The 12:30 tournament on Saturdays at Jokers is one of my favorites, as it is a deep stack with 20 minute rounds. One actually gets to play a bit of poker.
I couldn't lose during the first round except for one notable hand when I played 8-4 suited on the button against a raise (hello Dr. Phil) simply because I was on fire. I think anyone who was on the heater I was on at that point would have done the same thing. I flopped 2 pair and slow played it to my detriment as Dr. Phil got 2 bigger pair on the river. However, I didn't end up losing a lot on that hand, so it worked out OK.
In the end, I chopped 3 ways with Phil and Kim (a dealer at the Crazy Moose). We were trading chips back & forth for a little while & finally decided on the chop. It's always fun to make a profit.
The main thing I liked about this specific tournament was that (despite the 8-4 fiasco) I think I made pretty good decisions throughout. When a person consistently tries to make good decisions on each and every hand, I think the outcome is always better. I must work much harder on this so that my results improve.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Seven Way Split - Kinda Silly
I played in the deep stack (20,000) at the Island Casino for the first time in months. If you make the final table you usually play until at least 11:30 p.m. and since I still work it's kind of a pain, but I figure I can do it once in awhile. They have also stopped the 25 minute dinner break, so that shortens things up a bit.
I did make the final table which was a miracle. In the first 20 minutes of the tournament I made 2 bad mistakes and lost more than half my chips. But I struggled valiantly and continued on. When we got down to 7 players with the blinds at 4,000-8,000, and sitting on a very short stack of just over 5 big blinds, I laughingly suggested a 7-way split. To my total amazement, 4 others wanted to do it. Two players (both fairly large chip stacks) declined so we played on. After about 2 more hands, they both agreed to chop as well.
I really didn't think the 7-way split ($336 total for each player) would occur, but I certainly wasn't going to argue when I was the short stack. They were only paying 3 spots at that point and cash in hand is better than nothing when my odds of cashing were extreme. After deducting $26 tip and $65 buy-in cost it was a $245 profit, which is more than I get in a lot of tournaments in which I take first or second. It was just under $50/hour too, which isn't bad at all.
What do you think? Would you make a split like this at 11:25 p.m. on a Tuesday night with 5 big blinds? I think you would.
I did make the final table which was a miracle. In the first 20 minutes of the tournament I made 2 bad mistakes and lost more than half my chips. But I struggled valiantly and continued on. When we got down to 7 players with the blinds at 4,000-8,000, and sitting on a very short stack of just over 5 big blinds, I laughingly suggested a 7-way split. To my total amazement, 4 others wanted to do it. Two players (both fairly large chip stacks) declined so we played on. After about 2 more hands, they both agreed to chop as well.
I really didn't think the 7-way split ($336 total for each player) would occur, but I certainly wasn't going to argue when I was the short stack. They were only paying 3 spots at that point and cash in hand is better than nothing when my odds of cashing were extreme. After deducting $26 tip and $65 buy-in cost it was a $245 profit, which is more than I get in a lot of tournaments in which I take first or second. It was just under $50/hour too, which isn't bad at all.
What do you think? Would you make a split like this at 11:25 p.m. on a Tuesday night with 5 big blinds? I think you would.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
In the Zone
Do you ever feel like it's not really you who's playing poker? Yesterday felt like that to me.
First, I should preface this by saying that on Tuesday I played the 15,000 chip tournament (15-minute rounds) at Jokers and busted out right before the first round was over. I had not played one single hand (and had folded both small & big blind to raises) when I picked up the dreaded A-A. With blinds at 25-50, Bill somebody-or-other raised to a ridiculous 325. Two people in front of me called and I had A-A on the button. I re-raised to 1,025. Bill insta-called and one of the other players called too. You would think one of these bozos would have noticed that I hadn't played a hand yet.
The flop was 10-5-4 with 2 hearts. Bill bet 3,000. The other player folded and I raised to 6,000. Bill went all-in immediately. Oh dear. We had the exact same chip stack. My first thought was that he had flopped a set with 10-10, but I've played with him before and I really thought he would have re-raised me before the flop with 10-10. That's just the way he is (very aggressive). So I discounted 10-10. I called like the idiot I am for all my chips and he had flopped a set of fives. FIVES for God's sake. Here is another example of me thinking I would never call a re-raise with 5-5 but not assuming that someone else would. Great googly moogly.
Anyway, I made up for it yesterday. I could do no wrong. The flops all came my way. I played any two cards for a bit because I was just hitting everything. It was crazy. My pocket aces held up twice. (Bill wasn't playing which is probably a good thing.) I hit two pair about 6 times. I hit the river several times to win when I was behind. I felt like I was on automatic. And I won the tournament. This is good because I haven't cashed in over a month, which is really unusual for me. I have been making final tables left and right, but not cashing. I needed it, even though there were only 14 players and I only netted $150. I just don't care. It feels really good.
Onward and upward! Now I can play tonight at the Lucky Bridge. They add $700 and the pay-outs are pretty darn good. Wish me luck!
First, I should preface this by saying that on Tuesday I played the 15,000 chip tournament (15-minute rounds) at Jokers and busted out right before the first round was over. I had not played one single hand (and had folded both small & big blind to raises) when I picked up the dreaded A-A. With blinds at 25-50, Bill somebody-or-other raised to a ridiculous 325. Two people in front of me called and I had A-A on the button. I re-raised to 1,025. Bill insta-called and one of the other players called too. You would think one of these bozos would have noticed that I hadn't played a hand yet.
The flop was 10-5-4 with 2 hearts. Bill bet 3,000. The other player folded and I raised to 6,000. Bill went all-in immediately. Oh dear. We had the exact same chip stack. My first thought was that he had flopped a set with 10-10, but I've played with him before and I really thought he would have re-raised me before the flop with 10-10. That's just the way he is (very aggressive). So I discounted 10-10. I called like the idiot I am for all my chips and he had flopped a set of fives. FIVES for God's sake. Here is another example of me thinking I would never call a re-raise with 5-5 but not assuming that someone else would. Great googly moogly.
Anyway, I made up for it yesterday. I could do no wrong. The flops all came my way. I played any two cards for a bit because I was just hitting everything. It was crazy. My pocket aces held up twice. (Bill wasn't playing which is probably a good thing.) I hit two pair about 6 times. I hit the river several times to win when I was behind. I felt like I was on automatic. And I won the tournament. This is good because I haven't cashed in over a month, which is really unusual for me. I have been making final tables left and right, but not cashing. I needed it, even though there were only 14 players and I only netted $150. I just don't care. It feels really good.
Onward and upward! Now I can play tonight at the Lucky Bridge. They add $700 and the pay-outs are pretty darn good. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Changing the Way I Do Things
I've decided I play too much poker. I'm only going to play deep stack tournaments from now on. By deep stack I mean starting chips of 5,000+ and blind rounds of at least 15-20 minutes. I feel that I get to play more poker this way instead of the stupid ram & jam necessary in the short stack 10-minute round tournaments. The deep stacks also pay better and they are not that much more expensive.
Thus, I will probably play only once or twice a month at the Moose ($60) and once or twice a month elsewhere (Jokers for $40 or Island for $65 probably). My goal is to get damned serious and start winning more of these so I can play bigger and bigger tournaments. I would really like to play in more of the Pendleton tournaments or up in Spokane at Northern Quest's Best of the West, but I never seem to hold onto any of my winnings very long.
So, my goal over the next several months is to basically play ONLY tournaments, ONLY deep stack tournaments and to SAVE my damned winnings, which will be the hardest part believe me because I love to blow money. Don't we all?
For starters, I'm playing in the $100 buy-in at Pendleton on Friday, November 4. That's the only one I can afford to play in unless I make lots of money in the tournament. Wish me luck!
Thus, I will probably play only once or twice a month at the Moose ($60) and once or twice a month elsewhere (Jokers for $40 or Island for $65 probably). My goal is to get damned serious and start winning more of these so I can play bigger and bigger tournaments. I would really like to play in more of the Pendleton tournaments or up in Spokane at Northern Quest's Best of the West, but I never seem to hold onto any of my winnings very long.
So, my goal over the next several months is to basically play ONLY tournaments, ONLY deep stack tournaments and to SAVE my damned winnings, which will be the hardest part believe me because I love to blow money. Don't we all?
For starters, I'm playing in the $100 buy-in at Pendleton on Friday, November 4. That's the only one I can afford to play in unless I make lots of money in the tournament. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Worst Player Ever (Me!)
Playing in the Jokers Tuesday night tournament, I had about 22,000 with blinds of 1,000-2,000. I was in the cut-off one seat before the button. With no raises in front of me and 4 limpers, I called with 4-4. (First mistake.)
Flop was 4-8-A, all spades. It was checked around to me and I checked also with my set. (Second mistake.)
The turn was another spade. Oops. Checked to Ryan 2 seats to my right. He bets 3,000. I call. (Third mistake.) Everyone else folds.
The river is a blank and naturally doesn't pair the board. Ryan bets 4,000. I go into the tank for about 1 minute and decide he's bluffing with 4 spades on the board and call him. (Last mistake). Naturally he has Q-J offsuit with the jack of spades.
I honestly believe I could have avoided all this stupidity with a shove all-in pre-flop. Knowing Ryan, I don't think he would have called 22,000 pre-flop with jack-queen offsuit.
On the very next hand I pick up 9-9 and shove my last 11,000 or so into the pot. I get called by K-Q and Q-J and naturally a queen falls and I'm toast. Worst Player Ever!!! (The only two good things about the tournament were that I made the final table (as usual) and that I had (as usual) the best hand when I did go all in.)
Flop was 4-8-A, all spades. It was checked around to me and I checked also with my set. (Second mistake.)
The turn was another spade. Oops. Checked to Ryan 2 seats to my right. He bets 3,000. I call. (Third mistake.) Everyone else folds.
The river is a blank and naturally doesn't pair the board. Ryan bets 4,000. I go into the tank for about 1 minute and decide he's bluffing with 4 spades on the board and call him. (Last mistake). Naturally he has Q-J offsuit with the jack of spades.
I honestly believe I could have avoided all this stupidity with a shove all-in pre-flop. Knowing Ryan, I don't think he would have called 22,000 pre-flop with jack-queen offsuit.
On the very next hand I pick up 9-9 and shove my last 11,000 or so into the pot. I get called by K-Q and Q-J and naturally a queen falls and I'm toast. Worst Player Ever!!! (The only two good things about the tournament were that I made the final table (as usual) and that I had (as usual) the best hand when I did go all in.)
Monday, September 12, 2011
Why Do I Do These Things?
It's official. I'm a poker idiot. I was the first person out at the Joker's 2:00 tournament on Sunday & that's very unusual for me and probably hasn't happened in over 3 years.
My first idiot hand was A-K. I raised the big blind 3x and got 4 callers for a pot of $750 or so. Flop was Q-8-3. I C-bet $300 when it was checked to me and then got check raised the minimum to $600. Did I fold? Oh, no. I reraised to $1800 hoping to induce a fold and representing a big hand. All this got me was 2 free cards, the last of which was my ace and I got stupid again and bet $2000 (we start with 15k in this one & it was early). I was called and he had Q-8 for a flopped 2 pair. Eeeek.
I played a couple of hands after that, mostly folding after the flop. I got bored and ended up playing a Q7 suited in clubs for the extremly stupid reason that it had been a really good hand for me the last time I played when I won with it 3 times. The super stupid part was that I called a raise with it. (Blinds were 50-100 at this point & the raise was to 300. I was on the button.)
The flop was 7-7-5. Yippee!! There were 3 players in the hand. The original raiser (under the gun) bet 300 again. Evan on my right flat called. I raised to 1,000. The original raiser folded and Evan flat called again. The turn was a 3 and Evan checks. I bet 1,000. He raises to 3,000. I call. The river is a jack or queen or some such face card. As quick as lightning, Evan shoves all-in with a big sigh. He has me covered.
I think he's full of it but I think about it for 2 minutes. I call. He has 7-5 and flopped the full house. I don't even show my hand. I say nothing & just get up and walk out, thoroughly embarrassed with myself. Sometimes I seriously think I should just quit. On the other hand, Evan made a bad call pre-flop too, so I guess we get what we get.
My first idiot hand was A-K. I raised the big blind 3x and got 4 callers for a pot of $750 or so. Flop was Q-8-3. I C-bet $300 when it was checked to me and then got check raised the minimum to $600. Did I fold? Oh, no. I reraised to $1800 hoping to induce a fold and representing a big hand. All this got me was 2 free cards, the last of which was my ace and I got stupid again and bet $2000 (we start with 15k in this one & it was early). I was called and he had Q-8 for a flopped 2 pair. Eeeek.
I played a couple of hands after that, mostly folding after the flop. I got bored and ended up playing a Q7 suited in clubs for the extremly stupid reason that it had been a really good hand for me the last time I played when I won with it 3 times. The super stupid part was that I called a raise with it. (Blinds were 50-100 at this point & the raise was to 300. I was on the button.)
The flop was 7-7-5. Yippee!! There were 3 players in the hand. The original raiser (under the gun) bet 300 again. Evan on my right flat called. I raised to 1,000. The original raiser folded and Evan flat called again. The turn was a 3 and Evan checks. I bet 1,000. He raises to 3,000. I call. The river is a jack or queen or some such face card. As quick as lightning, Evan shoves all-in with a big sigh. He has me covered.
I think he's full of it but I think about it for 2 minutes. I call. He has 7-5 and flopped the full house. I don't even show my hand. I say nothing & just get up and walk out, thoroughly embarrassed with myself. Sometimes I seriously think I should just quit. On the other hand, Evan made a bad call pre-flop too, so I guess we get what we get.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Just Bitching
Oh my gosh. Sometimes it's just hard. I was playing in the 20,000 chip 10-minute round turbo tournament at Jokers last night. There were only 16 players that showed up. The weather's too nice I guess. Anyway, first place was $210 and second was $130 with $40 to third (agreed between last 3 players) on a $35 buy-in. So even with only 16 players it wasn't too bad for pay-outs.
I was one of the final 3. I was probably 2nd in chips when the guy on my right raised and put me all-in. Looking down at Q-Q I insta-called because that's a mighty powerful hand in a 3-handed game. He had A-10. The flop was K-J-3. The turn was a blank. Did I really need a queen on the river? Oh, hell no. That gave him a gutshot straight and it was bye-bye Lynne with the best hand before the flop yet again. I took the $40, gave the dealers $5 and went home with my buy-in. Whee.
As I said . . . just bitching. Why me all the time? Phooey.
I was one of the final 3. I was probably 2nd in chips when the guy on my right raised and put me all-in. Looking down at Q-Q I insta-called because that's a mighty powerful hand in a 3-handed game. He had A-10. The flop was K-J-3. The turn was a blank. Did I really need a queen on the river? Oh, hell no. That gave him a gutshot straight and it was bye-bye Lynne with the best hand before the flop yet again. I took the $40, gave the dealers $5 and went home with my buy-in. Whee.
As I said . . . just bitching. Why me all the time? Phooey.
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