And Now ... The Rest of the Story

Thursday, I woke up at Majestic Star. I played a little 1/2 NL and 3/6 Limit before the 1pm tournament. Total was -$13.

The tourney was the same as the night before: $50 3k chips with a dealer option for $5 600 chips and 30 minute levels. The difference today was there was only 12 players. However, they still paid four places. Fouth got $48 and third got $72. I finished in sixth. I screwed up by making a bad hero call, and then lost a race.

So, I moved on to my next stop, Holiday Inn Express in New Buffalo, MI. I often stay at Holiday Inns during my journeys, and I've earned two free nights that I'm using this week.

After I checked in to my room, I went around the corner and down the street to Four Winds casino. It has the second largest gaming area in the country, behind Foxwoods. But the poker room is a little different. It has 16 of the PokerPro electronic tables. Those are the same tables that were in Excalibur in Vegas and Trump Plaza in AC. I really like these tables, but I hate the poker room. I think the tables have a lot of potential for games other than NL Hold'em. They would be great for PLO and HORSE. Even Sit-N-Go tournaments would be good because of the higher Hands Per Hour that you would get at an electronic table. But when I got to the Poker Room at 6:30, there was only one table of $1/$2 NLHE. There was a list for .50/1 PLO with one name on it, so I put my name on it. I found out later that the PLO game hadn't run since July.

At 7pm, they broke the $1/$2 table for the evening tournament. It was a $10 rebuy tournament with around 70 players. But the idiots that run this room screwed up this tournament with a horrible structure. We started with 2000 chips with rebuys for the first three levels of 50/100, 100/200/25, & 200/400/50. So in the third level you can rebuy for 5 Big Blinds. Most people quit rebuying at this point, including me. Our table had the most rebuys. There was one player whose screen didn't have a Fold button on it, and he hit everything. This 70 player tournament ended in 2.5 hours with that card rack taking it down. Oh, and I forgot to mention that 20% of the prize pool went to the house.

After busting out of the tourney, I waited for a cash table to open up. Once it did, I ended up playing $1/$2 for almost 6 hours until the table broke around 1:30am. I ended up losing $296 in another frustrating session.

On the way out, I used a Free Bet coupon for $75 that I received in the mail. Since it can only be used on an Even Money bet, I walked over to a Roulette table, and put it on Black. The little ball landed on Red 18.

Friday, I went to Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, IN. It was around a different corner, and farther down the street from where I was staying. I played in the 11am tourney, $105 3500 chips, 20 minute levels. There were 23 players in this one, and five players got paid. I ended up heads-up in this one, and we eventually chopped for $580 after the dealer tip. The Final Table was crazy and it reminded me of the Main Event Final Table that was shown on Tuesday. There were plenty of suckouts and River cards, and I gave as well as received.

After the tourney, I bought into the 1/2 game. And, technically, it went better than my other sessions, +$15. It was another session of dodging bullets. JJ vs QQ on a low board, but I only lost $30 because the old geezer kept betting $10. Flopped straight vs Flopped straight (89 vs K9), but I only lost $60. KK vs JJ All-In preflop for $30 that hit the two outer.

But, around 9pm, I "hit the Wall". I just didn't want to play any more. And being Friday night, that is not a good thing. But since Poker is a mental game, I decided to leave before I donk off my chips. On the way back to the hotel, I ended grabbing a burger, and then headed back to Four Winds. I wanted to see if there was any chance of a .50/1 PLO game happening tonight. But, of course, there weren't any names on the list. So I went back to hotel room, and called it a night.

On Saturday, I had to head home, so I could run my Saturday night game. On the way, I stopped by a new casino, Firekeepers, near Battle Creek MI. The Poker Room has about 12 tables, but only a 1/2 table was open at 11am. I didn't have much time, so I didn't want to wait 30 minutes for another table to open. I walked over to a 3-Card Poker table. I bought in for $300, and an hour later, I walked away with $620 and a $1 chip for my collection.

Here are the final total: +$190 total
-$580 Cash games (1/2 & 3/6)
+$335 Tournaments
+$435 Pit games

Ice Ice Baby

The snowstorm that was forecasted for Thursday night wasn't that big of a deal for me. There wasn't much snow, but there was some freezing rain. I went down to my car on Friday morning, and found a thin covering of ice all over the car. There was also about 3/4 inch of frozen slush on my windshield.

I decided to go back to Four Winds casino. I wanted to get some more time on the PokerPro tables. With the weather being a small factor, the casino is just around the corner and down the street from my hotel. The $283,000 Bad Beat Jackpot was also a small motivation.

I got to the Poker Room about 10:45am. Nobody was there. There was only one player on the list, and he was playing Blackjack. I ended up playing Pia Gow for two hours (-$15), before they finally got a game going.

This was the second time that I had to wait two hours for a seat. I want to be pissed about it, but the weather was definitely a factor. The casino was slow all day, and the Pia Gow dealer mentioned that they had 32 dealers call off.

I sat down at the .50/1 table, and then moved to the 1/2 table when it started up. Later in the evening, the poker room finally got some full tables. They had three .50/1 tables, my 1/2 table, and a .75/1.50 table that they just started spreading. I don't get the point of the .75/1.50 game, and neither do most of the players who are regulars.

I walked out of the Poker Room at 12:30 am when the 1/2 game broke up. I lost $100 at .50/1, but finally caught some cards at the 1/2 game (+$467).

Overall for the three day trip, I lost $95 + expenses. For the number of hand that i played, I was fairly card dead. But it's only $95, and I can make that up at my Saturday night game.

Hand #1 - .50/1 Four Winds
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 the 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 - 1/2 Four Winds
Six limpers. I've got 99 in the BB, and check.

Flop: Ah 9h 5d - Cool! I check. The Cutoff, an action player, bets $15. It folds to me. I've learned through experience in low limit games that nobody folds a Flush Draw on the Flop. If I try to bet them off of it, they just have a bigger pot to chase. Wait for the Turn, and then hammer the pot. I just call, and so does UTG+1.

Turn: (Ah 9h 5d) 5c - Well, that changes things. Check. UTG+1 Checks. Cutoff bets $20. Looks like he's got an A. I'm not sure what UTG+1 has. I decide to just call. If no Heart pops on the River, I will fire a large bet to look like a missed draw. UTG+1 folds.

River: (Ah 9h 5d 5c) Ad - Are you serious? I just slow played my way into a lost pot. I check. If he bets, I will fold. He thinks for a moment and says, "You planning on check raising me?" He checks and shows 5h 3h, a flopped Flush Draw with Bottom Pair. We both assumed that the other player had an Ace. I told him that I was folding if he bet the River, but he didn't believe me.

So I won a decent pot, but I left money on the table again. Last time, I overplayed a Set against Two Pair and the guy folded. This time I underplayed my Boat against Trips with a Flush Draw. I could have gotten another $100 or more off this guy.

Hand #3 - 1/2 Four Winds
Many limpers. I'm in the SB, and look at Kh Kc. $12. BB calls. UTG calls. Two others call. Five players are going to the Flop, and I'm out of position. This should be fun

Flop: Qh 9c 3d - I bet $40. BB calls. Player A (Mid position) calls.

Turn: (Qh 9c 3d) Ks - I hit Top Set, but JT just hit their Open-Ender. Good thing nobody would every play that hand. I think for a moment, and decide to check and see what happens. I'm not slow playing my Set. I just have no clue what everyone else has.

BB checks. Player A pauses, then bets $125. Now I go into the tank. I've only got $230 left, and decide to shove. If he's got me, then he's got me. BB folds AQ. Player A calls the $105 and shows 33 for Bottom Set. He misses his one-outer.

So I more than doubled up, but I really hate playing out of position.

Hand #4 - 1/2 Four Winds
I folded preflop in this hand, so the amounts may be a little off. Player A (UTG) raises to $7. Player B (UTG +1) calls. Player C (Button) re-raises to $25. I'm the SB, and eject quickly. Player A calls. Player B re-re-raises to $60. Player C calls. Player A thinks for a while, then folds.

Flop: Jh Jc 7h - Player B bet $75. Player C thinks for a while, and folds QQ

So far, this is nothing special. The reason I am telling this hand is Player A, who folded preflop. When the Flop showed on the screen, he turned as white as a ghost, and had that "deer in the headlights" look on his face. I've never been good at noticing tells, but even a cocktail waitress would have caught this.

After Player C folded, Player A said he just folded Quads (JJ). We then got into lengthy discussion about the hand. It was obvious that his JJ were behind, so folding is understandable. But the fourth raise was only $35 more. So the pot odds were good to call and hit your two outer, or both of them in this case. Of course, the $283,000 Bad Beat Jackpot was also discussed.

Blue Chip and a Chair

On Day 1 of the tip, I visited Four Winds Casino and Blue Chip Casino. Overall, I didn't catch many cards. I ended up winning a little at Poker, and lost a little more at gambling. That is a sentence that use way too often, and is something that I really need to fix.

Four Winds Casino is huge. Someone told me they are the second largest gaming area in the country. (Foxwoods is the largest.) The poker room has 14 of the PokerPro electronic tables. They have a Bad Beat Jackpot which has ballooned to over $280,000. I assumed that the room would be busy with old geezers playing low stakes poker trying to fund their retirement accounts. But when I walked in at 11am, there was only one full table of .50/1 with a small waiting list for 1/2. It took almost two hours to get a seat at the table. The 1/2 game didn't get started 'til a few hours later. When I left at 8pm, there was only two tables of .50/1 and one 1/2 that wasn't full.

Blue Chip Casino is much smaller, but they are going through an expansion. The poker room is just 10 tables. When I got there at 9pm, they had two tables of 1/2 and two with the evening tournament.

Here are three hands of interest.

Hand #1 - $1/$2 @ Four Winds
I'm the Button with 6h 5d. A few limpers see a Flop of As Tc 6h. Everyone checks.
Turn (As Tc 6h) 5s. BB leads out for $7. One other player calls. I raise to $20 with Bottom Two Pair. BB calls, and other player folds.
River (As Tc 6h 5s) 2s. BB checks. I figure I got the best hand and bet $30. BB check-raises All-in $21 more. I make a crying call, and he shows K7s for the Flush.

I'm such a donk for making the River bet. All I had was Bottom Two Pair. Anything that calls the $30 probably has me beat. The call of the All-In was also bad, since he obviously had the Flush. But it was the River bet the started the mess.

Hand #2 - $1/$2 Four Winds
66 UTG. Table has been passive with not much raising, so I limp in. Someone raises to $6. A few players call, and so do I.

Five players see a Flop of A 9 6. Sweet! I check. A real short stack bets $20. The Cutoff raises enough to put the bettor all-in ($62). The Cutoff is a solid, no-nonsense player, so his raise probably means Two Pair. It fold to me, and I decide to raise to $125. Short Stack calls All-In. Cutoff goes into deep though. He finally says, "I'm not good enough to fold this," and calls.

Turn (A 9 6) 4. I bet $153, which puts Cutoff All-In. He thinks for a bit, and says, "I don't know what you got, but I fold." He shows A 6. The River card is meaningless, and I win a nice size pot.

In hindsight, I think I overplayed my hand. Being a solid, no-nonsense player, he may not be willing to dump his stack on the table with Two Pair. He showed aggression on the Flop. I think I should have just called, and then check-raised the Turn, when he would be more pot-committed.

Hand #3 - $1/$2 Blue Chip
I just sat at the table a few hands ago. UTG+1 raises to $7. Two callers to me. I'm the Cutoff and look down at Ts Th. I don't want to play this hand with a lot of callers, so I raise to $20. Button cold calls. UTG+1 calls. Player A thinks for a bit, and reluctantly calls. Player B calls. Five player go to the Flop of a +$100 pot. This is gonna be fun.

Flop: Ah 7d 4d. Yuck! I hate the A, and since the Td make the Flush, only the Tc helps me. I mentally click the 'Check/Fold' button. All five players check.

Turn: (Ah 7d 4d) Tc. Holy Crap! I just hit a one-outer. UTG+1 bets $10 into a +$100 pot. Player A calls. Player B fold. I grab a stack of chips, and shove it forward. It ends up as $60. Perfect. Button folds. UTG+1 pauses, then folds. Player A, who reluctantly called preflop, goes into the tank. He's only got $55 left, and finally pushes it in.

River is a brick, and I show my Set. He doesn't show, but I can assume that he had a weak Ace.