Reports Of Their Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

On the final day of my Pittsburgh Road Trip, I decided to swing by Mountaineer on the way home to see if the place is still standing. Since they got half or more of their players from the Western Pennsylvania area, most people expect that Mountaineer is in big trouble now that Pittsburgh has casinos.

But it was still open for business. In fact, on Sunday they had Chicago in for a concert in their little arena at 4pm. The Poker Room was definitely slower than it used to be on a Sunday afternoon. When I headed home at 6pm, they had five tables of 1/2, one table of 2/4, and an interest list for 2/5. They probably got a few more tables after the concert ended. They also had a tournament at 2pm that had 63 runners.

One good side effect from all of this Doom & Gloom is that they will be moving the Poker Room to the Main Building before Labor Day. The Dealer said it will have 20-25 tables, instead of the 40 tables now. This is actually a good thing because there might be more casual players wandering by, and wanting to try that "All-In Game" they saw on TV.

As for my $1/$2 session, it was utter frustration. The table was rather soft, with no real "Players" or Action Guys. But I would build my stack, and lose some in annoying spots. I would then start to rebuild, and then lose some more in another ridiculous spot.

I don't Tilt from one bad hand. I've been playing for a few years now, and I'm used to the Beats. What I do Tilt from is a series of bad hands. Twice today, I had to get up from the table, and walk around to cool off. For those who don't regularly play with me, this is not something that I do often.

Another factor was that I had "Hit the Wall", and got rather tired. I hadn't slept well the last two nights, and I had just had lunch in the below-average Mountaineer Buffet.

During my second break from the table, I had considered just cashing out, and heading home. But I was only down about $120 at this point, and I should be able win it back from this soft table. So I headed back to my table to start grinding back into profit.

And I was able to do so, mostly thanks to an older gentleman who had busted out of the tournament, and bought into the table for $100. He had played a lot of pots early on, and built up a nice stack. But it didn't take me to long to realize that he was full of shit. He kept overbetting on the Flop, and would not shut up during a hand, even in the multi-player hands. The dealer even told him not to comment during the hand, but the Geezer just ignored him.

It didn't take long for him to blow through his chip stack, and a few more $100 buy-ins. I managed to get a few chunks of his chips before he gave up and left about 90 minutes after he sat down. I left shortly after he did with profit of $163.

Looks Like I Picked The Wrong Week To Quit Sniffing Glue

Sunday:
Since my usual Saturday night game went on hiatus for the summer, the Home games have kinda dried up. One of our regular hosts, Julie, decided to have a Sunday afternoon $40 tournament. She has two tables in her basement, and we ended up with 16 players. Things went badly for me early on, and never really got better. I finished in 12th place.

I ended up hanging around because Host Julie was also out of the tournament, and she wanted to play some Heads-Up. After the Final Table was set, we sat down at the other table and threw together a simple $10 Sit-N-Go. I got off to a great start by getting all the cards, and it looked like I was cruising to a victory. But somebody flipped the Doomswitch, and the all the cards started going Julie's way. I eventually lost the first match.

We ended up playing two more $10 matches before the main tournament finished up. I lost all three games. I must admit that it's not easy to lose three straight Heads-Up matches. I could easily blame it on the Cards, but I'm not sure that's the reason. Heads-Up is all about making adjustments, and maybe I just wasn't making the proper adjustments.

Or maybe it was just one of those days.

Monday:
After work, I headed down to Mountaineer for my usual overnight trip. As it turned out, they had a $2/$5 game going on a Monday night, which was quite a surprise. Unfortunately, I didn't bring enough money to play in that game.

So I got a seat at a $1/$2 table around 7:30pm. The table was rather soft with a lot of limpy play. There were no Action Guys, nor were there any "Players" at this table. I was really cards dead for the first couple of hours, but it didn't matter. I was able to steal various pots, and my stack was floating between +$75 and +$140.

For the last hour or so, I started to get a few hands. Some went very well, and some were very annoying. At 11:30pm, I cashed out +$121.

Tuesday:
I played in the 12:15 $65 tournament which had 40 players. Mountaineer is having a "Double Stack" promotion for their tournament this month, so we started with 14k chips which included the Dealer AddOn.

I was really card dead in the beginning, and only won one pot that was Blind vs Blind. After a few levels, I got moved to another table right after somebody knocked out three players. This player was playing a lot of hands, and trying to bully the table. He was also very willing to give out some "Courtesy Double Ups". I shoved All-In from UTG+1 with ATh, and he called me from the SB with QTo. By the first break, I had 13k chips, just 1000 below my starting stack.

After the break, things went better for me. I picked up a few hands, and got some chips. Action Guy dusted off his big stack, and I got some of it. I had around an average stack of 31k when we got to the Final Table at the 2nd break.

In the 2k/4k/500 level, I went All-In for 35k with JJ in Mid position. An Old Guy on the Button called with AK. The King on the Flop knocked me out in 8th place four hours after the tournament started, and three spots away from the Money.

I headed over to the main casino to check out the new Buffet, but it was closed. So I decided to try my luck at some 3-Card Poker. I haven't been playing the game lately because I've been running ice cold in that game. Since I've been running so bad, I decided to try a minor change to my "system". It's too complicated to explain here, but was successful. In hands that this change affected, I was up $70. Unfortunately, this only meant that I got to play a couple of extra hand before going busto. The Dealer was having a very good day, which has been normal for me over the last few months.

Wednesday:
Even though my regular Saturday night game is off for the summer, Host Dave does have an occasional weekday Cash game, starting at 7pm and ending around Midnight. I was only planning on staying until 10-10:30, so I just brought $150 and put all of it on the table.

I was really tired, and I shouldn't have even gone. I played horrible. I was very weak and passive. I really brought my C- game to the table. I made a horrible call with AQ on a Q76 5 8 board even though I couldn't beat anything. He end up with Two Pair.

As the night went on, I was just going through the motions, and slowly bleeding chips. Finally at 9:30, my stack was down to $60. I cashed out, and went home to crash in my bed.

How Hard Is It To Hit A Set Of Aces?

10:50 $75 - I got to Mountaineer on Wednesday morning about 10:15, and had to wait for them to open up their 2nd table of $1/$2. We start with seven players. Most have bought in for around $100, and only one loaded up with the max of $300. So I decide to Short Stack, and buy-in for the minimum of $75, with more chips in my pocket. If this table ends up being a crazy action table, I can always pull out more chips.

11:30 $71 - I've only won a small pot with a 4-card Flush. The table has been what you would expect for a Wednesday morning. I've been kinda card dead. The only "real hand" that I've seen, QQ, ran into KK. I rebought for another $75.

12:00 $180 - I stabbed at one pot on the Turn, but lost. Later, a Short Stack went All-In for just $30. I look down at 88, and go All-In for $55. The Short Stack had TT. That left me with $25, and I pull out $100 out of my pocket. It's starting out to be one of those days.

Three hands later, I limp with 66, and the Flop came 6 3 3. I double up when someone hit their Nut Flush on the River. Later, I lost a small pot with AA. I hit my Set on the River, but lost to a River Flush.

12:30 $357 - I cracked AA with QJd in the BB. I Checked & Called on a Q 9 7 Flop. A Q came on the Turn, and he just couldn't let his Rockets go.

That was the last hand of the table. The Mensa people running the Poker Room decided to open up the 4th $1/$2 table 15 minutes before the Tournament started. Once all the Tourney players left the tables for the Tournament, they ended up closing our $1/$2 table. The next table has two other players from the first table, but there are still two open seats. The good news is that I'm the Big Stack of this table.

1:00 $441 - I played many pots. Some went well, and other were not so much. I had back to back Straight draws that whiffed. I also 3-bet with AA in the SB, and got two callers. The Flop was Ad Qd Jh. I hit another Set. I want to get paid with this one. But I can't risk a free Turn card to come and either give them a better hand or scare them off. I bet $60, which is half the pot. Both players think for a bit, and then fold. Oh well, at least I got the preflop money.

1:20 $507 -An Action player raised from UTG+2. It folded to me in the SB, and I look at AA for the 3rd time today. I decided to just call, and let him hang himself. The Flop was A 7 3 for my 3rd Set of Aces today. I ended up getting all of his chips for around $80.

Earlier in the afternoon, I got a phone call from my Uncle. He invited me to the Cleveland Indians game in the evening. One of his buddy has some sweet seats, and passes to the Terrace Club. So I decided to "Hit & Run" with my $257 profit, head back home to get a few things done before the ballgame.

Hours of Bordem Mixed with Moments of Sheer Frustration

11:50 $75 - After waiting at Mountaineer for 20 minutes, they finally opened up a new $1/$2 table. Since it's a Thursday morning, I buy-in for the table minimum of $75. Nobody at the table bought in for more than $200. Two others also have the minimum, and an old guy bought in for 60 white chips. I think he supposed to be at the $2/$4 table.

12:30 $53 - I'm really card dead. This table is typical for a weekday $1/$2 table. Very little preflop raising. Lots of limping and small pots. There was an AA vs KK pot that had under $50 by the end. There was a small raise preflop, and a small bet on the Flop. The Turn brought a Club Flush, and it got checked down, even though they both had a Club.

1:00 $55 - Won a small pot with Two Pair on the Button with Q9. I still haven't been dealt a pocket pair or QJ+.

1:30 $45 - This is pathetic. I've been playing a few "splash around" hands like 64o and T9o, along with limping with ATC on the Button and CutOff. But everything has been Airballs so far. I'm not even gonna try any bluffs. This table is a Value Bet table, and not a Bluff table. If I ever get any hands, I should get paid off.

2:00 $55 - I won a pot in the BB with Trip 5 on the River. There are still very few preflop raises, with most players trying to play "Bingo!" on the Flop and Turn. But so far, I have seen very few called bets on the River. Hopefully, I can take advantage of this later.

2:30 $254 - I doubled up with AA on the Button. On my next Button, I called a $7 raise with 76s. Five players saw a Flop of A 9 7. A different player leads out for $10. I just call, along with a few others. Turn is 6. He bets $15. I raise to $50. The preflop raiser asks how much I have left ($26), and he goes All-In. The $15 bettor folds, and I call. I hit a Full House on the River, and the preflop raiser mucks.

3:00 $276 - I do my standard preflop raise to $7 with AK, and won it on the Flop. I also raised twice with AQ. First one was a total Airball, so I folded. The second ended up as a chop when the board paired on the River.

3:30 $120 - Things went downhill quickly. I limped & called a raise with 76h. I flopped a Flush, so I led out for $15, and the preflop raiser called. The Turn was the 4th Heart, and we both checked. The River was a brick. I checked, and he bet. I folded face up, and he shows KQh.
Later, I flopped two pair with 54o in the BB, but the board was ugly (7d 5h 4d). I check raised from $10 to $30, and two players called. The Turn was a 3rd Diamond, so I checked and called a $20 bet. The River, which still has three players, was the 4th Diamond. I just checked and folded.

4:00 $71 - I tried my first bluff of the day, and it failed miserably (as usual). I raised in the CutOff with 76h. Three players saw a Flop of Kc Qs Jc. I bet $15, and an older Eastern European guy calls (UTG+1). He's one of the Action Guys at this table. Turn was [Kc Qs Jc] 6s. I bet $25, and he called. River [Kc Qs Jc 6s] 3c. Even with the Flush on the Board, I bet $40. Old Guy snap-called with K8s.

4:30 $175 - There are some new faces at the table. I'm planning on leaving at 6pm. I really don't feel like milking this stortstack, especially with some deeper stacks at the table. So I pull $125 out of my pocket when the Button came around to me.

5:00 $140 - Cards suck. I guess I'm now one of "Bingo!" players. I did some limping, and called a few raises. But everything was a big Whiff.

5:30 $92 - I raised with 43h in the Hyjack. Five players saw a Flop of 8 5 2. A player in Mid position bets $8. He's been doing this small donk betting, so I raise to $30 with the Open Ender. The CutOff was thinking, but the Button called out of turn. And then the CutOff called. The Donk bettor folded. The Turn was [8 5 2] 5. I checked. CutOff bet $30, and the Button called. My "Spidey Sense" was tingling, so I folded. As it turns out, they both flopped Sets (88 vs 22), and they got the money All-In on the River.
Later, I raised with KQ in Mid position, and got a couple of callers. I flopped Two Pair on a draw-heavy board [Kh Qc 2h]. I did my standard c-bet of $15, and everyone insta-folded. Out of frustration, I showed my hand and whined a little.

6:05 $97 - I won two small pots, and started climbing closer to the break even mark. I got it up to $140-ish. I limped in the CutOff with K8d. Flop was 6h 6d 2d. SB leads out for $6, and I'm the only caller. Turn [6h 6d 2d] 4s. He checked, I bet $15, and he called. River [6h 6d 2d 4s] Qc. He checked, and I decided to try another River bluff of $25. He thinks for a moment, and calls. I say, "King High". He turned over QTd. He missed his lower flush draw, and hit his 6-outer on the River.

Well, this hand was the Cherry on top of the Sundae that was my session. I finished the orbit, cashed out, and headed home.

I guess that only losing $103 on a day where the cards were so frustrating should be a Silver Lining, but I'm just not feeling it.

Hand of the Day #25

$1/$2 NLHE - Mountaineer - 01.28.10

I've got QQ in Early Position, so I pop it to $7. The next player raises to $19. He's a regular player who's name I think is Lyndel. He's a well respected player who's loose and aggressive. It folds around to the BB who calls. He's an older gentleman who just sat down. Since I'm out of position, and Lyndel's range is quite wide, I re-raise to $75. He thinks for a moment, looks at my stack, and calls. The BB folds.

Flop: Jd 9c 8s. I bet $100. Lyndel goes All-In. I've got $159 left, and he has me covered. Because he's a LAG player, I have no clue where I'm at right now. But the Pot is about $530, so calling $159 is good pot odds for what right now is a coin flip. Either I'm ahead or I'm behind. So I call.

The rest board is [Jd 9c 8s] 9h Qc. He shows his TT for a straight. I show my QQ for a boat, and scoop a $689 pot.

I'm a Small Ball player, and I absolutely hate playing a big pot with just an Overpair. I understand that sometimes you just gotta do it, but I was very uncomfortable putting $334 into the pot with just QQ.

I'm not sure if the "proper" move is to blow up the pot with the $75 raise preflop. On one side, I'm out of position against a good player, so I should try to keep the pot under control. (Play smaller pots out of position, and play bigger pots in position.)

On the other hand, I do have QQ, and I would rather try to take the pot down preflop. Also, if I just call the $19, and go to the Flop three handed, I don't know what would have happened.

Hand of the Day #24

$1/$2 NLHE - Mountaineer - 01.28.10

Straddle pot. I'm in the Hyjack with 98c and raise to $15. A few players call. A Mid position player (Googe, a player from our home games) back-raises to $50. He's got about $130 left. I think for a moment, and decide to call the extra $35, hoping that other will follow. Only the Straddle calls.

Flop: Ad Ah Td - Not the Flop I was hoping for. Straddle checks. Mid checks. I check.

Turn: [Ad Ah Td] 6c - Straddle checks. Mid checks. Well, since nobody seems interested in this pot, and I just picked up a gutshot, I bet $50. Straddle quickly folds. Mid thinks for a bit and calls.

River: [Ad Ah Td 6c] 2h - Mid checks. Since I have 9-high, I look at his stack, say All-In, and put out some green chips. He thinks for a moment, says "I don't believe you, Mailman", places his short stack of $78 over the betting line, and turns over his KK. I tell him his hand is good, and muck.

OK, I'll admit this wasn't the best hand I've ever played. Calling the $35 raise wasn't a good call, because he didn't have enough chips to give the proper Implied Odds. I also suck at pulling off a Big Bluff. If I had an Ace, I would have played it the same way. Maybe if I bet $75 on the Turn, instead of $50?

Probably not.

Hand of the Day #12

$1/$2 NLHE - Mountaineer - 11.30.09

I'm UTG+1 with Jd Jc and make it $7. Four players see a Flop of Td 6d 6c. I lead out for $15. The only caller is two seats to my left. He's an older guy who is one of the few at this table who is playing tight and predicable. He relucantly called the bet. I figure he's got a weak Ten or a pocket pair.

Turn: [Td 6d 6c] Ac - I don't like that card, and I'm hoping he doesn't like it either. We both check.

River: [Td 6d 6c Ac] Ad - The flush got there, but I don't put him on a Flush. I'm 75% sure I have the best hand. So I do a small value bet of $20. If he raises, then I will quickly fold. He thinks for a moment, and calls. I say, "Jacks." He shakes his head, and shows 8 8.

One of the keys to winning money in Cash games is making the thin River value bets, and this was a good example of it. If it were a tournament hand, I just would have checked the River and happily taken the pot.

Top of the Mountaineer

On Monday night, I headed down to Mountaineer for an overnighter. I walked into the Poker Room at 8pm. There was 2 $1/$2 tables and 1 $2/$4 table running. There was also the 7:30 tournament with 5 tables running.

A new table opened at 8:30. I knew after the very first hand that this was gonna be a good table. There were a few calling station, and a few LAG-tards. The best part was they were all on the opposite end of the table. All of the tight player were sitting around me. One of them, an older guy named Doc was the most active. He was also hitting everything. He had KK at least 6 times. He Flopped or Turned two pair at least five times, and overbet each time. But since he was playing so many hands, people kept paying him off.

As usual, when I'm at an loose, active table, my cards were terrible. I have very few quality starting hands. The one time I had AA, I had to fold them on the Flop to what ended up being two pair (QJ on a Qh Jd 9h). I did have a lot of "splash around" hands (97, 45, JT, etc), but I just kept missing everything. Eventually, my patience got paid off. I hit a few hands, and even took a chunk off the old guy.

By 1AM, the Little Man in my brain was telling me it was time to go. I didn't want to listen, because all the action players were still at the table. But I've learn my lessons in the past, so I cashed out +$183. Still a good session at $40 per hour, but it could have been so much better with just a few more cards.

Tuesday, I went back for the 12:15 tournament. It was a $55, 5k in chips with 28 players. My run of bad starting hands continued. I didn't win a hand until Level 4 (100/200/25). I then won a pot or two, and stole a few blinds, but just could never get going. Finally, in Level 6 (300/600/75) I pushed All-In for 5125 with JT. The SB called with AQ, and I was out in 12th place.

It was now 2pm, so I went over to the main building to eat a free lunch at the Buffet. I have to say that is the worst buffet that I have ever seen at a casino.

Even though I kept telling myself that I wasn't gonna play in the Pit, I played in the Pit. What can I say, I've got issues. Fortunatly, this time it was profitable. I played 3 Card Poker and Texas Hold'em Bonus. I didn't hit any big hands, but I just grinded it out until 6pm for $165.

Hand of the Day #11

$1/$2 NLHE - Mountaineer - 11.30.09

I limp UTG with 6h 6c. This table has been playing very loose with a few calling stations and a few LAG-tards. Mid position guy (loose but decent players) raises to $7. Cutoff calls. Button (old LAG-tard) raises to $15. I call, and so do the other two.

Flop: 6d 6s 5s - I check my Quads. Mid guy bets $25. Cutoff (young lady who plays like an online pro) calls. Button folds. That sucks because he's got all the chips. I pause, and just call.

Turn: [6d 6s 5s] 7s - Someone just got there. I check. Mid guy bets All-In for $72. Cutoff girl thinks for a while. She got just over $100 left, and she doesn't like that Turn card. I'm trying to look like I'm just waiting to fold, while praying she puts her chips in the pot. She eventually folds, and I call. Mid guy has Tc Ts.

You know it's a great table when I win a sweet pot with Quads by just checking and calling.

Game Selection

At my regular home game on Saturday night, we got into a small discussion about Detroit poker rooms. Someone agreed with me that Motor City is the nicest room, but they also said that the players are tougher at MC and Greektown has the softest games.

To be perfectly honest, I never really compared the 'toughness' of the $1/$2 NL games. Most because I've always thought that $1/$2 is the same at every casino. I just go to different places for some variety.

Since I keep track of my poker wins and losses in a database, it's very easy to make a query to compare results. So I did some poking and prodding, and came up with some surprising results.

I used results from the last few years for all Detroit rooms, as well as Mountaineer since it's just as close.

I have to use a disclaimer. Since these are using a small sample size, the numbers could change drastically if my next session at any room is either +$500 or -$300. But these are the numbers I have, so that what I'm gonna use.

Motor City: 18 sessions (8-10 .444) $248 profit ($13.78 avg)

MGM Detroit: 17 sessions (9-8 .529) $960 profit ($56.47 avg)

Greektown: 13 sessions (8-5 .615) $890 profit ($68.46 avg)

Mountaineer: 38 sessions (24-14 .632) $4014 profit ($105.63 avg)

Well, I was obviously wrong. Looking at these numbers, I have no reason to go back to Motor City, except for the "free room" offers. Greektown seems to be the best results. I know that MGM is also great on weekends, but super tight on weekday afternoons.

And since I've been getting so many "free room" offers from Detroit, I have only been to Mountaineer only a few times in the last six months. That's something that I need to fix.

Already Breaking New Year's Resolutions

There was no Saturday night game this week at Dave's. He had some family stuff to do. So I decided to book a room at Mountaineer, and play Saturday night and Sunday.

Of course, we had a little snow storm on Saturday afternoon in the Cleveland area. The snow had stopped by the time I got off work, so I went home and gather up my stuff for the overnighter. The highway was decent on the way to Mountaineer, and it only took 30 minutes longer then the usual two hour trip.

I check-in to the hotel, and take my bag to the room. As I walk back to my car to head over to the Poker Room to play some 2/5, I end up walking through the casino. And somehow I end up at a Texas Hold'em Bonus (THB) table. Since I'm there, I buy-in for $500. The session doesn't go well. After about an hour, I loose my buy-in.

I head over to the Poker Room. Due to the weather, there aren't many table open for a Saturday night. I get the open seat at the only 2/5 table, and buy-in for the $500 max.

Surprising, there were no big stacks on the table. Also, the players were playing tight, although some more than others. There wasn't anyone who I would consider an action player. But there was a lot of preflop raising, between $15-$45. I think only twice during the entire session did my Big Blind not get raised.

Even though I was getting some cards, the session didn't go well. I flopped two sets early on, and won minimal profit. My stack never went above $700. Then I started hitting flops when others hit them harder: top pair vs sets, overpair vs flush, etc. I never lost any monster pots; just a bunch of small ones. I finally go broke with Ac 10c on a 10-high diamond board. The other guy flopped the flush.

The only hand of interest was a hand I was not part of. Since there was 4 players involved after the flop, I'm gonna say the hands in the beginning, even though nobody showed until after the River.

I'm not sure of the pre-flop action, except I folded. Flop: 6c 4h 2c. An older lady (set of 2) bets $20. Player B (Ace flush draw) raises to $90. Player C (set of 4) raises to $200. Player D (set of 6) shoves for $325. Old Lady thinks for a bit, and then folds (impressive). Player B calls the $325. Player C thinks, and then shoves for about $100 more. Player B has everyone covered, and calls. Turn: (6c 4h 2c) Kc - I knew that someone just got very happy. River was a brick, and Player B win a monster cooler hand.

The next morning, I decide to head back to the casino, and see if they have an table of THB open. I figure that another session couldn't go as bad as the night before. It was open, and it went as bad. It was almost a carbon copy of before. I left the table, and Mountaineer with just $60 out of the $1500 I brought with me.

One of my New Year's Poker Resolutions is to not spend (lose) too much money in the 'Pit', and just play with profit from poker. Well, that obviously didn't happen, and I blew the money I won on my last trip to Detroit. I should have gone straight to the Poker Room when I got there, and I should have gone back to the Poker Room when I got up. I'm sure they had some 1/2 tables that played all night long.

Can I Get a Seat Change?

When playing in a casino, this is a common question that a player would ask a dealer. Sometimes it is by an older gentleman who would like a better view of the flop. But usually it is by someone who is having a bad run of cards, or is just card dead. They feel that if they just change seats, even if it's just one seat over, then their luck would change. I've always felt this was just a superstition.

Until yesterday.

I went to Mountaineer yesterday, New Year's Day, with one of my poker buddies, Chan. We both work for the Post Office, so it's an off day for us. We arrived about 11:30, and were immediately seated at the same 1/2 table.

I only bought in for the minimum of $75. The weekday poker games at Mountaineer are so passive, there is no reason to put much money on the table. Many players only buy-in for $100. They limp a lot preflop. Post flop is usually small bets, between $10-$20, and when they raise, it's usually just a minimum raise.

I've done this before with success. But yesterday, it didn't go well. I didn't have many cards to play. When I tried to make a move, it failed miserably. If I had a draw, or even AK, I simply whiffed. When my stack got under $25, I added on another $75. Later, those chips vanished, so I rebought for $100.

Conversely, Chan got off to a great start. He won two big pots with AQ. First was with Two Pair vs Two Pair. Second was flopped Straight (K J T) vs Q9. He kept winning some more small pots, and was having a great session.

Of course, my $100 went busto in frustrating fashion. Some old guy sat down to my right, and started playing every hand. I raised ($20) a straddle hand on the Button with A T. He called with 9 5 suited. I shoved for about $65 on a flop of K 8 5. The old geezer called me with Bottom Pair, and I bricked out.

Frustrated after dumping $250 at this table, I went over to the casino and started playing some Texas Hold'em Bonus. I got off to a great start, but then went into a nosedive. I almost went broke, but started making a comeback. About 30 minutes after I sat down, Chan called me and wanted to eat some lunch. I went back to the Poker Room, and we ate at the snack bar.

After lunch, we decided to go back and play more poker. We put our names on the 1/2 list, and in about 15 minutes, we both got seated at one of the nine 1/2 tables they had running. As fate would have it, it was the same table we were just at. And our old seats are empty. I end up in Chan's seat, and he takes my old chair.

Since I'm already in the hole, I buy-in for the full $300. This time is turns out much better. I don't get any big double-ups, but I'm slowly building my stack to near $700 at one point.

Chan is having a terrible time in my cursed chair. He is bleeding chips as fast as I'm collecting them. Most noteworthy was when he flopped Top Two Pair against a flopped Straight.

After he pulls out more money to rebuy, I make a comment about how that seat is bad luck. Then someone else at the table who has been there all day comments, "Yeah, I lost $200 in that seat earlier today."

As soon as a seat opened up, Chan moved two seats to the left. His luck immediately changed. He started winning hands, and building his stack back. He even hit a one-outer to double up.

The Chair sat empty for a while. The table got shorthanded for a bit, and they were talking about breaking the table. That was fine with us, since we were heading home soon. Finally some more players sat down, including an older gentleman in the Chair. It took about three orbits for him to go broke.

We cashed out, and headed home about 8pm. We both lost a few hundred on the day.

Hand #1 - 1/2
I'm in the SB with A5. It's a straddled pot. A few limper, so I just call the $3. Six players see a Flop of 5 4 3. I check. Straddler bets $15. Three players call, including me. I've got Top/Top, but I'm not thrilled with it.

Turn: (5 4 3) A - Interesting card for me. Top Two Pair, but any Deuce made their Straight. I check. BB checks. Straddler bets $20. UTG calls. I decide to just call. Straddler has been somewhat of an action player, so his bets don't carry much strength. BB also calls, which sets off a small alarm with me. Both the UTG and BB players have been playing tight. Having four players go to the River seems odd to me.

River: (5 4 3 A) 9 - I check. BB checks. Straddler bets $70. UTG folds. To me, this smells like a "Go away! I missed." bet. If he had the Straight, then a bet of $30 or maybe $40 would seem more likely. And as I said before, he's an action player, so his range is rather wide.

I just call. BB folds. Straddler says, "One pair". I turn over my two pair, and scoop a sweet pot. The Straddler said that he had 7 7, and BB said he had 8 6 for the Nut Gutshot draw.

Hand #2 - 1/2
In mid position, I look at A8, and decide to do my standard raise to $7. Four players see a flop of A 6 4. It checks to me, and I make my standard c-bet of $15. Only the Button calls.

Turn - (A 6 4) 8 - Cool. The Button is a tight player, so I'm assuming that he's got a bigger A than me. Normally, I would have just checked this, since I'm either way ahead or way behind. But since I think he's got a good kicker, I bet $25. He calls.

River - (A 6 4 8) 2 - How much to bet that he's willing to call with just Top Pair? Let's try $40. He thinks for a bit, and reluctantly calls. I show my Top Two Pair, and he mucks.

I love a good read.

Hand #3 - 1/2
The table is shorthanded with only six players. I'm UTG with JJ, so I make it $7. Chan calls in the SB, and so does the BB.

Flop J 9 8 - Sweet. Chan instantly shoves a large stack of Red chips All-In. BB folds. I just grab my cards, and show him my Top Set. I put them back on the table, and tell the Dealer that I call. Chan doesn't show his hand. He never does. I figure Chan's got some combo of Pair with Straight draw. Q J or T 9 are strong possibilities. I just don't want to see any more Straight cards on the board.

Turn - (J 9 8) 8 - Awesome, the board paired. I've now got Top Boat. But when the 8 hit the board, Chan got out of his chair, and started shouting, "Jack! Jack! Come on, Jack!"

Why does he want to see a Jack on the River? Because of Mountaineer's new Bad Beat Jackpot, which was at $32000. You need Quad 6's beaten in order to win it.

Why does he care about the Bad Beat Jackpot? Because he's got 88. Yes, we both flopped a Set, and then he hit a fucking one-outer on me.

Of course, the miracle card doesn't come. Somebody later said they think they folded it. Chan's got $126 in his stack, so I ship him 5 Green and one White chip.

That pot was about $270. Had he not hit is one-outer, it would have made up most of losses for the day.

Mountaineer Review

UPDATED: 3/23/10

Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort is located in Chester, WV, just over the border from East Liverpool, Ohio. They have a full casino, poker room, hotel, horse racing, and concert arena.

Poker Room:
The poker room has 40 tables, and is very open and spacious. The room is only three year old, so everything is fairly new and clean.

The games that are spread daily are $1/$2 NLHE and $2/$4 Limit Hold'em. They might get a $2/$5 NL game in the evening. On weekends, they might get a $5/$10 NL, an uncapped $1/$2 PLO, and $3/$6 Omaha H/L with a full Kill.

The rake is 10% $5 max. They do have a Bad Beat Jackpot. Aces Full of Kings beaten by Quads is the qualifier, and you must use a pocket pair of the Full House and Quads. Their website has an updated current value of the BBJ. Only half of the BBJ drop goes to the Jackpot. The other half goes to various promotions they do. Check out their website for more information, as the promotions change from time to time

Even though there are 40 tables, the room is usually half full or less, and they don't even use the area where they used to hold the $2/$5 or larger games. The last time I was there on a Thursday night 8pm in February '10, and they had 2 $1/$2 tables, 4 tournament tables, and an interest list for $2/$4. Weekends are usually busier, especially in the evenings but I never get down there due to scheduling conflicts.

The dealers and staff were terrible when they first opened, but have improved over time. On the other hand, the players have not improved. The word I would use to describe the players at Mountaineer is passive. Some are tight & passive, and some are loose & passive, but most of them are passive. They do a lot of limping preflop, or calling standard raises. They bet small, and raise the minimum. I have heard stories about players playing wild, crazy aggressive, but I rarely sit at a table with them.

Tournaments at Mountaineer are actually decent. They have two daily tournaments, 12:15 & 7pm, for $55. It's a fast structure, but what do you expect for $55. On weekends, the tournaments are deeper, but more expensive. Once a month they have a two-day tournament for $1000, and a 'Ladies Only' tournament.

Mountaineer does offer comps for poker players, sort of. They have the 'Bravo' system which swipes your Players Card at the table, and tracks your hours of play. I haven't been able to get a straight answer as to how much a player can earn, but it seems to be in the neighborhood of $.10 - $.25 per hour.

Casino:
The Casino is in a separate building from the Poker Room. Although, upstairs from the poker is a small gaming area with slots, a few table for Blackjack and and a Craps table.

Mountaineer offers most of the usual table games except Pia Gow and Baccarat. Table minimums are between $5 and $10. They even offer $5 Blackjack all day long.

The Video Poker is terrible. They have only a few machines, and the pay tables are tight (under 95%). I can only assume that the slot machines are equally tight.

As with the Poker Room, the comps are terrible. They don't even offer a free room at the Hotel. Just a discount depending on how many points you've earned recently. I think the main reason for comps is to get free Fries with your overpriced hamburger. This is what happens when there is no nearby competition for this casino. With Pennsylvania getting full service casinos this summer, hopefully Mountaineer will start to give back to their customers.

The food options are not good. They have a few snack bars, one by the Poker Room, and another in the Casino. There is a regular sit-down restaurant, but it's overpriced for the quality. I believe they have a fancier restaurant, if you're into to those things, but I've never eaten at it.

They did have a Buffet in the Casino. It was the worst Buffet that I've ever been to. As of March '10, they relaunched the new Buffet, but I haven't been there yet.

Overnighteer at Mountaineer

Wednesday night I went to Mountaineer, and spent the night at their hotel. They sent out some coupons for discounted rooms, so I thought I would give it a try. I usually just make the two hour drive in the AM, and head home in the PM. Overall, this was a good experience, and I will do it again.

Profit between the Casino and Poker Room was -$10. I really didn't have any big wins or losses. I just couldn't get any run going. There was two hands that could have made this a very profitable trip if things had played out a little different.

Hand #1: Wednesday night $1/$2
I've been sitting at this table for a few hours, and I'm up a little. A Kid raises to $12 from UTG. Kid has been very quiet, and not playing many hands. He seems like a no-nonsense player. One caller when it gets to me in late position. I look down at AA.

I decided to raise to $30. I'm not a big fan of being over aggressive preflop. But if I just call, I would be the 3rd player in the pot, and others may jump in for pot odds. Also, I'm hoping that he's got a big pair, JJ or better, and re-raises me.

Everyone but Kid folds. He just calls.

Flop: Ac Qc 4c. Kid thinks for a bit, then checks. I bet $50. Normally, I would just check Top Set in a Heads-Up pot. But with an all-Flush board, I can't risk a 4th Club on the Turn. I would either be chasing my Boat, or have no chance of getting any more chips out of the Kid.

Now he goes in to deep thought mode, and so do I. I'm not sure if he's really thinking, or just hollywooding AxKc. I decide that if he moves All-In (looks like $200-$250), then I would call. I don't like gambling in a cash game, but this hand is just too strong to fold.

Instead, he folds his hand face up. Two red Kings. "No!", I said, as I show my hand. It was the right play for him. That is a very ugly board for Kh Kd out of position.

Yes, I won a decent pot, but it's still frustrating. AA vs KK is so rare for me. If the flop had been different...

Hand #2 Thursday afternoon $1/$2

I was at the table for a while, and down a little in chips. Just not many opportunities so far. I look at T8h in the SB. There are many limpers, so I just toss another white chip on the table. Seven players see the Flop of Qs Ts 8s.

I hit Two Pair, but that's an action board, so I bet $11. Player A in Mid-position calls. Player B on the Button raises to $30. Since I'm out of position, I just call the $30 to see what happens. However, Player A raises All-In for about $65 more. Player B just calls.

At this point, I'm not sure what Player A has, but Player B seems to have a Flush. Since I'm looking at hitting a 4-outer, I fold. Player A shows QJ for Top Pair with a Gutshot. Player B shows 65s for a Flush.

Of course, the Turn is [Qs Ts 8s] Td, giving me the Boat. I know that folding was the right decision. But sometimes I feel I need to let my inner donkey out, and get lucky making some bad calls.