For anyone interested, here's a TR of 1-2 NL cash game play where I catch some good cards.
For various life reasons I haven't played any online nor live poker since Thanksgiving. I'm usually a Borgata player, but the combined reasons of not wanting my few CET reward points to expire and wanting to check out the new room led me to the Wild Wild West room at Bally's on Friday night.
For the purpose of getting back into the poker mindset, an hour before departing for Bally's, I fire up a few SnGs on a less than reputable online platform. Super low micro stakes, so I don't really care about the money, but I want to do well at these games for personal pride's sake. Thanks to some truly awful postflop play by my opponents in the later rounds and my winning two 60-40 flips, I cash in all of the games I play, taking two 3rd-place finishes and one 1st place cash. These results, along with me thinking that I played well, put me in a good mood.
The Wild West poker room is a huge improvement from what I remember of the previous 2nd-floor Bally's poker room. If I remember correctly, at one point Bally's was the only room in AC that allowed smoking at the poker tables. On my way to the tables, I pass a number of signs that read "3 dollar bottles, 2 dollar shots". (Previously, I was in AC for a friend's birthday and we were successfully lured by said 2 dollar shots). I arrive around 8pm, so there isn't much revelry yet, but eventually the dance floor will turn into a college bar atmosphere featuring all types including really beautiful dolled up girls as well as creepy guys (myself included) in t-shirts and jeans.
Anyway, at the first open 1-2 NL table available I park myself in the 10-seat with 300 in chips (you can buy in up to 500). There are two older fellows in the 1-seat and 2-seat, each with ~200. The 3-seat has a tatoo on his arm and a stack of 1000. The quiet 4-seat has 150-200 and a cute lady friend sitting behind him. 5-seat is a classic OMC with ~250. My half of the table is pretty gregarious; middle-aged spiked-haired lady with a diamond card sits in the 6-seat with ~150. 7-seat with ~200 is a blond-haired fellow in a golf shirt and khakis, and I get the impression that I've played with him previously. The 8-seat and 9-seat are a rotating group of players that don't stay long at the table.
My first hand at the table I get Q
J
in the cutoff. 1 limper, I make it 10, and folks make some light-hearted comments about me raising my first hand. 1-seat (button) and 4-seat (utg) call me and we see a flop of T
7
3
. Checks to me, I c-bet 15, both players call. Turn is the A
, 4-seat and I check. 1-seat bets 25, 4-seat folds, I fold. 1-seat proudly tables Q
J
. NH sir.
Given that I haven't played in a while, I resolve to play a tight game so that I don't get into too many tricky spots.
I fold for the next ten hands or so, and on my next button I get A
Q
. 2 limpers, I make it 12, and 4-seat calls. It turns out that this player is a huge calling station, but I don't know it at the time. Flop is K
7
8
, he checks to me, I bet 15, he calls. Turn is the K
. So much for trying to represent a king, but villain checks to me again, and I fire 25. He hems and haws for a bit, then finally cuts out his chips for a call. River is a deuce, and I get checked to again. Well, so much for playing tightly, I'm going to need to triple-barrel if I want to win this pot. I fire 45 into the pot. Villain takes another 30 seconds to think. I look at my stack of only ~100 and think to myself "****, what have I done." Perhaps villain seeing me bet on 4 streets sees that as strength, and he chucks his cards into the muck.
I later get J
J
in the cutoff. 1 limper, and khakis in the 7-seat makes it 11. Damn, that's what I was going to do! I think about 3-betting, and sometimes I will 3-bet this, but this time I get gun-shy and decide that I'll be ok getting away from this if there's an ace or king on the flop and villain shows convincing strength. Flop is 8
6
3
. Villain bets 22 or 23, I call. Turn is 2
, villain checks. I think it's unlikely I'm beat here. Villain has ~140 remaining, and I fire 40. He thinks for a good while about this, easily the longest tank of the night.
As he's mulling his decision, the drink lady finally comes around. I order a Corona, but I get a bit of resistance. Drink lady asks if I have a diamond or 7-star card. I say that I don't, and she tells me that I need one if I want to order bottled beer. Huh? The lady in the 6-seat "vouches" for me; apparently as long as someone else at the table has a card (and you haven't made an enemy of that person), the waitresses are happy to bring you bottled beer. Later some folks try explaining why this rule exists, but I'm unable to follow the logic of the given explanations.
After that exchange, villain is still in the tank. He finally lets it go. He tells me "well it's either fold or shove for me there, do you call a shove for 100 more?" I tell him I'm not sure. I ask if me ordering a drink influenced his decision, and he gives a non-committal answer.
I proceed to win a BB special with K
T
, getting the nut straight on the turn. Again the 4-seat calling station is in the pot with me, and he pays off a $30 river bet with second pair. Interestingly, the 2-seat also called my river bet. It becomes clear to me that I can do well at this game as long as I play decent ABC TAG poker. The big question is if I will have the discipline to do so.
The only 4-bet pot of the night shortly ensues. The 3-seat with the 1k stack opens to 10, gets 1 caller, and khakis in the 7-seat pops to 45. 7-seat had about 110 to start the hand. Folds around to 3-seat who 4-bets to 110. 7-seat thinks for a bit, then finally calls with QQ. It holds up against 3-seat's AK.
On the cutoff I get T
T
. OMC raises to 10, 7-seat calls him. It's time to 3-bet! I put in 40. OMC puts on a good tanking show. When he folds, the 6-seat lady mumbles "wow, all that drama for nothing." 7-seat folds to me.
The following hand I played really slowly (remember, I resolved to myself to play tight). I get dealt K
Q
UTG+2. I open to 8 and get 4 callers, including the 1k stack in the 3-seat and the calling station in the 4-seat. Flop is K
5
8
. I'm first to act on all streets. I check, and it gets checked around. Turn is the 9
. I check, the 3-seat bets 15, the 4-seat station calls, and I call. The three of us see the river K
. I check again, 3-seat bets 50, 4-seat folds, I elect to just call, MHIG. You can never be too careful I guess.
Still lots of limping in this game. 3 limpers to me; I'm in the HJ and limp 6
6
. Button limps and blinds are in, so we have a 7 players seeing a board of A
K
6
. Checks around to me, I bet 10, older man on the button calls (he had just over 200 at the start of the hand), everyone else folds. Turn is the K
, putting 2 flush draws on board. I'm stuck in "pay me now" mode, so without much thought I fire 20 into the pot. I wasn't thinking this at the time, but in my post-hand reflection, I think if villain had a flush draw he calls this bet. He tanks for a bit then folds. He might have had a weak ace here, so there's a small chance I might have gotten a small river bet out of him if I checked the turn; oh well.
A newcomer arrives in the 5-seat. He might have been drunk or at the very least, he had a few in him. On his first hand he gets into an argument with the dealer regarding whether he string raised or not. He claims he placed 3rd in the morning 25k, but that his sponsors won't allow him to play any NL cash games higher than 1-2.
Drunk/tipsy/whatever 5-seat is UTG and makes it $7 to go. 4 people call, including myself and the older fellow in the 2-seat (button). I have 3
3
. Before the flop is peeled, 5-seat asks "what, does everyone have ace-king?" Flop is Q
8
3
. Who has two thumbs and loves flopping sets? Checks to me, I bet 20, 2-seat calls, and 5-seat calls. Turn is 7
. 5-seat fires 10 (yes, ten), I pause and raise to 50 (both villains started the hand with about 200). 2-seat calls, and 5-seat folds. River is the 2
, I fire 110 to put 2-seat all in, and he calls with
After about 3-4 hours total I rack up for the session, up about 470. Definitely got some good cards and got lucky in various spots.