Snow Day

The Greater Cincinnati Area got buried in snow yesterday, with some parts getting up to a foot. This caused all kinds of traffic problems, and numerous business closings. But the Casino is always open. There was definitely a drop in attendance for customers and dealers. They canceled some of the casino promotions, and even closed the Buffet early (3pm). But when I walked into the Poker Room just after 10am, there was five $1/$2 and three $3/$6 tables running.

Here are two logs from my day, one tournament and one cash game.

"Shuffle Up & Deal" - The 11:15am tournament had 29 runners, which is less than half of what they normally get. It's a $125 Bounty tournament ($20 bounty). You get 6000 chips, and 25 minute levels.

End of Level 1 (25/50) 9125 - I called a 200 raise in the BB with 55. Four players saw a Flop of Q Q 5. Being in the BB, I checked, assuming that someone would bet. They all checked. Turn [Q Q 5] 9. I bet 625. Two players called, including the initial raiser. River [Q Q 5 9] 6. I bet 1500. UTG just calls with KQ. The initial raiser folds his AA.

How do I not collect any bounties with this hand? What a bunch of Nits.

Level 2 (50/100) 6725 - Won a decent pot with J9 in the SB. I flopped Top Pair, turned Trips, and rivered a straight. I don't know what the other player had. I lost a bigger pot when I limped in the Cutoff with 53o. I called a bet from the BB with Bottom Pair (9 6 3), and I raised him when I hit my Two Pair on the Turn. But the 5 gave him a Straight with 87, and he doubled up.

Level 3 (75/150) 5575 - Someone min-raised, and I called in the BB with 96o. I flopped a combo draw, and called a 1200 bet. I missed on the Turn, and decided to fold to the 2000 bet.

Oddly, even thought they have broken the third table, there have been no bounties earned at our table.

Level 4 (100/200/25) 0 - I limped on the Button with Q6d. Flop was Kc Jd Td, giving me the big combo draw. BB lead out for 1000. It folded to me, and I decided to shove All-In for 4000. The BB called with KJ. The Turn and River were the last two K, giving him Quads.

I think the All-In was the right move in this spot. Even against two pair, I was only a 47-53 underdog. If I win, I'm back up near 10k. Sometimes you just gotta go for it.

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2:40pm $200 - After a free lunch in the Buffet, and getting in some quality Pit time, I headed back to the Poker Room. There was a full interest list for $3/$6 Omaha-8 w/Kill. So I put my name on it, and they opened the table soon after. We started with seven players. And much to my surprise, I was not the youngest player at the table.

3:00 $218 - Young guy two seats to my Left is an Action Guy who brought over $700 from a $1/$3 table. The very first hand, he raised in Mid with 5h6h7h8x, and ended up scooping the pot. The only hand that I played, and I took down the Low in a Kill pot with 6h5h4x3x.

3:30 $201 - The player to my direct Right has no clue what he's doing, and is asking numerous questions. Unfortunately, he is getting quality starting hands, and keeps getting half pots. The Action Kid left the table, but the table is now full.

4:00 $199 - I'm kind of card dead. I did win a High with the Nut Flush, but someone called the River bet with a 76 low and no High.

4:30 $236 - Cards got better, but I didn't win all the hands I played. The best hand was hitting Kings Full on the Turn, and the Low missed the River. I also folded the 2nd Nut Low (A4) on the Turn, when I put the preflop raiser on A2. I was wrong.

5:00 $209 - This game can be so frustrating. The only winner was me raising with AKhA2c preflop. I completely missed the Flop of Q82. An A hit the Turn, and my Set held up for the High. We're down to seven players, and this game might not last.

5:30 $173 - I'm playing very donktastic. I even made a crying call on the River with a Low that wasn't there. We're down to five players. Nobody wants to break the game, so we're talking about making this a Limit Hold'em and Omaha-8 table to draw more players. I will gladly play any mixed game they want to play.

6:00 $178 - Just before we started the Hold'em round, a new player sat down and said "No!" That's why Mixed tables are very rare in casinos. My cards aren't good, but I did scoop a small pot with a Boat on the River.

6:30 $150 - I flopped the Nut Low wrap in a Kill pot with 234x. I raised the Flop and bet the Turn, but the Board ended up AQ6 A 6. The only good news was that we now have nine players.

7:00 $163 - I rivered the Nut Straight. The pot was still three handed, and ended up getting 3-bet. As you can guess, one of the players had the same straight, and I got quartered.

7:40 $220 - It's time to go. I think I've hit "The Wall". I was up late last night, thanks to the tournament win, and my body just doesn't like to sleep in. Since I knew I was leaving soon, I started splashing around more, and it worked. The biggest pot was me getting a 3/4 pot with a baby flush and A4 Low.

So I played for five hours, and made $20. That's a $4/hr win rate. Not exactly time to quit my job. The cards weren't that good to me. But to be fair, I did screw up a couple of hands, and wasted around $20-$25. In NL, you could just hit a Set and stack someone to make up the money you donk off. Since this is Limit, that is just not an option. It's hard to get those Bets back.