Atlantic City trip day 1
Atlantic City trip day 2
Atlantic City trip day 3
Atlantic City trip days 4 & 5
Atlantic City trip day 6 - BBQ day
The love of the game
Home game bad beat
Bonehead move of the year!!
Why do I join Limit Holdem games?
Poker league final tournament: My experience
Atlantic City trip day 1
Sept 14, 2008
Well this was a waste of day... was supposed to meet up with a couple of people that we knew (1 was gonna play in a $500 main event satellite) - figured at the very least, we would rail em' then all of us would play something later... well - that didn't go as planned... for whatever reason, we couldn't meet up... so I decided to try and play in a $250 Sit n Go WPT Satellite.... they called for seating for that one pretty quick - but since I didn't have the Borgata's Casino reward card, I couldn't play... So I went and got a reards card and put myself down on the next $250 list... waited around for 2 1/2 hrs!!! They kept calling seats for the $500 & $1,000 seat - hey idiots, what about us 250ers!? At this point, even if I were to get called, there was no way I would've been able to concentrate - no food = lack of concentration... so we left to get dinner then came back to the hotel - If I would've known it was gonna be that long for a table, we would've gotten something to eat - but oh well... hopefully better things will happen tomorrow....
Atlantic City trip day 2
Sept 15, 2008
MUCH MUCH better day!!! Didn't hear from anyone in the morning so Dianna & I went to play in the Bally's Casino 12pm tourney for $40 + $10 with 10,0000 starting chips... we got placed on tables tat were on opposite sides of the room so I really don't know what was going on, on her table except for updates during the breaks... I will say this though about her, I am VERY PROUD on how she did... granted she didn't place in the money, BUT - she lasted over 3 hrs! Started with 71 players with top 9 payout -- she finished in the low 30's (31, 32 - somewhere around there)...
I on the otherhand, was up and down all tourney - got those infamous chasers that will call ya all the way down to the river even on big bets -- was down to about 4,200 chips at first break --- got sucked out by 8/3 suited vs my pocket 10's (preflopped raised 8X BB to 1,600) - lost about 6K on that hand... after 1st break, I kicked into gear -- started to play super tight and doing some GREAT reads... worked back up to about 13K...
This 1 guy at my table started to tick me off though... every time I raised preflop, he would go over the top to all-in... I had a feeling I had him a couple of times but I didn't want to get into a race situation so I folded... on the FOURTH TIME he did this - I got pocket Jacks, raised to a small 3X BB preflop raise - he went over the top AGAIN - folds over to me - I said "Ya know I'm really starting to get pissed off with you reraising me - I gotta make a stand here - I CALL!" He turns over pocket 10's vs my Jacks --- Jacks stand I had him covered but BARELY -- up to 31K! NOW Douggie has chips -- UH OH! lol
Made a GREAT BLUFF here with chips --- I get 7/2 suited hearts and raised 4X BB from mid position with 2 limpers... 1 guy calls... flop come 4d Ac 9h... I bet about 1/2 pot (8,000)... he calls... 8s turn... he checks, I fire out 12,000... he calls... river Ad... he checks, I lower my bet (like I wanted a call to suck him in) to 10K... he looks at me... I'm just staring him down... he smiles, I give a small wink... he looks at his cards and folds face up with "great hand" - he had pocket Kings!! I say "no it wasn't - just good betting" I turned over my 7/2 suited... whole table goes nuts - he gets up - walks away for a minute - sits down and starts laughing lol
Those extra chips didn't matter though... after 3rd break (I have about 60K) we condence tables... after break, the table I got placed at looses 2 people pretty quick and we're playing on a short-handed table (6 people)... I get pocket Queens...raised preflop to 25K - 1 caller... flop comes 2 K 8 with 2 spades... I go all-in (hoping that this guy has the spade draw)... he calls... he has A K -- need a 2 outter and it doesn't come... I finish 18th... well that didn't go as planned! lol
After that tourney, 1 of the people that we were planning on meeting calls - she tells me that a whole bunch of people that we know are gonna play in the Hilton casino's 7pm tourney for the $20 + $5 add-on 3,000 start chips (NO REBUYS - just add-on at 1st break) but to meet up with them first - ok, not a problem - we meet, shoot the chit, etc then head over to the Hilton...
Dianna doesn't play in the 7pm - which is fine - she's "railing" us... we have myself, Michelle (Queenie), John, Chrissee, Jeremy, Tasha, Constance & Bill in the tourney -- 42 people started...
At first, I didn't so well... bad plays & bad reads killed -- with only 3K chips with no rebuys, have to try and make some plays early but they all backfired on me - oh well... at first break, I'm down to about 1,100 chips and do a single add-on for $20... everyone from our group is still in it...
After break, just like last tourney, I kicked it into gear... worked way back up to about 6,000 (Queenie & Bill are at my table)... I'm making some big plays now... tried a bluff or 2 to get some chips that work.... GOOD BLUFF #2 for the day -- I get Q/7 off suit in the BB... 4 limpers over to me... I raise 3.5X BB to 1,500... 1 caller.... 3 9 K rainbow comes on the flop... I bet 2,000.... they call... turn 10s... I bet 3,000... he calls... turn 8d... I go all in... guy says "good straight" and folds... I say "No it wasn't, I just wanted your chips" and show the Q/7...
VERY NEXT HAND blinds go up to 500/1,000 100 ante -- I get A/J off suit in the SB -- 5 limpers and raised to 4,000... 1 guy calls but he only has 1,100 left... everyone folds... I Get QUAD ACES ON THE FLOP! Guy just walks away lol TWO HANDS LATER - I get A/K suited... raised again to 4,000... 1 caller... flop A 8 8... Queenie just stands up and walks away... the caller says "All in"... I call... he has pocket 10's - no help to him - I rake chips... Queenie says "I folded 88 but I didn't want to race ya - you would've been crushed!"
Final table (top 5 pay) we have Queenie, myself, Bill & Jeremy... Queenie takes out Bill, Jeremy & another player within 5 hands... We're down to 7 and blinds are going up QUICK... when ya mix those with the antes, it's almost not like playing poker - instead it's playing "bingo" - find a hand and go all-in...
1 player does just that - goes all-in... I call with an A/6 suited hearts... guy next to me goes over the top and puts himself all-in... fold over to me - Ilook at him and say "nice isolation you better have him" and fold... he turns over A/2 offsuit... Ace fucking 2?? I had him CRUSHED! The all-in'r had K/Qo - no help - Ace high takes it..... now because of that call/fold and blinds at 7,500/15,000 with 1,500 ante - I only have 400 left after posting my BB... UTG raises to 30K - Queenie calls... I'm "forced" to call with my 7/4o... Queenie ends up taking us both out - I finish that tourney on the bubble in 6th... I Should've seen this coming - Queenie calling that raise, she has something... if I fold, even though I would've only had 400, I still would've finished 5th which puts me in the money with $144... Queenie ends up taking 2nd for $466...
Now even though I didn't finish in the money in either of the tourneys - I'm still VERY HAPPY with my overall play... I lasted 3 1/2 hours in the first and OVER 4 1/2 hrs in the 2nd... this gives me GREAT confidence for the big WPT tourney on Tue for $350...
Atlantic City trip day 3
Sept 16, 2008
Dianna and I woke up about 10 or so... after waking up & getting dressed, we knew that everyone was supposed to get together for a BBQ at Jeremy & Tasha's condo rental - just didn't know what time... I tried to call Jeremy - got no answer... Dianna & I checked the Farm Constance & Queenie were online... they said that they didn't get in until 6am - WOW LONG NIGHT!? lol Dianna and I stayed around until 1pm after I sent a text message to everyone with the "get your lazy asses up" text :)
Knowing that we probably wouldn't get an immediate response, we headed down to the Borgata so Dianna can get her player card for the WPT game... during the way down, Jeremy calls and we make arrangements to meet up...
We meet up with everyone at the Ocean City Boardwalk and they have yet another player from the Farm with em -- Jim (one of the admins)... all we did was basically just hang around the Boardwalk for a while... we go back to the cars and Queenie, Bill, Jim & Constance wanted to go back to AC and play in some table games - the rest of us weren't up to that so we went to Jeremy & Tasha's condo...
We're just sitting around talking, laughing it up & having a good time... then the topic of Phil came up... Phil is the guy that's supposed to sponsor all of us from The Farm into the $350 tournament on the 16th... it's been a few days and no one has heard from Phil - except for a small blurb on the Farm that said he was in Union Dale, PA waiting for a car from Toronto and that he'll be here at some point... we're all getting a little irritated at him - we're actually thinkin that he's just sitting at home this whole time for whatever reason... that "explination" made zero sense... waiting for a car? From what, a rental agency? There's some a hell of a lot closer than Toronto - Scranton & Philadelphia, PA for 2... not to mention Constance is part owner to a limo company - call her up and have her send a driver - would've been there in 2 1/2 hrs...
By now, hours have gone by and we're all starting to get hungry - John brought pork chops for the grill.... but errrrrr..... ummmmm....... there's no grill! Anyways - Bill, Queenie, Constance & Jim come by around 8pm or so WITH A GRILL! Now we're all having a good time, the grill is put together and the chops are cookin - we even have a little home game goin - yes, I brought my chips! lol
Still no word from Phil until ------ right in the middle of the game, Jeremy's phone goes off and Chrisse answers it - it's Gary (another owner of The Farm) - he lives down in Texas and he didn't come up because of Hurricane Ike - his house was spared but his broters house is destroyed & it's a mess down there so he's helping out -- so we can all understand why he didn't come up... but why would Gary be calling???
We find out that Phil had called Gary and left a message... the message was -- him & his wife got into a car accident, Melanie (Phil's wife) has a broken hip and some internal bleeding but yet they're driving back home to Ottawa and Phil wants Gary to send money up to Jeremy so we can all get sponsored... WHAT THE FUCK????
Now I'm no doctor but Chrisse IS a Registered Nurse and she was even going NO FUCKING WAY the hospital would even THINK of releasing Melanie IF this is true! We're all pissed off now... no way can most of us pay for our own way into this thing... not only that, but the lies Phil made up? Also, Phil & Melanie we're supposed to split the cost of the condo with Jeremy & Tasha but since no Phil/Melanie no split - Jeremy & Tasha are out over $400... we're all shocked & stunned that Phil wold even do this... why lie his way out? If he realized he got over his head just say something up front - be a man about it - say something up front - we'll all try and work something out... instead he got Gary in the middle of this - Gary is the LAST person to call - he's trying to help cleaning out the devistation in his area - he doesn't need this shit... he told Jeremy that he drove everywhere that had a Western Union to send the money for us... but Jeremy said "don't worry about us.. we'll find something else to do... take care of your family & friends down there" which we all agree - don't worry about us - we'll do something else...
There's going to be a lot of fireworks at the Farm now... I have a feeling that Phil is going to be bought out by someone, banned or something else... there's about 12 people here that are totally pissed off about this whole thing - this game is one of the main reasons why we all came from across the country now this shit happens?? Can't wait to see what happens next (can't ya just hear the sarcasm??)
Atlantic City trip days 4 & 5
Sept 19, 2008
After the "Phil Fiasco", when it comes to playing, we just play in the regular casino tournaments. A couple of us pay in the Showboat Casino's 2pm $53 + $12 tounament. This tournament was BAD!! I barely made it to first break and didn't even come close to making it to 2nd. Everything I played got cracked... pocket 10's got cracked by J/10o - with BIG BETS on every street (even with 2 overs on the board) - J hits river, pocket Q's bet busted by K/Jo... no matter what I did, it didn't work - freaking donks! Even Queenie was a bit stunned at some of the play... Chrissee however, made it to 5th and took $116.
there was another tournament starting in about 1/2 hour and I talked Dianna into giving me the money for that one too... that one was just as bad as the first - why did I even play in the 2nd?? Dianna, Jeremy, Chrissee, Constance & Tasha had gone to dinner in the meantime and I met up with them at the Hard Rock Cafe... from there, we went to the Trump Taj so a couple of them can play some slots... Dianna made $38 on $20 - and Chrisse took $45 on $20 then went over to another slot and took $500 on another $20 - SICK! lol
The next day, I play in the Bally 1pm $40 + $10 tournament... I gave the group a text message that I was playing - Chrisse calls back and says that that they were just getting up and they weren't gonna go... no big deal... I played...
A couple of things did happen though before 1st break... I get pocket 5's in mid position - I raise from $200 BB to $600 - I get a few callers... 5 comes on the flop... checks to me - I put out pot sized bet - get the 1 person that I wanted in this hand to call (this guy was playing crazy & I wanted him gone)... turn was a blank, I put another big bet out - of course he calls... river gives me the quad 5's... there's about 8,000 in the pot and this guy only has about 1,200 behind so I put him all in... wouldn't ya know it, the fucker FOLDS! I show the quads... 2 hands later - the guy to my right FINALLY knocks this idiot out with ------- QUAD 3's!! Second hand after 1st break, the guy 3 spaces to my left hits QUAD NINES!! Three quads within a half an hr of play in a live game - the odds on that happening were tremendous! I get knocked out about 20 minutes later... tried to make a move with JQ suited and it backfired --- BLAH!
Atlantic City trip day 6 - BBQ day
Sept 20, 2008
Today is the final full day for most of us... Connie had been plannin on holding a BBQ at her house all week but due to unforseen circumstances (sew pipe bust) earlier in the week, she couldn't hold it then - personally, I could not think of a better day to hold it than the last day...
Day started off good - Dianna & I took a shower then left the hotel around 3 and got to Connies around 4pm or so... Bill was already marinating the tuna steaks, shrimp, white fish & getting the ribs ready - Connie was making the corn on the cob & BBQ sauce...
Everyone else shows up around 5 or so... it was a total blast (yes I got some pics) we all hung out having a great time - talking about some poker (of course) and other shit - basically just reminicing the week... Bill got the ribs done -- OH MY GOD were they GOOD!!!! Then the shrimp came - marinated terriaki grilled shrimp - WOW!! YUMMM!!!!
Later on, I was able to pull Jeremy aside to ask him about the Farm - what's going on, are people bailing, etc because of the "Phil Fiasco"... He told me not to worry - it's going to be business as usual... he also mentioned that he talked to Gary and through Gary (Gary did some research - he works for some disaster relief in Texas & has sources to find things out), that he found out that Phil & Melanie were actually in a car accident... Phil also has some type of 'pull power' up in Canada and Phil used his weight and had Melanie Medi-vacted to a hospital in Edmonton... Phil only recieved a broken wrist but Melanie is in bad shape although she will survive...
Gary is the 'silent partner' of the Farm but because of this disaster, he's going to be a lot more active when he can... at this point, we all pretty much feel like shit & about 3 inches tall... here we (or at least Dianna & I) thought that Phil bailed on us & made a whole bunch of shit up to 'cover his tracks' when it actually was true but we just didn't have all the facts... also found out that Phil's mother passed away during this trying time for him - I don't even know what to say here... so like a man, I appologized to Jeremy & Tasha for in a way, bad mouthing Phil - Jeremy said not to worry it's all good and Tasha gave me a hug - also saying not to worry about it...
On a lighter note, like the poker junkies that we all are, everyone was trying to get a game together but since Dianna & I had to leave a little early so we can get ready to head back early, we opted out of the game but still hung around for a bit...
This whole trip was well.... interesting to say the least... would I of changed a few things? Just a couple - have Gary along with Phil & Melanie here... would we do this again? Absolutely - in fact we're all talking about doing this again next year! :)
I think that we have definately made some friends this trip... life-long friends? I don't know - no one really does - things happen but would like to think so anyways... when I see all of em online again, I'll never look at them the same lol
John - GREAT storyteller & funny as hell - didn't really talk to him before but I will definately will talk more to him...
Chrissee - or should I say 'didler' for her (inside joke lol)... she's pretty much they way I thought she would be - definately fun loving... but she can be a little nieve (spell check) - looks for the 'literal meaning' instead of the 'mind in the gutter' meaning... by the end of the week - we all taught her a few things and she was saying things like "I don't like fish, guess I won't make a good lesbian" (when asked if she wanted to try some cooked fish from the bbq lol
Jeremy - DEFINATELY the jokester of the group... I'm guessing when he was in high school, he was voted class clown lol
Connie & Bill - The "stablizers" of the group - more of the at home type people...
Queenie - Miss claws!! She has these long ass finger nails - about 3 inches long (yes they ARE real)... when playing, if you're sitting across the table from her, you don't see em - but when she's about to rake in a pot or somone pisses her off - those claws come out & are rather intimidating lol She's also very sarcastic - which can be & is a good thing...
Jim - Only 3 words need to be said here --- DIRTY OLD MAN!! lol
Tasha - The wild child! No I'm NOT gonna say more than that... she knows she the wild child! lol
Cyndi - She's the person you see no matter where ya go that's sitting in a dark space - just watching, observing - the quiet one in the corner...
As a group, we all get along very well - I don't think that there was 1 bad moment in this whole trip - except for some bad beats lol Dianna & I are thinking about getting a place to stay that's a little closer to the group next year... we feel that we were either left out or we opted out ourselves of a couple of things due to the distance from the group most by Ocean City, NJ and we were in Absecon, NJ - about an hr travel... oh well - live & learn - next year we'll have it down right lol
Until then - see ya at the tables!
THE LOVE OF THE GAME
June 20, 2008
For those of you who really know me, you know that I really LOVE to play poker. I can play all day every day from free rolls to about a $20 buy-in or in some cases $50 both online and live tournaments – as long as my bank roll allows it. On the very rare occasion where I’ve had a day off and nothing to do (chores, etc) I’ve sat and played in around 10 tournaments in a single day online.
Unfortunately though, some people; like my wife for instance, just can’t understand this. It’s something that’s hard to explain. Oh sure, there have been times where I’ve ranted and screamed about a particular bad beat especially if it cripples my chip count or eliminates me completely but truthfully, who hasn’t done this? Phil Hellmuth is known for his classic blow ups.
Right now, I’d consider myself a better than average to maybe a solid type player. My style ranges from tight-aggressive to loose & wild – it all depends on what part of the tournament we’re in, what my chip count is & who’s at my table. My ultimate goal is to possibly win a World Series of Poker event Bracelet (just 1 poker gods, you hear me? lol) but I’d settle for ‘known to consistently make into the cash’ in any tournament (live & online) I enter. I would love it if I was to be able to make a living doing this. Stay at home all day, get up when I want, do what I want and enter tournaments that I want to enter – but that’s no where in my near future unless something drastic happens like I turn into a Daniel Negreneau overnight lol
To accomplish this, it requires 3 things right off the bat; 1 – Perseverance, don’t let a wicked bad beat make you give up on the game. In the short time I’ve been playing (2 1/2yrs) I’ve already heard my fair share of the ‘I quit this game’ but everyone that has said this, I’ve seen them back at the tables eventually. 2 – Dedication / Playing A LOT! Need to spend thousands of hours and involved in hundreds of thousands of hands and finally 3 – The bank roll. We all know the classic line here: Need to spend money to make the money.
Well, at least I have 2 of those things right now – the perseverance & dedication. No matter what happens in a tournament, I’m right there playing the next hand or entering my next tournament. I’m always either rereading 1 of the poker books I got or reading poker blogs / chat boards on the internet or just talking to people about poker – hearing what happened to them in a particular hand to learn off of that, how to play a certain situation, learning position, etc.
No matter what happens, I’ll always love this game. Even if I’m nothing more than your ordinary online / home game type player. Just tell me when & where there’s a game and deal me in. Unlike any other sport (many say that poker IS a sport) where you have to be in shape; Poker doesn't care if you're young or old; white, black, brown, green or purple; annorexic or heavy; there is no discrimination here. I love this game! Now shut up and steal errrrr I mean shuffle up and deal!
HOME GAME BAD BEAT
Dec 2, 2007
Ok this one really got me fuming last night. I was in a home game $10 buy-in with rebuys allowed to the 2nd color up - 12 people in the tournament. During the 2nd blind level (50/100) at a table of 6, I'm UTG with A/7 off suit and my chips are at 4,200 (started with 3,850). I call the blind (if I hit - I hit if not and there's a bet after the flop, I'm gone)... 4 & 5th positions fold, dealer calls, SB calls & BB checks.
SB & BB are solid players, I'm a good player - I don't full out bluff in live games but will do a semi-bluff with mid to low pair and the dealer is a loose player that doesn't know really how to play (calls a lot with nothing).
Flop comes A-5-2 rainbow... SB & BB check I bet out 300 - dealer calls (figured that much) and SB & BB fold. Turn is Jd... I bet out 1,500 - dealer calls (A/J, J/5???). River is a Qh. I go all-in for 2,300... dealer calls... she turns over Q/5 off suit. A FLIPPING Q/5??? She called me all the way with low pair and gets lucky???? WTF???? Freaking low pair???????? Any other player at that table would've folded knowing that I had the A. I looked at the dealer and said "You got to be kidding me!" The SB & BB's just shook thier heads in disbelief! That stupid play cost me $10! I know it's 'only' $10 but that's not the point.
I rebuy.
About 20 minutes go by and I'm in the BB at the 200/400 level (last hand before 2nd color up). I get dealt As/2h - I don't really like this hand - if a raise in front, I fold like a little bitch; no raises so I check to see a flop. Flop comes Ah-2s-5s - I hit two pair so I bet out 1,200... fold then another fold then a call by the loose player & dealer & SB fold... great, I'm "heads up" again with this player! Turn is a 10s - I go all-in for 4,000; of course she calls... she turns over pocket 4's - pocket fours??? Neither one was a spade - there's 3 overs on the board and the flush draw and she calls this?????? What-freaking-ever!!! She's dominated by my 2 pair ------- UNTIL THE RIVER --- she catches a 4h for trips and knocks me out AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! She's now cost me $20!!!!!!
Fuck it - I rebuy AGAIN!!!
Compared to the rest of the table, I'm short stacked but I know I can work my way back against everyone at this table except for maybe the loose player so I'm not too concerned. I do just this - stay away from hands the loose player is in & just concintrate on the rest of the table - work my way up to a little over 8,000 within 10 minutes and in decent position.
Blinds are at 1,000/2,000 I get Q/9 off suit in the BB - not the greatest of hands but let's see what happens. Everyone calls the the BB so I check - community flop. Q-2-3 rainbow comes out. SB checks I go all-in for 6,000 (12,000 in pot). fold & fold - loose player calls but only has 4,000, dealer & SB fold. I turn over my Q/9 - she has A/Q... A/Q and no pre-flop raise????? Hmmm ok.... I'm dominated!! 9 comes on the turn and 6 on the river - she's gone - no rebuy allowed and she's gone!! Justice is served!!!
As we're condensing the table to make a final table, I walked over to this loose player with my chips in hand & asked "So... how does it feel to be given a bad beat?" She didn't respond - oh well lol
I didn't last too long at the final table but at least I got beated by playing my normal game & got beat by a legit hand (pocket 7's to my A/K suited - K-7-5 rainbow on the flop) so I can't complain there.
BONEHEAD MOVE OF THE YEAR!!!
Nov 25, 2007
Normally I've seen posts about how someone got a bad-beat or advice on you would've played a particular hand, etc but I for one am not affraid to admit my mistakes and make myself look like a big fool... anyways, so here it goes...
On Sunday 11/25/07, I wanted to join the 11am $50 tournament at Greektown Casino in Detroit, MI - so here I am at 9am, getting ready to go out... then my work calls and I have to leave immediately to get a store back into up & running condition (I'm a field tech and I'm on call)... anyways, I go all the way to this store and get it running then have to drive to Greektown, almost an hr away...
I get there, try to use the ATM for the entry... ATM dead.... go downstairs - ATM dead there too... I had to go across the street to get money then come all the way back upstairs to the poker room - I get in 5 minutes before entry closes...
5 hands into the tournament, blinds are 25/50 (started with $3000 - I'm down to $2775) and I'm in the small blind with Q/10 off... I call the big - the big checks - 6 to the flop... flop comes A-Q-10 rainbow... I bet out $250... big blind folds, 3rd position goes all-in for $550, 4th position re-raises to all-in of $2,850... 9th position goes all-in for $625... I call - which puts me all in...
9th position shows Q-10, I show Q-10 & 3rd position shows A-6... I'm looking good & figuring it's gonna be a chop-pot........ until the 4th position show K-J suited... 5th position says "I folded a 10"... great I'm down to 1 out!!
Maybe I was still a little rattled from rushing around and my head wasn't really in the game.... Why didn't I put the 4th position on a K-J or anyone else for that matter... I could've gotten out of the hand without too much damage to my stack... guess that's what I get for being "married to my cards" .
Laugh if you want for my bad play there - I deserve it lol Just had to get that out of my system I guess... oh well, live & learn lol
WHY DO I JOIN LIMIT HOLDEM GAMES???
Oct 15, 2007
I joined a Limit Holdem Skill League tournament last night - got dealt Ks/10s on the button with 30/60 blinds. normally in No-Limit, I would raise this pre-flop to 3-5X the blind to bug the b.s. hands off the pot; but in Limit, I can only raise to 2X the blind, which I did. I got 4 callers.
Flop comes Kh 10d 6c hitting 2 pair on the flop. Everyone checks to me, I bet 60 - still 4 callers. Turn was 2c. Everyone checks to me, I bet 120 - got 2 callers. river is 7h. Same routine - everyone checks to me - I bet 120, I get 1 caller.
Player x shows 9d 8c - hitting the inside straight on the river.
In a No-Limit game, I probably would have bugged off the player at the flop or even the turn by betting out at least 500 on each. With Limit, only being able to bet 60 or 120, it was just about pot odds for the player to call. Continuously, I make this mistake (joining Limit games). I know that this is my fault by not reading the Tournament correctly but still, why do players call all the way to the end in Limit games? That was a bad beat and yes, I still haven't gotten over that one. Was this player just a bad player or a good player that got extremely lucky?? My guess is the former rather than the latter.
POKER LEAGUE FINAL TOURNAMENT: MY EXPERIENCE
Sept 10, 2007
Yesterday was the final tournament for season 5 for the local poker league (located in Southeast, MI & Phoenix, AZ) that I belong to. The way that this tournment works is, it's the top 104 players for the season that are automatically in - with alternate spots to be given away and the higher in the points you are for the season, the more chips you start out with - however places 52 - 104 and alternates all get 3,850 chips... I placed 11th and started with 7,350... my wife (Dianna aka Angelgirl) was 104th (3,850 chips)... my brother in law (Larry) placed 18th (7,000 chips) and my best friend George placed 22 giving him about 6,500 in chips.
Anyways, not everyone who was 'supposed to be there' wasn't so the tournament started with about 90 or so people (including alternate spots). Before the first hand was dealt there were 4 tables that were short-handed so the director combined tables 14 & 12 and 13 & 11. Wouldn't you know it, my wife gets brought over to my table along with another friend of mine (Chris R.) along with another player that I know (Jason R.). Great, 3 players that I respect and would hate to eliminate if I had too.
Blinds started at 25/50; 3 hands in, my wife gets pocket Aces so she raised pre-flop to 400. She gets 1 guy to call her and it comes around to me, now knowing how tight of a player she is, I folded like a little bitch as well as everyone else. Flop comes out low rainbow (2d 3s 7h) Dianna bets 500, this guy calls (does he have trips?). The turn is a Kd, Dianna bets 1,000 and this guy called (he has to have trips now) The river come out 8s Dianna bets out another 1,000 he calls - she shows the Aces he says "You're good" and mucks. Good hand for her.
Several hands and several minutes go by and blinds are at 50/100. Nothing really special happens until the royal fuck up moment of the night. Dianna comes out firing again pre-flop to 1,000 and the dealer (Steve) calls. everyone else folds. I don't remember what the flop comes out but action is on Dianna. Instead of betting, she mucks her hand face up. Steve says thank you and mucks his hand, Dianna takes the chips. Since I don't know who at least 2 of the players sitting at the table are, I asked Dianna why did she do that? She states that she didn't see Steve's cards and thought he was just running out the flop. Again, not knowing these players I stated that technically since her cards touched the muck during a hand, the chips she raked go to the dealer. Was I a jerk for saying this? Maybe but I didn't want the director being called over by 1 of the players I don't know for this ruling.
'''Degree all-in moment #1:''' About 40 minutes later, blinds are up to 100/200. I keep going back & forth between 10,000 chips down to about 6,000. Jason R. decides to go all-in pre-flop for 2,825 - everyone folds over to me. I look down and see suited connectors of Jh Qh. Even if Jason has pocket Aces and I'm a 4-1 underdog I still have plenty of outs so I call. Jason turns over Ah Kh Hmmm I'm only a 2-1 underdog. I catch the Qd on the turn and knock out Jason. I tried to shake Jason's hand and get the shrug off - oh well sore looser I guess?
About 30 minutes go by and we get 2 players at our table (Steve was moved over to another table a while ago). The 2 players that come over - 1 I've only seen about 2 or 3 times - some long haired kid that's a big time donkey - the other player - my best friend George (Ohh fuck me running GREAT!).
Break #1 (color up): At this point, we get to change in all of the 25 & 50 chips for 100's and higher. I counted 1,100. Good my chip count is about 10,500 at this point - I like to have at least 8,000 at the color-up break. I check on how Larry is doing - he's got about 9,000, I check a few others: an alternate Mike "tiny" S. has about 10,000 (how has he lasted this long?). Everyone is talking about the great hands & bad beats that they've been involved in & the field has been narrowed down to about 65.
'''Degree all-in moment #2:''' With the blinds at 500/1,000 I raise pre-flop in 1st position to 3,000 with a Jc Kc; Chris R. has 3,700 so he decides to go all-in. George takes a long time contiplating and decides to call. Everyone fold over to me - for another 700 I get the chance to knock someone out? I call figured I should have live cards. Flop comes Qc 6d 4s George checks, I check - turn is a 9c - George checks, I check. The river is a 2h. George checks, I check. George turns over the Qs 2s for the two pair. A Q/2 suited what the hell??? George calls an all-in with a Q/2??? Even Chris stated that was sick! I'm still questioning this one especially since he knocked out Dianna with the same type of B.S. move!
At this level, the short stacks are getting elimated quickly. About 10 minutes later, the field is narrowed to 6 tables (48 players). I'm up to about 18,000 in chips and get asked to move to another table. When I sit, I see that yet 2 players that I respect (Kelly S. - Chris R.'s wife) and last year's champion (Jeff G.) along with a player that I've played against often (Kyle E.). Kyle jokingly says "Great it look like I'm no longer chip leader at this table" - he has about 15,000.
This is a realitvely good table - we all pretty much know each others style of play. It's going to be difficult eliminating players off of here - except for maybe Jeff - he's the low stack with about 2,000. Jeff survives 2 all-ins and gets his stack up to 4,200.
'''Degree all-in moment #3:''' Blinds are now raised to 1,000/2,000. Kyle has lost several chips out of his stack to me and goes all-in for 5,000. Kelley calls. She turns over pocket 9's and Kyle stands up and screams "fuck!" he turns over pocket 8's. The 9's stand.
A couple of hands later, I get dealt Ac Qd in the big blind. Jeff needs to make a move and he goes all-in for 4,000 - I call. He turns over Kh 10s - Jeff is dominated. I catch 2 pair and knock Jeff out. We all give Jeff a respectful round of applause. My stack is now at about 28,000.
Another round of people moving happens. Mike "tiny" S. is now moved to my table with over 20,000 chips. How has he lasted this long??? Also coming over is my brother in-law Larry with about 30,000 in chips. Blinds are now raised to 2,000/4,000.
As good of a player as Larry is, unfortunately he did not last long - he came over when about 28 people are left - he finished 16th. I forgot how he went out - but I do remember he was the pre-flop favorite and he got sucked-out on the river (I know that just sounded bad but oh well lol).
'''Degree all-in moment #4:''' I'm the small blind with blinds at the 2,000/4,000 level. In second position, Kelley goes all-in for 16,000. Everyone fold to me - I look down at pocket 3's - I was going to raise pre-flop anyways to 8,000 so what the heck is another 8,000 on top? It'll be a race no matter what she has - I call. Kelley looks at me and asks how could I call her - I said "Easy - I got pockets". She turns over pocket 2's - I have show my 3's. We both stand up and jokingly says "I hate you!" I rifled back with "I love you". My 3's hold up (whew!). Tiny says "That took balls" - this coming from the league donkey. Field is now down to 11 people.
Break time & color up: I'm sitting pretty with 75,000 in chips, the next closest to me has 70,000 (George) - everyone else has anywhere from 20,000 - 40,000. I lean over to George and ask "Why do I got the sneaky suspicion that it's going to be you & I heads-up?" He asked how much in chips do I have and I said 75K his eyes just widened and went "Ohhhh". Break over - blinds now at 5,000/10,000.
Within minutes after break, 3 low stacks get elimated - 8 players left and it's final table time.
'''FINAL TABLE''': Before I get into specifics; let me just say this: In every other season final tournament in this league, NO EAST SIDE player has EVER won this AND the last 2 champs were alternates. This table has 2 east siders & 6 west siders - the ONLY alternate is Tiny (west side) - technically, he was sort of a favorite in winning (ugh!).
Final table players: Myself (west side) 75K in chips, Tiny (Alternate west side) 60K in chips, George (west side) 70K in chips, Jason (west side) 30K in chips, Dean D. (west side) 50K in chips, Bob G. (west side) 65K in chips & 2 east siders that I don't know at about 45K in chips each.
Within 4 hands, the 2 east siders that I don't know were gone - Bob G. is now chip lead at a little over 100K, Tiny has about 90K, George and myself were close with about 80K, Jason has 50K & Dean is low stack with 40K. From the crowd I hear "typical final table all west siders" I make a smartass comment of "Well if the east siders had better players you wouldn't get dominated all the time".
A few hands go by with not much action until Dean is placed in the big blind for all of his chips. I fold my litle 7/3 off suit, Tiny folds, George folds & Jason calls the blind. Dean is dominated 10h 7s against 6d 3c. Jason takes the pot with a pair of 7's on the turn. Down to 5 players.
'''Degree all-in moment #5:''' About 10 minutes later with blinds up to 20,000/40,000 Bob goes all-in for 100K and Tiny calls - this puts Tiny all-in instead and Bob pulls back 10K. Tiny turns over Ad Jc Bob has Kc 9c - Bob is dominated. Tiny takes the pot with Ace high and is now the chip leader with 180K.
Next hand, Bob is all-in with his 10K in the big blind - George tries to isolate pre-flop by going all-in, he gets no callers (except for Bob who has no choice). George has pocket 9's and they stand. Down to 4 players.
CHIP COUNTS:
Tiny 160K
George 110K
Jason 90K
Me 90K
I'm in the big blind and Tiny raises pre-flop for all-in. everyone folds to me - I see a 7/4 off suit - I fold - I can't play that. Great, I'm down to 50K and in the small blind. Next hand Pre-flop George raises all-in for 90K. Jason folds to me, I look down at Ac Js I call for 50K total - Tiny folds. George turns over 10h Qh - I'm a SLIGHT favorite. Flop comes 6d 8h 3h (great - George has more outs) everyone starts screaming "NO HEARTS, NO HEARTS" What comes on the turn a freaking Kh - giving George the flush and I'm drawing dead. I finish 4th.
Tournament only goes 2 more hands:
'''Degree all-in moment #6:''' Tiny raises the pot to make it 160K, George calls and is all-in, Steve calls and is also all-in. George flip over Kd Js, Jason has 10s Ac and Tiny has As Qc. Tiny catches 2 pair and wins the tournament. George finishes 3rd & Steve 2nd. Tiny stands up, raises his hands and screams "I am God! Bow down to your new leader!" I scream back "Fuck you!" and walk away.
Great yet ANOTHER alternate wins and he's the biggest loud mouth of them all! I'm not happy that Tiny won - he won't respect the title and he'll rub it in everyone's face. I would've liked it if George won or maybe even Jason (if not myself of course).
So damn close to winning this thing. If only I would've done this, or would've done that. If only, if only, if only. I'm still upset that I didn't win... but I guess that 4th place is't all that bad and it's a lot better than I did last season (finished in the 50's). People better watch out for me in the season 6 final tournament - now that I came so close I could taste that title - I want it now!
Now I know that most if not all of you don't care about this tournament and that's fine - I'm still contemplating everything that happened and needed to get this off my chest lol
Till the next time - hope to see ya's at the tables :)