June 10 – "You can hate me now, but I won't stop now, 'cause I can't stop now. You can hate now, but I won't stop now, 'cause I can't stop now."
I sat down aiming for a 10-hour session and feeling ready to go, but faced an uphill battle all session long…
Hand No. 1
I ake it $10 from UTG with A
Q
. UTG+1, an old guy who looks like an OMC and has been playing tight calls. The SB, a middle aged guy playing on the tight side calls.
Flop ($28): T
9
5
It checks through. I’m a little worried that OMC could have AT, KT, 99+ here.
Turn ($28): 7
Well, I’ve got the nut flush draw, the OMC checked behind and the other guy has checked twice – time to fire. I bet $20 and the old guy raises to $75 with about $130 behind. I’m thinking he’s a little deeper and make the call here. You could make a better case for folding or raising.
River ($177): Q
I check and he shoves all but his whites in, betting $120 with like $10 behind. I tank a bit, basically just trying to pick up a read because I know I’m folding, and then I muck. “I’ll show it just once,” he says. He flips up J
9
.
Well, I’m adjusting my ranges for him.
Hand No. 2
I have 7
7
and raise to $12 from the CO with one limper. The SB calls. He’s a foreign guy with glasses who’s been playing pretty loose.
Flop ($23): 7
4
3
He checks, I think for a bit because this isn’t the best set flop for me – I’d rather have like a big card he could hit out there. I decided to bet anyway and fired $15. He thought a bit and called.
Turn ($51): Q
He checks and has like $190 left. He checks, I bet $35 and he calls.
River ($121): 8
He checks and I think about how much value I can get. I bet $100 and he snap calls me and MHIG. He claims A
7
, which is impossible.
Hustlin’ A Location
A couple of friends sat down on my right who were clearly in town for the Summer Poker Open. I decided to try to find out if they were good tournament players or just a couple guys playing some poker tournaments for fun. I Googled them and found three Hendon Mob databases with the same name for one player (I saw their names on their player cards), but nothing for the other guy. Of the three results for the one guy's name, there were three different locations, so I had to find out where he was from to figure it out.
His buddy had a Kentucky Derby hat on, so I asked him if he went… He said no, he was just in Louisville last week and liked the hat. We talked about the derby a bit and then I asked him where they were from. “Oh, we’re from Scranton.”
Boom, got ‘em!
$2,500 in live tournament cashes. Another player by his name from a different location had over $90,000. Always good to know that stuff when it’s available.
Hand No. 3
I pick up T
T
in MP and raise to $10. Two call. One is a bluffy, aggressive guy in his 20's drinking a Corona. The other is a guy in the blinds, an older middle eastern man who has been playing loose-passive.
Flop ($28): K
T
5
The blind checks, I bet $20 and the aggro kid calls. The blind folds.
Turn ($67): 4
I decide to bet a bit weak since he’s so aggressive to try to incite. I bet $35. He thinks a bit and calls, splashing his chips out.
River ($137): 6
I think about how much to bet here. Trying to induce the bluff didn’t work, so at this point my best hope is that he has a K or something and thinks I’m bombing it on a bluff. I bet $135. He asks how much I have left and then folds AQo face up and says, “A jack comes off and you are in trouble!”
I kicked myself for this afterward. He was so aggro he would have raised any K on the flop and any draw, as well. So his range by the river had to be weak – QQ, JJ, 99-77, QJ, and just total air. Thus I should have bet really weak, like $45 or $50 to try to induce spaz. I didn’t give him room to make a move on me. I went for max value against a mid-strength hand when he’d never have a mid-strength hand.
Hand No. 4
Our table broke, over my objection. We had a decent table and four open seats on my right, so I was hoping to get some fish seated that I’d have position on. I moved into a new game, and early on the following hand came up.
With eight to the flop, I checked the BB with 9
7
.
Flop ($15): J
9
7
I bet $10 and a kid in LP calls. He’s young and he’s acting like a recreational player with his buddy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re grinders in there for the tournament and trying to put on a front. Something doesn’t quite feel right about the recreational appearance.
Turn ($32): 8
Here’s where I make a big mistake. I bet $20 and he calls. This is a huge mistake because I can get raised off my equity so easily. If I check, I can often call a bet and try to boat up. I was hoping to just clear out his one pair hands and take it down, but I don’t think b/f is really the right play here.
River ($71): 6
I check and he bets $45. I pick up a read, he’s grinding his jaw repeatedly, which is often a sign of tension. I’m just trying to come up with a hand he could be bluffing with. Maybe he floated with KQ and now he’s going to bluff? I don’t know. I feel like there’s a chance I’m good here, and if not I’ll at least have the info on the tell I have. I have to be good 28% of the time for the call to be profitable, but if in actuality I’m good like 20-25% I’m fine with the call with the added value of the info.
I call, and he has K
T
.
About five minutes later, we’re in between hands and I notice him grinding his jaw muscles. Apparently, this dude’s just got a lot of tension and he’s ALWAYS grinding his jaw muscles.
DOH!
Hand No. 5
Shortly thereafter I realize my whole table is pretty good and get a table change. It’s not uncommon to land on a table full of grinders during the poker opens at the Borgata.
At the new table, an Asian woman in her early 40s raises to $8 in the HJ. I have A
J
and will 3bet small opens for value pretty wide. I see $7 instead of $8 and go to $20. My 3bet in position is typically 3x, rounded off… So $7 to $20 and $8 to $25. So not seeing the extra white, I make it $20 and make a mistake.
Flop ($38): K
J
8
She checks, I bet $30 and she calls. She has $120 behind.
Turn ($98): 6
She checks, I check.
River ($98): 4
She bets $100 by tossing out one black. It’s such a big bet and you’ll rarely see that with a hand for value. Like she could have AK/KQ/KJ/KT here by her betting pattern up to the river, or even QQ… But It’s rare to see those hands bomb the river from a recreational player. Thus I feel like 9T, QT, TT, 99, AQ are more likely.
I tank and call and she has AK, well played.
Break Time
I take a walk, as I’ve been off on a few reads in this session and that’s really rare for me. I decide to evaluate whether I’m playing poorly, running poorly, just getting into bad spots, or a combination. I decide it’s a little of everything, and that I’ll go back and keep playing for about 30 minutes. If I feel like I’m playing better and things are improving, I’ll keep playing. If not, I’ll cut it short.
Hand No. 6
I return and post in the cutoff. A kid in MP raises to $5. I have Q
7
and call the extra $3. A blind calls.
Flop ($16): Q
T
4
It checks to me and I bet $10. The blind folds and the raiser calls.
Turn ($33): 6
He checks, I bet $20 and he raises to $50. I call.
River ($132): 2
He bets $100 by throwing out one black chip, just like the Asian lady did. I tank a bit. “QT?” I ask, as I fold.
He flips up the 4
.
I guess that’s a set of 4s, though A
4
is possible. The dealer accidentally flips the other card – the 4
, and then apologizes profusely to him, as I grin.
Hand No. 7
There’s a straddle and two players limp. I have A
9
in the BB and make it $24. I debated flatting or folding, but my normal play would be to raise and I don’t want to be taken off my game. A limper calls with $43 behind.
Flop ($52): J
5
4
I move all-in and he snap calls with T
T
and holds.
Hand No. 8
It folds to my button and I make it $10 with A
4
. The BB calls.
Flop ($18): T
9
3
He checks, I bet $12 and he calls.
Turn ($40): 4
He checks, I check.
River ($40): 9
He bets $25, I call, he shows 77. Great value bet there.
Getting Stuck in the Middle
A hand comes up where I get bluffed off TPWK because a fish donk led the river really weak and it was transparent that it was a bluff and a young, creative aggro raised him. It was an easy bluff-raise for him because it’s hard for me to call with less than two pair, and I folded my A to see the fish’s K beat the aggro’s 5.
Basically these guys were at opposite ends of the table so my seat was stuck in the middle and any seat change would be as well. I decided to rack up and leave because of the table dynamic and my play and results thus far. I played around to my blinds… I was down under $100, and decided not to top off.
Hand No. 9
My last hand, I’m UTG and limp 8
8
. A fish raised to $10, two called and I did as well.
Flop ($36): 5
6
7
There’s a check and the BB bets $25. He’s a solid player. I have $77 left and ship it in. It folds to him and he thinks a bit.
“OK, I guess I’ll pay you off,” he says. He takes his time calling, cutting out 25…50…75… 80… pushes it out… Then he pulls back 5 reds and tosses a green… Then he pulls back a red and tosses two whites.
I flip my hand over. He sighs. “Awww man… Well, I guess that’s not TOO bad…” He flips over 55.
Nice slow roll, bud. The turn is a 5.
Total Results: 5.5 hours, -$400
Trip Results: 37.5 hours of live cash, -$42