Playing Hookey

Yesterday was my first day off from work since I moved out here seven months ago. In addition to running a few errands, I did the tournament thing today. Here's what happened.

Peppermill 10am $45 - This is a new tournament they just started this week, and it's in addition to their 2pm and 6:30pm tourneys. I arrived at 9:45, and there were tables being rebuilt for the new room, but no games running and nobody there to play in the tournament. There is no signage for the new tournaments, and very few players even know about them yet. With all the focus on the new room, the new tournament schedule has gotten lost in the shuffle.

After waiting until after 10am, only one other player showed up to play, so I started asking some question about the new room. It's opening on Thursday morning (May 5), and the Grand Opening will be on Tuesday, May 10. I asked what the Grand Opening event will be, but nobody had an answer. The room will have 19 tables, and the back room will be a tournament room with six tables.


Grand Sierra 11am $60 - Since the Peppermill one was a bust, it was either the Grand Sierra or Atlantis for the 11am one. I decided on the Grand Sierra, because I won the 6:30pm last night (9 players, no chop, $275 after Dealer Tip). They have a monthly tournament points thing that I don't know much about. But since I got 25 points for winning on May 2, I figured I'd try to get some more points.

This one ended up with 11 players at one table. I really hate that, especially since I ended up in Seat 11. The play was rather passive, and players were knocked out very slowly. Since it was a full table, and my cards sucked, I played rather tight for most of the tournament. I ended up in 3rd place after I made a move that ran into QQ. We had already agreed to do a Bubble Save, so I got my $60 back and five points, whatever that means.

Peppermill 2pm $45 - Unlike this morning, there was 54 players for a Tuesday afternoon tournament, which was quite a surprise. It might be because they add $300 to the prizepool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The tournament for me was one of those that everything went wrong. I should have limped when I raised. I should have bet when I checked. I should have zigged when I zagged. I finished somewhere around 40th.

Since I busted out so early, I decided to play some cash game. I ended up sitting at the only $1/$2 table with $200. The game was short-handed for the entire 1.75 hours that I played, between 3-5 players. I was up $90 when the table finally broke. It's amazing that players don't adjust to shorthanded play. They just play as tight & passive as they do when it's four players or ten players. I always end-up being the Action Guy at these shorthanded games. This time, I played 90% of hands, and raised often to $5. One of the players started to just Check & Call my bets, even when he had a big hand. I figured this out rather quickly, and adjusted to only make Value Bets when I had something. He didn't last long.

Peppermill 6:30pm $55 - Only 18 players for this tournament. This one was quite the rollercoaster for me, with many suckouts that I gave as well as received. AJ vs A5, lost. AJ vs 33, lost. K9 vs QQ, won. AJ v 33 again, won. AQ vs K2h, won. (and many more).

I could make a entire post about this tournament, but I don't feel like it. The AQ vs K2h was the final hand, and I won this tournament for $355 after Dealer Tip. This was the 2nd night in a row that I won a tournament straight-up with no chop, although there was a Bubble Save because four handed play took forever.

It's such a better feeling to actually win the tournament, rather than chopping and walking away with the most money. I've played it out in four or five tournaments since I moved out here, and I've only lost one of them. Even with the Blinds & Antes in the stupid range, I still have the advantage because of all the home game tournaments that I've played.

After the tournament, I went over to check out the new room. Everything is now set-up, and they were letting players walk around the room. I took advantage of this oppertunity, and started snapping photos, including the ones in this post. The rest of the photos are in the Peppermill Review page, along some info about the room.