Back In The Saddle Again

Kudos to Dr. Phil for being "muy caliente" and to "Anonymous" for reminding me that I have been extremely lax in posts. I was out of action for a long time due to various money issues (car needed new motor, changing apartments) and family fun (visiting relatives and granddaughter moving in with me) so I did not play poker at all for over 4 weeks. Last Friday night I returned with a vengeance.

I had Friday off for the Thanksgiving holiday so played the morning tournament at the Moose. I got knocked out very quickly (bad play on my part) and felt that I had completely forgotten everything I'd ever learned during the 4-week hiatus. However, I decided to get back on the horse and play 2-20 that night. I started with $250 and left with $960. Wow. Woman on fire. I even hit a smallish ($124) straight flush. It was a terrific night. Of course, winning is always better than losing as we all know. I went home fairly early (10:30) because I wanted to see if I could improve at all in my tournament play.

Saturday morning I split the 8:00 tournament with Mike D. and won the 10:00 tournament outright. I guess I remember how to play tournaments after all! I took a break after that to go shopping with my granddaughter and we blew a bunch of money on stuff at Wal-Mart and had our hair and nails done . . . girls day out. I had silly little hearts and clubs put on my nails as they didn't have any spades or diamonds of the correct size. I have hearts and clubs on my card protector so that works.

I gave back my 10:00 tournament winnings Saturday night in the 2-20 game and could not cash in either of the Sunday tournaments, so I was back to being bummed again. I'm so wishy-washy. But last night I won the ladies tournament at the Island so maybe I'm on another up swing. We shall see.

Keep up the excellent work Dr. Phil and to him and to "Anonymous" - hope to see you at the tables soon! If I don't see you before Christmas, I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday.

Writing Because It's Been Awhile

I have been quite lax in blogging lately, but such is life. I was thinking about getting knocked out of the tournament for the seats to first annual Washington Gold tournament on the west side.

In the qualifying tournament I ended up making the final 10 so that I could move on to the final qualifier the next day. Barely. I was very short stacked, hadn't been feeling well at all for over a week (was just finally getting over the flu) and there were still 12 players left. I knew I had to do something quickly because I would be in the big blind in about 4 hands and I just wanted to go home to take a nap. However, I had to fold my hand pre-flop as it was something totally disgusting like Q2 or whatever and wasn't even paying attention when 2 people got knocked out simultaneously on the other table and I was a finalist! I only had 12,000 chips. The final tournament would start with blinds of 500-1,000. At least the nap was in order.

I almost just gave up and slept in because I really wanted to get over the flu bug, but I forced myself to get up and go to the final even though I did not stand a chance. Yeah, yeah, I know - a chip and a chair. Give me a break.

On the very first hand Amanda (under the gun) raised to 4,000. I looked down to see pocket 8s. Why me? If I re-raise, I need to raise at least 3 times what she raised or all my chips. She was under the gun and must have a really good hand. What to do. This might be the only pocket pair I ever see and I am short-stacked. I push all-in. Everyone else folds. Amanda turns over AQ diamonds. At least I am ahead. The flop is K-9-3 with 2 diamonds. Now Amanda is the favorite with her outs of any A, any Q or any diamond. Help! The turn and river are blanks and I survive!! Happy girl! (Side note - Amanda is really annoyed by all this and plays fairly badly thereafter and is out before the first break.)

I was very happy to have doubled up and I played fairly well from then on out, making it through the break and everything. By the time we got down to 11 players, however, I really hadn't had many hands and my chips were basically slipping away. With blinds at 3,000-6,000 I only had 37,000 remaining or just over 6 times the big blind. Not good.

A lady raised (under the gun again) to 10,000. Everyone folded to me on the button. I had pocket 9s. What the hell. This was it. I went all-in and she called immediately. Not good. She turns over AK spades and again it is a race. No spades on the flop. Nothing on the turn. Ace on the river. CRAP!!!!!!

I do not really know why, but I was just heartsick. I calmly said, "nice hand" and quietly walked away. Should I have just called and then shoved when the board flopped? I think she would have called me anyway. But I was just so bummed. There was about 80,000 in the pot. I still wouldn't have had a ton of chips, but I just know I would have made top 5 and been able to go to Renton. PHOOEY!!!!!

I am done venting now. But it took me a long time to write about this and I haven't really played much since. I am busy moving and working on a new budget, so might not play much for awhile, but will try. Hope all my millions of fans (ha ha) don't miss me too much. See you soon!!

My Worst Bad Beat EVER

I have done some nasty things to people on the river, but I think this hand takes the cake and this time I was the victim. Maybe it's payback.

I was playing in the deep stack at the Islands. You get 20,000 chips to start. I had 26,000 or so after the dinner break and was doing well. The blinds were 200-400 with 50 ante. The first person to enter the pot (never found out what he had) made it 1100 to go and four more people joined in the fun before it got to me on the button. I had 10-7 clubs and thought my pot odds were pretty good so I joined in too.

The flop came 9-3-2 - all clubs! I flopped a 10-high flush. Yippee! The first three players (including the original raiser) all checked. The guy next to me goes all-in for 18,000. Gulp. I had already decided to push all-in myself if it was checked to me so that bigger 1-card flush draws would go away, but now I wondered if this guy didn't have a bigger flush already.

I thought maybe he had A-K with the ace of clubs or A-Q ditto. I also thought he might have re-raised before the flop if he had either of those hands. I was just determined that my flush was good and I had him covered (barely) so I called. He turned over - are you ready? Two red fours. OMG. This was the last hand on earth I expected him to have and I quite frankly told him so, which I believe caused my own demise.

The turn was a deuce. The river was a deuce. Full house for Mr. Red Fours. Quite honestly, I am still speechless. I was crippled. I lasted about another hour and went all-in with 6-6 to get called by K-K and my night was over. It was horrific and EVERYONE at the table was amazed by the hand and totally sympathized with me (except of course the guy who beat me). OMG. I might never get over this one and I will certainly never forget it. Wow.

So Long Triple Gutter

My friend Grady "Triple Gutter" Wiggins passed away early this morning after a brief but valiant battle with cancer.

He made life more interesting. He certainly made playing poker more fun. He made me laugh. Anybody who can make other people laugh is OK in my book. Most important - he was a good guy and a good friend. He would give you the shirt off his back if you asked him and didn't care if you ever gave him yours.

He was a good guy and I will miss him dearly. See you later at that big poker game in the sky, Triple. Play good!

Would you fold this hand?

I was rolling along at the Wildhorse tournament on Friday with about 9500 in chips with blinds at 100-200 and a 25 ante. The chip average was 9000 so I wasn't looking bad.

On my small blind the HUGE chip leader at our table raised to 750. Everyone folded to my neighbor on the right who reraised all-in for 10,000 even. This was a huge reraise and I simply didn't believe he had a very big hand because I'd seen some of his reraised hands before. He had also called an all-in of mine when he was holding K-10 offsuit. (I had aces and they held up.)

So when I looked down at QQ I stopped and thought for about 30 seconds. Because of my previous knowledge of this player I simply decided I could not fold and also went all-in. The first guy folded A-K face up.

My opponent also had A-K. This made me feel pretty good. The flop was 10-8-3 rainbow. He stood up. The turn was a jack. He picked up his magazine, said "Nice hand, good luck" and started to walk away. I immediately sensed that I was doomed. The ace hit on the river.

Would you have folded queens in this spot for all your chips with a raise and a reraise in front of you? I later folded queens in the Saturday morning tournament at the Moose in the same situation. (I would have won the hand with a set on the river. Tom had gone all-in with K-9 and Roland reraised with JJ.) I went on to win that tournament so it paid for my trip to Pendleton, but still . . . .

I hate hindsight. I think I should have folded.

Ladies Tournament Part 2

Is it luck? Is it skill? These are the two questions about poker I hear the most. Even after last night, I'm still not sure.

I am now officially at a 67% cash rate in the Island Casino ladies-only tournament. I have played in all six. I have 3 first places and 1 second place. My most recent win was yesterday. After the first 15 minutes I had a ton of chips. The first came on a "lucky" hand when I had J-9 and my opponent had J-K and the flop was J-10-J. We both had trips, but I caught my 9 on the turn and took most of her chips. That was lucky because I was way behind. I had a few hands like this. I was also fortunate enough to have K-K and 10-10 hold up.

At the final table, however, my "luck" deserted me until I was forced to go all-in with suited connectors, 8-7 diamonds. Both of my opponents had big aces and an ace fell on the flop. There was also a seven on the flop and I was "lucky" again by hitting another 7 on the river to scoop the pot. It was on to first place from there.

I must admit that I had a LOT of luck in last night's tournament. At the same time I opted to go all-in with the 8-7 suited with two players raising in front of me because I put them on big cards and hoped that they had each other's outs. I do not know if the other players would think of things like that. Is that skill? Or is it still luck? Questions abound. Nonetheless, it's always fun to win, whether it be skillfully or luckily. :)

Dr. Phil, I Feel Your Pain!

My friend Dr. Phil has been having tough going online lately. Perhaps my little tale of woe will lighten his mood a bit.

I was playing in the $35 deep stack turbo (10-minute blinds, 20,000 chips) at Jokers last night and proceeding nicely, but still had only my original starting stack after the first break.

Shortly after the break, with blinds of 500-1000, SIX people decided to limp in on my big blind. This is unacceptable when I have pocket sevens. I decided that I had the best hand and pushed all my chips into the middle. Everyone folded except Dave on the button who insta-called me with A-K. Drat. Naturally, he flopped an ace and I was finished.

However, I still think I made the right play. I also do not know how Dave insta-called me there unless he thought I was just making a move to pick up all the dead money. I'll never know because I didn't even get the chance to open my mouth to tell him I had a pair before he called me. Ouch.

Poker is fun . . . poker is fun . . . poker is fun . . . repeat endlessly until pain is gone.

Ladies Tournament

The Island Casino has a new ladies-only tournament on Thursday nights. It is only $20 so it never pays very much, but for $20, who cares? It give me a chance to practice and costs basically nothing.

Last night was the 3rd week. In week one, I busted out before the final table. Last week I took second place for a profit (after buy-in and dealer tip) of $100. Last night I took first place for a profit of $120. (There weren't as many players and we paid third place $30, but I can't complain.)

I do not know how I feel about ladies-only tournaments. On the one hand, I feel that I have an edge because it seems like most of them are just there for the cheap entertainment and/or girls night out and very few of them really care about playing a good game. For example, one lady called a rather large raise (pocket jacks) with a K-4 offsuit and flopped 2 pair and thought she was playing well. Ick.

On the other hand, I think playing in ladies-only tournaments is not good for women. I firmly believe that we play just as well (if not better) than most men and we should just storm the castle as it were and take the bull by the horns and never play ladies-only tournaments. I am torn. Any thoughts out there?

On a side note, in the Tuesday night deepstack (also at Islands) there were 40 players and only 4 of them were women. Three of those women were at the final table. When we got down to 4 players it was 50-50 men/women and we agreed to a 4-way split. Not bad ladies!!

Still Winning

Call me butter . . . I'm on a roll. I won the 10:00 a.m. Saturday tournament at the Moose and split first at Joker's that same afternoon. My favorite part of the whole Joker's tournament was this hand:

3 players left. I was in the small blind, Billy Mack in the big blind and JP on the button. We all limped in. I had 7-2. Yippee! The flop was K-7-3 rainbow. I checked middle pair and both guys checked behind me.

The turn was a 6. We all checked again. The river was another king, so I had K-K-7-7-6. I checked. Billy Mack pushed all-in and JP folded. I had Billy Mack more than covered, but my concern was playing head's up without a lot of chips. After about 60 seconds, I decided that if he'd had a king, he surely would have bet the flop or the turn and if he had a 3 or a 6 or possibly a weak ace or something then I had the best hand. I called him and all he had was a 3.

This was fun for me (not for him of course) because just a few hands earlier we had been talking about my luck with the 7-2 and he told JP that I had beaten him with it in several pots in other tournaments (although I really don't remember). He was not happy to be beaten by me holding 7-2 again.

On Sunday at the Moose I made it to 5th place, but they only paid 3 spots. Still not a bad showing for the weekend though. I'm going to try the deep stack at the Island tonight.

Tournament Number Two

Life is GOOD! The ladies-only (no limit) tournament went MUCH better than the limit tournament. I was one of about a dozen ladies from the Tri-Cities and we are a tough bunch. At least four made the money (last 2 tables, 18 players) and yours truly took down 7th place - BIG SMILE!! Carmen V., a very nice lady that I have played with before in some deep stack tournaments took first place! The Tri-Cities did very well, I would say.

This was so cool. Professional players Jan Fisher and Susie Isaacs were also at the final table. I did not know any of the other ladies except Carmen. I lasted longer than Jan, but Susie went out in 6th place. I received the all important Wildhorse cap with "final table" sewn on the back.

I played well all day, but the blinds and antes finally just got too steep for me and I had to go all-in with a J-6 suited in spades under the gun with only 15,000 left and blinds of 5,000 and 10,000 with a 2,000 ante. Carmen called with pocket deuces and hit a deuce on the flop. If she had not hit that deuce, I would have won the hand with a 6 on the turn. Oh, well. As they say, "that's poker".

I played until midnight and spent the night and drove back Wednesday morning to go back to work at 1:00 p.m. I am still pumped about my first "major" tournament win. Thanks to everyone for all the good luck wishes!!

Tournament Number One

Well - as I work for lawyers you would think I would know better than to put anything in writing - LOL. My first tournament was a disaster. I was getting monster cards and having them crushed on the river every time. Because this was a limit tournament, it was simply the wrong time to pick up these big hands. The blinds and betting limits were just too small to keep anyone on a draw from folding. I had aces cracked by a straight on the river, kings cracked by a set of queens, etc. It was a nightmare. I was out by the first break - 1.5 hours. Phooey.

However, I am still confident. I do not believe I played poorly at all - just had atrocious luck and could not get anyone to fold. I think I will do much better in the ladies only tournament tomorrow. It's still in writing. Wish me luck!!

Putting it in writing

OK, I am going to get really audacious about my poker skill/luck. I am playing in two tournaments at the Pendleton poker round-up - one this Friday (limit) and one next Tuesday (ladies only).

I am putting in writing : I firmly believe I will make the final table or, at a minimum, cash in one or both of these tournaments. I am feeling really good about my game right now and if I use my best weapon (woman's intuition), think things through and not be in too much of a hurry, and not pull any bonehead moves, I can and will do it!

I will keep you posted as to the outcome of each tournament. Wish me luck!

Last Woman Standing

The Crazy Moose had its qualifying tournaments for its Pendleton round-up prize package last weekend. I decided to play the 3:30 Sunday flight so I could just go right into the finals if I was so lucky. I got lucky early when my pocket queens held up against Thuy's K-J. She was playing in her usual aggressive style and knocked out 2 players early and had a huge chip stack which she proceeded to "donk" off in about 30 minutes. She could have just sat there and never played a hand and made it to the finals, but that's not her style, for which I thank her. Anyway, her chips helped me make it to the finals, although I only had 27,000 and a lot of the other players had over 40,000. But, hey - a chip and a chair! (I was also very happy to win 2 hands with my 7-2 offsuit - always fun!!)

The 2-table final started at 7:00 and I lasted until there were 6 or 7 players remaining. I made a terrible call on the second hand of the tournament, pitting my A-K offsuit against pocket kings and hitting an ace on the turn. Other than than, I believe I played very well. The A-K of clubs was my final hand against pocket jacks, so I guess you could say A-K got me off to a very good start and also finished me off! Nevertheless, the Crazy Moose had a "last woman standing" prize for the finals and I won that, so I get to play in the ladies tournament on Tuesday the 20th with free hotel stay that night. Wish me luck!

Three "Phooeys" in a Row

Last Saturday morning in the 8:00 tournament, I ended up a little short stacked and was very happy to find pocket rockets in my hand with a raise in front of me, so naturally I shoved all-in. Old Joe called me with pocket 7s and hit a seven on the flop and I was gone. Phooey.

At the 10:00 tournament, being in just about the same predicament, Donna limped in and Grady moved all-in with just about 300 more chips than me and I looked down at pocket jacks. Again, I naturally moved all-in. Donna called. She had limped in (which is quite normal for her) with a pocket pair (9s). Grady had A-8 suited in spades. Once again, I was a huge favorite. Grady hit his ace on the river. Phooey.

The 12:30 deep stack tournament at Jokers was the worst, however, because I was 2 away from the money. There were only five players left and I had K-J clubs on the button and I raised 4 times the big blind. I got called by one player. The flop was jack high with two hearts and I went all-in. He had A-7 of hearts (naturally) and called me on a draw and got there. Phooey.

Three tournaments in a row . . . I was a huge favorite either before the flop or after the flop, although not quite so much on the last hand, but still . . . very phooey. It's always said that if you play well and you get your money in with the best of it that you should be proud of yourself and I guess I am, but it still doesn't make it any easier.

I'm such a whiner. Phooey.

Will She Ever Fold?

In playing a tournament this weekend, I tried in vain to get a calling station to fold. This woman almost always plays 95% of the hands dealt to her. If she folds two in a row, I am amazed. So I guess it comes as no surprise that she knocked me out of the tournament because she just would not fold.

I had A-10 offsuit on the button and she was in the small blind. There were no raises in front of me and I suppose I could have simply checked, but I wanted to take the pot right there. Blinds were 100-200. I raised to 500 and she called. The big blind folded. The flop came Q-Q-J, which was not too pretty, but did give me a gutshot straight draw. She checked to me and I bet out 600. She looked like she wanted to fold, but she called anyway. Good grief.

The turn was an 8. I bet 1200. I knew she had to have something, but I did not put her on a queen or a jack. I thought she might have a straight draw too. She called after about 30 seconds.

The river was a four. I decided that there was no way she would fold unless I forced her to, so I just pushed all-in. She went into the tank for a good two minutes. If she called and lost she would only have 600 in chips. I honestly did not think she would call because she was taking so long to think about it. She finally said, "I just want to see if I'm right" and called me. OMG. She had a pair of threes. I was knocked out.

I honestly do not understand this hand. Yes, I had nothing, but she had to think I had something, didn't she? I don't think I made any crazy bets to make her suspicious. I was the original raiser. She just honestly confused me with the call. She could not beat a four. I am still flabbergasted.

Sheeeeesh!!

Etiquette & The Poker Player

Is there anything more annoying for a poker player than the slow roll? Not much, but I can tell you that in the last two tournments I played in, there were two different jerks at the tables and, unfortunately, they were both at MY tables. Phooey.

Jerk #1 was in the early tournament. He was just simply rude and sarcastic all the time. One time he flopped a set and when the hand was over a newer player said, "Nice trips". Jerk #1 had to make sure that the newer player was berated for not knowing the difference between a set and trips. I have told players the difference also, but I like to think I was nicer about it than this guy, who said something like, "Maybe you should go back to your poker books and start over."

Jerk #1 was exactly that - a jerk - during the entire tournament and I was super annoyed that he took third place, but glad he didn't make any real money. After he left the room, the player who knocked him out was congratulated wholeheartedly by the other player. The dealer indicated to the poker room manager that there had been many complaints by many players about Jerk #1. He told anyone within ear shot that if we had future problems with Jerk #1 that we should let him know and he would take care of it.

Jerk #2 was in the second tournament. The player in Seat 1 won a hand from him and he began to berate Seat 1's play. Seat 1 tried to defend himself in what I thought was a friendly manner but Jerk #2 was having none of it and after a couple of back-and-forth exchanges, Jerk #2 said the "f" word. Seat 1 indicated that he did not appreciate that, at which point Jerk #2 used the word again. The dealer then got involved and fireworks ensued. The floor finally had to be called over. Jerk #2 then tried to defend his use of the word and the floor would have none of that either. Jerk #2 was told to shut up or get out. To his credit, he was well behaved for the rest of the tournament. However, the episode was annoying.

Why do people have to behave this way? I can understand someone getting frustrated about the outcome of a hand because we have all been there, but I see no reason to berate other players at any time. Good manners are always important, but in a social game like poker, bad manners should never be tolerated. Just wanted to get this off my chest!!

Soft Playing is Cheating: Play Hard or Don't Play

The title of this blog was borrowed from Chapter 42 of Daniel Negreanu's book, "Hold'em Wisdom for All Players". Some of my friends and I have been discussing "soft playing" lately, so I would like to quote some of Daniel's "wisdom". I will say that I agree with it.

"What I'm about to say may surprise you. You might be a cheater and not even know it.

If you are in a poker game for money and are taking it easy on one of your buddies, you are cheating yourself, your friend, and every other poker player in the game. I realize that's a bold statement, but it's absolutely true.

In the poker world, we have a term for this type of play. It's called soft playing. When two friends, spouses, relatives or flat-out cheaters don't bet against each other, they're soft playing.

Soft playing destroys the integrity of the game of poker and it's wrong, dead wrong. [Bold and italics are mine.]

Poker is not a team sport. It's every man for himself. It's perfectly okay to root for your buddies and hope they do well, but when it's time to play the game, you have to give it your all.

. . . [and] for fairness to prevail, you have to play hard against everyone at the table. That includes Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Betty and Little Timmy. I mean, really, if you can't check-raise your own mother, what kind of player are you anyway?

Soft playing is, more often than not, totally innocent. But you need to be aware that there are snakes out there . . . . "

Thanks, Daniel. And having said all that, I still admit that I was wrong for betting into my friend Phil when I had a made straight flush on the river and was definitely going to get paid high hand money. I just got caught up in the moment.

On the whole, however, I agree with everything Daniel Negreanu said in Chapter 42 and this book in general is a great addition to anyone's poker library.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Boy it was tough in December. Although I did not play that much due to saving money for Christmas and stuff, it was still annoying not to cash very often. I had no extra money at all as I usually do. I was totally bummed.

Going into the new year, it has been difficult to stay focused. At the Sunday 8:00 a.m. tournament at the Crazy Moose, I made it to my SIXTH final table in a row without a cash! Yes, it is wonderful to make it to so many final tables because we know we cannot cash if we don't, but then to get consistently knocked out in 6th, 7th, 8th or 9th (and not 4th or 5th) is extremely annoying.

At the Sunday 10:00 a.m. tournament, having not given up at all, I finally cashed sort of. I got my money back for finishing 5th. After the past couple of weeks, this was a monster weight off my chest.

Then the next night I decided to play the little $15 tournament at the Cable Bridge and took my portion of a 3-way split of first place. I hope my slump is over!! I am going to try the deep stack at The Island tonight so wish me luck!!