I checked in at the Aria poker room which looked like it had a long list but I got immediate seating.
it was a pretty serious table. no one crazy, nobody blasting. quite a bit of limping. guy to my left was a bit talkative and complained or commented every time I bet/raised. a nice fellow but it really got annoying, especially when there were multiple people left to act. I don't know how to respond to someone pointing out every time I raise. however, there were several times when he warned me not to bet or call because he had a winner. so it probably saved me from bigger losses. seemed like the table got shorthanded quite a bit. there were a couple times we were down to 4 people sitting.
here are some hands to share:
- I open $10 in cutoff with A7hh $10 button calls.
JJ5ddx. I check, he bets $15, I call.
Turn Kh, check he bets $20 I call.
River heart 4. I bet $30 he folds.
- in cutoff again I look down at the beautiful AA. I raise to $12, 2 calls.
QT2 rainbow, I bet $35 they fold. lame.
young black lady sits down next to me, buys in for $100. she often asks basic procedural questions "how much is it ($3 to call). How much is it? (you can check or bet). she had to be reminded of her blinds every time. limped nearly every hand, called most raises. seems like she only bet when she had it.
- MP opens $13, two calls, I'm on the button with pocket jacks; raise $40. the two flatters call.
flop comes KT8dd. I bet $35, just button (lady above) calls.
she only has like $25 behind.
Turn brick, checks.
river is the third diamond. Check check, she has KQss to beat my jacks. there is nothing I could do to win that pot.
I didn't get many interesting hands for a while. won a few, lost more. but I did do something for the first time, ordered food at the poker table.
drunken noodles from Lemongrass. not bad.
- in late position I open JJ to $15. guy who's been very tight raises to $70. that's the biggest preflop raise at the table in over 2 hours. I fold.
down below $100 now.
- early position player bets $15, in position I call with KQ.
flop comes QQ8cc. hello! it checks around.
Turn is another club. he checks, I bet $15, he shoves for my $75 and I snap. he says "come on club, come on club," which is what I wanted to hear. no fourth club, I double up.
- just a few hands later. I open to $12 with JJ, a huge stack, pretty new to the table, raises to $35, I call. 9 high flop. he bets 50, I jam, he has aces. the Aria curse hits me again. three times getting JJ at this table and I am 0-for-3. I reload for $200.
- I limp in with 76dd. young aggressive Asian raise to $15, I call.
945hhd. okay, not bad. he bets $20, I call.
Kh turn, don't remember action.
a fourth heart that didn't didn't hit my straight is the river. do I throw out a $5 tease?
no. I check, he checks back and doesn't want to show. my 7 high is no good obviously to his King. I think even a tiny bet gets him to fold. I could not win at showdown. I think I can make a bluff there, even a small bet wins the decent sized pot.
- later on, I'm heads up with the guy that busted me earlier, I have T9h, hit a 9 on the turn, Ah (4th heart) on the river. I have like 3rd pair that improved to a 9-high flush.
I bet $15. he raises, and I call.
he had QQh. I was dead at every point.
it was a bad play, one of the worst I can ever remember making. this time I did have some showdown value, and there was the Kh, Qh, Jh that all beat me. there is no reason to call the river raise. I think I was a little on tilt for not betting the 4-flush board earlier. and I thought, "this guy can't have it every time " yes he can. I was back down under $100.
the lady next to me ran her stack up to over $300. crazy when such a novice is able to triple her stack with almost no aggression and pretty much just checking and calling everything.
- I finally caught a break when with A4 in BB, flop came 532r. she bet $10, and I and another call. Turn was a 7, which hit her set, I jammed for like $70 and held for the mini double.
- was able to win a few more pots in short order without facing a lot of resistance.
after about 4.5 hours I clawed back up to $307 and cashed out for a $188 loss. I suck at poker and will never play at Aria again.
let's hope tomorrow goes better.