Trippers 3/14/10

Well, I had the afternoon off, since the wife and kid were at a baby shower. So, instead of staying home and getting some much needed stuff done...I decided to go to Trippers to play some cards.

And, I'm glad I did. I needed to get back on a winning track, I didn't want to follow up my $300 loss at the casino with another big loss. And, I brought $300 to play with, so I could have lost all of that. Which would have crushed my poker fund and my spirit. Happily, that did not happen. I ended up winning $120 in about 3.5 hours of playing. Although, in hind-sight, I could have left up bigger after just an hour (but who wants to leave after just 1 hour?).

I went into the day knowing that I was going to be more patient. Which, for me, means not necessarily that I'll only play premium hands, but that I'll not play when I don't know what's going on in the hand. In fact, my 2 biggest pots of the night (no surprise, they were both within the first hour) were with 7-4 offsuit and 4c-5c.

In the first big pot, I was 2 spots to the left of the blind and had 7-4 offsuit. Knowing that I should fold, I realized that I there would be probably 5-6 callers and no raising because that's what our table has been doing AND the 2 blinds hadn't raised all day. As it turns out, I was right. The flop came 7-6-4 rainbow and the 2 blinds checked. I bet $8 to make it look like I was buying it and disguise the fact that I hit the board huge. There were 2 callers until the small blind and he raised to $22 all-day. I figured he could be doing this with an A-7 or even a 5, so I re-raised him to $50, hoping that he could fold either one of these hands, since it could draw to a better hand. The other 2 callers had folded and the small blind pushed all-in for another $24. At that point, I realized that he could also have a straight already (in which case, I'd be down to 4 outs), but I was already pot committed. So I called. Lucky for me, he had 6-4 and didn't get his 6 on the turn or the river and I won the pot. In retrospect, I'm happy how I played that because even after the hand, people were talking about how they couldn't have put me on that hand from my position.

The next big pot came from a similar situation. But this time, I got helped because someone who should have re-raised pre-flop didn't. I was big blind and the guy under-the-gun raised $10 (which was pretty common for him). There were 3 other callers and so I decided to defend my big blind with suited 4-5 (clubs). Defense: I knew it was only going to cost me $10, since I was last to act and he raised pre-flop a lot and made a continuation bet almost all the time. The flop came 3-6-7 (two diamonds), almost the perfect flop for me, but I was scared of the flush. So, I decided to bet big early and hopefully push someone off with 2 small diamonds. So, I bet $30 (the pot was $51). The early raiser folded, but a guy 2 to his left re-raised me to $75, everyone else folded. I knew he couldn't put me on a straight and I didn't think he's try to push me away if he had a set or 2 pair (because he couldn't put me on having a straight draw either, since I called $12 pre-flop). So, I guessed that he had a flush draw and probably a big one, so I felt good about me hand. So, I pushed all-in and he thought for a couple seconds, but then said "I don't see how the flop could have hit you, I think you have an overpair...I call". He showed Ad-Kd and I showed my straight. He took it very well and even complimented me because he said there was no way he'd have put me on that hand. As it turns out, no diamond came and I won another huge pot.

The rest of the day went pretty un-eventful, I got down a little and back up a few times after that. Then with about 30 min before I wanted to leave, I got down to about $140, which made me regret staying as long as I did (since I'd had $305 at my peek). But, I buckled down and worked my way back up to $224 before cashing out. After tips and food, I increased my poker fund by $100.

It was a good day for cards.

Poker Fund (+100)

Firekeepers (3/9/2010)

Well, I went with some friends to Firekeeper on Tuesday night. It wasn't as good of a night for any of us. However, I got the worst of it, financially speaking. I'm sure it was mainly from my win on Sunday that I made 2 MAJOR mistakes. 1) I brought too much money and 2) I played very impatiently. I tried to win money too fast.

We had called ahead and gotten on the list for the only game going on, they had 5 different 1-2 NL Hold'em tables running. When we got there, there were 2 open seats, so 2 (of the 4) of us started playing right away, for some reason, I was one of them. Which suited me well, since I was ready to play and ready to win more money.

As it turns out, that attitude was to be my downfall. That, and a long run of bad cards. I sat down with $100 and within an hour, it was gone. I was at a very loose, very aggresive table, but I did not see a playable hand in my first 50 hands, easily. However, that didn't stop me from seeing flops and chasing stupid draws. Needless to say, my 2nd $100 went just about as quickly.

This is the point in the night where I should have just gotten up, watched my friends play or even gone and spent my next $100 at Let-It-Ride. But, I'm not that smart, and I had too much money. So, I decided to buy another $100 in chips and actually played them smarter and slower. And, to add to that, the cards started turning around...I was getting some decent starting cards and hitting a few draws. The problem was that I just could never get the pot big when I had the best of it.

So, without too many exciting hands, I lost my 3rd $100. And, since the others had already lost their money, I was not tempted to buy my 4th, and last, $100. Phew.

And, to speed up the rest of the story, I did go play Let-It-Ride with my last $100 before we left. And, with some ups and downs, I left with the same $100 I started with. Oh well, I didn't make all my money back, but it's better than being down all $400 on the day.

Poker Fund (-300)

Buddies - Long Night (3/7/10)

I had such a fun and amazingly successful night at Buddies last night. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to repeat the scenarios which made it a successful night, but I won't argue...at least it happened once.

To start the night, I was ready to play the 7:00 tournament ($20 with 1-$20 rebuy/add-on). But since I got there a little early, I decided to waste some time at a cash game. There were only 3 tables going, but they were a $400 max Omaha table (where each person already had almost $1000), a $200 max Round-by-Round and a $100 max Hold'em table. Since I only brought $200 to lose that night and I needed to keep $40 for the tournament, I decided to take $80 to the hold'em table.

Not a whole lot exciting happened there, I wasted some time and lost $10, but only because I wanted to see a flop on my last (pre-tournament) hand. The guy to my right had made it $10 pre-flop and I had Q-J offsuit. I didn't hit anything on the flop, folded and went to play the tournament.

The tournament did not go very well at all for me. We start with 8000 in chips and after the first 2 hands, I was down to 7300. On the first hand, I called the 50 big blind, then someone raised it to 350 and with 4 other callers, I decided to see a flop with my J-10 suited. The flop completely missed me and I folded to a bet. Virtually the same thing on the 2nd hand, 'cept I had 4-4.

After that, the cards went completely dead for me. I was at a very active table, but I couldn't even get 2 cards to see a flop with. The good news is I was in a patient mood and was okay folding a lot. But, I don't think I've seen cards that bad for that long in awhile. I called a few times before the flop and never hit. I don't think I saw a turn card (with cards in my hand) in the first 45 minutes of the tournament. With the break coming up, I was getting a little impatient and started called with stupid cards and still not hitting. With 2 minutes to go before the break, I went bust and decided to re-buy. My re-buy 8000 chips didn't last me very long into the tournament, I lost a decent hand and then just bled chips until they were gone.

Oh well, out of the tourney and back to a cash game. Since I love Omaha, I really wanted to play the $200 max round-by-round game but I didn't think I could afford it and I didn't want to sit down with only one buy-in. Although looking at the table, there weren't any real big stacks. I think 1 person had about $400 and 2 people had around $250-300. The rest were below $200. I knew I had enough money for two buy-ins, just in case I go broke with my first.

I sat down at the table with $130 before 8:30p. The short version is that I left the table when it closed at 1:30a. And, I ended up cashing out with $978. Whether or not I was making money, it was one of the most fun times I've had at a poker table. People were all in a good mood, talkative and mostly good players. I don't expect I'll ever be able to repeat it though, because there was 1 major factor that kept the players re-buying and the keeping the game from breaking when someone left.

At about 9:45, the charity ran out of chips to sell. Small explanation: in a charity run poker game, the charity is limited, by State regulations, to sell no more than $15,000 worth of chips total. The reason that became an advantage for our game is because the big stacks, would sell of some of their chips to new players and players who had just gone broke. Normally that is forbidden at a poker table unless the cash stays on the table. However, it was tolerated by the other players because it was the only way to bring new money to the table. And, since you can't play with cash at the table, any money you got from selling your chips would go into your pocket, saving you from losing it in any future hand. This kept people coming to the table since buying in for $200, or $100 didn't make you that much of a short-stack when you first sat down.

There were lots of big pots I was involved in, but mostly they were forgettable. I do remember at least 2 different hands where I had lost $200+. Now, I just dream about having cashed out with $400 more. :)

One couple memorable hand was:

Probably my 4th Omaha hand, I had flopped top 2 pair, but there was a flush draw and a straight draw. There was probably $100 in the pot and I bet $35. Everyone else folded 'cept for a player who I knew was a regular player. He thought for a long time and then showed me 2 of his cards (the nut flush draw) and said "If you let me take $20 back, I'll fold. I thought for a minute, but it only made sense, so I said "yes. Besides, I was too new to know whether that was smart for me and I was just happy enough winning the pot and some money.

Needless to say, I'm hooked on playing Omaha and adding the Hold'em round back in, is a nice change of pace.

If I continue to have nights like this, who knows what might happen. :)

Given to Family ($108)

Poker Fund (+650)

Poker League - Week 8 & Trippers

I really need to start concentrating on playing well. I can be such a donkey just calling everything and hoping for luck.

I lost about $30 tonight. $10 in the tourney (I think I got 19th out of 23) and $20 in the cash game.

I'm just making way too many calls early in the tournament where my odds are less than 50/50...I need to tighten up and start reading the table better. Also, I need to learn to fold when I know someone has me beat. I am having a hard time doing that. "Live to play another hand".

On a similar note, I played at Trippers on Friday afternoon. I was in a very patient mode and wasn't rushing to make money. Despite only having 20 minutes to play total, I was up $35 up until the last hand. Then I kinda got tilted and lost $45...let me explain.

I had just won a pot and we were at a very friendly table. I had told the guys this hand was my last...since I was under the gun, I decided to straddle for $4, just to offer some money back to the table. There were 5 callers, including the 2 blinds and when it got back to me, I looked down at QQ. So, I decided that I just wanted to take the pot, show my hand and leave. So, I raised it another $22. However, the dealer pushed my $22 back to me and said I couldn't raise. I contested, "But I straddled". To which he retorted "Straddles aren't allowed by the state, you had just made a blind bet". And, since I vaguely remember that being true, I stopped arguing and took back my bet.

That was where I tilted.

So, after the flop came K-7-4 with 2 spades, I told myself someone probably has a King...but since I was willing to raise before the flop, I threw in $18 anyway. 3 people folded but the button (who was a good/tight/patient player) went all in for $41 all day. It folded back around to me and I couldn't talk myself into folding. So, I put the rest in and said "your King is good" as I was doing it. Sure enough, he had K-10 and won the hand.

Needless to say, I could have played that a lot better and not lost any more than $4. Also, I wouldn't have "blind bet", had I known, and raised enough pre-flop to get K-10 to fold, then I would have won the pot. But, whichever way I should have played it, I didn't and ended up loosing $45 more than I needed to ($10 total at Trippers).

Play smart Joe!

Poker Fund (-$40)

Poker League - Week 7

It was a pretty mundane week at Poker League. I was able to get a pretty good read of all the players and how they were playing, but I was just never able to get into the right situation to make some good chips. I did, however, stay in until 11th place. So, I will not complain. No prize money this week, but there's always the cash game to make it back...right?

In the cash game after, I was a lot more aggressive and a lot more loose. And, consequently, I was in some big pots. Some of those, I won and some I lost. All-in-all, I lost $10 in the cash game.

I'm going to try to make it a habit to explain at least one hand each time I blog...this, I hope, will make it a little more interesting to read as well as more interesting to reflect on. Please don't think I'm just complaining and telling bad beat stories...although it's usually those stories that are the most interesting to hear. But, seriously, I don't blame anyone for the way I play and the way the cards fall...I understand poker and the odds that go with it. A 1% hand is going to win 1 out of every 100 times...and as much as I play, I'm sure I'll see a lot of them hit.

One example of my loose and aggressive play (this time it cost me) during the cash game was when I played 7-2 offsuit on the button. First, I decided to call the $.50 big blind because so far, all the players were still in and I thought there was a chance to win a big pot. Then, the lady in the big blind raised it $2.00. And, although she played a lot of hands, she hardly ever raised pre-flop, so I knew she had a big hand. And, if she didn't hit her hand after the flop, she wouldn't keep betting. Well, 4 other players also decided to call her $2.00 raise (keep in mind, most of us only bought in for $5 or $10). I figured I had the same chances as I did before the flop...if I hit the flop good, I could win a BIG pot and if I didn't, I could fold relatively cheap. So, I called.

The flop came 7-4-2 rainbow. I knew that the big blind had a big pair, because she bet $2.50. There were still 3 callers by the time it got to me, so I decided to re-raise and go all-in for another $3.50 on top of that. The big blind call almost immediately and everyone else finally folded. Well, she turned over K-K and I sheepishly turned over 7-2. I started to apologize, until a 4 hit on the turn and a Q on the river. Obviously her 2 pair beat my 3 pair and I watched her rake a $30+ pot. But, truly, it's okay, that's what I get for playing stupid cards. "REBUY!!"

With a $20 loss on the night, I reflect and realize that this is the first time I've lost money on a poker league night. That's not a bad thing when you realize the league is 70% over. I'll re-focus and try to make it so that this is the only league night that I lose money. Well, I'll try.

Poker Fund (-$20)

Poker with the wife

This weekend was actually full of poker and none of it affected my poker fund.

On Saturday, my father-in-law invited us to a charity Mardi Gras-themed casino night at a local church. The kicker is that they had daycare available, so it was a no-brainer for us. My wife had been wanting to play for awhile and I hardly ever say no.

So, we both played in a $50 buy-in (with $10 add-on) tournament which ended up with 40 people in it. It was generally full of a bunch of older guys who were just playing for fun with a mix of a few guys who looked like they were taking it too seriously. We had lots of fun playing, my wife got out somewhere in the middle, she was playing good (if not a little tight) and get busted when her pocket kings lost to a set of queens on a Q-5-2 rainbow board. She played it well, but it's just hard to see that coming.

I was playing pretty steady all tournament and ended up on the right side of the bubble in 4th place and won $75. There were some fun hands, but I'm particularly fond of the one where I had Q-6 in the big blind. It was checked to me pre-flop, so I checked. The flop came Q-Q-6 and everyone checked. Then the turn came another 6, again, I had to check because why would I push everyone out with the nuts. As it turns out, I got paid off a little when someone bet into me with an Ace and called me raise because he thought I was trying to buy it.

After getting out of the tournament, I sat down at the blackjack table with $20 and cashed out a little later with $35. It's not a lot, but I was happy to get that much. The dealer was there for fun and having a good time. He was a lot nicer than he had to be (with 21-21 pushes and hinting to players whether they should take cards). All-in-all, it was a good night with the family. Since the daughter was gotten out of daycare when the wife got out. So, both of them were wondering around and watching me play until the end of the tournament.

Then on Monday, I had the day off work and we (the wife and I) decided to go to FireKeepers casino for the day and hang out. Although, I wasn't planning on it, I decided to play some hold'em when the minimum bets on Let-It-Ride were set at $10 instead of $5. And, slots just can't keep me entertained for too many hours.

So, after I lost $50 in slots (bouncing $5 or $10 here or there), I ended up having a lot of luck with one and turned my next $10 into $110. And, Kylie had turned her first $20 into $60.

Needless to say, we were both happy and shocked to actually win some money in slots. I thought it was time to try my hand in hold'em. And, there was an open seat, so I didn't have to wait around.

At the beginning, I played a little to aggressive and loose. I played too many hands and spent $60 trying to buy someone off top pair...it didn't work. He later told me that since I was new to the table, he wasn't going to let me get away with a bluff, but he thought he was beat. I wish I had known that before. :)

But after losing my first $100, I re-bought $90 and played a lot smarter. Luckily, most of the people at the table were easy to read. And the atmosphere was friendly enough, that everyone was talking and giving away the hands they had. I was able to make my $100 back before I'd even been sitting an hour. And, since my wife was out entertaining herself with slots, I decided I'd call it a day and be happy not to have lost anything. When I cashed out, I had exactly $190. Maybe I didn't need to play my last hand for $12 preflop...K-2 is something I should fold from under-the-gun and I could have been up for the day.

While I was playing cards, the slots went back to cold for the wife. Oh well, all-in-all, we won $1 from the casino. Had a good time and relaxed a lot.

Poker Fund (+0)

Poker League - Week 6

Well, poker last night went well for me. Although, looking back on it, there wasn't very many exciting hands. I ended up in 2nd place out of the 24 people playing. And, my friend Ken ended up in first, so it was a good night all around. I know what you're thinking, Ken must be better than me....no, no, no...by the time we got heads-up, he easily had 6+ times the chips that I did. So, it was just a matter of finding the guts to push in. After me folding twice and him folding once, we finally pushed all in and he got one of his pair. No worries at all.

Of course, being in the tournament until the last hand, means that there was no time for cash games. But, I'll take a tournament cash over cash games any day.

Even though there weren't any exciting hands that I can think of, there is an interesting idea I need to mention. In our league, we had someone who couldn't make it, but they paid their entry. So, they put a stack of chips in a spot and blinded him out until his chips were gone. There is a lot of controversy about whether or not that should be allowed.

Since each tournament we earn points toward the final night, it was an advantage to the player to pay the $10 and get some point. This worked out very well for him, since his stack did better than 14 other people. Yep, by folding every hand, the stack ended up in 10th place.

So, the question is...should this be allowed in league play?

I have a few opinions on the matter...of course. But I haven't come to a conclusion yet.

The easy argument for it is that he paid his money and can play his hands anyway he wants...it would be the same as being there and folding every hand.

The easy argument against it is that he's not there and therefore shouldn't be getting points for the league.

Another thing about allowing it is that it actually discourages a player from finding a sub when he/she can't make it. So, if multiple people can't make it, they are just going to pay to get their points. And, there will me many stacks with empty chairs "playing" in the tournament...when, of course, slows down play and the amount of chips flying around a table. In addition, if 2 or 3 of those end up at the same table (by random draw), then that table won't have as many players seeing the flops and betting into the pots.

Well, I just thought I'd mention my few observations on the matter, let me know what you think about it. Should a league allow people to pay to blind out?

Poker Fund (+60)