Tag Archives: straight

Casino Virgin

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Despite the fact that in the past eleven weeks I’ve played forty tournaments, a couple city-sanctioned “timed tournaments with one blind level” and a few home cash games, I had never played poker in an actual casino until last night.

I’m still not sure that’s not true, because the casino I played in was a tribal establishment where the “Poker Room” was more of an alcove off the rows and rows of slot machines in the main hall. There was a single table playing $1/$3 Limit Hold’em at 10pm on a Sunday and I put my name on the list, went to the bar to get a beer, and waited for someone to get tired or broke. I read news on my iPhone for about thirty minutes, then took my place with $60 between the oldest player at the table and a lady with an impressive rack of $5 tokens.

I played tight for the most part—it took me a while to figure out the betting structure of $8 max raise—although I did pull down one pot with a complete bluff holding [8c tc] when an [ax] hit the turn. I managed to get up to about $90 before a couple of good hands were outdrawn and I tumbled to only $25.

I split a large pot holding [ks 9s] with the oldest player on the same ranks but unsuited, then played [as 6c]. Several players were in for calls of $16 on a flop with [qc jx 8x]. I stayed in with one other player for the turned [tc]. He pushed to the max and I called plus put in my last chip when a [kc] hit the river. I thought for sure he’d hit the flush when I turned over my ace for the straight, but he had [qx 9x] for a pair on the flop and a straight on the turn, but I’d snuck through with the Broadway draw. With the money from the other players’ early action I more than doubled up and left at midnight with twice what I’d bought in with.

90 minutes. ROI: 100% (including tips).

Breakthroughs: Post 100; Money in $10K

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Encore Club $10,000 Guarantee (10,000 chips)

Once it was obvious I wasn’t winning the Player of the Year pool money for a WSOP buy-in this year, I decided to step up my tournament play to see if I could make it up that way. Of course, after Black Friday, that meant more live tournaments, and I got off to a great start with the freeroll I played in early May and the turbo a couple of nights later that gave me back to back first-place finishes. Needless to say, that record hasn’t been maintained through the past six weeks, but I have stayed at around a 25% cash average since the first of June. 6 cashes in 26 tournaments.

Six hours in to the Encore $10K

The last one is the most interesting (and frustrating) to me. DV and I entered Encore’s monthly $10K Guarantee with the agreement that we’d split any winnings, the same agreement we’d made before the Ace of Spades game a couple of weeks earlier.

My game got off to a great start. I was in seat 4 and picked up [8x 8x] on the third hand of the match as SB. I’d lost a few chips on the earlier hands but still had about 9,500. The flop was [7x 6x 5x] and I started betting heavily. The field narrowed to me and BB who stayed in. The turn [4x] gave me my straight and I really pushed but there was a flush draw on the board, as well and BB re-raised. I shoved, he called, and he missed his flush but I got [9x] for an even higher straight.  He was seriously crippled by the fourth hand and I was over 19K.

The first of my big mistakes came shortly thereafter. I had [6c 8c], two clubs showed on the flop, and I got into a bidding war with seat 7 that ended up with me having about 7,000 chips in by the river, which gave me a flush. Seat 7 turned up two pair and I flipped over [6c 8s], which paired an [8x] on the board but wasn’t a flush. I sucked up the loss of most of the gain I’d made just a few hands earlier and kicked myself for wearing contacts instead of my glasses.

I played [ax jx] and paired the [jx] high card on the flop but was beat by pocket [kx kx] and was down to 11K.

An all-diamond flop forced me to lay down 700 chips along with [jh ts]. Likewise, I raised 800 on [ac qc] and folded when the top cards on the flop were [kd 7d].

[ad 2d] gave me diamonds for a change and I made a set of deuces but four hearts on the board made a flush for someone and I was down to 8,000 chips.

The last hand before the first break put [qx qx] into my hands and I managed to practically double up by busting out a player. After buying the 7K add-on, I had 25,500.

This, of course, did not last long. I bet big with [ah th] on a [tx qx kx] flop and another player came over the top, leaving me with 17K by the end of that hand. Then a pair of [9x 9x] lost me 4,325 more when I called an all-in and their [jc tc] drew to a flush on the river. At the three hour mark my stack was back down to 11,875.

[ax jx] (not a Mutant Jack) took down the blinds for me when I opened with a raise to 2,500. Then I called a bb of 800 and folded to an all-in.

[ax 5x] is usually something I dislike playing but I saw a [5x tx 5x] on the flop and bet erratically, which ended up making me 20K. The guy next to me said he had no idea what I had.

Then I was lucky enough to grab a pair of [kx kx] as BB and went all-in after a 5K raise from the CO. He called, showed [Ax Qx] and almost made a straight (though that was more difficult with two of the kings in my hand), and I was up to 40K. By break three that was 59,400.

Back in the thick of things, [kd 4d] hit two pair on the flop and ended up with two players all-in against me when another [4x] showed on the river, knocking them both out. By 4 hours and 30 minutes in I had 76,500.

I called a raise to 2K with [qc tc] but had to fold to two all-in bets, then lost another 6600 with [ac 3c] after a flop that utterly failed to connect.

My [qx tx] made two pair on the flop after I bet 5K pre-flop, and I called another player’s all-in. They showed four to a straight but beat me with a royal flush on the turn. That cost me about 30K and left me with 40,000 in chips at the 3 hours and fifty minutes mark.

I raised to 6K with another [as 5s] and was re-raised. The re-raiser showed [kx kx] at showdown with another player. I would have made two pair on the board but a flush came and I would have lost anyway.

Five hours into the match, I was down to 22,000 chips, only 5K above the amount I’d received as a starting stack and add-on.

I managed to steal the blinds and antes with an all-in holding [ad 9d]. At least I was big enough for the people at my table not to want to tangle with me all of the time.

Fifteen minutes later I was up to 24,500, with my ill-gotten blinds and antes.

I knocked out another player by calling an all-in with [kx qx]. They held [kx 9x] and stayed behind across the board. The Mutant Jack [jc ac] made two pair on the flop and earned me another 10K. Five hours and thirty minutes into the game, I’d made it back up to 45,500.

A Mutant Jack of hearts ([ah jh]) and a bet of 12K got a call and then took the pot for me. Then I played a dangerous [3x 3x], hitting a set on the flop and won another pot. Took out a player when the [qd jd] paired the queen. By six-and-a-quarter hours, my stack was finally over the chip average again, with 95,000.

Raising to 15K with [kx qx], another player came over the top and I laid it down, which was good because the hand went to showdown and I would have lost to the [ax ax]. Playing another [ac 5c] (see above), I caught the flush and took in over 50K, which put me at 131,500 by six hours and forty-five minutes.

Laid down another [kx qx] and 8K on a call to an all-in. Some more proffers gone wrong cut me down again to 80K in just half an hour.

Pocket [8x 8x] made quads for me, knocking out another player (who was holding [ax jx]) and getting my stack out of the doldrums. At the 8K/16K/2K level, a raise to 36K with [ax 9x] took down the blinds. The I used [ax jx] and knocked another player out. My stack was up to 220K just shy of eight hours into the tournament.

A call on my part with [3h 6h] lost me my BB and another 11K calling an all-in. I lost an extra 10K as the SB at the 10K/20K?4K level calling to see the flop with [qs 9s] and folding to a post-flop bet from BB after my hand missed.

[ax 9x] again and a 40K min-raise took down the blinds again.

I called a small all-in with [jh 5h]. He flipped over [2x 2x]. The odds calculators say that one’s a coin flip but if he’d had anything higher than a pair of [4x 4x] I probably would have lost. I didn’t, though and another player was down.

My last hand was played at 20K/40K/4K. I was in seat 5 at the final table, with eight players remaining, on BB with about 200K behind. There were somewhere over 2.3 million chips in play at the table, but about half of them were in the hands of the player in seat 7. A couple players had between 300K and 400K and the rest of us were down to just three or four big blinds. UTG folded and the big stack as UTG1 opened with a raise to 600K. Action folded around to SB, who went all-in. I had a clubby Mutant Jack: [ac jc]. I was all-in. The giant stack turned over [6x 6x], SB had me dominated with [as kc]. Both the ace hands were losers, though, as the pair held up across the board. Two clubs on the board left me just short of what would have been a nut flush. I went out in seventh or eighth place; since the payout for both was the same, they didn’t count the chips to see who’d been ahead.

If my back hadn’t been to the screen, I might have made the wiser choice to lay down and let the the endgame play out. We were just short of the big money in the tournament, players were going to have to make moves just to stay ahead of the voracious blinds, and I likely could have moved up the pay scale by letting the blinds wash over me. After another 20K for the small blind, I wouldn’t have had to deal with them for a few hands and there would have been time for someone else to bust out (which happened on the next hand).

Nine-and-a-half hours. Finished 7th/8th of 141 players. +210% ROI (including buy-in, add-on, tip).

The Poker Mutant at the Final Table

Desperate Attempt Or Canny Move?

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Aces Players Club $10K Guarantee Satellite (3,000 chips)

I was just planning to buy in at full price but I got there early and there was a game about to start, so I joined up. I could have saved my money.

First hand I was SB, with [kx 7x]. About five players limped in, I dropped another 25 to call, BB checked and the flop made me two pair with (I think) [kx 7x tx]. I checked (probably a mistake) and that went around, with [9x] on the turn. I opened with 400 and UTG went all-in. I called and she flipped [jx 8x]. It was not to be the first jack-high straight that caused me trouble this evening.

2 minutes, 1 hand. Finished 9th of 9. -100% ROI.

Aces Players Club $10K Guarantee (10,000 chips)

Had a hard couple of early rounds with every move I’d make just not connecting with the cards. Mucho folding involved. By the middle of round three, I was down to half the starting stack when I played [qx tx]. By the turn, I had Broadway, there wasn’t a flush in sight, and I was all-in. A caller doubled me up to about starting.

Played [5c 7c] aggressively with two clubs on the flop and ended up with 3,300 in the pot before I shut it down. Two other players stayed in and the winner connected for a pair of jacks with [ac jc], so I’m rather glad there wasn’t a club on the turn.

Just after the break I got [6x 6x] in CO and managed to steal the blinds, which put me up to just about even (15,000 chips, including the starting stack and 5K add-on).

The bottom card of my [ax tx] hit top pair on the flop and I managed to pick off another 2K, but I lost 3,400 on [ax qx] when I folded to a bigger stack’s all-in on the [ax 4x 5x] flop. He showed [ax 5x] in a showdown with another player.

Finally managed to get some significant upward movement by calling a smaller stack’s all-in with [jx tx]. He flipped over [9x 9x] and we went all the way to the river before [tx] turned up. That put me up to 19K.

Then, of course, I picked up [Ac 9x] and raised. The flop was [9c 4c 4x] and a big stack at the other end of the table raised 5K. I had to call to see if I could pick up more clubs or better yet a [9x]. What I got was a [6x]. He raised again and I had to fold. That left me with about 12,500 chips as we went into the second break.

Blinds started at 500/1,000/25 after the break and action was moving pretty fast, both with people waiting to make their moves and with three players not even back at the table as action started. I was on my second time as SB when I got [9x tx] and called to see the flop. The flop was low and made me top pair with [tx 8x 6x], so I was all-in. My stack wasn’t enough to scare anyone off, though, and BB called me with [qx jx]. I made two pair on the turn, but that made his straight, and the river failed to float my boat.

4 hours. Finished about 40th of 80. -100% ROI (-140% buy-in, including add-on and door fee).

The Big Play

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Ace of Spades $10K Guarantee Satellite (1,000 chips)

I’d already bought in for the game but DV hadn’t arrived yet and I decided to play for his seat since they were trying to round up a couple of players for the last satellite. I didn’t keep track of the cards, but I took a chunk of the stack from the woman opposite me early on, then another couple of medium-sized chunks from around the table before. As the match dragged on past the big game’s starting time, the staff was anxious to get the tournament under way and they jumped the blinds up, which led to the quick elimination of several players, with most of the chips going to two guys at the other end of the table. Eventually, they got into a hand and I was heads-up with a significant chip disadvantage. We got moved to another table since the one we were at was needed for the $10K. I managed to get even or a little bit ahead in heads-up by some good cards and some bluffing, then the tournament was starting and since both the other player and I were already bought-in we just chopped the prize money. DV had to pay his own way in to the big game.

6 players, tied for first. +200% ROI.

Ace of Spades $10K Guarantee (7,000 chips)

Right off the bat there was an announced “dealer appreciation fee” of 10% of the buy-in, which  got you an additional 2K in chips. It’s pretty hard to ignore a nearly 30% increase in the stack size for that price, but I felt it was a bit sleazy to not make it known up-front. I hope it’s not something that spreads to other venues.

I sat in seat 1 of table 2 the entire game.

I caught [ax ax] on my third hand and steadily increased my opening bets against seat 4 in SB. Checked on the river and SB bet 1K. I raised to 2K (we were still at 25/50 for blinds) and he called but the aces held and I was up to about 13K.

Pressing hard with [ac kc] won another several hundred shortly thereafter.

Had [kx 5x] on the BB and caught top pair on the flop. The board straightened out with [kx 8x 7x 6x] by the turn, and I hung on. [5x] hit the river and I ended up takig down the pot from what was probably a stronger king.

Player [7c 9c] and hit second pair on a flop with an [ax]. I made a good-sized raise and everyone went away.

Lost about 1K after raising with [ad 7d], but I was up to 17K at the 90-minute mark.

Playing [qx qx] with an [ax] on the flop cost me about 3K. I made up for it playing [qx tx] in a hand with five players in for 800 pre-flop. The first cards were [kx jx 8x] and I bet out 1,500, which got folds from everyone.

Lost a big hand with [ac kx] when my straight and flush draws didn’t make it and a full house did.

At two hours into the game I was down a bit, to 15,650, but made it to 22K by the second break.

I’d played [7x 7x] and stayed in with a board of [3x ax 6x 3x]. When [7x] hit the river, a short stack in seat 8 went all-in and I called him, with my full house being best hand.

DV wasn’t doing so well, down to about 10bb. After this, no players were allowed to rebuy, I did the add-on for 50% of the buy-in and 7K in chips (not nearly as good a deal as the “dealer appreciation”).

Open-raised to 1,500 with [ax qx] and took the blinds on one hand, then lost 3,500 calling an open-raise by seat 4 (who had speedily recovered from our initial meeting) with [kx jx] when the flop went nowhere. [kx jx] lost me another K shortly thereafter, and perhaps I should have noticed a pattern here.

Blinds were up to 300/600, I raised to 1,500 with [ax jc] and got three calls. Everyone checked to the river and nobody got anything. Nobody else even had an ace.

[ax 7x] again cost me 1,500 after I opened and nothing hit on the flop.

My last hand was [kx jx]. A new player had been moved into seat 2 and taken out two from our table in a short span. I raised after getting top pair with a [kx] on the flop, he went all-in, I called and he showed [ax kx], which held through the river.

DV actually laster a while longer than I did, but was still out well before the money.

4 hours. Placed around 50th in a field of 79. -100% ROI (-180% buy-in including door, dealer appreciation, and add-on).

Aces Players Club 1 Re-Buy (7,000 chips)

Took in 800 early on pairing my nine with [9x tx] on the flop. Ditto with [ax jx] and jacks. Forty minutes in I was up to about 9,300.

[4x 5x] in the BB raised and checked down to the river won me 1K when my paired [4x] was the best hand. By the first break I had crept up to 10,400.

A lucky pull with [8c tc] on BB made me over 5K when I hit a pair of tens with a straight draw on the board as well. that severely hurt the player three seats to my right, but he came back with an all-in against my raise with [8x 8x]. I called, he showed [ax jx], another [8x] came on the turn, and he never paired but the rest of the board made him a jack-high straight and he took back several thousand.

Only about 10,800 at the 160-minute mark.

I played [kx qx] strong but two seats to my left the big stack at the table went all-in after the flop [jx tx 8x] and I didn’t pull the trigger, losing over 6K. Busted out on the next hand when I called an all-in from the guy who’d busted my eights, and he showed [ax qx] against my [ax jx]. Both of us paired our non-ace cards, but that wasn’t good for me.

2.25 hours. Placed 16th or 17th in a field of 23. -100% ROI (-120% buy-in including door).

Omaha, Ho

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Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

I decided to change things up a bit, in part because the relatively few NLHE games on Cake are often full. So I tried out the lowest-stake PLO table, buying in for 40bb.

There were five players at the table. I was UTG and paid the bb to play, drawing a decent [ah jd td th]. I raised to 2bb and all but one player called. The flop gave me top two pair with [js 3h as]. The blinds checked, I potted to 8bb. BTN raised all-in to 8.25bb; BB was all-in for 1.5. BB flipped over [5c 6h 2d 5d] and BTN showed [2s 3s ks 7c]. Inside straight and a flush draw, I was slightly favored over both. [3d] fell on the turn and shifted the balance to BTN with a set, but I made a full house with [jh] on the river and took 24.5bb. That knocked out two of the players at the table.

All the spots had filled back up a little later when I got [jh 9c 9d kh] on BTN. Three players ahead of me called, I called, and only theSB sat the hand out. I made middle set on the [8s 9s js] flop. Action checked to me and I bet half the pot, 2.75bb. Only one player dropped out. I got a great present with the turn [jd]. Once again action checked to me and I half-potted for 8.25bb. Two players dropped out but CO stayed in. [ad] fell on the river. CO checked, I potted for 33bb, CO called and showed [4h qs kd 3s] for a flush that was great on the flop. I took in a total pot of 92.5bb and called it a session.

8 minutes, 11 hands. +63.25bb.

Cake Poker Odesa 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

Went up a rung of blinds for the next game, buying in for just 20bb. Third hand I was dealt was [8h kc as qh] and two of us limped in with the BB to see the flop. [2d 8c ks] gave me a decent-looking two pair without any flush or straight draws, I bet half the pot—1.8bb—and took it down, which put me slightly ahead after the first couple of hands.

Got [8d 7s kc qs] on SB. UTG raised to 2.3bb, I called along with BB. The rainbow flop here is almost as good for me as the one above—[qd 3h ts]—although the queen and ten could fit into a straight. Everyone checks and I’m wondering if my pair of queens is good. [7c] on the turn gives me two pair again, no chance for a flush on the board, and a couple of straights are possible but not made. I open with a bet of 3.5bb, the BB calls, and UTG drops out. I’m pretty sure the [4s] on the river is a brick, but I check, BB checks, and he shows [ad 9h 8s 8h]. He’s been behind since the flop. I take 13bb and I’m up over 35%.

Next hand is double-paired: [kc 8s 8d kd]. I raise to 2.5bb from BTN and the blinds fold.

High-paired and connect-suited: [kh 8s kc 9s]. I raise to 2bb in CO. Blinds fold.

Three-flushed with a spread of six: [8h jd 6h 9h]. I limp from UTG, a new player in HJ checks his buy-in, BTN limps, SB raises to 2bb. BB folds, everyone else calls. The flop is flush- and stright-heavy with [9c 7c 8c]. Two pair for me with straight draws on either end. Everyone checks. The turn is [2c], which gets checked around as well. [jc] on the river makes the flush on the board. I toss a bb bet out and everyone folds. Bizarre. My profit is 6.4bb and I’m up almost 17bb for the session. I should leave but I guess I decided to try to double my investment.

Double-suited with a high connector ([qd kd 4h 9h]) on the big blind. One limper and the flop is [4c jh qh], giving me top and bottom pair asa well as a flush draw. We both check and I make my flush on the turn with [2h]. I bet a bb and HJ folds.

On BTN holding a seemingly big hand with a big pair and a large suited connector. Five of us limp in to a [5h td kc] flop. I’ve got top set right off the bat. Everyone checks around to me and I should bet this but don’t. [9h] improves me to a straight. HJ bets 3.5bb and I raise to 15.5bb. Everyone between us gets out of the way. He re-raises to 2.75 and I call, leaving about 9bb behind. [qs] on the river doesn’t improve my hand but it doesn’t make it any worse. HJ bets to put me all-in and I call, he shows [qd ad js 9c] for the ace-high straight. We were chopping it until that last queen.

10 minutes, 11 hands. -20bb.

Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

Back down to the small stakes for a couple of games. Bought in for 40bb. Hand six here was small-paired and small gap-suited: [7c 5c 7h ad]. I was UTG and limped, HJ limped, BTN min-raised, both the blinds, myself, and HJ called the raise. Got my two-pair-on-the-flop with [qs as 5h]. SB bet 2bb, BB called, I raised to almost the full pot: 10bb. BTN called and both the blinds folded, making it heads-up. [2h] on the river didn’t change anything for me, I went all-in for 25.25bb and got a call from BTN, who had a couple of routes to a straight draw with [ts kd td jh]. Heck, even another [tx] would give him a better hand, but I was ahead 4:1. [3s] on the river made me glad he hadn’t had spades. I took my 79bb pot and went home.

7 minutes, 7 hands. +39bb.

Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

A pattern starts to become visible in these sessions of minimal movement with a bit swing up or down. Down in this case. Bought in for 40bb. Nineteenth hand, I was down just 2.5bb from where I’d started. and got four to a wheel with a suited ace. I limped in from CO and four of us saw the flop. Nut flush draw  and a six-high inside straight draw with [6h 6d qd] but there was a potential full house—or four-of-a-kind—on the board. BB bet 4bb, I raised to 8bb, two others got out and BB re-raised to 28bb. I called, with 8.5bb behind. Hit my flush (and pointless straight) on the turn with [3d]. BB bet 1bb, I went all-in (what else?) and he called to show a full house with [as 6c 9s 3c].

14 minutes, 19 hands. -40bb.

Cake Poker Perth 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

I’ve gotten the impression that I sort of liked H/L games playing D’s bi-weekly cash game but something about playing it online just left me feeling stupid. Maybe it was because I had [kd ac ah kh] on my second hand here (with a 40bb buy-in) and I busted out. I was BB, BTN raised to 3.5bb, SB called, I re-raised to 14bb and got a call from BTN. Flop gave me the nut flush draw with [qh 3h 7c]. I checked instead of raising and BTN followed along. [8c] on the turn looked inoffensive. I checked, BTN bet enough to put me all-in and I called. He showed [jc js 8d 8s] and the [6d] hit on the river. Nothing really to do with the H/L game structure, really, I just decided to concentrate on pure PLO.

1 minute, 2 hands. -40bb.

Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

Only won a couple of hands in this session, not enough to right my boat but had to get out before I got even or lost everything. Only significant hand came when I was down almost 25bb from my 40bb buy-in. Got [8c 4c 3h 7c] in UTG, a hand rife with unexpected straight and flush possibilities. I limped, BTN limped, SB min-raised, and three of us called. Hit two pair on the [as 3c 4s] flop and called the SB’s 1bb bet along with BTN. [qh] came on the turn and I called another 1bb bet from the SB, though I suspect I should have been scared. BTN opted out. [2s] for the river either gave him a flush or it didn’t and I called another 1bb bet. He showed a great hand: [ts tc jd ac]. The problem was that it wasn’t a great board for that hand and my crappy low two pair was better. I got out a couple of hands later.

14 minutes, 12 hands. -16bb.

Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

Bought in for 40bb, First hand was low-paired and half-suited: [kd 4c 2h 2c]. I was in for the bb as CO with five players. UTG called, I checked, BTN raised to 4bb, everyone called but SB. [7c 5c kh] on the flop gave me top pair and a low flush draw. Everyone checked. Turn [td] did nothing for me, but it meant there were no straights on the board yet. BB and UTG checked but I bet 5bb. Everyone called and the pot was up to 36.5bb. Made my nearly-straight-flush with [6c] on the river. BB checked, UTG bet 1BB, I just called in case there was a higher flush, BTN and BB called. UTG  had a seven-high straight, BB had a set of sixes, BTN just had a pair of kings (albeit with a better kicker than I had). Won 28bb.

[9h 8h 8c qd] for hand two. I limped from UTG and was heads-up with BB. Hit a set on the flop with [9s 3h 8d]. BB bet a bb and I potted to 3.25bb. He re-raised to 12.25bb and I called. [4c] turn didn’t mess things up for me. When BB went all-in for 9.5bb I called and saw his set of threes. With [3c 7s 5d 3d] he had a potential nine-high straight, but I had him about 7:1. [5s] maintained the status quo and I grabbed 20.25bb of profit.

I played a couple more hands and won both of them, too (though for lesser amounts) then got out and banked it.

4 minutes, 4 hands. +58.25bb.

Cake Poker Odesa 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

After the success of that outing, I stepped it back up to the higher-stakes tables. Kept the buy-in at the 20bb minimum and drifted along for a couple of hands as long as the flop in each case. I was down about 4bb by hand 5 when I got a three-suited four-straight: [9s tc jh qc] in HJ. I limped, CO raised to 4bb, BB three-bet to 13bb, I called, CO called. My stack only had 3bb left. My flush hit on the flop with [3c 5c ac]. I could be beat with a suited [kc] or [2c 3c] in someone’s hand but it didn’t seem likely. BB checked, I tossed in my last 3bb, and BB felt he had to call to keep me honest, I guess. Then again, with a stack of 115bb, I guess he could afford to. He showed [6s 6c ts th] and needed two runners to win, which he didn’t get. I took in a profit of 26bb and left.

7 minutes, 5 hands. +22bb.

Cake Poker Darwin Pot-Limit Omaha

Winning was fun! It put a whole new perspective on poker. Because some of the other tables were full, I sat down at the full-sized low-rent tables for a bit. Did my usual of lying in wait through the blinds to the flop with hands I liked. I was down to 29bb from my original 40bb buy-in when I got [kc kd ts 3h]. I called from UTG and was heads-up against the BB. The flop was [7c 9h td], BB checked and I bet 1.25bb, half the pot. BB called. [jc] on the turn and I had a gut-shot straight draw. We both checked. [js] on the river and it was checked to me again. I bet 5bb, got re-raised to 20bb, then called to see BB had [9c ks jd 3d] for a full house.

Had two pair get knocked out by a five-high straight made on the flop the next hand.

14 minutes, 11 hands. -40bb.

Cake Poker Odesa 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

Started off well with [8c ah 3h 5h] in BB. UTG raised to 2.7bb, I was the only caller. The flop gave me top and bottom pair: [8h 4s 3c]. I bet 1bb and got a call. The [7h] turn put the nut flush in my reach; I checked and got a check from UTG. [ad] on the turn improved by two pair and I bet another 1bb. UTG called, showed [as td tc qh] for only the aces. I earned 4.6bb.

Three hands later, [3c 7s kh as] as CO. Two limpers ahead of me, I called, and both blinds were in. Once again, I caught two pair on the flop of [2s 3h 7h]. Action checked to me and I bet half the pot: 2.5bb. Only HJ called. [td] for the turn, HJ checked, and I checked, seeing as I did have only middle two pair. The river card was [jd]. We both checked, and HJ showed [qh js qd 9h]. I profited about 6bb.

Fourteen hands in, it was [7c 7s qc 3c] on BTN. I called after action folded to me, SB raised to 3bb, the BB folded, and I called to go heads-up. Hit a set with the flop of [8d qs qh]. SB checked and I raised to 3.5bb, was re-raised to 7bb, and went all-in for about 26bb. SB folded and I took in 10bb profit.

12 minutes, 14 hands. +18.3bb.

Cake Poker Odesa 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha

Another excursion on the same table a couple of hours later. Nothing really happened for twenty hands, then I picked up a not-especially-choice [7d qc td 4c] as HJ. Still, it was double-suited, and I limped in. CO and SB limped but BB raised to 5bb. I was the only caller. The [4s qs qd] flop made me a full house and I was more than happy when BB led out with a 6bb bet. I went all-in with 18.6bb, fully expecting BB to call from his 60bb stack, and he complied, showing an already-dead [kc 7h 9h jc]. The [5h] and [3h] that hit the board were irrelevant, and my stack was up to 46bb, so I left.

21 minutes, 21 hands. +26bb.

Chip Leader Flirtation

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Carbon Poker $2,000 Guarantee (2,000 chips, 1 Re-Buy, 1 Add-On)

Haven’t been playing many tournaments online lately but I tried this one on a whim after my live successes over the past week.

I joined the game in progress part-way through the first level and ended up at a short-handed table to begin with. My second hand was [js tc], which I overplayed on a two-way straight draw flop of [qd 9s as], and with [qh] on the turn and nothing better I had to give it up and abandon ship to the guy with trips. I was down to 1,670 early on.

My first BB was the Doyle Brunson hand: [2s tc]. No thanks, and the raises to nearly 300 ahead of me made it an easy lay-down. I dropped several more hands of the same ilk.

Nine hands in I had a something a little tasty, a [7d kd] UTG. I raised 3x the big blind to 90, got two callers, then BB went all-in with his already-swollen stack of 5,722. I put my remaining 1,535 up against it and everyone else folded. BB flipped over [as ks]. The flop, though, was [5d 3d qd] and he was dead at that point. I doubled up and we moved on.

A few hands later at a new table, I picked up [9s th] on BTN. Two players limed in for 40 ahead of me, I limped and both the blinds were in. I hit an open-ended straight draw on the flop with [8c as 7s]. A big stack in BB bet 150, UTG1 called, CO folded, I raised to 500, SB called, BB folded, and UTG1 called. 1,850 in the pot when the [6h] made my nut straight on the turn. It was checked to me and I bet half the pot. SB was all-in for 1,410, UTG1 folded, and I had to call. [jd] on the river improved my straight but did nothing for SB’s [qs 6s] and I was up to 5,865 at the first break. I bought the add-on for another 3K.

[9h 9d] cost me almost 800 when I went up against [kc qh] (one of my favorite hands) which made a full house by the turn. That was just some stupid betting on my part.

I got a little tricky with [as 2c] on the BB a bit later. UTG2 raised to 180, I was the only caller. The flop was [2s ah 7s] and I checked to get a 300 bet from UTG2. I just called. [9s] gave me a potential nut flush on top of my two pair. I hoped he didn’t have another card to go with his ace and checked. He bet 660 and I raised to 2,500. That left me with 4,715 behind, which was coincidentally equal to his bet and remaining chips. He pushed all-in and I called. He had the better ace with [qc ad] but the [3c] on the river sealed his fate and I came out with just under 13K. I raised to 180 on my SB with [2c 4c] and BB called; I made a pair of twos on the flop and bet another 180, BB folded, and I was over 13K.

About forty minutes into the game, I had a less-than-ideal [4s 3c] as SB at the 50/100 level. There was a stack of 16K on my right as BTN, CO and I were both at about 12K, BB and UTG2 were in the 5.5K range, UTG1 was sitting on a little more than 10K and the short stack was UTG with 1,400. CO called, BTN called, I limped in, and BB checked. The flop fit me like a glove: [5c 6h 2c]. I checked. BB bet 266, two players folded, and I raised to 1,198. He re-raised all-in to 5,742 and I called. He did have two pair, with [2d 6d] but the turn and river only had high hearts and he was out. 18,242 in the stack.

The very next hand was a monster for me, with [ad ks] on BTN. I was already in one of the top five slots on the leader board. UTG limped for 100, HJ called, I raised to 500. BB folded (no SB this hand) and both of the other players called. The flop wasn’t particularly good for me: [qs 9d 8d]. I was two cards off of anything. It was checked around to me and I gave it a check myself, getting [kc] on the turn. Another 100 bet from UTG, another call from UTG2, and I decided to test the water with a raise to 2,000. UTG immediately shoved to 9,936 all-in. UTG2 fled the scene. I had an interesting dilemma, because while I did have the better kicker on the king, there were straight possibilities, double pairs, etc. But I had the bet covered and I’d still have almost 8K if it didn’t work. I was in bad shape, because he had [9s 8s], but then the river card turned out to be the [as] and I won the pot of 21.5K, putting me over 29K total and about 10K ahead of anyone else in the tournament.

Top prize in the pot was over $620, with $450 for second and so on.  It would be a great week if I could pull this off. So how did I blow it?

About ten minutes had gone by, with me still far ahead of anyone else in the game. My table had a player with about 20K, one with 10K, three with between 5K and 6K and three with 3K down to 800. I was UTG with [jh kd] at 100/200. I raised to 600 and got an all-in call from HJ, one of the 5K stacks. I called, he showed [4h 4s], I hit [jc] on the turn but the entire board was [8d 7h jc 6h 5s], giving him the straight and 11K out of the pot. I can’t fault that call.

[as js] Mutant Jack two hands later. Two limpers, I raise to 1,000, get one call from HJ (with a stack of 10K), a flop of [5c 6s 5s] that promises a nut flush which we both check, [2h] on the turn which gets a bet of 200 from HJ and a call from me, and [6d] on the river which gets checked, bet for 200 by me, then raised to 3,400. I’ve got nothing there but the high card for two low pairs. And I’m down to 25K.

I managed to stay above 20K for another ten minutes, then had a sumptuous [9h th] as HJ. I was still the biggest stack at the table with 22.5K but I was down around tenth overall. Blinds were 125/250/25 and UTG2 pushed with 5,350. I was the only caller, he showed [qd qs] and I was a 1:4 underdog. That disparity increased to 1:19 after the [ad ah 5s] flop, and it never got better. Down to 17, 155.

[4c 4h] UTG pushed me back above 20K. I raised to 500 and got HJ (with a nearly even stack) to call. The flop had lots of danger cards—[8h ts th]—but I bet another 500 and got another call. [5c] on the turn looked harmless but it was still an over card to me. I checked and HJ bet 1,950. I called. [js] on the river got another check from me, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if HJ bet, but he checked and showed [as kh].

Managed to hold on for another twenty minutes in a position that would be just out of the money (below 20)if the game ended immediately, as players were eliminated. Blinds were 150/300/25, I was BB with [4c ks]. UTG1 min-raised, BTN went all-in for only 409, I called. I made top pair with [3h 9d kc] for the flop and bet 900, with UTG1 calling. The [8d] for the turn didn’t mean much to me and I bet another 900, getting raised to 1,800, which I just called. The river [tc] was a bit concerning and I checked it, but called the bet of 2,100 from UTG1. BTN just had [8h jd], and UTG1 had nothing real until the river with [th ah]. The win put me up just over 27K and moved me back near the top ten.

Lost out again with [qh jc] in UTG at 200/400/50. I lead off with a bet of 800, and was raised to 8,420 by the table’s 40K big stack at BTN. Naturally, I called it. The flop was [ah 4h 9s] and I checkedBTN bet another 6,420 and I had to call it off with my nothing.

From 19K after that hand, I was chopped down to 14K over the next ten minutes, playing marginal stuff. Finally, I had a pair, although not a particularly good one. At 250/500/50, I raised to 1,500 with [8c 8s]. BB re-raised to 4,500 and I shoved to 13,869. BB called with 14K behind and showed [kc kh]. For a second, it looked luke I might get lucky, with [6c 6h td 7d] by the turn, but the river [4c] killed that chance.

107 minutes, 99 hands. Finished 56th of 197 players.

Back-to-Back

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Aces Players Club Turbo (5,000 chips, 1 re-buy)

I didn’t keep notes on this tournament, although I really should have.

Started off at table 2. This being a late-night turbo game, there were multiple all-ins from the beginning. I tried to stay out of it for the most part but got tangled up in a hand with (if I remember correctly) a good pair after losing several raises and ended up re-buying.

I moved to newly-constituted table 4 immediately upon buying back in, sitting in seat 9. There were a couple of young what-seemed-to-be-foreign-students in 6 and 7. Then a dapper guy with a lot of chips was moved into 8 and my cards hit a cold spell. Fortunately for me, he was moved again within a few minutes. Seat 6 was on a bit of a tear, but not a good one for him as he ended up felted not long after 8 was moved away. He re-bought but before he could play a hand the tournament director informed him that he’d already re-bought and the late-night turbo (in the interests of shutting down before dawn) doesn’t allow more than one.So a dead stack was placed next to his friend, who seemed very unsure of himself. It was just then that I caught a great run of cards, the blinds started reaching the dead stack, then the unsure foreign guy, then me, and within four hands unsure foreign guy’s stack (which he’d just replenished with a re-buy) was in front of me, along with a lot of chips from elsewhere on the table. We hit the break, played a few more hands, and then the table broke and I moved to table 1 seat 9.

This table is sort of like a blur at this point. I had one of the bigger stacks at the table and just slowly grew things. Mr. Loud was seated in 6, across from me again, yammering on about how I was going to double up his chip stack. He almost seemed to lick his lips when I went to showdown holding [3s 4s] on a flush draw with a player from the other end of the table for about 5K. He and a loud guy who’s a regular seated in 4 were harassing seat 1, who was partially blind. When seat 4 asked him what he thought he was doing at one point, he mentioned he had a hard time seeing, got a quick apology, then the harassment continued. He was busted not long after and left with a sarcastic “Thanks for making the evening fun.” The pair focused their attention on me at one point, when Mr. Loud called me “son” and I said that I was probably a good bit older than he was. Loud, Jr. started in about how Loud had seen way more hands than I ever had (probably true). The bravado was pretty ludicrous considering that my stack was several times larger.It’s not the quantity of the hands that counts.

By the final table, when I just moved to seat 7, I had about 60K in chips. Seat 6 was a guy from Alaska who’d been the big stack when he was next to me at table 3, where he’d started a long discussion/argument when one of the guys he’d knocked out refused to shake his hand. Most of the table (loudly) endorsed the non-shaking position. By the final table, Alaska was on the ropes and a bit down from his cheerful demeanor a couple of hours earlier. He was out in ninth place not long after the table voted to pay all nine. I picked a couple of prime spots and kept building. The turning point was probably a hand in which Mr. Loud (now seated in 9) was involved. He’d doubled up a couple of times, the blinds were 5K/10K, I had about 90K, I think, and was on the BB. My hand was [ah 6h], there was a raise from down the table to 20K, I called, Loud called, and the flop was something like [4x 7x 8x], rainbow suits. I believe it got checked around to Loud, who went all-in for 28K. The guy from down the table folded, but I had enough chips to make the call and leave me with 40K or so. He flipped something like [jx tx], a [qx] hit the turn, then [2x] for the river and my ace-high took the pot, much to the consternation of Loud and his railers, not to mention the folder, who I overheard telling one of his friends that he’d have hit a hand if he could have called the raise. Over my shoulder, I heard cries of “He wasn’t supposed to call me!” but with 60K in the pot pre-flop, I wasn’t letting go of the ace or the straight draw.

I was sitting on a stack of 195,000 by the time we got to three-handed play: 78% of the chips in play. Not quite the disparity I’d had in my last tournament, but then there were only 35 players in this game. I honestly don’t remember the last hand. I think it might have been [kx qx]. I called UTG’s all-in from SB, BB called, with exactly the same number of chips in his stack as UTG, and when the cards were out I’d knocked both of them out so they split the pot and I took home first place again.

I wish I knew what I was doing right.

261% ROI on the evening, above entry fee, buy-ins, dealer tip and (ugh) Diet Pepsi.

A Piece of Cake

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Cake Poker Rome Turbo 6-Max

Had [5c 5h] and the bottom end of four to a straight but got caught by sixes that made a set.

11 minutes, 20 hands. -30BB.

Cake Poker $2,000 Guaranteed Rebuy & Addon (1,500 chips)

This went bad quickly on the third hand when I got greedy with [6c 8c]. There were four player in for 167 each pre-flop. The flop was [3c 9c 6h] and I bet half the pot (349) after UTG checked. HJ called, but CO raised all-in to 1,183. That forced out UTG but I called and so did HJ. Amazingly enough, I had the best had of the lot; HJ held [ts kc] and CO had [ad qh]. My sixes and flush draw were in the lead 7:3 over the other players. [4h] for the turn gave me an even better lead. But the [qs] on the river yanked it away and dropped me down to 130 chips. That was gone in another couple hands.

I bought back in but it was only marginally better.

23 minutes, 22 hands. 2 buy-ins.

End of An Era, Pt. 3

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Full Tilt Satellite to the $200K Double Deuce (1,500 chips)

Two of the players at my initial table were eliminated in the third hand by the guy on my left, then a couple hands later I falled him down to the river with a pair of jacks and took over 600 chips from him when his busted straight was exposed. He got moved to a new table right after that and I was left as chip leader for a bit with 2,700 chips.

Got [jd ac] on SB at 30/60 fifteen minutes into the game and three-bet to 400 after a raise and a call to 150. There were three of us who saw the flop of [jc ts kc]. I bet all-in for 2,550, getting a call from a small stack of 1,015 who then showed the straight with [9h qh]. Fortunately for me, [qd] came on the turn and the [8h] river card went nowhere. That put me up to 4,800. Got moved to a new table for the next hand.

There were seven players at the new table; I was in third place behind stacks of 7,500 and 5,250, with another stack about my size and the other three running from 1,000 to 2,600. Got [7c 7s] in BB and when action folded to the SB who went all-in for 1,797 I called. He showed [td js] and I was in trouble on the flop when it came out [th 6s 4s]. Then the turn [5c] game me hope and [3s] rier sealed the deal for my straight. Not exactly how I would have expected to win that hand, but I’d take it. Up over 6,600.

Back in the BB at 50/100 ten minutes later and I had [ac 9c]. UTG called. The big stack at the table with 13K was UTG1, who raised to 450. I called and UTG called. The flop was [tc ks 8d], I bet 450, UTG went all-in for nearly 4K, UTG1 called and I gladly folded. UTG held top pair with [kd qd] and UTG1 had crap with [7s jh]. Who knows what he was doing.

Another ten minutes, another BB. 80/160 with [ks 4c]. I’ve got about 5K, with the two larger stacks at the table of 9,700 and 8,100 on my right in SB and BTN. HJ, CO, BTN, and SB all limped and I checked to see what would come of this not-promising hand. [8d 7s kh] hit the flop and after SB checked I made a pot-sized bet (800) on my kings. Everyone folded to the SB, who called. [9s] on the turn, check from SB, pot-sized bet (2,400, now) from me, call from SB. [9h] on the river, check from SB, check from me, he shows [7d jh] and I take in 3,840. He’s the same player I took my first pot from. Life’s different in non-cash games.

I was over 8K at the 100/200 level when I had a serious turn-around with [kc qc] as HJ. UTG limped, I raised to 500. BTN, BB, and UTG called. The flop wasn’t auspicious: [9d 2c 5h]. Action checked to me, I bet 300, BTN folded, and the other two players called. [ac] on the turn gave me the nut flush draw. BB checked, UTG went all-in for about 3,200, and I called. UTG had two pair with [2h ah]. My club didn’t show and I was down to 4K.

I was down to less than 3K ten minutes later at 150/300/25, in SB with [td as]. UTG1 raised to 1,500, I went all-in, and he called, showing [jh jd]. It was a nail-biter after the [qc jc 7h] flop, with his trips and my straight draw. The turn [9c] gave us a chance of a chop. But pairing my ace with [ad] for the river didn’t do me any good.

58 minutes, 67 hands.

Full Tilt Satellite to the $200K Double Deuce (1,500 chips)

One hour later. Got chopped down to 950 chips in the first fifteen hands, then managed to parlay [ts ad] into a win of 1,175 when a pair of fours didn’t believe I had an ace.

Lost 1,300 playing [6d 7d] and a straight draw from BB against a set of tens, then won 2,300 two hands later with [kd jd] going all-in and flopping two pair against callers with [ac qh] and [ad 4d].

Proceeded to lose nearly 3,000 over the course of two nearly consecutive hands shortly thereafter when a Mutant Jack beat my [ad 7d], then a pair of fives became a set on the turn after I’d flopped a pair for my jack. That put me on life support, down under 1,000.

Everything went into the pot with [5c 7c] in UTG. BB with [9h 9s] called, there were no clubs on the board, my only concession was a [7d] for the river.

38 minutes, 47 hands. Finished 30th of 76.

The Midwest

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Cake Poker Daily $800 PLO/8 Guaranteed (3,000 chips)

Tried this for a lark. First online cash play since Friday.

My first hand was [tc jc 6h Qd] as UTG in ten players at 10/20. I raised to 45 and there were three callers. Flop was [js jd 7s] making me a set, and I half-potted to 105. One call. [3h] on the turn, I bet the pot (420) and got a call. [2h] for the river, we both checked, my set was the high hand and the other guy got a low. Most of the money in the pot belonged to us, so we only made a 60 chip profit.

Got [5s js 4c 6c] on the big blind. UTG raised to 70 and got three calls. SB re-raised to 440. I called and everyone already in the hand stayed in, so there were six players to the see the [ac 8h 7h] flop. I had a low straight draw, when SB went all-in for 2,540 I called. UTG went all-in for less than the bet, UTG1 called, there was a fold, and BTN was all-in for another 10 chips. I called and UTG1 called. Turn was [jc], which didn’t do much of anything for me, but UTG1 raised his last 70 chips and I called with mine (he’d been the low I split the pot in the last hand). BTN showed [as ks 6h 5c] for a pair of aces and one of my straight draws. SB had [3s Ad Jh Td] for aces and jacks and an inside straight draw to the [jx]. Things were looking grim for any real hand for me. UTG, with [3h qs kc qh] had to hope for a [tx] to make Broadway to win. UTG2 had [9c Qc Tc Kh] to fill in the gap between the nut straight. The river was [4h]. Amazingly enough, I had a low hand with [ac 4d 5s 6c 7h] and took back my 70 chips from the last round of betting. BTN had the same low, and we split the rest of the low pots, with me taking a total of 3,905.

The fourth hand, I picked up [qc ac 5c 3s]. I raised to 70 from BTN, SB re-raised to 120, UTG2 three-bet 460. Both SB and I called. [8c 2d tc] on the flop gave me the nut flush draw. I potted it to 1410, SB called for less, UTG2 went all-in for more than 5,500 and I called all-in. SB had [Jd 7s 6d Ad] for not much of anything, UTG2 showed [4c 8s As 2c] for two pair. The turn and river were unclubbed: [qh ks], turning SB’s not much into Broadway. He got the main pot of 5,130; the two-pair took 4,210 (a good bit less than he’d started the hand with, but then I got nothing).

5 minutes, 4 hands. First player of thirty permanently out because I refuse to rebuy.