Another 8 Game Victory
I haven't been blogging as much lately, I actually haven't been playing cards that much either. I hit Dave's last week for the 8 game and sat at a full table with TK, Meats, RR Dave, Dennis, and Data. I did pretty well, cashed out up $116. Terry was up a couple hundred, he really does well at the stud games (where he learned limit). I was surprised he would even play when a NL game was on, but he stayed at our table all night.
Last Saturday was spectacular. I went early to play the $50 deepstack. I made one bad play that crippled me (called Data's raise with A-10 in position, he had AK, we both flopped an A and I put him in and lost). I doubled up with a good play on Dave (shoved over his raise with 88 and he folded). I got KK under the gun with only 9900 left and made it 2k to go. The button raised to 7k and I shoved, of course he snap calls and turns up 10's and I am out after a river 10. I decided to sit at the NL game and nit it up for a while until the 8 game busted out. I made a huge call early that helped out. I was in the BB and Rich straddled for $2. Couple calls, I look down at Q3s and tossed another $1 in, Rich checked. Flop is Q-J-3. Checks around to Danny, he fires out $10. Jamie calls, I call, everyone else folds. Turn is another J, at which point Jeff R rolls his eyes and slaps the table. I am a bit worried about being counterfeited so I check again to see what happens. Danny bets another $10. Jamie calls, I call. River is a 10. Check-check to Danny, he fires out $36. Jamie folds, and it's to me. I only have $50 left, but I start running through the hand. If he had AQ, QQ, KQ or QJ he would've raised preflop. He could conceivably have Q-10 but I just feel like he missed something. I decide if I'm wrong I'll rebuy and I call. He shows 4-4 and I scoop a nice pot. 8 game finally opened up and I cash down to $150 and move.
The 8 game was a lot peppier this week than the week before. Hip Hop, Colin, and Pro West sat in with us, which made for a lively table. HH did a lot of raising in spots he really shouldn't have (a common mistake when NL players try to move to limit) and lost a lot of pots he had no business being in. It's fun to watch a NL player twist in the wind when he can't bet enough to bluff or push someone off a hand. For example: in 2-7 Triple Draw I make the nuts on the last draw and lead out. Meats gets worried and just calls, and HH two bets me. Colin looks over and asks "What the fuck are you doing?" as I three bet it. Meats gets sick and lays down a 7-6 low while HH calls with his 8-6 low. I show the nuts and scoop. I tried to avoid getting into any NL or PL hands with HH as I know these are not my strongest games and there was no reason to put my stack at risk in a dick waving contest. I did lose a nasty PLO hand where HH raises preflop with 3-3-5-8. I call with AK66 (suited A) and flop the nut flush. I check call his pot bet on the flop. On the turn the board pairs 5's and we both check. River? 8. I check call him again and lost $25 to his runner runner boat. He didn't believe I flopped the nuts but I know that any other way I play that hand I get stacked. He would call a repot on the flop and once he turns trips he's going nowhere. He might be dumb enough to pump it with a flopped flush but I'm not.
Ended up the night +$300 after covering my tournament loss. 8 game seems to be gaining some faithful followers, we actually had more people playing it this week than were playing NL. Chan closed down the NL table after felting a few people. They were begging for players and no one wanted to leave our table. I am confident there will be another 8 game this weekend as well, I can't wait to go extract more profit.
In my next post I will attempt to analyze my history at Nautica and explain why I won't be playing there anymore.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Much Needed Poker Win
I decided to make my way to Dave's again Saturday to play the tournament and try to work on my game a little. I was floating around the 8k starting stack until after the break when I got moved to Gary's table. Gary raised to 16k and 5 people (including me) called. I had K-10, flop was 10-10-3. Gary bet, I shoved and he called with A3c. He turned a wheel and club draw but bricked the river and I suddenly had 24k. I got moved to table 3 (incidentally, I ended up being moved enough times that I played at all 4 tournament tables at one point or another). I was in the BB for 1200 when the SB raises to 2500. I call with 98c and the flop comes J-8-2. He shoves for his last 4K and I call, he has A9 and misses. With 32K I get moved back to the feature table and then start getting pummelled. I lose 9K to Monsignor when he re-raises me all-in with J-10d against my AJ. Of course he hit his flush on the turn, I'm drawing dead. Crippled, I lose a few more small pots and get moved AGAIN to table 2. I blind off some more until I get AK on the BB. Colin button raises and I shove my last 16K in, he snap calls with A7d and sure enough he rivers a flush. Shell shocked, I get up.
With that we had enough people to open an 8 game table for $3/6 stakes. The game played mostly solid except for Jack being in damn near every hand. I get dealt rolled up K's in stud, bet it like it's going out of style, and lose to Jack's gutshot straight draw that gets there on 7th street. I also turned a straight and flush draw in PLO and lost $25 on the river when I made my flush and paid off Meat's higher flush. I finished the cash game up $9. A win is a win, I'll take it. After a 5AM run to IHOP with the 8 game crew I head home to sleep it off.
I get up Sunday at 1 and decide to meander over to Julie's for the $60. Julie gets crippled early by Kristina when they both flop trips and Kristina has an Ace with hers. In a limped pot I flop top pair Jacks with QJ and lead out. Julie snap calls. On the turn a 2nd diamond comes out, and Julie shoves her stack in. I call and she shows 10-7 for a gutshot and a flush draw. She bricks and I win. I then cripple myself when I call a raise in position with 3-4d. Flop 4-5-10 2 diamonds. I check raise the original raiser and he calls. Turn is the Kh and he shoves half his stack in. I have a monumental brain fart and just shove on him, he snap calls and rolls over AKd. Brick on the river and I'm down to 200. I get K2d on the button, Kristina min-raises and I shove. There's 1100 in the pot and I raise her 2100 more. She calls with A4 and I am out.
I decide to head over to Nautica and ply my trade at $5/10 limit. I was surprised to see Andre at the $2/5 tables, when I left he had over $1600 in his stack. I sit down and fold for a little bit and watch the table. There's an ATM at the end that is in hyper aggressive mode. He's betting and raising every chance he can, and people keep folding to him. Finally someone gets pissed and calls him with a pair of 2's which end up being good. Smelling blood, the regulars and I begin running him down. I get AQ in the blind and call his raise, flop is K-8-2 all spades (I have the As). He bets and I smooth call with a few others. Turn the Js. DA NUTS! He bets again and I smooth call him, down to just us. River is a blank and he bets again. I pop it to $20 and he gets mad and calls, I show him the nuts and scoop a nice one. I win a bunch of smaller pots and after 2 seat fees decide I don't want to pay a 3rd. I cash out up $150, recovering my two tournament losses for the weekend and adding a bit of scratch to my poor, anemic bankroll. I think I need to spend more time at the $5/10, I can play it pretty soft and still make a decent profit.
I decided to make my way to Dave's again Saturday to play the tournament and try to work on my game a little. I was floating around the 8k starting stack until after the break when I got moved to Gary's table. Gary raised to 16k and 5 people (including me) called. I had K-10, flop was 10-10-3. Gary bet, I shoved and he called with A3c. He turned a wheel and club draw but bricked the river and I suddenly had 24k. I got moved to table 3 (incidentally, I ended up being moved enough times that I played at all 4 tournament tables at one point or another). I was in the BB for 1200 when the SB raises to 2500. I call with 98c and the flop comes J-8-2. He shoves for his last 4K and I call, he has A9 and misses. With 32K I get moved back to the feature table and then start getting pummelled. I lose 9K to Monsignor when he re-raises me all-in with J-10d against my AJ. Of course he hit his flush on the turn, I'm drawing dead. Crippled, I lose a few more small pots and get moved AGAIN to table 2. I blind off some more until I get AK on the BB. Colin button raises and I shove my last 16K in, he snap calls with A7d and sure enough he rivers a flush. Shell shocked, I get up.
With that we had enough people to open an 8 game table for $3/6 stakes. The game played mostly solid except for Jack being in damn near every hand. I get dealt rolled up K's in stud, bet it like it's going out of style, and lose to Jack's gutshot straight draw that gets there on 7th street. I also turned a straight and flush draw in PLO and lost $25 on the river when I made my flush and paid off Meat's higher flush. I finished the cash game up $9. A win is a win, I'll take it. After a 5AM run to IHOP with the 8 game crew I head home to sleep it off.
I get up Sunday at 1 and decide to meander over to Julie's for the $60. Julie gets crippled early by Kristina when they both flop trips and Kristina has an Ace with hers. In a limped pot I flop top pair Jacks with QJ and lead out. Julie snap calls. On the turn a 2nd diamond comes out, and Julie shoves her stack in. I call and she shows 10-7 for a gutshot and a flush draw. She bricks and I win. I then cripple myself when I call a raise in position with 3-4d. Flop 4-5-10 2 diamonds. I check raise the original raiser and he calls. Turn is the Kh and he shoves half his stack in. I have a monumental brain fart and just shove on him, he snap calls and rolls over AKd. Brick on the river and I'm down to 200. I get K2d on the button, Kristina min-raises and I shove. There's 1100 in the pot and I raise her 2100 more. She calls with A4 and I am out.
I decide to head over to Nautica and ply my trade at $5/10 limit. I was surprised to see Andre at the $2/5 tables, when I left he had over $1600 in his stack. I sit down and fold for a little bit and watch the table. There's an ATM at the end that is in hyper aggressive mode. He's betting and raising every chance he can, and people keep folding to him. Finally someone gets pissed and calls him with a pair of 2's which end up being good. Smelling blood, the regulars and I begin running him down. I get AQ in the blind and call his raise, flop is K-8-2 all spades (I have the As). He bets and I smooth call with a few others. Turn the Js. DA NUTS! He bets again and I smooth call him, down to just us. River is a blank and he bets again. I pop it to $20 and he gets mad and calls, I show him the nuts and scoop a nice one. I win a bunch of smaller pots and after 2 seat fees decide I don't want to pay a 3rd. I cash out up $150, recovering my two tournament losses for the weekend and adding a bit of scratch to my poor, anemic bankroll. I think I need to spend more time at the $5/10, I can play it pretty soft and still make a decent profit.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Wheels Have Come Off
So, I decided to hit Dave's game last Saturday and play some cash. I made it with 3 minutes to spare for the tournament, and there weren't many people there so I bought in. First hand AK off, Gary K makes it 1200 to go. I call and miss the flop compeletely and am forced to fold off 6.5% of my stack. After the break, blind down to 4500 (started at 7900) and finally shove on Malcolm with J9 suited. He tanks for a minute and calls with 66. Board comes AAKK4 and I win on kicker. I plod along for a while and make the final table. I get into a monster three way all-in between me (AJ off), Jamie (A2 off) and TK (A8s). TK makes trip 8's on the turn and I take the side pot and eliminate Jamie, breaking mostly even. TK then doubles me up with his AK against my 99. I make it down to 3 handed and bust with my J9 (again, I know) against a new guy who couldn't lay down QJ off. I take my $100 cashout to the cash game, where I promptly lose it in less than 2 orbits.
I sit down and don't play a hand until I get JJ. Raise to $6, two callers. Flop A-A-8, I bet $12 and they fold. Then I get 44 in the blind. Paul Millions makes it $6. I call, as does Father Time. Flop 10-6-5. I check, Paul checks, Joe checks. Paul oftens raises/checks with big Aces, I am figuring he missed this flop. A-10 or a pocket pair would've bet, so I think I might be good. Turn a 6, I check again. Paul bets $12. I am fairly sure he's on air. Joe calls, I call. River 4. Bingo! I open/shove for $50. Paul smooth calls. Joe folds. I declare "I have a full house" and Paul says "So do I..." as he tables 10-10. Oops. FUCK! I decide not to rebuy and just leave.
Kirsten and I were bored Sunday and I talked her into a trip to Nautica so I could play some $5/10 limit. I buy in for $220 and proceed to blow $80 in two hands to the same exact beat. I flop top pair, get a guy betting it the whole way like he has the nuts only to see his runner-runner flush. I called $5 on the button with 6-5d and flop comes A-6-5. I bet it the whole way and watch the pot go to the guy with AJ who hits his J on the river card. I rebuy another $100 and just get pummeled. Call a raise with AK, flop a K, bet the whole way and get run down by a guy with J9 who catches runner-runner two pair (he calls a check-raise on the flop with no pair and no draw and gets lucky). I get up $320 lighter and decide that I am finished.
With that loss my bankroll is officially flat. It seems that poker and I need to see other people for a little while. I am going to stick to a few tournaments and stay out of the cash game mix for a while. With Christmas coming up I can't dump any more money into poker right now, I need to take care of my kids first. I'm sure if the occasional sweet limit cash game (like an 8 game at Dave's) pops up I'll play, but NL and I are taking some time off. First of the year I am making a few changes to my bankroll and how I track it, I've been reading some books and want to take a few steps to start taking poker more seriously. I've been playing too casually, it's taking a toll.
So, I decided to hit Dave's game last Saturday and play some cash. I made it with 3 minutes to spare for the tournament, and there weren't many people there so I bought in. First hand AK off, Gary K makes it 1200 to go. I call and miss the flop compeletely and am forced to fold off 6.5% of my stack. After the break, blind down to 4500 (started at 7900) and finally shove on Malcolm with J9 suited. He tanks for a minute and calls with 66. Board comes AAKK4 and I win on kicker. I plod along for a while and make the final table. I get into a monster three way all-in between me (AJ off), Jamie (A2 off) and TK (A8s). TK makes trip 8's on the turn and I take the side pot and eliminate Jamie, breaking mostly even. TK then doubles me up with his AK against my 99. I make it down to 3 handed and bust with my J9 (again, I know) against a new guy who couldn't lay down QJ off. I take my $100 cashout to the cash game, where I promptly lose it in less than 2 orbits.
I sit down and don't play a hand until I get JJ. Raise to $6, two callers. Flop A-A-8, I bet $12 and they fold. Then I get 44 in the blind. Paul Millions makes it $6. I call, as does Father Time. Flop 10-6-5. I check, Paul checks, Joe checks. Paul oftens raises/checks with big Aces, I am figuring he missed this flop. A-10 or a pocket pair would've bet, so I think I might be good. Turn a 6, I check again. Paul bets $12. I am fairly sure he's on air. Joe calls, I call. River 4. Bingo! I open/shove for $50. Paul smooth calls. Joe folds. I declare "I have a full house" and Paul says "So do I..." as he tables 10-10. Oops. FUCK! I decide not to rebuy and just leave.
Kirsten and I were bored Sunday and I talked her into a trip to Nautica so I could play some $5/10 limit. I buy in for $220 and proceed to blow $80 in two hands to the same exact beat. I flop top pair, get a guy betting it the whole way like he has the nuts only to see his runner-runner flush. I called $5 on the button with 6-5d and flop comes A-6-5. I bet it the whole way and watch the pot go to the guy with AJ who hits his J on the river card. I rebuy another $100 and just get pummeled. Call a raise with AK, flop a K, bet the whole way and get run down by a guy with J9 who catches runner-runner two pair (he calls a check-raise on the flop with no pair and no draw and gets lucky). I get up $320 lighter and decide that I am finished.
With that loss my bankroll is officially flat. It seems that poker and I need to see other people for a little while. I am going to stick to a few tournaments and stay out of the cash game mix for a while. With Christmas coming up I can't dump any more money into poker right now, I need to take care of my kids first. I'm sure if the occasional sweet limit cash game (like an 8 game at Dave's) pops up I'll play, but NL and I are taking some time off. First of the year I am making a few changes to my bankroll and how I track it, I've been reading some books and want to take a few steps to start taking poker more seriously. I've been playing too casually, it's taking a toll.
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