Split session today since I'm switching hotels... Ran bad early though, and grinded it to less than a buyin loss. Had a huge spot in the game but couldn't make hands against him and folded top pair to him early and if I had been there 30 minutes I would have probably shipped it on him.

Got coolered a bit tonight but fought back. In between sessions I hung out with that girl I've been seeing. She's a lot younger than me and wanted to "have a talk." She suggested we keep it casual. I tried not to look too overjoyed with her suggestion and agreed. Poker face for the win. A funny story will be forthcoming from something VERY awkward about these rooms at Caesars. Like, they should warn people about a major design flaw... I'm way too smart to be the first person who thought this. I might have almost gotten us kicked out.

Otherwise I bricked a straight and flush draw, made two hero calls, got thin value and also went on a trip to Valuetown with this girl at my table... she was kind enough to pick up the tab.

Tomorrow I'm likely going to hit up my favorite breakfast spot on the boardwalk, then go grind. Basically I'll wake up and do whatever I want, which also happens to be what I need to do. Life is good while I'm out here grinding!

Great fighting back!! Any key hands you recall? where are your grinding this weekend??

I've got some notes for a session report that I'll type up tonight or tomorrow... Borgata today, TBD tomorrow cause I'm going home to watch the PGA Championship.

Walk on the boardwalk... check. Western omelette... check. Coffee... check. Ice cold OJ... check. Saw hot girls on the boardwalk... check.

About to crush some 2/5... check!

this better not turn into one of those stories that never gets told!

Getting one outed when the one out improves your hand is always so much fun. Sick session today and not in a good way so far.

its early fight back!!!

You know it! I'm all fight baby. All fight. I've fought back like 3 times today. I'm up at the moment.

Annnnd we're stuck again. Dude floats me with Jh9h on T53 and turns a J. Girl who can't fold top pair flops a set against my TPTK. Time for comeback number four or five...

Nothing like a button steal and calling a 3b with J8o planning to make a move and then deciding he hit the flop and accidentally flipping your cards upon folding. Reallllll good for the ol' image.

I called it a night... Heading back to Delaware. May grind locally tomorrow night. Next week will probably be my big volume week for August.

August 7 – Part 1 - “We can stay here, and get the s*** kicked out of us, or, we can fight our way back… into the light. We can climb out of hell, one inch at a time.”

So I basically decided to put in a split session since the girl I’ve been seeing off and on in AC wanted to get together in the afternoon. After a couple of rough days with the career drama, I already felt like I was fighting back when I started… and then I had some ups and downs.

Hand No. 1

There are two limps and I raise to $30 with TT from the small blind. Both limpers call.

Flop ($94): QJ7

It checks through.

Turn ($94): 4

It checks to a limper who bets $40 and folds to me. I call. He’s a guy in his 20s or 30s who seems decent.

River ($174): 2

I check, he bets $110. I tank and call and he shows exactly what I put him on – 56o. I figured he either had that or a smaller pocket pair.

Hand No. 2

There are two limps and a post and I raise to $35 in the CO with 45 Both limps call.

Flop ($116): 679

Two checks, I bet $60, one fold and a call from an old Asian man.

Turn ($236): 2

He checks and looks defensive like he doesn’t want a bet. He has $128 left. I ship it, he snap calls. I brick the river and he shows 64 to take a $492 pot. Nice call, sir.

Hand No. 3

I’m on a preflop heater so I have a really aggressive image. I raise to $20 and get five calls with QQ.

Flop ($119): 982

The SB, a good aggressive player, bets $75. One fold. Now I have players behind and basically have to decide whether or not to commit to the hand. If I flat I can get away from it, but I’m giving everyone a great price to draw. We’re about $600-625 deep. I raise to $225. It folds to him and he thinks about 45 seconds and calls.

Turn ($569): 2

He checks, I ship it for $395 and he snap calls. I say, “Do you have a full house?” and he nods.

River ($1,359): 7

He shows 88 and takes it.

I end up in the game for $1,300 and try to fight my way back…

Hand No. 4

The Asian man limps and I make it $25 in the CO with JJ. The button calls.

Flop ($61): T84

I bet $35 and he calls.

Turn ($131): Q

I bet $75, and he calls.

River ($281): 5

I go for thin value and bet $125 and he calls and my hand is good.

Hand No. 5

There are three limps and I make it $35 on the button with KJ. There are three calls.

Flop ($142): QJ3

It checks through.

Turn ($142): T

The BB bets $75. It folds to me and I call.

River ($292): A

He checks, I bet $100 for value. He jams $380 and I tank. I call and he says, “Just an ace,” and I take the whole pot.

Result: 4 hours, 27 minutes, -$399, ($12 in tips)

”Over there I swear I saw them cameras flash, handprints and footprints on my glass.”

So I get over to my room at Caesars and check in, and this is what I find…



It’s kind of small and cramped, but whatever. I expect, being on the fourth floor, to have a crummy view… What I don’t expect is this…





Yeah, that’s the main interior lobby of Caesars and my room is overlooking it… Kind of creepy, but I figure there’s no way these wouldn’t be those windows that are mirrors on the other side… They wouldn’t just let people look right into rooms.

So anyway, the girl comes over and we hang out and do our thing, and she keeps mentioning she thinks she sees cameras flashing in the window. The shades are down so it doesn’t really matter, anyway.

So later, she’s in various states of undress, and I’m teasing her that she should pull the shades up and stand by the window and she’s like no, no, people will see. I tell her there’s no way that people can see in those windows and playfully take her over to the window while she’s trying to squirm away. I tease her like I’m going to open the shades but don’t actually do it.

So we’re dressed and I open the shade and I’m looking down and this woman is looking right at me and we’re making eye contact… And I’m like what the hell? Is she just randomly looking up here… So I look across and a couple of windows on the other side are open and you can see right in!

Whoops! That was a close call. WTF, Caesars? Do you think you’re The Standard Hotel in Manhattan or something? (Famous for exhibitionists) I mean, there were little kids down there... Someone could have snapped a picture. That could've been really, really bad.

August 7 – Part 2 - “The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in every break of the game...every minute... every second.”

Once again I get stuck and I'm fighting back. I end up in the game for $1,000 and fight back to turn a profit… This is the only hand I have a note on, I don’t think many interesting spots came up.

Hand No. 1

I raise to $20 with KK and get three calls.

Flop ($84): J42

The SB checks, I bet $50 and it folds to her and she calls.

Turn ($184): 8

She checks, I bet $115 and she calls.

River ($414): 8

She checks, I bet $225, she calls and my hand is good.

Result: 2 hours, 45 minutes, +$588, ($19 tips)

So I end up winning $189, and given the situations I was in, I'm proud to have fought back to have a winning day.

August 8 – “On this team, we fight for that inch… On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us, to pieces for that inch… We CLAWWW… with our fingernails… for that inch. ‘Cause we know… When we add up all those inches…. That’s going to make the f***ing difference between winning and losing… between living and dying!”

I started my day off in just about as perfect of fashion as you can in Atlantic City in my opinion. I took a stroll up the boardwalk to my favorite breakfast spot, which I’m going to refrain from mentioning because it’s getting way too crowded. I had a western omelette, some coffee and orange juice, and relaxed a bit.

I had a nice walk back up the boardwalk, where they have a very cool Monopoly setup in front of Bally’s.



From my humble beginnings, you know we’re only headed to one place when it’s all said and done…



We didn’t quite start on Mediterranean… Maybe Baltic or Oriental. We’re well on our way, now, probably around States Avenue. But we’re getting to Boardwalk and Park Place, there’s no doubt.

After that I headed over to the Borgata and got in the game.

Hand No. 1

I got stuck early running bad, running into monsters, etc. I got unstuck, then restuck… Then the following hand came up. There are two limps and one is very weak-tight post-flop, but limp-calls a lot. I iso to $30 on the button with J3. The SB is the only caller. He seems to think I’m on tilt and is not folding ANYTHING to me.

Flop ($74): 733

That’ll do. We’re a little under $400 effective. He checks, I bet $35 and he snap calls.

Turn ($144): K

He checks, I bet $70 and he snap calls.

River ($284): 8

He checks. I think a bit and move all-in for $284. He snap calls with a splash and my hand is good.

So that’s twice unstuck.

Hand No. 2

UTG limps and I make it $25 from UTG+1 with AT. Two calls and the limper calls.

Flop ($112): K92

There’s a check and I bet $55. One call and a tight player in late position makes it $240. The woman who limped UTG folds and then starts grilling the dealer about why there’s an extra $5 in the pot while action is on me. I think the villain has about $600 behind so I flat. I’m also hoping to keep in weaker draws. Everyone else folds.

Turn ($647): 9

I check, he checks.

River ($647): J

I bet $300, planning to fold to a raise. He shoves, but only had $116 more and I realize I was wrong about his stack. Now I’m basically priced in to make the crying call. Plus, he didn’t 3bet preflop so he virtually never has KK (this guy is never slow playing multi-way). K9 is unlikely, but maybe he’d play it suited. So he has K9, 99, 22, and maybe KxQc… I call and he has 99. Nice, running into quads and stuck again.

Hand No. 3

Two limps, I limp A3, two more limps. The SB raises to $30 and I’m one of five to the flop.

Flop ($155): QTT

The SB bets $55, the girl on my right raises to $155. I call, the woman on my left jams for $319. It folds to the girl on my right who calls all-in for $247 and I call. Basically I expect to always be up against two Tx hands and never be up against a full house here, so I’m priced.

Turn ($951+$144): 7

River ($951+$144): J

The woman on my right flips over JTo and the woman on my left flips over T7o. Lovely, they both boated up.

Hand No. 4

There’s a raise to $20 up front and two players call. I call with A6 and we end up going to the flop seven ways.

Flop ($141): Q76

The PFR bets $45, the girl on my right calls. I raise to $200 with $293 behind. It folds to the girl on my right, she jams and I snap call.

Turn ($1,172): J

River bricks and I’m good… And we’re back in business. Unstuck again, for the third time.

Hand No. 5

There’s a straddle on my BB. The button and SB call and I call with JT.

Flop ($39): J95

A check and I bet $25. The SB is the only caller.

Turn ($89): 3

She checks, I bet $55 and she calls. She has just over $200 left.

River ($199): T

She bets $125, I figure the only way she has me beat is KdQd or 7d8d and I ship it in for her last $83. She shrugs, I turn my cards over. She pauses, nods, and flips over TT.

One outed, nice. Stuck again… For the fourth time.

Hand No. 6

I pick up JJ in EP and make it $20. The girl on my left calls, the button calls as well. He’s new and seems like a rec fish.

Flop ($66): KK5

I bet $35 and she calls, he folds.

Turn ($136): T

I bet $70, she calls. She only puts $50 in, then tosses $15 more. The dealer tries to pull the bets in and I’m about to yell at him to stop and she tosses the last redbird in. No tip for him. You’ve got to verify bets, it’s not that hard, it was easy to see.

River ($276): 9

I check and she bets $100. I know she’s weak and I would snap call, but I don’t want to discourage future bad bluff attempts. I think for about 30 seconds, pondering life, the fact that I haven’t eaten lunch, whether Tiger Woods will ever win another rmajor, etc. Then I call. She says, “Nice call. I have nothing.” I flip my JJ and scoop a $476 pot. I’m unstuck again.

Roller Coaster Continues

I then get floated by bottom pair and he turns trips, so I get stuck again. Fifth time now. I then make a straight on the turn against TPTK but have to slow down when a flush hits the river. Still, that gets me unstuck for the fifth time. Next I get floated by Jh9h on a T high one heart board and he turns a J, which I can’t put him on, so I barrel the turn with AK high. He calls. The river goes check-check and he’s good. So now I’m stuck a sixth time… I steal a couple pots and I’m nearly unstuck…

Hand No. 7

There’s a straddle on my BB. A tight player in LP raises to $40. It folds to me and I call with 64 because I have a really good grasp on his range and some reads. The straddle calls.

Flop ($121): 822

I check, she checks, and he bets $60. I raise to $210. She folds, he thinks for about 25 seconds and folds. We were deep and I was ready to empty the clip, so I didn’t even mind a call.

That got me unstuck for the sixth time.

Hand No. 8

An EP grinder raises to $20 and I call with AJ. We’re five to the flop…

Flop ($101): J83

The BB checks, grinder checks, I bet $60. The girl on my left calls and everyone else folds. She’s calling down with basically any J, any 8, 99, TT, etc. She’s put in pretty big raises early in hands when she flopped big so I’m virtually always ahead here and it’s time to go to value town.

Turn ($221): 5

I bet $150 and she tanks and calls.

River ($521): 7

I bet $250. She tanks and calls with… 33. Ouch.

Stuck for the seventh time. I fought back a little, and had a headache and was tired so I called it a night.

Results: -$143 in 8 hours, 37 minutes ($26 in tips)

So all in all, I won a little under $50 on a trip when I had all the career stuff and ran awful, so I could have lost a ton and I hung tough and kept fighting back. Six times I got stuck and unstuck, and I only took a small loss. That’s a big time session. I ran into quads, boats, etc, and I never flopped a set or had QQ+. I flopped TPTK once and was up against a set from a player who never folds top pair and calls down with middle pair even… So, yeah, I fought like crazy and hung tough and salvaged it.

However, I realized that in 8.5 hours I never got up from the table to even go to the bathroom, eat, etc, and this is a leak. I should have been eating something and then I might have not had a headache or gotten tired, and I could have played longer. Since it’s a time game, I don’t like to pay to go eat. If the game is good enough that I need to stay in it, though, I need to go grab a quick bite and only miss 10-15 minutes and get back at it.

Nice job on all the comebacks. I would've probably gotten too tilted on some of those to remain focused. It reads like a much bigger win than $50, especially considering all the work stuff.

Thanks! I still get life tilted over non-poker stuff, but poker doesn't tilt me any more... It definitely felt kind of bittersweet.... It's annoying to be in AC four days and win less than $50, but given how bad I ran, it felt like I really worked my tail off to end up ahead.

As Sequel likes to say, sometimes I just have to "play my game, and live with the results."

I am undoubtedly leading the mid Atlantic region in getting slow rolled in 2014. Ainec.

I played in the best game I've been in in about 7-8 years, no joke... So I got slaughtered obviously. Battled all night and was only stuck $23 then finally flopped a set and proceeded to lose a $1700 pot to a guy drawing dead to a running gutterball. The hand history in the session report tomorrow will look gross.

Maybe this is tight, but in hand 2 when a tight player re raises you in a multi way pot aren't we up against a set most of the time or AK, K9. I understand the flop call, but I don't see what you are getting called by on the river. At the very worst they would have AK and since the kc is on the board and ac is in your hand you are never going to get called with worse. Seems like the villain has a full house a lot of the time here.

Being out of position hurts me a lot here... If he bets the river and I'm in position I can fold or if it's small just call. But I have to heavily discount K9 because I don't think he'd call an EP raise with it... He'd 3bet KK 100% and that only leaves one combo of 99 and three of 22. I think he often bets 22 on the turn. I think he calls with all his KxQc and there are 3 of those. He may show up with AK and call occasionally. So maybe it's a little thin but I think it's close. But say I'm going to check call a bet, bet/folding is better. My mistake was mis-estimating his stack.

Well if Kq is in his re raising range then I agree with what you did. Only you can know that answer.

I think it is on that board, but no way to know for sure.

Cuse so overall how did you enjoy your "voyeur suite" at caesars?

Did you at least complain and get something for free?

Nah I mean I got the room free already and I didn't play there so I didn't see much point in drawing any attention to myself. I'd say the time spent in the room was enjoyable...

Soooo if you asked for another comp to compensate.... You would literally be a man whore?

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

:beer: I will spend whatever time is necessary to address your problems and concerns.