Hellraiser's Poker Blog

Taking a short break

2008-08-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I need to take a little break from playing. A break meaning not this weekend. I am off to Reno in mid August for both my brother's birthdays so I may try to get a few games in before but not gonna stress if I don't.

Kinda burnt out on trading twenties with Pokersoup peeps but I like to play so maybe a midweek tourney is in order. I think a regular weekly cash game would be a nice break from the tourney action.

More soon...

Don't play tired.

2008-07-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

So I am playing online for play money just for "practice." It's fun but no way near as satisfying as live play. I like the interaction and reading of my fellow players. Anyway short and sweet post...having a tourney this Saturday with about 10-15 players. hoping to do well.

2008-06-23T16:50:00.001-07:00

Thursday June 19th:
Imperial Palace Tourney $65 buy-in, $3,000 starting chips, 15 minute rounds

After my fight got in I took a cab to the Imperial Palace where I had a lovely roll-away awaiting for when I decided to go go to sleep. It's about 11:00am so I have an hour to kill before the tourney starts. I sign up and hand over my $65 and get my receipt with my seat assignment. Since I don't feel like trying to find a coffee shop in the flea-ridden dump I decide to sit at a video poker machine and play "Deuces Wild". I turn $20 into $140 in about 5 minutes...I am now "free-rollin" for the tourney and more. I wander around and decide to go back to the same machine to play another $20..I turn that into $60 in about 10 minutes. I get bored and just hang out at the poker "room" until they finally start seating players.

The game: I start out in the BB and get junk cards for the first 2 rounds. I play tight and enter only few pots with marginally good hands because I'm bored. Finally I get pocket Tens so I raise in middle position and everyone folds. I get the blinds which are at 75-150...oh well that was something.

I am getting low on chips (~$1500) and the blinds are going up. I get K-Q suited UTG and I end up heads up with this aggressive player who keeps stealing pots with over bets. He looks confused by the raggedy board he makes a bet of $500 into a $800 on the river after checking the flop and the turn. I want to see what this guy has so I call and he has Q-J...I win.

So after the break with the blinds at 200-400 with about $2,500 in chips I have pocket threes in the BB so I raise the limpers 3X to $1,200. Everyone else folds but Aggro guy calls. He must still be steaming from my call from 5 hands before the break. The flop comes Q-J-10 rainbow. He checks so I am thinking he is holding middle pair like 8-8 or 9-9. I move all in for my remaining $1,300 and he insta-calls with 10-4 offsuit. I am befuddled and felted. As i am leaving I say "Please tell me when and where you'll be playing a cash game."

I am happy with my play and the fact that I am still free-rollin'. I then go off to lunch and a cash game at the Venetian.

Cash game (The Venetian): My friends and I meet at the Venetian and have lunch in the food court that is in the main floor casino. I had an "Italian Stallion" sandwich...yum.

Next we are off to the $1-$2 NL cash game in the Venetian Poker Room. This place is nice and the wait for the packed room is a mere 10 minutes. The tables are great there's no smoking and the chairs are comfortable and adjustable.

Like I mentioned the wait is short so I am at a table in minutes and right after I sit down I am dealt pocket Jacks and I still haven't gotten my checks. Everyone limps and I am on the button so I raise 3x ($6) without chips and tell dealer I have $100 behind. Everyone calls and the flop comes 4-10-6 rainbow. Check around to this kid named Reed raises to $25...I am thinking he has A-10...I re raise to $50...he moves all in and I say "oh well, either I double up or re-load" I call with all my freshly tabled chips and he shows A-10 just as I suspected. The turn and river bring nothing to help either of us and I am instantly doubled up. Wahoo!!!! Still free-rollin'.

I hover around $140-$200 for the next couple of hours or so when I am dealt "American Airlines" in the cutoff position. After a bunch of limping I raise to $35 to weed out as many as possible but the button calls me instantly. The flop is 4-6-6. I look at the board and sheepishly say "Gee, I think I better go all in." I make the move for all ~$150 of my chips and the guy on the button calls but does not show his hand...I flash my Aces and he is disgusted...turn and river are meaningless. And he asks if I would be pissed off if he slow rolled his pocket sixes...I say no just disappointed that I wouldn't have his money. I win. He mucks what I assume is pocket kings. I am up to about $350.

The weirdest hand of the day and my good Karma.

I have 9-10 suited on the button. UTG raises to $12 and there are three callers I call with position and big stack of chips. The flop comes 4-9-10. Nice!!! The raisers bets another $45 and she gets one caller. I move all-in...and the raiser folds with a disappointed look on her face. The last guy thinks for about a minute then calls. He doesn't show his hand for the turn another 4 and the river a 6 or something. I show 9-10 and say "two pair" he flashes his pocket Jacks then throws his hand into the muck face down. The lady who raised in the first place says she had pocket Jacks too...

The dealer starts shoving chips over to me and someone says, "hey wait he has a better two pair 'jacks and fours'"...uh oh. He quickly grabs his cards and turns them over and the dealer pushes the board back out to show his better hand. I say "Oh, shit,..you did win,...ok let's count it out for you I had you covered."

Everyone else at the table is saying no way he mucked, it's your hand, he mucked, he mucked.

I am so high from all the winning I could really care less if I lost it or not...They called a pit boss over to make a ruling and he says if he mucked them it's my pot but it's up to me to make the decision. Since I am already willing to give the guy his win I decide to let him pull back his all in and we split the pot. I am still up and he survives his really bad mistake. I guess purists would say I am a fool for rewarding him for his stupid mistake but I feel like the good Karma will he handy for the rest of the weekend. For my "good deed" another player gets up and shakes my hand for being so cool about it. He says he's never seen someone be so cool about that kind of thing ever. I must jut too nice or just used to our "friendly games"

Feeling a bit light-headed after all the drama I play two more hands (mucked actually) and I get up from the table to take a breather after about 4 hours of play.

With my new bankroll I decide to play in a Venetian Big Stack single table Satellite for $130. It pays top 2 players 1 Lammer for entry into $500 Big Stack Tourney on Saturday and $70 for your trouble. I donk my way to 5th place...d'oh!!! It's nearly 8:30 pm tired and hungry it's time to eat dinner...we ate Chinese noodles and then headed off to Treasure Island 10 pm tourney.

Stay tuned for Thursday night and Friday reports.

2008-06-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

Big Tourney Report

2008-05-19T21:26:00.001-07:00

So Teresa's big game was fun and I feel like I did pretty well even though I finished 16/28. I was reading players and made all the right plays except for one major fumble that cost me more than half my chips...Big Mistake!!! Oh well hard hard lesson learned.

The bad play:
I remember the blinds at 200-400 and my stack is at 25k I hold Ah-Ks UTG. I just call...mistake #1...Alex limps. Flop comes K-Q-5 of hearts, with top pair and nut flush draw I check, Alex bets 1200, I raise All-in,...Mistake #2...Alex musta read "flush draw"...he thinks for about 90 seconds and calls with about 13K ...he shows 10-3 of hearts, a made flush. I don't get my 4th heart....Pin a friggin' tail on me already!!! Nice call Alex.

The suck out:
Blinds are 500-1000 and Parag UTG with 6300 goes all in. Everyone folds to me so I go all-in with 10.5K in the cutoff position with pocket Queens. The button and blinds fold. Parag flips over pocket eights. Ok here's where the visions of huge comeback are dashed...flop is 5-6-7....jeeze!!!, The turn brings harmless King, River is...yes, you guessed it a 4. Parag gets the straight to cripple me just minutes before the 2nd break. I am steaming... but not at Parag, he had to make that move, I got unlucky. I was still pissed, but more because of that donkey play I made against Alex that was haunting me the whole rest of the game...

I can't stress how well I played otherwise. If I can keep this level of play from now on I feel like I can start cashing more often.

More soon

Getting better??

2008-04-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

I am making the right reads, but it's been too little and too late. I know I have them beat but it's either worth it to call my big bet or they just make a donkey call to draw out on me.

Random Musings

2007-10-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

Last night was a very satisfying round of poker for me. Both skill and luck played a equal parts in my success in a field of donkeys and real players alike. It was the South bay Poker Meetup Group Grand Opening Poker Tourney. A small $10 buy-in with 1 re-buy. I did not have to re-buy, again i love being able to say that.

I sat at a table with a variety of players...most of which were extremely nervous and seemed unaccustomed to tournament play. I spent a lot of my time making sure the pot was right, alerting players to protect their hands, not to splash the pot, make their betting intentions clearer...etc, etc. Geeze I felt like I was being "the poker nazi"...but it was so friggin' annoying.

Table #1:
Here's the role call: Nervous dude #1 was on my immediate left, then it was Janet (hot filipina chick #1), then dude with earring, then Mr Aggressive. Directly across from me was poker poseur (He looked the part but was a donk) nice guy though, then the Actual player from Marina (filipino guy #1), next to him was my favorite "Ms. know-it-all" Madge, this large woman who knew just enough about poker to be completely aggravating... she was constantly making statements (just like she hears on TV) and getting into other peoples business while being completely paranoid about someone stealing her chips...Jeeze. And Finaly to my right was meek and nervous dude. I busted him out early on.

Table #1 Key Hands:
#1: 1 before the Button I get pocket kings. Blinds are 2-4 and there are 2 callers (poseur and filipino guy #1) These people are crazy enough to chase so i raise to $50 (Nervous dude #1 calls, Janet calls, poseur calls) The flop comes 3-8-Q check, check, poseur bets $50, I call as does everyone else. Turn brings unconnected rag. 2 checks to Poseur, who bets $50 again...I say "This is getting boring...make it $150" nervous #1 and Janet fold and poseur makes the call he must have paired his queen. River is another crap card. Poseur bets $200 I call and my kings make him much poorer. I have a huge pot.

#2: With Blinds @ 4-8 I'm on the button I have Q-J suited, I raise pre-flop to 24 and I get 2 callers. The flop comes Q-J-Q...the nuts for me. Check from Janet, and meek and nervous guy bets the pot I call like I'm on a draw. Janet folds. the Turn brings a rag. Meek & Nervous bets big again. I think about it and then say "oh what the heck I am all-in"...he calls pretty quickly. He shows K-J. I show my full house. He is deflated. The river brings an Ace...I win. This is where know-it-all Madge butts her ass in...and says "he's gotta better kicker"...I say "yes, if I didn't have a full house that would be true." So I say I have him covered and as I am trying to take my pot she keeps grabbing at the chips and stacking them up like I owe him money..I keep tellingher it doesn't make a difference I have him covered and she insists on repeating "Just stack them next to each other" what a friggin' moron. I say "I won the hand, give me my chips!!!" She realizes she's an idiot and relinquishes her cretinous hold on the action. From that point on everything she uttered made my skin crawl..

#3: After losing a big hand to ms know-it-all madge, I wake up in the BB with pocket aces. all call and I raise a ridiculous $150 into a $40 pot. I get three callers. Flop comes 7-7-6. Checks back to me I bet $200 and all call. So a 2 comes on the turn. and everyone checks again...no one here is that good to be slow=playing a 7 so I say out loud, "if I am gonna lose i will lose with the best hand. I am all-in." Everyone folds and I show the rockets. jeeze!!!

We all started with $600 in chips and by the time we consolidated to 2 tables I had $1500..not great, not bad...I was in the running.

Table #2:
From my left around the table I had blonde girl, Big Brian*, Kerry "Mr Tight"*, Solid player #2, Nick "Mr Final Table"*, Aileen (Hot filipina chick #2)with a huge chip stack, and finally "mizzer" another solid player. All were pretty cool.
* These guys are all excellent players and should've been at final table.

Table #2 Key Hands
Key hand # 1: BB I get A-Q. Blondie is UTG and calls, Big Brian Goes all-in ~$800, Kerry calls, gets to me and I raise enough to put Kerry all-in. blondie calls and Kerry folds. Flop comes rag-A-rag. blondie and I check it down and blondie shows pocket sevens and Brian shows A-7...I win with Aces and Queen kicker.

Final Table:
Again from my left on...mizzer (low chips stack), Marielle (Cutie-2nd to last in chips), blonde girl, her husband "Mr Cranky", Aileen, "Alex" good player, Frank-good player, and finally Janet (hot filipina chick #1)

Final table Key Hands:
Key Hand #1:
I have two connected cards, both hearts, in the cutoff position. No callers until me...I call, Mr Cranky checks his BB option. Flop comes Qh-5h-8c. First to act is Mr Cranky he goes all-in ~$800 into $2000 pot. I insta-call. I was planning on going all-in anyway. I have a flush draw and I know he has top pair....my odds to call and knock him out are just too advantageous for me. We flip them up and Mr Cranky is so very proud of his top pair crappy kicker. Qc-3s. The turn brings the 9 of hearts. I win with a heart flush. My Cranky curses me out as he is leaving. He was pissed. Like I said, I will make that call every time.

Key Hand #2:
Another insta-call...I am BB and I have 6-4 with blinds at $300-$600, SB goes all-in for $700...I throw another $100 chip into the pot fully expecting to donate it to Janet (Hot Asian Chick #1). Sure enough she shows pocket sevens. Oh well, the flop comes Q-8-4...I paired low...big whoop right? The turn is a six..oops. The river is not a 7 and it doesn't pair the board. I win. Janet is annoyed but who wouldn't call there?

Key hand #3:
After bleeding chips for too long I am getting desperate with only 3 players left....I am low chip stack, around $2,600...the others have about $10,000.
The blinds are $400-$800...I am in SB and I need to make a move so I announce "all in in the dark." The cards are dealt. Aileen in the BB and Frank on the button call after they look at their cards. I finally take a peek...my hole cards... J-9 off suit. Oh well...live cards anyway. Flop comes J-J-9...I audibly gasp...lol. Aileen goes all-in and Frank folds. Aileen shows A-Q...I show and now it's everyone else's turn to gasp. Friggin SICK man! No look Full-House!!!

I triple up.

Key Hand #4:
This was a questionable hand as I could've played it a lot better and got more money out of it. In any case her it is. 3-handed, I have pocket sixes in the SB, Button calls I raise 3x BB, BB folds and button (Frank) calls. Flop comes Q-K-Q, I check and button bets 1/2 the pot. I call. I put Frank on Ace high. Turn brings a 4. I check and Frank bets a ton of chips $1600. I call as I think he's trying to push me out of the hand. River brings a 6 so I have a boat, sixes over queens. I check and Frank checks (unfortunately) I wanted another big bet from him to try to push me out. I show the boat he show K-3. I think I coulda bluffed him right back off it representing a Queen. He slowed way down.

Freeroll and a new season

2007-10-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

This past summer season playing with the meetup group has been fairly rewarding to me. I learned a lot about the other players and their style of play, but mostly I got some insight into my own game. I didn't do that well in the freeroll but I still had a great time.

Trip Report-Reno

2007-09-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was my first "gambling" trip in quite some time. I've went to Vegas last year but it wasn't really a trip where I did a lot of gaming. I spent most of my time sightseeing and eating expensive dinners with friends.

In any case, I finally had a chance to play in a few decent cash games. I played 3 sessions equaling about 6 hours. The venues were Grand Sierra Resort and Harrah's poker rooms. I played in three tournaments and my success there was not so good. Busted on first hand at Harrah's on Friday but made my buy-in back in cash game immediately afterwards. Second tourney (Sat am @ Grand Sierra) I made to 11th place after my brother Mike took me out. Sunday AM tourney, my other brother Matt took me out with a "full boat" on the river. I caught my King high flush on that same river...lol oh well tourneys were not my strength this time.

Anyway, back to the cash games. With the total investment into tourney's being $160 I more than made up for my poor showing with over $1200 in winnings in the 6 hours I played in the cash games. Here's the scoop on each session (Poker only)*:

Session #1: Grand Sierra Resort Poker Room $1-$2 NL Hold 'em
Buy-in: $50 Bankroll: $200
Winnings after 3 hours of play: $390
Bankroll: $590

Session #2: Harrah's Poker Room $1-$2 NL Hold 'em
Buy-in: $100 Bankroll: $490
Winnings after 1 hour of play: $300
Bankroll: $790

Session #3: Grand Sierra Resort Poker Room $1-$2 NL Hold 'em
Buy-in: :$150 Bankroll: $640
Winnings after 2 hours of play: $590
Bankroll: $1230

I actually came home with only $700 after the following:
1) $120 losses at Blackjack tables
2) $100 loss @ three-card poker table
3) $100 losses @ video poker/slots
4) $100 loan to desperate relative.
5) $110 food/drinks/gifts

So if I took out the first three I would still be over a grand for the weekend.

I like my ROI for the poker alone, but due to the lack of a running cash game during the day I didn't have the venue to make any more money playing poker. That's probably my biggest complaint about Reno in general. They only have the NL cash game running after 6:00 or 7:00 pm due to lack of players. Most people in Reno are old people who want to play those bizarre cartoonish "slot" machines that make stupid noises when you win a $1. All of the poker rooms in Reno seem to always have single $4-$8 limit hold 'em table running all day but that's a very different game that I am not used to. I am pretty sure that most card rooms in Vegas will run NL cash all day 24/7.

I had a nice haul for my first all gambling weekend...anda mere 6 hours of cash game play...My hourly rate for the sessions was $205 so I figure if I can average $~$150/hour a full day's worth of cash game play (8 hours) I could pocket $1200. Not bad if I could keep that up. Anyway, I had fun and that's what counted the most. I look forward to another trip.

I will write another post with the key hands shortly.

Thoughts

2007-09-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

After a few mediocre sessions I have decided that I need to step back and analyze my play as of late. I feel I am becoming predicable and easy to read to many of my regular cohorts. My focus and concentration has definitely been poor the last few games as well. Desperation and fear are valuable tells. The people I play with are all good players and will pick up on these things.

Anyway, I have taken a few days off from playing to read and evaluate my play. Although I haven't necessarily played horribly, I can definitely improve. I think I've been an open book lately and people have been exploiting that.

I am off to Reno to play in the casinos for a few days. We'll see how my play holds up there.

More soon.

A great read...

2007-09-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

There are times when I have hunches and "a feeling" about a hand that my opponent may be holding. "Luckily" I have been correct about those hunches 80-90% of the time. Unfortunately, 50% of the time it's after I've already folded. LOL.

But there are those epiphany's that come along every once in awhile where it reminds you why you love to play this degenerate game so much. I had one of those the other night.

I have A-8 of hearts. I bet out my standard raise. all fold except L. The flop comes Kh-4c-Jh I bet out again and L calls. Turn comes some other non-heart rag. I check, L checks. The river is a spade of some sort so I check and L bets the pot...I think about it and realize that he is, in fact, drawing to the same flush that never came to me...so I call. L has Queen high....I wish we both would have caught the flush...then could have made a run at winning that game.

Making that read reminded me of how I need to play. I need to be patient, play my position, don't chase, figure the odds and make good decisions. Don't slow play down or let fear rule what you do if you have a decent hand. But do think about what the other players did (betting/tells) before you make decisions and what kind of players are you involved with.

Position
Players
Payoff

I'm Magically Donkelicious!!!

2007-09-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well I managed to make it to the final table but busted out in 6th out of 25 last Tuesday night. I had to re-buy too!!! Hate that shit!!! I was not on my game at all but I take some solace in my finish. My head was so not in the game that night. Daydreaming, losing focus, making plays at the wrong time...donkerific!!!

I managed to out draw someone to catch a boat, I tripled up with a boat on the river to make it to 6th...but overall I was just playing so badly...just not my night. I was in a terrible mood. All the stress from Michele's accident, cat's being sick, lack of physical activity just took it's toll on me. I should be fresh and well-rested by this Saturday's game.

That's all for now. I will have a report on the next few tourney's and cash games next week.

P.S. Bankroll down $200 due to Vet's outrageous fees...friggin' rip off.

Tuesday's Game continued..

2007-08-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

More hands from Tuesday nights game.

The Double Up:
I won a couple of nice pots and knocking out a Yorkie to move slightly ahead of J in chips. So J is the button and I am two to his right. There's a few limpers so with Ah-Qh I raise ~3x BB blinds are at 600-1200. Jason says "all-in" everyone folds and it comes back to me. I pause...ask for time and think..he's been making aggressive bets for awhile now, using his chip stack to push marginal hands out of the pot. I think about it and put him on mid pair...or A-x...our chips stacks are really closely matched, in fact, I have him covered. If i lose Iwill be down to the BB if i win I will be overall chip leader....I am torn but I really feel like I have him beat so I call. He has cowboys. I am a little disappointed at my misread, but feel a hell of a lot better when an Ace comes out on the flop. My aces hold up...as I double up.

Two tables and T:
On the button I am dealt Kd-Jd. So all fold to me and I raise 3x BB. SB folds and T in the BB calls. Flop is Kh-8c-Qd. With top pair and great kicker I bet $3000. T moves all-in...I think either pocket K-Q, Q-Q, or A-K, or maybe even pocket Jacks...I am just so unfamiliar when playing T and she's really good...I have her covered by a ton of chips so I need to think. I call time for the third time that night and really think about the benefits of calling...I have a flush draw and straight draw, but I'd still need running cards. I got a feeling so I call. Yes she has A-K...I am beat. The turn is a 9. Peanut gallery says a 10 gives Tony a straight...sure enough...10 on the river 8-9-10-J-Q. T is out and "They call me Mr Chips!!!" Donkey that I am.

Final table shenanigans:
Coming soon...off to work.

35 players and lots of points....

2007-08-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

So this big turnout made for a sweet pot and a chance at lots of points. There were 7 re-buys so I earned 39 pints for 4th place. I played the best I could in the early rounds and ended up with what I started with ($1500) when I moved to what I call the crappy table. I mean that in the quality of the actual table, not the players. I had Pto my left, Big P after him, G, N, J, Trish and K on my right. It was a great table for me...I was able to make my chip stack grow considerably over the next three rounds. I had a great chance to make it to the final two tables.
After I doubled then tripled up at my next table I knew i would make the money again. Once I was sitting at the final table I was going strong as ever then I hit a wall mentally. I got really sleepy and was not thinking straight...lack of food and rest the prior night had something to do with it I am sure... I donked off too many of my chips and the blinds/antes were aggressively killing me. Out I go in 4th place. I am disappointed with bleeding out like that. I suddenly wussed out at the end. I should've called a couple of Luke's All-ins. I know I was ahead

Key Hands:

Key Hand # 1: Early round, SB, I have rags. UTG (Unknown player) calls all fold, I raise to 3x BB (B) calls. Flop is K-J-rag?? Brad bets I go over the top tripling his bet...he folds. I win with absolute squadoosh...

Key Hand #2: Table change...I am at crappy table. I get 6-3 in BB. Except right of button J and T(Button). The flop comes K-6-3. I check my 2 pair and J makes a big raise I double it and he folds. I show him my two pair and I take my first pot at the new table.

Key Hand #3: At crappy table, Button is two spots to my left. I have Kd-Qd. So I raise 3x BB and all fold except J in BB. He calls. The flop comes Kh-Jd-8d. Josh bets the pot. I say all-in. he thinks about it and folds As-Kc. I show him my cards and he's a little tilty. I win another big pot. (Rabbit hunt verified I would not have gotten my flush).

Key Hand #4: Crappy Table, I get pocket Queens. I raise 3x BB and two to my left fold and Gicalls. Everyone else folds. Flop comes As-4s-8c. I bet out $3000. G goes All in without skipping a beat. I show her what I am folding and she is silent. When I ask G at the break, she admits that she had me beat. That was a bit of a cooler for me the rest of that round.

After being dwindling down to $7500 in chips I am moved to what I call "The Table of Lore" I am tight but aggressive...I take out 3 people at the table before I move to final table.

Key Hand #5: Two before the button (J---with big chip lead) I get A-10 suited. Folds all around to me so I raise minimum, J calls and everyone else folds. The flop comes J-8-A. I check. Jason bets $1500 into a $2500 pot. I go all in. he immediately folds. More chips for me.

Key Hand #6: Pocket sixes in middle position and there are a bunch of people with small stacks. I raise and Yorkie on the button calls. Fop comes 6-8-A. I hope someone has an Ace. I raise to put Yorkie all in he calls and shoes A-J. My trip sixes hold up and I knock out a player.

35 players tonight

2007-08-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

I am breaking tradition and posting before I go onto a tourney. Maybe it'll help me play better. I gotta remember to be patient and play tight-aggressive poker. Play position, premium hands at first and get more aggressive in the middle and late stages to get far in this thing. There will be a lot of new faces tonight. The ones I know I can deal with...it's the new faces that I need to pay attention to.

Anyway, I am going in with confidence and a nice bankroll. I hope to do well tonight. It would be great to make it to the final table, better to make the money and ultimately to win this thing. I can't make stupid mistakes, I need to be patient and should have close to the nutz to play a hand. No set no bet. No donkey calls. Watch for BS.

More after the tourney...

Redemption in Concord (Thank You Stevie Wonder)

2007-08-27T10:07:00.001-07:00

I had absolutely no desire to go to Concord for any reason last night. I dropped off "xxxxx" at the Stevie Wonder concert at the Concord Pavilion and drove off to find something to do. I was on my way to the movies when I thought "Hey, isn't the California Grand Casino around here somewhere?" My poker degenerate instincts guided me past the strip malls, Pep Boys and Bowling alleys of East Concord to the small card room on Pacheco Blvd. I found a parking space and with a little trepidation walked into the casino to see if there was room at a No Limit table. There was a few seats at the 2-3-3 No limit table.

I bought in for $100 (That's another $100 from my winnings from last Tuesday...I'm down to $200 now). I am folding hand after hand until I get into the blinds and finally on the button I catch pocket Aces. I hear "all-in" from the other side of the table...folding to me. I call and my hands are shaking I must look like such a donkey. I double up and from there I do not look back...for the next hour...yes that's 60 minutes...I build my stack to nearly $580. I decide that quintupling my initial stake is fine so I cash out and go see a movie.

After the movie I pick up "xxxxx" from the concert and we're off...I make some money and have some fun playing some poker, "xxxxx" has a great time at Stevie Wonder, and all is well with the world for now.

Here's my table: to my left is spikey head floor manager (ok player, nice guy), then there's nose-pickin motorcyclist (maniac), then there's business suit (Agressive-solid), then Mexican Dude (donkey), Asian Chip Tower (Aggressive), Blackshirt Asian Guy, and finally Flanders (Gamblers Annonymous Candidate---loose).

Key Hands

Key Hand #1:
After bleeding out chips for the first 10 minutes I have bullets on the button. UTG (Blacksirt Asian Guy) goes all-in. Everyone folds and I call. He sees my hand and immediately goes for his wallet to re-load. He has 8-rag???? not sure what he even has. I double up.

Key Hand #2:
I am in BB with A-4. 2 or 3 callers and the flop comes 9-4-9. UTG (Flanders) checks and I raise $15...folds all around to UTG and he goes all-in for $45. I think awhile and call,...he as Q-10. WTF??? Another 9 comes on the river so I take down the pot with a full house and he has ziltch...I am nearly tripled up...25 minutes into game.

Key Hand #3:
SB I have J-10. Mexican calls. Flop comes J-9-3. Mexican goes all-in. I call and he shows Ad-4d...there's one diamond on the board. No more diamonds come. Top pair holds up and I win another $50 bucks.

Key Hand #4:
In BB I have K-7. Three callers. Flop comes 3-K-8. I bet $25 and the hyper-aggressive motorcyclist calls. A seven comes on the turn. I check and the Motorcyclist goes all-in. I call and he shows K-Q. River brings a rag and I win with 2-pair...after he wipes some snot on his shirt he reloads. I am now around $400. Wahoo!!!

Key Hand #5:
I have Q-7 in the BB. All fold to the button (Flanders) and he just calls. I check and flop comes 10-Q-10. I bet $30 and Flanders goes all-in for a total of $75...I call for time...think about it and decide to call after about 30 seconds. He shows A-8...again WTF???? I get another Queen on the turn and bust Flanders out again. He gets up to blow off steam. I am now around $500

Key Hand #6:
Two new players come to the table. Middle-Eastern hipster and a black dude who looks like Mark Curry from Hanging with Mr Cooper. I have K-Q in SB. Middle Eastern Guy is BB and Mr Cooper is Button. All fold to Mr Cooper and he calls. Flop comes, 10-Q-Q. I bet $35 and Middle Eastern Guy folds Button calls. Turn comes 8. I bet $50 and Mr Cooper calls. River comes a blank but I check as does Mr Cooper. He shows A-K. I win big pot. I am now around $600 so i rack my chips and take hike.

I had a really good session so the poker bankroll is now around $900. Hopefully I continue to play well. It'd be nice to have a nice roll when I go to Reno and Vegas this year.

Friday Poker @ Kings Castle... and the psychic friends network

2007-08-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Since I am playing for "free" for the next month I am not too upset to say I didn't play all that well last Friday night at the King's Castle. I didn't "donk" off my chips, I went in with best hands but it just wasn't meant to be. It happens. So $400 minus the $70 I lost on Friday I am still up $300 after my $30 buy in on Tuesday.

The 15 person tourney on Friday was a very different vibe. I had a few different people at my table than last time. I was not familiar with their play at all so it took me awhile to get into a groove. Also, I had B at my table and he was gunning for me from the get go. I beat him the first 2 times we went heads up and then after a couple of losing hands to M I was again putting chips into a pot with the best hand...B was my opponent...he caught his flush on the only card I didn't want...even though it improved my hand. I will explain in Key Hands section.

I ended up being out 2nd or 3rd but was still actually ok with my play considering I lost the most chips by being sucked out on. Anyway...I played a cash game and that shit was my own friggin' fault. As usual, K was playing overly aggressive and stealing pots right and left so when I went all in with A-x he had pocket rockets...d'oh!!! I reloaded and ended up tripling up before the next tourney. I did well in that but it was luck that was not on my side for that game. There was one hand that was a turning point and it busted me...It was very unfortunate...I had a flashback to earlier this year when Gatch busted me out of the final table.

Overall, I think I played well except for a few hands I went in with the best. I gotta remember it's the long haul that counts.

Key Hand #1 [Tourney #1]: (the Psychic Friends Hand)
I am dealt K-Q off...UTG I raise 3x BB and everyone folds except B(Button). I put him on A-x....I end up being correct...The flop comes 3d-Kc-7c. I bet the pot and Brian calls. The flop comes Qc...(the one card I didn't want because I now KNOW Brian caught his flush!) I check, B checks...River comes 3s. My top two pair is just shit now. I check Brian bets $1500 into a $4500 pot..I call just to verify what I already know....Ac-5c for nut flush. So much for doing the right thing when you know what the other player has...any other card and I would've folded top pair like a hot potato. A King woulda been sweet for a boat but it had to be that queen...I was weak and I paid for it. Anyway...the one thing I can take away from that hand is that I knew what he had...I need to remember it's up to me to make the correct moves accordingly. Lesson learned.

Key Hand #1 [Tourney #2]: (Flopping the nuts or did I?)
I am short stacked after trying to be tricky with players I am unfamiliar with. I get J-10 and call. Two other callers the flop comes 10-8-10. I have trips. All check to me I go all-in for $3300 and button folds his A-3 (I am speculating). The SB calls my all-in very quickly. He shows me pocket eights..a boat...d'oh!!! I am dead after the turn and river do not bring a card to help my cause. Busted out.

5 of 6 final tables...finally a win/tournament etiquette.

2007-08-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

The SFBA Poker Meetup game last night, I went in with a heavy heart and the effects of a lousy week. Michele had a horrible car accident last week that thankfully only left her bruised and sore. Considering the condition of her car, she is lucky to be alive. I canceled a few games and just took my mind off playing for awhile. So coming into last night's game I was just happy to be playing and knowing my sweetheart was doing well.

Anyway on to the game...it was a $25 buy-in with 1 re-buy. I am proud to say I did not have to choose that option. The game had 27 players--three tables of 9 players each. I started at a great table. I had B (young and impressionable) to my right, R solid player (extremely hot), A (Maniac), J (Also a little bit of a maniac), and Z (Solid-Kid Poker)

I was being very tight and aggressive early on and would only raise and not call when in a hand. If I ever did call it was because I was in a blind and had a decent starting hand. Out of position I would've folded unless I had a premium hand.

I go over the key hands later.

Table/Tourney Etiquette:
So K comes to the table and I think it may very well be the first hand he's involved in after the table change. K makes a raise, Y goes all in, B calls and then K calls. So the flop comes and K checks with the intent of checking it all the way down until the end as tournament etiquette governs. B goes all in after the flop and K is less than happy. After the hand Y ends up winning the hand and he is tripled up. So K proceeds to rag on B... all while B is clueless to what he did "wrong". In reality, B didn't really do anything incorrect, but he didn't understand that what he did was lessen the odds of knocking Y out. B repeats this breach of etiquette again later...I will explain in the Key Hands section.

All in all I agree with K but B is young and is kind of inexperienced. He takes forever to act, is always missing his deal or shuffle thanks to him counting chips...like he doesn't know what to do when he actually wins them. A large stack seems like a new phenomenon to him. lol...The arguing continues as K tells B to read a book, and they take verbal jabs at each other for the next few hands.

Anyway , I was relieved to be moved to another table soon after that exchange.

Key Hands:

Hand #1 (early in tourney):
In BB I have 5-4 off. There's 2 limpers and I check. Flop comes K-8-4. Checks to me I bet the pot. I get 2 calls. The turn is another 4. I bet 1/2 the pot. Andre folds his likely A-x and Jason calls with what I assume is the same. River comes another King. I check and J bets another pot-sized bet so I call and he shows a busted flush and I show my boat. He goes a little tilty as I take down a monster pot.

Hand#2 (Final 2 tables--18 players):
I am in 2nd to last position and I get pocket nines. I raise and last button folds the SB (Brian) calls my raise. Everyone goes away. So it's heads up with Super-Agressive B. I watch him and not the board when the flop comes 8-Q-K...I see a flinch of fear. I put him on low pair. I bet the pot he raises. I call. We check the Turn another King. After the river a 6 or something. I am a little apprehensive after Br bets 4K about 1/2 the pot. I call and he says good call. He shows me pocket fours. I take down a huge pot. He is extremely quiet and I think really pissed. I read him perfectly. He's a very good player and very aggressive so I am feeling great about my read and my call...My table image was so dialed in.

Hand #3 (Final Table)
We're down to the final 6. Bubble time. G is short stacked and in the SB. All fold to him and he goes all in. I have him covered by about 5K. I call with pocket eights, he has A-J. Flop, turn and river do not bring him either..I actually get another eight for trips. And G is the "bubble-boy".

Hand #4 (Final 4 players--chip stacks in order: B, L, Me, S)
On the button, S goes all-in. I have pocket eights again so I call. B calls. I say "I check dark"...B has a blank stare. Flop comes 4-9-J, I check, brad checks. Turn is an eight,....giving me trips. Because of etiquette I check. B checks. The river is a 10. I checl and Brad bets $5000. I say I have to call and he shows me a Q to make his straight. Oh well so much for etiquette. I think B's donkey ways he would've called any bet on the turn anyway so I figure i might have saved a little.

Hand #5 (Final 3 players--B, Me, L)
I go all-in with J-7 off. Brad calls with A-6 suited. Flop brings me a Jack and it holds up so I double through B again.

Hand #6 (Final 3 players--B, Me, L)
I am in SB. L, on the button goes all-in, I call with pocket Kings. B surprisingly folds and Luke shows Q-5 suited. My cowboys hold up and it's heads up time.

Hand #7 (1st heads up hand)
B has me covered about 4 to 1 in chips and I get pocket sevens on the button. I go all-in he calls with 10-4 off. I get another 7 on the flop and he is drawing dead. I double up. The tide is turning.

Hand #8 (Final hand)
After I win a few more hands I now have B covered. On the Button I have A-7. I go all-in. B calls with 6-7 suited. The flop comes 3-6-7...oops I lost right? Well no,... running Queens give me the better 2 pair with my Ace kicker. Counterfeit time!!! I win. B is inconsolable.

More later.

Meetup game #3 etc...

2007-07-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well it was my third tourney of the Summer Meetup season and I finished #10 out of 29. I was pretty happy with my play except for a couple hands. At least I busted out going in with the best hand, in fact I all hands I was involved in I had the best of it. I only semi-bluffed a few times pre-flop to get rid of players with marginal hands. I took a couple of pots with continuation bets.

I was riding the rush until I went all in right before Rebuy cut off with A-Q suited. All fold except for BB (R-he ended up winning the tourney) who had Cowboys...They held up as I only caught a queen on the flop and no ace or running heart came up...oh well I did re-buy and hung in there until just before final table.

Hand #1:
Only 3 hands into tourney I get pocket jacks. I raise 2 1/2 times BB and I get 2 callers (Y and Z) Flop comes 8-J-A, (I know they both have an ace and I have them domiated)...I am UTG so I check it 1st player (Y) bets 1500 and 2nd player (Zac) calls..I re-raise to 3000 and the Y folds, Z takes about 2 minutes to decide...I tell him your 2 pair is no good, but you can gamble....he folds and I promise to show...I do and I win big pot.

From this point on all my raises are treated with much respect.

Hand #2:
I'm the short stack and have K-8 in the BB and everyone folds but the SB(big stack). Flop comes 10-8-A, SB and I check it. Another Ace comes on turn...SB goes all in. I fold and SB shows 6-2 off...I couldn't call. Guess I needed to be more aggressive after the flop. He may have called but at least I would've made him think about it. That's been one of my weaknesses lately...not being aggressive enough at the right time. I guess I could've played that hand better but that's the way it goes.

Final Hand:
I have 2,800 left UTG. I have A-6 off suit so I push all in. All fold except for button (J) he says "The book says I should call" and he does with 10-3 off. I am good until a 3 shows up on the flop no ace and no 6 I bust out.

I wanted to play for more practice and to accumulate points towards free roll in September. I am currently tied for 9th place with 71 points. I hope to up my total again next Tuesday and possibly even finish in the money for once. It's been awhile.

I recouped my buy-in and re-buy in a cash game after I busted out. I ran into a few good hands and got rivered on one big one...I had to lay down a hand because I limped with my pocket tens...that's poker baby.

Rocco's Tourney 7/22 (Pin the tail on the...ah me)

2007-07-23T09:08:00.001-07:00

Well I started out doing really well. I had the cards and was aggressive enough to take a few pots. I had my, at one time, favorite hand, A-Q suited and ran into aces to "donk" off a bunch off chips to "The Prodge" Brandon. A few hands later I had top pair (aces) with great kicker... so went all in on the turn,...unfortunately for me the odds were good for Sam to call my all in and he caught a straight on the river...this was how my day in the tourney would go. Rather than blame anyone else or bitch and moan about bad calls or donkey moves bay bad players, I will state the truth. ...I was out-played and when I made the right moves the odds were right for my opponent to call.

Again, I played cash game after the tourney so I recouped about half of my buy-in and re-buys for the tourney...I wish I had more time to play but it was getting late. All in all I am not completely unhappy with how I played but I think I need to re-evaluate s few things before I play my next tourney.

The key hand:
With blinds at 100-200, I hold Jh-8h in the BB and Steve under the gun raises 4x BB everyone folds and I put him on pocket nines or tens...I call. Flop comes J-3-8 rainbow. I check, Steve bets $1,500 I go over the top for about $3,500...he quickly calls and shows pocket Aces. I am ahead with 2 pair...Ace comes on turn so I am dead to river. I seriously didn't put him on pocket Aces...I didn't expect him to bet that much with all the other players behind him...I would've expected him to min raise or 3x to get more people in... In hindsight I should just folded my hand but I was still "tilty" from being out drawn on previous hands and I probably would made the same bet if I held pocket rockets. More to think about.

That's all for now...and man does this tail itch.

Latest news...

2007-07-20T13:27:00.002-07:00

I've played pretty well the last few sessions but I am by no means ready to give up my day job. I have been using the last few games to try some "experiments" and other things to see if they'd work for me. Some did and some did not. I've come to realize that the most profitable and successful style of play has been LAG with the occasional switching of gears to TAG and small ball poker. Small ball seems to be more effective on the intermediate to experienced players that I've sat at tables with. The donks will continually call and pair their A-x...oh well it's the long haul I care about. In the end, solid play will prevail.

The SF Bay Area Poker Meetup group has a few really good players who actually know the game and try to read what other players are holding. There are others who simply play their cards (donks) to the end and disregard what others may have...this tends to be frustrating, but in the end they will go home with nothing.

Some players wear their tells like a bright red hockey shirt, ear buds, sunglasses and baseball hat...they have the poker "look" down. Just goes to show you that "looking" like a player and actually being a player are very different.

I was called a "donkey" by someone because I called a 3x BB bet with a K-Q off-suit in a cash game. Well,...cash games are not tournaments and even in a tournament calling a 3x BB bet with face connectors is not "fishy". I happened to pair my King and my Queen and his Jacks were dead after he went all in on the turn. I had a perfect read on his hole cards by his reaction when he looked at them I put him on pocket nines tens,...his Jacks were actually better than what I thought he had.... I will keep what that exact tell was to myself as I would rather not give up that information to anyone who might read this. That would be unethical...see unwritten rule #1 below.

This brings me to a few key points...becoming a better player means constant learning and tweaking of you game depending on the players, your position, and table image.

- Know your opponent(s): If you don't yet... keep track of how your opponents bet, act and respond. Use this information for future sessions with these players. Many players will bet a certain amount based on the quality of hole cards they have. It makes it extremely clear if they have high pair, low pair, A-x or A-face. They "telegraph" their hands.

- Online poker is NOT live poker: Take note of your physical and mental reactions to your pocket cards and each card dropped on the board. Even the slightest "harumph" or eye twitch is a tell to your opponents.

- Remember the information you have picked up: Whether it be blogging, journaling, note cards whatever...make a note of everything you and others do during a session. It will enlighten you to many positives and negatives to your game and the people you usually play against.

Also a few notes on some other things...

Some unwritten rules:
1) Don't announce to a full room of other players (mid-tournament) how another player plays his/her given hands. It gives the whole room of people a read on how that other player plays or doesn't play. And it's just damn rude. Making friendly jokes about players is one thing but telling the whole tourney how another player plays a specific hand warrants a pummeling out back by the dumpsters.

2) Quit your bitchin' and moanin' you fucking douchebag...if you are an experienced player, you will understand that there are bad beats and questionable calls that may felt you. If you get knocked out by a bad beat...that's honorable, if you get beat because you are on tilt and making stupid plays..that's your own damn fault. Become a better player.

3) We don't care how your pocket Aces were cracked...really we don't!!! Keep your bad beat stories to yourself...unless you are asked. See # 2.

4) What's with taking so friggin' long to act?!?!? I don't mean Charles or Alan egg-timer long, but even longer with all the acting and speeches...I don't see any television cameras. It's a $20 buy-in you ASSHAT!!! Take a look at your cards and make a decision...by now you should have learned (there's that word again) to make decisions on your hand based on what you know about more than just your cards...they will stay the same no matter how may times you look at them!!!

Finally, poker is supposed to be fun. It can be taken very seriously and be fun at the same time. Complaining about the game, re-telling bad beat stories over and over, steaming about losing, bitchin' about the blind structure will not get you invited back.

I am by no means a great player, but I am trying to become one. I would love to be able to read players like Daniel Negreanu, play any two cards like Gus Hansen, have a table image like Phil Ivey, and a bankroll like Jaime Gold, but for now I just wanna play and have fun doing it. Until then, I continue to learn.

Key hands over the past week:

Hand #1 (Sat 7/14 cash game):
I have K-Q off and I am first to act. I limp. button raises 3x BB. All fold I call. I put raiser on pocket nines or pocket tens. Flop comes K-8-Q I bet the pot and the other player goes all-in. I call and my two pair hold up. Other player steams for like 20 minutes...yawn

Hand #2 (Sat 7/14 cash game):
I am in BB with A-6 off suit. I call SB min raise. everyone else folds. Flop comes 3-6-6. SB checks , I bet 1/2 the pot, he goes all-in for about $30 and I call. he shows Cowboys...I show trip sixes and they hold up. Yay I win!

Hand #1 (Sat 7/14 2nd Tourney)
I hold Q-4 for the 5th time in a row so I make a play at the pot with a Q-K-8 flop. I call a bet on the river and lose a big pot to player on my right. D'oh...Me thinks I am donk in this situation.

Hand #2 (Sat 7/14 2nd Tourney)
Very next hand I have Aces, I'm in BB and SB raises 4x. I wait a few beats and then say "all-in".
Player thinks for about a minute then calls with Kings. My aces hold and I win huge pot and cripple that player.

Hand #3 (Sat 7/14 2nd Tourney)
I have A-K...again so I raise the BB...he goes over the top All-in, I have him covered...I call...he shows me pocket eights..Flop brings an A as does the Turn. I bust player out.

Sick Hand of the night (Sat 7/14 2nd Tourney)
After losing a few pots I am low chip stack..so I move with pocket threes. All in and the button calls with pocket Aces...I am dead...Flop comes 3-8-3...I win...there will be no running aces.

More soon...

Reading etc...

2007-07-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading Barry Greenstein's "Ace on the River" and Full Tilt Poker's Tournament Strategy Guide (on Steve P's recommendation)...both are very good but also very different. I like Barry's book for pleasure as much as information. There's no real poker strategy or poker lessons per se in Greenstein's book but the anecdotes and experiences are sure to enlighten the reader and if you're smart you will go away learning something.

The Full Tilt Tournament guide is filled with information on different strategies written by a who's who of premier poker players. I have just finished Chris Ferguson's chapter on pre-flop betting and now I am starting Howard Lederer's bit on "leverage".

I know books will never take the place of actual play, but I figure it can't hurt to see what the successful players have to say about playing.

Now I just need a book on Omaha and stud...as well as cash game strategy.

Meetup Tourney #4: Not winning but learning...

2007-06-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's a rationalization or an excuse that enables me and my degenerate gambling ways, but I feel like I am learning something every time I finish a session of play. Be it a tournament or a cash game, I come away with information on my opponents, situational play, and my position.

I was playing well with the cards I was dealt. I didn't have monsters, but I played my position and bet well to pick up a few pots. I got caught a few times with mid-pairs and the flop never tripped me up except for one time where I raked in a huge pot. I also made some key calls to get information and I actually had the nuts when i thought I was just paying the other player off.

In the meetup tourney's we use a white chip to force the other player to show what they had if you should fold to their bet. I never like to use mine. If they don't use that in bigger tournaments or cash games I won't make it a habit now.

Here are a few key hands from last nights game:

Hand #1:
I'm dealt a pair of 4's in late position...a few limpers, and I raise 3x BB, a couple more fold and button calls me...the rest muck. Flop comes K-J-3. I continuation bet the pot. Button calls. Turn comes 8 and we both check. Turn brings Ace. I bet feeler bet of $300 into a $1100 pot...button raises to $600...I call to see what he has...A-3 caught his two pair on river but here's the key...I learned something about Andre the maniac. He is in love with the A-rag. More than 3x he called or check down a hand to reveal "Ace high" 50% of the time he actually won. Not so scary as I thought he was.

More soon...

Bay Area Poker Meetup #1

2007-06-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

Is it wrong that I get slightly excited when I put an ultra aggressive player on tilt? I don't think so.

I did just that the other night when, in the BB I re-raised "all-in" to a 3x raise...he thought about it and decided to fold. He threw in a "white chip" to see my cards and I show (As 10s) He steams. Musta had a pair. Probably shoulda called. I felt kinda bad but like I said...it was kind of cool putting someone else to the test for once.

So here's how key hands went down that evening...as much as I can recall anyway.

Hand #1: On the button (Jc 10s) call BB ($50) Flop comes (Jh-8s-3d) I bet pot-sized bet to round of checking...I win the first pot I play wahoo!

Hand #2: I'm holding pocket Jacks to the right of the button...I chase away limpers with 3x BB bet except for button who calls. Flop is rainbow (K-7-3) I do pot-sized continuation bet ($600) button calls. We both check the turn and the river which are blanks. The button turns over K-Q offsuit and I lose some chips...d'oh!!! At least I slowed her down with the continuation but I'd rather she had low pocket pair...see Hand #5

Hand #3: On the button I have Ad-Qd and player under the gun raises 3x BB and he gets call from player to his left and me. Flop comes (10-Q-10) all checks to me and I bet the pot (~$1200)...after all I have top pair with Ace kicker. The player under the gun folds and I get a call from player #4. We check turn and river. Player #4 has pocket Kings...do'h..I donkey off more chips.

Hand #4: With the low chip stack and the BB I get (As-10s)...player under the gun folds then next player raises to $600, I make note of his chip stack (I gots more)...everyone else folds...back to me. I think for exactly 3 seconds and then go all in. As he sighs and stares me down I try to look uninterested...lol...he angrily folds and throws white chip in. I show my As-10s and he slams his cards down in disgust...oh well...I win some more chips.

Hand#5 : The very next hand I try to ride the rush..."DUMB"...I pick up pocket 7's on the button. All players fold except for 1 player who raises 3x BB...more folding to me and I notice I have more chips than the raiser (and he's the one who got me with Cowboys) so I go over the top "All-In" I say and he immediately calls...to reveal pocket Jacks d'oh!!!! This makes Mr Tilty from Hand #4 extremely happy as if his revenge will be exercised through another player's hand. Rags come on the flop and the turn is yet another Jack making my hand dead. I lose most of my chips. (I'm down to $650 with blinds @ $100-200)...as if to get the greatest amount of pleasure from my loss, Mr Tilty counts out the chips I owe to player who turned trip Jacks.

Hand #6: The very next hand I pick up pocket Aces so I act tilty and go all in after a few limpers...then they all muck...no play for me...I take the blinds and a few of the limpers chips...that's ok, blinds are gettin' bigger.

Over the next round I actually pick up good cards, pocket Queens, Kings, AQ a few times, AJ suited. I raise with them but get no action. Hand over your blinds!!! My stack is actually increasing.

Final hand: With a low stack I try to make a play with As-Qc,...I go all in for about $2300. Thankfully, I get one caller who must have thought I was bluffing. She has (Jh-10d)...I'm ahead but then I say "I fear that J-10 will be the end of I me..." and sure enough the flop comes (7-8-9) in friggin' order...I smell a mechanic...ha ha just kidding. Oh well...it was a blast.

Overall, I feel like I did well except for the all in w/pocket sevens..I know now that Eugene (pocket Kings) will bet only if he has a premium hand and Odessa will call a medium raise with face cards...and that Aaron (Mr. Tilty) will get pretty steamed when he lays down the best hand. Well, who wouldn't?

Even though I didn't get into the money it was a really fun experience and hope to play at least one live game a week. I really want to get better at live tournaments and get away from the online garbage play.

That's it for now...more soon.

Online Poker

2007-06-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

There's always some assclown on FullTilt who likes to get a significant chip lead and then go all-in every hand...what a Donk.

Online poker is getting old...I need live gameage.

Inaugural Post

2007-06-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

Even though I have a poker blog on PageFlakes, I thought I'd start one here to get a little more exposure. There's probably a million other poker blogs floating around cyberspace but I am hoping to incorporate stories, events and insight that will reach out to the modest poker community I am connected to.

More soon.
"Hellraiser"