$8/$16 Omaha-8 At Atlantis

$8/$16 Omaha-8 at Atlantis is a 4/8 chip structure with the yellow $2 chips they normally use for the rake. There is a half kill to $12/$24 (6/12) when someone scoops a $100 pot, which is on the small side. The Kill acts like a sleeper straddle, as it acts last preflop unless there is a raise in front of it. 

This is the 3rd week this game has run at Atlantis on Saturday afternoon. I played both times after work, and I'm up almost $300 so far. I had last weekend off, so I'm able to play from the start of the game. I thought I would try a Running Log for the session, as I haven't done a Running Log for a cash game in loooong time.

2:00 $200 - Full 10-handed table. I recognize most of the players, and it's a good mix of tight & loose. 

Other games in the room today include (2) $1/$2 NL, $3/$6 L, $10/$25 NL, and $100/$100 NL. No clue why they have the big NL games today, as it's normally hard to get a $3/$5 game going here. I recognize only one players at the $100/$100, but most of the $10/$25 are locals. I guess there are a couple of special guests in town this weekend. 

2:30 $230 - Normal action so far, as nobody's stuck yet. It was pretty quiet for me. The only significant pot was me limping the Button with Ts 9s 8d 7c. Flop was Jc 8h 7s. Checked to me, and I bet ($8). Three callers, and Turn [Jc 8h 7s] 7d. I bet ($16), and they all folded. 

Atlantis's $340 NLHE

"Shuffle Up & Deal" - Yesterday was the $340 2-Day tourney ($30k guarantee), which was the kick-off event for Atlantis's WPT Western Poker Challenge. This event has two separate flight, 12p & 5p. Each flight last 10 levels, or just over 7 hours. This is also a re-entry event. You can re-enter into the same flight before the first break, and then re-enter the other flight.

This is the 12p flight. There are seven tables with nine seats. My table has seven players. I'm the second youngest, and one of the players is a Reno Regular.

We get 10k chips, and 40 minute levels.

End of Level 1 (25/50) - Better turnout than I would have guessed. Our table filled up quickly, with one more Reno Regular sitting down. They also opened up an 8th table.

Things went well for me. The 60's guy on my Right had been raising a lot, so I called him down with ATo on an A-high board. He had QJ-high. A few hands later, I called a 150 raise with 87h, and the Flop was 8c 7c 8s. It wasn't a huge pot, but it was nice for this early level. I also hit a small flush against Top Pair (AK) for a decent pot.

I have 15050 chips.

Lost Weekend? (Part 3)

Sun 11:00 ~ Atlantis $80 Bounty - 21 players

In Level 4 (200/400/50), there were a few limpers, so I raised to 1500 with Qh Qc in Mid. Button called, and so did the first limper. Flop 6h 5h 2h. First guy, a Kid who has already re-entered, went All-In for 6k-ish. I snap-called, and Button folded. Kid had 8h 8s, and I collected Bounty #1 ($20).

At the Break, I had 24400, which is certainly above average. Most of the knockouts have been at our table, so we have bigger chip stacks than the other table. There were 15 players left.

In the 500/1000/100 level, I got someone All-In with my AK vs AQ, and lost for 9600. Very next hand, there was one limper, and I raised to 3k with AK. Limper called, and he shoved on a K-high Flop. I called, and he also had AK for the chop.

Final Table was in the 800/1600/200 level. I had 12400, which was towards the bottom of the list.

After a couple of hands, I shoved for 12100 with 88. A shorter stack for about 6500 was the only caller. He had 33, and missed. I collected Bounty #2, and got my stack up to 20k.

Lost Weekend? (Part 1)

This weekend is my first weekend off as a regular mail carrier. This means that I punched out at 4:30 on Thursday afternoon, and I won't punch in until Monday morning. What will I do with all that free time?

This will be sort of a Running Log of my weekend, and will be published in a couple of parts. I will be playing numerous daily donkament, along with a few cash sessions, both NLHE and O-8.

Thurs 18:30 ~ Peppermill $65 Bounty - 17 players
Got off a great start by hitting a couple of hands, and pulling off a nice bluff with 87o. I started with 9k chips, and had over 20k by the start of Level 5 (300/600/75). During that level, I picked up my first $10 Bounty with 33. A shortstack called my preflop raise, and shoved his few remaining chips on the Flop. I was gonna call his shove preflop, so I called now. He had QTc, and the Flop was Jc 9h 2c, which meant he was the favorite with his monster draw. The Turn was [Jc 9h 2c] 9d, giving him more outs. But the 3 on the River gave me my first bounty.

After that level was the Break, and there were 15 players left. I had 28900 chips, and was the clear chip leader of the tourney.

One guy at my table came back late from the ten minute break, but he had a good reason. He won $4k by hitting a Royal Flush on a video poker machine, and was filling out the paperwork.

Hand Of The Day #91

Atlantis ~ 01.16.11 ~ 11am $45 Tourney Level 5 (300/600/100).

Full table of 10. There was a bunch of limpers, including me in BB. The Flop was Tc Ts 6d. SB and I checked. UTG bet 1000. He a 70's gentleman I've never seen. It folded around to the Hyjack, who min-raised to 2000. He an 80's gentleman who is a Super-Nit, and he probably has at minimum a Ten with a good kicker. Everyone including me folded back to the UTG, who called.

Turn [Tc Ts 6d] 3c. UTG checked. Hyjack bet 2k again. UTG called again.

River [Tc Ts 6d 3c] 2s. UTG turned over his hand, Ad 5h. The Dealer tried to explain to UTG that it's still his action, and eventually called over the Floor. The Floor said the same thing; UTG has the option to Check or Bet. The Floor also told UTG that he shouldn't show his hand, and that he could get a penalty for it next time.

So, UTG finally checked, with his A5 still turned face up. Hyjack bet 2k, and UTG said, "OK, I'll give it to ya." Hyjack showed Qh Th, and scooped a damn fine pot.

Hands like this are why I'm grinding these Daily Donkaments. The structures and rake are terrible, but the players are much, much worse.

Hand Of The Day #89

Atlantis ~ 01.11.12 ~ 7:00 $45 Tournament Level 9 (2k/4k/400)

19 players for this one, and four are left, which is the Bubble. The play is rather calm, as everyone is waiting for AA to get their money in. It folds to me, and I have 9c 8h in the SB. I just limp in. I could raise, and just take it down, but I'm choosing to play small ball with this pot. I'm not super shortstacked compared to everyone else, but I'm in the middle of the pack.

The other reason for limping is the BB, who's a 60's Asian gentleman. He and his wife are tourney regulars around Reno. He's not the typical 60's Super Nit. My perception of him is that he's on the loose, passive side. He likes to call, but he will also make the occasionally move on a pot. If I shove All-In to steal the blinds and antes, then his calling range is wider than average.

Anyways, he checks his option, and the Flop is Tc Td 6s. We both check.

The Turn is [Tc Td 6s] Kh. Once again, we both check.

Sunshine And Rainbows ?

Here's a recap of my poker from last weekend.

On Saturday, Grand Sierra had the Main Event for their Winter Pot of Gold tourney series. So I headed up there after work, and got seated at a new $1/$2 table a little after 7pm.

I got off to a lousy start as I lost a couple of decent sized pots to a tournament Super-Nit. It took me almost an hour to win my first pot. I did manage to double up when I had 98s on the Button. I flopped Two Pair and turned a Boat against the one Action Guy at the table. But I was so low on chips, it didn't even get me back to my buy-in of $300.

Things kept going lousy. A little after 9pm, I was debating whether to add-on an extra $200, or just cut my losses. The Poker Room brought in some food, so I decided to stick around, and bought the extra $200.

As it turned out, I made the right decision. About 11pm, I left the Poker Room up $415. The biggest reason was that I flopped a Straight Flush with 54s for a High Hand Bonus of $267, plus the pot. I won a few other nice pots from either the Action Guy or another player who was running worse than I was.

On Sunday morning, I played in the Atlantis 11am $80 Bounty donkament, which had 18 players. Once again, I got off to a lousy start, which I've already mentioned. It looked like I wasn't even going to make it to the Final Table when I shoved with A9o, and got quickly called by TT. But I flopped an Ace to double up, and survive to the Final Table.

Things weren't going well at the Final Table, as I didn't have many opportunities to get chips or Bounties. With six players left, I finally 3-Bet All-In with ATo, and the initial raiser called with AJc. I hit my Ten on the Turn, and doubled up.

This started a good run for me, as I quickly became one of the chip leaders when we got to the four-handed Bubble. Naturally, all the players wanted to do a Bubble Save, but I quickly said No. I am no longer saying Yes to the Bubble Saves, even though I finished on the Bubble or Bubble+1 in my last three tournaments. This caused the other players to get pissed at me, as they are all local tourney regulars, but I didn't care.

Play continued, and I eventually popped the Bubble by knocking out a player who had almost as many chips as I did. This gave me the Tower Of Power with the dominate chips stack. The other two players started talking about making a deal. While I don't do Bubble Saves, I am willing to make a deal to lock up my equity as the Chip Leader. I got a little less than 1st Place money, the other two chopped the rest, and we kept our Bounties. I walked out of the Atlantis up $300.

I went home to chill for a while, and then headed over to the Peppermill. They had two tables of $1/$2 with an open seat. The first one had a Kid that I've never seen before on the Left of the open seat, and the second one had some older regulars around the open seat. Naturally, I choose the second table.

We don't have to post at the Peppermill, so my first hand was UTG. I got 99, so I limped in. I flopped a Set, and turned Quads for a $75 High Hand Bonus. Things continued to well at this table, but I wasn't at it for long as I got called to another game. I left the table up $102 plus the High Hand Bonus.

The game that I was called to was the $5/$10 Limit Crazy Pineapple H/L game that was starting. (Yes, I know what you're thinking.) I'm not going into to much detail here about the game, as I will make a separate post about it after I've played a few sessions.

This was only the second time I've played the game, and it didn't go well. My first time was the previous week, and I had a good session as there were a few players giving away money. This line-up was less generous, and I just could get any good scooped pots. After 4.25 hours, I walked away from the table down $94.

Overall, I was up $778 for the weekend, which included a $20 football parley that I lost. So is it sunshine and rainbows now? Are happy days here again?

I wouldn't say so yet, but it was certainly a good start. My pile of cash was getting low enough that a trip to the ATM was an option. This weekend certainly gave me some room on that. Now if I can string together some winning weekends, even if they aren't as large as this one, then I can say I'm on the road to recovery.

Hand Of The Day #88

Atlantis $80 Bounty Tournament ~ Level 4 (200/400/50) ~ 12.11.11

We are eight handed. UTG+1 limps. I'm the Cutoff, and also limp with 7d 7s. Both blinds climb on board, and the Flop is 7c 4c 2h. It checks around to me, and I also checked. It's a bit of a gamble by me, as this board is very draw heavy, especially for a limped pot. But things have not gone well in this donkament so far, so I want the chance to win a big pot. The players at this table are very basic, so I won't lose much if a draw hits the Turn.

Turn [7c 4c 2h] 4d - Well, I don't have to worry about the draws, as the I now have a Full House. The SB leads out for 600. He's a 70's gentleman who's a semi-regular in the donkaments around Reno, and he seems to be playing like a 70's gentleman. I instantly put him on 4. The other two players fold. If they would have called, then I would have raised. But since it's just me and the SB now, I just call so I don't scare him off. I am planning on raising his River bet. Hopefully, he will hit his kicker, or another 2 will come.

River [7c 4c 2h 4d] 4h - Or another 4 could come. The SB quickly tosses out two Yellow 1k chips for a bet of 2000. I get visibly annoyed, and say, "I don't believe this. I have the 2nd Nuts, and I'm considering folding."

I still think he has the last 4 in his hand, but what other hands could he have. Remember, it's a 70's gentleman who limped in the SB preflop, checked the Flop, made a small bet on the Turn, and made a near pot-sized bet on the River.

If he had an Overpair, like 88 or 99, then I'm assuming that he would have bet the Flop, and I doubt he would bet as big on the River. If he had the last 7, then why bet so big on the Flop? If he had 22, then why bomb the River when is had got counterfeited? If he missed a draw, even a big monster like 65c, then he wouldn't bet the Turn or River because old geezers don't bet their draws, nor bluff when they missed.

It only took me about 20 seconds to make the easy decision, and I folded my 77 face up. Tight players love to show their big hands, so the SB showed his hand, 43s. Sometimes the 3% gets there. (Yes, Live Poker is rigged.)

Naturally. the table was shocked to see this. I look at it the same way I look at folding KK preflop. I've done it four or five times in my poker life, and they've all been this easy.

Welcome to my last few months.

Hand Of The Day #86

Atlantis $240 Super Stack - Level (800/1600/200) - 11.06.11

This tournament had 26 players, and we are at the Final Table. I got there with just over 40k chips, which was in the middle of the pack. I blinded off for a couple of obits. In the hand just before this one, I called a raise with 55 in the BB. The Flop was KQ5, and I doubled up against AK, which got me up to around 65k chips. We are currently eight handed.

UTG limped for 1600. He's a Kid who started the Final Table as one of the Chip Leaders, and has been playing very few hands. This limp was surprising to me, as there has been very little limping by anyone up to this point. Also surprisingly, it folded around to the Button, who also limped. She's a 60's lady who has been quiet at this table. I'm the SB with A9h, and am happy to see a cheap Flop. The BB checked his option.

Flop 8h 7c 2h. This is a good Flop for me, as I have the Nut Flush Draw, two Overcards, and a backdoor Straight Draw. I like to bet these hands on the Flop, and then check if I hit my Flush on the Turn. I can also hit my Overcards or pick up a Straight Draw on the Turn, and still fire a bet on the Turn. I toss a 5000 chip on to the table.

The BB folded, but the UTG raised to 12000. Since he limped, it's hard to say what hand he may be raising with. However, I don't have much time to think about it, as the Button shipped it All-In for 28300.

I didn't know what the Button had, and I didn't care. I insta-shoved All-In for around 58k, hoping to isolate against the Button. UTG went into deep thought for almost a minute before making the call.

UTG had 2d 2c for Bottom Set. Button had Ad 8s for Top Pair. The Board ran out [8h 7c 2h] As 8d. The Button tripled up with the Main Pot with Eights Full of Aces, and UTG won the Side Pot with Deuces Full of Aces. I'm eliminated in 8th place.

They say, "Never go broke in a limped pot." Generally, that is good advice. But I'm happy with how I played this hand, and I wouldn't change anything I did. It just didn't work out. It was really bizarre to see a 3-way trainwreck in a limped pot at a Final Table.

I love tournaments.

Atlantis's Sunday Super Stack

"Shuffle Up & Deal" - The Atlantis has started running a monthly $230 tournament, and today is the first one. In order to promote this, they ended up giving away 10 seats. They were gonna run satellites during the week, but they didn't. So far they have three tables, but they're not full. Levels are 30 minutes long, and we start with 20k chips. My table has 7 out of 10 seats filled. I recognize one tourney regular, and one floorperson from this room.

End of Lv1 (25/50) - Even though they had three tables set up, only two of them have players. We are now eight handed. One player already busted (QQ v KK), and he re-entered. Personally, it's been a quiet level. I only raised one hand (AJs) to 125. Four callers Td 3s 2c. We all ck. Turn [Td 3s 2c]5s. I bet 325 with the Flush and Straight Draw. Two players call, and the River [Td 3s 2c 5s] 4d. The BB (an old guy) bet 700. I think for a bit. I doubt he's betting anything less than an Ace. I would just be calling to win half the pot, and there is someone else still to act. I fold, and the last guy raised to 2500. BB calls, and the last guy shows 65o, and BB mucks. I have 18525 chips.

Lv2 (50/100) - Still not much for me. I did win a few small pots, but I lost others. There is one guy at the table who is having a very good day. He playing half the hands, hitting most of them, and getting paid off. Nut Flushes, Broadways, Sets, etc. Oh, and he's sitting on my direct Left. I have 18125chips.

Lv 3 (100/200) - I'm UTG+2 with AA, and raise to 525. One caller is the guy who re-entered. He's on the loose side. The SB 3-Bet to 2650. He an Old Guy who's playing very basic. He's had a couple of big hands, and raised big with them. No reason to slowplay in this spot, and let the 3rd player in with pot odds. I 4-Bet to 5000. Loose guy mumbles and folds. SB just calls, and Flop is 543. He checks, I bet 6000, and he calls. Turn [543] J. I'm not thrilled with that card, as I put him squarely on QQ or JJ. He checks, I go All-In for 6600, and he calls with QQ.

In a different pot, there was a very wet Flop in a limped pot. Someone bet 400, and there was one caller. I raised to 1400, and they both called. The Turn put out more draws. I bet 2500, and one called. The River missed everything. I bet 2500 again, and she mucked.  I have 39100 chips.

Lv4 (150/300/25) - Only one hand of interest. I limped on the Button with J2s. Five player see a Flop 5s 4d 3s. The SB bet 300. A couple of callers, including me. Turn [5s 4d 3s] As. Perfect card for me. It checks around to me, and I tossed out a Yellow 1000 chip. Only the SB called. River [5s 4d 3s As] Kd. He checked, and I bet 1500. He thinks for a bit, and starts talking aloud about me flopping the Nuts. He finally folds, and I show the Js.  I have 37300 chips.

BREAK - 18 players total, and 14 are left. I'm in the Top 3 or 4 of chip stacks, but there's a long way to go. Our table has three big stacks, and the other has just one. They are paying three spots: $1800, $1080, $720.

Lv5 (200/400/50) - UTG raised to 1200. I'm next with AQc. I think about 3-Betting, but decide to just call. She has over 10k, and I don't want to call if she ships it on me. Four player see a Flop of Tc 9c 8s. UTG checks. I love this Flop, and bet 2500. Mid player calls. The loose guy from before goes All-In for his last 1950. UTG folds. Turn [Tc 9c 8s] 2s. I still have good equity against whatever the loose guy has, so I bet 5k hoping the Mid player will go away. Instead, he quickly called. River [Tc 9c 8s 2s] Jd. I bet 10k with my Straight and he quickly folded. The Loose Guy had K7c. We are down to six players at our table, and I have 49225 chips.

Lv8 (600/1200/150) - The reason for a skip in the Log is my phone wouldn't turn on. I kept trying to reset it, but to no avail. But at the end of this level, the display flashed back on, and I have no clue why. Ain't technology grand.

Anyways, I won a few more nice pots against the guy on my Left, including a Set of 4 against his TT. When we got to the Final Table in the 400/800/100 level I had over 77k chips, and was one of two chip leaders.

Unfortunately, I blinded off for the next 45 minutes. I mean that literally. I didn't win a pot, or really play a hand. I was obscenely card dead, and my seat draw isn't very good for stealing.  On my Left is a Tight Old Guy (TOG), the other Chip Leader, and a Cash Game player who always plays in the biggest NL game in the room. I've learned from previous experience that Cash Game players like to see Flops, so they are more likely to call preflop. We are on Break now, and have nine players left.  I have 68800 chips.

Lv9 (800/1600/200) - I actually played a hand. One limper, and I raised to 4000 with QQ. Everyone folded. Very next hand, I raise with KQo and take down the blinds and antes. The only other hand I played was it folding around to me in the SB. I raised the TOG, and he folded.

The play at this table has been very patient. Nobody is under 20k, so everyone is just waiting. My seat still sucks for stealing. However, the good news is I am the clear chip leader. There has been some chip movement, and the next closest player is around 50k. I just need to stay patient, and use my experience.  I have 77800 chips.

Lv10 (1k/2k/300) - I raise to 5100 with 44 in Mid position. The TOG calls, as he had just gotten a hold of a bunch of chips. The BB goes All-In for over 30k. He's the Cash Game player, and this really looks like a Squeeze Play. It's tempting to call with just 44, but it's a good chunk of chips, and the TOG still needs to act. I reluctantly fold, and the TOG calls with AKo. The BB has AJh, and I would really like my pocket pair back. The Board runs out 822 7 7, and they chop up my 5100. If I would have called, then I would have knocked out two players, and had almost half of the chips in play. Oh, well. Right Fold... Wrong Time.

Two hands later, UTG raised to 6500. I'm next, and look down at AKo. I grab some Butterscotch 5k chips and raise to 25000. It folds around to the Button, who goes All-In. It's the Lady at the table, and she's the one who's second in chips with about 55k. UTG thinks for a while, and goes All-In for almost 20k. With the size of the pot, I gotta call the extra 30k. She has JJ, and UTG has TT. I'm very happy with this, as it looks like the situation that just happened. However, the J on the Flop give the monster pot to the Lady, and I loose 2/3rds of my chips. Once again, Right Call... Wrong Time.

I blind out for a little bit, but eventually it folds to me on the Button. I ship All-In for around 24k with Q9o. The BB calls with AJo. The Flop was JTX, but I miss my 11 outer. I finish in 6th place.

I really hate Tournament Poker these days.

LOL Donkaments #6

Atlantis 11am $80 Bounty - 07.24.11

They had 38 players for this one, which is the most players I've seen for this tourney. This was rather surprising to me, because the Grand Sierra has a their quarterly tournament series going on now. I had assumed that most of the tourney players would be over there. Instead, I recognized a few of the Grand Sierra regulars playing at Atlantis today. I guess they would rather play in the smaller tournaments. I'm not at Grand Sierra today becasue they are having a two day event, so I can't play in it.

Things started slowly for me. I didn't get any cards, so I just stayed patient and observed the other players. We start with 13000 chips, 20 minute levels, and the blinds at 25/50, so I was in no hurry. The play at the table was rather typical for a daily tournament. Lots of limping, some small raises, and generally small pots.

In the 100/200 level, I picked up a few hands, and won pots without much resistance. So I kept raising, and it went well. My stack broke the 20k mark without any problems.

In the 300/600 level. there was a couple of limpers. I had A3d on the Button. I was gonna raise, but decided to just limp, as a suited Ace plays good in a multi-player hand. However, the SB (an older gentleman) decided to raise to 1800. I was the only caller. The Flop was Q 8 3, and he bet 2000.

Meanwhile, the next Dealer had arrived. The current Dealer hands off the Downs Sheet to the new Dealer so they can keep track of who's dealing in the tournament to split the AddOns and Tips. The new Dealer drops the pen. It hits me in the shoulder (I'm in the 10 Seat next to the Dealer), and the pen rolls under the table.

It's my turn, and I decide to call the 2000 bet with just Bottom Pair, and see what happens on the Turn. Being the awesome guy that I am, I toss out two Yellow 1000 chips, and reach under the table to grab the pen. The Dealer then asks me, "Is that a Raise?" I'm confused by this, so I look up and see a Yellow 1000 chip and Brown 5000 chip. Since I didn't say anything, that meant it was a raise. The SB called the extra 4000. The Turn card didn't help me, and the SB went All-In. I folded in disgust that a stupid pen cost me most of my profit up to this point.

I got to the first Break (before 400/800) with 17800, and there was 26 players left. Shortly after the break, there was one limper. I was the Cutoff with QTo, and raised to 2000. The SB called, but the BB and limper folded. Flop was Qs Qh Th. The SB bet out for 2000. Well, there's no reason to scare off my action, so I just called. Turn [Qs Qh Th] 9d. He checked. I made a value bet of 3000, hoping it's small enough for him to call. He did , and the River [Qs Qh Th 9d] Ad. Once again, he led out, but this time it's for 5000. I really hope I didn't run into a cooler here, but I go All-In for 5800 more. He calls rather quickly with AKo, and I get the monster double up.

The next level was 500/1000/100. Our table was down to seven players as we are the next table to break. UTG (a Lady) raised to 2500. Mid player 3-Bets to 6500, which is half his stack. He's young Cash game player who actually has a clue about Poker. I'm the Button, and look down at Ad Ah. If I shove now, I know that Mid will have to call. But UTG has way more chips, and I want to win a huge pot. I just call the 6500, and hopefully UTG will go All-In. She doesn't, as she calls the extra 4000. Flop Ac 9d 6d. UTG goes All-In. Mid gets that pained look on his face, and goes into deep thought. It's rather obvious that he's got a Big Pair, and hates the Ace. I just sit there watching the ballgame on TV, trying to look as uninterested as possible. He finally folds QQ, and I insta-call with my Top Set. UTG shows KJo, and she's drawing dead. I collect Bounty #1.

This hand broke our table, as we're down to two tables. I'm at my new table for less than an orbit before I got moved to the other table. The shortstack player who had the QQ before now has well over 30k chips, and two more Bounty chips. He thanked me for not shoving preflop with my AA. This didn't bother me because I wanted to knock out the bigger stack, and I did.

Less than an orbit later, it was the 1k/2k/200 level. UTG+1 min-raised to 4000. I'm the Hyjack with AKo. I think for a moment about all my options, and decide to 3-Bet to 10000. I know nothing about this player, other than he's it looks like he's got a lot of chips.  He was the only caller, and the Flop was As 5c 2c. He bet 10k. I decided to slow play this, and just called. Turn [As 5c 2c] 5h. He asked how much I got left, and I show him. He thinks for a moment, and bets 10k again. I now go All-In for 15600 more. He called, and turned over A8o. River [As 5c 2c 5h] 8h, and I finished in 15th place.

I also played in the 6:30 $95 Cash Me Out at the Peppermill. I didn't take any notes for this one, but I did min-cash for $145.

The only hand I will mention from this tourney was one of the worst beats I've ever seen, and fortunately I wasn't involved. The Flop was Ac Js 4c. Player A was the biggest stack with 4d 4h for Bottom Set. Player B was the next stack with J6c for Middle Pair and a Flush Draw. Player C is the shortest stack with AJd for Top Two Pair. This hand was in the middle of the tourney, so all the money got in on the Flop. The Board ran out [Ac Js 4c] Jh 6h. Player C more than tripled up with a Jacks Full of Aces. Player B won the decent Side Pot with Jacks Full of Sixes. Player A was left shortstacked, and was out within two orbits.

Happy Birthday To Me

11am $600 - Every Sunday morning at the Atlantis, they have a $3/$5 NL game. This one started out with four players. Unfortunately, the Action Guy that this game is built around is on my direct Left.

11:30 $1246 - Table is up to nine players. I played three big hands. First, I flopped Top Two Pair from the SB in a limped pot (KTo - Kc Jc 8h). I led out for $15. A tight Mid player raised to $80. The Hyjack cold called, which set off a little warning light in my head. I don't want to see a Turn card being out of position with three players, so I 3-Bet to $220. The Mid player folded, but the Hyjack called. Turn [Kc Jc 8h] Qd. What a terrible card for me. I checked, and the Hyjack moved All-In for $450, which was a little more than I have left. I go into deep thought. With such a wet board, there are so many types of Combo Draws that he could have. Some of them hit a Straight, and some of the hit a Pair. Plus, there are Sets and Two Pair possibilities. Eventually, I called, and the River was a brick. He had 88 for a Set. I pulled out another $500.

A few hands later, I called a $15 raise with 66 in the Hyjack. Three players saw a Flop of 8h 6s 4s. They checked, and I bet $25 with my Middle Set. The initial raiser folded, but the other player check-raised to $75. I just called. I don't know much about this player, and I think I'm a little gun-shy from the previous hand. It could be a Straight, another Set, Two Pair, or a Combo Draw. Turn [8h 6s 4s] Kc. He bet $150, and I just call. River [8h 6s 4s Kc] 4d. He goes All-In for $200-ish. I snap call with my Full House, and he simply mucks his hand. I guess he missed his Combo Draw.

A few hands later, I limped UTG+2 with AKo. Five players saw a Flop of As Kd 7s. The BB led out for $10. He's a Dealer at another room, and is on the Nitty side. I raised to $25 in order isolate with the BB. It worked as he was the only caller. Turn [As Kd 7s] 4h. He checked, I bet $40, and he called. River [As Kd 7s 4h] Ks. There an Action Card. The BB led out for $40, and had about $200 total. I'm not sure if he hit his Flush, or his Two Pair hit a Boat. But I really don't care because I can beat all of them. I go All-In, and he called with QTs for the Nut Flush.

Without question, this was the most active first 30 minutes I've ever had.

12:00 $1296 - A quiet time for me, as I was doing more typing than playing poker. The only hand I remember winning was my AQ vs AJ on a A K T Flop. It wasn't a huge pot.

The Action Guy has been relatively calm so far, but loud as usual. He's already asked for a Seat Change Button, so hopefully he'll use it soon.

12:30 $1765 - The table is now full with 10 players, but it's a little dead. Most of the Reno Regulars are on the Nitty side, and we've been seeing more Walks than we should be.

I'm UTG+2 with AQd, and raise to $15. Four players saw a Flop of Ks Jd Td. I think that qualifies as a good Flop for my hand, so I made a standard C-Bet of $30. Only a Mid player called. Turn [Ks Jd Td] Kd. Yahtzee! I check my Royal Flush, and Mid bet $60. Do I raise, or just call? I think he has a King, and I choose Call. River [Ks Jd Td Kd] 8d. A terrible card for me, as the 4-Card Flush might kill my action. I bet $100, and pray he has a Full House. He didn't, as he folded. I showed my hand, and received the $500 Royal Flush Bonus. That has to stay on the table.

1:00 $1953 - Action at the table is still kinda Meh! I did win a couple of decent pots. I hit the small end of a Full House (J8s - 998 8 Q) and it was good. I also bluffed on the Button in a raised pot with a Gutshot (86o - 9h 7h 7d). I fired at all three streets, and he folded on the River when all the Draws missed.

2:00 $1922 - I have no clue why I don't have a 1:30 entry in my notes, but I obviously screwed up something.  It was a quiet period for me. The Action Guy is still rather calm. As it turns out, he's having a really bad weekend, and is down a ton of money. Somebody left the table, and various players played Musical Chairs. I'll never understand the mentality of players chasing the Lucky Seat.

2:30 $2154 - I won a couple of pots. Most notably, I raised $15 from UTG+2 with KQh. Hyjack raise to $35. He's a Kid who's a regular in the room. I'm the only caller. The Flop was Ad Th 6d. I checked, he bet $50, and I called with my Broadway Draw. Turn [Ad Th 6d] 3c. I checked, and so did he. River [Ad Th 6d 3c] 8d. I fired out a bluff of $70, hoping that he was just making a C-Bet on the Flop. I was right, as he couldn't fold fast enough. I do love my tight table image.

I'm not really comfortable with this much money in front of me. Nobody at this table worries me from a Skill aspect, but this is almost half my bankroll on this table. I know that it shouldn't matter to me as a Recreational Player, but it does. I leave the table up $554 from the game, plus $500 for the High Hand Bonus.

----

Since I didn't play very long at the Atlantis, I headed to the Peppermill in the evening for the $95 Cash Me Out tournament. It had 32 runners, and things went well for me. I even had a big suck-out to survive when we were down to two tables. My J9 vs QQ, and I hit Two Pair on the River.

When we got the Final Table, it didn't take long to get down to eight players when we converted to Cash chips. I had 22400 chips, and that was converted to $130. The Big Stack had $465, and left the table. A couple of other shorter stacks also decided to cash out. This left us with four players, two bigger stacks and a smaller stack. We decided to chop up the remaining prizepool without playing a single hand. I left the Poker Room with $260.

Hitting Bottom

I played two tournaments yesterday. Here's what happened.

Atlantis 11am $80 Bounty - We had 25 players, which is the most I've seen for this tournament. Our table had a player who was a First Class Calling Station. He was playing 95% of hands, and seeing 75% of Turns. For example, in the 100/200 level, he limped in the Cutoff and the SB called. I was the BB with AKc. I raised to 700, and they both called. Flop was 8 6 2. I bet 1500, AT&T called, and the SB folded. Turn [8 6 2] 6. I bet 2100, and he called. River [8 6 2] 6 5. I bet 2600, and he casually called with 44. As much as I want to complain about how bad he is, I was the one who "emptied the clip" into a Calling Station. So how good does that make me?

We started with 13k chips, so that was about half my stack. Naturally, I went very card dead after that hand. Plus, it's hard to steal when there is a player in every pot. Finally in the 200/400 level, three players limp in. I'm in the Cutoff with KJo, and I've only got 4100 chips. Limping is a bad idea, as I don't want to waste the chips. If I make a standard raise, I'll get a couple of callers. So I push All-In. The Blinds fold, but UTG called. He's a 70's guy who's played very few hand. I know at this point that I'm very behind. Of course, AT&T also called. Flop was Q 3 3. UTG bet 5k, and AT&T folded. UTG showed KK, and I miss my 3% chance to win this pot. I finish in 21st place.

Peppermill 6:30pm $95 Cash Me Out - This one had ended up with 23 players on two tables. Normally, the tables are nine handed, but the TD decided to squeeze ten players on the tables, and have alternates. I guess they were short on Dealers.

Very first hand, I have KJd UTG. Normally I would limp here in the first level, but I decided to do something different and put a small raise to 125. It folded around to the Button, who raised to 400. I know nothing about this player, so I have to assume he's got a real hand. I make the reluctant call, and I know that this will be a fun hand.

The Flop was K J 5. Oh, this will be a fun hand. I check, he bets 600, I check-raise to 1600, and he called. Turn was [K J 5] 2. I bet 2500, and he called. River [K J 5 2] 9. I go All-In for 2000. He thinks for a moment, and folds AK face up. Unlike most of the other players in Reno, I don't show my hand, and scoop a sweet pot.

Things were rather quiet with me for a while. I wasn't getting any cards, but I also wasn't getting into any trouble. This was fine with me, since I got so many chips in the first hand. I stayed patient until around 300/600/100 level when I started to step on the gas. This was partially because I started to get a few hands, and partially because the steady parade of limpers had finally stopped and I was able to steal a little.

When we got to the Final Table, I had around 36k chips, and was in second or third place. As you would expect, the Final Table rollercoaster had begun. Shortstack were going All-In, and they kept doubling up. Since I had chips, I tried to stay out of the way, but sometimes you just can't help it. I lost a chuck of chips when my KQ lost to A9, and 55 lost to AT. I then won with AJ against two players. I actually lost the small Main Pot, but won the much larger Side Pot.

We finally got down to seven players, and the conversion to Cash chips. I had 21k, and got $100. Three of the seven players cashed out, including two of the Big Stack. We could have chopped the remaining $340 at this point, but the extreme short stack stayed with $40. I started catching some cards, and it didn't take long to get rid of him. The three of us played for a bit longer, and decided to chop the remaining prize pool. I left the Poker Room with $290 after the Dealer tip.

As I have mentioned before, it's been a bad two weeks, and this was the first time in a while I finished the day with some profit. On Friday, I airballed the $120 Atlantis tournament, and on Saturday I lost $195 in a $1/$2 game at the Peppermill. Hopefully, this is sign that thing are starting to turn around. This time next week, I'll be in Las Vegas, and it's not a good idea to arrive there when I'm losing.

Hand Of The Day #75

Atlantis ~ $1/$2 PLO-8 ~ 05.21.11

We've been playing for a little over three hours, and were down to four players. One of them is leaving after this hand, so this is the final hand of the night.

UTG folds, but the Button bets POT to $7. He's an older Asian gentleman who's been playing like an old man. The SB calls. I'm the BB with 9h 8h 8d 5d. A really lousy hand for PLO-8, but it's the last hand, I already have $2 in the pot, and I have had a good night. What's the worst could happen?

Flop: 9d 5s 3s. Not bad for me. I have Top Two Pair but no Low Draw on a very draw heavy board. SB checks. I check. Button bets POT $20. SB folds, and I just call.

Turn : [9d 5s 3s] Qh. I check. He bets POT again for $60, and has $100 - $125 behind. Now I think for a bit. As I already said, he plays like an Old Man, which means he's been Tight & Passive. In the few hands that I've seen him put big money into the pot, he was trying to overbet the pot by around 1.5x (Pot is $50ish and he tried to bet $75, for example.) To me, this means that he thinks he has a good hand, and that he's inexperienced with PLO.

So what did he raise with that would have hit this Board? As an Old Man, he's probably not adjusting his preflop raising range even though we are four handed. So any hands that he would raise with just four players would be the same hands that he would raise at a full table. He also doesn't seem very experienced at this game, so I'm putting him on a hand like AA2X or AA4X. That was a decent Flop for his hand with an Overpair and a Wheel Draw. But the Turn was a complete whiff for him, which means my Two Pair is now comfortably ahead. I say, "All-In"

Not only does he not snap-call, he also gets that "What!?" look on his face. He thinks for a bit, looks at his cards a few times, and mumbles, "I should have checked."

He's right. He should have checked. This is a good lesson for noobies to Pot Limit games. "Pot Limit doesn't mean Pot Only." You don't have to always bet POT, because you can get into a situation like this by letting the size of the pot get out of control.

I'm not sure why, but I started talking to him. "Your Aces are behind," I said. "But if you have a Low Draw, it's good."

I don't know if that influenced him, but after about a minute, he pushed his stack forward. The River was [9d 5s 3s Qh] Kc. He just shook his head, and showed his hand. I'm not exactly sure what the four cards were because he was on the other side of the table. But I was right about what he had, something like AA2X. I showed my hand to collect the pot. He was not happy to see my cards, and walked away from the table. I gathered up my chips, took them up to the desk, and walked out of the poker room up $568 for the night.

As I'm typing this up, I decided to look up the percentages, since I'm not that fluent in Omaha-8 odds. I was 70% - 30% favorite for the High on the Turn, and he had a 35% chance of hitting the Low.

Hand Of The Day #74

$2/$3 NLHE - Atlantis - 05.13.11

There was a couple of limpers. I have AA in the SB, and I decided to limp. Why? Well, I don't have a good reason. But in the previous hand, I just checked my option with JJ, and won a small pot on a scary board. The odds of me having another big hand are tiny, so why not do it again?

Fortunately, the BB raised to $18, and has a little over $400 behind. A Mid player back-raised All-In for $44. It folded around to me, and I give it a little thought. I decided to just call the $44, hoping that the BB will raise and try to isolate. Well, he cooperated by raising $75 more. I go into a little thought while the Dealer gathered up the $44 for everyone for the Main Pot. I was basically hollywooding since there really isn't much to think about. I grab my 4 Green $25 chips, put them on top of a stack of Red $5 chips, and push it forward to bet $200.

It was rather obvious that the BB was not expecting this. He went into deep thought for about a minute. Finally, he gathers his chips, and pushed them forward. I call, and show my hand. He turns over KK, but the Mid player didn't show. The Board ran out 6d 5d 4c 5s 2d, and everyone mucks their cards. The Dealer pushed me the pot that has almost $500 of profit.

There is some Good News and Bad News about this hand. The Good News was that I won more in this AA vs KK hand than I lost in my previous three KK vs AA hands.

The Bad News is that I almost royally screwed this hand up, and got very lucky to win as much as I did. I'm not referring to my AA running into KK. I'm talking about the Mid player going All-In.

One big flaw in my game is that I can be too passive. I don't know it's from over-thinking things, or just too much of the Fancy Play Syndrome. I was definitely in that state of mind on that night. After all, I did limp in the Blinds with both JJ and AA.

If the Mid player folded, along with everyone else, then I probably would have just called. I may have check-raised the Flop. But the Board got scary, and there is a decent chance that I only win $150-$200 from him, rather than the full $400+. I then would have posted the hand, and complained that my big hands never get paid off.

I'm not saying that I should never limp with a Big Pair (JJ - AA). But if I do limp in, there needs to be a damn good reason to do it. Usually, that reason is to put out a big 3-Bet against a Straddle who like to raise, or a crazy action table where the players are throwing $100 bills around.

But none of those were in effect on that night. And they rarely are in Reno. So stop doing it.

Call Me Dog

Shuffle Up & Deal - I'm at the Atlantis for the Sunday 11am $80 Bounty tournament ($20 Bounty). There are two tables today, and we have nine players at ours. The levels are 20 minutes long, and we start with 13k chips.

End of Level 1 (25/50) - The table is now full with ten players. So far, the play has been what you would expect to see in the first level of a tournament. Limp limp limp, call call call. I just sat back, and observed. I only raised two hands. First was to 125 with AQo. I flopped an Ace and got two streets of value. Second was to 125 with 44 from the Hyjack. I C-Bet on the Kc Js 5c Flop, got two callers, and gave up. I have 13625 chips.

Level 2 (50/100) - I hit a Straight on the Turn from the BB with Q8o. The only hand I raised was to 250 with K7h in the Hyjack. Four players saw a Flop of Ah Ks 6h. The BB leads out for 425. This was the Flop I wanted to see when I raised with K7h, so I raised to 1500. The BB called, and everyone else folded. Turn [Ah Ks 6h] Kc. BB shipped it All-In for 7500-ish. Not a tough decision for me with Trip K and Nut Flush Draw. I snap-called, and turned my hand over. He got that "Are you kidding me?" look on his face, and showed JTh for the Combo Draw. He missed his 3-outer, and I collect Bounty #1. I have 23800 chips.

Level 3 (100/200) - I raised many more hands this level, including AK, AQ, AJ, AT, and 88. The results were mixed, but none of the wins or losses were big pots. I also flopped Two Pair in the SB with K8s in a limped pot [Kh Jd 8h]. I bet 700, and got two callers. The Turn was a brick, so I bet 2500 to end the hand because there are too many draws out there. They both folded. I have 27900 chips. 

Level 4 (200/400) - A quiet level for me. I did steal a pot on the River from the BB in a pot that nobody showed any interest. The only hand I raised was when a Shortstack limp for 400 when he only had 1300 chips. I'm the Button with QJo, and decided to isolate by raising to 1500. The Blinds and UTG folded. The Shortstack called with J9o. (Why would anyone limp with J9o for 1/3 of their stack?). We both miss, and I collect Bounty #2. UTG would have hit an Ace on the Flop. I have 30400 chips.

Level 5 (300/600) - In the Cutoff, I raise to 1500 with KK. The BB goes All-In for 3500-ish, and comments about me always raising his BB. (Why do players take it personally, especially when it's not true?) He had A4o, flopped a 4, but missed the Turn and River. That's Bounty #3, and I have 34500 chips.

BREAK - We ended up with 22 players, and have 11 left. I'm the Chip Leader at my table, and I've collected three out of the four Bounties collected at this table. This may sound strange, but it seems that things are going almost too good. I hope I'm just being paranoid.

Level 6 (400/800) - I started to step on the gas a little bit and stealing some blinds while we were still at two tables. The Hyjack raised to 2400, and had 6000 behind. I'm in the Cutoff with AA, and just called. I wouldn't mind someone else calling, or even shoving All-In, but everyone else folded. Flop was K-high. He checked, and so did I. He went All-In on the Turn with K8o, but missed his outs on the River. That's Bounty #4, and I'm now on a freeroll.

That got us to the Final Table. I've got around 45k. I think I'm the Chip Leader, but there are a couple of stack from the other table that are close. The Average Stack is 28600. Nothing happened for me at the Final Table in this level, and I have 43900.

Level 7 (500/1000/100) - A quiet level for me. There is still a lot of limping, even by the Shortstacks, so I'm staying patient. I did win two small pots by stabbing at them from the Blinds. The only preflop raise was after two player limped in. I raised to 4000 on the Button with QJo, and everyone folded. I have 47200 chips.

Level 8 (1k/2k/200) - I raised in Mid with QTh, and got one caller. The Flop was K-high with one Heart. I just checked and folded to his bet.

Two hands later, UTG min raised to 4000, and he's got a lot of chips. I'm the next player, and I call with 77. It folded around to the SB. He's an old geezer who's been whining to the Dealer about getting no cards. He looks at his cards, starts to mumble about this being the best thing he's seen in a while, and reluctantly went All-In for 7300 more. The BB folded, and UTG called.

This is an interesting spot for me. Normally, just calling the All-In and checking it down would be normal protocol at a Final Table. But this is a Bounty tournament, and if someone gets knocked out, I want the bounty. Besides, the current pot is around 20k, and that's a lot of chips. I decided this is good spot to ship it All-In for 29k more on top of the SB's All-In. UTG has me covered, but not by much. I'm hoping that I have enough Fold Equity to chase him away. And if he calls, then I'm getting some Pot Odds with just a Mid Pair.

Unfortunately, he called rather quickly with TT. I'm a little surprised by this, as many of the players at this table would have folded TT. I just got unlucky getting this guy. I miss my two outer, and UTG wins the Side Pot. BB had A4o, and hit the Wheel on the River to win the Main Pot. I walk away from the table in 8th place, and go to the Desk to collect $80 for my four bounties.

In hindsight, I have no problem with what I did. I know I said that I was gonna be patient and wait for an opportunity. That doesn't necessarily mean that I just keep folding and wait for AA. (Although, that is certainly a good opportunity.) I thought was a good spot for me to pick up a chunk of chips, so I went for it. I just didn't work.

No Guts, No Glory.

That's Tournament Poker.

Hand Of The Day #69

Atlantis - 03.20.11 - $240 Tournament Level 7 (200/400/50)

It folds to the Cutoff, a Lady who recently arrived at our table but hasn't been active. She raises to 850. It folds to me in the BB. This is basically a min-raise, and I think min-raises in tournaments are retarded. Most of time, I will call and check in the dark without looking at my hand. Why? Because I'm getting at least 3.5/1 pot odds (even better odds with antes). I'm either gonna lose one more BB or I will win a big pot against someone trying to get action with their big pair. So I call the 450, and check in the dark without looking at my hand.

Flop: Qd 8c 3c - She bets 825. I now look at my hand, Q2c for Top Pair + Flush Draw. Sweet! I check-raise to 3100. She thinks for a bit, and calls

Turn: [Qd 8c 3c] 3s - Well, I'm not really sure where I'm at in this hand. She got around 7k left, and I have her comfortably covered. I decide to keep up the aggression, and go All-In. If I'm behind, then I have outs. She snap-calls, and shows 53d for Trip 3's.

I missed all of my outs on the River.

Nice Hand, Sir Madam.

All-In Main Event: Break 3 (End of Level 9 - 500/1000/100)

Playing in all the little daily tournaments has really helped my shortstack preflop game. Knowing when to push, when to call, and when to fold is critical for playing a shortstack.

Another critical component is getting some cards, and I haven't been seeing any. The only pocket pair I've had since Break2 was 44 UTG, which I folded. I have been doing some preflop raising with other cards, and have had mixed results. When I raise with AQh or KQc, everyone folded. When I raise with hands like 97o from the Cutoff, I either get 3-Bet and have to fold, or I get three callers and airball the Flop.

I was able to hang around for a while, but never got over 9k chips.

Finally, with about five minutes left to go in the 300/600/50 level, the Dude raised to 1500 (standard raise for this table). Three players called. I'm the BB with 76s, and ship it for 5075. I fully expect to get called, but the extra 1500's makes it a good time to gamble, especially since the blinds will be going up soon. The Dude just calls, leaving around 5k behind. Another player, a young lady who's experienced, goes All-In for 25k. Everyone folds back to the Dude. He thinks for a while, and surprisingly folds. She shows AJo, and I'm thrilled that I'm getting such good pot odds with live cards in a pot that's close to 20k. Flop was Tc 8c 8h, giving me the Straight Draw. But the Turn & River were bricks, and AJ-high sends me to dinner somewhere around 65th place.

It is so frustrating the every time I make even a small mistake, the Poker Gods punish me by not giving me any opportunity to get back into the tournament. It happens way too often.

However, the good thing about living in a Casino town is there's always another tournament. The Peppermill is starting their tournament series this weekend. I'll be playing in whatever the Noon tournament is tomorrow, which is probably a $230 NLHE.

All-In Main Event: Break 2 (End of Level 6 - 200/400/50)

They've broken a few tables, and have around 85 players. They are playing 11 spots, with 1st getting $33465.

It's much easier to be patient and play Small Pot Poker when things are going well. The wheels came off for me.

There is one guy at my table who is Dead Money, and he was down to around 3k chips. But he's playing most hands, and started hitting all of them. He would bet small on Flop or Turn, and overbet the River. After he did this a few times, I finally called his 4300 bet with 2nd pair, because I knew he didn't have Top Pair (K). I was right, but he hit his Set on the Turn (3). Later, I flopped Two Pair with 87 (A87). He called my Flop bet, but fired big on Turn and River with a Straight. I shouldn't have called the 5k bet on the River, but I called quickly out of frustration.

After that, I went very card dead. Every time I attempted to raise, that Dude called me because he was on my Left+1, and because he was calling everyone. I think I won my first pot since Break1 about 3 minutes before Break2, and it was just the Blinds & Antes.

I have 7175 chips, which is about 12 BB. I need to stay patient. This is a very slow structure.

All-In Main Event: Break 1 (End of Level 3 - 100/200)

Looks like I was a little off on my guess for tables  as there are 11 tables. This is a Re-Entry tournament. Players can rebuy up to the 1st Break, but will be seated at a new seat. We have 115 entries.

There is also a camera crew and photographers doing some shots of the tournament. Mostly, they are focusing on Jen & Marco.

My table has been wonderful. No Action Guys throwing chips around, and nobody who worries me as a "Pro".

I plan on being here long past Midnight. I'm going with the Small Pot strategy, and it been going well. I'm keeping my VPIP low, trying not to play too much Bingo Poker, and not calling raises out of position. One time, I did fire the 3rd Barrel on the River for 2500, and an Old Guy folded. I also called a 2000 bet on the River with AQ-high, and it was good.

We started with 20k chips, and I have 31875.