Hand Of The Day #83

Peppermill ~ 09.03.11 ~ $130 HORSE Tournament Lv 1 (50/100 H)

I arrived at the table a few minutes late, and they are in the Hold'em rotation. It's my very first hand, and it folds around to me. I'm the Button with 9c 8d, and decide to just limp (50). The SB folds, and BB checks their option. Flop 9s 7h 4d. BB bet (50), and I decide to raise (100) with my Top Pair. He calls.

Turn [9s 7h 4d] 5h. Once again, he bets (100). I'm thinking that he's got better than One Pair, so I just call.

River [9s 7h 4d 5h] 8c. He bets (100). That's an interesting card. I now have Top Two Pair, but any 6 is a Straight. I already think he has better then One Pair, so I'm beating Two Pair, but I'm losing to a Set or Straight.

I decide to raise (200), and he 3-Bets (300). Ok, now he's probably got a Straight, and I should fold as I got the info I wanted. But this is my first hand, and I guess it's possible that he could be getting stuborn with 75o or some other Two Pair. Plus, it's Level 1 of a tournament. We started with 6k chips, so another 100 doesn't mean much.

I call, and he shows 86h for a Straight. He bet his Open-Ender on the Flop, and hit it on the Turn. Naturally, I had to hit my Top Two Pair on the River.

Yeah, it's been that kind of a summer for me.

Hand Of The Day #72

$3/$6 Limit Hold'em - Eldorado - 04.21.11

It's a limp pot, including me with 8c 7h on the Button. Seven players saw a Flop of Td 9c 6d. The SB bet ($3). Two players called. The Hyjack raised ($6). He's a 30's guy who the biggest LAG at the table. I see no reason to slow-play, so I put the 3rd Bet ($9) with the Nut Straight. The SB 4-Bet ($12). UTG and Hyjack called. I cap it with the 5th Bet ($15). Everyone called.

Turn [Td 9c 6d] Ah: The SB bet ($6). UTG called, but Hyjack folded. I'm starting to think the SB might have the same hand as me, but I still raised ($12). The SB and UTG called.

River [Td 9c 6d Ah] Kc: The SB checked, but UTG bet ($6). This got my attention, as I sat up in my chair and started thinking. He's a 70's gentleman, and so far he seemed to be playing like a 70's gentleman. He was just calling the whole time, so why is he betting now? Well, the current Nuts is QJ, which was an Open-Ended and Two Overs on the Flop. I doubt I would have called all five bets on the Flop, but many $3/$6 players would. KK is another possibility. Its not uncommon for a player to limp preflop with an Overpair (dumb, but not uncommon).  AK is also possible. Again, I wouldn't call 5 bets on the Flop, but this is a $3/$6 game.

Since I'm ahead of most of these hands, I finally decide to raise ($12). The SB quickly folded, but the UTG raised ($18). Even though I'm now getting around 20-1 on a call, I quickly fold my Straight face up. I just can't imagine a 70's gentleman 3-Betting on the River with anything but the Nuts. Surprisingly, he shows Ks Kc for a Set.

Just kidding. He showed Qc Jd for Broadway.

Limit poker is fun.

KK vs AA

As I've said before, I don't like the term "Running Bad" and I don't like to tell Bad Beat Stories. We all go through good times as well as bad streaks, and I give Bad Beats as well as get Bad Beats. It's part of the game that you need to get use to, and I think I have. As long as I'm not screwing up when the Luck is bad, then I know that I just need to be patient and grind it out.

Having said all that, it's been a bad two weeks. I have had one winning day during that time. It has been a strange journey of bizarre situations, ridiculous suck-outs, and sick coolers. I've even had my KK run into AA not once, not twice, but three times in 14 days. Normally, the ultimate cooler only happens to me like once in every nine to twelve months. So for this to happen three times in two weeks tells you exactly how things are going for me.

Here are the hands:

Sat 04/09 ~ Circus Circus ~ $2-$6 Spread Limit

I don't remember the specific amounts and details, but a Lady raised in Early Position. I 3-Bet with my KK in Late Position, and she just called. She bet the Flop, I raised, and she just called. On the Turn and River, she just checked and called my bet. I wasn't surprised that she had AA, but I was very grateful that she played them so passively.

Thur 04/21 ~ Eldorado ~ $65 Tournament Level 3 (100/200)

UTG raised to 600. He's a regular tourney grinder in Reno, and is on the nitty side. It folded to me in Mid position. I decide to just call with KK. I don't want to scare him off. If there were other callers or this was later in the tourney, then I would have 3-Bet. The only other caller was the SB.

Three players see a Flop of A T 8. They both check to me. Even though I hate the Ace, I fire out 1100. You would be surprised how many times that a bet will win me the pot in this situation. But the SB called, which I didn't like. The UTG also called, which set off a little warning light in my brain. I'm done with this hand, unless I improve.

Turn: [A T 8] K - They both checked to me. Well, my hand certainly improved, so I bet 1600. The SB called, but the UTG check-raised to 4000. That little warning light in my head just turned into a giant flashing neon sign. Unfortunately for me, I ignored that neon sign, and quickly shipped my chips into the middle. The SB folded A8 for Two Pair. The UTG called with his AA, and said this was a sick cooler. Naturally I bricked the River, and was left with 4700 or about half a starting stack.

It was a mistake for me to act quickly, but I'm not sure that I would have folded if I had thought it out. He couldn't have QJ for Broadway because he wouldn't have raised UTG nor he wouldn't have called the Flop with a Gutshot. AK is possible, but he probably would have bet the Flop rather than checking and over-calling. The most likely hand for him would be a Set, either AA or TT. Since I do beat one of those Sets, and I would still have over 20 BB left if I lose, I probably would have shipped it All-In.

The rest of the tournament went just as well as this hand, and I finished 11th out of 18.

Sat 04/23 ~ Peppermill ~ $6/$12 Limit

I'm UTG+1 and raise ($12) with KK. Two players called. The BB 3-Bet ($18). He's an older regular who's on the nitty side. I put out the 4th Bet ($24) to try to isolate with the BB. UTG+1 is the only one who sticks around. The BB then capped the betting ($30). At this point, I'm fairly positive that he has AA. If this was a NL game, I would fold. But in Limit Hold'em, you just don't fold KK preflop. I call, and so does UTG+1. The Flop was Q-high. The BB bet all three streets. I just called, and so did UTG+1 with AQ. Naturally, the BB had the AA, and I showed the KK.

It's frustrating, but I think I played it properly. In Limit Hold'em, you try to limit the amount you lose, and maximize the amount you win. By not raising on the Flop, Turn, or River, I did some damage control when I thought I was behind. After all, he could have also had KK.

Hand Of The Day #71

$3/$6 Limit Hold'em - Eldorado - 04.21.11

I raise UTG+1 ($5) with Kh Kc. Six players see a Flop of Qh 6s 4h. I bet ($3), and four players call.

Turn [Qh 6s 4h] 5c. It checks to me. I hate that card. There's now a 3-Card Straight out there, and that could give someone Two Pair. But I don't want to risk
a Free Card on that Board, so I bet ($6). All the players call, except the BB who check-raises ($12). My first instinct was that this screams of a Straight. But this guy is the biggest LAG at the table. It's possible that he has Two Pair. I make the call, and so does everyone else.

River [Qh 6s 4h 5c] 5d. BB bet ($6). I now have Two Pair, so I make the crying call. It folds to the Button, who raises ($12). The BB thinks for a moment, and calls. I now know my hand is shit, so I quickly fold. Button show 5h 5s for the Backdoor Quads. In disgust, the BB shows 3c 2d for the bottom end of the Straight.

Maybe I'm just being results oriented, but I played this hand horribly bad on the Turn & River. I already said that I hated the 5 on the Turn because there was still five players with live hands. I think the best thing for me to do since I was out of position (UTG+1) was to go into Check/Call mode. I could have seen what everyone else did, and then make my decisions with more information.

I lost 2-3 Big Bets because of how I played this hand, and that's a big mistake in Limit Poker. Granted, in $3/$6 Limit, 2-3 Big Bets isn't much money. But when I'm playing in the $15/$30 or $20/$40 game at the Peppemill, that's around $100.

Hand Of The Day #66

$6/$12 Limit Hold'em - Atlantis - 02.05.11

A couple of limpers, including me in the Hyjack with JTh. The BB raised ($12). He's a regular Limit player around Reno, and one of the few Limit players that I respect. I call, along with two other players.

Flop: Kh Qh Jc. The BB bet ($6). It folds to me, and I raise ($12) with a Pair + Royal Flush Draw. Only the BB called. He then checked "In The Dark", which is something that he does regularly. Since I have such great equity in this pot, I bet ($12) "In The Dark".

Turn: [Kh Qh Jc] Ah. The BB raises ($24). Is there a better feeling in Poker than holding a Royal Flush (or Straight Flush or Quads), and having somebody say "Raise"? Since this is a Heads-Up pot, there is no reason to slow play. I 3-Bet ($36), and he calls.

River: [Kh Qh Jc Ah] 6s. He checks, and puts $12 over the Line to call. For those who don't play Limit, this is a common practice in spots where you're just gonna Check & Call when it's Heads-Up by the River. I say, "I bet, and I have a Royal". He shows As Qd for Two Pair. He said that he didn't notice the 3rd Heart when he raised on the Turn.

Had an A came on the River, that would have qualified for their $1000 Bad Beat Jackpot, with him getting $700 for losing, and me getting $300 for winning. It would have also made for some interesting betting on the River. I imagine it would have been 4 Bets at a minimum.

So instead, I had to settle for winning the $400 High Hand Bonus for my first ever Live Royal Flush. This is somewhat of a "Bad Beat" for me. Every room in Reno has a High Hand Bonus, and the $400 for the Royal is among the lowest. Grand Sierra has  progressive bonuses for all of there hands that is capped at $599. The Peppermill also has progressive bonuses that are capped at $2000 for a Royal.

Games That I've Never Seen In Reno

6:00 $340 - I walked into the Atlantis Poker Room on Saturday night. There was an open seat at the $6/$12 Limit table. Since I've never seen a $6/$12 game running in Reno, let alone play in one, I sat down in the one of the two open seats to give it a try. I recognize a good regular from the $4/$8 Peppermill game. I sat down at the open seat on his direct Left.

6:30 $245 - Still 9-handed. The action of the table has been a little tight. About 40% of the hands are raised preflop, and there have been way more walks then you should see at a Limit table. My cards have been rather dull, and I haven't won a pot yet.

The best starting hand was AK, which I raised from the Hyjack after it folded to me. The SB (50's lady) 3-Bet, and I just called. Flop was 9-high. She bet, and I called. Turn gave me a Flush Draw. She bet, and I called. River was a brick. She checked, and so did I since I assumed that we had the same hand. Instead, she turned over QQ. She said that she thought I had AA since I kept calling her bets. Of course, I never raised her, so why would I have AA? Like I said, a tight table.

The Poker Room was rather busy, with 6 of the 9 tables in use. That included a $1/$2 PLO game that just started. Once again, a game that I've never seen in Reno, and have never heard of any interest in a PLO game. I've never played PLO in a casino, so this is tempting especially since I brought enough money for $3/$5. The Buy-In is $50 - $500 or Biggest Stack. There is one player at that table who I just love playing $2/$3 NL with because he's a giant Calling Station.

6:50 $100 - It seemed like the table got even tighter, so I put my name on the PLO list, and got a seat within ten minutes. I finished my quickie Limit session -$140.

I decided to shortstack the PLO game for $100. The stack sizes currently range from $60 to over $600. The Calling Station is on my Right+2, and he's got a pile of $100 bills.

7:00 $95 - The play so far has been rather passive. It's very obvious that half of the table is trying to figure out what this game is all about. There is one of the Atlantis Dealers who's also a local Pro. There is a 30's guy whom I've never seen before. He is sitting between me and the Calling Station, and he seems to know what he's doing. Fortunately, I have position on him.

7:30 $97 - Decent action so far, but players are just betting with Made Hands and calling with Draws. Also, nobody is 3-Betting preflop, just like at a $1/$2 NL table. Normally, it's a limper or two, somebody raises to $10, and five players call.

I raised to $7 from the Hyjack with 7d 7c 6c 5s. Five players saw the Flop of Q 9 4. I just checked and folded to a bet. Later, I raise to $7 UTG+1 with Jh Jc 8c Td. Only the Button and both Blinds called. Flop 3c 2c 2h. Both Blinds check. I bet $25 with my Flush Draw + Overpair. Button folded. SB (Calling Station) think for a bit, and called. BB folded. Turn [3c 2c 2h] 5s. SB checked. I go All-In for $56. He snap-called with K2c. Ouch! I brick on the River, and I grab four Green chips out of my pocket for Buy-In #2.

Three hands later in the SB, I called a preflop min-raise. I flopped a J-high Flush Draw and a Double Gutshot. I checked. Mid player bets $25. The Hyjack (Calling Station) raised to $55. With the extra money in the pot, I decide to ship it All-In for $94. Mid folded, and the Hyjack called with Bottom Set of 6's. I bricked out, and reach into my pocket for Buy-In #3.

8:00 $68 - My starting hands have been rather crappy. I raised in Mid with As Ad 9c 7h. Five players saw a Flop of Qh Qc Jc. I checked and folded to a bet. Later, I limped in the Cutoff with Ah Kc Jh 4h. Seven players saw a Flop of Ac Kh Qs. UTG+1 bets Pot ($14). I just call, assuming that I'm behind. The BB also called. Turn [Ac Kh Qs] 6s. BB checked. UTG+1 bet Pot ($56). I didn't pick-up any extra draws, so I folded. The BB also folded, and UTG+1 showed KK.

Seven of the nine tables are now in use. The $6/$12 game broke into a $3/$6 game. There are three $2/$3 NL games, three $3/$6 games, and this PLO game.

8:30 $54 - This is getting pathetic. I'm approaching the 2-hour mark at this table, and I still haven't won a pot yet. My starting hands have been terrible. And when I see the occasional Flop in position or from the Blinds, I completed miss the Board. How can I be so card dead when starting with four cards?

9:00 $95 - A few players limped in. The SB (a Nitty No0b) bet Pot ($12). I'm the BB with Tx Td 7d 6x. I know the SB has either AA or KK. My hand isn't exactly a good hand to crack a Big Pair, but I've only got $54. I decide that this is a good time to gamble, and I 3-Bet by re-potting it, which puts in most of my tiny stack. It folded around to the SB who happily puts me All-In with his KK. I ended up hitting a Straight on the River to win my first pot of the night.

Later, I raised in Mid with As Kc Jd Td. Four players saw a Flop of 4h 2h 2d. Good to see that things have returned to normal.

9:30 $282 - I won a pot by playing the Board, which was a 7-high Straight. I had 76. The other player still in on the River had 52 for a smaller Straight.

Later, I raised on the Button with Ks Qh Jd Ts. Six players saw a Flop of Tc 9s 7s. UTG bet Pot ($42). UTG+2 called, as well as the Calling Station in Mid position. Once it gets to me, I have a rather easy decision. I have the K-high Flush Draw, and a Monster 4 Card Wrap. (For you non-PLO players, the K, Q, J, or 8 will give me a Straight. That's double an Open-Ended Straight Draw.) I ship my $144 stack All-In. UTG and UTG+2 fold rather quickly. The Calling Station goes into deep thought, counts out the extra $102, does some more deep thought, and finally folded. I show my Monster Draw, but he didn't say what he had. I really thought he was gonna call, but his stack has been shrinking all night.

10:00 $272 - Not much of interest happened to me. The Dealers have done a really good job of keeping track of the Pot, and keeping the action moving. It's impressive since they never deal this game.

Trainwreck Of The Night: Flop is J T 7, and the three players in the hand have TT, 98, and JJ. I'm not sure of the exact action preflop and on the Flop, but there was some betting and raising. Turn [J T 7] 7. TT checked. 98 bet $250. (He's a Kid who seems to know what he's doing, so I don't understand why he would bet Pot against two players with just a Straight.) The JJ just called (Again, not sure why), and TT called. River was a Brick. The TT bet All-In for around $350. (He said later that this was his only chance to win the pot.) The 98 insta-mucked. The JJ went into deep thought, and seriously considered folding. Eventually, he realized that he had the 2nd Nuts, and just couldn't fold. He called, and won a ridiculous pot somewhere near the $1500 neighborhood.

10:30 $160 - I'm the BB with Qc Js 6d 5d. Five players saw a Flop of Jh 4h 2s. It checked around to the Button, who bet Pot ($10). I call with my Top Pair and Gutshot. Two others also called. Turn: [Jh 4h 2s] 5c. Now that I have Top Two Pair, I lead out for $25. Only one player called, and naturally, it was the Calling Station. River [Jh 4h 2s 5c] 2d. I figure he has Top Pair or a Draw, so I value bet $25 again. He quickly called with KK for a better Two Pair. That was a small mistake by me. I forgot that these players aren't raising with Big Pairs preflop.

Later, I raised in the Cutoff with Ac Ah Kh Td. Five players saw a Flop of Qc Qh 3c. UTG+1 bet $20, and the Hyjack called. I decided to call, and see if I can hit my 2-outer. The Button min-raised to $40. Strangely, both the UTG+1 and Hyjack folded. I make the crying call, and say a little prayer. Turn [Qc Qh 3c] Ts. I check, and he bet $60. Well, I did pick-up a Broadway Draw, but it might not be any good. I fold.

11:00 $131 - I'm not sure how I lost the few chips that I did. I do know that I'm back to the Abyss of Card Dead. I have been getting some good Omaha-8 hands, like A 3 2 2 or Ah Qh 3d 2d. These hands don't play as well in PLO, especially if I'm out of position.

11:05 $0 - I limped in Mid with Qh Jc 9d 8s. Seven players saw a Flop of Jh 9s 3s. I bet Pot ($14) with my Top Two Pair and Gutshot. The very next player also bet Pot ($56). It folds back to me. I'm not sure if he's got a Big Hand or a Big Draw. After thinking for about a minute, I decide that it's getting late. I ship it All-In for $129. He called with his Big Draw, Kd Ks Th 8s. The Turn and River was [Jh 9s 3s] Ts 2s. Instead of reaching in my pocket for Buy-In #4, I make the Walk of Shame back to my car.

I admit that PLO is not my best game. I understand the Basics, but I just don't play it very often. Even though this table was rather soft, I just didn't have any cards to do battle with. I had AA twice in four hours, and I never saw KK. I never hit a Set, and I only flopped Two Pair once, which is the hand the sent me home.

The Atlantis seems like it's trying to spread other game besides $3/$6 and $2/$3 NL. Since this is one of the room that I visit most often, I'm sure that I will play PLO again.

Sticking My Toe In The Deep End

During a tournament series, the Peppermill moves their Poker Room to a ballroom so they can run Tournaments, Sit-N-Gos, and Cash Games in the same room.

I walked into the ballroom on Wednesday night around 6:40. Since my bankroll is doing rather well these days, I've been wanting to play in some bigger games. There was an open seat at the $15/$30 Limit table, so I bought in for $600 and walked over to the table. There was eight stacks of Red Chips and $100 bills, but only three players and no cards being dealt. Some of the missing players were off having dinner, and others were wandering around the ballroom waiting for the other players to come back.

I took an open seat, and waited for about ten minutes before there were enough players to start dealing. We started with just five, and then one of them wandered off. So we played four handed for about 15 minutes before players started slowly returning to the game. Around 30 minutes later, we finally had a full table.

The "Play" at the table was a little more aggressive than a $3/$6 or a $4/$8 game. There was a preflop raise in about half of the hands, as well as a decent amount of 3-Betting. The number of players that saw a Flop was between 2 - 5, rather than the 4 - 8 you would see in a 7-Card Bingo game.

As for the players, some were on the tight side, like me. Others were rather loose, but not quite in the "7-Card Bingo" category. Overall, they were decent players. There was nobody who was just dumping money on the table, and there was nobody who I thought, "Wow, this guy can play."

After two hours, the players wanted to bump up the table to a $20/$40 game. I wasn't thrilled with this, but I didn't object. I was only gonna play one more hour, and I was up $200 at this point, so I figured what was the worst that could happen.

I ended up finishing the session +$319. I was pleased with my play overall. There were definitely some spots were I could have saved a Bet or two. And there was one hand that I should have slowplayed, even though I normally don't slowplay at the 7-Card Bingo tables. I 3-Bet with AA, and the Flop was Ad Qd 3s. I bet and both of the players called. The Turn was [Ad Qd 3s] 3h. I bet, and one player folded while the other one made a reluctant call. He then quickly folded on the River. Checking the Turn would have looked like I just had KK, and maybe they would have bet the River, or at least they both might have called the River bet.

I will definitely be back to the "Big Game", but I would rather play $15/$30 instead of $20/$40 for my first few sessions because of variance. The swings in this game can be rather large. If I call a preflop raise ($30), and then call all three streets ($15, $30, $30), that's $105. For $20/$40, it's $140. It only takes a couple of bad hands to take a chuck out of my chip stack. In this session, I bought in for $600, and my stack fluctuated from a low of around $325 to a high of almost $1100.

One problem that I've had with bigger games, like $2/$5 NL, is that I actually care about the money. I haven't developed that disregard for the money that a player needs to play in bigger games. Hopefully, that will start by playing in the "Big Game".

I Suck At Limit Hold'em

1:15 $100 - I walked into the Eldorado Poker Room on Sunday afternoon, and got seated at a $3/$6 table. The game has a Full Kill, but the Blinds are just $1/$2. So if someone raises preflop, then is goes to $5, and not $6. I've been finding this structure is somewhat common around town.

The table is a mix of old players, and those that are not quite as old.

1:30 $113 - I limped with A5o in the Cutoff. I flopped a Wheel Draw, and all players checked. I hit it on the Turn, so I bet the Turn and River. I got one caller on both streets.

The table is playing normal. No crazy Action Guys so far. Some are play most of the hands, and some are mostly folding. 

2:00 $87 - In a Kill Pot, the lady who had the Kill Button ($6) is UTG, and made a comment about her Dead Man's Hand when she peeks at it. There were a bunch of limpers. I'm the SB, and have Kh Kd. So I raised ($12), and everyone called. Six players saw a Flop of A Q J. Even though I hated that Flop, I bet ($6), and three players called. The Turn was [A Q J] 6. I basically gave up and checked. UTG (The Kill Lady) bet ($12). One called, and one folded. I thought about it for a bit, and called with my Broadway Draw. River [A Q J 6] 2. I checked, and UTG bet ($12). The other player folded, and so did I. UTG showed A6o (Yeah, that's not the Dead Man's Hand.)

Later, I limped and called a raise with J9o in the Hyjack. The Board ran out KJ6 6 4, and my hand was good with four players still in at the River.

2:30 $120 - I limped in Mid with A8d. Seven players saw a Flop of 8s 3h 3d. It checked to me, and I bet ($3). Three players called. The Turn was [8s 3h 3d] Kd. I picked up a Flush Draw, so I'm happy to bet ($6). Only the SB called, but he had $4 left behind. River [8s 3h 3d Kd] Ac. He checked. I bet ($6), and he called with his last $4. I showed my Two Pair, and he flashed the Kh before he mucked.

Later, I raise from the Cutoff with AJs. Only the SB and Mid called. Flop was Ts 9s 4h. They checked, and I bet my Flush Draw. Only the Mid called. Turn [Ts 9s 4h] 8s. He checked. I bet my Nut Flush, and he called. River [Ts 9s 4h 8s] 3h. Once again, Check Bet and Call. I showed my Nut Flush, and he didn't show.

3:00 $82 - Only one limper when it got to me in the Hyjack, so I decided to raise ($6) with 77. Only the Button and the limper called. Flop was K Q 8. The limper bet ($3), but only had $5 behind. I assume that I'm behind, so I fold. The Button called. The limper goes All-In for $5 on the Turn, and the Button folded.

I limped UTG with A6s. Six players saw a Flop of Ac 3c 3d. I lead out with my Top Pair, and three players call. The Turn was [Ac 3c 3d] 9h. I bet again. Mid player thought for a moment, and called. The other player folded. [Ac 3c 3d 9h] 7h. I bet again. Mid player thought for a bit, and raised. I make the crying call, and he showed K3o. I played this hand horribly from start to finish.

3:30 $60 - No noteworthy hands. I played a few hands by either limping or calling a raise, and then airballing the Flop. Overall, I've been been trying to play solid cards, while being a little looser in position (Button, Cutoff, and Hyjack). The table is still playing loose passive. There might be two preflop raises each orbit.

4:00 $29 - I limped in the Hyjack with J7h. Five players saw the Flop of Th 5c 3s. All players checked. The Turn was [Th 5c 3s] Jc. Mid player bet, and he's an old Nit. I call with my Top Pair. The Cutoff raised, and he's another old Nit. All others fold back to the Mid player. He paused for a moment, and called. This is a bit of a predicament for me because these are two of the tightest players at the table. I finally decided to fold. Even if I hit my Two Pair, it might not be any good. The River was [Th 5c 3s Jc] 7c. They both check. Mid had J9, but the Cutoff wins with KJ. In hindsight, I still have no clue if the proper play was to fold or call.

Later in a Kill pot, I limped on the Button with 65h. Four players see a Flop of Qh 7h 3c. It checked to me, and I bet with my Flush Draw + Gutshot. Only the BB called, who had the Kill. The Turn was [Qh 7h 3c] 9s. She checked. I decide to also check. This lady is playing 80% of hands, and seeing 50% of the Rivers. There's no point in betting my Draw, because she will not fold. The River was another brick for me. We both check, and she wins another pot with T7d.

4:20 $3 - I'm down to $18 when I limp in the Cutoff with As Tc. Six players Ah Kd 7d. UTG bets. The Hyjack calls (one of the old Nits from earlier). I decide to raise and scare off the Blinds from calling with whatever. It worked as only UTG and Mid called. Turn [Ah Kd 7d] 4d. All three of us checked. River [Ah Kd 7d 4d] Qh. UTG checked. Hyjack bet. I hate this because I don't see how I can have the best hand. But this pot got big because of my raise on the Flop, so I make the crying call. UTG folded, and Mid shows A9d for Da Nuts.

I feel a case of Tilt coming on, so I cashout my last three White chips, and head home.

7-Card Bingo ?

Starting this week, I'm switching to Limit Hold'em for my primary Cash game for the next 6-8 weeks. There are two main reasons for this.

First, the NL games in Reno aren't very good these days. This town is full of 50 and 60 year old Super Nits. They buy-in for $100 and wait for AA or KK. They put almost no money into the pot, and fold at the first scare card. Yes, they're easy to bluff, but there's no money in the pot when they fold. If they call, then you're crushed. When playing against them, I will either win a bunch of tiny pots, or lose a couple of bigger pots.

Now this doesn't mean that I can't win at a NL table, it just means that I'm not winning much in general. It does seem to vary from room to room. There is one room where I just can't win, and there is another room where I can't seem to lose. But I will save that topic for another blog post.

The other reason is because Limit Hold'em is definitely not my best game, and this is a good opportunity to dive into the Limit world and improve. While I'm playing Limit, I still have a NL mentality, and I'm not sure that I'm making the proper decisions when I'm getting Pot Odds of 12-1.

I will be playing $3/$6 or $4/$8 at first. (Not $2/$4. Even I have standards.) Eventually, I want to take some shots in the Peppermill's $15/$30 or $20/$40 game so I can make some real money at Limit Hold'em. The $3/$5 NL games in this town are rare, and generally only pop up during the various tournament series that Poker Rooms run.

I know that these lower Limit games are often called 7-Card Bingo because nobody ever folds. And it's certainly true that many players play most hands, and either check call call or bet raise raise. But there are other players who just limp in with AA and never raise because it's only one pair. Part of Poker is learning to adjust to your opponents.

I will also be checking out for the first time some poker rooms that are primarily Limit rooms, like the Nugget that I was at last night.

Now it's certainly possible that a blog title for next week will be "What The $#@! Was I Thinking?" There will certainly be periods of frustration. But as long as I'm not losing every session, I will keep grinding it out.

This doesn't mean that I won't be playing anything else. If I walk into a room and they have three names on the List for Limit and an open seat at the NL table, then I'll probably play some NL. There is also a tournament series next month at the Peppermill that I'm planning on playing in a couple of Sunday events.

Hand Of The Day #57

$4/$8 Limit - Peppermill - 10/9/10

One player limps in. I'm UTG+2 and raise ($8) with AQh. Three players cold call. The BB and UTG also call. Six players see the Flop of As Jh 6s. I bet ($4). Two players call. The Button raises ($8). It folds to me. With this Flop, the Button could be raising with anything from just an Ace to a Flush Draw to a Set or Two Pair. If I just call, then the two player between us will call. So I 3-Bet ($12) to try to isolate with the Button. Plus, if he 4-Bets, then I know that I'm probably behind. The two players fold, and the Button calls.

Turn [As Jh 6s] Tc. Well, that changes nothing, so I bet ($8), and the Button calls.

River [As Jh 6s Tc] 3s. I don't like that card. But I'm still likely to have the best hand, so I bet ($8). After all, it's Limit. It's not like I'm gonna lose my stack. The Button just calls. I show my AQh. He shows A4c.

Why is he still in this hand with just A4? I can understand his raise on the Flop. But when I put in the 3rd Bet, he should know that he's behind. And then when the Flush gets there, then what hand could he beat? I understand that Pot Odds in Limit Poker dictate that you need to call on the River, even when you're behind. But if you're bloating up the pot by raising and calling the whole way, then you will be a losing player.

Saturday Night At The 'Mill

7:55 $200 - I walk into the Peppermill after my first day of delivering mail in Reno. I've heard the $4/$8 Omaha-8 game goes on Saturdays. There is one table running, and I put my name on the List (4th spot). They're opening a second $4/$8 Hold'em table, so I sit down while waiting for a seat in the Omaha-8 game. The Hold'em table is playing with a Half Kill ($6/$12). There's an older Asian gentleman on my Right who is obsessed with my Chief Wahoo card protector. He kept grabbing it, and talking about it when I sat down.

8:30 $173 - Now 3rd on the List. The only hand that I won was was with J9o in the Cutoff. As it turns out, the older Asian dude is the Action Guy at this table. (The Dealers call him Uncle Bill.) He's playing 80% of the hands, and doing a lot of betting along with some raising. Right after he raised a hand in early position, I tried to isolate with 88. But other players still called three bets. That's the second time this week that I've tried that play, and they both failed miserably. I probably should wait 'til I start playing in bigger Limit games.

9:00 $243 - 2nd on the List. I managed to win a couple of small pots, but I didn't write them down (not sure why). This table is playing super loose, both Preflop and on the Flop. Even with someone raising, they are still cold calling. If I can get a hand or two to holdup, then it could be a good session.

9:35 $316 - I won a sweet pot with AQh that will be future Hand Of The Day to demonstrate the play at this table.

My seat at the Omaha-8 table is open, so I cash in my profit and buy-in for my standard of $200. This table also has a Half Kill to $6/$12. However, the Blinds are only $2/$2 with $4 to play. So I will be folding the Blinds much more than I normally do.

10:00 $310 - This table is playing rather normal. Some are playing tight, and others are playing 9-Card Bingo. I scooped two pots. The first was with Kings Full when the Low missed. The second was when I raised Preflop with Ad Kh Js 2s. Three players saw the Flop of Jd 5c 4c. Both the Flush and Low missed, and my Top Pair was good.

10:30 $416 - I'm having a very good night. Most of the pots that I've won have been scoops. One of them was when I raised with Ah Ad 5s 3d, and got two callers. All I had on the Flop was the AA and a Low Draw, but I fired the whole way. An A on the River gave me a Set of A and a 5 3 Low for the scoop.
Another hand was with As Qh 5d 4s in the SB. The Flop was Ks Qs Jc. I bet all three streets with just the Flush Draw. I hit my Flush on the River for the Nuts, and one of the old guys started whining because he flopped the Straight. Maybe he should have raised at some point, rather than just calling.

11:10 $436 - I'm the SB with As 9s 9d 8c. The Board was 7s 6s 2d Th Ad. I bet out on all three streets, and got two caller with only a Low. In another hand, I was one of three players who had a Wheel with 4 2. Fortunately, there was another player who flopped Trip Kings, and didn't fill up.

Even though "They" say you shouldn't get up from a winning session, I did get up, and headed home. With the expenses of the last week, plus gambling in the Pit with my Road Crew, I'm a little low on Cash right now. So winning $352 in four hours of $4/$8 Limit Poker will help out with that.

Home Sweet Home

We arrived at the apartment complex about 2pm. After signing around 37 forms in the Office, we started to unload the U-Haul, which took about an hour. It was kinda difficult for two reasons. First, my apartment is on the second floor, so everything had to be dragged up the stairs, including dressers and couches. Second was the elevation of Reno was making it difficult to catch our breath.

Our next stop was to drop off the U-Haul, and head over to the Peppermill. I received an offer in the mail for Two Free Nights in a suite during weekdays, or a regular room on weekends. So I got the suite for my Road Crew, and it's a posh room. It's got a jacuzzi and TV in the bathroom.

After dropping them off, I headed home to do a touch of unpacking, since I will be sleeping in my own bed. I also grabbed a shower, and some clean cloths.

I headed back to the Peppermill to have some dinner with my uncle, and then off to the Poker Room to play some poker. The games they had tonight were $1/$2 NL, $2/$4 Limit, $4/$8 Limit, and $15/$30 Limit. Since I'm in Reno, I figured that I might as well start playing Limit, so I sat down at a new $4/$8 table. We started short handed, and the table filled up within 30 minutes.

One guy at the other end of the table looks like he was "Separated At Birth" from Andy from Deadliest Catch. And he was in Stone Cold Maniac mode tonight. He was raising about half the hands, along with betting and raising on the Flop. And, as usually happens when I'm at the table, he was hitting everything. I think he had five Full Houses and a Quads while I was there. Fortunately, he was on the other end of the table from me.

Unfortunately, I had a horrible session. I had very few playable hands. And when they hit something, someone else had a better hand. I even had a Set vs Set cooler, which was my second this week. I flopped a Set of Fours, and his JJ hit the Turn. The Turn and River were both 3-Bet. My first Set vs Set was in Council Bluffs. My 55 vs an old geezer's 99 on the Flop. The Flop was checked. I bet the Turn, and he put out what was a big raise for him. I thought I might be behind, but he only had around $85 total, and I'm not folding a Set for $85 in a $1/$3 game when he might have Top Two Pair. I even called out his hand before he showed it.

One of the problems with Limit Poker is when you have bad cards, there's nothing you can do about it. In No Limit, you can do some small bluffs to maintain you stack, or even hit one hand and crack someone's AA for a double up.

After I left the casino, I headed to Wal-Mart to do a little grocery shopping. My apartment complex is right behind a mega-shopping area, including a Super Wal-Mart that's Open 24 Hours.

On Thursday, I took Doug Poker to the airport. (My uncle heads back on Saturday morning.) I then began the process of becoming a Nevada resident. I switched my car insurance, and then headed to the DMV to get my license and license plates. Reno & Sparks makes for a good sized metropolitan area, but they have only one DMV for this area.  The place is mamoth, but so were the lines. It's also more expensive then Ohio. It ended up costing me almost $300 to get everything done, with most of that going to the plates. But Nevada doesn't have a State Income Tax, so they have to get their money somehow.

I also went to the Main Post Office to get a new a new ID badge, and find out where I'll be working. As I suspected, my station is on the northern edge of town, and it's the farthest one from my apartment. Fortunately, my drive to work is all highway. It's also a smaller station, and seems to be all Mounted delivery and CBUs (Cluster Box Units) with little or no walking.

The last of my errands was to go get a new TV, since I didn't lug the old one across the country. I wanted to keep it in the $400 range, and ended up with a Samsung 32".

I'm not getting TV & Internet installed until Friday, so I decided to sleep at the Free Suite in the Peppermill with my uncle. So we had some dinner, and then I went to the Poker Room, and sat down at the only $1/$2 table. (But there was two tables of $20/$40 Limit.) But I'm having trouble adjusting to the time change, and I was falling asleep at the table. I didn't even make it two hours before I gave up, and went to bed up $87.

Hand Of The Day #56

09.25.10 - Dave's Poker Pit - Mixed Hold'em Tournament Level 5 (300/600 Limit)

I'm in the Hyjack, and I raise (600) with Kd Ks. Five players see a Flop of Jh 9h 6s. It checks to me, and I bet (300). The Button (El Diabl0) raises (600). SB (Jamie), BB (Silent Dave), and Mid (Cindy) call. I 3-Bet (900), and the Button caps it (1200). The SB and Mid call, but the BB folds.

Turn [Jh 9h 6s] Qc - SB and Mid check. I bet (600). The Button raises (1200). The SB cold calls, but the Mid folds. My instincts are telling me that I'm behind. If it was just against the Button, then I would just go into Check & Call mode. But with the SB cold calling everything so far, I'm rather concerned about him. But with an Overpair and a Gutshot, I just call the extra 600.

River [Jh 9h 6s Qc] 3s - SB checks, and so do I. Button bets (1200). SB folds, and I think for a moment. My instincts are to fold. But it is possible that he's got a hand like QTh with the monster draw and a pair. Plus, it's Limit. There's a huge pile of Purple (500) and Black (100) chips in the pot, so I gotta call. He says, "You're good," and shows 32h. SB had T7h for Flush Draw and Gutshot on the Flop, and picked up a Double Gutshot on the Turn.

End Of An Era

Level 2 (50/100 NLHE) 9800 - For our Saturday night Home game, we do a Variety night tournament on the last Saturday of each month. This month, we tried a Mixed Hold'em tournament. One level is NLHE, and one level of Limit Hold'em. I completely forgot that it started early, so I arrived at the end of the 2nd level. When I bought in, there was 18 players on three tables. I was seated at Table 3, and had a horrible seat draw. Two of the most experienced Limit players (DougPoker and Meat) were on my Left.

Level 3 (200/400 Limit) 8700 - Being so early in the tournament, I'm trying to play tight in the Limit levels, so I can see how everyone is playing. I only won one pot. I raised on the Button with AJh, and took it down on the Flop.

Level 4 (100/200 NL) 8400 - Very card dead. It folded to me in the SB. I look down at AA, and raise to 500. The BB insta-folded.

At the end of the Level, our table broke. I got seated at Table 1, and it was a much better table draw. All of the experienced Limit players are at Table 2.

Level 5 (300/600 Limit) 21475 - I won a monster pot with KK that will be a future HOTD.

BREAK - 22 total Buy-Ins, and 19 players are left.

Level 6 (150/300 NL) 23550 - I only played one hand. I was in the SB with ATh, and I called a 900 raise. Four players saw a Flop of K T x. It was checked around. I bet 2500 on the Turn, and all folded.

Level 7 (500/1000 Limit) 19725 - Last hand of the level, a few players limped in. The Button (GrayDay) raised (2000). I'm the BB and look down at AQ. I decided to 3-Bet (3000) to isolate against the Button. The limpers fold, and Button capped it (4000). I call, and the Flop is K-high. I check, he bet (2000), and I call. Turn is another K. I check, and he bets (4000). Right now, the only hand that I'm ahead of is AJ, and I really doubt he would cap it preflop with AJ, so I fold. He shows KK for Quads.

Level 8 (250/500 NL) 20400 - Still really card dead. I did raise in the Cutoff with K3o to 1600. The BB (Jamie) called, and I won it with a Flop bet.

Level 9 (800/1600 Limit) 23100 - I won a pot in which I 3-Bet preflop with 88, bet the Flop, and it got check down on Turn and River. I lost a couple of other pots that I took a stab at. There is still way too much limping for this stage of the tournament. Some of the stacks are really getting short. They're just limping in trying to spike something, but they don't have the implied odds because it's Limit. That makes it really hard for me to steal blinds.

Level 10 (400/800 NL) 29000 - I was able to finally start to "Step On The Gas" a bit. I raised a couple of times to 2100, and won the Blinds. I also limped in the SB with J9o. Four players saw a J-high Flop. I check-raised from 2600 to 7600, and won the pot.

BREAK - 11 players are left, and we are one away from the Final Table.

Level 11 (1200/2400 Limit) 27400 - UTG (Jamie) raised (2400). Mid player (Boz) 3-Bet (3600). If folded to me in the SB, and I look down at 6d 6c. Both players are short stacked, and I'm guessing they're looking to get their chips in the middle. I figure their range of hands is on the wide side. My pair might be good, or not. Since I've got a good chip stack, I decided to gamble, so I capped it (4800). Both players call, and Mid is All-In. The Flop was A-high, so myself and UTG check it down. UTG has KJs, and missed. Mid had K9o, and hit the 9 on the Turn. I picked up a Flush Draw on the Turn, but missed. Mid ends up winning the large pot.

Shortly after this hand, we get to the Final Table. I've got 27400 chips, and I'm 3rd or 4th in chips. I have a good seat draw because all of the bigger stacks are on my Right, including the Chip Leader who is on my direct Right.

Level 12 (600/1200 NL) 19000 - One player limped in. I'm Mid with AQs, and raised to 4100. Three players called, and one other players goes All-In for just 1000. The Flop was J-high, and the limper (Data) wins the pot with AJ. Later, I stabbed at a pot out of the BB, but I got called and lost.

Level 13 (2k/4k Limit) 13000 - I didn't play a single hand, and blinded out. This is getting very frustrating because I have no cards to play. I need to stay patient, and keep grinding. Because of the Mixed format, I'm definitely the favorite at this table, if I can get a hold of some some chips.

Level 14 (1k/2k NL) 0 - One player limped in. I'm on the Button, and look down at KJo. I normally don't like to ship All-In when there is a limper, but this is the closest thing to a real hand that I've seen since AQ two levels ago. I ship it for 13k. And just like what has happened so many times in the last few months, the SB (GrayDay) looks at his cards, and quickly calls with QQ. Of course, I completely miss my 3-outer, but he does hit Queens Full just to add some salt into the wound. I finish in 7th place.

---

This tournament, and the following Cash game that went just as well as the tournament, was my final Event in the CPMG. I really, really want to win this one, and go out with a Bang, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

Even though I did go out with a Thud, my five year run in the CPMG has been a good one. I have 21 tournament wins, which I believe puts me in 2nd place behind Data, our esteemed Tournament Director, who is somewhere in the mid 20's for wins. I also hold the record for largest tournament cash with $3900 back in Feb, 2007. I'm sure that I'm in the Top 3 for Total Tournament Winnings, but nobody keeps track of that stuff.

$4/$8 At The Rivers

11:20 $200 - I'm opening the first table of the day (Sat 8/7).  We had to wait for at least 10 minutes for various players to walk over from their $1/$3 tables. We finally start with eight players. At 40 yrs old, I am the youngest player at the table by 10 years.

12:00 $192 - Table is filled up now, which includes a 20's guy on my direct Left. Action is kinda calm, with no 7-Card Bingo players yet. There has actually been some preflop raises, but there are a couple of Super Nits who don't ever raise with Overpairs. I've only won one pot so far. I had KQh in the BB. I flopped the Nut Flush draw, and hit it on the River.

12:30 $225 - I raise ($8) with AQ in the Hyjack. The Cutoff (20's guy) 3-Bets ($12). Two players call, and so do I. Flop was low cards with two Hearts. The Cutoff bets ($4). An Old Guy and myself call. The Turn brought the Ah. We ended up checking it down. The Old Guy and myself chop the Pot with AQ. The Cutoff had JJ.

Two hands later, I raised preflop with JJ. Four players saw the Flop of J 6 6. You can figure out the rest.

1:00 $276 - UTG raised ($8). I 3-Bet ($12) in Mid position with JJ, and only UTG called. Flop Kd 7c 3d. He checks. I bet ($4). He called. Turn [Kd 7c 3d] Jh. He checked. I bet ($8). He called. River [Kd 7c 3d Jh] Ac. He checked. I bet ($8). He folded.

I'm the SB, and limp with KJc. Six players saw a Flop of Qc 9s 8d. The BB bet. He's a 20's guy who's a good player, but having a bad session. It folded around to the Button, who called. BB comments that he's earned some respect at the table. I also call with a Gutshot and Overcard, I said that I have no respect for him (in jest, of course), plus I've got outs. Turn [Qc 9s 8d] 8c. I pick up a Flush draw, so I bet. Both players fold, and I showed my bluff.

I raise in Mid with AKh. Only the BB called. I hit the K on the Flop. He hit Middle pair, but rivered a 4-Card Straight. I did manage to save a Bet by checking the River.

1:30 $320 - Bunch of limpers. I'm the Button with Th Td. I don't raise, because everyone will call. Seven players see a Flop of Tc 5s 5h. I guess I should have raised. UTG bet. Mid called. I slowplay, and just call. Turn [Tc 5c 5h] Kc. UTG checked. Mid bet. I call. UTG called. River [Tc 5c 5h Kc] 8s. UTG checked. Mid bet ($8). It's time for me to raise ($16). UTG folded. Mid 3-Bets ($24). I cap the betting ($32). Mid called with 53d.

I limp UTG+2 with ATh. The Button (older tight player) raised. Four players see a Flop of Tc 2c 2h. It checks to me, and I decided to bet. I want to see if the Button will raise with an Overpair, and he did. The BB cold called the raise, and so did I. Turn [Tc 2c 2h] 6s. It checked around to the Button, who bet. The BB called again. I think the Button has an Overpair. With the pot size, I'm getting some odds to hit my 5-outer. But the BB is who I'm concerned about. If he's got a 2, then I'm screwed. I reluctantly decided to fold. River [Tc 2c 2h 6s] Ah. BB checked. Button checked his KK. BB showed A6c for Two Pair, and a missed Flush draw. I think my fold might have been a mistake. It was one of those marginal Limit spots that shows my lack of Limit experience.

2:00 $339 - I limp on the Button with JTs. Six players see a Flop of Jc 9c 8d. The SB bets. BB and UTG calls. I raise. SB calls. BB and UTG fold. Turn [Jc 9c 8d] 7c. SB checks. I hit my Straight, but the Flush got there. At a $1/$2 table, I would probably just check here. But this is Limit, so I bet. If he raises, then I'll probably fold. But the SB just calls. River [Jc 9c 8d 7c] 5c. SB checks. I have to check now due to the 4th Club. SB shows 98 (no Clubs) for Two Pair.

2:30 $369 - I raised with AQs in Mid position. Three players see a Flop of Qd 9d 5s. I bet. It folds around to the BB, who check-raises. I just call. Turn [Qd 9d 5s] 3s. BB bets. I decide to raise, now that I've picked up a Flush Draw. BB calls. River [Qd 9d 5s 3s] 6h. BB checks, and so do I. BB says that he's got a Q. I show my Top Top, and scoop the pot.

3:00 $390 - I raise with KK in the Cutoff. Four players see an A-high Flop. It checks around. I call a Turn bet, and the River got checked around. My KK was good.

I limp with KJ in Mid position, and the Hyjack raised. Five players see a K-high Flop with a Diamond draw. I decided to bet out, and surprisingly only the Hyjack called. I also bet the Turn, but he folded.

3:30 $422 - I raised with AK, and got called by AQ. The Flop was QTx. I checked and called his bet on the Flop and Turn. I hit my Broadway draw on the River, and check-raised him.

4:00 $407 - I limp ($4) on the Button with 8c 6s. The BB raises ($8). Seven players see a Flop of 9s 8s 6d. BB bet ($4). Mid1 calls. Mid2 raises ($8). Two more players call. I decide to 3-Bet ($12) because there are just too many players in this pot, and that is an ugly board for Bottom Two Pair. Only Mid1 and Mid2 call. Turn [9s 8s 6d] Td. Mid1 and Mid2 check. I don't like that card, so I also check. River [9s 8s 6d Td] 4d. Mid1 bet ($8). Mid2 calls, and so do I. Mid1 has 98 for Two Pair, but Mid2 wins the pot was 88 for a Set. Nasty cooler for me to be in 3rd place, but fortunately this was a Limit hand.

4:30 $450 - I raise with ATd. Five players see a Flop of Ac Kc 6d. I bet, and the Hyjack raised. He's a 60's gentleman who recently sat down. I'm the only caller, but I assume that I'm behind. Turn [Ac Kc 6d] 3h. I check. He bets. I call. River [Ac Kc 6d 3h] 8d.  I check. He bets. I call. He says, "J-high", and shows JTc for the missed Royal Flush draw.

Shortly after that hand, I cashed out and went to dinner at the Buffet.

Monday At Greektown

I arrived at Greektown at 10:30am to sign-up for their 11am tournament. But they decided to have a promotional Free Roll tournament for their players who've played a lot of hours. They ended up with 9 tables and about 85 players. And like most things that Greektown does, it was rather chaotic.

So instead of signing up for the tournament, I put my name on both the $1/$2 NL and the $3/$6 Limit lists. I really didn't care which one I got. It took about 15 minutes to get a seat, and it ended up being the $1/$2 game.

As I was getting my chips, Greektown started assigning the seats for the Free Roll. I worked my way through the crowd to my table. It was full of chips, but no players. All nine players were all getting seats for the tournament. So I knew that this will be a quick session, as this table was gonna break soon.

It ended up being an hour before they finally asked the players to take their seats. As it turns out, it was a very active hour for my table. There was a preflop raise almost every hand, up to $17. There were a few players who did a $5 Straddle. (Greektown has the No Limit Straddle. It's for any amount, but UTG only). I was rather card dead during this hour. The only hand I managed to win was with AJ in one of the last hands for a decent pot. I was up $39 when the table broke.

As they were starting to seat players for the Free Roll, they also called my name for the $3/$6 game. I'm not sure why my name was still on the List, but this was rather good timing.

Since all the Cash players were cashing out for the Free Roll, the line for the only Poker Room Cashier was rather long. I managed to find one of the players who had a bunch of White $1 chips, and buy some off of him. I then worked my way back through the Mob Scene, and sat at the $3/$6 table.

Here is a Running Log of my session for all you Limit fans.

11:55 $160 - When I finally got to my seat, there were only three other players and an empty stack at the table. The Dealer was waiting patiently for a 5th player, because we need five players to qualify for the Bad Beat Jackpot. I said that I wasn't concerned about a one in a million chance of winning a piece of the $15000 BBJ, but nobody agreed with me. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes for a 5th player to arrive.

12:30 $136 - The table is now full, except for the empty stack. I'm assuming that he's in the Free Roll, but who knows. So far, this table has been a little tight, with only two players playing 7-Card Bingo. There is one Kid at the table. He's in his 20's, and seems to be a "Player". I've been rather card dead.

1:00 $169 - The Empty Stack finally busted out of the tournament, and came back to play with us.

The Cutoff raised ($6). I call in the BB with JTo. Six players saw the Flop of J 6 6. I decided to lead out ($3), and see what happens. Surprisingly, only the Button called. He's a 75 yr old man in a motorized wheelchair, and he's a Super Nit. He was commenting on the Kid who already busted a few hands before this one. "Of course he went broke. Did you see that crap he was playing? He's got a lot to learn."

The Turn was [J 6 6] A. I bet ($6), and he called. The River was [J 6 6 A] 5. I bet ($6), and he called. I say that I've got a J, and I assume that were chopping. But after I show my hand, he shows QQ, and scoops a nice pot. I can't believe what a horrible play that was to just Call preflop with QQ right after a Raise. Naturally, it holds up in a 6-way pot against me.

Two hands later, I get AK on the Button, and pop it ($6). Seven player see a J-high Flop. I call one bet ($3) from the Cutoff. The Turn brings my K. It checks to me, and I bet it ($6). Five players call. The River was a Brick. I bet, get one caller, and scoop a sweet pot.

1:30 $142 - I raised ($6) with A8o in Mid position. The Button 3-Bet ($9), and only had $3 behind. I capped it ($12). He had QJ, and won the Race.

I am seeing some horrible Limit play at this table. In addition to the few players who are playing 7-Card Bingo, most of the older players are not raising, either to get value from their hands or to protect their hands like the QQ earlier.

For example: I call on the Button with Q3h. Around five players see the Flop of Q T T. SB checks. BB bets ($3). Mid player calls. I just call. BB calls.
Turn [Q T T] 4. SB checks. BB bets ($6). Mid raises ($12), and he's been one of the 7-Card Bingo players at the table. I finally got the info I expected, and fold. SB also ejects. BB calls.
River [Q T T 4] 7. BB checks. Mid bets ($6). BB calls, and holds his cards like he's about to muck them. Mid hesitates, hoping to see the BB cards, but finally shows his hand. KT for Trip T with K kicker. BB sees this, and says, "Oh!" He then shows his hand, AT for Trip T with A kicker.   W T F ???

2:00 $151 - I decided to "Step on the Gas", and it had mixed results. I got the Kill by winning two small pots. The second was with AA against a short stack ($10) with J9s.

For those who don't know about a Kill, it's a way to spice up the game. The player who wins two pots in row has to post $6, and the hand is played out as a $6/$12 hand. If you keep winning, then you keep the Kill. If you can get on a rush during a Kill, you can pile up a lot of money.

When I have the Kill, I try to play it aggressively, because the old geezers don't like to put money in the pot. This time, I raised ($12) in Mid with Q5o. The only caller was UTG, who limped in. The Flop came out K-high. He bet out ($6), and I decided to give up, and tell him that I had TT. He showed KJo.

Later, I raised ($6) from the Cutoff with ATo. The Flop was total Air for me, so I checked after everyone else did. The Turn was also Air. This time I bet ($6) when it checked to me, since nobody seemed interested in this pot. I got two callers (Button and Mid). The River was no help to me, and we all checked. As it turned out, both players called me with baby Aces, and my AT-high was good.

2:30 $185 - Hyjack raised ($6). Button called. I'm the SB with AKc, and 3-bet ($9). BB caps it ($12). He's one of the 7-Card Bingo players. Every time I raise, he calls. This was the first time that he raised after me. Hyjack, Button, and I call. Flop Ks 9s 4d. I bet ($3) my Top Pair. BB just called, which surprised me. Hyjack folded, and Button called.
Turn [Ks 9s 4d] 7d. I bet ($12). BB and Button called. River [Ks 9s 4d 7d] 2h. I bet ($6). BB folded (He said later that he was hoping for the 3rd Diamond). Button called, and I scooped a big pot.

3:00 $157 - I tried to tighten up a bit to lock up some profit. Although I did 3-bet from the Cutoff with KJo after a Mid player raised. I was hoping to isolate against just one player, and it worked. The Flop was A-high. He bet, and I gave up.

3:20 $200 - I won two pots with KJo. First was with a 4-Flush on the River, although I hit the K on the Turn. The second was a raise preflop, followed by a bet on the K-high Flop that took down the pot.

We lost a couple of players, and the Geezers didn't want to play with just seven players. There were two other $3/$6 tables with open seats, so they broke our table. I decided to lock up a small win, go to the Buffet for some grub, and head on home.

Hand Of The Day #35

$3/$6 LHE - Hollywood Casino - 03.19.10

A bunch of limpers, as usual. I'm the BB with Jd Jh. I let out a sigh when I look at my cards because there is just no point in raising. The UTG, who I've been chatting with, makes a comment about my sigh.

Six or seven player see the Flop of Th 9s 6c. SB bets $3. I quickly raise to $6, hoping that some of the limpers will get scared off. Only UTG, Button, and SB call.

Turn: [Th 9s 6c] Qh. SB checks. I hate that card. It's an overcard, a possible straight, and now a Flush draw for someone to chase. But it's Limit, so I bet $6. UTG and Button calls. SB folds.

River: [Th 9s 6c Qh] 4s. I certainly like that Brick. I bet $6. UTG thinks for a moment, gets disgusted, and flashes his cards to me as he folds them, Ac As. The Button also folds. Since UTG was kind enough to show me his hand, I turned over my JJ as the Dealer ships the pot to me. He was not amused.

As bad as some of the $1/$2 or $1/$3 players can be, the $3/$6 player can be so much worse. And this hand is a great example of this. Earlier in the session, this guy didn't raise with KK in the SB after I raised on the Button. I can understand not raising with a big pair sometimes, like with my JJ in the BB. Nobody will fold, and it will just create a bigger pot for everyone to chase. But the best time to raise preflop is as the first player into the pot.

We discussed the hand later on. He realized that he screwed up, and was kicking himself for it. If he had raised preflop, then the whole hand would have played differently. Less players might have entered. I might have 3-bet with my JJ. And he would have won the pot.

Road to Recovery

- I ended up cashing in the Tournament. 38th place $802. I won some pots, but never got the big double up that you need to go deep. Towards the end of Level 22 (12k/24k/3k), I raised to 60k with KJ on the Button. The BB goes All-In, and has my small stack crushed. I'm fairly certain that he's pushing back with a real hand. I could fold, but that would leave me with 180k, or just over 7 BB. The Antes and Blinds are extremely high, and we're near the end of this Level. They paid 64 spots, with small pay jumps every 9 or 10 spots. There was another pay jump of $90 ($891) in a few spots, but the $1k payouts didn't come until there are 27 players left. So I decided that in order to go deep, it's time to gamble. I shipped it All-In, and the BB turned over AK. The board ran out 8-high, and head over to the Cage to collect my $802.

- On the Cash game front, I played some $3/$6 for two hours before the Tournament restarted. I won $100. In the evening, I played $1/$3 for a while, and was down $370. They opened up a $5/$10 Omaha-8 w/Kill table, so I went over there. I played about three hours, and then I stared to hit "The Wall" about 1 AM. I left the table up $135.

Also, throughout the day, I played various session of Blackjack, both the Video machine and Live with some CPMGers before they headed home. All the session combined for -$25.

- Because of coming back for Day 2 of the Tournament, and the giant hole I dug on Wednesday, I never did play in a satellite for the WPT Main Event. It also seems that nobody else was playing the satellites either. Every Mega-Satellite they ran today gave away only one or two seats. The $270 gave away one seat for every 40 player. They only got around 60. There was a $530 at Midnight (1 for every 20). A buddy for one of the players at my table signed up for this one at 11:40, and he was Entrant #1.

This may set the record for the smallest WPT field ever. Hollywood has done a crappy job of running Satellites. They should have been running a Mega for the Main Event every night. Instead, they were running Megas for the next day's tournament. Why do you need to run a Mega-Satellite for a $340 tournament? That's a Buy-In for the $1/$3 game.

$10k is a lot of money in this part of the country. The biggest regular Cash game is $2/$5 NLHE and $1/$3/$5 PLO, with occasionally a $5/$10 NLHE on weekends. Even with the Pros coming into town last night, the only Big game was a $5/$10 NLHE table that was barely kept full, and was playing 6-handed after Midnight.

- Speaking of Pros, I was standing in line at the Cage right behind some tall dude that was taking forever. As it turns out, it was Erik Seidel buying in to the Main Event. Kathy Liebert was at the next window. Bryan "Devo" Devonshire was playing in the $5/$10 game, and Ron Rose was playing $1/$3. Other sightings included Hoyt Corkins, Greg "FBT" Mueller, Andrew Lichtenberger, JJ Liu, and Alan "Chainsaw" Kessler.

- I've decide to check-out today, play some more Cash today, and head home. I'm not sure exactly what time I will leave town. It will probably depends on how many draws and sets I can hit. With my success of the last two days, I could actually break into Profit for this trip with a good day today.

- This will probably be the last Blog entry about this trip, unless something news worthy happens today. I've been posting for about ten straight days, and I'm a little Blogged out. I do have a bunch of Hands Of The Day that I will be posting over the next few weeks, as well as a Review of the Hollywood Casino.

Sticking With What Works

After I check out of my room at Motor City and had some breakfast, I had a little time to kill before heading over to Greektown for the 11am tourney. So I sat back down at the 3 Card Poker (3CP), and ended up grinding out $105 profit. Now I'm freerollin' in the tournament.

The Greektown tournament ended up with 30 players. Unfortunately, in Level 1 (25/50), I ran into a cooler/trainwreck that took my starting stack of 4000 down to 725. I grinded it out for a while, and finally got a double up in Level 3 (100/200) to 2800. But in Level 4 (150/300), I lost to a 3-outer on the River, and finished in 16th place.

I then walked over to see if there were any seats open in the Cash game. There was a list for $1/$2, but an open seat at the $3/$6 (w/kill) table. I haven't played any 7-Card Bingo lately, so I figured I could work on my Limit Hold'em game.

12:40 $150 - There was the usual mix of old people, and really old people. Unfortunately, I got seated next to a loudmouth regular who considered himself an expert at this game.

1:00 $163 - Hit a Small Blind Special. Flopped Pair + Flush Draw, and hit Flush on River. Table is playing just like a $3/$6 table. A couple of players are playing almost every hand to the Turn. And a couple of players are playing rather tight, including Mr Loudmouth.

1:30 $126 - Raised with AK in BB. Ended up losing to KJ when he hit Two Pair on Turn. I'm trying to play tight overall. I am playing most hands in the Button and Cutoff, and will occasionally limp with other hands. Have had very few "Quality Starting Hands".

2:00 $81 - Could someone please remind me exactly why I wanted to play this game?

2:30 $59 - Got AK for the 3rd time, and lost for the 3rd time. Ended up 4-betting ($12) preflop with two of the 7-Card Bingo players. One of them was All-In for $9. The Board was all rags, and I ended up checking it down with the other player. He had JTd. All-In guy had K3 and hit the 3 on the River. I got the $6 side pot. Wheeeee!!

3:00 $52 - The last four hands dealt to me were Q4, T2c, 84, and 83.

3:35 $34 - Cashout. I know I'm just an average Limit Hold'em player, but it's impossible for me to win without cards. I don't think I had a pocket pair the entire three hours. As I already mention, I had AK three times. I also had AQ once, and won with it. I raise preflop in a Kill Pot, and took down the blinds and Kill. That happened shortly after the last AK hand, and it was the last pot I won.

I walked over to the Buffet for some grub, and debated what my next move was going to be. I decided to stick with the only thing that has been working for me lately. I headed back into the Pit, and sat down at a 3CP table. I grinded it out for a couple hours, but eventually I hit a big hand, J J J, cashed out up $250, and headed home.

For whatever reason, 3CP is the only game that I've been winning at lately, including $1/$2. Since October 1st, I'm up $694 at $1/$2, and up $820 at 3CP. I don't know if I have "cracked the magic code" or I am just running good. I don't think I'm running Hot in the game. I have had losing sessions, and have had very few big hands (Trips or Straight Flush). Most of my wins have just been grinding it out, and quitting when I'm ahead.

I have no delusions of grandeur, and I'm not think about becoming a 3CP pro. When I walk into a casino, the first place I head to is the Poker Room, and that's not gonna change. But for now, this is working for me, so I'm gonna keep riding it until it crashes.

And I know it eventually will.

Going to Greektown

Tuesday was my Off Day from work, so I took a day trip to Greektown Casino in Detroit. I got there just before 11am, so I could play in the 11am tournament. It's a $75 buy-in (60+15). Back when Greektown was the big room in Detroit, it got 60-120 players for this tournament. The structure was terrible with 4k starting chips. But now, with just 20-30 players, the structure doesn't get stupid until we get shorthanded at the Final Table.

This one had 25 runners, and the field was as soft as ever. Someone commented that a lady at a different table was one of the good players here. I ended up sitting next to her at the Final Table. As it turns out, she just plays tight passive. The regular players view a "good player" as someone who plays Top 10 hands, and is able to fold to the money.

We ended up chopping this one 3-way. I was the obscene chip leader, and got $700 of the $1500 prize pool, and they got $400. (+$600 for me after the dealer tip) I could have kept playing and took first place, but the structure was getting stupid. It only takes one bad River card and a lost coin flip to screw me over. I have never been in a daily casino tournament that didn't chop.

Since the middle of June, I've played in four of these Greektown tournament, all in the 20-25 player range. I've chopped three times, and bubbled the other one (made a bad call, or I would have cashed). That's a profit of $1175 in those four tournaments. Yes, I've a had a few good breaks, but it's mostly because the field is terrible. There has been almost nobody that I would consider a good tournament player. Just a bunch of tight grinders who are trying to fold to the money, instead of trying to actually win. Any of the good CPMG tourney players could play these tournaments profitably. Just play pot control, avoid coin flips and courtesy double-ups, pay attention to who to steal from and who's a calling station, pick your battles carefully, and patiently chips up.

Afterwords, I went to lunch, and back to the Poker Room. Since I'm already up $600 for the day, I decide to just play a few hours of $3/$6 Limit Hold'em. As I've mentioned before, I feel that Limit Hold'em is my worst game, and I'm trying to get better at it. Greektown is the only Detroit room that regularly has Limit Hold'em.

Overall, I was happy with my play, but not the results. I sat down with $150 (25 Big Bets). The first table I sat at was playing crazy, with a few players just dumping money on the table. Two of them got into a raising war. They starting playing pots against each other (Bet Bet Bet Raise Raise Raise) while the rest of just watched the carnage. I did manage to win a few pots, but one of the Maniacs hit two different River cards on me. When the table broke after an hour, I was down $50.

I went to the remaining 3/6 table. It was playing much calmer than the first. But there was still a few players playing "7-Card Bingo". At this table, I was ridiculously card dead. I don't think I've ever seen so many baby Aces and baby face cards. It took me 1.5 hrs to win my first pot, and I think I only got to the River once during that time. Finally, after sitting there for 2 hrs, I walked away from the table with no chips.

Since I still have plenty of profit left, I ended up sitting at a 3-Card Poker table. I played for over an hour. I didn't hit an monster hands, but I did hit two straights, and the dealer was not running good. I ended up leaving the table up $160.

At 8pm, I walked back to my car and left Detroit up $610 for the day.

Hand #1 - Tournament 800/1600 200 ante (5 players remaining)
At this point, I've got a healthy chip lead on the table. It folds around to me on the Button with K8c. I decide to just limp rather than raise, because I do that sometimes. Both blinds call, and we see a Flop of Ah Ks 7h. Old grinder SB checks. Young kid BB bets 4000. I think for bit and then call. Old grinder folds.

Turn [Ah Ks 7h] 5c - Kid goes All-In for 10600. I go into the tank for around two minutes before acting. The Kid's been playing what seems like tight, solid poker so far. I think if he had any A or a big K, then he would have raised preflop. So this could just be a draw, or it could be a BBS of K7. Also, with the big chip lead, I've been avoiding conflict. I have said out loud at this table that I'm not stealing blinds, I don't want to get into a coin flip, and I want to avoid a courtesy double up. I've made some tight folds, including TT face up. It is possible that the Kid's just trying to get me to fold. If I call, I would still have around 16k left which would bring me back to the rest of the field. If I fold, I'm almost guaranteed to be involved in the chop when it happens. There is no real reason to risk the chips at this point.

Except for the "Little Man," as someone calls it. That little voice in the back of my head is yelling, "Call! Call!"

So I did. I pushed the chip forward, and turned over my K8. Kid shows K6. The River is a brick. I win a huge pot with 2nd pair, 8 kicker. The Kid is eliminated in 5th, and I am now the obscene chip leader.

Hand #2 - $3/$6 Limit Hold'em
As usual, a bunch of players limped $3 in the pot. I'm the Button with AJh, so I raised $6. SB calls. BB raises $9. He's one of the Maniacs at the table, and one of the only players showing any interest in raising preflop. Two of the players called, and so did I.

Four saw the Flop of Qh Jd 5c. BB bet $3, and everyone called. Turn [Qh Jd 5c] 2h. BB checks, and so do the rest. I bet $6. I like my pair and draw. Everyone calls.

River [Qh Jd 5c 2h] 7c. Everyone checks. I missed the flush, but I still think I've got the best hand, and these people will call with anything. Bet $6. BB raises $12. The other two fold. I shake my head, Call $6, and say, "I hope you didn't hit your 7."

He did. He show 7h 7s for a River set and scoops a big pot. Nice Hand, Sir.

Hand #3 - $3/$6 Limit Hold'em
A few limpers $3. I'm the Button with Kh Td, so I call $3. SB calls, and BB raises $6. Yes, it's the same Maniac from the previous hand. A few call, and so do I.

Five players see a Flop of Qh 9c 5h. BB bet $3. UTG (Middle aged Asian lady) raises $6. She's been playing "7-card Bingo". For some bizarre reason, her and the Maniac have started going after each other. Of course, everyone calls $6, and now it's my turn. Since this table is so loose, I'm trying to play tighter, and right now my hand ain't that good. All I've got is a nut gutshot (J), a backdoor K flush draw, and an overcard. Also, the BB still needs to call the UTG raise, and I think he might 3-bet. If I could close the action at $6, then I would call. But I still may have to call another $3 or $6 before the Turn. So I Fold. The BB does raise $9. Everyone else calls.

Turn [Qh 9c 5h] Jh - @$#&! BB bets $6. UTG raises $12. All fold. BB calls. River [Qh 9c 5h Jh] 3d - BB checks. UTG bets $6. BB calls. UTG shows QJd. BB mucks.

This situation is a good example of my lack of skill at this game. I don't know "the math" of Limit Hold'em, and how much does one chase without just dumping chip on the table.