Back n the swing of things
Had a couple of good sessions in a row.
Won the hourly best hand prize for quad kings while my man Ed completed his tournament tour down here by chopping the Isle of Capris tournament. Yeah, he officially was 4 for 4 in successive tournaments. Good job Ed. The tournament was painful as once again I build a big chip stack and once again I look at Aces in late position after a medium stack in early position has open shoved. I call. Small blind shoves too. EP has 64 o/s (Hello suicide bomber, my name is collateral damage). SB has 22. I came in third. Yeah, fun.
Then I get a call station to my left that refuses to release a hand until the river. She says she loves the river because that's where she makes all of her hands. I lose the minimum to her with my AK vs. her K10. She later rivers a straight, then pairs her kicker to give her bottom two vs. my top pair on the river--almost considering just not playing until someone else wounded her, but realized that was cowardly--she was going to pay off somebody at some point. Big Ed sits down as we combine to two tables and she chases a gut shot to the river on him. She misses and still pays him off with Ace high saying "I just can't see letting this go." Poker is a fickle, fickle game.
Crippled from my dates with the riverlady, I'm essentially forced to shove in the big blind when the button shoves and is followed by an insta shove from the small blind. I look at 9/2 o. I'm priced in with anything unless they have a huge hand. I fold. KK v. AA. Aces hold... for that guy.
Next hand, a guy goes all in (medium stack), another follows suit. I can't fold anymore. I call with 62--I have to have live cards. I get suprised to see K6 (another suicide bomber) and pocket 33. Yeah, I'm dominated in a way I completely didn't expect.. . I get my 2 and nothing else.
Okay.. I said things changed and I give you three paragraphs of whining. Anyway. I take down the high hand jackpot. I have a couple of misunderstandings with the floor people but I leave a winner.
Had two solid back to back winners at Harrahs just playing the grind. First night I hit my big hand when two big stacks didn't chase me off my gut shot draw to the nuts on a straight crazy board. I probably didn't bet enough on the river as second nuts called pretty quickly my reraise. Actually it was funny, the first guy bet, before I could act, the next guy (second nuts) was putting a 4x into the pot.
I had no idea what to do. When I stopped him for acting out of turn, I took a risk that if I called he'd still raise. He did. Other guy called and then I reraised. Sweet.
Last night I made a solid bluff against a guy Adam, who I played with for about 4 hours. I only showed premium hands and really hadn't gotten caught making any major moves. He was in a bad spot because I had a pretty good read on him and I knew he was good enough to lay down a hand to me. I almost f'd myself on the river as he just about priced himself in to call anything and just about robbing me of any fold equity to my planned river bluff.
Here's what I remember of the hand. Some preflop action. I got K10. I believe he put in a raise from the blind that felt like a midpair or two high cards. The board comes J high. He bet out and something about his action told me he was either weak or vulnerable. I tried to take the pot down with a reraise. He came over the top big. I felt like I was online with some leveling going on and where me and my opponent both knows the other has air. We were both deep stacked. I thought I could get him on a later street, but if I fired back here things were liable to get out of control. If he had a mid-pair he'd need some convincing. If a big card came out I'd try to trust my read if it helped him or not, and bet accordingly.
Turn is another J (though it might have been the river), either way it didn't really effect the hand as it didn't improve him or me. He grabs a stack and forcefully puts it on the table. I know my bluff could work here as that was another tell confirming my initial read. I decided to do what I'd do if had the nuts. Call.
The river didn't help either of us, and he looked uneasy and maybe a tad desperate. Another forceful, big bet. I look at his chips and he's barely got 200 left. I ask him about what he's got left and just feel he's uncomfortable. I'm really worried he has to call here regardless because of the chips. He counts them out like they were a threat.
I thought for a while, and then decided even if I'm in a rut I have to trust my instincts, fortune favors the bold and all that B.S. I think I can get him off the hand, now I just need the guts to follow through. I say "I'm all in" (my voice cracks and I think my cover is blown, then because of that, my nervous system goes into overdrive my heartbeat deafening my ears, and the vein in my neck trying to jump out of it... damn, all that only to have my voice crack to f me).
He doesn't instacall. Phew. I thought the way the hand played out there was maybe a 1% chance he had an absolute monster and was pulling me on a string doing some fake tells--again this kid hasn't made a mistake all night. That was eliminated with the pause. He goes in the tank for a little bit, I'm worried my voice cracking was going to kill me. For the first time in a long while making a big bluff, I felt I was advertising my weakness, where as normally I'm pretty good at imagining I'm sitting on the nuts.
He finally folds saying he can't beat trip jacks. I show the bluff.
I was really on last night. I also folded a set of aces to have a guy show me a baby flush he was protecting when he priced out my chasing to the full house with an all-in bet.
I also fired a 100 bet into a dry pot and got a call with the nuts from the same guy.
Anyway, back to the bluff the kid, Adam, was in a bad spot. He said he had pocket 10s and thought I was weak. I told him I'd fold in that situation too, and I probably would. Or I'd fire in my last 200 expecting to see the nuts and get ready to curse myself all the way home.
Later he flopped a straight on a 7 board. I had pocket 10s. I folded them after the flop. He asked what I folded, I said 10s and he looked disbelieving then quiped "Yeah, I've folded 10s too."
I thought he showed a lot of composure not tilting and playing solid after the bluff. I enjoyed the intellectual challenge of playing him. I think he had to catch a flight so I probably won't play him again anytime soon. Seemed a good kid and a promising player.
Getting ready for the circuit events so will be playing some single tables in preparation for the satellites online.
Won the hourly best hand prize for quad kings while my man Ed completed his tournament tour down here by chopping the Isle of Capris tournament. Yeah, he officially was 4 for 4 in successive tournaments. Good job Ed. The tournament was painful as once again I build a big chip stack and once again I look at Aces in late position after a medium stack in early position has open shoved. I call. Small blind shoves too. EP has 64 o/s (Hello suicide bomber, my name is collateral damage). SB has 22. I came in third. Yeah, fun.
Then I get a call station to my left that refuses to release a hand until the river. She says she loves the river because that's where she makes all of her hands. I lose the minimum to her with my AK vs. her K10. She later rivers a straight, then pairs her kicker to give her bottom two vs. my top pair on the river--almost considering just not playing until someone else wounded her, but realized that was cowardly--she was going to pay off somebody at some point. Big Ed sits down as we combine to two tables and she chases a gut shot to the river on him. She misses and still pays him off with Ace high saying "I just can't see letting this go." Poker is a fickle, fickle game.
Crippled from my dates with the riverlady, I'm essentially forced to shove in the big blind when the button shoves and is followed by an insta shove from the small blind. I look at 9/2 o. I'm priced in with anything unless they have a huge hand. I fold. KK v. AA. Aces hold... for that guy.
Next hand, a guy goes all in (medium stack), another follows suit. I can't fold anymore. I call with 62--I have to have live cards. I get suprised to see K6 (another suicide bomber) and pocket 33. Yeah, I'm dominated in a way I completely didn't expect.. . I get my 2 and nothing else.
Okay.. I said things changed and I give you three paragraphs of whining. Anyway. I take down the high hand jackpot. I have a couple of misunderstandings with the floor people but I leave a winner.
Had two solid back to back winners at Harrahs just playing the grind. First night I hit my big hand when two big stacks didn't chase me off my gut shot draw to the nuts on a straight crazy board. I probably didn't bet enough on the river as second nuts called pretty quickly my reraise. Actually it was funny, the first guy bet, before I could act, the next guy (second nuts) was putting a 4x into the pot.
I had no idea what to do. When I stopped him for acting out of turn, I took a risk that if I called he'd still raise. He did. Other guy called and then I reraised. Sweet.
Last night I made a solid bluff against a guy Adam, who I played with for about 4 hours. I only showed premium hands and really hadn't gotten caught making any major moves. He was in a bad spot because I had a pretty good read on him and I knew he was good enough to lay down a hand to me. I almost f'd myself on the river as he just about priced himself in to call anything and just about robbing me of any fold equity to my planned river bluff.
Here's what I remember of the hand. Some preflop action. I got K10. I believe he put in a raise from the blind that felt like a midpair or two high cards. The board comes J high. He bet out and something about his action told me he was either weak or vulnerable. I tried to take the pot down with a reraise. He came over the top big. I felt like I was online with some leveling going on and where me and my opponent both knows the other has air. We were both deep stacked. I thought I could get him on a later street, but if I fired back here things were liable to get out of control. If he had a mid-pair he'd need some convincing. If a big card came out I'd try to trust my read if it helped him or not, and bet accordingly.
Turn is another J (though it might have been the river), either way it didn't really effect the hand as it didn't improve him or me. He grabs a stack and forcefully puts it on the table. I know my bluff could work here as that was another tell confirming my initial read. I decided to do what I'd do if had the nuts. Call.
The river didn't help either of us, and he looked uneasy and maybe a tad desperate. Another forceful, big bet. I look at his chips and he's barely got 200 left. I ask him about what he's got left and just feel he's uncomfortable. I'm really worried he has to call here regardless because of the chips. He counts them out like they were a threat.
I thought for a while, and then decided even if I'm in a rut I have to trust my instincts, fortune favors the bold and all that B.S. I think I can get him off the hand, now I just need the guts to follow through. I say "I'm all in" (my voice cracks and I think my cover is blown, then because of that, my nervous system goes into overdrive my heartbeat deafening my ears, and the vein in my neck trying to jump out of it... damn, all that only to have my voice crack to f me).
He doesn't instacall. Phew. I thought the way the hand played out there was maybe a 1% chance he had an absolute monster and was pulling me on a string doing some fake tells--again this kid hasn't made a mistake all night. That was eliminated with the pause. He goes in the tank for a little bit, I'm worried my voice cracking was going to kill me. For the first time in a long while making a big bluff, I felt I was advertising my weakness, where as normally I'm pretty good at imagining I'm sitting on the nuts.
He finally folds saying he can't beat trip jacks. I show the bluff.
I was really on last night. I also folded a set of aces to have a guy show me a baby flush he was protecting when he priced out my chasing to the full house with an all-in bet.
I also fired a 100 bet into a dry pot and got a call with the nuts from the same guy.
Anyway, back to the bluff the kid, Adam, was in a bad spot. He said he had pocket 10s and thought I was weak. I told him I'd fold in that situation too, and I probably would. Or I'd fire in my last 200 expecting to see the nuts and get ready to curse myself all the way home.
Later he flopped a straight on a 7 board. I had pocket 10s. I folded them after the flop. He asked what I folded, I said 10s and he looked disbelieving then quiped "Yeah, I've folded 10s too."
I thought he showed a lot of composure not tilting and playing solid after the bluff. I enjoyed the intellectual challenge of playing him. I think he had to catch a flight so I probably won't play him again anytime soon. Seemed a good kid and a promising player.
Getting ready for the circuit events so will be playing some single tables in preparation for the satellites online.
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