2014: I Ain’t Trying to Survive, I’m Trying to Live it to The (No) Limit
02-15-2014
, 05:56 PM
02-15-2014
, 06:17 PM
02-15-2014
, 08:21 PM
I've turned the session around. They can't hold me down.
That's $1,397. So I'm up almost four hundo on the session. Details later!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using 2+2 Forums
That's $1,397. So I'm up almost four hundo on the session. Details later!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using 2+2 Forums
02-15-2014
, 08:43 PM
02-15-2014
, 10:41 PM
02-15-2014
, 10:41 PM
02-15-2014
, 10:59 PM
02-15-2014
, 11:23 PM
02-15-2014
, 11:24 PM
02-16-2014
, 10:05 AM
02-16-2014
, 10:53 AM
02-16-2014
, 11:46 PM
February 15-16 - Part 1 - "I'm as cold as the cold wind / blows when it snows and it's 20 below / Ask me why man, I just don't know / I'm as cold as the cold wind blows."
I awoke with a start to the sound of my alarm clock and instantly felt the bone-chilling cold. I was shivering. My legs were jammed against the side of the van. My knee ached from the weird angle it was stuck in. My stomach grumbled with hunger pangs. My hoodie was pulled down over my face, and a blanket was wrapped over my head and around my body. Still, I was shivering. It was freezing. How long had I been out? How did I end up sleeping in the backseat of my van in the Borgata parking garage on a frigid February day? How the f$%# did Mike Wolf sleep in his car for so long? Damn!
24 Hours Earlier...
I was ready and rearing to go. 24 hour session. Lets do this. Erase that $750 loss yesterday. Grind up a 3K stack. Lets DO THIS.
Early on, I pick up AQo in the blinds. There's an MP raise to $8 and an old guy playing pretty tight calls. I call.
Flop ($24): Q42 rainbow
I check, the PFR checks and the old guy bets $10. I was planning to check-raise the PFR, who was playing really loose and poor, but this guy is going to easily fold KQ and worse to a check-raise. It's not a draw heavy board, so I can flat. I do. So does the PFR.
Turn ($54): 7x
I check, the PFR checks, the old guy bets $15. Alright, I guess it's time to act. I don't love this spot because I'm kind of over-repping here, but I don't like check-calling two streets in a row with AQ on this board. I make it $45. The PFR calls and the old guy folds. Huh? Say whaaat?
River ($160): T
I mean, what can he really have playing it that way as a PFR? I feel like his range is mostly weaker queens, maybe like 88-JJ. I decide to go for value here and bet $80. He doesn't look thrilled, calls, and shows 22. Nothing like raising preflop with deuces and then showing no aggressive action on five opportunities with a flopped set.
Later I raise 99 to $10 in EP and get 3 calls.
Flop ($40): T42cc
It checks to me, I bet $30 and get two calls. One of the guys is like a 95/15 VPIP/PFR fish, the other is pretty solid. I feel like I'm good, I feel like draws are a lot of their range, and the only card I don't want to see is the..
Turn ($130): 9c
Yeah, that one. Two checks and the solid guy bets $20. The fish calls, and I obviously do as well.
River ($190): Q
Two checks and the solid guy bets $75. The fish calls, which to me is irrelevant. He's as likely to show up here with like A4 as he is with the flush. My problem is the solid guy knows that and could be value betting some weird hands here, such as AT, QT, smaller sets, or of course the flush. I call and see the nut flush from the solid guy and a 7 high flush from the other guy. Oops.
I'm in the BB and we see a flop in a limped pot six ways. I have J2.
Flop ($12): KxJh2h
I bet $10, two calls and a villain in LP raises to $25. He's playing his first session ever and he's not very good, but running hot. It folds to me. There are two many draws to slow play bottom two here. There's like $82 in there before I raise, so I make it $75. UTG, a very good player, re-raises to $185.
It folds back to me. We were roughly $300 deep to start, so I'm in a push/fold spot here basically. I tank for a while and shove. My logic was that I don't think he'd slow play a set or top two on this board, and I don't think KJ is making up a lot of his UTG limping range. I'm looking for like AhQh, KhQh, etc. I shove, he calls, KJ is good sir. Slight cooler, but I should have been able to get away from it.
In spots where someone is either being out of character preflop (limping KJ up front), early in postflop action (slowplaying top two on a wet-ish board), or later in postflop action (putting in the third raise cold), I tend to assign too much value to early in the hand and not enough to late in the hand. It's more likely he made a weird $2 limp than a weird $185 raise. I need to get that through my head.
There were some raise and whiffs, etc, and you can also check out the how to lose $700 in 90 minutes post. I also had the fish dead to a 3-outer for a chop on the turn with like $231 in and 200 behind that's likely all going in on the river, and he got it on the river for the chop. The board was J647, I had 58 and he had J5.
I ended up in the game for $1,000. I was down to $200. Stuck $800. I lost $750 yesterday. Big downswing in these extremely soft $1/$2 games. I wouldn't go deeper. Losing half my bankroll was going to have to be a stop-loss. The problem was, I was like 24 hours away from normal check-in time.
I began exchanging tips with Randal_Graves about sleeping in the Borgata garage. Duke0424 astutely pointed out the temperature concerns. I continued to grind. I was going to will my way out of this conundrum.
Part 2 - "I'm back pavin' the way / the backpackers are back on the bandwagon / like this was my comeback season / back, back in the day."
I raised to $15 in the HJ with a few limpers and AxQh. There were four calls. Despite only raising premium hands I was getting ZERO respect. Classic, awesome, loose $1/$2 game...
Flop ($75): A79hh
The super-fish playing like 95/15 donks out for $21. His range is something like 7X, 9X, AX, XhXh, 8T, 68, JT and random total spewage. I raise to $110. It folds back to him and he shoves for about $200 total. I shrug and call.
The turn is a heart. Did they do it to me again? The river is another heart. I say I've got the Q and he explodes up from the table. "ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME???? HOW DO YOU DO THAT? HOW DO YOU CALL THAT?"
He slams his cards down on the table face down, and says he flopped two pair. I smile and shrug. He's still standing up "That's terrible. That's so bad. How do you call that? Backdoor hearts? What a f***ing joke!!!"
Now keep in mind, this guy had 3 outs to a chop and spiked it, and has been playing 95/15 and running like a God. He stares at me, points at me emphatically and says, in a tone like you would use to admonish a six year old, "That was a BAAADDDD call!"
I've kept it to myself to this point, but as he turns to walk away, I say sarcastically, "Hey, that was a GREAT call with the J5 earlier." Half the table snickers.
Him: "At least I had outs!"
Me: "Yeah, three to a chop."
Him: "At least I had outs! You needed a backdoor flush!"
Me: "Or a Queen. Three outs to win, three outs to chop."
He stormed off, headed for an ATM. Now, I was in the 4 seat and he was in the 8 seat. The guy in the 9 seat was awful, too. I really wanted to get in position on them and had been holding onto a seat change button for a few hours. Shortly after he returned, I raised up front to $8. A couple calls. He looked at me. He stared. He death stared. He tried to bore a hole in my head, with a hateful glare. He continued attempting to kill me with his eyes while tossing his $8 in. I smiled. The hand was uneventful.
A few minutes later his friend racked up and left. I looked at the dealer. "Can I get that seat?"
Dealer: "You want to move CLOSER to him??"
Me: I shrug, nod and show him the seat change button.
Dealer: Looks at me and finally says "OK man, if you really want to."
I rack up my $495 and move. I'm not sure if the dealer would have let me move if I don't have a reputation with some of these dealers as a reg who never berates people, shouts, etc. I think he knew I wasn't going over there to needle him or continue the feud. No, I was going over there to God seat the m-fer.
I sat down, nodded at him and didn't say a word. Later he tried to make his case that my call was far worse than his. I just kept shrugging and saying, I don't know man, I had three outs and the backdoor flush.
Him: "You can't count that!"
Me: "Well, I did!"
He tried to bring it up again and I was just like, I don't know man, sorry, it happens.
Later, there are a few limpers and I raise to $15 on the button with AdJd. Three call.
Flop ($60): QJX
It checks to me. I contemplate what to do here. I decide to fire $45. A decent semi-reg calls. He knows the game, but has a tendency to run up big stacks and then lose them on gambly hands or overplaying his hands or bluffing. Here, I think I'm now behind his range, but he could have KT or T9.
Turn ($150): J completes rainbow
That'll do. He checks. Time to extract value. I thought he had like $250 left. His hands were covering, and I had looked recently and didn't ask. I bet $100.
He begins tanking and counting his chips and I see he had $119 left. Oops. He flat calls.
River ($350): Brick
He checks, I throw out a stack, he calls, I show, I win.
A few hands later, an EP player raises to $15 and gets a call. I raise to $50 with QhQd. The raiser calls, the other guy folds.
Flop ($65): 345ss
He bets $100. I move all-in, he calls, board runs out 9... 4.. My hand is good. Sorry, in the long session I didn't make notes on who this villain was, what my read was, etc, and I can't remember now.
That gets me up to like $900ish.
Later on... The fish limps, I raise to $12 with Ts8s to iso him. The old guy on the button re-raises to $27. That's not good, he's pretty nitty. The fish calls. Well, I have to call $15 to see a flop in a $80ish pot... Hmm, ok.
Flop ($80): KsXs4o
The fish checks, I check, the nit bets $45. The fish folds. I think he's probably not going to put me on spades, maybe a weaker K or a stubbon pair. I also think if he doesn't have AK, he'll check-behind the turn and I can steal it on the river. I could raise here, but I think there are more sure-fire ways to steal this pot or just hit the spade. Plus, I'm getting a pretty good price. I call.
Turn ($170): As
He's got like $350 left. I bet $100. He thinks for a bit and calls.
River ($370): 4x
Not the greatest card. If he had a set of kings, or turned a set of aces, that's bad. No way he had two pair with a 4 in it, though. Also, if he boated up and I check he's going to jam and I think I have to call there because he's so polarized and could be overplaying AK. Thus, I'd rather do it myself and have the chance of getting a call from hands that might check behind. I get three stacks separated from my stack and start pushing them forward. Before I even get to the betting line, he snap calls and beats me into the pot. It was so fast I consider saying I wasn't over the betting line yet and he acted out of turn, but my intent was so clearly to bet that I feel it would be an angle shoot. I show my hand and he shows AK.
Can't believe he snapped me off that fast with AK there, I thought he'd tank and be torn with that hand. Oh well, thanks. That got me up to like $1,400ish.
Then, one of the biggest hands of the session.
There's one limper and I raise to $10 with 99. The CO, the same guy from the KJ vs J2 hand who has the God seat on me, raises to $33. An EP player jams for $48. I confirm that action is closed if I call. It is. I call. Villain calls.
Flop ($141): 953hh
We're about 600 deep. I check. He bets $78. In my head I'm counting the pot at $150, so basically calling it $300. I think his range is like TT+, AhJh, AhQh, AhKh. He's not c-betting a dry side pot without one of those hands IMO. So the question is how much to raise. If I go to like $300, it's half his stack. At the time, my thought process was that it would actually look bluffier and weaker if I just overbet and jammed it. I debated for like 45 seconds and then moved all-in.
He tanked for probably two minutes. A couple of times he looked like he was about to fold. Then, he said, "I'm so bad..." and reached for his chips... Then he stopped and debated again. The whole time I was kicking myself. I should have gone to $278. He folded. I told him nice laydown, showed, and scooped the pot against whatever the all-in player had.
In hindsight, I kind of like donking that flop for like $100. Second best would be the check-raise to like $278-$325.
FWIW, if I had c-r'd to $278 and he called, the turn was the Kh and would have killed all of the action. He said he had QQ. He also said he would have either folded or shoved to the c-r, which I believe. I think I cost myself $525. Still bugging me. What do people think of donking there? I really like it.
Anyway, that hand got me up to like $1,700 and change.
I had a cool few minutes when I watched the last 2 minutes of the Syracuse-NC State game on my iPad on WatchESPN. There were a few people at the table rooting for Syracuse, and the dealer is a Cuse fan too. He and I are always joking around and he's my favorite dealer. His hands per hour are pretty low because he's so talkative, but he ALWAYS loosens the table up. He cracks jokes, everyone enjoys his downs, and it creates action. I'm screaming at my iPad, drawing attention from other tables, as it looks like 'Cuse is going to lose. My table wants me to keep them abreast of the action. We're down 1, with like 14 seconds left, and Rakeem Christmas gets a miraculous steal and outlets for C.J. Fair for a go-ahead layup with 5.7 seconds left, then NC State misses on their last chance and we win. For my table mates who wanted the play-by-play, I think I said something like "Ohhh! Yes! Christmas stole it! Fair on a runout! Yes! Yes! Oh my God I don't believe it!"
The table at this point has been very friendly and talkative, and I've been leading the charge in that regard. So the game ends, we win, and the VERY NEXT HAND, I have AK on the button. There's an EP raise to like $7, and few calls and I go to like $40. The raiser makes it $100-$110 and has maybe $150 behind. I'm running good, feeling good, and he doesn't look like a man who has AA or KK.
The dealer is joking around with the table, "Now this is serious folks! Let's be careful now and have fun!"
I turn to the dealer, "Hey Mike!" He looks at me and says "Yeah?" I say "Give me that red button!" (This is the big, annoying, red All-In button the Borgata uses now.)
He looks at me and says, "Huh?" And I point to his tray "The red button... I need it." He says, "Really?"
"Yes sir, I'm all-in."
He tosses me the button, the other guy thinks for like 30 seconds and calls, I show AK, he shows QQ, I tell him that's about what I thought he had. Door card is a K, board bricks, ship it.
I think that had me to like $1,900.
From here, though, I pretty much just soul crush. I'm running solid, but also playing really well. I'm stealing some pots, I'm dodging and weaving, I'm making good reads. I run my stack up over $2,400.
Here's a look at it around $2200. I didn't take any pictures at $2,400.
Morning is arriving and I'm hoping I can get a couple more big pots to get up to 3K. I'm playing pretty tight, not getting out of line much and trying to avoid tough spots since I'm exhausted. However, I've picked up some hands and I've been 3betting a lot in the last 5-6 hands. I think I've 3bet like 3 out of 5 hands and taken them all down. So despite playing very TAG, my image is that I'm running over the table.
The tables been VERY loose, very gambly, very good for making hands and getting paid. There's a straddle and I'm first to act.
I have JhJd and raise to $20. There are five calls. Someone says "Wow, six ways."
I turn to the next table over and ask if anyone wants to call the bet. They laugh and a couple come over to watch.
Flop ($120): Ts4s3x
Two checks and I bet $100. A guy who is playing overly LAGGY calls and has $700 behind. A TAG on the button tanks for a long time, probably like 3 minutes. He looks confused and uncomfortable and moves all-in for $376. It folds around to me.
First, I tank. He didn't 3bet me, so I don't think big pairs are a lot of his range. If he had AA or KK, I think he'd have put in a big 3bet preflop most of the time. I think he'd 3bet QQ too. So, in my mind, his most likely holding are sets, AT (given my image) and flush draws/combo draws. In a straddled pot he could have 5s6s here, KsQs, etc.
Now, given that he tanked for like 3 minutes, I don't think he had a set. We had been talking a lot, he plays a lot of poker, he's kind of old-school in how he treats the game and I don't think he'd hollywood me for three full minutes with a set. 30-60 seconds, maybe. Three minutes? No way. Plus, he didn't seem to be acting, he genuinely seemed to be thinking. Usually painfully long hollywooding is accompanied by painfully bad acting. So, I rule out sets with a high level of confidence.
OK, so no sets, no AA/KK. I pretty much have to feel like I'm ahead of his range. Now, as for that other guy, what could he have with that flat call. I'm a little worried he has a set, but I can't flat call and give him odds to chase a flush. I think draws and the T are his most likely holdings. I contemplate this for a while, replay the hand a couple of times, hope to God he didn't flat call a set before I move all-in given that he's 700 deep. I move all-in. He snap folds.
The button TAG kind of shakes his head as if to say I probably have him. "Aces or Kings?" he asks. I turn over the Jacks, he says wow and turns over the Queens. He then jumps up and fist pumps, but I don't really care. He apologizes and I say no worries.
To be honest, in hindsight, I think I played the hand perfectly. I folded my UTG and decided to take a walk. I wasn't on tilt at all, but I hadn't eaten in over 12 hours and had been nauseous and such for a couple hours. I needed food. I wanted something quick and light, but the line at Starbucks was long. I got a couple granola bars, took a lap to try to re-energize and walked outside for a bit. I got back to the table, played a couple orbits, then limped a straddle UTG with 88. I don't remember the exact details but the flop was 456, a blind bet, I called, a LP player called. Turn was another 4. Pot was now like $45 and the blind bet $101. I tanked and called, thinking the 4 was good for me because two pair were his most likely holdings that beat me and this was a bluffy looking bet from a player who had bluffed a lot already. I mean, what hands do you overbet that with?
The LP player raised to $202 and I knew I was crushed at this point. The blind jammed, I folded, LP called. The guy in the blinds had 23, the LP guy had 45. River was a 9. I racked up and left. At this point I was down to $1,808. I knew the odds of going on like a $600 heater to get back to where I was given the changing table complexion (more good players with deep stacks, bad players with smaller stacks) and my exhaustion weren't good. It was like 9:30 am so I was just hoping and praying they'd let me check in early.
I racked up, cashed out, and headed for the hotel desk. They could pre-register me, but I couldn't get in until noon. I made the walk to the garage and climbed into my parents' minivan. Sidenote, it was a great beat that my car broke down Friday and I had to swap with my parents. Sometimes it has issues when its rainy/snowy with starting due to an electrical issue. Sleeping in the back of a van crushes sleeping in the back of a car.
I climbed in, put on a big hoodie, threw my pillow in the back and wrapped myself in a blanket. It was freezing, but manageable, but I felt like a total degenerate. Sleeping in the back of a van in a casino parking garage seems like the type of thing that should happen at the Taj, not at the Borgata. I felt like such a sicko. Finally, after about an hour, I drifted off and grabbed an hour of sleep before my alarm went off and I could check in.
That brings us to how I started this post, and I then checked into my room, crashed, just woke up to type this and I'm going to go back to sleep since I have to get up at 3am, yes 3am, for work.
I feel like all in all, it hasn't been a good financial trip - I'm only up like $58. But, I survived a massive downswing, crushed my way back and persevered. I had some tough spots, I made a couple mistakes, but that's going to happen. I enjoyed a great heater and nearly got to a 3K stack in a 1/2 game for the first time. I also slept in my car in frigid temperatures and was reminded how close I am to the bottom, and how far there is to go. We'll get there, though. It's just a matter of when.
I awoke with a start to the sound of my alarm clock and instantly felt the bone-chilling cold. I was shivering. My legs were jammed against the side of the van. My knee ached from the weird angle it was stuck in. My stomach grumbled with hunger pangs. My hoodie was pulled down over my face, and a blanket was wrapped over my head and around my body. Still, I was shivering. It was freezing. How long had I been out? How did I end up sleeping in the backseat of my van in the Borgata parking garage on a frigid February day? How the f$%# did Mike Wolf sleep in his car for so long? Damn!
24 Hours Earlier...
I was ready and rearing to go. 24 hour session. Lets do this. Erase that $750 loss yesterday. Grind up a 3K stack. Lets DO THIS.
Early on, I pick up AQo in the blinds. There's an MP raise to $8 and an old guy playing pretty tight calls. I call.
Flop ($24): Q42 rainbow
I check, the PFR checks and the old guy bets $10. I was planning to check-raise the PFR, who was playing really loose and poor, but this guy is going to easily fold KQ and worse to a check-raise. It's not a draw heavy board, so I can flat. I do. So does the PFR.
Turn ($54): 7x
I check, the PFR checks, the old guy bets $15. Alright, I guess it's time to act. I don't love this spot because I'm kind of over-repping here, but I don't like check-calling two streets in a row with AQ on this board. I make it $45. The PFR calls and the old guy folds. Huh? Say whaaat?
River ($160): T
I mean, what can he really have playing it that way as a PFR? I feel like his range is mostly weaker queens, maybe like 88-JJ. I decide to go for value here and bet $80. He doesn't look thrilled, calls, and shows 22. Nothing like raising preflop with deuces and then showing no aggressive action on five opportunities with a flopped set.
Later I raise 99 to $10 in EP and get 3 calls.
Flop ($40): T42cc
It checks to me, I bet $30 and get two calls. One of the guys is like a 95/15 VPIP/PFR fish, the other is pretty solid. I feel like I'm good, I feel like draws are a lot of their range, and the only card I don't want to see is the..
Turn ($130): 9c
Yeah, that one. Two checks and the solid guy bets $20. The fish calls, and I obviously do as well.
River ($190): Q
Two checks and the solid guy bets $75. The fish calls, which to me is irrelevant. He's as likely to show up here with like A4 as he is with the flush. My problem is the solid guy knows that and could be value betting some weird hands here, such as AT, QT, smaller sets, or of course the flush. I call and see the nut flush from the solid guy and a 7 high flush from the other guy. Oops.
I'm in the BB and we see a flop in a limped pot six ways. I have J2.
Flop ($12): KxJh2h
I bet $10, two calls and a villain in LP raises to $25. He's playing his first session ever and he's not very good, but running hot. It folds to me. There are two many draws to slow play bottom two here. There's like $82 in there before I raise, so I make it $75. UTG, a very good player, re-raises to $185.
It folds back to me. We were roughly $300 deep to start, so I'm in a push/fold spot here basically. I tank for a while and shove. My logic was that I don't think he'd slow play a set or top two on this board, and I don't think KJ is making up a lot of his UTG limping range. I'm looking for like AhQh, KhQh, etc. I shove, he calls, KJ is good sir. Slight cooler, but I should have been able to get away from it.
In spots where someone is either being out of character preflop (limping KJ up front), early in postflop action (slowplaying top two on a wet-ish board), or later in postflop action (putting in the third raise cold), I tend to assign too much value to early in the hand and not enough to late in the hand. It's more likely he made a weird $2 limp than a weird $185 raise. I need to get that through my head.
There were some raise and whiffs, etc, and you can also check out the how to lose $700 in 90 minutes post. I also had the fish dead to a 3-outer for a chop on the turn with like $231 in and 200 behind that's likely all going in on the river, and he got it on the river for the chop. The board was J647, I had 58 and he had J5.
I ended up in the game for $1,000. I was down to $200. Stuck $800. I lost $750 yesterday. Big downswing in these extremely soft $1/$2 games. I wouldn't go deeper. Losing half my bankroll was going to have to be a stop-loss. The problem was, I was like 24 hours away from normal check-in time.
I began exchanging tips with Randal_Graves about sleeping in the Borgata garage. Duke0424 astutely pointed out the temperature concerns. I continued to grind. I was going to will my way out of this conundrum.
Part 2 - "I'm back pavin' the way / the backpackers are back on the bandwagon / like this was my comeback season / back, back in the day."
I raised to $15 in the HJ with a few limpers and AxQh. There were four calls. Despite only raising premium hands I was getting ZERO respect. Classic, awesome, loose $1/$2 game...
Flop ($75): A79hh
The super-fish playing like 95/15 donks out for $21. His range is something like 7X, 9X, AX, XhXh, 8T, 68, JT and random total spewage. I raise to $110. It folds back to him and he shoves for about $200 total. I shrug and call.
The turn is a heart. Did they do it to me again? The river is another heart. I say I've got the Q and he explodes up from the table. "ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME???? HOW DO YOU DO THAT? HOW DO YOU CALL THAT?"
He slams his cards down on the table face down, and says he flopped two pair. I smile and shrug. He's still standing up "That's terrible. That's so bad. How do you call that? Backdoor hearts? What a f***ing joke!!!"
Now keep in mind, this guy had 3 outs to a chop and spiked it, and has been playing 95/15 and running like a God. He stares at me, points at me emphatically and says, in a tone like you would use to admonish a six year old, "That was a BAAADDDD call!"
I've kept it to myself to this point, but as he turns to walk away, I say sarcastically, "Hey, that was a GREAT call with the J5 earlier." Half the table snickers.
Him: "At least I had outs!"
Me: "Yeah, three to a chop."
Him: "At least I had outs! You needed a backdoor flush!"
Me: "Or a Queen. Three outs to win, three outs to chop."
He stormed off, headed for an ATM. Now, I was in the 4 seat and he was in the 8 seat. The guy in the 9 seat was awful, too. I really wanted to get in position on them and had been holding onto a seat change button for a few hours. Shortly after he returned, I raised up front to $8. A couple calls. He looked at me. He stared. He death stared. He tried to bore a hole in my head, with a hateful glare. He continued attempting to kill me with his eyes while tossing his $8 in. I smiled. The hand was uneventful.
A few minutes later his friend racked up and left. I looked at the dealer. "Can I get that seat?"
Dealer: "You want to move CLOSER to him??"
Me: I shrug, nod and show him the seat change button.
Dealer: Looks at me and finally says "OK man, if you really want to."
I rack up my $495 and move. I'm not sure if the dealer would have let me move if I don't have a reputation with some of these dealers as a reg who never berates people, shouts, etc. I think he knew I wasn't going over there to needle him or continue the feud. No, I was going over there to God seat the m-fer.
I sat down, nodded at him and didn't say a word. Later he tried to make his case that my call was far worse than his. I just kept shrugging and saying, I don't know man, I had three outs and the backdoor flush.
Him: "You can't count that!"
Me: "Well, I did!"
He tried to bring it up again and I was just like, I don't know man, sorry, it happens.
Later, there are a few limpers and I raise to $15 on the button with AdJd. Three call.
Flop ($60): QJX
It checks to me. I contemplate what to do here. I decide to fire $45. A decent semi-reg calls. He knows the game, but has a tendency to run up big stacks and then lose them on gambly hands or overplaying his hands or bluffing. Here, I think I'm now behind his range, but he could have KT or T9.
Turn ($150): J completes rainbow
That'll do. He checks. Time to extract value. I thought he had like $250 left. His hands were covering, and I had looked recently and didn't ask. I bet $100.
He begins tanking and counting his chips and I see he had $119 left. Oops. He flat calls.
River ($350): Brick
He checks, I throw out a stack, he calls, I show, I win.
A few hands later, an EP player raises to $15 and gets a call. I raise to $50 with QhQd. The raiser calls, the other guy folds.
Flop ($65): 345ss
He bets $100. I move all-in, he calls, board runs out 9... 4.. My hand is good. Sorry, in the long session I didn't make notes on who this villain was, what my read was, etc, and I can't remember now.
That gets me up to like $900ish.
Later on... The fish limps, I raise to $12 with Ts8s to iso him. The old guy on the button re-raises to $27. That's not good, he's pretty nitty. The fish calls. Well, I have to call $15 to see a flop in a $80ish pot... Hmm, ok.
Flop ($80): KsXs4o
The fish checks, I check, the nit bets $45. The fish folds. I think he's probably not going to put me on spades, maybe a weaker K or a stubbon pair. I also think if he doesn't have AK, he'll check-behind the turn and I can steal it on the river. I could raise here, but I think there are more sure-fire ways to steal this pot or just hit the spade. Plus, I'm getting a pretty good price. I call.
Turn ($170): As
He's got like $350 left. I bet $100. He thinks for a bit and calls.
River ($370): 4x
Not the greatest card. If he had a set of kings, or turned a set of aces, that's bad. No way he had two pair with a 4 in it, though. Also, if he boated up and I check he's going to jam and I think I have to call there because he's so polarized and could be overplaying AK. Thus, I'd rather do it myself and have the chance of getting a call from hands that might check behind. I get three stacks separated from my stack and start pushing them forward. Before I even get to the betting line, he snap calls and beats me into the pot. It was so fast I consider saying I wasn't over the betting line yet and he acted out of turn, but my intent was so clearly to bet that I feel it would be an angle shoot. I show my hand and he shows AK.
Can't believe he snapped me off that fast with AK there, I thought he'd tank and be torn with that hand. Oh well, thanks. That got me up to like $1,400ish.
Then, one of the biggest hands of the session.
There's one limper and I raise to $10 with 99. The CO, the same guy from the KJ vs J2 hand who has the God seat on me, raises to $33. An EP player jams for $48. I confirm that action is closed if I call. It is. I call. Villain calls.
Flop ($141): 953hh
We're about 600 deep. I check. He bets $78. In my head I'm counting the pot at $150, so basically calling it $300. I think his range is like TT+, AhJh, AhQh, AhKh. He's not c-betting a dry side pot without one of those hands IMO. So the question is how much to raise. If I go to like $300, it's half his stack. At the time, my thought process was that it would actually look bluffier and weaker if I just overbet and jammed it. I debated for like 45 seconds and then moved all-in.
He tanked for probably two minutes. A couple of times he looked like he was about to fold. Then, he said, "I'm so bad..." and reached for his chips... Then he stopped and debated again. The whole time I was kicking myself. I should have gone to $278. He folded. I told him nice laydown, showed, and scooped the pot against whatever the all-in player had.
In hindsight, I kind of like donking that flop for like $100. Second best would be the check-raise to like $278-$325.
FWIW, if I had c-r'd to $278 and he called, the turn was the Kh and would have killed all of the action. He said he had QQ. He also said he would have either folded or shoved to the c-r, which I believe. I think I cost myself $525. Still bugging me. What do people think of donking there? I really like it.
Anyway, that hand got me up to like $1,700 and change.
I had a cool few minutes when I watched the last 2 minutes of the Syracuse-NC State game on my iPad on WatchESPN. There were a few people at the table rooting for Syracuse, and the dealer is a Cuse fan too. He and I are always joking around and he's my favorite dealer. His hands per hour are pretty low because he's so talkative, but he ALWAYS loosens the table up. He cracks jokes, everyone enjoys his downs, and it creates action. I'm screaming at my iPad, drawing attention from other tables, as it looks like 'Cuse is going to lose. My table wants me to keep them abreast of the action. We're down 1, with like 14 seconds left, and Rakeem Christmas gets a miraculous steal and outlets for C.J. Fair for a go-ahead layup with 5.7 seconds left, then NC State misses on their last chance and we win. For my table mates who wanted the play-by-play, I think I said something like "Ohhh! Yes! Christmas stole it! Fair on a runout! Yes! Yes! Oh my God I don't believe it!"
The table at this point has been very friendly and talkative, and I've been leading the charge in that regard. So the game ends, we win, and the VERY NEXT HAND, I have AK on the button. There's an EP raise to like $7, and few calls and I go to like $40. The raiser makes it $100-$110 and has maybe $150 behind. I'm running good, feeling good, and he doesn't look like a man who has AA or KK.
The dealer is joking around with the table, "Now this is serious folks! Let's be careful now and have fun!"
I turn to the dealer, "Hey Mike!" He looks at me and says "Yeah?" I say "Give me that red button!" (This is the big, annoying, red All-In button the Borgata uses now.)
He looks at me and says, "Huh?" And I point to his tray "The red button... I need it." He says, "Really?"
"Yes sir, I'm all-in."
He tosses me the button, the other guy thinks for like 30 seconds and calls, I show AK, he shows QQ, I tell him that's about what I thought he had. Door card is a K, board bricks, ship it.
I think that had me to like $1,900.
From here, though, I pretty much just soul crush. I'm running solid, but also playing really well. I'm stealing some pots, I'm dodging and weaving, I'm making good reads. I run my stack up over $2,400.
Here's a look at it around $2200. I didn't take any pictures at $2,400.
Morning is arriving and I'm hoping I can get a couple more big pots to get up to 3K. I'm playing pretty tight, not getting out of line much and trying to avoid tough spots since I'm exhausted. However, I've picked up some hands and I've been 3betting a lot in the last 5-6 hands. I think I've 3bet like 3 out of 5 hands and taken them all down. So despite playing very TAG, my image is that I'm running over the table.
The tables been VERY loose, very gambly, very good for making hands and getting paid. There's a straddle and I'm first to act.
I have JhJd and raise to $20. There are five calls. Someone says "Wow, six ways."
I turn to the next table over and ask if anyone wants to call the bet. They laugh and a couple come over to watch.
Flop ($120): Ts4s3x
Two checks and I bet $100. A guy who is playing overly LAGGY calls and has $700 behind. A TAG on the button tanks for a long time, probably like 3 minutes. He looks confused and uncomfortable and moves all-in for $376. It folds around to me.
First, I tank. He didn't 3bet me, so I don't think big pairs are a lot of his range. If he had AA or KK, I think he'd have put in a big 3bet preflop most of the time. I think he'd 3bet QQ too. So, in my mind, his most likely holding are sets, AT (given my image) and flush draws/combo draws. In a straddled pot he could have 5s6s here, KsQs, etc.
Now, given that he tanked for like 3 minutes, I don't think he had a set. We had been talking a lot, he plays a lot of poker, he's kind of old-school in how he treats the game and I don't think he'd hollywood me for three full minutes with a set. 30-60 seconds, maybe. Three minutes? No way. Plus, he didn't seem to be acting, he genuinely seemed to be thinking. Usually painfully long hollywooding is accompanied by painfully bad acting. So, I rule out sets with a high level of confidence.
OK, so no sets, no AA/KK. I pretty much have to feel like I'm ahead of his range. Now, as for that other guy, what could he have with that flat call. I'm a little worried he has a set, but I can't flat call and give him odds to chase a flush. I think draws and the T are his most likely holdings. I contemplate this for a while, replay the hand a couple of times, hope to God he didn't flat call a set before I move all-in given that he's 700 deep. I move all-in. He snap folds.
The button TAG kind of shakes his head as if to say I probably have him. "Aces or Kings?" he asks. I turn over the Jacks, he says wow and turns over the Queens. He then jumps up and fist pumps, but I don't really care. He apologizes and I say no worries.
To be honest, in hindsight, I think I played the hand perfectly. I folded my UTG and decided to take a walk. I wasn't on tilt at all, but I hadn't eaten in over 12 hours and had been nauseous and such for a couple hours. I needed food. I wanted something quick and light, but the line at Starbucks was long. I got a couple granola bars, took a lap to try to re-energize and walked outside for a bit. I got back to the table, played a couple orbits, then limped a straddle UTG with 88. I don't remember the exact details but the flop was 456, a blind bet, I called, a LP player called. Turn was another 4. Pot was now like $45 and the blind bet $101. I tanked and called, thinking the 4 was good for me because two pair were his most likely holdings that beat me and this was a bluffy looking bet from a player who had bluffed a lot already. I mean, what hands do you overbet that with?
The LP player raised to $202 and I knew I was crushed at this point. The blind jammed, I folded, LP called. The guy in the blinds had 23, the LP guy had 45. River was a 9. I racked up and left. At this point I was down to $1,808. I knew the odds of going on like a $600 heater to get back to where I was given the changing table complexion (more good players with deep stacks, bad players with smaller stacks) and my exhaustion weren't good. It was like 9:30 am so I was just hoping and praying they'd let me check in early.
I racked up, cashed out, and headed for the hotel desk. They could pre-register me, but I couldn't get in until noon. I made the walk to the garage and climbed into my parents' minivan. Sidenote, it was a great beat that my car broke down Friday and I had to swap with my parents. Sometimes it has issues when its rainy/snowy with starting due to an electrical issue. Sleeping in the back of a van crushes sleeping in the back of a car.
I climbed in, put on a big hoodie, threw my pillow in the back and wrapped myself in a blanket. It was freezing, but manageable, but I felt like a total degenerate. Sleeping in the back of a van in a casino parking garage seems like the type of thing that should happen at the Taj, not at the Borgata. I felt like such a sicko. Finally, after about an hour, I drifted off and grabbed an hour of sleep before my alarm went off and I could check in.
That brings us to how I started this post, and I then checked into my room, crashed, just woke up to type this and I'm going to go back to sleep since I have to get up at 3am, yes 3am, for work.
I feel like all in all, it hasn't been a good financial trip - I'm only up like $58. But, I survived a massive downswing, crushed my way back and persevered. I had some tough spots, I made a couple mistakes, but that's going to happen. I enjoyed a great heater and nearly got to a 3K stack in a 1/2 game for the first time. I also slept in my car in frigid temperatures and was reminded how close I am to the bottom, and how far there is to go. We'll get there, though. It's just a matter of when.
02-18-2014
, 06:52 PM
February 17 - "There will be, ups and downs, smiles and frowns. / Share with me, fairy tails or make believe." - Snoop Dogg
So I had to be up really really early for work, and got back to the Borg around like 3. I crashed for a few hours and hit the tables around 6:30 pm. My first hand was pretty frustrating.
There are a lot of limpers and I check the BB with 55.
Flop ($12): A85hh
I lead out for $10. Folds to the button, who calls.
Turn ($32): Kh
I bet $20, the button calls.
River ($72): Xh
Check-check. He has AKo and my hand is good. AKo limps the button behind other limpers, flats TPTK on a draw heavy board, flats two pair on a three-flush turn. Ugh. He's so supposed to go broke to me on that hand, or at least put more money in.
However, my table is a limptastic paradise land where people limp super wide, and then when I crush them from late position they tighten up like you wouldn't believe. When they do call and see a flop, they check-fold like 75% of the time. It's beautiful and I just run over the table for about an hour. The aforementioned passive AK guy becomes my limp-folding machine. This guy's giving me $2 at a time like an ATM machine. I could make it rain white chips thank to him and his fellow limping cohorts. At one point, he limps in EP, I make it $10 in the CO with like KT or KJ or something and he folds 44 face up. I shrug. A bit later...
There are a few limpers and I pick up QQ on the button. I make it $12. A new guy who is talking about being stuck, who I've played with before makes it $42 from the BB. He's like your typical "good-bad" player. He can sit down and play good for an hour or two, but if he gets stuck, gets bored or gets drawn out on he spews... and he always overplays his hands anyway. He's only in for $100, so I grab a stack when it folds to me and start to slide it forward. He beats me into the pot. I think, "Uh oh." and turn over QQ. He looks disgusted and shows 99. "Why does that always happen to me?" he asks, as the board runs out clean. I crack up internally, but externally I say, "I don't know man, that's rough. What can you do?" Nothing, he says. Yes folks, it's impossible to avoid stacking off preflop with 99. I love poker!
A little while later I limp 88 UTG. The guy from the last hand makes it $7 from like EP2. EP3 makes it $12. He's a young kid dressed kinda like he's on a night out and drinking a Corona. I put him on a big hand and I'm excited to set mine. Two calls and I call. The guy from the last hand asks if that reopens the raising, which of course it does, and makes it $37. Corona guy calls, a guy in a Tiger Woods hat calls, and I decide I'm priced in because Corona guy has $250+ and so does TW hat.
Flop ($160): AcAs3c
I check, the raiser bets $25. Corona calls. TW hat calls, and I am like wow, wait a second. I'm getting 9.4 to 1, plus implied to try to spike a set and someone probably has an A, so the money is going in. I call.
Turn ($260): 4s
I check, the raiser checks, Corona checks, TW hat checks.
River ($260): 8s
Wow, thanks for letting me see the river, guys. I can't count on anyone betting here so I need to make a good value bet. New guy is less than $100 deep so it's definitely going to cover him. Corona has like $200 left. TW hat has like $250-$275. I bet $160. The raiser snap folds and Corona tanks for a while and calls. TW hat folds. 8's full beat 10s. I guess he thought I was bluffing with a busted club draw.
I run my stack up just over $1,000 with a combination of making a couple other hands and stealing a few pots.
Then, I get stuck in reverse. There are two limpers and I make it $12 in MP with AA. I got three calls, including a TAG player in position on me.
Flop ($48): Jh9h3x
Two checks to me and I bet $35. FWIW, I have the Ah. The TAG player, who has 3 bet me twice in the last 30 minutes preflop makes it $90 with about $150 behind. It folds to me. I don't love this spot, and I feel like it's push/fold. I think his range includes sets, AJ, KhQh, TT. I also feel like he may be trying to play back at me since I've been running over the table, and this is a reasonably good flop to raise an EP raiser on. I move all-in and he snap calls with a set of 9s. In hindsight, I kind of like a flat call. He's probably going to slow down with AJ, and even if the heart hits the turn I have the redraw.
This is a good time to mention that I talked a lot with Duke0424 during this session, as he was playing at another table. He not only seems like a nice guy, he's also very good at analyzing hands and comes at them a little differently than I do, which I like - it makes for really good discussion. My main thought holding the Ah is that I have the redraw, but I wasn't really thinking about that blocking a lot of the hands that are raising me on the heart draw - which was his first thought on that.
Anyway, I bricked out.
A bit later, I raise to $12 in LP and get three calls with Ah9h.
Flop ($48): JhJxTh
It checks to me, I bet $30. The player on my left moves all-in for $60 more. He's been tilty and spewy, but he's not a complete moron. He's either got a J, a T, a flush draw, a straight draw, a combo draw or a boat. Regardless, I'm getting almost 3 to 1 and I'm not folding the nut flush draw getting 3 to 1 for $60, so I call. He has the J, like KJ or something, and I brick out.
I pick up JJ, QQ, KK and raise all of them, get a few calls and get terrible flops. A couple I cbet heads up on like an A high flop and get called/raised and give up. One I check-fold because it's a horrendous flop with 3 overs multi-way. I'm down to like $466 when I decide to go grab dinner.
I hit up Noodles of the World and get the Cream Cheese Rangoons and the Black Pepper Steak which is basically a steak, pepper and onion stir fry served with rice. Delicious, as everything at NOW has been. I head back to the table, and it's broken. I go get my chips and get a new table.
We see an old friend. Remember the guy who was kinda talking trash before? A little bit of a hot shot, tried to bluff me big a few times and we were sitting with an older woman just gambling like crazy and he soured the mood?
He's in the 5 seat and I'm in the 8, so I have position. He raises in LP and I call out of the blinds with AQo. I contemplated 3betting but decided against it. I float OOP on a K high flop, hit the Q on the turn and call him down and he had AA. Meh. Not one of my finer moments, but he's been so spewy/bluffy against me heads up before I'm not gonna kill myself for it. It was probably about a $75-85 loss, so not a huge pot.
The 1 seat (young aggro) and 3 seat (young guy, aggressive but a lot tighter, especially preflop) are doing a lot of 3betting, and it's a bit of a tough table. On one hand, the 1 seat opens for $10 and the 3 seat makes it $35 and I fold 77 out of the SB, cause it looks like a bad spot and we aren't quite deep enough ($225-250 each and I cover). Of course, I would have flopped the set. Oh well.
A few hands later, I raise a couple of limpers to $12 on the button with AsQs. The 1 seat is in the BB and 3bets to $35. It folds around to me. We're $350ish deep, I cover. I call.
Flop ($70): Ah4h5x
He bets $35, which screams of JJ-KK. I think for about 30 seconds and call.
Turn ($140): Ax
He checks. I think for maybe 20 seconds and bet $70. He thinks for a bit (20-30 seconds) and calls.
River ($280): 2c
He checks. I think for about 30 seconds and bet $125. He tanks for about 30-45 seconds and calls. I'm obviously good. He shows the 3 seat his hand. I say, "Kings?" He shakes his head no and dejectedly shows QQ.
A few hands later I open AcQx to $12 up front. One call from a pretty solid Asian kid in the 10 seat. The guy in the one seat 3bets in position to $35. Folds to me, I think and fold. I just don't think I can play AQo profitably out of position against his 3bet there. The other guy calls.
Flop ($82): KcJcXc
Ugh, what a beautiful flop. I forget the exact amounts but basically something like Asian kid checks, young aggro bets $35-40, Asian kid check-raises to like $100. Young aggro pretty quickly jams for $119 more. Asian kid tank folds AdKd face up, young aggro kid shows the 2s.
A bit later, the tighter young aggressive kid (3 seat) opens to $12 from UTG. The young kid from a prior session calls, I call the button with JTo.
Flop ($36): 985 rainbow
UTG checks, MP bets $18. I think he's betting super wide here. We're about $600 deep, so I elect not to raise. He's also giving me a good price to draw, so I don't need to get crazy with it - I can let my position work for me throughout the hand.
Turn ($70): Jx
He checks. I now put him on like A9, 9T, 97, 87, etc type hands. I bet $40 and he thinks a bit and calls. It feels like a hand like 9T that has enough of the board to continue but obviously didn't like the J.
River ($150): 6x
He checks. I am very confident he doesn't have the 7 and that I'm good, so I go for value and bet $75. He tanks and folds. As he folds, I say, "9T?" and he shoots me a quick look, a bit surprised, then tells me no. I am pretty confident that's what he had. I mean, it could have been A9, Q9, etc, but it felt like 9T.
Duke0424 thinks that maybe $60 or $65 would've been a better bet. In hindsight, I think I like $150 to try to look like I'm bluffing and repping a 7 to get him to hero call me. I don't know, I'm a little surprised he folded.
Oh well... After an 8 hour session, I was +$444. I spent over an hour taking breaks either talking to Duke or eating, so a very solid win. Takes the bankroll over 4K. I'll break down the numbers later, probably tomorrow.
So I had to be up really really early for work, and got back to the Borg around like 3. I crashed for a few hours and hit the tables around 6:30 pm. My first hand was pretty frustrating.
There are a lot of limpers and I check the BB with 55.
Flop ($12): A85hh
I lead out for $10. Folds to the button, who calls.
Turn ($32): Kh
I bet $20, the button calls.
River ($72): Xh
Check-check. He has AKo and my hand is good. AKo limps the button behind other limpers, flats TPTK on a draw heavy board, flats two pair on a three-flush turn. Ugh. He's so supposed to go broke to me on that hand, or at least put more money in.
However, my table is a limptastic paradise land where people limp super wide, and then when I crush them from late position they tighten up like you wouldn't believe. When they do call and see a flop, they check-fold like 75% of the time. It's beautiful and I just run over the table for about an hour. The aforementioned passive AK guy becomes my limp-folding machine. This guy's giving me $2 at a time like an ATM machine. I could make it rain white chips thank to him and his fellow limping cohorts. At one point, he limps in EP, I make it $10 in the CO with like KT or KJ or something and he folds 44 face up. I shrug. A bit later...
There are a few limpers and I pick up QQ on the button. I make it $12. A new guy who is talking about being stuck, who I've played with before makes it $42 from the BB. He's like your typical "good-bad" player. He can sit down and play good for an hour or two, but if he gets stuck, gets bored or gets drawn out on he spews... and he always overplays his hands anyway. He's only in for $100, so I grab a stack when it folds to me and start to slide it forward. He beats me into the pot. I think, "Uh oh." and turn over QQ. He looks disgusted and shows 99. "Why does that always happen to me?" he asks, as the board runs out clean. I crack up internally, but externally I say, "I don't know man, that's rough. What can you do?" Nothing, he says. Yes folks, it's impossible to avoid stacking off preflop with 99. I love poker!
A little while later I limp 88 UTG. The guy from the last hand makes it $7 from like EP2. EP3 makes it $12. He's a young kid dressed kinda like he's on a night out and drinking a Corona. I put him on a big hand and I'm excited to set mine. Two calls and I call. The guy from the last hand asks if that reopens the raising, which of course it does, and makes it $37. Corona guy calls, a guy in a Tiger Woods hat calls, and I decide I'm priced in because Corona guy has $250+ and so does TW hat.
Flop ($160): AcAs3c
I check, the raiser bets $25. Corona calls. TW hat calls, and I am like wow, wait a second. I'm getting 9.4 to 1, plus implied to try to spike a set and someone probably has an A, so the money is going in. I call.
Turn ($260): 4s
I check, the raiser checks, Corona checks, TW hat checks.
River ($260): 8s
Wow, thanks for letting me see the river, guys. I can't count on anyone betting here so I need to make a good value bet. New guy is less than $100 deep so it's definitely going to cover him. Corona has like $200 left. TW hat has like $250-$275. I bet $160. The raiser snap folds and Corona tanks for a while and calls. TW hat folds. 8's full beat 10s. I guess he thought I was bluffing with a busted club draw.
I run my stack up just over $1,000 with a combination of making a couple other hands and stealing a few pots.
Then, I get stuck in reverse. There are two limpers and I make it $12 in MP with AA. I got three calls, including a TAG player in position on me.
Flop ($48): Jh9h3x
Two checks to me and I bet $35. FWIW, I have the Ah. The TAG player, who has 3 bet me twice in the last 30 minutes preflop makes it $90 with about $150 behind. It folds to me. I don't love this spot, and I feel like it's push/fold. I think his range includes sets, AJ, KhQh, TT. I also feel like he may be trying to play back at me since I've been running over the table, and this is a reasonably good flop to raise an EP raiser on. I move all-in and he snap calls with a set of 9s. In hindsight, I kind of like a flat call. He's probably going to slow down with AJ, and even if the heart hits the turn I have the redraw.
This is a good time to mention that I talked a lot with Duke0424 during this session, as he was playing at another table. He not only seems like a nice guy, he's also very good at analyzing hands and comes at them a little differently than I do, which I like - it makes for really good discussion. My main thought holding the Ah is that I have the redraw, but I wasn't really thinking about that blocking a lot of the hands that are raising me on the heart draw - which was his first thought on that.
Anyway, I bricked out.
A bit later, I raise to $12 in LP and get three calls with Ah9h.
Flop ($48): JhJxTh
It checks to me, I bet $30. The player on my left moves all-in for $60 more. He's been tilty and spewy, but he's not a complete moron. He's either got a J, a T, a flush draw, a straight draw, a combo draw or a boat. Regardless, I'm getting almost 3 to 1 and I'm not folding the nut flush draw getting 3 to 1 for $60, so I call. He has the J, like KJ or something, and I brick out.
I pick up JJ, QQ, KK and raise all of them, get a few calls and get terrible flops. A couple I cbet heads up on like an A high flop and get called/raised and give up. One I check-fold because it's a horrendous flop with 3 overs multi-way. I'm down to like $466 when I decide to go grab dinner.
I hit up Noodles of the World and get the Cream Cheese Rangoons and the Black Pepper Steak which is basically a steak, pepper and onion stir fry served with rice. Delicious, as everything at NOW has been. I head back to the table, and it's broken. I go get my chips and get a new table.
We see an old friend. Remember the guy who was kinda talking trash before? A little bit of a hot shot, tried to bluff me big a few times and we were sitting with an older woman just gambling like crazy and he soured the mood?
He's in the 5 seat and I'm in the 8, so I have position. He raises in LP and I call out of the blinds with AQo. I contemplated 3betting but decided against it. I float OOP on a K high flop, hit the Q on the turn and call him down and he had AA. Meh. Not one of my finer moments, but he's been so spewy/bluffy against me heads up before I'm not gonna kill myself for it. It was probably about a $75-85 loss, so not a huge pot.
The 1 seat (young aggro) and 3 seat (young guy, aggressive but a lot tighter, especially preflop) are doing a lot of 3betting, and it's a bit of a tough table. On one hand, the 1 seat opens for $10 and the 3 seat makes it $35 and I fold 77 out of the SB, cause it looks like a bad spot and we aren't quite deep enough ($225-250 each and I cover). Of course, I would have flopped the set. Oh well.
A few hands later, I raise a couple of limpers to $12 on the button with AsQs. The 1 seat is in the BB and 3bets to $35. It folds around to me. We're $350ish deep, I cover. I call.
Flop ($70): Ah4h5x
He bets $35, which screams of JJ-KK. I think for about 30 seconds and call.
Turn ($140): Ax
He checks. I think for maybe 20 seconds and bet $70. He thinks for a bit (20-30 seconds) and calls.
River ($280): 2c
He checks. I think for about 30 seconds and bet $125. He tanks for about 30-45 seconds and calls. I'm obviously good. He shows the 3 seat his hand. I say, "Kings?" He shakes his head no and dejectedly shows QQ.
A few hands later I open AcQx to $12 up front. One call from a pretty solid Asian kid in the 10 seat. The guy in the one seat 3bets in position to $35. Folds to me, I think and fold. I just don't think I can play AQo profitably out of position against his 3bet there. The other guy calls.
Flop ($82): KcJcXc
Ugh, what a beautiful flop. I forget the exact amounts but basically something like Asian kid checks, young aggro bets $35-40, Asian kid check-raises to like $100. Young aggro pretty quickly jams for $119 more. Asian kid tank folds AdKd face up, young aggro kid shows the 2s.
A bit later, the tighter young aggressive kid (3 seat) opens to $12 from UTG. The young kid from a prior session calls, I call the button with JTo.
Flop ($36): 985 rainbow
UTG checks, MP bets $18. I think he's betting super wide here. We're about $600 deep, so I elect not to raise. He's also giving me a good price to draw, so I don't need to get crazy with it - I can let my position work for me throughout the hand.
Turn ($70): Jx
He checks. I now put him on like A9, 9T, 97, 87, etc type hands. I bet $40 and he thinks a bit and calls. It feels like a hand like 9T that has enough of the board to continue but obviously didn't like the J.
River ($150): 6x
He checks. I am very confident he doesn't have the 7 and that I'm good, so I go for value and bet $75. He tanks and folds. As he folds, I say, "9T?" and he shoots me a quick look, a bit surprised, then tells me no. I am pretty confident that's what he had. I mean, it could have been A9, Q9, etc, but it felt like 9T.
Duke0424 thinks that maybe $60 or $65 would've been a better bet. In hindsight, I think I like $150 to try to look like I'm bluffing and repping a 7 to get him to hero call me. I don't know, I'm a little surprised he folded.
Oh well... After an 8 hour session, I was +$444. I spent over an hour taking breaks either talking to Duke or eating, so a very solid win. Takes the bankroll over 4K. I'll break down the numbers later, probably tomorrow.
02-19-2014
, 12:02 AM
02-19-2014
, 05:14 PM
02-19-2014
, 05:57 PM
02-19-2014
, 06:14 PM
02-21-2014
, 02:01 AM
02-22-2014
, 04:02 AM
02-22-2014
, 04:49 PM
February 22 - "I think I killed everybody in the game this year, man, f*** it, I was wrong though."
Except, I wasn't wrong. I think I just crushed the Delaware online .25/.50 so bad there's nobody left to play me today. I was four tabling, and as I kept owning people it dwindled down to one people as villains stopped rebuying. Then I broke that table too, and nobody sat. Please, Delaware powers that be, start MARKETING this online poker. I need more customers to crush!
Here are some highlight hands...
3 handed .25/.50 NL
Preflop: BTN raises to $1.75. I call from the SB w/ 2
3 (I have $73 behind and the BTN covers). BB calls.
Flop ($4.99): A
Q5
Two checks, BTN (he's playing like a total maniac and bluffing a lot) bets $2.62. I raise to $10. He calls. This is a little weird for him, I thought we might get it in, even 150 BB deep.
Turn ($23.99): 2
I bet $16, he calls. Odd again.
River ($55.75): T
A brick. I check, he bets $28.62. I tank and try to figure out what hand he could have to call a check-raise, flat the flop and bet the river when checked to. I think he puts in another raise with an A because of his style. He checks behind with a Q IMO, and I'd have heard about two pair or a set by now. I tank and finally call. He has 6c9c, my hand is good.
I don't say anything in the chat, but in real life the nut bottom pair hero call on the river is good for a clap, a fist pump and a, "Come on baby. Come at me!"
Same villain, still 3 handed. I'm the BTN he's the SB, he has $75.88 and I cover.
Preflop: I pick up A5
, and raise to $1.50. Everyone calls. BB is a solid TAG reg with $50 behind.
Flop ($4.28): K
52
Checks to me, I bet $3.37 (3/4 button), SB villain calls, other one folds. My plan now is to pot control the turn and re-evaluate the river, unless...
Turn ($10.68): 5
He checks, I bet $6.50. I went a little small hoping to induce spewage. He calls.
River ($23.03): 8
He jams for $64.76. I call, 35o is no good sir. Thank you, come again.
Playing 3-handed on another table…
Preflop: I pick up 67 on the button and make it $1.50. SB and BB call. SB has $121 behind, I cover. He's a pretty solid reg. BB has $64 behind.
Flop ($4.28): 89T
Checks to me, I bet $3.37 (3/4 button). SB makes it $13.50. BB calls. I think for a bit and decide to raise to $45. The board is too wet and I have the bottom end. SB shoves for a total of $121.59. BB folds. I don't quite snap call, but I'm not folding… I call and we have a $259.68 pot - over five buyins. He shows 88.
Turn ($259.68): J
Don't runner runner the chop and don't pair the board!
River: A
Shippage.
Later against another maniac, playing heads up. He has $108 and I cover.
Preflop: He's the button and makes it $1.50. I make it $6 with KQ, he calls.
Flop ($11.50): Q2J
I bet $7.50, he calls.
Turn ($26.50): 2
I check, because he'll fire. He bets $27, I call.
River ($80.50): 3
I check, he jams $68.12, I call. Sorry sir, 58 is no good. Ship the $216 pot.
And now there's nobody left to play with me. It was a +$674 session. Just a nice little 13.5 buyin heater. Just so you don't think I run like an absolute God and never lose, I got it all-in preflop with AA vs 33 and he spiked the 3 on me, and I got it all in on a like KQ83 board on the turn with AK vs 99 for a $120 pot and he drilled the 9 on me. Obviously not complaining, just demonstrating that I didn't hold up every single time.
Now the biggest game running is a 5c/10c. Maybe I'll check later, or maybe I'll just go to the actual Delaware Park and play live tonight. Cuse/Duke at 6 though!
Live Roll: $4,070
Online Roll: $1,791
Old Online Roll on Black Chip with a withdrawal pending: $503 (I'll stick 200 back in the bank to account to cover the Delaware Park Online Poker deposit.)
Total Roll: $6,164
Except, I wasn't wrong. I think I just crushed the Delaware online .25/.50 so bad there's nobody left to play me today. I was four tabling, and as I kept owning people it dwindled down to one people as villains stopped rebuying. Then I broke that table too, and nobody sat. Please, Delaware powers that be, start MARKETING this online poker. I need more customers to crush!
Here are some highlight hands...
3 handed .25/.50 NL
Preflop: BTN raises to $1.75. I call from the SB w/ 2
3 (I have $73 behind and the BTN covers). BB calls.Flop ($4.99): A
Q5Two checks, BTN (he's playing like a total maniac and bluffing a lot) bets $2.62. I raise to $10. He calls. This is a little weird for him, I thought we might get it in, even 150 BB deep.
Turn ($23.99): 2
I bet $16, he calls. Odd again.
River ($55.75): T
A brick. I check, he bets $28.62. I tank and try to figure out what hand he could have to call a check-raise, flat the flop and bet the river when checked to. I think he puts in another raise with an A because of his style. He checks behind with a Q IMO, and I'd have heard about two pair or a set by now. I tank and finally call. He has 6c9c, my hand is good.
I don't say anything in the chat, but in real life the nut bottom pair hero call on the river is good for a clap, a fist pump and a, "Come on baby. Come at me!"
Same villain, still 3 handed. I'm the BTN he's the SB, he has $75.88 and I cover.
Preflop: I pick up A
5, and raise to $1.50. Everyone calls. BB is a solid TAG reg with $50 behind.Flop ($4.28): K
52Checks to me, I bet $3.37 (3/4 button), SB villain calls, other one folds. My plan now is to pot control the turn and re-evaluate the river, unless...
Turn ($10.68): 5
He checks, I bet $6.50. I went a little small hoping to induce spewage. He calls.
River ($23.03): 8
He jams for $64.76. I call, 35o is no good sir. Thank you, come again.
Playing 3-handed on another table…
Preflop: I pick up 6
7 on the button and make it $1.50. SB and BB call. SB has $121 behind, I cover. He's a pretty solid reg. BB has $64 behind.Flop ($4.28): 8
9TChecks to me, I bet $3.37 (3/4 button). SB makes it $13.50. BB calls. I think for a bit and decide to raise to $45. The board is too wet and I have the bottom end. SB shoves for a total of $121.59. BB folds. I don't quite snap call, but I'm not folding… I call and we have a $259.68 pot - over five buyins. He shows 88.
Turn ($259.68): J
Don't runner runner the chop and don't pair the board!
River: A
Shippage.
Later against another maniac, playing heads up. He has $108 and I cover.
Preflop: He's the button and makes it $1.50. I make it $6 with K
Q, he calls.Flop ($11.50): Q
2JI bet $7.50, he calls.
Turn ($26.50): 2
I check, because he'll fire. He bets $27, I call.
River ($80.50): 3
I check, he jams $68.12, I call. Sorry sir, 5
8 is no good. Ship the $216 pot.And now there's nobody left to play with me. It was a +$674 session. Just a nice little 13.5 buyin heater. Just so you don't think I run like an absolute God and never lose, I got it all-in preflop with AA vs 33 and he spiked the 3 on me, and I got it all in on a like KQ83 board on the turn with AK vs 99 for a $120 pot and he drilled the 9 on me. Obviously not complaining, just demonstrating that I didn't hold up every single time.
Now the biggest game running is a 5c/10c. Maybe I'll check later, or maybe I'll just go to the actual Delaware Park and play live tonight. Cuse/Duke at 6 though!
Live Roll: $4,070
Online Roll: $1,791
Old Online Roll on Black Chip with a withdrawal pending: $503 (I'll stick 200 back in the bank to account to cover the Delaware Park Online Poker deposit.)
Total Roll: $6,164
02-22-2014
, 05:53 PM
02-22-2014
, 06:58 PM