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[Butter]

Yes, that would be some guy who calls pretty much everything hoping to be able to make a hand on the river.

Therefore, calling station.

In this case, he would bet low with nothing, bet medium with a decent pair, and bet large with something really good.  He was just calling my medium bets, and didn't make anything.

Therefore, he was telegraphing his hands.

Always glad to help.

[Kwyjibo]

Interesting.  Where did you pick up all that poker jargon?

[Butter]

I don't know.  Reading about and watching poker on TV.  But it makes for a shorter write for me to use it instead of writing out the explanations.

Sorry if it's confusing.

[Butter]

Sunday, Sept. 5th

Absolute Poker, 6:00 PM, $1,000 prize pool freeroll

So, here's that tourney I qualified for.  Luckily for me, my in-laws have high-speed internet so I can play this thing in South Carolina on vacation.  Top 27 places paid in this thing, first place is $275, 27th is $7.  568 players start.

Well, to be honest with you, I only remember a few hands from this, so I'll see if I can re-create them.

I didn't do much for the first 1/2 hour, then I was dealt A-Qd in middle position.   I merely called, and the player to my left raised to 4x the BB.  I pushed all-in, and he called.  He flipped over pocket Kings.  Lucky for me an Ace hit the board and left him crippled.  He mutters something after I double about "the best hand rarely winning".  Why, I believe I had the best hand there Chester.

I get some small wins and move up to about $5k, then get moved to this table and watch this player (I forget his name) just terrorize the table, betting big after virtually every flop, and usually winning.  Finally, I detect a pattern.  He seems to bet big nearly all the time... except on the 3 hands where he's been forced to a showdown, where he has always check raised nearly the whole way, and won those pots as well.

Finally, I get a hand to take advantage of this.  I get A-7h in the SB.  3 players after the terrorizer raises, and the flop is 6-4-6.  I check, terrorizer bets $1200 of his $14k into a pot of about $400.  3rd player folds.  I consider, and push all-in.  Figured he would fold, but nope, he calls and turns up K-Qo, and I double to over $12k, and shove him back down quite a bit.  

The other players catch on a bit, and eventually the terrorizer is knocked out by a player who takes his time to consider each bet.  The terrorizer then goes on a profanity laden rampage against the slow player, calling him every name in the book.  At the end, I finally say "bye moron", and he's gone.

I make it to the 3rd break (9:00 PM EDT) with 32 players left.  I haven't done much since that large double, but have been hanging around $15k.  Only 5 more players until the money.  Blinds are now 2000/4000, and I get hit hard twice and drop to $4500, by far the lowest stack at the table.  31 left.  I push all in with A-10o out of the SB and steal the BB.  

Now up to $8500, I get dealt Q-Jc on the button.  The table folds to me, so I have just the SB and BB to beat, and I'd be back up to $15k.  I consider, and push all-in.  SB folds, but the BB comments "race with these low ones".  He turns up 6-7o.  Flop shows Q-6-8 and I'm looking good.  Sadly, the turn card is a 7, and I'm out in 31st, just out of the money.

A very fun tourney to play, good players all around during that last hour.  Just couldn't quite make it to the last 3 tables.

[Butter]

Thursday, Sept. 9th.

Poker Champs, 10:00 AM, $10 Freeroll:

I fold for about 10 hands, then my first playable hand is A-8o in middle position.  4 callers, and flop is 10-8-8… bingo.  Table checks around, turn is a 4.  BB bets out $200 into a $120 pot.  Large bet, so I hope he’ll call my all-in.  He does.  River is a 10, and BB had… you guessed it… a 10.  My boat loses.  Oh well.

Ultimate Bet, 10:15 AM, Sunday tourney Freeroll:

I hit an early rush… my first hand is K-Jo, and flop is 10-Q-A rainbow.  Beautiful.  Someone goes all-in ahead of me, I call, and they show pocket Kings.  A few tense moments when another Q shows up on the turn, but I double up on hand 1.

Couple hands later, I get dealt pocket 10’s in the BB.  Flop is 10-5-4, 2 clubs.  I am slightly frightened off by a strong bet when another club shows, but I’ve gotta play this.  I push all-in, am called, and win again when better shows a 4-5 of diamonds.

Next hand, I fold pocket 9’s out of the SB after the board is all overcards.

Next hand, I get pocket 7’s on the button.  Flop comes with a 7, and I call an all-in bet and win AGAIN against a flopped 2 pair (Jacks and 9’s).  I’m over 5,000 at this point after only 6 hands.

VERY NEXT HAND, I get A-5h and flop 2 hearts.  Table checks around and another heart comes on the turn.  I make a small bet, but no one’s messing with me by now.  I win a small pot.

VERY NEXT HAND, I get A-3s and have 2 callers (there are only 5 people left at the table by now).  Flop has 2 spades.  I bet enough to put 1 of the small stacks all-in (about 400), and I finally lose a hand when no more spades show and he makes a pair of Queens.

I lose a bit more over the next few times around the table as I finally cool off.  I tend to play more hands when I get a big early stack.  Probably should play tighter and make the field come to me, but I like sticking my chips in and at least giving myself a chance with decent hands.

I hang around $5k for a while, then draw J-10o in middle position.  I call a small raise and see 4-J-9 rainbow.  This guy who has been betting big on most pots bets big again.  He has about $8k to my $5k, so I push all-in.  He immediately calls, and I figure I’m getting out-kicked here.  Nope, he turns up J-5, and I double to over $10k.  Very next hand this guy goes all-in on a 7-8-9 board and is called by a larger stack.  He shows 8-4 which gets promptly massacred by pocket Aces.  Bye bye moron.

A bit later, I get A-J just past the BB.  I raise to 175 (BB is 60).  Another player re-raises to 615.  Their stack is about 4500, so I just call the re-raise, and we’re heads up to the flop.  Which is 6-8-5 of assorted varieties.  I’m first to act, so I contemplate pushing a bunch of chips in, but figure he could have a low pair on which he just flopped trips.  I check.  He checks.  Hmmm.  Next card is my cash card, a Jack.  I check again.  He bets the pot (about 900).  I call.  Last card is a 2, and we both check.  He mucks to my A-J, and I move up to about $13k.

1st break hits, and I’m 25th of the remaining 613 (2,412 players started).  Top 50 get a place in the Sunday tourney.

I start playing more hands than I should, calling pre-flop raises and not hitting, and I am hurtin’.  I get whittled down to about $5k when I call a $4k+ all-in bet with merely top pair and a mediocre kicker, and watch as he flopped a set of 2’s.  2’s suck.

I scratch back a bit catching A-6 in the SB, calling a pre-flop raise and watching A-10-10 hit the board.  I push all-in after a weak bet from the raiser, and he goes all-in with pocket Jacks.  I double to nearly $7k, and he’s out.

I lose a bunch calling another all-in from the BB with A-Ko.  They have 9-9, and I catch my Ace, but they catch their 9 to win it.  I drop to nearly $2k, on life support at this point.

I drop out finally after pushing all in on the BB with just a straight draw.  I get beat out of my whopping 1800 when I lose to top pair.  Finish 236th after such a promising start.  Played very poorly with a large stack.

Absolute Poker, 1:00 PM, Sunday tourney Freeroll:

This was a very odd tournament for me.  I built my stack very slowly, and was around $5000 when the blinds were getting jacked way up to 400/800 about an hour and a half in.  I got hit once, then again, and while on the SB at $3300, I called with 10-4h.  The flop was 10-J-9, 1 heart.  I checked, then 4 players called an 800 bet.  I decided to have any chance of making the top 15, I needed to push in now and deal with the consequences.  I did so, and got 1 caller.  He had 2-9d, and the turn and river were J-3, and I took down a much needed $8k+ pot.

The table was beating each other up, but one player was dominating with over $55k.  I got heads-up against him after raising pre-flop with A-Qh in middle position.  He was the button, and bet enough to push me all-in.  I did it, and he showed K-K.  Lucky for me, the river was kind with an Ace, and I doubled again, to over $25k now.

Next hand I got A-Jo just past the BB.  I raised again, to $3k (BB is $1k now).  Both blinds called, and the flop was A-K-5, 2 spades.  Hmmm.  SB checked, BB pushed his $5400 all-in.  I re-raised to $10,800 to scare off the other player (that was his stack size), and the BB turned up A-Q.  D’oh!  I lose about half my stack, down to $15k now.  We hit the 2nd break, and I’m at $14k, with 69 players left.

3rd hand back, I’m BB and get 10-8o.  Only one caller, and the flop is 6-8-3, all clubs.  So I get top pair, but it’s not great.  I check.  Better checks.  Turn is another 3.  I bet $3k and get called.  Final card is a 5, no more clubs hit.  I figure my 8’s are good unless better has an A-8 or some sort of high pocket pair that they slow played.  Which is, of course, what happens, as my all-in is called and massacred by pocket Queens.  Lovely.  I lose, finishing 61st out of 1000.

[Rafe]

Bu'uh, this is way beyond my ken. If The wife and I ever go to vegas, would you be so kind as to hold my hand? The strange words scare me.

[Butter]

I don't know, Rafe... I would hold yours, but I'm afraid you might give me a bad case of the "Brits".  

Wednesday, Sept. 15th.

Absolute Poker, 9:00 AM, Sunday Tourney Freeroll:

This tourney would be a perfect example of how difficult it is to play with internet players.  I played well early on, betting strong on flush and straight possibilities and forcing people out of pots.  I doubled my stack in the first half hour to $3k.  But after the people started dropping from my table, all of the morons who bet large with nothing and lucked into trips or flushes populated the other seats.  There was a 10X the BB pre-flop raise pretty much every hand of the 20 I was around for.  I lost nearly half my stack just on folding marginal hands that I tried to call with because they were getting raised beyond the point of them being good plays anymore.  Eventually, I got beat going all in with K-Q suited against a K-Jo that turned a pair of Jacks.  Fine with me, I hate playing at tables like that.  There’s being aggressive, and then there’s just being bored.

Poker Champs, 10:00 AM, $10 Prize Pool Freeroll:

Always dangerous to get a good but not great hand on hand 1, and I draw K-Qo in middle position.  I simply call the $20 blind, and there is a raiser to 200.  I prepare to throw the tourney away early, but we just have 3 callers, including me (since I get to halt the betting), for 200.  Good.  Flop is 4-6-A, raiser bets hard and I get out relatively unscathed.  2 hands later I draw pocket Queens in 1st position, and I raise it to $175.  There are 4 callers and a re-raiser to $330.  Alrighty then, I go all-in.  2 fold, the other 2 call, putting themselves effectively all-in.  The board comes 3-5-5-4-3, so I’m hoping no one came in with A-2 or a 3 or 5.  They didn’t, as they both reveal A-9 and A-K, and I triple and move into 4th place early.

I don’t do much for a long time, hanging around $5k.  Then I drop a couple thousand on a hand where I was SB, and had 5-8d.  Flop was 2-8-2, and I bet 850, and got 1 caller.  Turn was a Jack, and I bet about 1000, enough to put the caller all-in.  The river was an 5, and I figure I had a decent 2 pair hand.  Caller flips over pocket Aces, and I lose about 2k.  Nice hand.

We move ahead a bit, and I’m still around $3k and in 22nd out of 34 left.  I get A-Qo in late position, and push all-in against a raise ahead of me.  That is called, and the flop is K-Q-6-7-10, 3 clubs.  Not a good flop for me, but I beat J-10 and move up to over $7k and 9th place.  I drop a bit after calling a small stack all-in of less than 1000 and not hitting my A-Ks.

Then, I start hitting some hands.  I get A-Qc in middle position.  I call a small all-in and beat his pocket Jacks with Queens.  I draw A-Ko and knock another small player out with a pair of Kings.  Then I get pocket 10’s and call the all-in’s of 2 large stacks… and the flop comes out K-Q-8-6-10.  That river 10 saves me against pocket Aces and K-Qs, and I triple my large stack to over $25k!  1st place by over $8k.  I beat out the rest of the money from one of these people on the next hand with A-K again, making a pair of Aces on the flop.  So we hit another break, and I’m 1st of the remaining 19, and we’ve got 2 tables left.

My table has the other top player, but also 4 of the 5 smallest stacks, so it could be dicey for a while as the small stacks try to get back in it.  I decide to stay out of the pots unless I have something quite good.  The cards help me stay conservative, as I consistently draw 5-10, 6-9, and 3-7 type garbage.  I get blinded down to 2nd place, but still the top 3 have $10k more than anyone else in the field as we dip to 15 players.  I move barely back into first as 1st place takes a big beat, and now the top 4 are fairly even, between $20k and $24k.

I drop to 4th on a hand where I raise the BB of $1,200 to $2500 pre-flop with pocket 5’s and am called by 2 players.  Flop is A-3-A.  2 other players bet hard, and I figure one of them must have an Ace, and I fold.  Yup, one of them had A-J.  Thankfully, no 5 hit the board or I would’ve poked my own eyes out.

The field is now pretty even, with only 1 player head and shoulders above with $31k.  I have $14k now and am in the middle of the pack as we move to the final table of 10.  Blinds are a rough 600/1,200.  I lose my connection right as the blinds hit me, and I come back $2000 lighter on the button.  2 hands later, I draw A-9, and am 7th of the 8 remaining players.  I call a $4k raise, and flop is A-7-10.  I push all-in and am called… with K-8?  OK.  I win that one and double to $25k, and still just 6th place of 7.

Next hand I draw K-Qd.  I just call, and we have 3 to the flop.  Flop is J-5-J, 2 diamonds.  Hmmm.  I check, and player 2 bets $2k.  Next player re-raises to $4k.  Sure, I’ll see the turn for $4k, and call.  But they re-raise 2 more times and before I know it, I’m all-in before we even see the turn.  One of the re-raisers had the K-8 from before so who knows what they have and I figure the other one for the Jack.  Last 2 cards are 9-6, including a diamond, so I figure I’ve got it made.  Nope, K-8 person has A-3 of diamonds, and other player indeed had that Jack.  So, I’m out in 7th.  The one and only card that could beat me shows up at the worst possible time.

Ultimate Bet, 10:15 AM, Sunday Tourney Freeroll:

I don’t do much here, losing after 20 minutes on an all in bet where the board was A-2-3-3-4, and I was holding A-10o.  I lose to an A-K.  Oh well.

[rva]

I played a tournament-style game yesterday.  I played pretty well overall, I thought.  I won the vast majority of my bluffs, but got called out bad on two of them.  

Two hands in the night killed me:

Someone was short-stacked and went all in on 2-4 unsuited against my K-9 suited.  Flop was 4-2-6 and I'm done.  

I was short-stacked and had about 1/3 of the chips my opponent had, but the blinds were about to go up.  I get 9-5 diamonds in the pocket as the big blind.  Everyone drops except the chip leader, who sees.  I figure he's just seeing what I got, he's got the chips to play with, so I decide to take my shot.  I go all in, he senses I'm desperate and calls.  

He turns over 4-6 of diamonds.  He's get the better chance of a straight, but the odds still aren't great and are hurt further by my snagging one of the 5's.  He starts muttering.  Flop is 4-2-4, and I'm done.  

ah well, what can you do?  I think I made the right play both times and the odds were in my favor both times (although not overwhelmingly so).  Sometimes the cards just don't go your way.

[Butter]

Monday, Sept. 27th

So, after playing only very sporadically for the last week and a half or so, I come online today to find most of the sites I normally play on the fritz for some reason or another.

So I try a new site, called Vegas Queens Poker.  Seems to be quite an active site, and I'd never heard of it before today.  So I download and sign up for a "Free $2 freeroll", but it turns out to be a $2 prize pool, of which $0.54 goes to first place.  Whoopee.

But it limits the number of entrants to 162 (for some reason), so I sign up and soon I am doing pretty well.  I hang back a bit, then beat a couple of people horribly with river-made flushes.  I end up actually at the final table.

Third hand at the final table, I draw pocket 5's.  This is a turbo tourney, so you have something like 10 seconds to act.  I simply limp in, and so do 3 others.  Flop is Q-5-7, all spades.  Not a great flop for me, as it puts the flush out there to beat me.  I am in 4th place, and decide to push all in against a weak bet from the BB.  The table folds, and he calls my all-in, leaving him with just under $8k left, and a pot of over $120k.  He flips over the nut flush, A-K of spades, and I know what I need.  Turn card is a blank... and the river is a 7 giving me a full house!

From there I hang back and let the table beat each other up, only risking my chips with quality hands.  I end up with $220k going heads up against a player with just over $30k.  This player is pushed around easily and finally goes all-in against my strong bets with an open-ended straight draw to my middle pair.  The straight draw doesn't hit, and I win 54 cents.  Yahoo!

Well, unlike other sites, this site lets you play with your money right away.  I leave the table and find a limit  .01/.02 table where I do pretty well and push up to over $1.50.  Later in the day, I come back to find the .01/.02 tables full so I sit at a .02/.05 table.  Not a big deal I didn't think.  Some bad play and horrific hands later I am at 22 cents.  I push all in with pocket Jacks and push back to 77 cents and get out of there.

Apparently, this site must cater to the small limit player, as there are MANY sit-n-go tourneys with buy-ins of 4 or 10 cents.  (For those that don't know, sit-n-go (SNG) tourneys are single table tournaments where 9-10 people go head to head, usually paying out to the top 3 finishers).  There are also a few multi-table tourneys that cost $1 to buy in, or just 5 action points (and I have already amassed 11 action points, nee-ha).

So, now I'm conflicted.  I know I'll keep playing these freerolls at other websites, but I've never actually had any money to play with before.  

So I'll throw it open to the audience (all 2 of you).  Should I try my hand with a few small SNG tourneys?  Or should I go back to the .01/.02 limit tables?  You can clearly win money more quickly at the small limit cash tables, but you can also lose it rather quickly.  The tourneys are tougher to persevere through, but I have more experience and feel more comfortable in that environment.  But I did clean up at the first .01/.02 table I played.  Overall, it's not like there's much at risk here, but if possible I'd like to run this money up a bit and not have to rely on these tourneys of death all the time.

[Butter]

By the way, yes, I do realize how stupid it is to debate the best usage of 77 cents.  But here we are.  

Whaddaya want?  It's the internet.

[Juliana]

There's a Texas Hold'em tourney at a church here on Beechmont in a few weeks.  Here's the info
Phil Gordon says....

[Action Jim]

There's a Texas Hold'em tourney at a church here on Beechmont in a few weeks.  Here's the info
Phil Gordon says....

Dag, yo!   That's a $100 buy-in.  I actually played in a tournament at St. Thomas More a while back.  It was a $50 buy in, but with up to two re-buys, so people ended up spending more (I don't do re-buys, because I find them undignified and unsporting, and because I'm a cheap bastard).  Anyway, I lasted a few hours, and learned a lot.  For the person who re-buys, this might actually be cheaper than the one I played in.  I doubt I'll play, though, since (1) I'm not good enough to place in the money at a $100 tournament, and (2) I think I'm going to try to to go see the Black Keys that weekend in C-bus.

[Butter]

Friday, Oct. 8th.

Vegas Queens Poker, 8:15 AM, $5 Prize Pool (5 Action Points for entry):

I have $1.07 and 9 action points in my account, so I spend 5 points to gain entry to this tourney where the winner takes home $1.35.  Yee-haw.

First hand I draw pocket 6’s in the BB, but watch 2 players go all-in ahead of me.  I fold, figuring one of them is not a complete idiot.  They have K-2 and A-Q respectively, and I watch an Ace hit the board.  Glad I stayed out, and glad the idiot didn’t win.  I hang in for a bit and build my stack slowly from $2k to over $4k.  I had a good read of a flush draw on someone with my K-10 with a K and 2 clubs on the board.  When the turn didn’t hit a club and they checked, I pushed all-in.  They had K-9 of clubs and I’ve got him, at least until the board pairs 6’s and the board Q makes the kickers go away.  We split.  Damn.

A bit later I draw Q-Jh on the button.  BB goes all-in after my call and the table folds to me.  I already have $200 in, and there’s another $1,350 to me.  It would knock me down about half, but I have a strong feeling she’s on a small pocket pair after watching her for about 10 minutes.  I do call and sure enough she’s got 6’s.  A Queen hits the board right off, and another on the river and I feel good about myself.  I move up to about $6k.

The cards run dry for a bit, and this is my weakness.  I am not a good player when it comes down to having to bluff a pot here and there.  I do manage to win $1k on a semi-bluff with my 2-8d with 2 diamonds on the board.  Not a strong bet, either, but enough to induce the 2 opponents to fold.  I kick myself a bit later, folding pocket 4’s to 2 all-in players with $1500 each.  Board was K-8-6 with 2 hearts and I figured a good chance of me being beaten.  Damned if neither of them was on the flush, one had top pair, the other middle pair.  When a 4 (of hearts I might add) hit the turn, I pounded my desk in frustration.  Over $4k I could’ve had.

I draw K-Jo in the SB.  I call, and we have 3 players in for $400.  Flop is K-Q-7, 2 spades.  I lead out with $1600.  I am called by the BB, who has more money than me.  This worries me.  BB’s could have nearly anything.  Well shit, anyone online could have nearly anything.  Turn is a 6, no spade. I push all-in, about $4k.  I get called after a thinking period, and he shows Q-5 of clubs.  Middle pair?  I dodge the Q/5 on the river and double to over $12k.

Shortly after I move tables, I draw A-Q in the BB.  One player raises to $1600.  I consider going all-in, as they’re at $6500.  I decide against it and just call.  Flop is 6-2-7 rainbow and after a strong bet from the SB, I fold.  Glad I did as the showdown shows pocket Kings against 2 pair.  I had nothin’.  I lose about $2k calling small bets with middle pair which loses to top pair with weak kicker.  The break comes, and I’m 21st out of the remaining 52 (248 started).  27 make the money.

I make about $5k off of someone just calling them down with my strong top pair of Kings against their middle pair.  They never figured me for the King, and that’s why I didn’t raise him.  The players are dropping fast, we’re down to 30 pretty quickly.  3 more and I win at least a nickel.  Hooray.  And we hit 27 without me lifting a finger.

I notice one guy at my table likes to go all-in a lot when the table is checked to him. I note this.  Then, I get to use it.  I draw A-2s in early position.  Not a favorite, but suited, I’ll play it absent a large raise.  Flop comes K-7-6, 2 spades.  3 players check, and he goes all-in.  I call after much consideration (calling with draws are not my favorite, but in this case I have him figured for a bluff anyway), and he flips over A-5o.  So I need a spade or a couple of overcards to split.  Turn is a spade, and he’s busted!  I move up to $28k.  

The blinds are big now, reaching 2 and 4k.  I get whittled down to $12k and hit another round of blinds.  There are 3 callers, so I try and buy it with Q-Jo.  I am called and he turns up A-4o.  Board comes 10-K-2 (hope rising…. Rising…) 4 (fading…. RISING….) 4 (fading…. Gone.)

I finish 11th and win 7 cents.  Well, it was fun.



Absolute Poker, 9:00 AM, Sunday tourney entry:

I go all-in with A-J on hand 1 against K-Q, and flop two pair.  I dodge the straight-making 10, and win.  

I am playing well, having tripled my initial stack after just 20 minutes.  One player specifically at my new table likes to bluff a lot.  I make about half my money just calling down his flush draws with pairs and beating him.  It’s quite fun figuring someone out like that.  I keep drawing pocket pairs and big hands, and am near $10k after just 50 minutes, all without a big all-in showdown.  That’s quite rare for me.  I sort of hang around at $10k and hit the hour break doing well with 289 left out of over 800.

I get hosed a bit, dropping steadily, and losing about 1/3 of my stack when I show Queens and 2’s against an opponent’s Queens and Jacks.  Still at over $5k, but not getting the cards like I was earlier.  I continue to hemorrhage money, calling with decent hands like Q-9, J-10, A-6 and such, but not hitting any pieces of the flops.  Doesn’t help when I get moved to a table with 2 giant stacks of over $30k each who both like to raise large pre-flop.  

I finally make a stand when a slightly larger stack goes all-in pre-flop ahead of me, and I’m holding A-Js.  I call with about $2500, and watch as he turns up 7’s.  Flop is 3-3-5, 2 clubs.  Good for me.  Turn is a club…. But it’s a 7, making his full house and dropping me out.  Just to kick me in the teeth a little extra, the river is the 4th 7. I finish 120th out of 852.


I have started playing sit & go's that are 10 cents each at Vegas Queens, so I'll try to document a few of those here as well.

[Butter]

Monday, Oct. 11th.

Vegas Queens Poker, freeroll tourney, $5 Prize Pool (5 Action Points for entry):

Didn’t do much here, finished about midway of the field of near 200.

Vegas Queens Poker, 9 seat Turbo Sit ‘n Go, 11 cent entry fee
Stake: $.92

I really don’t do much in this except wait for people to knock themselves out.  I bluffed and won a couple of pots early, then made it to the final 4.  The top 3 win something, so I just try and wait people out.  I move all-in with pocket pair a couple of times and assume the table lead.  I knock someone out with Ace high, then make it to the final 2.  We each have about 9,000 chips, and the first heads-up hand I draw J-10o.  Flop is 10-Q-10, and absent pocket Queens which you don’t normally sit on heads up, I’ve got this one in the bag.  I check, and he moves all-in.  I call, and he shows his bluff of K-2.  Another Queen and 10 hit the board and I win with four 10’s.  I take down 45 cents for my efforts and move my VQ count to near $1.50.

Vegas Queens Poker, Speed multi-table tourney, $40 prize pool, 26 cent buy-in with re-buys
Stake: $1.36

54 people sign up for this, and the top 6 cash, so I figure I’ll maybe re-buy once.  The top prize is $16 though, so I’m hoping for a miracle.  You can re-buy until the 7th blind level is reached, 400/800 I believe.  I win the first hand with a pair, and lay low for a while.  People are just going all-in with crap, and then buying back-in.  Why waste your money like that?  Some people are just bored I guess.  I lose a good bit of money calling a pre-flop raise with K-Qo, and fold when the board is A-9-5 and is bet heavy.  Unfortunately, I would’ve drawn a straight if I had stayed in, but I didn’t.  I decide to buy another 2,000 chips right before the re-buys stop, and I promptly lose when my all-in pre-flop bet on A-Jc is called by K-9o.  The caller hits a King and I’m out in an unimpressive 38th.  My VQ hoard drops to 84 cents.

VQ, 6 seat Speed Sit ‘N Go, 11 cent buy-in
Stake: $.84

Speed means the blinds go up every 3 minutes, 6 seats mean only 2 players get paid.  I’ve done ok with these before, so I’ll try my luck again.  I usually try to hang back early, but with A-10o, I call a small raise.  The player next to me goes all-in.  The player next to him goes all-in.  The player who raised goes all-in.  A-10 against this?  No thanks.

Players show A-8, Q-Q and 7-7.  I would’ve won though, as the board went like this:
7-10-K-K-10.  Crap.  2 players get knocked out though, then another quickly with a bluff, so we’re down to 3.  I switch from tight mode, to aggressive mode pretty much leading out with Ace high and pairs, and I move up to 2nd place and we have one stack on life support.  I get even more aggressive, and knock him out with an A-J to his K-9 when nothing hits.  So, I’ve won something.

Then, I go heads up against Cap’n Aggressive.  He raises nearly every time he’s in a pot.  I guess that’s good for him, but not usually my style.  I fold some, then start playing a bit more.  I make some money when the board hits 6-6-6, and I’m holding 5-9.  He bets small, and I figure him for an Ace.  I stay in to see if I can pair one of my hole cards, and the turn is indeed a 9.  I check, he bets bigger, I push all-in, and he calls, showing his A-Ko.  I double and take the lead.

Then apparently he gets disconnected, and I nearly win the tournament by just blinding him down while he’s away.  He shows back up just in time though, and goes all-in with A-2 to my K-J.  Nothing hits and he doubles from 800 to 1600 to my over 10,000.  Next hand, he goes all-in again, and I call with J-10.  A Queen and a 9 hit the board but that’s it, and he wins with Ace high again.  Next hand, he goes all in again, and I call with A-6.  He turns up 2-7c, and I figure I finally have him.  Nope, the board pairs both his cards, and I’m fucked again.

We exchange chips again for a bit, then I limp with A-K to try and get some action.  He goes all-in and I call.  He’s got 5-6s, and I figure I’m gold.  Or I would’ve been if he didn’t flop a full house.  I lose, but do net 10 cents, and move back to 94 cents overall.  Winner nets 28 cents (winning back their entry + 28 cents.)


Vegas Queens Poker, 9 seat Turbo Sit ‘n Go, 11 cent entry fee
Stake: $.94

I draw pocket Queens on the first hand.  Shit.  Great for me, but damned if I don’t always lose with these big hands.  See above for illustration.  We have about 7 of 9 who call (I choose not to raise, probably not wise with a big hand early), but the flop is a dream:  Q-A-A.  It allows anyone who’s stayed in with an Ace to slow play, and I’ll be right there with ‘em.   Ultimately 5 people stay in at 150 for the flop and turn.  When the betting swings back around to me after the river, I push all-in.  I do get a caller with the predictable Ace, and I win over 3,000 chips.  

Then I try to lay low for a while, this being a turbo tourney, I can make the money when just 3 players remain.  And with these blinds, it won’t be long.  We do get down to 4 rather quickly, but we all have somewhere between 3,500 and 5,000 chips.  So I guess I have to play again.

Another player loses with 2 pair to a flush, so I’ve made the money again.  Nee-ha!!!

Next hand I get hit with a blind which is about 1/3 of my stack.  I hold 10-8o, and the board is 6-10-Q.  As long as nobody has a Queen, I figure I’ve hit.  2 checks seem to confirm my standing, so I push all-in, and am called by A-10.  Oh well.  I net 7 cents on this 3rd place, winning 18 cents.  Back over a dollar.

-------------------------

That’s it for today, I think.  I'm probably going to continue to slowly drive my Vegas Queens amount up for a while, so I'll be talking about them for a while, I hope.

[Butter]

Friday, Oct. 15th.

Vegas Queens Poker, 8:15 AM, $5 Prize Pool (5 Action Points for entry):

Didn’t do much here, had 2 pair after the flop and went all-in, but when the board paired Kings, my low pair vanished and I got outkicked by an A-Q to my Q-9.  Alas.  And if you’re wondering how you get Action Points, each of these tiny sit ‘n go’s equal 1 action point, so I’ve been averaging 6-8 per day, more than enough to cover entry each day into this thing.

Vegas Queens Poker, 6 seat Speed Sit ‘n Go, 11 cent entry fee
Stake: $2.21

1 guy goes out the first hand pushing with pocket Aces against a clearly made straight.  So we’re down to 5 rather quickly.  

Speed means the blinds go up every 3 minutes, 6 seats mean only 2 players get paid.  My first playable hand is K-10d in the SB.  I limp in with 50 and there are 4 of 5 players.  Flop is 9-6-3, 2 diamonds.  I bet 200 and am called by 2 players.  Next card is a 6 of diamonds.  My flush is made, so I bet 300 and get 1 caller.  Last card is a scare card, another 3.  So if the other player has a 6 or 3, my flush is beat.  I risk it, figuring he would’ve raised with 3 of a kind 6’s, so I go all-in.  He calls and shows J-9, top pair with a decent kicker, but no boat and I have knocked out another player.

We lose one more who pushes too hard with a clearly beat suited A-J, and we’re down to 3.  I stay out of the way as another loses with top pair to a clearly raised and marked overpair.  So, I’m in the money again, and heads up with a much larger stack.

We ride things out for a while and I stay conservative.  But quickly I’m down to near 1,500 in chips to my opponent’s 10,500.  So, I start getting aggressive.  I raise all-in every time I get a King or Ace high.  It works for a while.  Then I lose calling a middle pair to the river to a top pair.  Back to 1,500.  Finally I catch a break, calling a small pre-flop raise with a King high with J-6s.  The board flops all spades, and I catch a break.  He bets nearly enough to put me all-in, so I do.  I win.  I catch a bunch of Aces on subsequent hands, and finally take the lead.  The winning hand is A-2d to my opponent’s K-Qo.  The board hits my Ace and misses him, and I win 39 cents.

VQP, Multi-table tourney, 66 cent buy-in
Stake: $2.49

Well, it was $2.49 before the buy-in, so I’m down to $1.83 after the buy-in.  Only 63 players here, and the top 9 places pay at least a dollar, so why not?

I win my 2nd hand with a flush against 2 pair.  So I’m comfy already.  One thing I like about this tourney is no re-buys.  I think it means people will be a bit more careful, which favors my tight style.  9 players are out after 3 minutes, so I need to win some pots if I want to make it any further than about 20th.

Unfortunately, in trying to win a pot, I overplay a single pair with an Ace kicker against two pair, and quickly get busted down to 540 chips from my starting stack of 2,000.  Crap.  Luckily, this is not a speed or turbo tourney, so I have some time to try and find a hand to move all-in with.  I miss one chance, folding a suited 4-5 in early position when 6-7-8 flops.  The blinds come and go twice with no hands to be made, so finally I get K-9o and make the move.  Sadly, the board goes 10-A-J-10-10, and I lose to a single Ace.

That sucked.  Finished 43rd.

VQP, 9 seat Turbo sit ‘n go, 11 cent buy-in
Stake: $1.83

11 cents more get thrown in here, with a first prize of 45 cents.  I’ve been on fire in these things, so hopefully I won’t cool off now.  Turbo is where the blinds go up every minute, so if you don’t win a hand the first time around in the blinds, the blinds will be nearly too much for you by the time the second round hits.  People are usually way too aggressive in these, moving all-in with marginal hands, so usually I can get a win or two with just top pair or even Ace high.

First hand, I see J-8o in the SB of 20.  I see a raise of 200 and fold.  I pay to see a couple of more cheap flops with decent hands of Q-10o but don’t hit.  I’m not hurting by any stretch, but being in the blinds to start the game is usually not a good place to be.

I see pocket 3’s in middle position, and limp in at 200.  4 players.  Flop is 5-6-7 rainbow.  Table checks to the dealer, who pushes all-in, just 550.  I am the last chance to call him, and I decide to do so against my better judgment.  He shows A-4, an open-ender.  He doesn’t hit, and I shoot over 3,000.  Another player departs with A-9 against A-K.

I get pocket 7’s in the BB of 600 and see 2 players go all-in with smaller stacks.  I push all-in as well, but lose to a flush.  Down to 1,700 now, and the SB is up to 400.  I see 4-10o and fold.  6 players left, 3 in my area of around 1,200.  BB is now 1,200, and it’s all in or nothing every hand for me.  I get A-Js and move in.  Board comes all clubs, and I lose to a J-8 of clubs in the BB.  Oh well.

VQP, 6 seat Speed Sit ‘n Go, 11 cent buy-in
Stake: $1.72

One more stab at this.  I win an early pot with middle pair to take the lead.  This table is perhaps the most cautious I’ve ever played at.  No one is down or up more than 500 after 10 minutes.

I try to shake things up once I get pocket Queens in the SB.  I raise all-in against the only larger stack.  He calls.  He shows Q-8c.  And wouldn’t you fucking know it, the board goes J-10-9 and gives him the straight.  Bye bye 11 cents.



I think I’ll try again later after all this.