300

This is my 300th blog post.

I realized that #300 was approaching a few weeks ago. I've been trying to decide what to do for this milestone, but I haven't come up with much. So here are a few different things.

- According Blogger's Stats section, the most popular post is the Mountaineer Review, and it's in the lead by a 4-1 margin. Others in the Top 10 include my Greektown Review, and other Google-friendly posts like Double Or Nothing, MTT Grinder, and Cash Me Out.

However, the #3 post in the list is a mystery to me. Me & Mrs B is a Running Log from a Saturday night tournament back in July '10. There are no buzz words, or other things that would make it Google-friendly. The only thing unusual about it was that I won the tournament. It's hard to win a tournament, and it's rare that I happen to be doing a Running Log when I end up taking one down.

- So has doing a blog made me a better player? Well, the short answer is No.

I went back to read some old posts, hoping to see some hands that I could point out as a mistake. But every hand that I screwed up back then, I acknowledged in the original post. I really think I have reached a plateau as a poker player. I haven't been improving in the last few years. I don't know if it's because I'm just a recreational player who plays when I have some free time, or because this is good as I am capable of becoming.

Certainly, a small part of me would love to go Pro. And if I ever lost my job, then I think I could survive on Poker for a while. But I don't have any control over my hectic work schedule right now, and that's not gonna change for a long time. Also, my last paycheck was $2500 after taxes and stuff were taken out. I'm on pace to make $80k - $85k this year, and there's no way I could voluntarily leave that.

- What would a milestone post be without a Best Of? Here are two hands from way back when that may have been missed by newer readers.

Hand #1 - $.50/$1 Four Winds (Dec '08)
Lady UTG raises to $6. Five players call. I'm the SB with two red Kings, and makes it $25. Lady shoves All-In for about $120. Everyone folds to me. It is vividly clear that she's got AA, so I fold my KK face up.

Laying down KK vs AA is not why I posted this hand. I've done it two other time in the last 18 months, and they were all this easy.

The reason for this hand is the $283,000 Bad Beat Jackpot, Aces Full of Kings beaten by Quads. When I showed the KK, about half of the players at the table were pissed off at me. "How can you lay that down? Don't you know about the BBJ?" "I had a suited connector. I could have seen the Flop." "This is .50/1. I didn't know we were playing real poker."

This is one of many reasons that I HATE any Bad Beat Jackpot. Yes, if any of the five cards on the board ended up being A K K, then I'm a very happy person today. But the pot odds of hitting a 1/million board just don't add up to chase a two outer when I know I'm beat.

"I didn't know we were playing real poker." Geez.

Hand #2 - Borgata $1/$2 (Oct '09)
A solid player in Mid position raises to $15. I'm the BB with JTd, and about $250 in my stack. I call, and four players see a Flop of Jc Ts 5s. Yahtzee! I check, and so does another player. Raiser counts out some Reds and bets $60. We've been playing at the table for a few hours, and he's a fairly no-nonsense player who been on a good run of cards. I'm fairly sure that this bet means an overpair, and not just a c-bet. The fourth player folds, and I check-raise to $150. The player between us thinks for about a minute. I'm assuming that he's deciding whether to gamble on a draw or not. He eventually chooses NOT, and folds. The Raiser insta-calls me. As the Dealer grabs all the chips into the pot, I move the rest of my stack forward (around $100-ish). The Raiser pushes another stack of Reds in as the Dealer flips over the Turn card, 2h. And then, of course, the River card: [Jc Ts 5s 2h] 5d.

"NO!" I say in disgust, as I assume that my Two Pair just got counterfeited. I show my JT. The Raiser shakes his head, and says, "No, you got it." (wtf?) He looks at the board for another moment, mucks his hand towards the Dealer, and says, "You got it." The Dealer puts his two cards in to the Muck, and starts counting the stacks.

Since this is the biggest pot of the night, everyone at the table starts talking. A couple of them were wondering why I reacted to the River card. I just sat there, dead quiet, waiting for the Dealer to gather up the Board, and ship me the pot. I'm not saying a word, because at this point, I'm still 97.3% sure that he's got an Overpair, and I got fucked on the River.

And then, all of a sudden, the Raiser's eyes get very wide. He points to the Muck, and says to the Dealer, "I need my cards. Can I get my hand back?" The Dealer says, "No. The hand was mucked." He ships me the pot of $548, and I tip the Dealer a Red $5 chip.

I have to give a lot of credit (and thanks) to the Raiser. He handed this very professionally. He mumbled something about QQ, and simply walked away. When he came back 15 minutes later, he grabbed his remaining stack of $40-ish, and left without saying a word.