Well I recently logged onto my Full Tilt account and realized I had a whopping $0.62 in there. I played and doubled up twice. I switched tables and bought in for the minimum. At the same time, I also jumped into a $1+.20 SnG. The cash games ended badly, losing all my buy-ins. The SnG was my last shot. I managed a win and had $4+ in my once empty coffers.
I hopped on the next night and did the same thing, though this time I lost the SnGs and all but one cash game. Luckily at that .01/.02 table someone had a big pile of cash (over 6 bucks) and was donating. He was calling all the way down with 2nd, 3rd or 4th pair. I pretty much got all his money. I ended the night and my bankroll was at $9 bucks.
The next night I played some more, but it wasn't so up & down as the other nights. I won a $2 SnG which boosted my bankroll. I broke even in the cash games.
Currently, my $0.62 turned into $20. Not a bad return. How long before I meltdown and start calling all my chips with A high? Or get impatient and put my entire bankroll in one SnG or a bigger cash game?
Time will tell.
Back In The Saddle Again
Casino Night
I took my poker winnings and headed off to Mohegan Sun. Slappy was already there and shortly after getting there a spot at his table opened up. I moved over. I won a few bucks with QQ. But not much after that.
A spot opened next to Slappy and I moved. I wasn't a big fan of the table. There were 3 friends who completely soft played each other. They'd bet other people out of the pot, than stopped playing showed what they had and checked down. No one said anything (including me- this was the first time I witnessed anything like this- next time I will say something) including the dealer.
I continued to do very little and lose chips. At one point I had top pair with a flush draw. I got there and doubled up to back even. Unfortunately, I donked off most of my chips wih KJ on a board of K74. I called a tight player down every street when he flopped a set of 4's. I sheepishly folded and said I flopped 2 pair.
In the end I lost my first buy-in on a "bad beat.". Though I was short so I didn't have enough to make the guy fold. My second buy-in, I bought in short. Never got a had and took another beat because I got short and my opponent figured he wouldn't lose much if he called me.
I took the beats well but was tired and didn't want to waste my final buy-in, so I walked around for an hour, than left. I love that the poker rooms are smoke free, but forget the rest of the casinos are not. By the time I got home I reeked of smoke. Yuck.
That's been all my recent poker. I may head out again soon, but try Foxwoods. I haven't been there in about 2 years.
First, we're heading to visit my family in Florida, so I'll probably play at Ocala Pokerroom again.
I'll post if I do.
-- Post From My iPod Touch
In Between
In Between week 15 & the final week, I played in Slappy's home game. The structure bothered me more than normally, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I haven't won there in a while. And ultimately the games are about hanging out with friends for a few hours. If you bust out early a new game is only an biur away. They introduced a new twist... Bounties. Each person pays an additional $5 that you give to the person who busts you.
As I stated, I didn't do much and only got 3 bounties all night.
-- Post From My iPod Touch
The End is Nigh
I know it's been a while, but better late than never, right? Week 15 ended good for me. Host was out first, followed by Tilty. I'm out next and Drunky and New Kid battle heads up and Drunky taked it down. The good news about the night is that I gain even more points vs the host.
Technically, I also lock up second place. Host is 9 points behind me, but so is New Kid. Basically, if they can convince Muscles to bring his pussy-whipped ass back for a game (in his defense I think he's dating a former playmate), I go out first, then Host or New Kid have to win. Winner gets enough points to beat me and the other doesn't thus getting me 2nd.
Muscles doesn't show, so I clinch first without even having to show. Second time in a row. I would prefer if, each time, the people who agreed to play the season, played the entire season, but I definitely benefited from having people quit the game.
In the end, as usual, Host, New Kid and I are the last 3. I finished 3rd and I think New Kid wins, taking 2nd overall.
While I want to play again, 16+ weels is a long time. I'm taking a "season" off.
-- Post From My iPod Touch
2 Weeks To Go
We finished up another game. Again, 2 people don't show. The league has become a bit of a joke. 4 people? Seriously?
This time it was me, host, new kid and drunky.
The game actually started early. I really wanted to put some points between me and the host, but with Drunky, it was unlikely. He plays fast and loose and likes to bluff. Host is patient and can wait for the big hands. Also, with 2 people out, the first person eliminated still gets 3 points to the winner's 6.
I only pick up a few medium hands, and quickly find my way down to about 2/3 my stack. Host is fairing worse, and has about 1/2 his original stack. Host ends up getting super short (limping in with weak hands and folding to a raise) and finally pushes in with a marginal hand. He gets called by Drunky. And is busted. I'm happy because it means I'm gaining at least a point on him tonight, but my stack hasn't been growing. 3 handed, I turn up the aggression a bit, and get some decent size pots. Next thing I know, New Kids is short, and I'm about even in chips.
He's in the BB and a few blinds left. I'm thinking he's practically pot committed in the BB, so I'm very excited with TT on the button. He push and he thinks about folding, but finally decides to call. She flips A9. Perfect. No race. My odds improve with a flopped set when a T hits. Unfortunately he goes runner-runner for a straight (with the 9) and doubles up. I still have a healthy stack though.
Drunky goes out a few hands later.
A few hands later, I push him off a raise, when he tells me he has only 28 behind after he raises to about 15. After I counted it out and pushed all in, figuring I still had him outchipped if he doubled up, he corrects his count and tells me he had 48. Now, if I paid attention to his actual stack I would have clearly seen that he had 2 stacks of 20, not 1. But I didn't look over, I just relied on his info. My mistake. But I was still steaming, but couldn't say anything or he might call and he was definitely contemplating a fold. In the end, he folds and I increase the chip lead. The final hand, I manage to come from behind. I had T8 sooooooted. We see a cheap flop of 6-5-3, 2 of my soot. He's short, so I push and he calls with 54. I get there on the turn, but it's a 6s so he has outs. He doesn't boat up and I manage my 2nd win in a row.
Good news is that I gained 3 points on the Host. Putting me 7 points in the lead. Which means, no matter what happens in Week 15, I will go into the final week with AT LEAST a one point lead, even if I don't show up and get 0 points.
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
3 Weeks Remaining
I know I still haven't been posting much, but I have been playing the league game every week. We took a 2 week break for the weekend before Xmas and the week after. This worked out very nicely for me, as I was probably going to miss each of those.
My last post on the 11/29 looked to be a day before our week 8- Double Week. Honestly, I don't remember too many hands at this point.
I know I got to heads up against the New Kid. We were about even in chips and I need a cash inflow, so I agreed to a chop (as 2nd place BARELY gets their money back) and play out for 1st vs 2nd. It's only 2 point difference but 2 points is 2 points.
A big hand developed, which crippled me. On a Q high flop, I get it all in with KQ. Unfortunately, New Kid had flopped 2 pair. That left me with 50 chips out of 720 total chip. He played tighter than he should with that big of a chip lead and miraculously, I came back to win and get the 2 extra points. In the end, he seemed to think it was ridiculous to play so long for 2 points, but I knew I needed them. At that point, I had a bunch of 3rds and 4ths while New Kid and Host were gettings 1st and 2nds (Both also had a couple of early bust outs). I was in 3rd place overall, and this week gave me a big catapult closer to Host, as he finished 4th (gained 6 points on him).
A week later I went to the monthly home game (showed up late) on Saturday and didn't do anything in any of the 3 games we played. The next day I went to play week 9 of the League. Just like usual, I finished 3rd to New Kid's 2nd and Host's 1st.
The following week (Week 10) I managed a 2nd place to Drunky with Host and New Kids being the 1st two out. Unfortunately, 2nd place only paid $10, so I still lost for the night. Though, this somehow put me in 1st place by 1 point.
We had the 2 week break and then Week 11 . The first game of the new year. I had high hopes. No New Kid... nice time to get some points. Host finishes in 3rd, I managed 2nd to Tiltbox, gaining an extra point on the Host. Unfortunately, 2 people no showed, which means 2nd place gets NADA!
Week 12, again, 2 people don't show. New Kid busts 1st, Host busts 2nd. I'm heads up with Drunky, putting yet another point between Host and I. This heads up match went back and forth. I slowed played 2 pair on the flop and got it all in when Drunky turned the Wheel. Again, no money, but a valuable point.
I go into Week 13, with only 1 win under my belt, but a small lead in points. We have, what has now become a full game. 5 players, as Muscles has quit. Drunky and Tiltbox are the first 2 out, leaving the usual 3 people (Me, New Kid and Host). New Kid has a MOUNTAIN of chips. Host has me covered, and I have less than my starting stack. I haven't had a hand all night. I wina big pot 3 handed, when I call a big bet on the flop with the a jack-high flush draw. I get there on the turn and check hoping New Kid bets. He checks. The river is a blank and New Kid goes all in. I think about folding (the kid is tight). But figured I called the flop hoping to hit my flush. I did and the river was a brick, why would I fold? I call and get a nice double up when the New Kid shows the straight. In the meantime, Host is tilting a bit. He's flopped a couple of big hands, but loves to slowplay and has lost two big hands because of it. One to New Kid and one to me. In my hand, I had QJ and limp in on the button. I probably should have raised, but I was playing tight. Flop comes 578. It checks around. Turn is a 9. Again, it checks around. The river brings a beautiful T. Host checks, I bet the pot and he calls. Another hand he loses 2 pair to a rivered something. A few hands later, I fold the SB, (with K5 sooooted) when Host (button) raises (blinds are 5/10) host makes it 20. New Kid calls. Flop comes KQJ. I forget the action, but all the chips get in. Host shows KQ for 2 pair, and New Kid has AT for the straight. Host can't believe is bad luck. Sure the host had 3 outs (since I folded a K- and let him know). He turns the case K and busts New Kid.
Heads up I'm at a chip disadvantage. But manage to slowly chip up. One of the final big hands (still @ 5/10), I have J8 sooted and hit middle pair with the 8. We both check. A Q comes up and he bets 20. I call. A K on the river and he bets 40 (this leaves him with just under 40 chips). I think, but really think I have him. I call and show the 8. He mucks. 2 hands later, he goes all-in blind. I look and see K9 and call. He shows K4 and I bust him.
Only my 2nd win of the season, but I'm in 1st. I have 64 points, to hosts 60. New Kid... I think he has about 55. 3 weeks left. We'll take the final week off, as it falls on Super Bowl Sunday.
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
I Told You...
I made a small deposit on FTP tonight, and I started playing again. I'd been jonesin' to start playing again, more than just the league.
I'm not a fan of online poker but it's where you can play anytime for small stakes.
I started playing some $6.50 turbo 6 handed SnGs and booted up a .25/.50 short handed NLHE table.
The turbo's showed me no love. I played two and didn't cash. Minus $13.
At the cash game, I had better luck. I started with $20, which was about average stack, though one person have over $100. Over 45 minutes, I played about 50+ hands.
Five hands in, I'm dealt KhKc in the SB. UTG limps, button limps, and I make it $2.50. Both Limpers call. The flop is 8d-3s-Qh. I decide to check, hoping for a check raise. The pot is $8, and UTG bets $5. Button calls. I make is $16.50 , which puts SB all-in, but the BUtton has $45 behind him. UTG calls, button folds, and UTG Shows Qc,Js. I take down a $40 pot.
The next hand I have KJo and raise it on the Button to 1.75. SB Ships for $11 more so I fold.
Ten hands later I'm given another big pair. The ladies. QcQd. I'm UTG and make it the standard pot bet (1.75). The BB calls (BB was the Button on the KK hand). Flop comes 664 rainbow. BB Checks, and bet 3.00 (Just under a pot bet). BB calls. The turn is not the prettiest of cards, 5c, putting a flush draw out there. BB Checks and I fire a more than 1/2 pot bet (6.50 into 9.75). BB Calls. The river is a 3s, no flush, but putting a 4 card straight out there. Is he calling with a 7? Unlikely, but could have trips already. The BB Checks, and I decide to check and let my QQ do the talking. They talk loud enough and I scoop a $20 pot. The BB had Js4s.
At about the 20 hand mark, I win 4 small pots in a row. Including, completing the trifecta of top pair hands when I get AA and take down the blinds.
So, in case I thought I was playing awesome, in 25 hands, I had QQ, KK, AA.
At hand 35, I'm dealt 2 Black Aces on the button. Sweet!
UTG+1 raises to $2.00. I make it 6.75 from the button. The BB pushes all-in ($17) and the initial raiser tanks for a few seconds before he pushes in. I insta-call. I'm up against the BB's KK and UTG+1's AJ. I sweat the river, as there's a chance at a split pot with AJ, but it bricks and I take another $40+ pot.
The last big hand of the night comes against the other big stack. I have $80 and he had $140. UTG I'm dealt 4c,4h. I limp. Big Stack makes it $2.50. The BB calls (He's been in a few of my big hands). The Big Stack has been playing really tight, letting people hang themselves. I've been avoiding him, but with the BB calling, I'm not ready to throw the pair away yet.
I hit near perfect. 3h-4d-3s. Now I have to decide how to string him along. I could lead out. That would be tricky. But if he has nothing, he will probably fold. I'm hoping he'll C-Bet with anything. He's played pretty tight, which is why I've avoided him so far.
Big Stack bets 5.50 into a 7.75 bet. He really hasn't played many hands yet, and I'm not sure if this is standard for him. BB gets out of the way. I just call.
Wait, did I say near perfect? I'm mistaken. The 4s on the turn gives me Quads. DEMS QUADS BITCHES! I decide to check again. See if he'll bet. He does. $12.50 into a $18.75 pot. Now, I'm REALLY at a quandry about what to do. Do I check raise here and hope he has something. I doubt he'll call or push with anything but a huge pair. I opt to let him catch up and just call. I'll bet out on the river. I don't think I can check it and let him check behind. The last card is about as good as I can hope for. 3c. A Boat on the board. I think for a few seconds, before I bet about 1/2 pot. He insta-mucks. I shoulda bet bigger, make it look like I was trying to push him off playing the board. Another $40+ pot my way.
I won a few small pots. The only one worth mentioning was a SB vs BB hand. I had 6c8c in the SB and it folds to me. I just limp. The BB makes it $2.00 and I call. The flop is 8d-Kd-7c. I check, planning to check-raise a C-bet. He bets 1/2 the pot. I raise him enough to pretty much put him all in. He folds and I win $8.
So I ran well, to say the least, in the cash game, turning $20 into $100.
Now, despite getting beaten over the head with the deck, I have to remember, the key to these low stakes games is patience. Wait for the big hands. People will play poorly and give you their money. Trust me, I know... I'm usually giving away my money when I re-raise with my KJ.
I haven't had the patience in my league, maybe I can turn over a new leaf. Patience pays off. So does getting KK, QQ, AK, and AA in 25 hands.
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
Layout
Yuck. I don't know what happened to my blog, but that format exploded in a barrage of bad links, so I'm in the process of editing and deciding on new format.
For now, I'm off to read some poker blogs. I have a bunch in my old bloglines account. But I haven't read a poker blog in a long time. I'm off to find some good ones.
Anyone know any good ones on strategy?
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
http://www.twitter.com/unimpressed
Back... for a little while anyway.
I rejoined the league again. We're almost half way through and I have yet to win. I managed a second once. Unfortunately, there are only 6 people in the league this run; me, host, drunky, muscles, tiltbox, and a New Kid.
We just finished Week 7. Host has finished 2nd almost every week. New Kid has managed a couple of wins. Drunky has busted 1st every time but once. I'm in third (out of 6, it isn't great). Host isn't likely to make too many mistakes so I need to play better the second half and manage a few wins if I want to compete.
The problem is that I have been playing bad. In the first 2 weeks I think I played ok. Managing to lose only a little in cold deck situations but wasn't getting hands when I needed it.
After those weeks, I just started playing bad. Too many bluffs, loose calls, too few continuation bets. Bad timing on hands doesn't help either.
Two weeks ago I busted to the big stack when I raised 2x in position w JJ. Muscles called. The flop came Q 8 4. My stack had about 2-3 times the pot. I figured I couldn't bet then fold to a re-raise, so I pushed and ran into AQ.
Not. Much could have been done about that had. Last week, 3 handed on the button and pretty short (about 8x in my stack), I have K9. I figure I can pick up the blinds, so I shove. Drunky (SB) thinks a moment then calls (I have him covered). Tiltbox tanks. He doesn't want to call 2 all-ins but has a mountain of chips. He finally calls, and I'm somewhat relieved to see 77. Unfortunately, Drunky has A9. I sheepishly flip over my cards and tell them, "I was just funnin'". The flop has a K but also an Ace. Drunky triples up and I'm crippled (2x BB) and bust out the next hand when I'm BB.
So another 9 weeks of the league and I'll probably take a break after that. Maybe stick to the occasional monthly home game and hit the casino when I can save some scratch.
A Run for the Sun
I'm annoyed. I had typed notes into my iPod all night, and deleted it when reviewing. So my notes won't be as complete.
Friday night I decided to hit Mohegan Sun again.
I really prefer Mohegan Sun. The poker room is smaller, but it is also less crowded. I got there at 6:30 and was seated right away. The entire night they filled empty seats quick, and there was not much of a wait and the list was never long.
The night felt weird. It felt like I as up and down, but in reality I was never down.
I bought in for 200 instead of the usual 100. I liked this much better. I felt like I could do things and not just wait. I was able to limp into a few pots early on. One paid off. Only a few hands in, and it limps around to me. I have AJ and decide to call. I don't want to go nuts with a mediocre holding and I'm really only 4 or 5 hands in. It limps all the way around. It ended up being 9 people into the pot. This became a regular thing. Not THAT many, but there were a lot of limpers. The flop comes A99. It limps all the way around. I really wanted to see what kind of action it generated. I doubted anyone had a better ace (even that early I figured AQ, AK would raise). THe turn was a blank, but put a flush draw on the board. It checks to me and I put out $15. It folds all the way around to the "guy" on my immediate right and "he" goes all-in.
I say "guy" because I thought it was a guy, until that moment, I thought it was a guy. Tall, quiet. Turns out... no. Oops. So much for observations! She has a small stack (lots of people buying in short). Only about 35 more. I look at my stack and think about folding. Smells a little like a 9. But because of the flush draw, I felt there was also a big chance that she had the flush draw. I make the call and she flips over AT. I think the flop check worked in my favor there, but probaly not a good idea.
I continue to build a stack. My favorite hand of the night was my call with Q high. Unfortuantely, this is where my lack of notes hurts a bit. Raised pot (raised to 6), I call with QJ. The board on the flop reads AT8. I check and the raiser checks, the turn is another A. I check and the raisor bets about 10. I just think he's trying to take the pot and think I might be good. I call. The turn is an 8. I definitely feel I'm good here. I check hoping for a small bet that I can call. He knuckles and I show my Q high. He says I'm good and I drag a small pot. It was nice to trust my read and willing to go with it. Though a big bet on the river and I would have folded, not trusting myself that much.
At one point, I get my stack to a postive $175. I'm feeling good, having fun and I start to throw the tips around generously. Redbirds, even if I'm just picking up the blinds and a couple of limpers. Redbird for the waitress. It was fun and I was trying to buy Karma. Unfortunately, with my profit, comes looseness. And next thing I know, I'm down to just above my original $200. It's 9pm and I figure it's time for dinner.
I take a 30 minute break, get a mediocre buffalo chicken wrap, some nasty pasta side dish. The break pumped my mood up a bit, I changed the music in my iPod to something more upbeat and sat backdown to play.
Four hands in, still at $200, I look down at AA. I raise it to 12, and 2 limpers. A guy pops it to $50 and I do a little flip. Folds to me and I raise it to $125. The limpers fold (one guy, an asian dude, really struggles with his fold, but he's been like that all night). The last guy tanks. You can tell he wants to fold. He doesn't have the discipline (I don't know if I would have), and pushes his stack in. He has me slightly covered. I'm glad he pushed and not just called. Even though it would have been more than 1/2 his stack. He might have gotetn away from the hand on the flop. He flips the obvious KK. The door card is paint, but turns out to be a Jack. Which is promptly followed by an A. I have a sick feeling he's going to go runner runner for a straight, but I dodge that get my stack to over double the buy-in.
The rest of the hands are escaping me. I know I lost about $100 on speculative hands, but built it back up on a lucky hand.
The asian dude who reluctantly folds, raises it up. I call with AsJh. The flop comes KsJs3s. 2nd pair and the nut flush draw. I look at the ADWRF's stack. It's small (around 80), another short buyer, who's taken a few beats. I bet out 20. He thinks for a few seconds and pushes all-in. I've seen him bluff before, and feel he can definitely be bluffing here. I don't think he has the flush because he pushed. I thought he would just call if he had the flush, and push on the turn if no spade came. He could definitely have a K or even a J here. If it wasn't for my Ace of spades, I definitely fold there. Most of this thought process happened before I bet out. I decided if he re-raised me I was going to push on him or even call. So the as soon as I said "All-In,"I insta-called. As I put all the thought into it already, I liked my insta-call even more, after the hand, for the simple fact it tilted the guy big time. Neither of us showed our hands. Which was a common at this table. No spade came, but an Ace on the river gave me 2 pair. He confidentally flip my 2 pair. He just stared as his cards and shook his head over and over. Mumbled to himself. After about a minute, he finally mucks.
For the next few hands, I hear him muttering about the insta-call. What made me even happier about his tilt, is that he is one of those guys that, after the hand, just stares at his cards. As if something is going to change. He did it to me, and he did it a plenty of times before and after that. Someone can show the nuts, and he'll just stare at his hand like he can somehow make it better. We have someone like that in one of our home games. It is annoying. Felting the guy, made it less so. He reached in for another $60 and would later lose that too.
In the end, I called it a night shortly after midnight and with a nice little profit. I was thinking about making another run Friday, but turns out a home game is coming around on Saturday, and I haven't been to one in a while. So I think I'll do that one instead.
Until next time.
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
The End of a Long Road
A quick recap. The league has been over for a month or so. Nothing is really fresh in my mind.
Week 13
Not much to remember, except I finished 3rd. That would be nice except Tighty & Tilty finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Also, Walken lost his job and quit the league.
Week 14
An interesting weeka. I card dead for most of the night, but managed to squeak into heads up against the Host. I got all the money in 4 or 5 times with the worst of it... Amd won them all. I was never dominated, but he was always ahead and all were better than a coin flip. It helps to be lucky. The last hand Host pushes. I look at an Ace and call. He has A2 and I have AK. I take first place.
Week 15
I don't remember anything specific about this week. I finished 1st again, heads up against the Host again. I remember he started with a big chiplead but I was patient. I hit some hands and bluffed a few hands to gain the chiplead and took it down.
The Final Week was coming up. Double Buy-in, Double Points. It didn't matter. Witb Week 15's win, and 2 people who quit the league, I was guaranteed 6 points which meant I was untouchable for overall 1st place.
Week 16 still pays almost 300 to first place. Unfortunately, l finished 4th. Tilty won and took 2nd overall.
I ran amazingly this series. I finished 1st or 2nd 10 out of 16 weeks.
Tighty is gettiing married soon so hey are taking some time off. I'm still undecided about doing another series. It is such a long committment. I also benefited from the Hosts personal problems, Walken's constant no-shows and Slappy's tilt. As the only other good players, it made me the odds on favorite. Also, it's a lot of money, $450. The final point is that other than the Host, I wouldn't classify any as "friends." I don't hang out with any of them outside the game. I might invite Tighty to other games, but that's about it (again, except for the Host). With this being a 16+ week committment, I find it hard to make it to either of the other monthly home games or the casino.
On the Positive side, I do get along with them, and enjoy myself most of the time (only one of them is an asshole). I am also playing poker EVERY week, which is a good thing. Plus playing with the same people will helps me with my observation skills at the table, which I often lack. Finally, while I definitely ran good for the season (6 first place finishes and a split), I am definitely one of the top players in the game. The game is definitely beatable.
Maybe I'll take a season off again. I have a few weeks go decide.
I'll keep anyone still reading this blog informed.
A Trip To The Sun
The Legendary Dawn Summers from IHadOuts.blogspot.com was heading up to Mohegan Sun with Aceste and 3some Mary and wanted to know if I would join them. I did.
I played my usual bad short-stacked cash game poker, limping into too many pots. I really should buy in for more. I bleed chips until they show up. When they finally do, they want to go to dinner (Hey Dawn! The ocean called. They're running out of shrimp!) but I want to finish the round. I'm already down a buy-in and a half. UTG and I'm dealt Kh5h, the Le Dawn. Must be a sign, right? I limp (1/2 NLHE). There are 2 more limpers and an aggro asian with a big stack bumps it to 12. It folds around and I obviously call. Fold, fold.
I'm not too concerned with asian since he has a habit of raising limpers. My main concern is that I'm calling a raise out of position with Le Dawn of Hearts. Is that -EV? I think, me playing pomer is -EV.
The flop is j98 one heart. I check, he checks.
Turn is a 2nd heart. I decide to bet out 10. Aggro Asian raises to 30. I have 40 behind, so obviously I call.
The river brings the dirty little heart. I sheepishly toss in my last 20 and even more sheepishly tell the dude "I got there." he really has no option but to call. He flips over the T7 for the flopped straight. I stack my ill-gotten chips and head to Dawn's shrimp fest.
I'm more of a Enjoy The Meal type person, as opposed to Dawn's Beat The Casino Anywhere You Can method of dining. She might have gotten a better deal for the buffet (plus it was comped for her hotel shuttle ride), but I tried a lot of food and didn't feel the need to sprinkle my ice cream with shrimp. Did I mention she ate a lot of shrimp?
Before dinnef ended I went back and picked up my chips since dinner was taking longer than the 45 minutes before they pick up your chips. However, I ended up back at the same table. I didn't like my seat so I ended up moving 2 seats to the left of aggro asian.
I don't remember much of the night except for hitting the K-high straight flush. My call on the turn with 12 outs. But was able to value bet my hand.
In the end, I was just above even.
The last hand of the night tilted me, though it shouldn't have.
Middle position and I'm dealt KK. A couple of limpers and I raise to 15. Button calls and old guy limper calls.
Flop is Q89. Old Guy checks. I was going to bet but the button looks like he wants to bet. I check and the button bets 20. Old Guy calls and with about 80 in the pot, I push for all-in. Button folds and Old Guy stares at me. It's an additional 115 for him to call. I know I'm ahead. I decide to try to induce the call. I smile and wink at him. He sees that and instantly calls. He shows QT for top pai and the gut shot. I show my KK.
The tilt isn't the suckout, its the slow roll by the fucking dealer. Before he flips the turn, I know I'm beat. The dealer starts to flip the river but then stops and just looks at it. Fucker. Q. The river is a blank and I angrily push my stack in the middle. Didn't even count his chips to see if I got any back, which was stupid.
On the way home, I was steaming. Why would the dealer do that? One asshole in he league does that. But that's a home game. For some reason it popped into my head that he may not have burned a card on the turn. No way to prove it after the fact, but would explain his pause. Nothing I could do about it on the way home. I was still tilty when I got home so I left my daughter in our bed where she fell asleep and felt better.
Next Post: the final league recap.
-- Post From My iPod Touch
Weeks 10, 11, 12
Slappy is off to Vegas, but has decided not to continue with the league. Too bad, but I'm not going to sweat it. Despite the money going involved (over 16 weeks, you're putting in $450 if you show up every week), it really is a bunch of drunk degenerates hanging out, many of them have been drinking and hanging out all day before the game, and just continue to drink during. It's less than professional, and a lot of their shit would get them kicked out of the casino, but ultimately it's just fun for them, and they don't take it seriously.
I don't mind it, but that's probably because I win constantly with them. Not to spoil anything, but in this "season," I've finished 1st or 2nd 8 out of 12 weeks. I'm freerolling for the season and currently have a 9 point lead over 2nd place with 4 weeks to go. It's far from locked up, since the last week can make or break you, but I'm still running well, and could, quite possibly, lock up the season before the final game.
OK, recaps.
Week 10- nothing memorable. I finished 2nd. Tilty took first. He was in 2nd overall, so my lead dropped 1 point. 2 people couldn't make it, so 2nd place only takes 10 bucks, so -15 on the night.
Week 11- I'm sick. I feel like I'm going to puke. I don't want to go, but need to keep the pressure on with my lead. I'm the 2nd player to arrive. While waiting around, I jump up and run to the bathroom and puke my guts out. Ah, I feel better. But I don't play better. I'm the first one to bust. I busted on a bluff. I have pocket 5s. Flop comes K7x. Host bets out. I don't think he has a K (just a feeling), so I call, planning on taking it away on the turn. The perfect card (other than a 5 comes), an 8. I check, Host bets again, and I push all-in. I'm thinking he may have a7 and would have to fold, and/or can put me on 78 and even if he has a weak King could fold it. He tanks for some time. And this is where I get a little pissed and can understand Slappy's frustration. People start hootin' and hollerin' saying he should call, just acting all macho, and stir up action. I'm a big proponent of the one player to a hand rule, but that doesn't apply here, really. Again, just picture a bunch of drunken frat guys. Host finally calls with a K and I don't hit my set. I'm out. 3 people didn't show, so I still get 4 points for being the first one out. Tilty goes out next, so I only lose one point to him. However, Tighty makes a big come back, heads up against Host and takes it down. This is the first time I've ever seen him win, I think. But his tight play, has him jumping Tilty and taking 2nd place.
Week 12- Another week where I go in saying, "Play Tight, Play Tight." I do and it pays off. Nothing big happens here. Tilty goes out in the middle, so I put some distance there. Tighty goes out 4th, so I gain a point there.
I make one bluff 3 handed and one awefukit call and it pays off. Host is on the button and folds. I'm in the SB (blinds are 5/10) and have Q8. I have about 90 chips. I raise to 30. Walken thinks for a few minutes then says, "Screw it, All-in." I'm about to fold, I count my stack behind me, 57. I have 30 out there. I'm thinking he has a big hand. Ultimately, I decide that since the two people who are chasing my points lead are out, I can afford to call here, since I need chips if I want to win the thing. I probably should have shipped it with less than 10 BBs, but oh well. I call, Walken flips over the 97 soooted. Sweet. We miss the flop, I hit an 8, which at first glance, I'm happy, since it kills the 3 7's he could hit, but then realize it gives him 4 tens for a gutshot. A blank on the river and he's crippled.
After that it's smoothing sailing. I get heads up with Host and about even in chips. I get a slight advantage. The final hand, he limps on the button, I have QJ and raise it to 30. He calls. Flop comes QJx with 2 clubs. I bet out, he pushes, I call. He has the flush draw and misses. I take down another week.
As I stated earlier, that puts me 9points ahead of 2nd place. 3 Regular weeks and one double week left. I have to keep my eye on the prize here and stay focused next week.
Wish me luck.
The Big Double Week.
The Double Week took place one week later. As per usual, I say I'm going to pay tight, but the double chips make me play too many hands. But I sat tight.
Slappy took a few beats and went on some serious tilt.
1) Slappy raises from middle position. One caller (Tighty), maybe two. The flop comes K-K-X, two clubs. Checks to Slappy who C-bets. Tighty calls. The Turn brings an X. Check-Check. The river brings the Tc completing the flush. Checks to Slappy who bets... Now here's where it gets weird. First, assuming Slappy didn't have the flush, which I was pretty sure he didn't, I knew he just threw that bet away. There was no way he was getting called by a hand that he beat. Anyone else, maybe, but not against Tighty. Tighty is about points. He can fold with the best of them. No one folds like Tighty. I figured maybe trip Kings, maybe the flush. So, as I said, Slappy bets, and Tighty calls. As soon as he calls I figured he had the flush. Tighty would just call the nut flush because the two Kings on the board. Slappy shows his AA. Definitely, no way he was going to be called by a worse hand. Slappy says he put the guy on QQ or JJ. Which I pointed out, Tighty would NEVER call there. Not with the flush and the two Kings. The weird part of this hand was that Tighty showed a boat. I think it was KT. A boat and just called? Most of us where flabbergasted. We had no idea what happened. Even now, I'm not sure Tighty even saw his boat. Slappy is visibily upset.
I believe there was another beat before that, where it was Slappy with AK and Host with K8. Host flopped an 8. Called Slappys C-bet on the flop (after much deliberation). Then they both checked it down. While a beat, I saw nothing wrong with anyone's play there really.
2) The Big One. Slappy is low on chips at this point. He's in early position and limps. Limps around. Flop comes Tc8c3c. Walken, in a blind, puts in a small bet. Slappy puts in a raise. Walken, re-raises rather quickly. Slappy calls and shows QcTc for the flush. Walken shows T3 for 2 pair. No sweat when the 3 comes on the Turn giving Walken the boat. He improved to Quads with another 3 on the river. That pushed Slappy over the edge. He grabs his things and basically storms out.
Other than that, nothing exciting happens. My only really interesting hand was a fold. I was in middle position with the short stack. Host in early position raises. He will occasional get out of line, but it's rare. Str8>Flush re-raises all-in (he has me covered). I'm not worried about his hand. He will push with anything. I look down at JJ. Normally, insta-call in this spot. I'm a little worried about Host. I figure his range has hands that have me beat and some that I have beat and crushed, plus the 2 races. Ultimately I figure I'm about 50-50 with his range. I think, because I was short, and this is a league about points, I was looking for a reason to fold. I finally, reluctantly fold. Drunky comes over the top. Host says he was just kiddin' with his A9 and folds. Str8>Flush shows A9, Drunky shows AQ. Shoulda called. I had to avoid 3 Qs and an Ace. Even worse, the final board was 25522 for a chopped pot. Dang, would have tripled up. In the end I busted in the middle to add some points. Maintaining my position in first.
To Be Continued...
Let's Catch up
We finally got the league started again. It was about a month and a half before we re-started. We skipped the double week just so we because we wanted to get the league restarted but 3 people couldn't, so we just played a regular week.
I was still running well, getting hands and playing well.
The first big hand, I flopped the nut flush draw. I made the flush on the river and was able to value bet the Host on the river.
The very next hand, I get KdTd. Bunch of limpers. The flop is Ad3c4s. Muscles leads out. I have no idea why, but I called. Drunky calls, too. The turn is the 2d. Muscles checks, I check and Drunky puts in a min bet. We both call. The river is a beautiful 5d putting a straight on board but giving me the nut flush. Muscles checks, I bet about 1/2 pot. Drunky makes a min raise. Muscles calls and is all-in. I push all-in. Drunky thinks for about 30 seconds and reluctantly calls. Muscles shows a flopped 2 pair (but plays the board). Drunky flips 67 for the nut straight. I show my flush and bust 2 players.
After that, i just hit every hand and couldn't lose. I busted Slappy when I overplayed a small flush draw. Slappy called my re-raise push with top pair no kicker. I rivered the flush. Slappy was not happy that I re-raised his flop bet with a weak flush draw.
I went up against the Host heads up. I had a big stack against him. It didn't last long. Host pushes all in. I wanted to fold my A2 figuring I was probably dominated. I made a crying call and host shows JT. I'm pretty happy until the flop comes JTx. I am given some life when a 2 comes on the turn. The Ace on the river ends the tournament. When you hit every hand, you can't lose.
The double week was uneventful for me except the first bust out. But more on that in a different post.
I Hate Online!
I deposited a bunch of money on both FTP and Pokerstars.
Didn't take long for me to lose. Tilted... as usual.
Figured I was done, until I get my rakeback on FTP. So I had a few bucks (very few). So I decided to play a few SnGs and even through some at a .01/.02 table.
The SnGs ended, no horrible beats, I just couldn't get cards.
The cash game really tilted me. Luckily I'm busto, or I'd spew. I doubled up when I flopped a flush and continued to play tight. At those levels, that's all you have to do.
The table breaks down to short handed. It's HU, then 3 handed. A fourth person comes in and sits to my left. I'm in the BB and he comes in. He buys in short and pushes all of it in. I have AK and call. He has 92 suited and hits his hand. No biggie. I'll get it.
He proceeds to donk 1/2 of it off, doing it again. We get to a hand were it's my SB vs BB. I push with Q5s (a little tilt, but thought if he continued to call light, I'd be good). He had A8. The next few hands I had pocket pairs. I kept on pushing it and he kept having overs and winning. Finally ran the last of my stack into someone else's TT. Grrr. Tilt! I hate online.
Still no League, not supposed to be starting until next week. But Slappy has his home game and I'll get to play this weekend. EASY MONEY!
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
Here's the Question.
Do I combine a non-poker blog and my poker blog for one blog? Possibly get more hits, than if I have one blog? Or do I keep them separate...
Maybe just acknowledge my non-poker blog here, make a note when I post or something...
Any ideas?
One downside to combining the two into this blog is that I can't add Google's Adsense since this is considered gambling related.
Screw Up.
Damn it. Totally screwed up my blog format tonight.
Trying to edit the format of a different blog and messed up this one.
Now I have to fix it. Son of a bitch!
Now I just need to figure out how to remove that stupid FEED Button on the top right.
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
Oh What A Night!
So last night I went to Mohegan Sun to play some cards. I haven't been to Mo Sun in a while. I stopped by once when we first moved to CT, but never went back since they didn't have a poker room. I stuck with Foxwoods. But now with Mo Sun's new poker room, it gives me more options to play. More competition is good for the customer.
For those who haven't been, the poker room in Mo Sun is significantly smaller than the one at Foxwoods, but that's not saying much since the Foxwoods poker room is like the 2nd largest poker room in the world... or something to that effect. On a Friday night, there was almost never any wait for 1/2 NL.
Here's a recap of my night.
I play good- I lose.
I play bad- I lose.
I play patient- I win.
I play bad- I win.
I play good- I win.
It was a roller coaster night for me. I got there around 6 and sat down to play. There seemed to be a bunch of people everyone knew at my table. They were all singing the praises of this poker room over Foxwoods'.
To my immediate left, there's an Indian (as in India) dude who didn't seem to know what he was doing, but was a freakin' luckbox. At first I thought his "This is my first time playing" was an angle. But once his luck started to run out, it was pretty clear he wasn't all that good. He had an obvious betting pattern. If he has nothing he folds. If he has a marginal hand, he bets small. If he has a big hand, he bets large amounts, just grabbing handful of chips and tossing them in.
Unfortunately, I didn't pick up any hands against him early on. I bought in for $100. The max is 300, but I only had about $300 on me, so I didn't want to only have one bullet.
The first big hand, my stack is a little low and I limp with KQ. This table is a limpfest (as are many 1/2 nlhe live tables). I flop a Q with 2 low cards, and 2 hearts. One guy who looks like a dorky Bill Cowher, best about 15 into the put, and I push all in for about 70 total. He calls with a flush draw and hits it on the river.
If that was online, I'd probably tilt. But as it's live, I didn't even flinch. Just pulled out another $100 and rebought. This is where I start to play bad. Not horrible plays, just with a small stack I shouldn't really be making continuation bets all the time. Many of my C-bets are called and I shut down. I had one good call with I limped with A9 suited. I hit the ace and put out a small bet of about 20. I get 2 callers, including Indian dude. The turn is a low card and everyone checks. The river is another blank for me. I check, figuring I'm going to fold to a large bet. Indian guy bets 20 and it comes back to me. I was thinking of folding but realized that this is a small bet, and decided he would have bet more if he had something bigger. I call and he turns over 2nd pair and I take down a rare pot.
Unfortunately, my play doesn't improve and I'm left bleeding chips. With only about 40 bucks left of my 2nd buy-in, I get T9 in the SB and limp. Multiple limpers in the pot. The flop was KJ7. One person bets out $10, and I push with by double gut shot. I get two callers and I don't improve. I bust.
At this point, I contemplate leaving. I really don't know if I want to play my last 100. This was the buy-ins for the rest of the League that I was playing with. With $100, I still had enough for the next 3 buy-ins. I saved my seat, but went for a walk.
I love the casino atmosphere. I don't know why, because I hate slots and not a fan of most table games, but something about the lights and sounds of a casino gets to me. It's an energy that is sometimes easy to miss in the face of all desperation you can see.
The worst casino for that was Horseshoe in Bossier City. That was the worst place I've seen. Not that the casino was run down, but it just looked like a place that was only interested in taking old ladies' money. Foxwoods sometimes has that feel.
With the stroll through the Mohegan Sun, I didn't feel that desperation. I made my decision. I hadn't been there long. If I left at that point, the time playing vs the time driving would be about even. Maybe even a little more driving time. Plus, one of my buddies was on his way. Besides, I love live poker. I really do. Even if I'm losing, I'm still having fun. Plus, I have a chance to win money. I take my last $100 and return to the scene of the crime.
Unfortunately, I'm:
1) Still kind of card dead.
2) Playing a poor loose passive game. Lots of limping. Though raises don't get much respect.
Unfortunately, no much happens. I loose a lot of chips to the Indian dude when I flop an open ender and he bets too small for me to fold. But ultimately I have to let the hand go on the river even though the bet was tiny.
I try to hit a few hands, but miss everything. I steal an occasional small pot, but not enough to keep me afloat. I count my chips and I'm down to under $30. Yes, for the night I'm a $270 loser. I'm card dead, but I'm tempted to just push with anything and get the inevitable over with. Ultimately, I convince my self to go into a lockdown and wait for a hand.
When my stack is down to $23 bucks I pick up AK in early position. I can't really raise and fold if I miss, so I just toss in my stack. It folds around to one of the blinds. Some old guy who folds, looks over at me and says, "Oh, you're still there. You haven't played a hand in forever. I thought you left." I coulda killed him. Yes, thanks, just point out how tight I'm playing now. Prick. The SB tanks, and reluctantly calls me. I am happy to see his KJ. The flop gives him a J, but it gives me an A. On the river, it can be split with a T, but we both make Two pair when the K hits, and I double up.
The very next hand I'm dealt AA. I push my entire stack in, but get no callers. I fold, get another big hand in the BB, many limpers, I push and collect those free chips. Soon I'm back to around 100. A little bit of winning definitely puts me in a better mood. I wasn't in a foul mood, but when I was losing, I was just sitting there quietly, listening to my iPod. Now I begin to engage my table mates in conversation.
I look down at another big hand. KK. I raise it up to 12 and get one caller; Russian kid who seems to play a good game. Flop comes with the Ah, 7h, X. I have position on the kid, he checks. I decide to check for 2 reason. I don't like the A, but also maybe he thinks I'm setting him up, if I hit the ace. The turn brings a 3rd heart. Russian guy bets out 20. I tank for a moment. I figure I'm not good here. But how good can his ace be? AK is out since he just called my raise. AQ, that might be out too. Can I push him off his ace? He checked the Ace high. He could have a lower pair or missed and is betting because he smells weakness with my check. I decide I can push him off a weak ace since there's a flush out there. Plus I have a redraw to the nuts flush. I ship in my stack and he insta-calls with AK. Rut-roh. So much for making a comeback. Oops, a beautiful heart on the river gives me the flush and I double to 200. Nice, Only down 100 for the night.
Things fun for me, as Slappy introduces me to the new guy sitting to my left. Rake Feeder (aka Rob). We chat. He's very aggressive. His first hand at the table, he straddles. Bunch of limpers, he raises everyone folds. He has AA. Nice way to start. Nice guy and we chat a bit while playing.
Slappy busts froma SnG and joins our table. Always fun to play with Slappy. Though a cash game in a live casino is a little bit different than playing the home games. A little bit more money at the casinos, but I can't say that I play him any differently.
Also about that same time, a very attractive brunette sits down. She was very flirtatious. And friendly. She pulled out some food. I mentioned that I was starving and she shared. It was good. Another good quality... she seemed to like to use her sexuality at the table and was wearing a very low cut tank top to distract the guys (at least my impression anyway). We chatted a little, but I tried to keep my focus off of her. She did bet aggressively, so I proceeded with caution around her.
I win a decent size pot off Rob. He's to my immediate right and straddles again. I limp with 99. I plan to re-pop him when he raises his straddle. It gets to him and sure enough, he raises to about 17. I repop him to 50. He doesn't take long to call. This worries me a little. Flop is KK3. He checks. Now this is a big leak in my game I think, and I'm trying to work on it. If I see a paired board, I almost always figure my opponent to NOT have the trips there. With only 2 Ks left, he's a small percentage to have one. Apparently, I'm not trying to fix the leak tonight, because I push my stack into the middle. He tanks for a while, shows A and a Q then folds. I take a nice pot there.
Another thing to learn, I'm a magnate for others to have good hands in the straddle spot. Over the last few straddles I've gone up against, I've faced AK, AQ, AK, AA, AQ. Yikes.
Shortly there after, he moves to sit next to Brunette (I was looking to move over there before she came) and Slappy takes Rob's spot next to me.
I decide to get creative and limp with the Qc4c. I see a club flop (with the Ac) and slow play it. I check the flop, it gets bet, I call. I get one additional caller. I don't want to go crazy because if someone has the Kc, they're not going to fold on the flop. No club comes and the original better bets again. This time I re-pop him a good amount. He thinks for a while and then folds.
I'm pretty much unstuck for the night. I've turned a $23 stack to over $300. I'm pretty impressed with that, even if I do say so myself. What I liked about my play was that I didn't tighten up and fear losing. I still didn't have trouble playing hands and putting money in the pot, even if it meant losing my for the night.
My last big hand was against Slappy. He's to my right and raises to $12. I look down at QQ. I re-pop him to $30. It folds back to him and he just calls. The flop comes K high. He checks. I worry that he is going for the check raise here with AK. I check behind him. The turn is a blank and he checks again. This is where I make a mistake. I should probably have bet here since he showed weakness twice. I don't and check behind him. The river is another blank. Slappy fires in $20. A small bet and I call. He has TT and I win a good sized pot.
The rest of the night is slow. Winning and losing small pots. I won more small pots than I lost.
In the end, I went from $-277 to up over $+100.00. A small profit for the night, but an awesome comeback.
This might put me into the casino a little more after the League is over. It should restart next week.
Until then...
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
Less Than Crappy Online Play
I know, surprising.
I got a tiny amount of rakeback and managed to kick that around for a while. I finally went busto again when a few races didn't pan out how I wanted. But at the small limits, I did the right thing and just played tight.
This week is another off week for the League. Hopefully it's the last. In an effort to knock some rust off, I'm going to hit Mohegan Sun tomorrow to check out their poker room. I should some good material this weekend.
-My name is Unimpressed, and I'm an donkaholic.
