Relative vs. Absolute
Hand strength evaluation can be tricky, especially during short-handed NLHE ring games. In limit poker, if you were to look at your Poker Tracker database, you'd most likely see your winning hands ranked in order of BB's won corrolating well with their absolute hand strengths. In no-limit, that ranking has the possibility to be skewed a bit.
Big winning hands are those wherein you have a hand that is just a wee bit better than your opponents. Your QT on a board of KJ973 will get paid off big time by someone holding T8, perhaps for their entire stack. Both hands are strong on an absolute basis, but on a relative basis, the higher straight is a monster.
Trusting Instincts
Being able to trust your reads on opponents only comes with focus (See Big Pirate). I had a horrible session on Monday night, basically mailing it in and dropping two buy-ins. My focus was off. I was in another conversation much of the session with Mrs_Blood about houses (another story).
Tuesday, however, I was flying solo and was able to concentrate on the table. Concentrating lets me better profile my opponents and that's important to do when you need to make reads on their bets. When a solid, tight opponent starts raising and then leading out into pots with big bets, I know it's time to laydown my top two pair. I even folded Aces the other night and was pleased to see my opponent's set of Q's NOT put me to the felt.
I also was able to put someone on a draw and correctly call their river bluff when what I perceived to be a rag hit the board. Getting a compliment from another player for a nice call was icing on the cake. Playing without interruptions and distractions is still an area of discipline I need to work on.
Agression
Do you ever feel bad about making a continuation bet and having it called when you miss the flop entirely? Well don't. Aggression and continuation bets will win you more pots in the long run, in my opinion. Example: pocket 8's in the small blind and it's limped around to me. I raised to 4xBB. My raise was only 50% effective, eliminating two of the four limpers. The flop was KJx and totally missed me. I didn't care. I fired out a 2/3rds pot size bet and both callers folded. I would most likely have lost the hand had I not raised. As Harrington states, that continuation bet is a good decision and often times a money maker.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Brad-o-ween - Final Phase
Phase 3 - More Poker, More Drinking
Saturday morning at 9am rolled around and I woke up to the sound of someone sawing through our downstairs ceiling right below my bed. A friend of the family was fixing our ceiling that had been ruined by my leaking shower. I had only 6 hours of sleep, but it would have to do. All the other bloggers staying at the house, Iggy, Pauly, Derek and Daddy were still sound asleep and snoring. My plan was to let them sleep as long as they wanted, I didn't want to wake anyone up.
While waiting, I fired up Noble Poker and quickly doubled my buy-in at a NL ring game table. Nice way to start off the day I thought. We were due over at Otis' house by 12:30, so at around 11:00 I began to knock on people's doors trying to get them up. No dice. I'll wait a little more. By 11:30, I think Pauly made his way into the shower. We were going to be cutting it close, but hopefully everyone could get ready.
Mercifully, we made it to Otis' house in time to get things started. I installed some tourney tracking software on Otis' laptop and then determined the starting chip count with the now famous Barbie Fashion Poker Chips. I never saw so many pink, purple and yellow chips in my life. I hear Otis intentionally picked those colors to confuse AlCantHang and his color blindness.
The structure of the tourney was designed to last about 7 hours at the request of Otis. I usually have a set structure and vary the starting chip count and level time to hit the target. I'm not too far off usually. From what I was hearing, people seemed to like the structure as it allowed them to play some interesting post-flop poker rather than become an all-in fest after 2 hours.
After I had heard that Otis busted out first, I couldn't help but smile. Certainly not because he was busted, but rather because I wasn't surprised. Anytime I'm hosting a tourney/party, my mind is not fully 100% on poker. There are just too many people with whom I'm concerned about having a good time for me to concentrate at the levels required for me to play well. My gut told me that Otis was probably going through some of the same feelings since Brad-o-ween was pretty much the be-all end-all of parties.
I managed a piss-poor 36th place finish or thereabouts. My demise came in the form of pocket T's. On a board of 356 rainblow, I put Frank the Tank's reraise on a straight draw and pushed. He had a set of 3's and my two-outer didn't hit.
Off to the cash games. Or rather, wait until Otis approves that a cash game can commence, then off to the cash games. He and G-Rob were off chasing cheez ball ghosts so it was a bit of time before we could actually start. Once we did, I tried to play the cash game and keep my duties as tournament director in tact. I think by the time I managed to condense the tables to 3, CJ stepped up and took the helm. It was much appreciated since I had just got stuck for a buy-in when G-Rob, me, and Maigrey all made flushes on the river and the three of us were all-in. G-Rob's ATd beat my KJd and Maigrey's 45d. Crap. Give G-Rob a stack and it's all but over.
I managed to build my stack back a bit, just shy of $10 of the $140 I bought in for. Until The Mark and his no limit Omaha-8 game. Ugh. After a few 3-handed maniacal hands of this blasphemous game (along with Squint from PokerStage), the cash game broke up and I took what was left of my chips and vowed not to play The Mark at no limit Omaha-8 again. Until next time, that is.
The tourney was winding down and the drunk-a-lympics were going to start. I was missing two things: Drunkeness and entrance music. I was pretty sure that I was going to be chosen for the arm-wrestling portion of the show; since that was my feature event, I was coming in WWE-style. I made a quick stop back at casa Blood to grab my iPod and return my poker table to it's natural resting place. While home, I tossed back a Hydroxycut pill in anticipation of staying up real late. Packed with ephedra, I wasn't going to let last nights minimal sleep affect me. I got back to Otis' house in time to watch the final table in all its glory. I did have my iPod, but I still didn't have my drunk. This wasn't the sober-a-lympics. Time to get started.
First step, car bomb. Thanks Eva. Second step, half a plastic cup of vodka, half a plastic cup of V8. Not quite an official bloody mary, but it will do. Third step, a couple of beers. Only then could the drunk-a-lympics begin. Without re-hashing the gory details, let's just say TEAM EVIL came out victorious. How could they not when Slayer's Bloodlines blasted to my entrance prior to arm-wrestling Derek. Even his Revenge of the Nerds-style countermeasures couldn't compete against the forces of Evil.
While Team Evil did lose some events, forcing some shots of SoCo into my system, we did win the overall competition. Time for some bubbly. I tried to douse G-Rob with some champagne, but I wasn't very successful. No recourse but to finish off the bottle. Then things got hazy. I do remember the wet t-shirt contest. So did Mrs_Blood. I got in a bit of trouble for being too close to the action. Penalty: one night in the dog house. Such is life. I'll be there again I'm sure.
Unfortunately, that Hydroxycut pill I took earlier didn't work. I became, shall we say, "tired." I wandered off to the edge of the driveway and sat down. Soon lying down became a much better option. Not soon after, my better half made the command decision that my state was irrecoverable and drove me home. I am a lightweight.
Apparently, the McGrupp's made it back to the house around 3am while Iggy and Daddy hung out 'til daylight at Otis'. I hope I didn't miss too much. I probably did.
Sunday, we finally regrouped a bit with everyone prior to their departure. Heather, April and the CantHangCrew stopped by for a bit and got to play a couple of Chip Challenges(tm) with the minis. It was nice to see miniBlood taking a pot from Iggy and taking AlCantHang out of a game. miniMsBlood won both challenges and had a great time too.
In all seriousness, thanks to you guys who came by on Sunday and humored us and the mini's. That meant a lot to yours truly.
****
It seems hard to believe that weekend was over a week gone by. Truly a monumental weekend that will be difficult to replicate. But I'm sure, when next year rolls around, Otis will try. I be there.
Saturday morning at 9am rolled around and I woke up to the sound of someone sawing through our downstairs ceiling right below my bed. A friend of the family was fixing our ceiling that had been ruined by my leaking shower. I had only 6 hours of sleep, but it would have to do. All the other bloggers staying at the house, Iggy, Pauly, Derek and Daddy were still sound asleep and snoring. My plan was to let them sleep as long as they wanted, I didn't want to wake anyone up.
While waiting, I fired up Noble Poker and quickly doubled my buy-in at a NL ring game table. Nice way to start off the day I thought. We were due over at Otis' house by 12:30, so at around 11:00 I began to knock on people's doors trying to get them up. No dice. I'll wait a little more. By 11:30, I think Pauly made his way into the shower. We were going to be cutting it close, but hopefully everyone could get ready.
Mercifully, we made it to Otis' house in time to get things started. I installed some tourney tracking software on Otis' laptop and then determined the starting chip count with the now famous Barbie Fashion Poker Chips. I never saw so many pink, purple and yellow chips in my life. I hear Otis intentionally picked those colors to confuse AlCantHang and his color blindness.
The structure of the tourney was designed to last about 7 hours at the request of Otis. I usually have a set structure and vary the starting chip count and level time to hit the target. I'm not too far off usually. From what I was hearing, people seemed to like the structure as it allowed them to play some interesting post-flop poker rather than become an all-in fest after 2 hours.
After I had heard that Otis busted out first, I couldn't help but smile. Certainly not because he was busted, but rather because I wasn't surprised. Anytime I'm hosting a tourney/party, my mind is not fully 100% on poker. There are just too many people with whom I'm concerned about having a good time for me to concentrate at the levels required for me to play well. My gut told me that Otis was probably going through some of the same feelings since Brad-o-ween was pretty much the be-all end-all of parties.
I managed a piss-poor 36th place finish or thereabouts. My demise came in the form of pocket T's. On a board of 356 rainblow, I put Frank the Tank's reraise on a straight draw and pushed. He had a set of 3's and my two-outer didn't hit.
Off to the cash games. Or rather, wait until Otis approves that a cash game can commence, then off to the cash games. He and G-Rob were off chasing cheez ball ghosts so it was a bit of time before we could actually start. Once we did, I tried to play the cash game and keep my duties as tournament director in tact. I think by the time I managed to condense the tables to 3, CJ stepped up and took the helm. It was much appreciated since I had just got stuck for a buy-in when G-Rob, me, and Maigrey all made flushes on the river and the three of us were all-in. G-Rob's ATd beat my KJd and Maigrey's 45d. Crap. Give G-Rob a stack and it's all but over.
I managed to build my stack back a bit, just shy of $10 of the $140 I bought in for. Until The Mark and his no limit Omaha-8 game. Ugh. After a few 3-handed maniacal hands of this blasphemous game (along with Squint from PokerStage), the cash game broke up and I took what was left of my chips and vowed not to play The Mark at no limit Omaha-8 again. Until next time, that is.
The tourney was winding down and the drunk-a-lympics were going to start. I was missing two things: Drunkeness and entrance music. I was pretty sure that I was going to be chosen for the arm-wrestling portion of the show; since that was my feature event, I was coming in WWE-style. I made a quick stop back at casa Blood to grab my iPod and return my poker table to it's natural resting place. While home, I tossed back a Hydroxycut pill in anticipation of staying up real late. Packed with ephedra, I wasn't going to let last nights minimal sleep affect me. I got back to Otis' house in time to watch the final table in all its glory. I did have my iPod, but I still didn't have my drunk. This wasn't the sober-a-lympics. Time to get started.
First step, car bomb. Thanks Eva. Second step, half a plastic cup of vodka, half a plastic cup of V8. Not quite an official bloody mary, but it will do. Third step, a couple of beers. Only then could the drunk-a-lympics begin. Without re-hashing the gory details, let's just say TEAM EVIL came out victorious. How could they not when Slayer's Bloodlines blasted to my entrance prior to arm-wrestling Derek. Even his Revenge of the Nerds-style countermeasures couldn't compete against the forces of Evil.
While Team Evil did lose some events, forcing some shots of SoCo into my system, we did win the overall competition. Time for some bubbly. I tried to douse G-Rob with some champagne, but I wasn't very successful. No recourse but to finish off the bottle. Then things got hazy. I do remember the wet t-shirt contest. So did Mrs_Blood. I got in a bit of trouble for being too close to the action. Penalty: one night in the dog house. Such is life. I'll be there again I'm sure.
Unfortunately, that Hydroxycut pill I took earlier didn't work. I became, shall we say, "tired." I wandered off to the edge of the driveway and sat down. Soon lying down became a much better option. Not soon after, my better half made the command decision that my state was irrecoverable and drove me home. I am a lightweight.
Apparently, the McGrupp's made it back to the house around 3am while Iggy and Daddy hung out 'til daylight at Otis'. I hope I didn't miss too much. I probably did.
Sunday, we finally regrouped a bit with everyone prior to their departure. Heather, April and the CantHangCrew stopped by for a bit and got to play a couple of Chip Challenges(tm) with the minis. It was nice to see miniBlood taking a pot from Iggy and taking AlCantHang out of a game. miniMsBlood won both challenges and had a great time too.
In all seriousness, thanks to you guys who came by on Sunday and humored us and the mini's. That meant a lot to yours truly.
****
It seems hard to believe that weekend was over a week gone by. Truly a monumental weekend that will be difficult to replicate. But I'm sure, when next year rolls around, Otis will try. I be there.
Friday, August 26, 2005
That For Which There Is No Defense
In one of his articles for ESPN, Phil Gordon discusses how strategy varies depending on the type of player against whom you're playing. He reviews different "levels" of thinking about one particular hand and shows how different players consider different options when they play. Phil takes his conceptual discussion from Level 1 thinking to Level 4 thinking. It is really a great article.
But he's forgetting one level of thinking for which there is no defense.
Level 0 thinking.
It's for players who don't even know what cards are in their own hands. Level 1 would be an improvement.
Let's examine a couple of hands showcasing this indefensible technique.
Hand 1. I'm in the BB holding 32h and there are 3 other players along for the ride. The flop is A57 with two hearts. I have a draw to a weak flush and the wheel, but I'm taking an aggressive approach to the hand. With $2 in the pot, I bet out $3 and get one caller. The turn is the 8d. Again, I bet out, this time $7 and yet again get called. At this point, I'm putting the other player on two hearts as well so I really don't want a heart to hit. I'm pretty sure I can buy this pot on the river if the river is harmless, especially with the Ace on the board. The river shows the 8c and I fire out $20. I am flat called again and lose the hand. The other player had 9Th. I was right, two hearts. But the guy called a $20 bet with T-high. In fact, after he called the bet and then looked at his hand, he said, "You win." I replied, "No I don't."
This player, admitted to thinking he had 89 instead of 9T and thought that he had trips. So not only did this player misread his hand, he mis-played the hand he thought he had. How can you compete with that? I know, my fault for trying to play poker against a level 0 thinker.
Hand 2. The game is Omaha H/L. Action has been decent and I know I've got the low sewn up. When the turn card hits the board putting a very easily seen straight draw on board, EP1 bets out at the pot for the first time. Previously, this player had been check-calling. The board is showing two clubs and my 23c that I'm using for the low half of the hand could win high if a club hits the river. A club hits the river. Now, rather than bet out, EP1 checks which confirms my suspicion about his straight. I bet out anticipating a scoop, and EP1 calls. With this being a declare game, I show two chips representing my intention to go high and low. EP1 shows 1 chip for high and when I show him my weak flush, he says, "I only have a straight." Just like I thought. Unfortunately, EP1 showed his cards to the table and about 3 other people told him that he had a flush too, a flush that beat my hand. "Oh. I guess I do." Fantastic! How do you compete with that? I know, my fault for being greedy and trying to scoop with a bad flush.
So yes, there is 1 more level of thinking you have to be prepared for, Level 0. How you adjust your strategy to compensate however, is well beyond me.
But he's forgetting one level of thinking for which there is no defense.
Level 0 thinking.
It's for players who don't even know what cards are in their own hands. Level 1 would be an improvement.
Let's examine a couple of hands showcasing this indefensible technique.
Hand 1. I'm in the BB holding 32h and there are 3 other players along for the ride. The flop is A57 with two hearts. I have a draw to a weak flush and the wheel, but I'm taking an aggressive approach to the hand. With $2 in the pot, I bet out $3 and get one caller. The turn is the 8d. Again, I bet out, this time $7 and yet again get called. At this point, I'm putting the other player on two hearts as well so I really don't want a heart to hit. I'm pretty sure I can buy this pot on the river if the river is harmless, especially with the Ace on the board. The river shows the 8c and I fire out $20. I am flat called again and lose the hand. The other player had 9Th. I was right, two hearts. But the guy called a $20 bet with T-high. In fact, after he called the bet and then looked at his hand, he said, "You win." I replied, "No I don't."
This player, admitted to thinking he had 89 instead of 9T and thought that he had trips. So not only did this player misread his hand, he mis-played the hand he thought he had. How can you compete with that? I know, my fault for trying to play poker against a level 0 thinker.
Hand 2. The game is Omaha H/L. Action has been decent and I know I've got the low sewn up. When the turn card hits the board putting a very easily seen straight draw on board, EP1 bets out at the pot for the first time. Previously, this player had been check-calling. The board is showing two clubs and my 23c that I'm using for the low half of the hand could win high if a club hits the river. A club hits the river. Now, rather than bet out, EP1 checks which confirms my suspicion about his straight. I bet out anticipating a scoop, and EP1 calls. With this being a declare game, I show two chips representing my intention to go high and low. EP1 shows 1 chip for high and when I show him my weak flush, he says, "I only have a straight." Just like I thought. Unfortunately, EP1 showed his cards to the table and about 3 other people told him that he had a flush too, a flush that beat my hand. "Oh. I guess I do." Fantastic! How do you compete with that? I know, my fault for being greedy and trying to scoop with a bad flush.
So yes, there is 1 more level of thinking you have to be prepared for, Level 0. How you adjust your strategy to compensate however, is well beyond me.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Phase 2 - Drinks are Drunk
Before I get into Brad-o-Weekend Phase 2, just a little glam rock-based aside. Me and the Axeman went down to the BiLo Center in downtown G-Vegas last night to catch the Rock Never Stops Tour. It featured Firehouse, Quite Riot, Ratt, and Cinderella.
A few comments. Firehouse - decent. No idea how many original members besides the lead singer there were, but all in all, faithful to their records. Quiet Riot - good lord. Lead singer Kevin Dubrow, while enthusiastic, energetic and still singing quite well, looked his age. Original drummer Frankie Bonelli (sp?) looked like he needed an oxygen tank. Damn. Ratt - well, some of Ratt - very enjoyable, at least to me. While Robin Crosby is no longer with us, basist Juan Crocier and lead singer Steven Pearcy aren't with the band any longer. In their stead was Jizzy Pearl singing and John Corabi as rhythm guitar. One thing is for damned sure, Warren DiMartini is the glue of that band. He is seriously one of the most underrating guitarists of that era. Chops city. I'd go see any band he's in. Cinderella - very enjoyable as well. While some of the members looked a bit worse for the wear, their performance was great, even the predictable encore.
****
Upon arrival at the Bait Shack, I was immediately handed a Bloody Mary from TeamScottSmith. Great guy that TeamScott. Ya know, the whole frickin' Smith clan is great; Shep, Debbie and even that underage Wolverine card shark are just good people. Pretty much everyone was there in full force trying to be heard over the band. Figures, the one night we're all in downtown G-Vegas, we pick a bar that never has a band and boom, we're all trying to out-shout the noise.
I made my way to a booth where Iggy, Pauly and
Maudie had set up shop. Derek was there too. Not soon after, BigMike and BG made their way inside. Massive prop-betting ensued. The first one I saw was BG being offered $25 to drink the melted ice from a bucket of beer. Pretty much unfazed by the request, BG quickly scooped up the bucket and drank. "Hmmm, tasted kind of tinny." I'm not sure how much that bucket contributed to his condition on Saturday, but at the least I'd be worried that some sort of abdominal distress would be in his near-term future. But, like a trooper, he was unphased.
Iggy then was offering $100 to anyone who would lick clean a side of ranch dressing. I thought about it, but wouldn't feel comfortable taking the $100. Oddly, nobody else volunteered either. The funniest part about the offer was learning that Otis had already done the same deed but for a discount price of $5. Premature agreement is -EV.
Before we decided to leave, G-Rob and I tussled once again at left-handed arm wrestling. Dude, you're like 0 for 4 now. Give up. Maudie's site has pictures and UpForPoker has the video. Best part? The "anal iz kool" written on the edge of the table. Classic Bait Shack.
On our way out, I was under the impression we were off to the land of boobies. Not so. There were a couple of people who were ready to crash and wanted to head home. I won't name names, but let it be said right here that BadBlood was ready, willing and able to carry out his duty to escort those in need of boobies to the appropriate places in G-Vegas. Next time, there will be no choice.
Upon arriving home at Casa de Blood, five bloggers took a gaze at the poker table situated right there in the living room. Great minds think alike and a 2/4 HORSE game was immediately born. From 1:30 to 3:00 am, Iggy, Pauly, Derek, Daddy and myself had a little low stakes fun. By 3am and 1 full orbit, we broke the game up and some of us hit the sack. Others hung out a bit on the front porch relaxing in the now cooled down Carolina air.
Next up: Saturday and Phase 3 of Brad-o-Weekend
A few comments. Firehouse - decent. No idea how many original members besides the lead singer there were, but all in all, faithful to their records. Quiet Riot - good lord. Lead singer Kevin Dubrow, while enthusiastic, energetic and still singing quite well, looked his age. Original drummer Frankie Bonelli (sp?) looked like he needed an oxygen tank. Damn. Ratt - well, some of Ratt - very enjoyable, at least to me. While Robin Crosby is no longer with us, basist Juan Crocier and lead singer Steven Pearcy aren't with the band any longer. In their stead was Jizzy Pearl singing and John Corabi as rhythm guitar. One thing is for damned sure, Warren DiMartini is the glue of that band. He is seriously one of the most underrating guitarists of that era. Chops city. I'd go see any band he's in. Cinderella - very enjoyable as well. While some of the members looked a bit worse for the wear, their performance was great, even the predictable encore.
****
Upon arrival at the Bait Shack, I was immediately handed a Bloody Mary from TeamScottSmith. Great guy that TeamScott. Ya know, the whole frickin' Smith clan is great; Shep, Debbie and even that underage Wolverine card shark are just good people. Pretty much everyone was there in full force trying to be heard over the band. Figures, the one night we're all in downtown G-Vegas, we pick a bar that never has a band and boom, we're all trying to out-shout the noise.
I made my way to a booth where Iggy, Pauly and
Maudie had set up shop. Derek was there too. Not soon after, BigMike and BG made their way inside. Massive prop-betting ensued. The first one I saw was BG being offered $25 to drink the melted ice from a bucket of beer. Pretty much unfazed by the request, BG quickly scooped up the bucket and drank. "Hmmm, tasted kind of tinny." I'm not sure how much that bucket contributed to his condition on Saturday, but at the least I'd be worried that some sort of abdominal distress would be in his near-term future. But, like a trooper, he was unphased.Iggy then was offering $100 to anyone who would lick clean a side of ranch dressing. I thought about it, but wouldn't feel comfortable taking the $100. Oddly, nobody else volunteered either. The funniest part about the offer was learning that Otis had already done the same deed but for a discount price of $5. Premature agreement is -EV.
Before we decided to leave, G-Rob and I tussled once again at left-handed arm wrestling. Dude, you're like 0 for 4 now. Give up. Maudie's site has pictures and UpForPoker has the video. Best part? The "anal iz kool" written on the edge of the table. Classic Bait Shack.
On our way out, I was under the impression we were off to the land of boobies. Not so. There were a couple of people who were ready to crash and wanted to head home. I won't name names, but let it be said right here that BadBlood was ready, willing and able to carry out his duty to escort those in need of boobies to the appropriate places in G-Vegas. Next time, there will be no choice.
Upon arriving home at Casa de Blood, five bloggers took a gaze at the poker table situated right there in the living room. Great minds think alike and a 2/4 HORSE game was immediately born. From 1:30 to 3:00 am, Iggy, Pauly, Derek, Daddy and myself had a little low stakes fun. By 3am and 1 full orbit, we broke the game up and some of us hit the sack. Others hung out a bit on the front porch relaxing in the now cooled down Carolina air.
Next up: Saturday and Phase 3 of Brad-o-Weekend
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Too Scary - All True
Ok, this is 100% the truth, I swear on the lives of the miniBloods.
****
I fire up Pokerstars for a little 5-table SNG action. Yeah, it's only $1.20, but it's a nice little time-waster while I'm tooling around on the Intarweb.
I fire up Bloglines too since I'll be doing a bunch of folding early on. Only a few new entries to read, but one of them is this:
to raise, perchance to fold . . .
Wil's been given a nickname by Dr. Pauly thanks to his KK always getting killed. He had real bad luck with them in the WPT championships then related his tale of woe in a Pokerstars SNG where those same two cards were beat yet again. Not soon after, and when I say not soon, I mean less than 60 seconds, yours truly is dealt KK.
IN MIDDLE POSITION. Eerie.
UTG+1 min-raises from 30 to 60. I make it 270 to go. The SB, BB both call and the original raiser folds. I like that, probably a weak Ace and my hand gets stronger.
The flop is all undercards T92.
The SB and BB check, as expected, since the flop is garbage. The SB has got me way covered thanks to some early suckouts, calling all-in with QJ off and catching a J to nearly triple up.
Just so he knows I'm all business, I bet half my stack into a 800+ pot. SB and BB both call. Odd.
Turn is an offsuit 4 putting absolutely no flush draw on the board.
Again, the SB and BB both check. The pot is 2600+ and I have only a little over 600 left so I'm all-in.
SB calls, BB folds.
We flip cards.
SB shows....
A5 suited.
WTF??? Oh well, it's a $1.20 5-tabler, what should I expect.
Certainly not the 3 on the river for the runner-runner wheel.
Hamlet indeed.
****
The BadBlood is boiling...
on the floor.
You can't stop the anger
'cause this means war.
****
I fire up Pokerstars for a little 5-table SNG action. Yeah, it's only $1.20, but it's a nice little time-waster while I'm tooling around on the Intarweb.
I fire up Bloglines too since I'll be doing a bunch of folding early on. Only a few new entries to read, but one of them is this:
to raise, perchance to fold . . .
Wil's been given a nickname by Dr. Pauly thanks to his KK always getting killed. He had real bad luck with them in the WPT championships then related his tale of woe in a Pokerstars SNG where those same two cards were beat yet again. Not soon after, and when I say not soon, I mean less than 60 seconds, yours truly is dealt KK.
IN MIDDLE POSITION. Eerie.
UTG+1 min-raises from 30 to 60. I make it 270 to go. The SB, BB both call and the original raiser folds. I like that, probably a weak Ace and my hand gets stronger.
The flop is all undercards T92.
The SB and BB check, as expected, since the flop is garbage. The SB has got me way covered thanks to some early suckouts, calling all-in with QJ off and catching a J to nearly triple up.
Just so he knows I'm all business, I bet half my stack into a 800+ pot. SB and BB both call. Odd.
Turn is an offsuit 4 putting absolutely no flush draw on the board.
Again, the SB and BB both check. The pot is 2600+ and I have only a little over 600 left so I'm all-in.
SB calls, BB folds.
We flip cards.
SB shows....
A5 suited.
WTF??? Oh well, it's a $1.20 5-tabler, what should I expect.
Certainly not the 3 on the river for the runner-runner wheel.
Hamlet indeed.
****
The BadBlood is boiling...
on the floor.
You can't stop the anger
'cause this means war.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Friday - Phase 1 - Poker is Played
Where to begin....
****
Friday morning began innocently enough. I had to run some last second errands, but other than that, had no real responsibilities until around 2pm when I had to pick up the brothers McGrupp at G-Vegas International Airport. I had been in touch with G-Rob who had confirmed that the CantHangCrew was in town and ready to go drinking. It was past noon afterall.
I got to the airport a bit early and began my own festivities with a Bloody Mary. I was going to chill there for a while until the bartender said "That'll be $7." Those prices would have made any New Yorker feel at home. So I downed my 1 drink and waited for a bit just walking the terminal. I was notified by phone that the crew who had already began drinking at Chief's (Wings and Firewater) would be moving to Otis' house for some afernoon poker.
I got the McGrupps back to the house to unload their belongings wherein I was bestowed one of Dr. Pauly's manuscripts. Seriously, I was honored. I already had a Pauly painting for cracking AA with the Hiltons last year, this new collectible will be treasured equally. I figure that once Pauly completes his ascension into Superstar Status, these items will earn me a fortune on eBay when I'm ready to retire.
Derek, Pauly, Mrs_Blood, and myself then made the short trek to Otis' house. We arrived to find Otis taking care of some pre-party prep work and a NL ring game already in action in the dining room. Deal me in. I gave Mrs_Blood a buy-in too so she could play. G-Rob was already in the midst of building a stack. Other players included Marty, Eva and Al, and Dr. Jeff. It soon became apparent that the G-Vegas home game AllStars were on top of their game.
A most unfortunate hand for Mrs_Blood came about 30 minutes into the game. Facing an early position $3 raise, Mrs_Blood flat called from mid-position. I looked down to see two red Kings and re-raised to $12. It folded all around back to Mrs_Blood and she called. I don't really enjoy playing the Mrs. for cash. I'm either just winning back my own money or giving the other players ammo with which to ridicule me. Oh well, such is life. The flop came TTJ with two hearts. Acting first, Mrs_Blood bet out $15. Who the hell taught her to bet out like that on a scary board. Did she realize that I was re-raising pre-flop with a monster? A monster that obviously didn't have a T in in? Pauly came over to peek at my hand and simply muttered "Raise or fold, dude."
I thought more about the hand and put Mrs_Blood on AJ and pushed. She insta-called and I feared the worst. The table got a decent chuckle when she showed two black Kings. Sadly, with the two hearts on board, I was on a free roll. G-Rob dealt the turn - another heart. When he peeked at the river card, I knew I hit the flush based on the expression on his face. You could tell he was rooting for Mrs_Blood to stay alive. The table erupted as I relived my runner-runner flush suckout with Kings that I inflicted on April back in June at the Aladdin Classic. Brutal. Live poker is rigged.
By the end of the ring game, only G-Rob, Dr. Jeff, and myself had any chips. G-Rob up $140, BadBlood up $160, G-Vegas takes down St. Louis with a 2nd round TKO. It was pretty bloody. G-Rob poured salt in the wound after Marty busted out asking him ever so sarcastically "How's that St. Louis home game now?"
****
We regrouped back at casaBlood to prep for the G-Vegas is Doomed tourney. I had wanted to start by 7pm so we could get downtown and destroy the local establishments before it got too late. We were just waiting for some out of town arrivals.
Slowly, but surely, they all came. It was a blogger convention Southern Style. Austin April and Heather, Gamecock, CJ and Lefty, Otis and the St. Loo Crew, G-Rob, the CantHangs, local home game legends The Mark and The Axeman, Pauly and Derek, Dr. Jeff and the Bloods were waiting on what I thought were to be only two more arrivals. Iggy and Daddy had been driving all day from Ohio and pulled in at about 7:20. Nice timing. We were ready to go. Or were we. G-Rob made an announcement that he ordered a stripper to show up. I said "Sweet!" Mrs_Blood gave me the look. Luckily for me, the stripper was Maudie making a surprise appearance in G-Vegas. I made room in the tourney for one more seat and we were off and running by 7:30.
****
My tourney performance blew chunks like a certain McGrupp would later in the weekend. It was that same McGrupp that took me out of my own tourney in 17th place when his AJ dominated my suited QJ. No flush, no queen and I was done. I seem to do worse in any tourney I'm trying to run at the same time. Yeah, I'm making excuses.
When we finally reseated the final table of 10, I began rearrainging chairs to accomodate everyone. I lifted one of my new steel folding chairs over the table in an attempt to relocate it on the other side. Unfortunately it came crashing down on Maudie's head. She didn't even flinch. She took that chair shot like the Undertaker in his prime. Apparently she was unaffected mentally too since she managed a 3rd place finish.
Otis took the title down, over Pauly in 2nd. The Gamecock rounded out the money finishers in 4th. I won't mention that this was the first time Otis has cashed at my house, but G-Rob may end up pointing that out in his report.
With the tourney over, Otis made the group decision to reconvene at G-Vegas' best dive bar, the Bait Shack.
More on that later.
****
Friday morning began innocently enough. I had to run some last second errands, but other than that, had no real responsibilities until around 2pm when I had to pick up the brothers McGrupp at G-Vegas International Airport. I had been in touch with G-Rob who had confirmed that the CantHangCrew was in town and ready to go drinking. It was past noon afterall.
I got to the airport a bit early and began my own festivities with a Bloody Mary. I was going to chill there for a while until the bartender said "That'll be $7." Those prices would have made any New Yorker feel at home. So I downed my 1 drink and waited for a bit just walking the terminal. I was notified by phone that the crew who had already began drinking at Chief's (Wings and Firewater) would be moving to Otis' house for some afernoon poker.
I got the McGrupps back to the house to unload their belongings wherein I was bestowed one of Dr. Pauly's manuscripts. Seriously, I was honored. I already had a Pauly painting for cracking AA with the Hiltons last year, this new collectible will be treasured equally. I figure that once Pauly completes his ascension into Superstar Status, these items will earn me a fortune on eBay when I'm ready to retire.
Derek, Pauly, Mrs_Blood, and myself then made the short trek to Otis' house. We arrived to find Otis taking care of some pre-party prep work and a NL ring game already in action in the dining room. Deal me in. I gave Mrs_Blood a buy-in too so she could play. G-Rob was already in the midst of building a stack. Other players included Marty, Eva and Al, and Dr. Jeff. It soon became apparent that the G-Vegas home game AllStars were on top of their game.
A most unfortunate hand for Mrs_Blood came about 30 minutes into the game. Facing an early position $3 raise, Mrs_Blood flat called from mid-position. I looked down to see two red Kings and re-raised to $12. It folded all around back to Mrs_Blood and she called. I don't really enjoy playing the Mrs. for cash. I'm either just winning back my own money or giving the other players ammo with which to ridicule me. Oh well, such is life. The flop came TTJ with two hearts. Acting first, Mrs_Blood bet out $15. Who the hell taught her to bet out like that on a scary board. Did she realize that I was re-raising pre-flop with a monster? A monster that obviously didn't have a T in in? Pauly came over to peek at my hand and simply muttered "Raise or fold, dude."
I thought more about the hand and put Mrs_Blood on AJ and pushed. She insta-called and I feared the worst. The table got a decent chuckle when she showed two black Kings. Sadly, with the two hearts on board, I was on a free roll. G-Rob dealt the turn - another heart. When he peeked at the river card, I knew I hit the flush based on the expression on his face. You could tell he was rooting for Mrs_Blood to stay alive. The table erupted as I relived my runner-runner flush suckout with Kings that I inflicted on April back in June at the Aladdin Classic. Brutal. Live poker is rigged.
By the end of the ring game, only G-Rob, Dr. Jeff, and myself had any chips. G-Rob up $140, BadBlood up $160, G-Vegas takes down St. Louis with a 2nd round TKO. It was pretty bloody. G-Rob poured salt in the wound after Marty busted out asking him ever so sarcastically "How's that St. Louis home game now?"
****
We regrouped back at casaBlood to prep for the G-Vegas is Doomed tourney. I had wanted to start by 7pm so we could get downtown and destroy the local establishments before it got too late. We were just waiting for some out of town arrivals.
Slowly, but surely, they all came. It was a blogger convention Southern Style. Austin April and Heather, Gamecock, CJ and Lefty, Otis and the St. Loo Crew, G-Rob, the CantHangs, local home game legends The Mark and The Axeman, Pauly and Derek, Dr. Jeff and the Bloods were waiting on what I thought were to be only two more arrivals. Iggy and Daddy had been driving all day from Ohio and pulled in at about 7:20. Nice timing. We were ready to go. Or were we. G-Rob made an announcement that he ordered a stripper to show up. I said "Sweet!" Mrs_Blood gave me the look. Luckily for me, the stripper was Maudie making a surprise appearance in G-Vegas. I made room in the tourney for one more seat and we were off and running by 7:30.
****
My tourney performance blew chunks like a certain McGrupp would later in the weekend. It was that same McGrupp that took me out of my own tourney in 17th place when his AJ dominated my suited QJ. No flush, no queen and I was done. I seem to do worse in any tourney I'm trying to run at the same time. Yeah, I'm making excuses.
When we finally reseated the final table of 10, I began rearrainging chairs to accomodate everyone. I lifted one of my new steel folding chairs over the table in an attempt to relocate it on the other side. Unfortunately it came crashing down on Maudie's head. She didn't even flinch. She took that chair shot like the Undertaker in his prime. Apparently she was unaffected mentally too since she managed a 3rd place finish.
Otis took the title down, over Pauly in 2nd. The Gamecock rounded out the money finishers in 4th. I won't mention that this was the first time Otis has cashed at my house, but G-Rob may end up pointing that out in his report.
With the tourney over, Otis made the group decision to reconvene at G-Vegas' best dive bar, the Bait Shack.
More on that later.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
A Preamble
Before I get into things, just wanted to throw a note of thanks out to several people.
To my four house-guests, Iggy, Daddy, Pauly and Derek, for being easy to take care of.
To Otis for organizing a kick-ass party.
To G-Rob for fucking up the Drunk Olympics draft.
To CJ for taking over tournament director duties when I went to play in a cash game.
To Maudie for bringing some Oklahoma wine for me to try and withstanding my steel chair shot to the cranium without juicing.
To April for bringing some exclusive Texas-brewed beer to casa Blood.
To EvaCanHang for being the best bartendress in the upstate.
To AlCantHang for, well, for just being AlCantHang.
To DoubleAs for making the trek and proving he can party as well as anybody.
To Gamecock for proving how lax the under-age drinking laws are here in SC.
To BigPirate for representin' SC at the Brad-o-ween V tourney.
To Heather for playing in the miniBlood's chip challenge Sunday afternoon.
To the long-list of folks who can now beat me at armwrestling (read: Any member of the Smith family)
To Marty and the St. Loo Crew for being willing to hang out at casa Blood watching Empire Strikes Back during the tourney on Friday.
To the Axeman who furthered the legend of the G-Vegas home game.
To Gracie for not being upset when she bluffed off her chips to me when I held the nuts.
And last, and ESPECIALLY not least, to Mrs_Blood who drove my passed-out, drunk ass home on Saturday night. She puts up with so much. Guess I gotta buy her a new house now.
To my four house-guests, Iggy, Daddy, Pauly and Derek, for being easy to take care of.
To Otis for organizing a kick-ass party.
To G-Rob for fucking up the Drunk Olympics draft.
To CJ for taking over tournament director duties when I went to play in a cash game.
To Maudie for bringing some Oklahoma wine for me to try and withstanding my steel chair shot to the cranium without juicing.
To April for bringing some exclusive Texas-brewed beer to casa Blood.
To EvaCanHang for being the best bartendress in the upstate.
To AlCantHang for, well, for just being AlCantHang.
To DoubleAs for making the trek and proving he can party as well as anybody.
To Gamecock for proving how lax the under-age drinking laws are here in SC.
To BigPirate for representin' SC at the Brad-o-ween V tourney.
To Heather for playing in the miniBlood's chip challenge Sunday afternoon.
To the long-list of folks who can now beat me at armwrestling (read: Any member of the Smith family)
To Marty and the St. Loo Crew for being willing to hang out at casa Blood watching Empire Strikes Back during the tourney on Friday.
To the Axeman who furthered the legend of the G-Vegas home game.
To Gracie for not being upset when she bluffed off her chips to me when I held the nuts.
And last, and ESPECIALLY not least, to Mrs_Blood who drove my passed-out, drunk ass home on Saturday night. She puts up with so much. Guess I gotta buy her a new house now.
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