WSOP Warmup Doesn't Go Quite As Expected

I haven't posted in a while because I have been on a small poker hiatus leading up to my Vegas trip. K and I had a free weekend so we decided to hit the road to the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg IN (the old Argosy) for some poker. When we got there (about 11AM Saturday) it was NUTS. The place was packed with players.

I started out on the Texas Hold'em table game. I have had pretty good luck with this game, it's generally profitable if you avoid the bonus bets and play a basic tight/solid hold'em strategy. However, variance and I are still not talking to each other and I got smacked around for $170. The highlights? I didn't bet the bonus and got dealt pocket aces, lost $60 on the hand when the dealer's 9-4 made a four card heart flush runner-runner. I was flopping huge - straight/flush draws, two pair, etc, and getting mushed on the river every time. I decided to go downstairs and play some $1/3 NL to get my groove back on. Sat down at a table with $300 and on hand two got dealt QJ offsuit UTG. I limped, guy in the middle made it $15 and three people called behind me, I called. Flop 10-9-8 offsuit. I check, raiser makes it $50. Two callers. I pop it to $150 figuring for sure I'm going to stack someone. Everyone runs away screaming and I kick myself for overplaying it. After that it was mushing time. I piddled away a lot of $10 and $15 bets preflop with pairs, big aces, etc and missed every board and draw. My table was odd - either everyone limped or it turned into a circus preflop with $120 raises. There was no middle ground. I lost about 1/3 of my stack in a hand with a guy that still has me shaking my head. Preflop I limp from the cutoff with 97d. Flop 9-6-3 two diamonds. I bet $10, guy at the end agonizes and calls. Turn Ac. He checks, I bet $25. He agonizes more and calls. River is a blank but I'm sure he missed whatever draw he was on. I bet $60 and he calls and rolls over A5. He called with no pair/no draw on flop and hit his two out ace (the Ad would've given me a flush so he couldn't hit it). I finally stacked off to an old man on an oxygen machine. Preflop he made it $20 to go (he had previously only raised once, to $50 with aces and no one called). I called with 10-7d. Flop was 9-7-A two diamonds. He bet out $55 and I shoved. He snap calls and rolls over AJ off (no diamonds). Turn 7 (sweet!). River? The two out ace of course.

Irritated, I decided to walk it off and go back to the Hold'em table game. I sat down with $200 and ran it up to over $525. The big hit was right after they switched decks on me, they had been nagging me to play the bonus (which I usually don't) so I put $10 on it. I got dealt QQ (10-1) and made a full house, profiting me $150 on that hand. I cashed out and went back down to the $1/3 feeling good. I bought in for $300 and finally hit my stride. I stacked two players when I flopped a pair of kings with KJ and two people shoved on gutshots (I know, right?) and I called. I got into a monster hand when I called a raise with A10 suited on the button. Flop was 10-3-2, short stack open shoves for $57, guy behind me calls, I call. Turn A. I check, other guy bets $100, I shove. He tanks and then folds. I turn up my A10 and the short stack shows J10, drawing dead. I finally cash out $700 even. I had time kill since Kirsten was still playing so I headed up and played some 3 card poker for a bit. With a few hours to go until we left, I bought back into the $1/3 a third time. On my fifth hand I got dealt 9-7 on the button. Flop was 9-3-2, two clubs. I led out for $10. SB calls. Turn was a 10d. I bet $30. SB calls. River is the 6s. SB opens up for $100. I put him on missing his flush draw and call, he turns up 9-6 for two pair and I lose to another three out miracle. I blinded off for a while down to about $90 when I get QQ. I get all the money in preflop, SB (the same idiot with the 9-6) insta-calls me with KQd. Flop? K of course. ANOTHER THREE OUTER! How many fucking times can I get three outered? Seriously, after a while it starts getting comical. It makes you not want to play your hands or bet them properly because you start to feel like you just cannot win. I mean, I want these guys in there trying to hit two and three out miracles, but it's not funny when they do.

I quit for the session and headed up to play Crazy 4 poker until Kirsten wanted to go. This was a very frustrating trip for me. I feel like I played very well, bet my hands when I was ahead, got my money in the best I could and still got kicked around. My next post will likely be in July when I return from Vegas and my WSOP trip. I sure hope it goes better than this.