bag, straddled and got several callers. I figured from the fact that I was an unknown entity, I could get away with some tomfoolery early. I only had KTs, but that was a decent hand against the blind straddle, and I hoped that the big bet would scare the others away, since they were merely limpers. I was wrong. I got 4 callers, and the table livened up. Apparently, this was the biggest preflop pot in a long while, and I would find out why they were so eager to call me later on in the day. The flop was Ace-high, and by the time it got to me, a player had bet $100 or more into the pot. I stared at the board and folded, my imaginary KK going up in flames. See, in hands like this, I like to imagine what hand doesn’t suck (i.e., is worthy of a preflop raise to $50) but would fold to this action. KK or QQ would do, since the many callers and the Ace-high flop would be a good indication that a bare Ace had taken the lead. So, I mentally picture KK in my hand and act accordingly. I was just glad for the Ace-high flop, which allowed me to fold and save face.

I played on until I was down $100 from my initial $400 buy-in, and then rebought in for another $100, topping myself off. I was getting into the flow of the table, and two seats to my right was an older clean-cut gentlemen, late 40s to early/mid 50s, with white hair, a baseball cap and a whole lot of chatter. He was a jokester, yucking it up at the table. I could tell that he was sorta gunning for me, something I would also learn more about later, and every once in a while, he would stab a comment in my direction, either encouraging my fold in a passive-aggressive jerkoff way, or making some veiled half-insult under the guise of humor, like “I’m waiting for your elephant to run over the table” in reference to my elephant card cap, or “Looks like your elephant is about to lay a crap.” Classy! We’ll call him Chummy, just for the hell of it.

I couldn’t wait to use this gentleman’s attitude to my advantage. For the most part, I was keeping quiet and mostly tried to stay out of the way while I took the table’s temperature. Aside from the silly $50 straddle raise, I had been largely quiet. I finally got a good hand, JJ, when the D-Bag straddled once again. This time, he only got two callers before it got to me, including Chummy. Chummy had been spewing chips slowly, mostly to loose calls and whatnot. He was a smart player, though, and on at least one occasion laid nice traps, only to suffer a suckout. I could tell he was on semi-tilt.

With JJ, I decided to raise to $50 once again, hoping to encourage players to remember the last time I tried this ploy in the exact same position. I received two callers this time, the D-Bag who would call with any two cards, and Chummy, likely because he wanted to take this hand from me. The flop was 962, with two hearts. I liked my hand. It checked to me in LP and I decided to bet $100 into the pot. D-Bag shuffled his two cards (a telltale sign of weakness) and folded. Chummy thought about it for a while. I looked at his remaining stack of about $265. I had him covered, and if he was calling the $100 bet, I wanted to get his last $165 in the pot as well. I decided to try to reel him in. “Just fold and nobody gets hurt.” He perked up and looked in my direction. Trying to sound tough, he replied, “$100 won’t hurt me either way.” I decided to flip the script and make him feel as big and powerful as he wanted so desperately to be. “Actually,” my voice went a bit quieter, “I was talking about me.” He needed more time to think. Meanwhile, a guy in the 10s (I was in the 8s) returned to his seat and asked, “Is this hand still going?” “Not for long,” I replied, once again flipping the switch and making my comments seem threatening. To my delight, Chummy chirped up, looked at me with a hint of desperation behind his eyes, and said, “You are going to call?” “Wha?,” I asked back. I had no idea what he was talking about. “Did you just say you were going to call if I went all-in?” I leveled with him, “Um, no. This guy asked if this hand was still going on and I said ‘Not for long’ one way or the other.” He saw this as his opening, “All-in!” “I call.” My response was so quick and so in opposition to what he thought he heard in my voice from that last interchange that it appeared as though his heart broke right there. The turn was another 6 and the river was a Queen. I was mildly worried about the suckout, but I tabled my JJ and Chummy could only look at his cards before sadly mucking them. Take that, motherfucker! I’m the king of the mindfuck now!

I should have made him show first. Whatever the case, this hand just goes to show that it really is about waiting for your opponents to make a mistake in NLHE. That mistake can cost them (or you) an entire stack, and from my recent experiences, its usually hands like this, one or two a session, that make up the entirety of my profit.

A little while later, I saw a relatively tight old man lose a hand to runner runner flush. I was playing very tight, and felt like I could take a swing at a pot, so I raised to $15 from MP/LP with QTo. That old guy called, and the flop came down with nothing of any use. I believe there was an Ace out, though, so when the old guy checked, I bet $30. He called, and announced, “I’m calling you on tilt.” Sometimes that’s just a cute statement, and other times, it’s actually a ploy to fool you into betting into a strong hand, but most often, when people speak at a poker table, they are telling the truth. I know it sounds odd, but actions and speaking are two different things. For some reason, a player who is “smart” enough to sign and look depressed when they flopped the nuts is too “honest” to lie when they speak aloud. I think it is our natural impulse to be honest. Whatever the case, I saw his “tilt” comment as earnest and when the turn came down, I bet out $60. He folded, and I said, “I was hoping you were going to tilt-call again.” Okay, so not everyone is honest when they talk at a poker table.

A long while later, I’m dealt AxQh. AQ has been a real pain in the ass lately, and I’m re-learning how to fold it. However, facing a straddle and sitting in MP, I decide to raise to $40. I only get one caller, the Goomba in a track suit with the gold cross and exposed wifebeater. Class! He is in late position, but generally is a loose preflop caller. The flop is 345, all hearts. I’m first to act, so I do what I do and bet $80, hoping to show strength and win the pot immediately. He flat calls fairly quickly. This does not outright concern me. He could be on the flush draw, or he could have a minor overpair, but I doubt he has anything very strong. Otherwise, he would raise me. I know this because he’s been doing it to me all day. More often than not, I fold, because it is usual to minor $15 preflop raises, and I don’t need to get into those hands without good cards against such a maniac. However, I still AM concerned because all I have is Ace-high. The turn is an offsuit Queen, giving me top pair, top kicker, with the loser’s end of an inside straight draw and a draw to the third-nut flush. I think it over and decide that I am likely ahead to 99 or something similar. If he is ahead, its likely to the straight (yes, I thought he may’ve called with 67, or to a small flush). I figured that in those instances, I have the draw to a superior flush as well, although I seriously did not see him as having the flush. I think this is where I moved all-in for about $300+ more. It was a ballsy move, but I thought that the Queen turn gave me the lead and I didn’t want him drawing out on me. He folded and said that I must be protecting something big to bet like that. “Yep, I’m protecting the winning hand.” It’s all the info I would give him.

Those were the significant hands that I played. The rest was a lot of folding or a preflop raise folding to a flop. While I was sitting there, a player took over the 10s. He was a younger guy, 30 at most, wearing a dress shirt with a fancy pen in the breast pocket and slacks. If I was in NY, I would think him some low-level marketing croney but in Buffalo, he had an even more professional aire. He also acted like a douschebag frat boy, and liked to cackle-laugh at his silly quips and obnoxious table chat. On three different occassions, I heard him verbally announce his cards to the other player in the hand and agree to check it down the whole way. At first, I thought it was an odd defensive play, but when he had AK and flopped the Ace and still checked it down, and when he had AK and the other guy had 99 and they both checked it down after the A and K missed the flop, well, it was clear that these guys were softplaying. It wasn’t just the Cackling Frat Guy either. It seemed that a good amount of the 10 person table were willing to softplay each other once they were alone in a pot. It was so utterly blatant that I finally had to ask. I turned to the Frat Guy and asked him this:

“Hey man, you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but I just have to ask. Why would you check it down with such a strong hand? Why are you giving him a chance to draw out on you?” He said he’d be open and honest. He also said that there was no money in the pot in reference to the most recent softplayed hand. “Yeah, but there could have been if you bet at it, or you could have protected yourself from being drawn out on.” He got more honest with me when I confronted him with that reality. All the while he was mostly jovial. The entire table, including the Goomba all the way in the 3s were listening and joining in. “We are regulars (referring to himself and the other player in the last softplayed hand). I don’t need to go after him. I can go after the non-regulars, like you.” I soaked that in and fired back my next question: “Yeah, but you are leaving money on the table. I mean, do you play this for fun or for money?” “Aw, this isn’t for money. This is all for fun. I don’t want to lose. No one wants to lose. But its all for fun.” My last reply ended the conversation, “Okay, I can see that then. If you aren’t playing for rent money, then I guess I can see it. No offense to you or any of the guys, but I don’t have a home casino, so I’m not used to the regular thing.”

This conversation actually took place at around the 2 hour mark of my 3 hour session. Once I had this info, I knew a few things: (1) these players were gunning for me as one of the few non-regulars in the room, (2) these players now thought that I was playing to pay for rent based on my implications, (3) in multi-way pots, these players are going to be playing soft until I make a move, and (4) the whole table will start to get more aggressive because I have exposed their pussy-ass softplay for what it is. Sure enough, all four were correct. From there on out, if I was in a multiway pot (of which there were more than a few), I kept out of the way, knowing that the only time there would be action was if it came from me, at which point I would expect to be re-raised so the other regulars would get out of the way. I also noticed some looser action from the softplayers who heard our conversation. Likely, I exposed their shame and they were overcompensating, like the guy with the small shlong who tries extra hard to look like the playa. I also noticed that players were a bit more wary of me, likely because of my image as a wandering poker player making rent at the tables.

If nothing else, the game was a huge learning experience. I learned that under the right conditions, 2/5 is the exact same game as 1/2 NL. I learned how to take advantage of the regulars’ mentality. I won $338, too, and gladly cashed out 30 minutes before I even had to just to lock in the win and change before meeting wifey Kim. As I got up from the table, the Frat Guy asked, “You’re leaving?” I couldn’t help but keep up the front. “Sorry, guys, I got a call about a deepstacked home game in Detroit and I got a long drive.” I walked out of there like I was the shizznit, because frankly, with this group of clowns, I was.

I met up with wifey Kim at the hotel where her conference was taking place. As I waited in the parking lot, a college kid walked by with a blue hooded sweatshirt with bright white letters. Those were my fraternity letters and in wifey Kim and my jaunt through campus on Thursday, I looked for them everywhere to no avail. Here I was, though, in downtown Buffalo at some random hotel, and a fellow brother just walks by. I stepped out of the car, “Are you with ___ ____?” “Yeah,” the kid seemed uncertain. “Me too.” We got to talking. The fraternity was actually having their formal that night at the very same hotel. After we parted ways, I got a call from the one fraternity brother I still knew that was in college, a younger guy I met through my little brother (real little brother, not fraternity little brother). Wifey Kim and I were invited to the formal last minute, and after dinner at a nearby restaurant and a 1 for 3 loss against wifey Kim in air hockey, we strolled into the formal dressed informally. It was a pleasure seeing these kids all dressed up with their hot ass sorostitute dates. I didn’t know most of them, but they knew me as a founding father. I made small talk, drank free booze and headed out before they started dinner. It was good to be back, and that coincidence made things even better.

The next day, wifey Kim and I headed to the local supermarket where they have the best subs around. We picked up two subs for the airplane ride. We were scheduled to fly out on Sunday, but due to inclement weather, we decided to leave a day early. When I left the sub section of the supermarket, a guy walked right in front of me, yelling across the aisle at someone else. There, right before my eyes, was Jim, a good friend and fraternity brother that I neglected to call on the trip. What another freakin’ coincidence. We hung out by the butcher section and caught up. I felt a bit bad about not thinking to call him sooner, but I was just glad that somehow we bumped into each other anyway.

Wifey Kim and I made our way to the airport and eventually returned home. On the way to Buffalo, I told wifey Kim that I could really imagine living in Buffalo. She scoffed. On the way back, she confided that she had a great time and wished we could live in Buffalo. By then, I had changed my mind. After all, I don’t want to become one of those silly ass poker room “regulars.”

Quick unrelated topic. I bought my way into the Blogger Big Game last night. I had suffered a series of defeats in brief spurts of online poker during the day, and contemplated skipping the tournament altogether. Ultimately, however, I decided to play, and play I did. When we were down to the final 19, I was near the back of the pack, but I still had plenty of play left in me. I eventually got Lucko to call my all-in. He raise preflop from the button and I raised a little bit more than the minimum back at him, knowing full well that I was pot committed. I was hoping to get him to push back at me, and he obliged. At showdown, preflop, I held AA against Lucko’s JTo. By the turn, he had made his straight. I immediately turned off FT and my Yahoo Messenger. It hurt, but I wasn’t defeated. I accept that poker involves luck and I don’t blame Lucko one bit for his play or his luck. When I started the tournament, I thought that if I donk out, I’m going to suffer a brutal poker hangover, that feeling I get the next day that says, “What were you thinking?!” I’m glad to say that I felt fine about 30 seconds after the tournament and well into today. I may have lost in an improbable way, but I played well, and that is all I can ask. I don’t damn Lucko either. His play wasn’t all that bad, and even if it was, I cannot control him and make him play the hand any differently.

Something for you to chew on, whether it be poker or your everyday life: You can only control one person in the world, and that person is You. Don’t get wrapped up in what everyone else did wrong at the table or in your life. Focus on how you reacted to it, how you learned from it, and how you can handle it in the future to better yourself. Anything else is just a waste of time and energy.

Until next time, make mine poker!

Oooowee! I’m still in beautiful Buffalo, NY, and I had a wonderful day at the nearby Niagara Falls Casino. I’m saving that story for another night, so let’s get back to the MATH tournament from last Monday. I received one comment from Gydyon yesterday that said, ” baby jesus weeps when bad aces are raised.” Well, Gyd, don’t I know it. Don’t mistake my hand histories as a how-to guide. It’s just as much a how-not-to guide. It’s also merely my hyper aggro journey through a blogger tournament. And without further adieu,

HAND 130- Gydyon is right, but it still works sometimes…
So I have 6429 and A7o on the button when it folds to me. The blinds are 120/240 with a 25 ante, so I raise pot (720). Kat and and lester fold in the blinds. Easy money which leads me to…

HAND 133- AQ, A7, what’s the difference…
Three hands later, I get a decent hand, AQo. I now have 6939, and it folds to me in MP. I bet pot again. I want to keep consistent, and pot bets will win me the blinds which is good enough at this level. Everyone folds.

HAND 140- I can afford to gamble…
Seven hands later and I have 6899. It folds to me and I have A6o. It’s another marginal, if not shitty, hand, but Blinders is in the BB with only 1675 chips total, so I decide to hoy him by betting his whole stack minus one. Everyone folds and shock of shocks, Blinders calls with AJo. Of course, I was gambling on Blinders folding with crap cards, but I have enough chips to withstand this situations and have over 5k to play with. I should add that the blinds are 150/300 with 25 antes. Well, I’m in bad shape, but this is poker. I flop the 6 and he doesn’t hit a Jack and I bust Blinders. It’s not the prettiest win, but I’ll take it.

HAND 146- I lost this hand to copy-paste error, but I’m pretty sure I tried to temp players into the hand when I have a big pocket pair. I think I got some preflop action, but no postflop action.

HAND 154- in which I luckbox into a big stack…
We are at 200/400 blinds and I have T2 in the BB. Before it gets to me, a player in EP pushed with 1320. I didn’t have the hand history for this one, but I actually took contemporaneous notes. I was moved to a new table immediately after, so I lost my quick hand histories. By the time it gets to me, the all-in player has two callers. I decide to call because of the sheer pot odds and the fact that we are likely just going to check it down anyway. It’s just another 920 to me. The flop i s 432. We all check. The turn is another 2, we all check. The river is an 8. It checks to me and I bet 800, mostly because one of the callers only has 1337 left. That player pushed all-in on top of me and the other guy folded. I call, and he shows 66. I don’t get to see the cards of the guy who pushed first because I am immediately moved to…

This table:
Seat 1: HighOnPoker (13,556)
Seat 2: bayne_s (2,070)
Seat 3: RecessRampage (10,485)
Seat 4: willwonka (5,055)
Seat 5: cemfredmd (3,890)
Seat 6: lightning36 (14,685)
Seat 7: oossuuu754 (8,904)
Seat 8: Iggy (11,910)
Seat 9: Astin (3,723)

I’ve played with some of these players earlier in the tournament, but a nunch of them are new to me (for this go round). I go into a fairly tight mode since I need to get a feel for my new surroundings.

HAND 164- bad fishing…
After the 10th hand at the new locale, I’m dealt Q8o in the BB. The blinds are 200/400 with a 50 ante and I have over 13k, 2nd biggest at the table by less than 50 difference. I wish I had the details for the hands that led up to this much larger stack, but it is what it is. CemFred (I’ve never seen this player before), with 5710, makes a cardinal sin and min raises to 400. I call along with a few other players. Once the AT4 flop comes down, I’m out of this hand. CemFred moves all-in for 4860, lightning36 raises all-in for 12,885, and Iggy pushes his 8637 all-in. The results, Cem has AJ for top pair, decent kicker, lightning has TT for middle set, and poor Iggy has 44 for the midget set. Lightning takes down a monster hand with TT…and then we are on break.

HAND 165- in which I channel lightning…
This is the first hand after the five minute break and I have 12,356 in MP with TT, the same hand that made lightning the 30k monster he is. The blinds are 250/500 with a 50 ante, so the pot is 1100 before any action (seven players at our table. WillWonka (not WWonka) raises to 1800 in EP. He’s one of the players who know I am a loose mofo. He only has 5105 to start the hand, so this is a pretty nice chunk of change for him. It folds to me and I raise to 6250, essentially putting him all-in. I want the call here, as I like my hand against his potential range, AND I have enough chips to lose and still survive with a playable stack. I add, “shall we dance?” to try to induce the action, and he obliges as he replies, “gg all..and gl.” He shows AJo and we have a horse-race. The flop is JT8, and I don’t look back. I bust WillWonka. GG, sir. In hindsight, I wonder if this play was all that smart. It would’ve been difficult to lose half of my stack on a cointoss.

HAND 180- let ‘em call…
This is a newer table and I’m trying to rehab my image, so I don’t play a hand in a long while. I was also card dead which never hurts in a situation like this. By hand 180, I have a 16k stack, goot for third for the table, behind BuddyDank (20k) and lightning (28k+). UTG+2 (i.e., MP for this now-6-handed table), I raise 3x the BB to 1500 with 56s. I have enough chips where the bet won’t cripple me, and I’m willing to see a flop. I’ve also been very passive and there isn’t anyone at the table who has been with me during my early uber-aggressive action. Everyone folds and I take an easy 1050. If they call, I’m fine with it too, since my bet hopefully made my holdings deceptive. I can get paid off nicely if I hit, and I can potentially continuation bet if I miss.

HAND 184- the other side of aggression…
Overaggression can sometimes lead to situations where you get yourself into some trouble. Ideally, you want to be able to get away from the hand in those instances. Stack sizes are of ultimate importance here. So, I’m still at 16411, when I am dealt ATo in the SB. Lightning limps in MP and I stupidly raise to 2k. He raises back to over 6k, and I have to fold. This is really a stupid play and bad timing by me. I’m out of position with an unsuited ace with a medium kicker. I’m slaughtered against all sorts of hands, and being out of position takes away the informational advantage I’ll need post-flop to steal this hand away. At least I had 16k to start, because I fold to his raise and have a manageable stack, still holding 3rd place at the table.

HAND 185- same hand, different position…
And herein lies the importance of position when being overaggressive. One hand later, I am on the button with ATo again. It folds to me, I raise to 1500 (3x the BB) and take down the pot. I suppose, aside from position, the fact that there were no limpers means a lot too. If there were a limper, I would’ve raised higher, actually, probably to 2000 (4x the BB), just to give him/her more incentive to fold out of position. By picking up this hand, I essentially cover 1/2 of my losses from hand 184.

HAND 186- keep the pressure on…
This is what I love about streaks. I am dealt 44 in the CO with 15361 in chips. It folds to me and I raise to 2000. This is higher than my past bets because, since I’ve raised the last two hands (this one being the third in a row), I have to assume that I’ve lost some credibility to my preflop raises. In hindsight, by raising more, I might be signaling that I want the preflop folds, thereby giving someone incentive to raise back, but with high blinds, its more likely that players won’t want to scrap. Sure enough, everyone folds, and hand 186, in which I stupidly bet and folded 2000, is a mere memory. I’ve won all that money back.

HAND 197- wait for it, wait for it, steal…
After three preflop raises in a row, I have to tighten up. I fold for 11 hands and then get dealt 44 again in the CO. When it folds to me, I raise to 2k again and everyone folds. Stealing is worth over 1k, so I don’t want any preflop callers.

HAND 202-taking advantage of odd position…
The blinds are now 300/600 with a 75 ante. Our table is 5-handed and there are only 10 or 11 players left in the tournament. I have 13,161, good for 2nd place at the table behind lightning’s 41k+. Everyone else, however, have over 12k, so I’m not really ahead of anyone. Preflop, there is 1350 in the pot, about 10% of our stacks. That’s a lot of frijoles. I’m in the BB with A8o. It occurs to me that I have a lot of these Ace-rag hands in this tournament. I have only been dealt 3 or so premium hands and 6 or so top ten hands. Still, when god gives you lemons, make limoncello. Lightning calls, oossuuu calls, and I check. The flop is KT3. OSU checks. I raise pot, 2175, mostly because I need dem chips. The flop isn’t spectacular to a middle pair or AQ or AJ. Basically, I just need lightning to not have a King or a strong Ten. This might be a stupid play, since I’m screwed if he calls or raises, but I figured it was worth the gamble to accumulate chips, and if I had to fold, I could make do with the 9k left. Everyone folds, and I chip up a little more.

HAND 210- well sized bluffs means not having to say you’re sorry…
I’m a big fan of finding the optimal size for bets, be them value bets or bluffs. The way I see it, the optimal bet is one that you don’t care what happens. If you are called you can accept defeat or you are getting the right odds to draw; if your opponent folds, you are happy to take the pot. So, with just under 13k in MP, I am dealt T8o. Lord knows why, maybe it was because I had been folding a lot, but I raises to 1800, 3x the BB, when it folds to me. Only lightning with 39k calls me from the BB. The flop is KJ3 with two spades. I have nada. He checks and I bet 4x the BB, 2400. He folds. I believe that the size of the bluff continuation bet was perfect here. Any less (i.e., 1800) would look weak. Any more and I would basically be crippling myself if he is slowplaying KJ or anything else that warrants a check-raise. As it were, if he calls, I have about 8800 left, enough for me to work. I always joke that I am dangerous on a short-stack, but I actually mean it. I feel comfortable there and I have confidence in how to use my stack. So, with a 2400 bet size, it is the minimum that I can bet without looking like a weak bluff (instead, it looks like a value bet) AND even if I am called, I can check it down or fold and still survive.

HAND 214- final table…
We’ve made it to the final table! I’ve got 15k or so, good for 4th place out of 9 and UTG, I am dealt AA. Blinds are 400/800 with 100 antes, so the pot is 2100 before anyone acts. From UTG, I raise to 3600, pot. Everyone folds. Shit! I don’t think I can play this hand any differently. Lord knows I don’t want to check and let the BB with 24o see a 24J flop. I’m trying to narrow my competition to dominated Ace hands and underpairs. Alas, it didn’t work. Still, you either win a small hand or lose a big one with Aces, so I can’t complain.

HAND 215- a stupid play…
I think this is where the wheels finally fall off. I make a stupid play with a good result, but I really need to be thinking of lasting here, rather than playing for first. Make no doubt about it, I was playing for first, and while that is generally a noble goal, I think I started a bit too early. I have 17k and am dealt ATo in the BB. OSU has 14k and raises to 3600, pot. I decide to lay the pressur eon and raise all-in. He folds and asks if 77 is good. I don’t answer, but I know that I had no reason to make that play.

HAND 225- laying down AK…
I get a momentary grapple on the situation and fold away until I am dealt AKo in the SB, my fifth or so premium hand in 224 hands of play. I have just short of 20k. This close to the money, it is very tempting to overplay this hand, but I’m working on my AK and AQ play. Miami Don has almost 21k and raises to 2750 from MP. He has been aggressive at the final table. It folds to me and I call. RecessRampage, a player who is new to me, pushes all-in for about 10k more from the BB. Don calls and I fold. AK is good, but not good enough here. Don has AA and Recess has 99. Don wins the hand, and I’m glad I know how to fold AK.

HAND 226-steal, followed by…
On the button, I am dealt J3o. It folds to me and I bet pot, 4000 (the blinds are now 500/100 with 125 antes). Both players fold to me and I take down an easy pot. This was a pure position play, but it sets up the next one.

HAND 227- a real hand…
I may have made a slight error earlier in this series. I believed that I busted out in hand 227, but I was incorrect. Actually, I busted in hand 231, so let’s get this penultimate hand out of the way. After bluffing on the button to steal the blinds with J3o, I am dealt AJo in the CO. Consistency is the key, so when it folds to me, I raise pot, 4375, and take down the hand, worth over 3k.

HAND 231- the bottom drops out…
The problem with over-aggression is not knowing when enough is enough. This is the reason for my downfall. It only takes one colossal error to lose an entire 200 hands worth of work in NLHE tournaments, so you can’t afford that sort of mess-up. Little mess-ups, of which I’ve shown quite a few, are tolerable as long as you are conscious of your stack and bet sizes. But its those brain farts that are unbridled that can end in true catastrophe.

With 7 players left and blinds of 500/1000 and 125 antes, the pot is 3250 before any action starts. I have 21k, good for third place. This alone is reason for me to play tight and keep out of trouble, but the pot is 1/7 of my stack, and that’s sometimes too tempting. With A7s, I raise to 4k UTG. I am ashamed, Gydyon. Miami Don calls. He’s been a loosey goosey. The flop is T98, with two hearts. My brain locks up and I bet 9k. I figure it is enough to push him off most hands, and I don’t put him on a Ten. I’m wrong. He pushes all-in with JTo. I realize at this point that I only have 7961 left. The pot is well over 20k. I decide to call…and I lose. I deserve to lose too. I should have never continuation bluffed that big. The smart move was to bet about 6k, leaving me with over 10k behind. If he pushes, I fold and I still can survive long enough to pick up a pushable hand. Some might think that Miami Don’s play with JTo was odd, but it wasn’t. It was smart big stack poker. I congratulate him on his play.

And that’s it folks. After all these hands, I don’t even know what the whole point was. I did last to the top 7 players with very few strong hands. I definitely overplayed Ace-rag, something that I really don’t do often (I swear!). Next up at High on Poker, I write my Buffalo/Niagara trip report, where I played 2/5 for the first time and learned why locals softplay each other to their own detriment. Thanks for reading.

Until next time, make mine poker!

We are back for more of my long run in Monday’s MATH tournament, and a look at every single hand that I played. The goal, for me, is to really analyze my play. Hopefully, you are getting something out of it too. We’ve got a lot of work to do, so let me give a quick recap and we’ll get started with Hand 100. Basically, I started off aggressive and kept that way. In the 15 or so hands I played so far, I won 13, lost 2 and only showed down my cards twice. The table has finally started to play back at me, so I’ve had to slow down the aggression.

Hand 100- be careful with your table chatter…
We are in HAND 100, and Blinders had joined our table some time in the last 10 or 15 hands. At one point, he asked if we reached the Battle of the Blogger Tournament leaderboard points. In fact, we hadn’t. We were down to 36 players (out of 52 to start) and had 10 players to lose before we got points. Because of Blinders’ comment, I knew that he wanted to last to the points, so I filed that information away and decided to exploit it when the opportunity came. (I add here that I am a big fan of Blinders and for that matter, most if not all of the players I mention in this and the other Tick-Tick-Tick-BOOM! posts. My comments about my play with or against them is not reflective on their skill or my opinion of their skill, because for the most part, bloggers are some of the toughest competition I’ve ever had to contend with.)

I’m sitting on 4689 chips, CO+1, when I’m dealt JTo. The blinds are 80/160. It folds to me, and I notice that Blinders (4330) is in the BB. WWonka is in the SB. I raise to 480, 3x the BB and both players fold. It was my unassuming position, late but not in typical steal position, combined with the thought that Blinders was not looking to call a raise that made me bet my JTo.

HAND 106- nobody’s perfect…
Okay, I dropped the ball. I must’ve copied and pasted the wrong hand, so this one is missing. Alas, move onto hand 111.

HAND 111- the many aspects of position…
I now have 5169, third biggest stack at the table, when I am dealt TT in UTG+1. The Bayne of My Existence, with 2750 in chipsUTG, raises to 700 (100/200 blinds). I decide to simply call because I have terrible position and I don’t know who is going to overcall me. I don’t want to see a KJx flop and have several people after me AFTER I raise the pot. I’m trying to flop a set, really. Everyone folds to Schaubs, in the BB with over 7k, and Schaub makes the call. Suddenly, I have position and TT is looking a lot better. Sweet! The flop is K82, with two hearts. Both players check and I utilize my position. I bet 1800. They all fold. It was another instance where I was really betting that they didn’t have a King in their hands (or JJ-AA, but really it was the K I worried about). Because of position, I had a lot more information when it was my turn to act. This hand worked out nicely.

HAND 112- same play, next hand…
This time, I am dealt 22 UTG. It’s hardly a premium hand, but I’ve become a set farmer thanks to reading too much Fuel55. So, I limp, because I’m in terrible position with terrible cards, but I have 6669 (666, nice) and I can afford to limp for 200 and fold if I face resistance. So it folds to Schaubs (6642) in the SB, who calls. Bayne (2050), in the BB, checks. We see a flop, KQ7, rainbow. They both check, so what’s the move? Same thing. I’m in position, I have info that suggest that they have jack squat, and by limping, it’s entirely possible that I have a King, Queen or even 77. So I bet pot and they both fold. Sure, its just 400, but its gathering these blinds that make it possible for me to play crazy hands like 22 UTG.

HAND 113- surprising caution…
With over 7k, I’m in the BB when I am dealt 99, my third pocket pair in a row. It folds to Schaubs, on the button with 6442, who raises to 600. His bet and position sounds like bullshit to me, and I don’t want to play this hand out of position since the flop very well could be TQK or whatnot, so I raise to 1800. This should push him off of his hand if he is stealing. So, what does he do? Re-raises all-in for 4642 more. It sucks, because 99 is a strong hand, but I’m not ready to risk my tournament life when I am one of the table chipleaders. So, I fold. Looking back, I wonder if it was the right play, but it would only be a bad fold if he had an underpair. He surely didn’t have one over and one undercard, so its either an underpair, an overpair, or two overs. In those situations, the underpair is a lot less likely because he is willing to push all-in preflop. Two overs still puts me at only a 55% favorite or 60% favorite or something. I don’t need to push that thin edge, especially since his re-raise screams AA-QQ. So, fold. At least I’ve gathered enough chips that I wasn’t pot committed and could fold with plenty of play left in me.

HAND 116- baby jesus cries accidentally…
I still have 5169, good for third at the table. I’m dealt AJo in MP, and when it gets to me, I accidentally min raise, thereby causing Jesus to cry. Jesus hates min raises. WWonka, in the BB, is the only caller. The flop is AK2, and after WWonka checks, I bet 600. It’s enough for him to fold. I don’t slowplay here, because I’ve been betting so much. I was hoping he’d call with an inferior Ace. Oh well.

HAND 124- the bigger the antes the sweeter the steal…
The blinds just went up to 120/240, with 25 antes. I have 5234 and am dealt K6o in CO+1. When it folds to me, I bet pot, 720. Lester000 has been tight. He’s in the SB and folds. Blinders is in the BB, still holding in with 3465. We know he wants to make it to the point bubble, so he folds too. Easy money. The fact that the pot was bigger due to the antes and the players in the blinds were likely to fold with most hands made this a +EV play. Once again, I can fold if I face resistance and still have enough money to play.

HAND 127- more stealing…
With 5694, I raise pot, 720, UTG with A3h. Everyone folds, and Blinders even says, “points bubble, better tighten up.” My thoughts exactly, erm, for you! Some more easy money!

HAND 129- taking advantage of Kat‘s better nature…
So, I’m sitting on 5989 and I’m dealt 64s in the SB. It folds to me. By the way, come on table?! But whatever, I love folding tables. Wait, um, not the portable type of furniture, but the type of table where everyone folds. Their cards, not origami. Shiyit, you know what I mean. So, its just me and Kat in the BB with 1225. 64s is not a premium hand, but the pot is 720 or so and Kat has so few chips. I’m willing to gamble it, since I’ll still have 4500+ left if I lose. This is an instance where I can handle the slanted odds of being called by overcards. Sure, if she has a pocket pair over that is 44 or higher I’m screwed, but that is a very small percentage of the time. Hell, I don’t even mind AK. So, I push all-in to look extra menancing, and she folds. Good kitty.

And now, we break! I’ll be back in a day or two with more hands. We are at Hand 130 and, good Lord, I make it to 227 before the blow up (how hammerific!). Stay tuned…

It’s time for a little message from our sponsor, the Hammer! I was playing a 4 person HU SNG, and having won my first game relatively quickly, I watched the other table to pick up reads. The one thing I got was that the players were both fairly tight, but also overvalued pairs.

Eventually, Zand won, and faced me HU in a battle that would last one hand:

I am dealt the hammer 2c7d in the BB. Preflop, Zand raises 3x the BB to 120. I call with the hammer. The flop is 296, for bottom pair. I bet 240 and Zand calls. The turn is 7c. Two-pair! I bet 720 (pot) and he calls. The river is an As. I push all-in for my remaining 1920 (less than pot). He calls, Q9o.

What’s the moral of the story? Don’t bring a Q9 to a hammer fight, beyotch!

And we are back! If you recall, I just played about 7 out of the first 20 hands at my passive table (filled with exceptional players, mind you) in a deep stack blogger tournament. I’ve worked my way over 4200 with no one over 3210 at the table (that distinction goes to the other WWonka). Let’s keep this party going.

HAND 21- relentless aggression…
So, I am still exploiting my relentless aggression and the table’s seeming willingness to let me win pots uncontested. I’ve only shown down once in my 7 wins (out of 7 hands played), and none of those hands involved cards better than ATs or KQs. I’m in MP when I am dealt KQo, another marginal hand. If I’m playing, I’m raising, so I bump it up to pot, 140 (20/40 blinds). Only WWonka on the button calls. The flop is a beautiful KQJ, rainbow. I only fear AT. I could slowplay here, but it’s likely to look fishy since I’ve been betting away so consistently. Also, I do not want to give a free card, since a Nine, Ten or Ace could put me in a lot of trouble. So, I bet 480, which I think is pot, and WWonka folds. Nothing special here. It’s just bet bet bet. It’s nice to take some money from my closest competition.

HAND 35- end of coffee break…
I must’ve had to squeeze one out of something, because I sit out a whopping 14 hands before I play my next one. Why, you ask? Well, for one, my cards were utter crap. I can play some games when I have suited gaps or highcards, but I’m not looking to gamble with 96o or J3. Also, I’ve been relentless for the first 20 hands, so I feel that it is only a matter of time before someone starts playing back at me. In the interim, there was a lot of action, and Kat is now up to 5840 to my 4144. WillWonka (not WWonka, they are two different animals altogether) has chipped up to 5900, so I’m behind him too. Otherwise, the rest of the table has less than 3200.

For the first time in the tournament, I am dealt a top ten hand, AKo. I am in the CO. Wippy, the newbie I’ve never seen before (and therefore, I assume he doesn’t know my style too well aside from the overaggression I’ve shown), limps in EP. He has just under 2500. I raise to 250 on top. You may notice that this is one of the first times I’ve raised something different than 3x the BB or pot. The reason is because I want to win this hand right away. The 200 on top is a lot harder to call than 150 on top. If nothing else, it is a mental hurdle, and that round 200 psychologically looks worse than something that is barely over 100 (i.e., 150, which looks like a pittance in comparison). I am glad to win now because it maintains my supremacy, hides my hand (I still have only shown down once) and saves me from missing the flop and betting into someone who luckily hits top pair on a T-high board or something similar. Everyone folds, and we move on. It is clear that I am getting respect.

HAND 37- my first loss…
I wait all of two hands before getting my second top ten hand, 88. I am UTG+1 and after UTG folds, I do my usual and bet pot, 175 (25/50 blinds). I get called immediately by Kat on my left. Everyone else folds. Kat has me covered by 1600, so I’m definitely cautious. The flop is Q52, with two diamonds. I bet pot, 425, and Kat calls. Essentially, I am once again betting that she does not have a Queen, KK, AA, 55, or 22. I suppose she might make a call here with other pocket pairs, assuming that I also don’t have the Queen, so I can add 99 through JJ. The turn is an offsuit 6. I check, accepting that I may have to give up this hand. She bets 500 into the 1200+ pot. I consider my options and fold. There were three factors that dictated the fold: (1) I am out of position; (2) she has me outchipped; and (3) I’ve been playing aggressively for the majority of the tournament, so I know that I have probably used up all credibility. I lose, but in the grand scheme of things, I could take the 600 or so hit, thanks to the early buildup. BTW, my guess is that she had TT or 99. I wonder if she remembers.

HAND 40- I lick my wounds…
I’ll go through this one quickly. Everyone folds to me in the SB with K3o. I call, and Kat in the BB checks. The flop is K94 with two diamonds (my three is a diamond too). I bet pot and take it down. Typical.

HAND 42- I’ve used up all of my credibility (or someone else actually has a hand)
I am down to 3669, not so great after my earlier excapades. Notably, however, I have rarely put a significant percentage of my stack into the pot, and I’ve still got plenty of wiggle room. I’m dealt 97h on the CO and the cattle all fold to me. I raise pot to 210 (30/60 blinds), hoping to pick up some uncontested blinds or flop a lucky hand with deceptive cards. Kat folds but WWonka, in the BB with just short of 3k, calls. Gulp! The flop is KJT, rainbow. WWonka checks, I bet 450, pot, and he pushes all-in for 2785 more. I fold. I doubt he has a super strong hand, but it doesn’t matter, because I have crap. This WILL happen when you play loose aggressive, but if you have enough chips, you can make this play and fold when you come across resistance.

HAND 58- caution lulls them into a false sense of security…
Knowing I am losing credibility (I have now lost 2 hands!), I tighten up a bit and fold for 16 or so hands. I’m down to 2679, with blinds of 40/80, so for all my work, I am actually down, now, but I’ve built up an image and I have controlled the table for a while. I have now switched roles because I don’t have the benefits of my larger stack. In the SB, I am dealt ATo. WillWonka with over 6k calls from EP/MP. Wippy (who I have determined is a soft spot at the table) called from LP with 2701. I call, and Kat in the BB checks. The flop is A83, rainbow. Top pair is nice, but I’m scared of a better Ace, be it AJ or A3. I check, hoping to get info, and I like what I see. Everyone else checks, too. As glad as I am, I am still slightly worried about someone slowplaying two-pair or a better ace. The turn is an Ace, and I know two things: (1) it is less likely that someone else has the sole remaining ace, (2) someone without the Ace will probably be skeptical that I had it and checked it from the SB after the flop [i.e., I have deception on my side, and I can possibly get paid]. I bet the pot, 320, and only WillWonka calls. I consider him possibly slowplaying me into oblivion, but I have to take a stand. The river is a Queen, and I bet pot again, 960. This would leave me with 1659 if he calls and I lose. If he re-raises, I might even fold, because I’m not looking to lose everything here. I can survive and recover with 1659, and believe me when I say this is the survival portion of the game. Will calls, and mucks 89o. In the end, my check on the flop lulled him into a false sense of comfort. My loose image earlier probably helped set this up because it creates the impression that my range is extremely wide (especially from the blinds) and I am willing to bluff a lot.

HAND 70- regained credibility…
I was card dead for 12 hands and also working on re-establishing some credibility at the table. Finally on hand 70, I am dealt AQo, the third top ten hand of the tournament for me. I have 4199, and after it is folded to me in MP, I bet pot, 280. I take it down when everyone folds. Sweet!

HAND 71- push the rush again…
I’m back on another mini rush, as I am dealt KQo in the very next hand. The blinds just went up to 50/100 so I raise pot, 350, and everyone folds.

HAND 79- about time…
Eight hands later, and I have 4319 in EP/MP, when I am dealt QQ. This is my second premium hand of the day (AKo being the other one), and my fourth top ten hand. UTG+2, I raise pot, 350, and am called by WWonka, who apparently has had enough of my preflop betting nonsense. He is two seats to me left. Everyone else folds. The flop is KTT, and I have to bet out with the hope that he has neither the Ten or King (or AA, but let’s be real!). I bet pot, 850, and he folds. I am happy. There is no need for me to try to extract more dough. I’m merely trying to build my stack without showing my cards. I remind you, I have now won 13 hands, with only one showdown. I have lost only 2 of the 15 hands I have entered.

HAND 85- the academic steal…
I have 4669. When it folds to me in the CO, I decide to raise 3x the BB (60/120 blinds) to 360 with 37s. At the very worse, I fold to a reraise. Otherwise, I win it outright or I see a flop most likely with position and a deceptive hand. I like this play even better from the CO because it looks like less of a steal. Everyone folds.

HAND 88- minimizing a slip-up…
Slip ups do happen. This was a plain old brain fart. With 4849 (third chip leader at the table), I raise 3x the BB to 360 with A2h UTG. Stupid, just stupid. If I’m called, its likely by a dominating Ace, if not a pair for which I only have one over. WWonka is obviously onto me. He calls. The flop is 338 and I see a glimmer of hope. I make a small bet of 480 into the 800+ pot. He calls. I then shut down. I know I’ve lost. I’m not going to punish myself any more. We check it down, and he shows AQo, exactly what I was worried about. The fact that he called me without a pair shows that WWonka is done putting up with continuation bets. The fact that I had to show my A2h means that I also announced to the rest of the table that I am easy pickins’ for a reraise preflop. At least I was able to check it down once I saw I was in trouble.

HAND 89- flippin’ it thanks to the cards…

HAND 90- hammer time…
Oh, I just can’t resist. I have 4369 in the SB and it folds to me (pussies). With the hammer, 72o, I raise 3x the BB, and Kat, with about 6.5k in chips, calls me in the BB. The flop is JT8, with two spades, and I check. I don’t have faith that I can pull this off, as I know my credibility has been shot from my aggro play. She bets 720 and I fold. Jerk!

HAND 94- I don’t know what I was thinking, but whatever it was, it worked…
Down to 4009, I am dealt 55 in MP. I call only, hoping to flop a set, but Kat immediately raises to 240 (min raise). Everyone folds except for me. The flop is A97, all diamonds (I have a diamond too). I check and Kat bets 660, which I belive is the pot. I decide to call, hoping to appear as though I am drawing to a high flush, so I can steal it from her on the turn. The turn, however, is a useless offsuit Ten. I curse the gods and check. She does the same. The river is an offsuit Jack. I think about the past action and put Kat on something other than a strong Ace. She was likely drawing to the flush, too, hence the turn check. That was Kat’s biggest mistake here. If she bets the turn, I fold. By checking, she has shown weakness. I figure I can represent a slowplaying flush or a strong Ace, since, unlike most of my hands, I’m calling down this time instead of raising the whole way. That must seem somewhat more suspicious to Kat, who knows my play well from sitting next to me the whole time and from past games. I bet 1080, probably around 2/3 of the pot (I don’t feel like backtracking and doing the math, mkay?). She folds. Notably, the size of my bet was designed to be just enough to get her to fold (over 1k is scarier than under) but not so much that I would be crippled. If she calls, I still have 2029.

So, let’s break here, as I’m sure I’ve been going on for way too long. Next up, we’ll take on hands 100 through whatever the hell I feel like. If there are any questions about particular hands, feel free to shoot em my way. If nothing else, this is an interesting exercise at anaylzing the flow of a game. I’ve been aggressive, but you can see where that starts to fall apart and I have to change strategy a little to a passive caller that takes opportunistic stabs. Also, you can see the beginning of the cracks in my armor, mostly ill timed or stupid plays, that ultimately led me to blow up in the late stage of the game.

Until next time, make mine poker!

“Per Lohan’s responses, she’s been busy playing poker, buying puppies (“Sober impulse buying of companions who will help me stay home etc.,” she typed) and avoiding questions about sex scenes.”
–Natalie Finn, E!-Online

You see that, Drizz? Now you got your openning line: Baby, I’d like to check-raise your puppies!

So, let’s get into the simulblog. I am a HUGE fan of rushes. It often has less to do with getting lucky cards and more to do with using your opponent’s predisposition to continue to fold. Of course, you can get more mileage out of it when you are getting a rush of good cards. You also have to be very careful about when the tide has turned. Someone may eventually play back at you out of frustration OR they may actually get some cards. Whatever the case, its a delicate balance, and hopefully you have accumulated enough chips to fold with confidence when someone eventually plays back at you. Let’s take a look at the first hand in the tournament.

HAND 1- an easy start to a rush
I amd dealt JsTc in the SB.Everyone is playing hesitant to start off and it folds to me. I complete the blinds and Kat checks in the BB. The flop is JJ3 with two clubs. The hand basically falls into my lap. I bet pot, 60, and Kat folds. Oh well. I don’t necessarily see me getting much out of this hand, and I hoped to look like a betting fool early on. I’m up 30 so far.

HAND 2- building the rush
I’m on the button now with KQc. It folds to me, so we’ve already established that for the most part, everyone is playing tight (no limping). On the button, I bet the pot, 105, and Kat and WillWonka fold. Easy money. I am now up 75 from the first two hands (30+45).

HAND 6- sleeping rush (playing on perception)
I fold for four very necessary hands, and in Hand 6, I am dealt Q8d in UTG+1. It’s hardly a big hand, and I have a loose image, but people are folding away. I sincerely believe that if you are going to play a hand, you might as well raise with it. In this case, it builds deception, and it is not as thought I even want to tussle with anyone. If that does happen, I want them to think that I have a strong hand and I want them to know that they have a strong hand as well (otherwise, they’d presumably fold). I raise to 3x the BB, or 90 total, gambling with the 75 I accumulated earlier (and only 15 of my own money). The low blinds and deep stacks also allows a move like this to be potentially profitable. Wippy, a player who I have never seen before, calls me from the BB. I don’t know what to make of it, but I have to assume that he does not have the knowledge of my loose aggressive style. The flop is 876, rainbow. Wippy bets below the pot, 165. I consider this a steal play. I figure him for two overcards, or maybe a middle pair if he got lucky. I don’t necessarily put him on the scarier straight possibility. We are deep enough that I can take a chance, and I passively call. The turn is a useless 2. Wippy now bets 324, an odd choice, and to me, a sign that something is screwy with his hand. I’m curious so I call, because I still have an unassuming TPGK and I can afford to lose 324 if I am wrong and he has an overpair or the straight. The river is an Ace, which, if nothing else, kills all action. He checks and I consider the possibility that he played A7 or something from the blind, so I check too. He shows T8o and I outkick him.

Now, admittedly, we had some luck in that hand, hitting the 8. However, Wippy should not have been in that hand, and may’ve called in the first place because he was me play 50% of the pots so far. Since the stacks are deep, I can take the chance to steal some more blinds and build an image, but once I get called, I also can take the chance of calling him down once I hit top pair and he bets so weakly.

HAND 10- be aggressive and continue the rush…
I am now up to 3645, 20% higher than my starting stack. I’m dealt ATs on the button. The table remains passive and it folds around to me. This is a no-brainer, especially considering the conditioning I have done to the table. I raise pot, 105, and Kat folds in the SB. WillWonka in the BB calls. His range is sufficiently loosened by my table image. The flop is A65, with two spades, so I have top pair and the nut flush draw. Wonka checks, and I easily bet the pot, 225. He folds. This is another tee-ball hand. When I bet, I considered the possibility that the tides had turned and he could have been slowplaying me or preparing for a check-raise, knowing full-well that I am aggressively raising. However, with the flush draw as a backup, I was willing to push on top of him to really lay the pressure on. Luckily, he gave up a lot easier, probably becuase he was willing to call me preflop with crap cards. I’m dealt T8c UTG+1. I decide to limp because its a nice deceptive suited gap hand, and I can easily fold if I face a raise preflop out of position. I can also afford to play speculatively.

HAND 14- keep on betting away…
I now have a comfortable 3774. I’ve built up 774 just by betting, betting and betting again. You’ll also note that, except for the Q8 hand, no one has seen my cards yet. Hoy calls in mid-late position. Zeem then immediately raises to 150, a 120 raise, from the SB. I like this, and I call the 120. I have deception and position on my side, and I have enough chips to gamble. I guess this is the point to all my previous hands. I’m building up my stack (which is already a deep stack due to the format of the game) so I can take chances and build it up even more. I’m not surprised when Hoy calls. The flop is Q84 with two spades. I hit middle pair. Zeem checks. He likely missed the flop completely. I use my middle position and the likelihood that the hand also missed Hoy. Really, all I’m betting on is that Hoy and Zeem do not have a Queen or two spades (or, I suppose 99-AA). I bet out 240, a less-than-pot-sized bet, because I want it to look suspicious, like I’m trying to value bet. Both fold, and I’m up to 4k or so. I still only showed one hand

HAND 16- the pleasure of aggression…
This will be the last hand for now. Just two hands later and I’m still making moves. This will be the 6th out of 16 hands that I’ve played (having won all prior hands played), cementing either the table image of very loose aggressive (and scary at that, so don’t get into a pot with me!) or very lucky (even scarier). I have 4104, over a K over my nearest competition at the table. In fact, I’m the only one over the starting stack and this is an all-star table.I’m in the BB (20/40 level now). Kat, UTG, raises 3x the BB to 120. It folds to me. Silly Passives, chips are for Aggros! I have 37d, another suited gap (this time a bigger gap), but since I can put her on two decent cards since she is raising from UTG, I decide to call in an effort to crack her. Once again, the bet is so small compared to my stack that I am willing to gamble. Make no doubt about it, calling with 37d out of position to a raiser is gambling.

The flop is A29 with two hearts. I can do a few things here, but I opt to bet 200, another one of those oddly sized bets when compared to the 260 pot. It looks like I’m trying to eke out a few bucks. The way I see it, I am once again gambling. I’m getting 1.3 to 1 odds that Kat does not have an Ace or a big pocket pair that she is willing to gamble with. Basically, I put her 50/50 on big ace or a vulnerable pocket pair, so I’m betting 200 to win 260. If she calls or raises, I fold and lose, but that is okay, because the 320 I voluntarily put into the pot is not going to crush me. I still have room to maneuver. But as you know, Kat folded and I win some more easy money.

I’m curious about what the masses think. Reviewing my play, I can see that I was just relentlessly aggressive. I also know that this does not work all the time. It all depends on the table and how well you can control the action. I think the deepstacks helped me, especially since everyone was playing so passively. I’m sure I’ll get my detractors who think I am just a luckboxing dousche, but without any significant cards, I was able to increase my starting stack by almost 50% in less than 20 hands and I only showed down my hand once.

More later…

Until next time, make mine poker!

Hear that ticking? That’s the sound of me ready to blow up, right before the money in last night’s Hoy. I played like a goddamn champ, simulblogging the whole way, until I got to the bubble and then suddenly choked harder that a Mama on a ham & cheese sammich! But at least I got some truly wonderful hand histories from a variety of sensations. Quite frankly, I have enough for probably a month of posts, so I’m going to get crackin’ and see where we end up. Throughout, you’ll see a lot of my off-kilter strategy and hopefully understand how I either build a big stack or go home early (by design, people!).

Let’s start with an appetizer. I was playing a 4-way HU SNG on FT while I earned my token for the Hoy in a 18 person turbo SNG. I freakin’ rocked the HU SNG, but alas, again fell short at the finish line after a few suckouts (bound to happen) that generally left me healthy but eventually chipped away until I hit the doom switch.

Heads-Up Set-Up
I am heads-up with JMcEvoy (not that McEvoy) and he has 600 chips compared to my 2400. I’ve been mercilessly and relentlessly attacking him pre or post flop and he is on his dying breath. Essentially, I’ve beaten him down to the point that this upcoming hand has become not only probable, but downright likely. This is all about controlling the game and your opponent

In the SB, McEvoy calls to 40 (the BB). I have 43o and check. The flop is K94 with two clubs. I have weak bottom pair, weak kicker. I bet out pot, 80, as I have been doing failrly steadily. I know he has openned up his range because I have been relentlessly attacking. I hit a pair, and he likely did not, so the bet makes sense. He flat calls. The turn is a Q offsuit. At this point, I check. I still know if he has anything (his call could be from frustration or he’s drawing), but I don’t see much point in putting more money into the pot. Then, he screws himself by pushing all-in 480 into a 240 pot. This SCREAMS bluff. If he actually had something worthwhile, he’d be stringing me along with a smaller bet. By giving him the opportunity to bet out (i.e., by checking), I give him enough rope to hang himself with such a transparent ploy. He might be overbetting for value, but he hasn’t done that yet in this game, and regardless, even if I lose this hand, I will have 1800 to his 1200. In HU play, having the extreme chip advantage, often by aggressively attacking pots early on, will pay off in dividends. This may look like a ballsy call, but I have so much wiggle room that I can take the hit comfortably, all the time acknowledging that he is likely desperately trying to steal the pot. And I was right. He shows AJo (with no clubs) and the rivered 4 seals his fate.

There’s a Time for Everything, and its called College
Meanwhile, in the token race, I have 1980, having slightly chipped up. We are at the 150/300 level, though, so I’m under 10x the BB, and only two people (one of which is the BB) have less than me out of the 9-players left. I only have two options, push or fold. Frankly, I think I excel at these situations because I can often “sense” when its safe to fold. In the next two hands I had that sixth sense and knew when one hand would work and when the other wouldn’t.

I am dealt A9h in the Big Blind, generally a strong pushing hand from the button when you are in such a short-stack situation AND in position to steal. Unfortunately, before the hand gets to me, a player in MP with over 4500 flat calls the 300 blind. Now its up to me, and suddenly because of that limp in MP, pushing doesn’t look so smart. I am ONLY trying to steal the blinds. I do not want to be called, even by 38o, because this is a peep tourney and 5 pays as good as 1st. I’m playing for 5th here, so no weighted cointosses, even if they are in my favor. Alas, I fold, and the players see an Ace-high flop. In many other situations I might push, but I had to consider the possibility that the MP player had something as simple as AT and therefore would call and have me completely dominated, or even KQ, at which point, he’d probably still call (he was loose) and potentially draw out on me. Once the A-high flop hit, the MP player bet pot and everyone folded. Coulda been A8 too, I guess, but I wasn’t looking to gamble in a peep game.

In that same peep tournament two hands later, the blinds move up to 200/400. I’m still hovering at 1980 with two players below me in chips and 9 players remaining. I’m two spots from the button with KJo. The SB has 3k and the BB has 2.5k, so they are both fairly vulnerable. It folds to me and I raise all-in. Everyone folds. What’s the difference between this hand and the last? (1) No one limped before me, so there is 0 indication of a playable hand, (2) the players still in the hand would only have 500 or 1k left if they lose to me, whereas in the last hand one player could call me, lose and have about 2.5k left, (3) I am not on the button, so this looks like less of a steal, (4) the blinds increased to 200/400 so I now have only 5x the BB. On that last note, I still have enough to push people off of a hand (based less on the amount of BB I have and more on the fact that everyone is getting short), but once those blinds move up to 300/600, I’ll have barely 3x the BB and suddenly any BB is calling me. I have to steal NOW. If I get called by an Ace-rag or a low pocket pair, then so be it. At least if I double up, I’ll have some breathing room instead of waiting for the blinds to go up at which point doubling up means little to nothing.

I could start the tournament recap right now, but I think I am going to drag it out for a little throughout the day and tomorrow. I have probably a dozen or so hands to go over, so this is the first intermission. Go use the bathroom, maybe pick up some popcorn and I’ll meet you back here in a couple of hours for more poker tomfoolery.

Until next time, make mine poker!

I loathe bumping my trip report to Nice Look, since I think there is a lot in there worth digesting, but I would be doing you, me and Surflexus a disservice if I did not make a quick announcement.

Surflexus has announced a contest, and I highly encourage you all to join. All you have to go is pop over to Surflexus’ website and suggest an item or article of clothing for Surf to bring to the tables during his future trip to Tunica. I don’t think Surf has set a time-limit, but I’m pretty certain that this offer will only last a week or two. Once he’s received all entries, Surf, me, Katitude and Garth will judge the suggestions and choose the best. The winner will receive 10% of Surf’s action in three events (value $50; the events’ buy-ins total $500).

I should mention a couple of things. First, this is an easy one, folks. Surf doesn’t have a poker uniform or a slew of lucky trinkets like I do, so he’s a blank palette for you to work with. If you are unfamiliar with him, you might want to peruse his blog to get an idea of what he’s about, but in general, just feel free to throw out a suggestion. Second, this is a GREAT prize, especially given the effort required of you. I personally bought a piece of Surf’s action a while ago and THIS IS THE RESULT. He moneyed, and we both earned some cash. He’s a smart player, level-headed, and does well for himself in live games. So, really, there is no reason not to enter.

Final thought, it is truly a pleasure how the blogging community always offers random contests, often reaching into their own pockets (as Surf is doing) for the opportunity to enjoy some interaction with fellow poker players, readers or bloggers alike. So, thanks to Surf and thanks to everyone else in the poker blogosphere for keeping things interesting.

Until next time, make mine poker!