Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Aces again, Queens again

Back at the Hard Rock for another day of grinding it out.  Again there were a bunch of $1-$2 tables with seats open but the two $1-$3 tables had a list.  I was third on the list and went and bought $80 in red ($5) chips and $20 in white ($1) and another hundred in green ($25) just in case - and also to be used when I moved over to the $1-$3.  As you may know, the $1-$2 game at the Hard Rock has a minimum buy-in of $40 and a maximum buy-in of $100 while the $1-$3 tables go from $100 to $300.   I like to start with $100 at the $1-$2 and at least $200 at the $1-$3.

I have changed my strategy a little bit.  I no longer make continuation bets on the flop when facing three or more callers if I completely miss.  Well, most of the time anyways.  If the flop is Q-Q-3 and it is checked to me, I may take a stab at it. But, if I don't win it right there, I am probably done with it.

One of the first hands at $1-$2 was pocket queens.  They held up followed by some raises that got called by several and I had to give them up when I missed.  One hand I raised with some loosely connected cards, missed the flop and one of the out-of-position callers led out into me.  So I folded.  No sense in paying him off.  Then I did the same and picked up a double gutter i.e. two different cards could make me a straight.  It went like this: Raise with J-10.  Flop K-9-7.  Either an 8 or a Q makes me a straight.  A bet after the flop took it down.  Later, after limping from the button, the Small Blind makes it $8 to go and two of us call.  I flop a gut shot draw.  The Small Blind checks, amazingly because if you raise from the Small or Big Blind you are supposed to have a very strong hand like AA, KK or QQ which would dictate a continuation bet on the flop.  After the Turn, the Small Blind makes a weak lead at the pot and gets a call from across the table.  I figured that if I can catch a five on the River, I may be able to take somebody's whole stack and that is exactly what happened.  I caught the five, made my straight, the Small Blind lead out for about $20 and I raised enough to put him all in, about another $60.  He called with unimproved Pocket Aces.

About an hour later, I still had not been called to play $1-$3 but I could see that I was next on the list.  I got Pocket Aces in the Big Blind.  There were four callers, so $10 in the pot.  I raised $10 "on top." Two players called.  The flop had two suits, so I had to protect my hand.  I bet $25 and got one caller. A brick fell on the Turn.  No possible help to anyone. I looked at his stack which was short, about $30 left, so I bet it.  He called.  I showed him my Aces and after the River, he mucked his hand.  Next hand they called me.  I left the table with $325 plus the other hundred still in my pocket.

I also had some luck at the $1-$3 table.  QQ on one of my first hands busted a short stack right next to me and I was up $100.  Later, after scolding myself for calling $30 on the River when I only held the idiot end of a Jack high straight, I raised with AK of spades.  Flopped a flush draw and led out for $15.  One caller.  Missed.  Led out again for $15.  Called again.  Hit the flush on the River and gave it the Hollywood frown and a quick check.  My opponent led out for $30.  I thought about it, then raised to $90 and got a call.  She was floored when I turned over the nuts.  She tossed a set of jacks into the muck.  Several hands later I called a small raise with 5-7 of spades and also rivered a flush.  That was also good for a nice pot when I got called.  Lastly, I got Aces again and made a good raise.  The caller was the same guy I had busted with the queens.  He was short stacked again and called a big bet on the Turn.  I showed him the AA and seeing the last card he says, "Straight!" However, his straight was 6-7-8-10-J which is missing a nine.  I cashed out for the day at $717, up $517 for the afternoon.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Draw Poker

Shouldn't Draw Poker be a part of the World Series of Poker?  OK, yes, they do play a little Draw, but they play Lowball.  They play 2-7 Triple Draw and 2-7 No Limit.  That is it.  Somebody please explain to me why it is that they would play only Lowball Draw.  They are going to give away 61 WSOP Bracelets this year in, as they say in their press release, "all variations of Poker."
I definitely think they are missing something without a draw poker event.  If they can have a $10,000 entry fee for 2-7 No Limit Lowball, they can certainly have at least one event in No Limit Draw Poker - the game played by Wild Bill Hickock when he was murdered holding Aces and Eights, the game played in the movie "Big Hand for a Little Lady, the game played by Bret Maverick - the legend of the West, the game played by Omar sharif in "Funny Girl" when he was losing all of Fanny Brice's money and yes, the game Nicholas Cage was playing in "Honeymoon in Vegas" when he lost his wife to James Caan's higher straight flush.  C'mon guys, let's get the historic game back into the World Series of Poker.

I think I'll start tracking my poker results on my blog, just for the heck of it.

Played at Hard Rock today.  Played a few hands of $1-$2 No Limit Hold'em while waiting for a $1-$3 seat to open up.  I prefer $1-$3 at the Rock because the buy-in is minimum $100 versus the minimum $40 on the $1-$2.  The higher minimum makes for a better game because with larger stacks, there is a better chance that there will be a decision on every betting round.

I only played about three hands at $1-$2, but one of them was Pocket Queens.  Raised pre-flop and got heads-up.  Good flop of all low cards.  Bet - Raise - Reraise all in - Call.  Queens held up.  +70.

Then at the $1-$3 table I couldn't win a pot for the first hour.  If I hit top pair, somebody flopped two pair.  Down about $150 I bought in for an additional $100, just in case I got a hand. Next hand, on the button, caught AA.  A call, then a raise to $6 and a call and I raised it to $30.  The Big Blind called and so did the original raiser.  Flop comes J-J-9 rainbow suits.  I poke out $20 and the Big Blind goes all in for $82.  The raiser hems and haws and thinks out loud and says he's got a draw and just can't lay it down, so he calls for the $82 with just $11 left behind.  I start thinking out loud, 90 in the pot plus my 20 and then 160 is like $270.  $62 to win $270?  Well, even if I'm behind I probably have outs.  I call. I doubted that he had a Jack because most players in that situation would just call or raise minimally for fear that they would drive out their customers. The Big Blind guy had KK and the other had KQ for an inside straight draw with 2 overs to the board.   A couple of bricks on the Turn and River and my Aces held up.  Whew!

After that, I won a few small pots and lost a few small pots to add a little to my stack.  I cashed out for $508 which made me plus $208 for the day.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Home from Omaha

We blew out of Omaha  (Council Bluffs, Iowa) and headed home.  Sharing the driving makes a big difference.  We were able to drive straight through making only brief stops for gas and meals.  Back to life at home.

If I wanted to make a career of this, I could have worked the WSOP Circuit Event in St. Louis 4/12 to 4/23, tried to get hired for Chester, PA (Philly) 4/26 to 5/7 and followed that with the final pre-WSOP Circuit event 5/10 to 5/21 in New Orleans where I still have a valid gaming license.  I missed getting hired by the Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL for their World Poker Tour Showdown event 4/18 to 4/23 but I'm still in this as a part-time thing.  Working all those tournaments would be too much like having a full time job.  The real reason I wanted to do a few other events is that I wanted to be sure to keep my skills up so that I could be sharp for the WSOP and have a little fun along the way.

Back home I'm back to playing golf and poker.  The layoff did my golf game good.  First round back I shot a 2 over par 74, one of my top five best scores.  My poker game, maybe not so much.  I spent a little time at the Hard Rock asking myself, "Why does this always happen to me?" I still haven't quite figured out how to beat the push monkey.  Of course, there is the strategy of just playing very, very tight and only putting chips in the pot with extremely strong hands but the loose-aggressive players seem to see me coming and get out.  I wind up having sessions like the other day when over the course of a few hours, I got A-K or A-Q six times and never flopped top pair.  Frustrated, the seventh time, when I flopped Q-10-7 holding the A-Q I ran into a caller holding Q-10 and kicking my butt.  I know, I know, Phil Gordon says you should never go broke with just one pair, but sometimes, I just can't lay it down.

The main problem I have with loose, aggressive push monkeys is that I know that with their reckless style of play, they will eventually go broke and give back all the money they have won running people off of pots.  I just can't seem to be the one that busts them.

Not that I haven't had my share of good luck hands lately.  Here are some that made me smile:
  • I min-raised with pocket Kings and got reraised all-in by a short stack who is called by another player.  I re-reraised and got called for the side pot.  The flop comes King high.  I bet out and took the side pot.  The all in player shows pocket sevens and the board runs out with the fourth King on the River.  Sweet.  Kings have been trouble for me over the last few years.
  • Twice during one $1-$3 No Limit Hold'em session I cracked pocket Aces.  Once I made a Flush going all-in with two overs and a Flush draw, spiking the Flush on the River.  The other I called a big raise with pocket fives.  A five on the flop gave me the strength to think I could beat anything and so I went all-in when the raiser check-raised me.  Yes, I could be losing to a bigger set, but he called for his whole stack with just the Aces and my three fives held up.
  • There is an old Hold'em adage that pocket Aces are good to win a small pot or lose a big one but once in a while, they win a really big one.  I reraised with the Aces and got two callers.  The flop came 6-7-8 and with about $80 in the pot I went all-in for $250 and both of my opponents called.  My plan had been to price the draws out of the pot and thinking that I would only really get a call from someone who just hit three-of-a-kind I was really surprised when my opponents had 9-9 and 10-10.  I had to fade two nines, two tens and four fives to avoid the straights  My Aces held up and won a pot with almost $800 in it.
So the Poker bankroll remains intact and I'm just a grinder until I get back to the Series.