8/08/2008

My hottest Riverchasers run ever....

OR...... WHY I SUCK AT HOLD'EM.

I had a run of cards last night in the Riverchasers game that well.... let's just say that I would have made Astin pretty proud. I was dealt pocket Aces four times in the first hour and miraculously, I won with them every time. I also did what I thought was pretty smart considering the group at my table, I showed them all four times. I also played them different all four times, another thing I thought was pretty good poker on my part. Oh and another thing! The only other hand I played in that hour was the trip Aces - Queen kicker I showed, after three players limped into my BB while I held A-Q.

A little recap -

-Five hands played total.
-Five pretty premium hands in the end.
-Five pots won.
-Five nut hands at showdown.

I read somewhere, (in one or eight books) that this was setting up a pretty tight image.

Halfway through the second hour, I decide to pop it up 3x with crap in what would have been my sixth hand played of the night. Riggstad was directly to my left and made a bizarre $1000 raise from the BB. Now I had absolute garbage and was making a move on his BB. I had no intention of pursuing this hand any further at all. Thinking to myself, 'how can I get the most out of this raise and fold?'

BamBamCan: lol
BamBamCan: "Hamma" raise Riggs?
BamBamCan: folds
Riggstad: shows 7s-2s

Of course, it doesn't take a genius to get that lucky and look good in that situation. But after the only other five hands I'd played all night and getting lucky to make the perfect read on an opponent in front of everyone at the table, I'd like to think I was setting up a pretty descent table image. (comments welcome)

So hand number seven that I play, goes like this. There is a standard 3x raise made by early position. It is folded around to me OTB. I was just dealt my fifth pair of pocket Aces. I make it 9x to go. The early position player is the only player to come along and he just simply flat calls. Ok..... I can put him on a high/medium pair and up. (my gut says 10-10 is possible, probably more likely J-J or Q-Q) Flop is total garbage, 2-3-7 rainbow or along those lines. There is a check and I make it pot to go, or approximately 1/2 of the players stack. There is an instant call and I feel like I need to re-evaluate my read. I might be lucky enough to have caught him with K-K ! Based on my play so far, all of which this player has seen for over an hour now, that's the only thing that really makes any sense. Unless we're in an A-A confrontation I suppose. The turn is another un-matching fourth suit junk card. My strategy is simple now, pay attention to something that could make a miracle gut shot draw, or watch for the King that I really think I'm up against. It goes check, check. River is a 9 and means nothing at all to the way the hand has played out. Let's get'em in there! I was shown pocket 9's for the rivered set.

I lose 1/2 my stack and the chip lead on the 7th. hand I'd played in just over an hour and a half, to pocket 9's that are worth shoving the vast majority of your stack into the pot against the second tightest player at the table. (my man G_Cox was there after all! :) ) All I can say is, well played hand sir.... all the way down.!

These are the things that typically make me lose any focus and interest I have for the game. This time, I figured I would not let it get to me. I was playing well and I was playing smart. I still had just over a starting stack and there was lot's of time left. I played two more hands total. I was dealt the JJOK while OTB and Gary and Riggstad both folded to my raise. Then the cards went dead. Really dead! I stayed patient and kept myself busy in the chat box as usual. No cards, chat, No cards, chat etc.... Nothing comes....... nothing at all. Finally while in the SB, I get dealt the Ah-3h and it has been folded around to me. This could be greater than or possibly equal too, what Riggs has been playing in the BB. I make it 3x to go and Riggs of course, makes it my stack to go right after.

Riggstad: hamma raise?

Now I don't know about you folks, but this instantly puts two thoughts into my head. The first is the hammer. Nothing would give my buddy Riggs more enjoyment in the poker world, than showing the hammer one more time. The second is obviously A-A or K-K. All-in pre was not exactly where I wanted to be, to be honest. But when I was just folding and folding and folding, I was also doing what I needed to be doing. I was watching the hands being played and how they were being played out. I can say this, Riggs was having some fun with the chipstack he'd managed to build up. He had all the gears working last night and he was shifting them often. I made a conscious decision to race him. 'I'm probably behind.' is what I said to myself as I hit the all-in button, but I need to win a race to get anywhere no matter what. Heads up with Riggs range tonight, seems as good a time as any. He had K-K and despite having what seemed like 46 outs left in the deck for straightening and flushing possibilities, the river did not bring me anything to help in the Riverchasers. IGHN, GG and Weeeeeeeee / BOOOOOOOOOOM !

So as is almost always the case in NLHE, I couldn't win the big pot with the best hand and I couldn't win the big pot when I needed to win a race.

It was fun though, getting lucky enough to have a table with so many of my friends at it and having the opportunity to play some good poker. (even if i do say so myself!) It's been a rough week around these parts and it was good to get out to a game once again. But this weeks really gotten to me and last night just put the bullet into the chamber for me. I'm outta' here for a while. Back Monday I think? I just really need a break from everything.

Special thanks to "The Champ" for railing me a bit last night. It was great to see you!

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

8/07/2008

Is this National Surprise Week....

The very first thing I heard at the start of this week was, "I won't be in until the 14th of next week." That was our Operations Managers way of letting me know I'd be flying this joint solamente for the next 8 days. He called me Saturday morning to "keep me in the loop." In fairness to my partner, this was a very last minute change in his plans. I get that. But holy crap! What a week to do it to me! I barely get time to come up for air as it is, but add on all his responsibilities too, and it sometimes makes me feel like a pinball stuck up in the bumpers racking up lots of points, 10 at a time. It's been a little busy!

As I randomly roamed through the mess that is my stat tracking system, I was pleasantly surprised by a new visitor from Afghanistan. A regular visitor at that! With the number of our Canadian troops deployed out that way, I'm hoping that in some small way I'm helping one of them get through the day's that surely must be rougher than hell itself. I can't imagine what the hell I can be saying that could possibly keep anyone coming back here all the time, but I really find myself hoping that whatever it is I'm doing for this particular visitor, is doing something good. This is as good a time as any to offer my thanks for not only coming around here everyday, but my sincerest thanks for your service to our country.

Another surprise this week, was an e-mail from Luis in Barcelona, Spain. Luis has a World Poker Blog Directory that can be found HERE. It's pretty cool and if you get a chance, take a moment to stop by and have a look. Who knows? You might find a blog that you didn't already know about. Cheers Luis, and Gracias por pensar en mí.

BadBlood says, "Stay tuned!" This isn't an official surprise as of yet. But man! Do I ever have my fingers crossed. From what I understand about the area, "the procedure" might be tough to pull off during the bash. But I'm sure if we put our minds to it, a couple of BB's can surely come up with something! :)
***Updated*** I just got the news Blood's in!!!! This could get messy!

Finally, the big one! Not-so-mini-Peb's dropped the boyfriend bomb on us last night. And so I guess, "it" begins. The whole bundle of joy that goes with relationships, expectations, broken hearts and what is love, all got rolling into motion with just one little sentence, "His name is Travis, and he's my boyfriend." On the one hand, I still see my baby girl and didn't ever want all of this to ever start. On the other, I can look at my daughter and realize the fine woman she's turned out to be. The one thing that's always been stuck in the back of my mind since I first started to think about this inevitably happening, is that my daughter is probably the best judge of character I know. So I've got that going for me I hope. Her friends Male and female, are a collection of kids that I think anyone out there, would be proud to call their own. She was pretty nervous in her attempts to get the point across last night, it was actually kind of a fun experience. We'll see how long it takes for her to bring him around for the formal introductions. Peb's set the over/under at Christmas and from the way not-so-mini-Peb's was fidgeting and giggling as we discussed all that needed to be talked about, I've placed my money on the over.

Oh and one other thing! Everyone's favorite Yummy-Mommy just added another candle to the cake. If you get a chance, stop by and wish her a very happy birthday for me.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

8/06/2008

The Tao of 519....

Yup! Our Pauly dragged 519 of his closest friends out for a little poker game last night. Say it with me kids...
FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN !
How cool is that?

I personally think it's well deserved that he had that many show up for him. And that was the case by the way. Pretty much everyone I talked to over the last day or so, even a few during the game last night, all agreed that Pauly was the reason to be there. Payback for the man that "tosses Limes," and tells the tales.

Me personally, I was there for the Red Stripe drinking friend from 'The Hooker Bar.' I bailed halfway through my plans last night, as the need to be there started to eat me away from the inside out. It wasn't a popular decision with those I had made the plans with, but a drink here and there will make them forget it over time. I wasn't having any fun anyways. Missing the game was all I could think about. I made the right decision! Seeing some of my friends from past blogger events and running into a few from past BBT3 games, made it a great night.

519 players involved in that damn game, and Pauly thinks it's funny that he and Derek draw each other at the same table. At least he took the time to notice the draw from heaven/hell (can't decide! ;o) ) I got.

"As I made my rounds, I stumbled up one stacked table that included lucko21, BamBam, Alexe55, TNSpaceman, surflexus, AlCantHang, chase26utley, o reills3403, and dfense072."

To be honest, most of the tables were stacked. It was really a who's who of our little interweb community that came out for the fun. It was the best $5 I've spent in quite some time.

So I draw Al, Surf, Spaceman and Lucko. Nice! You have to believe they were licking their chops and rubbing their hands together at the probability, (*note* not possibility, but probability!) of my chips being theirs in the near future. How's that go again? If you can't see the fish at the table..... ;o)

I basically played five hands in that first hour. On two of them, I over played flopped sets, looking to chip up early and coast along if possible. One hand saw me get to the river with a really draw heavy opportunity, but I couldn't get there and had to let the hand go. Then there was this little beauty!

PokerStars Game #19393142767: Tournament #97513073, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2008/08/05 - 21:21:20 (ET)
Table '97513073 55' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: dfense072 (2090 in chips)
Seat 2: lucko21 (1415 in chips)
Seat 3: BamBamCan (1660 in chips)
Seat 4: Alexe55 (2725 in chips)
Seat 5: TNSpaceman (1535 in chips)
Seat 6: surflexus (1555 in chips)
Seat 7: AlCantHang (1125 in chips)
Seat 8: chase26utley (25 in chips)
Seat 9: o reills3403 (1370 in chips)
AlCantHang: posts small blind 15
chase26utley: posts big blind 25 and is all-in
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BamBamCan [Th Ks]
o reills3403: folds
dfense072: folds
lucko21: folds
BamBamCan: raises 65 to 90
Alexe55: calls 90
TNSpaceman: folds
surflexus: folds
AlCantHang: folds
*** FLOP *** [9c Kd As]
BamBamCan: checks
Alexe55: checks
*** TURN *** [9c Kd As] [9h]
BamBamCan: checks
Alexe55: bets 150
BamBamCan: calls 150 (this was a stupid call, as my read has to be he's on an Ace)
*** RIVER *** [9c Kd As 9h] [Kc]
BamBamCan: bets 260 (I feel like I just got lucky)
Alexe55: raises 460 to 720 ( My read changed to any 9, most likely A-9)
BamBamCan: calls 460 (initially, I was going to jam here. I decided to call and I'm very proud of myself for doing so)
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Alexe55: shows [9d 9s] (four of a kind, Nines)
BamBamCan: shows [Th Ks] (a full house, Kings full of Nines)
Alexe55 collected 1870 from side pot
chase26utley: mucks hand
Alexe55 collected 90 from main pot
BamBamCan said, "lol"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1960 Main pot 90. Side pot 1870. | Rake 0
Board [9c Kd As 9h Kc]
Seat 1: dfense072 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: lucko21 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BamBamCan showed [Th Ks] and lost with a full house, Kings full of Nines
Seat 4: Alexe55 showed [9d 9s] and won (1960) with four of a kind, Nines
Seat 5: TNSpaceman folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: surflexus (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: AlCantHang (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: chase26utley (big blind) mucked [Kh Ac]
Seat 9: o reills3403 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

That crippled the old stack I tell you. But bad poker can do that!

I then floated around 700 - 800 in chips, only having the blinds come my way once in a while. Nothing was happening for me and I certainly didn't see any descent cards. So when I saw to cards above 3's or 4's, I took my stab. It didn't really go so well, as you'll see.

PokerStars Game #19393847612: Tournament #97513073, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/08/05 - 21:51:03 (ET)
Table '97513073 55' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: dfense072 (1540 in chips)
Seat 2: lucko21 (1595 in chips)
Seat 3: BamBamCan (725 in chips)
Seat 4: Alexe55 (4410 in chips)
Seat 5: TNSpaceman (2610 in chips)
Seat 6: surflexus (2490 in chips)
Seat 7: AlCantHang (1015 in chips)
Seat 8: phishy1974 (3610 in chips)
Seat 9: YoungTRK484 (1070 in chips)
AlCantHang: posts small blind 50
phishy1974: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to BamBamCan [Qd Kh]
YoungTRK484: folds
dfense072: folds
lucko21: folds
BamBamCan: raises 200 to 300
Alexe55: folds
TNSpaceman: folds
surflexus: folds
AlCantHang: folds
phishy1974: raises 200 to 500
BamBamCan: raises 200 to 700
phishy1974: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [5s Js 4d]
phishy1974: bets 2910 and is all-in
BamBamCan: calls 25 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (2885) returned to phishy1974
*** TURN *** [5s Js 4d] [7d]
*** RIVER *** [5s Js 4d 7d] [8h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
phishy1974: shows [6s Ts] (a straight, Four to Eight)
BamBamCan: shows [Qd Kh] (high card King)
phishy1974 collected 1500 from pot
AlCantHang said, "oofa"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1500 | Rake 0
Board [5s Js 4d 7d 8h]
Seat 1: dfense072 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: lucko21 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BamBamCan showed [Qd Kh] and lost with high card King
Seat 4: Alexe55 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: TNSpaceman folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: surflexus (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: AlCantHang (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: phishy1974 (big blind) showed [6s Ts] and won (1500) with a straight, Four to Eight
Seat 9: YoungTRK484 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

AlCantHang said, "oofa"

Heh! EXACTLY AL !

I was done for the night. I made a few rounds to see a few friends and then made my retreat from the Tao of 519. Happy birthday Tao of Poker and thanks! You put on a great show.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....

8/05/2008

How the time flies, while I poker....

The second last long weekend of the Summer has come and gone, and one can't help but wonder where the hell the time has gone? It's August 5th. already for cripes sake! Peb's and I had a great weekend, and we even got to see Betty, Barney, Fred and Wilma all together on Saturday afternoon.

I see there's just 51 1/2 days now until I get to go drunk bashing.
Hmmmmmm...... wait.
That didn't come out exactly the way I was hoping it would.
Oh well........ it'll have to do.

Played a little game called poker over the weekend, mostly with mixed results. By some freak of nature occurrence equal to Locusts devouring all of the worlds crops in one fell swoop, I won a 90 player MTT of NLHE. I know, I know! Take a deep breath and settle down kids. Weirder things have happened I'm sure. I just can't personally think of anything at this exact moment.

I basically took all of the profits from that win and decided to really play some NLHE over the rest of the weekend. I made another small cash in one other 90 player game but pretty much top 20'd all the rest of them. Two were brutal suck-outs, two were lost races, (one ahead and one behind) and in two of the games, I was so far behind I don't even know what I was doing in the hand once the cards were flipped up.

I didn't play poorly in either TuckFard event last night, but I only managed to cash with a second place in the 8:00 pm HORSE event. Results = meh BUT, it's always great to get together with the crowd that's really supported the TuckFards and their Monday night games. Some of the chat with muhc, Bay, cem, Push and the gang, can keep me laughing well into the night. "Gushy" or not folks, I really do appreciate that you come out every week and help make it such a great time.

We even had a special guest stop by and say hi to all. I.T. was doing some promotional work, for his new Live Poker Radio Tour games, that have filled the void left by the departure of the MATH game. It was the first night last night and like they say, "everyone wants to be there for the first one." Well now I can say I was there. I shouldn't have been for Pete's sake, but I was! I donked off my stack with TPTK to Scott, while totally focused on my head's up battle in the HORSE game. Then sticking my last 60 or so chips in as the BB, I naturally run into numbono's pocket Aces.... and I go back to focusing on the head's up HORSE match.

A quick reminder that cem's Skillz Series runs again tonight. I see it's HORSE with a double stack. I'll have a tough time making it back home within the first hour of the game, but you never know. I love HORSE and having it a double stack game, means I can fold around a little longer than normal and maybe make it to the game in enough time to salvage something out of whats left of my chips. We'll see.

There's also Pauly's 5th. anniversary game on Stars as well. If you haven't seen the package he's put together for the winner, you must have been under a rock. Again, I don't know how I'll make it home in time for this one, but I'm going to give it a real go I tell you.

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....