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Monday, May 23, 2011

Sunday At The Peppermill

(Before you start reading this, let the dog outside, take a quick visit to the bathroom, and grab a snack along with a cool, refreshing beverage. This is loooong post.)

9:55 - I walk into the poker room, and they have four tables running. $2/$4 Limit, $3/$6 Limit, $1/$2 NL, $2/$3 NL ($5 to go). I put my name on the $6/$12 Interest List and the $1/$2 Wait List as the 4th name. There seems to be two open seats at the $1/$2 table.

10:10 $300 - I finally got a seat after I got annoyed with the Desk. An older gentleman walked right into the room, and got seated immediately because there were open seats, even though I was still fourth on the List. I mentioned on Opening Day that they need to get some bugs worked out of the system. Well, it's been open for almost two weeks, and things haven't improved. They really need to get their shit together, because as a Local, I don't need to stand around and wait 30-60 minutes for a table that has empty seats the whole time. I can just hop in my car and get seated at another table in town within 10 minutes. On Friday, I waited an hour (from 5-6pm) before I went somewhere else, and I didn't even waste my time on Saturday night. That's why I'm here so early. Today will be a madhouse because the HPT Main Event will start at noon.

Anyway, the $1/$2 table is mostly older players and still has an open seat along with a couple of players wandering around.

10:30 $328 - We are down to three players, even though there are four names on the List. We call the Floor to get some players for our game, and we find out they just opened another $1/$2 table even though our table was never full. There are three open seats at the new table, so the Floor breaks our table. (Did I mention they need to get their shit together?) The new table is a mix of players with stacks between $50 - $300.

11:00 $319 - A whole lot of nothing happened for me. The action has been normal for a Sunday morning game. They opened up the $15/$30 Limit table.

11:30 $268 - Started getting some hands, but I had fold most of them including KK and Two Pair twice. I was right each time, which kept the damage low. I also 3-Bet with AQ, and took it down preflop.

They opened up a $4/$8 Omaha-8 and another $1/$2 table.

12:00 $285 - I won a few small pots, but nothing noteworthy. The table has an open seat, and there two names on the List.

I notice that the names on the $6/$12 List are flashing, and the table next to us has a Dealer with chips ready to sell. But nobody has made an announcement about opening a new table. I go grab a rack to move over, and I ask the Desk about the new table. They said they made an announcement, which is not true since I'm sitting next to the new table. I rack up my chips, and take a seat at the new table. The Floor now makes an announcement about the $6/$12 and start gathering up players.

12:30 $301 - I waited at the $6/$12 table for 15 minutes, and only one other player showed up. It's really sad that this game rarely runs at the Peppermill. It's a good game that fits between the $3/$6 and $15/$30 games. I end up back in a different seat at my old table. I won two small pots.

There is still a Dealer and chips at the $6/$12 table, along with one player. They are also trying to opening a $3/$5 NL table.

1:00 $253 - I played various small pots. Some were good, and some were bad. I'm not really sure how I lost the $50.

They opened up another $1/$2 game.

1:30 $495 - Finally, some nice pots. In the BB of a limp pot, I have Td 9h. Six players see a Flop of 9c 7c 4s. The SB bet $10. She's an 60's lady who's been playing like a 60's lady. I call, and so does the Button.
Turn [9c 7c 4s] Th. SB bets $10 again. I now have Top Two Pair, but that's a scary board and she's still betting. The Small Pot player in me says just Call, so I do. The Button also calls.
River [9c 7c 4s Th] Ks. The SB bets $10 again. I just call for the same reasons as before. The Button goes All-In for $69 more. He's a regular in the room, and has been whining all day. He recently mentioned that he was considering leaving because he cards have sucked. After thinking for a bit, I decided that his story doesn't fit, so I call. He says, "Nice call," and turns over Q9d. I scoop the pot, and he leaves the table. (Sort of a Win / Win for me).

More tables are opening up, including a $5/$10 NL with Jamie Gold. I assume that he played in the HPT tournament, did his usual things, and busted out already. The HPT crew is also down here filming some interviews with staff and players using the new poker room as the background.

2:00 $542 - Some good, and some bad. Mid player raised to $12. It folded to me in the BB, and I have AA. I just call, and the Flop is Ad Jd 5c. I check, and he bet $17. Even though there are some draws out there, I just call with Top Set. The Turn [Ad Jd 5c] 7h. I decide to lead out for $30. I don't want to give him the option to check. I figure that if he actually has a hand, then let's build a pot. If he doesn't, then let's move on. He folded quickly.

Two hands later, the same guy raised to $12 again. A Mid player called. I'm on the Button with TT, and I decide to 3-Bet to $30. The Blinds fold, and the two players call. The Flop was 8-high. They check, I bet $50, and they fold.

The "Bad" will be a future Hand Of The Day, where I got coolered and made a great laydown.

2:30 $575 - More good and bad, as I seem to be the Action Guy at this table. (For those who know me personally, if I'm the Action Guy at the table, then you can imagine how the rest of the table is playing.) The biggest pot was me flopping a Flush with A2c on the Button. I bet it the whole way, hit it on the River, and got a $25 bet paid.

The room is getting more crowed, which is what I expected today. More tables are opening as players start busting out of the HPT tournament. One of the HPT announcers is playing on the table behind me. The Interest Lists are growing, including the $6/$12 again and a $10/$25 NL.

3:00 $484 - There is a 70's guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda hat, and he's having a very good day. For example, I limp on the Button with 5d 5h. Five players see a Flop of Jd Tc 5s. A 50's Lady in Mid position bet $20, which is larger than the pot. I just call with my Bottom Set becasue I know she has a good hand, and I know she will keep betting. A Mid guy also calls.
Turn [Jd Tc 5s] 9d. Mid Guy checks. Mid Lady bet $20. I hate that card, so I just call. Mid Guy check-raises to $60. The Lady thinks for a bit, and folds. I'm positive that he has KQ for the Nut Straight. This would be the 3rd time today that he would have the Nut Straight with KQ. (Did I mention that he's having a good day?) I call the $40, and will hopefully hit my Boat Draw.
River [Jd Tc 5s 9s] 2d. He starts to grab a stack of Red chips, but I quickly fold my hand face up. He shows KQ.

3:30 $642 - UTG limps in. I'm in the Cutoff with KJc, and raise to $8. The Blinds and UTG call. Four players see a Flop of Jd Jh Td. They all check, and I bet $15. Only the SB calls, and he's a Kid. The Turn is [Jd Jh Td] Js. SB checks. Naturally, I check my Quads, hoping he's on a Draw. The River [Jd Jh Td Js] 3d. The Kid bet $30. I raised to $80, and he called with K6d for a Flush.

17 out of the 19 tables in the room are in use. All 13 Cash tables are full, as well as four tables in the tournament room. Due to popular demand, they ran the usual Sunday 1pm $65 tournament, and had 66 players. I don't know if they will start running Cash games in the tournament room, but I would guess the $10/$25 NL game might start in there.

4:00 $580 - I'm UTG, and raise to $7 with 9h 9d. I would normally just limp here, but as I said, I'm Action Guy at this table. Five players saw the Flop. The Good News is that I Flopped a Set. The Bad News is the Flop is Js Ts 9s. I still bet $20 because I do not want to risk giving a Free Card. An out-of-town Lady in Mid position tries to raise to $30. Naturally the Dealer says, $40. It folds around to me, and I just call the extra $20.
Turn: [Js Ts 9s] Qc. Wonderful. I check, and she bet $20. She's been at the table for an hour, and has played very few hands. She doesn't seem to be concerned with the 4-card Straight on the Board, so I'm putting her on a decent sized Flush. I'm certainly getting odds to hit my Full House, so I call.
River: [Js Ts 9s Qc] 2d. She grabs some more chips, and I quickly fold. I'm getting tired of folding Sets.

I was right about the tournament room. Jamie Gold & Company have moved to the tourney room, and started a $10/$25 game. A few players stayed at the $5/$10, and other players from the List filled the open seats.

4:30 $502 - I'm still Action Guy at the table. That means I'm starting to lose track of hands, and I'm falling behind on the Running Log. I know I lost a decent pot to the Lady from the Js Ts 9s hand. I folded Top Pair on the River because I couldn't beat anything that she would be betting.

5:00 $378 - Things have gone sour a bit. I chased a flush that missed. I made a bad call against a Shortstack on the Flop for $54, and he had an Overpair. I tried to bluff someone who couldn't fold KK on an A-high Board. Oh, and I folded another Set to the Old Guy who's still having a very good day as he hit his 6th or 7th Straight of the day. The River is supposed give me a Full House a certain percentage of the time, right?

5:30 $369 - A quiet time for me. I played some small pots with mixed results. I'm getting hungry, so I'm leaving in two orbits. They opened up another table in the tourney room, but I don't know what it was. Due to the large crowd, it's ridiculously loud in here.

6:00 $511 - UTG+1, the Kid from earlier, raised to $6. A bunch of players call. I'm in the BB with 88, and decide to 3-Bet to $35. The Kid calls, but everyone else folds. The Flop was 7s 7d 2d. I bet $60, and the Kid goes All-In for $55 more. I call, and the Turn and River were [7s 7d 2d] 5s Tc. The Kid shows AQ, and leaves the table.

Soon after that hand, I also left the table. The room is still over-packed and very loud. I head over to the ballroom where the HPT Main Event is being played. They had 220 runners for the tourney, and are down to 81 players on nine tables. I didn't notice anyone noteworthy, but I didn't stick around long enough to examine each player.

While I was typing this post, they filmed the Final Table for TV. Here are the results.

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