Day 11
After closing out the year on a win, one last night of partying was on the agenda. My roommates and I got dressed up and met a girlfriend of mine from high school and her college roommates at ESPN Zone for dinner. I know, not exactly baller. But I made the conscious decision to be very liberal with my money early in the night. After all, bringing in the new decade in Las Vegas only happens soo many times in a lifetime. I picked up the tab on the food and drinks for most of the night. Everyone tried to thank me. I told them to thank the poker gods for blessing me with a beautiful cooler. They don’t understand the minor miracle that is set over set.
The night went about as well as I could’ve imagined. The strip on New Years eve really is an incredible experience that I recommend every youngster checking out at least one time. Set me back about 5 bills however. Whatever, just a small hit to the big chip stack, as my friend so nonchalantly put it. It’s funny how unattached I’ve grown to money. When you’re a poker player, you see it disappear and reappear so frequently that you grow so emotionally distant from the process. Many people see that personality trait as a fault, I’m convinced it’s a blessing.
As awesome as I felt the night before, that’s about equally as miserable as I felt the next day. My streak of no sleep continued as I woke up at 10 with about 4 hours of unconsciousness behind me. How did I decide to work off the headache, sore throat, and anxiety that was my hangover? Oh yeah poker. Awesome idea. Not. But some way, some how, my game actually felt pretty sharp.
Have you ever felt like you played the absolute perfect poker hand? Where everything pans out the exact way on the felt as it did in your head? That’s how I felt in the first meaningful hand of the day at the Venetian.
Tilting Asian raises my 40 dollar CO open to 130 on the BTN. K
Q
doesn’t exactly stack up that well in a 3-bet pot out of position, but tilting Asians truly are my weakness. I call and we see a flop of AQT rainbow. I check and he thinks forever. He wants to bet but he can’t pull the trigger. KK or JJ, obviously. I’ve got a K so it’s got to be JJ. Turn brings the 9. Now usually I wouldn’t go for value with mid pair in a 3-Bet pot, but I was so convinced he had Jacks that it seemed fairly natural at the time. I lead for 190, completely expecting him to call with his new-found straight draw. He does. River brings a 7, completing a back door flush draw. Perfect. I continue my trap with a weak looking check. Player knows he only has one chance to win and that’s to ship his money into the pot. He does, all 540 of it. I call almost before he gets it over the line. “Your good” he says flipping up his JJ. Guy almost went through the roof when he saw me turn over KQ. He did one of those head shaking condescending laughs as I raked in the chips.
Up almost a buy-in, exhaustion set in. I should’ve just racked up and gone to watch the whopping that Florida was putting on Cincinnati with my friends at the sports book. Instead, I stayed.
For the past 3 years, when a player has called a raise out of position preflop and led into the original raiser, it’s been a sign of weakness. Maybe a decent pair, but not a hand the player wants to play for a big pot. Apparently that trend is changing. Twice I attacked this type of play, and twice I suffered the consequences. The final time I had JQ and raised it up to 50 only to find 3 callers. SB bets out 130 on a 9T4 flop and I represent my big pair by making it 320. He shoves in for 400 more. Awesome. Just ****ing awesome. I call and river a Q. It’s no good however, as my opponent has flopped top two pair.
A few rounds later I isolate 3 limpers with a raise to 70 on the CO with Q
9
. BTN and first limper make the call. Flop comes the pretty Q
9
6
. I bet 150 and the BTN is the only one to continue. Praying that I fade his flush draw, the turn brings the 5
. I make a dangerous decision and plan a check raise. He bets out 250 and I confidently shove in 500 more, my final 750. He snap calls and I know I'm toast. 78. River bricks and all of a sudden I’ve gone from “perfect poker” to broke.
How could you be so careless? He always has 78 there. He’s just not showing a flush draw often enough to be profitable.
Suddenly I regret my generous New Years Eve. This always happens to me. I call it the curse of generosity. I’ll have a nice session and celebrate with good friends only to see myself lose the profit back the next day. Boy do I feel stupid. Nothing better than starting the decade in the red! Still up 2500, and amidst a minor dispute between a friend of mine and the condescending floor lady at Venetian, I moved my play back to the B for my final week of 5/10 play…
Two Plus Two
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