Starving Crazed Weasels, July

Pretty decent turnout. At my table I had Cassie to my left, then Kevin, then Emily, then Robin, then Pete.

Cassie is a loose/passive. She calls too many hands pre-flop and then pretty much check calls to the river but she will fold if she hits nothing on the flop. Kevin is a tricky player. He plays a wide range of hands, will raise with little, call with anything from the nuts to a made hand, re-raise if he thinks you will fold...Emily plays different every time out. Lately she has been loose/passive but with looser calling standards than Cassie has. Tends to make to many calls because she doesn't believe the better...but calls with nothing herself. Robin is a tighter player who will raise with her good hands. Pete is a loose-aggressive player who makes a lot of moves. Me? I switch it up ever game.

Early on there were 3 limpers, I limped with 9/10 Diamonds knowing Cassie would check in the big blind. Flop came down 8/J/K, 2 diamonds. I raised, everyone folded.

Then I went card dead. For a long, long time. Nothing I could play. Kevin, Robin and Pete were taking turns raising. So I had to pick my place to make a move. Finally won a couple small pots. Picked up K/2 diamonds. Randomly called a raise from Kevin planning to steal. Someone else also called...I think it was Emily. Flop gave me a pair of Deuces and flush draw. I called another raise, Em also called. Turn was a blank. I called anyway. River gave me the flush. Kev raised, Em called...I though about re-raising but weakly called. My flush beat their straights...Em had the low end, Kevin the high end.

By now Emily was getting low. She had about 5 blinds was all. I picked up the Cowboys under the gun, raised 5 blinds. Em called, everyone else folded. The Cowboys held up and she was gone.

A while later with a limper I completed from the small blind. Cassie had yet to raise pre-flop so it seemed safe. Sure enough, she checked. I had K/2 again. Flop came K/Q/2, 2 clubs. I raised. Cassie came over the top all in, everyone else folded. Since her raise was only 200 over the 500 or so I had raised it was an easy call. She had 7/8 clubs, flush draw. It did not get there and I had put out my second person. Funny thing is...I was doing it with horrible cards. I was playing really poorly.

With an action oriented table like this with frequent raises I should not be playing K/2 type hands...yet I had done so twice. Now we moved Phillip over.

Phillip is good when he is patient but he tends to get bored so he plays a lot of questionable hands. But he seldom re-raises or raises into multiple limpers. Having him on my left is good.

Soon after I picked up Queens under the gun and raised. Kevin called. Paint maybe? Flop came K/J/10, 2 diamonds. I had a straight draw, backdoor flush draw and 2nd pair. I bet. He almost folded, then he said, "if it is worth playing, it is worth a bit more" and called. He is not the type who does the act thing so I doubted the King. Either Jack or a draw. Or both. Bet again on the turn. Same thing. On the river he checked again.

Now, I had watched him against Pete several times. When he thought he had the best hand he would check/call to the river, then bet. So when he checked here I was pretty sure I had him beat. I thought about putting him all in but decided that would seem desperate so I raised the same amount. He hesitantly called...and rolled over the K/Q. Ouch.

That took almost half my stack. Back to tight mode.

Shortly thereafter we combined to 1 table.

To my left was Eric. Easy to read. More on that later. To my right was Joe...he plays tight/passive. Kevin was to his right, then Kenneth, then Pete and finally...uh...someone.

Ken hit a couple nice hands and built a huge chip lead. Meanwhile, I was hovering between 3K and 4K. By now the blinds were 2/400. With 3K I have an M of just over 5. When it was folded to me, just 3 people left to act I pushed my last 3100 in. Eric folded and Pete...came over the top all in. Kenneth thought about it. I actually thought he would call...the chip loss would not hurt him and he could take out me and Pete, 2 of the more difficult players. But he folded. I flipped up my A/J and Pete flipped up...2/6? What? Well, he had not been paying attention and did not realize I had moved all in. I doubled up to 6800...ironically, the highest point I would get to all night.

Up and down, no real playable hands and now Kenneth was raising liberally. With 6800 and blinds now 3/600 I could not play much. Say he raised to 1800 or 2400, both reasonable and typical raises. I call the 2400. Now there is 4800 in the pot (minimum...more if the blinds involve neither of us) and I have 4400 left. I better be pretty sure I am beat to fold there...which means if I call I am really playing for all my chips. So if I enter a pot I am only doing so with a hand and I am going to push either pre-flop or on the flop. Pre-flop I will know Kenneth is committed so that means if I play a pot he is in my chips all go in on the flop. So I was playing really tight.

Got down to about 3K again and pushed with K/10 suited. Got called by 10/J and doubled up again.

Got down to 4 players. Almost called when Kenneth and Kevin got involved but then decided to wait for a heads up opportunity. Kev went out. Now it was me, Kenneth and Eric.

Ken was playing much looser than normal...raising with q/10 type things. He was playing really well. Eric was still playing tight. I had seen him play 3 hands: A/Q, A/K and A/8 suited.

Kenneth folded on the button. I planned to raise and steal the blinds. Just as a matter of course I glanced at my cards to mask what I was doing and reached for my chips. As I did, out of the corner of my eye I saw Eric glance at his cards. He straightened up and grabbed his chips. All of them.

Now, I had seen him straighten up before. He had a hand he planned to play. I had NEVER seen him grab all his chips. I had a 10/5 off suit. I said, "Well, I am going to fold since Eric has Aces." And by his jerk and upset face I knew I was right. He wanted to double up. I said it before...at times, Eric is REALLY easy to read.

Of course, I thought I had more or less been on my game. Back at the first table there was a hand I laid down top pair when top pair was 10s and I thought Pete had Jacks or Queens. He later said it had been Jacks. I had a pretty good feel all night for what types of hands...made hands, draws, weak or strong...people had so it was not unusual for me.

Oh well. I just had no cards all night. Finally Ken took out Eric. By now he had almost 36K and I had just about 3. The first hand I picked up queens...and he folded the small blind. I doubled up once, then picked up J/9 suited, I had said up front I was going to play fast and push hard so I moved all in...and he called with A/K suited. He played really well and deserved the win for sure.

I played pretty well to get there with no cards most of the night and never getting over 6800...to come in 2nd was pretty impressive.

And it was fun so there you go.

The last softball game

My shoulder was feeling about 75% and JJ really wanted me to play in the "Wacky Ball" tournament...not sure why, but he did. I would have been happy just filming...then again...competition...me...sure, I will be an idiot and push it. I tested it out a bit before the game. I would be able to bat left-handed but no way could I swing right-handed. It just hurt too much.

The first game I just watched. It was a train wreck. We were demoralized when we went down 1-2-3-4 in the first and they dropped 7 on us. After that they were just toying with us. We got 2 runners to third but never pushed a run across.

Second game we played a team that had also gotten mercy ruled. We pushed across 2 runs in the top of the third. It felt like more. It should have been more. I do not know what happened. Anyhow, in the third inning, JJ put me in at shortstop. I have not played in a couple months and this was the 1-pitch inning.

First guy was a pretty good hitter. He had a couple warning track shots under his belt already and even when he batted with the mush ball he had put it past the "girl line' in the outfield. When you realize not one of us had gotten the mush ball out of the infield in the first 2 games...he had some power. And he then hit an absolute laser. Following the rule, "the ball finds the unprepared" it was straight at me. I mis-read the hop and had my glove flat on the ground. It came up and left a nice welt on my arm. Great, my first chance in almost 2 months and I botch it.

Two other grounders to my left I fielded cleanly and made throws to first. One was late and the other was a bit off line. Nick thought he should have caught it...maybe. It would have been a tough play.

So I was a bit down on myself. I probably should have made 2 of the 3 plays.

Next inning, with one out and running the bases in reverse I somewhat redeemed myself, picking off a hot grounder, stepping on the 2-1/2 base and firing to 3rd for a double play. Ironically, that would prove to be my last defensive play of the day and, quite possibly, my softball career.

We got mercy ruled again.

Last game, Becky singled and then Phil...hit into a double play. So 2 batters in we used our re-do. This time they still got Becky on a fielders choice but at least Phil was aboard. We ended up scoring him. It would be our only run of the game. In the bottom half of the inning their 3 run guy was on 2nd, someone else on first...they hit a flare down the right field line to score 5...so we used our defensive redo. Didn't matter...this was Emy's team, one we got 20 runned by when we had a much better team than the one playing today. They racked up about 9 runs that inning.

By the 4th inning they were ahead 15-1. And then they used their offensive redo. Whatever. Way to rub it in.

The upshot is...it just was not fun to me. Did not enjoy the tournament, got sunburned, picked up a bruised fore-arm and aggravated my shoulder. I don't think I want to play anymore.

The Major

My first Major was at Pinehurst. I had only played it once with the Goose and it seemed like a pretty easy course. Of course, back then I had a pretty weak golfer not much better than the trash golfer this game makes you start out with. Now I have a power swinging monster who can reach a 600 yard green in 2 pretty regularly.

The first hole was tough. I got a little bit right, clocked a tree and was deep in the woods. I tried to chip out on the fairway and clocked another tree. My third shot looked good until I went lumberjack which brought it up short. I was pitching for par when I got to the green and 2-putted for a double bogey.


And did the same thing on hole 2. After 2 holes I was 4 over! That has not happened forever.

Well, I went to work. I straightened my drives. My irons got more consistent. A birdie here, a couple pars there, an Eagle, a birdie...by the 9th hole I was even. Then I went nuts. The back 9 suited my swing perfectly. I ended the round with back to back Eagles to go 10 under and take a 4 stroke lead into day 2. By the end of day 2 I was up 10. I had a good round...but a couple guys had better. I really felt I knew the course, though. However, I had struggled once again on the first 2 holes, going 3 over par. That was tough. But I got even by about hole 6 or 7 and went on from there to get further under par.

The third round I had the best start so far...double bogey, bogey. Whatever. For whatever reason I cannot get left of the trees on either hole. By the end I was looking good...but a couple guys were making a move. I ended the day with a 6 stroke lead.

Championship Day for my first Major. Up 6. I tried something new on the first hole. I was in the fairway but very, very short. My second shot was beautiful, giving me a long-shot birdie. I adjusted my putt...and missed so badly I ended up with bogey. By hole 5 I had lost my entire lead as Woods came from nowhere. Now it was a battle. I would gain a lead of a stroke or 2, then lose it. And then on 15 I pulled a bogey while he hit a birdie. For the first time since day 1 I trailed with just 3 holes to play. I pulled out a miracle par on 16.

17 is a par 3. I was down 1 stroke. And I blasted it...it looked good...it hit the green...it rolled...it DROPPED IN! I had my 2nd Ace and this one was meaningful as it gave me a 1 shot lead on Tiger, who had finished, and on Oberhauser who had 1 hole to play. So to stay safe I needed a par for a possible win, probable tie.

And I birdied to win. It was awesome. A 2 stroke win made possible by my first tournament Ace.

Tiger Round

So in the Tiger Woods Challenge on the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 I struggled mightily with the Scotland course. I was not looking forward to playing it as a Tour event since I figured that would continue.

But I came out on fire. I hit a beautiful shot to Eagle the first hole. I birdied the second hole. I birdied the 3rd hole. I hit par on the 4th. By the 10th hole I was 10 under for the round. I ended at 14 under, setting my all time record of 58. I did not bogey a single hole. It was awesome.

For day 2 I came out expecting more of the same. But the wind had kicked up. Now my long drives found the rough. My second shots shot way left...not drifted, shot. I had one shot where I aimed 40 or 50 yards to the right of the green...and went O.B. to the left with a 60 yard window over there on a 108 yard shot.

After that I got smart and started using a lot of punch shots or at the very least changing the loft on my shots. And I fought my way to a sub-par round somehow, some way. It was tough but fun.

It was very challenging. I had gotten used to just unloading, powering up every shot as much as I could. Even when I missed the fairway it was not by much and I was so close to the green that recovery was no problem.

Now, however, I was hitting long rough, long second shots, bunkers...and even more importantly, tough putts. I had come to consider 30 foot putts routine because they were typically relatively straight. Now 20' were almost impossible and there were even a few 5' that...well, here is an example.

I had a 2 foot putt...and had to put it almost directly left instead of straight ahead. I put the minimum possible power into it. My next shot was from the rough 31 yards away, that is how far it rolled.

Under those conditions I was quite pleased to get under par.

2 more rounds like that and I eked out a 3 shot win.

Starving Crazed Weasels, June

This happened a few weeks ago so I am a bit hazy on it but more or less...

had 13 people so we split into tables of 7 & 6. At my table I had Cassie to my left, then Kevin, then Tim, then Kenneth. It was a pretty passive table early on. Twice I checked in the big blind with garbage hands and flopped 2 pair, took down nice pots both times. Gave a bunch of chips to Tim when I read him right but it didn't matter...I had A/K and bet pre-flop. He called. Flop was low, like 6/7/8. I read him for weak, raised, he called. Turn was a blank, I raised, he called. River was I think a Jack or something like that, he checked, I checked behind...and he had hit the jack. He had like K/J or something, I had him beat almost the whole way but he wouldn't go away.

Picked up pocket Kings, raised them, Kev called. Flop had an Ace, I raised, he called. I thought he might have an Ace but was not sure. Hit a King on the turn. Raised, he called. Raised on the river but it was a "keep him in" raise when I wanted to raise him all in. He called, he hit the King but my trips was better. Not putting him all in was a mistake.

Picked up K/10 early, raised it. Kenneth called from the big blind. I flopped top 2 pair. Raised. Kenneth called. I took a look at his stack. We were both committed. Either he would double up or I would bust him out. Turn was a Queen. River was a 9. Great, all he needs is a Jack to beat me...but we are both in so deep that the smaller bet I placed on the River to put him all-in had to be made. And he had to call...the river gave him 2 pair, Queens and 9s. He had called early on a gut shot so it ended up costing him.

The other table put out a couple people so I switched over to even it out. And quickly got a sense...there was one guy taking a ridiculous amount of time for every decision.

Now, there are times when I will take some time for a decision. Let's say in the hand with Kenneth the roles were reversed a bit. Let's say he had me covered and comfortably so. I flop top 2, raise, he calls. Turn is a Queen. Now there are some straights on the board as any A/J or 9/J completes it and I am now also losing to pocket Queens so there are several legit hands that beat me. I raise. If he re-raises me all in I am going to need some time. There are a lot of factors to consider:

How much is in the pot and what are the odds I have of re-drawing to beat him if I am behind? What hands could he make that play with? Is he playing his cards or is he playing me, did I somehow show weakness or fear of the straight?

So yeah, I will take some time. On the other hand, 3 people limp in, 2 people fold, and I look down at my cards I need 3 seconds to decide what to do. Not 3 minutes. To fold. Again. And again. And again. It slowed the game to a crawl and I started to tilt.

I had a great chip stack by now, clearly in the lead. Shortly thereafter we combined to 1 table of 8.

And Tim came over with a HUGE stack. He must have ran roughshod on them after I left. And he just kept rolling, taking out person after person.

I lost a large chunk when I raised pocket Queens, he called. Flop was Jack high. I raised, he called. Turn was a King, I raised, he called. River was a blank, he checked, I checked behind...and he had trip Jacks. He played them well. Only by making a river bet could he have gotten more but I was nervous anyway. This time I was reading strength.

Lost more chips when I had pocket Kings, raised all the way and on the river an Ace fell. He bet, I folded, he showed the A/4 he stayed in with. Bad play got good results.

Then got into a key hand. Phillip had been up & down and I had him about 2-1 in chips. He made a min raise, I called from the big blind with Joe and Tim also calling. I had J/9 suited. Flop was 9 high. I was first to act and raised the pot. Joe and Tim folded, Phillip called all-in. He flipped up J/10. Interesting call...assuming I had hit any part of the flop he was drawing to just 6 outs and I could easily have a bigger pair, bigger set, or even bigger cards. In other words, he could only beat a draw or a bluff.

Until we turned a 3. Ouch. Just like the Kings that lost to the River Ace I was a big favorite. We knew 7 cards. Of the 45 unknown there were 3 that helped him so I was a 15-1 favorite. Against the Aces I was an even more impressive favorite as he had just one shot at it. I lost 2 huge percentage plays.

And then came the crippling blow. Pocket Kings against pocket Queens and he rivered the third queen.

I went from threatening the chip lead to under 5K with 4/800 blinds in 3 hands where I lost to a 3 outer, a 3 outer and a 2 outer.

So when I picked up an A/8 clubs. Phillip had folded, Joe was short stack, Tim was big blind and had folded to lots of raises much smaller. I decided to steal the blinds and even if called an Ace high figured to be good 4 handed with 1 already folded.

And both Joe and Tim called...and Tim had A/Q. I couldn't hit my 3 outer and was out in 3rd.

I might have found a better place to get the chips in but I doubt it. With just the blinds to beat, Joe whom I had covered and Tim who had suddenly become tight I think it was the right move even if I had 2/7. It was still a meaningful raise and I needed chips. Plus, with the way our points are set up had I taken out Joe the benefit would have been well worthwhile. Oh, well.

Tiger 07 Redux

A few of my favorite moments

1) Matched up with Colin Montgomerie, 18th and last hole of regulation in stroke play in the Tiger Woods Challenge. We are tied. My third shot leaves me 59 feet from the pin. His 4th leaves him about 2 feet away. I need to 2-putt to send it to sudden death. The putt goes down, then up before curling back down. And...I nail it to win the match. I set a new record for longest putt. I advance.

2) About 9 holes after the Goose scores our first Ace I match her feat on the same course.

3) In a close match in Scotland I break it open when I drive a par 4 green off the tee and Eagle the hole.

4) I have a 104' putt that breaks both ways and is uphill...and pull up 6" off the cup. The best putt EVER.

5) Playing with the Goose on Riviera I real off 12 consecutive holes of birdie or better, though to be fair there were 2 mulligans in there.

6) just plain playing with the Goose...it is great to find a game we both enjoy that plays well with 2 people.

Tiger Tour 07

Having grown older since the last time I discussed the X-Box (my birthday was held on an undisclosed day within the past fortnight moving from age to the advanced age of ....yes, I know, should I not now be past the time for playing video games? Smurf no! They still rock!, I should, in theory, have also grown wiser. The nature of the opening run on sentence which consists of one sentence interrupted multiple times including, but not limited to, a question mark and 2 exclamation points seems to indicate I have not.

Last Saturday we were at my brother's place and playing Playstation 3. Yeah, I am the only holdout. Both brothers, good friend Kevin, they are all PS3 guys. I am not. But we were playing Hot Shots Golf while the girls were doing whatever. The Goose thought it looked like fun so we decided to look for a copy on the X-box 360 which, of course, does not have it since it is Playstation exclusive. We elected to search for "a similar game".

I know they are out there. Polar Bear Golf has easy controls, shot-shaping ability, and a high fun factor. I have played various golf games over the years and, I must admit, enjoyed virtually all of them. Typically this is because they suit me.

I am not now, have not been, and am unlikely to become a hard-core gamer. I like my controls easy to learn, simple to use, and not overly complicated. I never cared for the fighting games, for example, where to pull off a special move "all you had to do" was push down-up-left-a-a-a-up-right trigger-left-b-a-b. Maybe down up...and if I recall correctly, on Mortal Combat I mastered Liu Kang's move which only required something like back-forward-a or some such simple combo. Be that as it may, it is therefore incumbent upon any game to have a short learning curve to maintain my interest.

For example, MLB2K7 was the first game I tried out. I wanted to like it. The controls were a bit complicated...I often found myself swinging while the pitcher was in the wind-up, for example...and I played an entire inning and thought I was doing well, striking out 2 of the batters looking...but then I discovered I had been BATTING. On the bright side, I got a hit in that half of the inning. On the dark side...I thought I was pitching and was batting.

Finally I figured out how to switch to "classic style" after about 8 15+ strike-out games. The learning curve was high and, for me, the fun factor was EXTREMELY low. So I stopped playing it in favor of Surf's Up and TMNT, games that are aimed at pre-teens...but that I truly enjoyed. Easy controls to learn and use...though I still am not terribly good at either of them because I am not very good at video games. At least I have beaten TMNT over a half dozen times...because it is very fun.

I also played Quake (4?) and was pretty successful...but for whatever reason only played it once. The looking up feature was troublesome but I could deal with it...it was the puzzle nature that frustrated me. I just wanted to shoot stuff, not spend a half hour looking for something to shoot and finding nothing but corpses...but not being able to advance to another level.

And worse yet was Call of Duty 3. It was so frustrating that I took to shooting my commanding officer...during the tutorial. Which I never completed. And never picked up the game again.

Yet to show I am not COMPLETELY inept...I picked up NBA2K7 and mastered it...well, basically instantaneously. I won my first 3 games, dropped 1, won a couple more, dropped one, and have not lost since. The controls make sense. They are intuitive, easy to learn. Yet the game is still fun and challenging. Just the other night I hit a shot inside the last minute to take the lead for the first time in the game to run my season record to 35-0. Yeah, I am winning...but sometimes it is close and in this game I had to come back from a 20 point second quarter deficit.

Well, we went into a video game store and the only golf franchise they had was Tiger Woods PGA Tour series. They had 3 choices...06 was 10 bucks, 07 was 20, and 08 was 60. We settled on the 07, talked to the guy, explained the Hot Shots thing and he said, "oh, you might not like this one, the controls are really tough." Back on the shelf went the game, out the door we went.

At lunch I started thinking...Al has Tiger and seems to like it. A couple texts later and after lunch we went to a different game store, picked it up, and went home to play it.

The first game was frustrating. The menus were not easy to navigate and it took us about 10 minutes to set up a 2 player stroke play game. We both took Tiger so we should have had identical stats.

The Goose seemed to pick up the controls pretty easily. She was cranking out 250 - 280 yard drives. She Eagled like the 5th hole with a massive chip in. Meanwhile I was cranking out 100 yard, 140 yard drives and was all over the course. Later it turned out we had different editions of Tiger...she had his best version, I had his rookie version...but be that as it may, the game play was frustrating.

But I tried it again later. I went through the tutorials. It started to make sense. We both created golfers. I finished slightly ahead of her in the second game.

Then she had to work on school work. I was on vacation. I started working with my guy.

I won the first 2 matches in the Tiger Woods challenge but then ran into Annika Sorenstan. Again and again her 2nd shot would be in the rough, the bunker, etc...and mine would be on the green. So she would chip/pitch/flop to within 6" and par every.single.hole. And beat me.

I practiced. I played her again. I won the first three holes. And lost 4up on hole 15.

Well, then I discovered the Power Boost. I took a different path through the challenge. I began destroying people. My golfer got much, much better. Instead of maxing out at 244 yard drives he became capable of 250, then 260, 270...I could spin, add or subtract loft. My putting is nails.
There are really only 2 shots I cannot pull off...2 or 3, depending on how you count it. Draws and fades are train wrecks. I count that as one since they are the same shot, just pulling the stick left or right. Chipping is HORRIBLE. If I have an 8 yard chip I will either power up the putter for the long, long putt or power down a flop or pitch. I cannot master the chip.

I opened new courses. We played again. Since now my golfer was so much better than hers I gave her mass mulligans and took I think 3 per round. We tried TPC Sawgrass and Pinehurst.

The graphics, by the way, are awesome.

On Pinehurst, on I think the 5th hole she did it...she hit a hole in 1. Very nice. Then on the 15th or 16th, somewhere on the back 9, I hit my first Ace. She hits every major goal before me...well, not EVERY one. I DID drive a par 4 green in 1 with a monstrous 340+ yard corner cutting fade drive I pulled out of who knows where...turning a long 400+ yard hole into an eagle that missed being an ace by about a foot.

In short, I LOVE this game. Of the 20 matches to beat the Tiger challenge I have defeated 17 of the opponents. I even spend time in the pro shop kitting out my character. And, in a very shocking development for anyone who knows me, I am not min/maxing my guy. I wear a shirt that looks good but is not as helpful to my stats as others would be, I use a downgraded ball because I like how it looks...I even play the mini-games.

This game now competes with NBA2K7 and TMNT as my favorite games, games I will set aside time to play.

And when '08 becomes affordable...it might find its way into my collection.

Lydias

Being on vacation, I was close enough to go and since I did not make it out to St. Helens thought I might as well play. 12 players, divided into 2 tables.

To my left was Forrest, a decent player with some pretty easy to read tells. To my right was Bob, then Randy, a wild and horrific player who thinks chasing runner-runner draws is a smart play, to his right was Bill, a sometimes very good, sometimes very wild player, and the other player was...was...uh...someone.

Early on I was getting trash hand after trash hand. Two times in a row Bill dealt me 4/9 diamonds. Then he mixed it up with a 2 of diamonds, 9 of hearts.

The first hand I played I checked into the big blind with A/9 clubs. Flopped top pair and a flush draw. Called a bet with Randy also calling. Turn was a blank. Randy bet, the odds were right, I called. River completed my flush. I raised 1K into a pot of about 2K, Randy called and I took down a nice pot.

A while later I checked my option with 3/5 hearts. Flop gave me a flush draw. Bill raised the pot. The odds were wrong to call...but it felt weak. I called planning to take it away on the turn. But he raised again. Time to reconsider. This time I was getting better odds, I did not believe he had the flush draw...maybe top pair, maybe 2 pair, but no flush draw. My strict odds were not quite right but my implied odds were great. I called. And the river gave me the flush. He bet big, I called, he had 2 pair and I took down a nice pot with a crap hand.

Back to folding.

Pocket Kings, raised, no callers, flashed them to begin creating my image. Very next hand picked up pocket jacks. Raised, 3 callers. Flop was Q/10?Q. Ugly. Checked to me, I raised. Mary Kay, who by now had moved to our table after Forrest and the kid I had not played with before had busted out, hesitated, thought, and said, "OK, I see one more" and called.

Now, with some players, that means "shut it down, she is slow-playing trips." With Mary Kae that means, "I am on a draw and will see another card to see if I hit it." Everyone else folded. I bet the turn, she called, and the river was another blank, I bet, she folded. Very nice pot, I was up over double.


Didn't play another significant hand until the final table.

Now I had Barbara to my left: calling station, will call any bet with top pair or better, will chase draws whether it is statistically correct or not. To her left Bud. To his left an obnoxious guy whose name I don't know and I don't really have a feel for his playing style. To his left was...uh...someone, then Bill, then to my right Bob.

Picked up pocket kings, raised, couple callers, flop was blank, raised, turn gave me a set and I took someone out since he had K/J. By now Barbara had taken out 2 players and gone from short stack to chip lead.

Bill was coming over the top all in on me all night. Have to watch that.

Under the gun picked up 3/7 suited. I throw this away every time. However, I have been planning to choose a bluffing hand and decided this, my "superstitious hand" since it is our wedding anniversary, would be it. So I called planning to bluff on the turn if circumstances looked right. Flop gave 3 hearts. Checked around. Turn actually paired my 7. I decided to wait one more since Bill looked like he was thinking about raising. He checked. River was a blank, I bet, everyone folded.

I raised with pocket jacks, Bud re-raised his last few chips, an insignificant raise, I called. He had big slick. Flop gave me a Jack, turn was a Queen...if a 10 came I would lose the pot...but it was another Jack. Quads. Nice.

Raised big slick. Barbara called. I flopped top pair. Raised significant. She called. Repeated on turn and river, she had pocket 9s, took down huge pot. Similar play a hand or 2 later and now I was chip lead.

Not too much later took Barbara out, had commanding lead on Bob, played him soft since he was sort of on tilt. He wanted to go so we called it.

For the night I played very well. And, in a shocking turn of events...this time it paid off! I got in with the best of it time and again, my draws hit

Jax, 6/24

Since I was passing through downtown decided to stop off at Jax. I really like playing there; their trained dealers prevent the stupidity of slow-rolling, stuff like that and the players are better on average. You see a lot less plays like Randy with his chasing runner runner as a good play, less stuff like Boston John playing "drunken monkey poker"...though there are still a wide variety of plays including a guy famous for playing 3/4.

Starts with 10K in chips and blinds of 100/200.

27 players, 3 tables of 9. Nice. Nothing to play in the first 4 hands. 5th hand I was in the big blind. Several limpers, looked down at pocket 9s. Bumped it to 700 total, still got lots of callers. Dealer commented, "Wow, 6K in their" referring to the pot. Flop was nice...Q/7/4. I glanced at the pot and raised to 5K. If someone hit the Queen I was in trouble...but everyone folded. Nice pickup that added 60% to my stack just like that.

Went with the Doyle plan of playing the next hand. Called a small raise with q/9. Regretted it instantly...I just called a raise with a weak hand out of position. But then I got lucky...the flop was Q/9/5 rainbow. I flopped top pair and the only reasonable draw was someone holding 10/J. My first thought was to slow-play...but then I reevaluated. I wanted to create an image where people were nervous about being in a pot for me. I bet the pot. Everyone folded. Nice...

A few hands later I picked up pocket 9s again. Jacked it up 3x the blinds, a couple callers. Flop was all low, someone raised, I came over the top, everyone folded.

At this point I was very happy. I had more than doubled up without ever being at risk...AND WITHOUT SHOWING DOWN A HAND!

The guy 2 seats to my left had limped once and not played a hand past the flop when he did an under size raise. I was one off the button with j/10, not a great hand but with about 4 callers the odds were right. I went ahead and called. Flop came 10/9/6. The guy who raised it checked and it was checked to me. I raised. Initial raiser hesitated, then came over the top all in, everyone folded to me. Time to think.

My initial rating put him on A/10 or better and pockets down to about 6 or so. When he checked I narrowed his range a bit: high cards and afraid of someone having hit the flop or maybe a small pair. This reeked of a bluff but there was still an outside shot I was drawing real thin to Jacks or better. However, there were enough callers initially that I was getting a bit better than 3-1 so I called...and he flipped up Pocket 8s. I was way ahead but he had 6 outs (any 7 or the 2 8s) to win...so I was a prohibitive 39-6 favorite or better than 6-1. Furthermore, the first time I showed my cards I showed people A) I was willing to gamble a bit, calling a raise with J/10 off and B) I was either reading people well to call him or else was a poor player who overvalued top pair...depending on their perception of me.

I won that hand. Now I was in control of the table and people did not want to get involved with me if they could help it. This let me pick up a few small pots, including one that I thought was brilliant.

I had been watching a guy for a while. When he had bottom or middle pair he would lead out with a small bet, a feeler bet. Nobody had challenged him. At one point he limped from the small blind. I thought about raising but elected to check. Flop came, he made one of his small raises, I re-raised him and he folded. I flipped up my irrelevant hand to show the bluff. That, in retrospect, was a mistake. I had a tell on him and may have cost myself chips later by showing a bluff. But on the other hand...I also showed people I did not need cards to win a hand.

After the break we condensed to 2 tables. A guy sat down to my right who had me out chipped but otherwise I was leading the table.

I folded a few hands, then utg+1 picked up A/Q. The guy to my right had limped so I jacked it 4 times the blinds. We were both deep stacks and I could take it down on the flop just by betting. A couple other people called, guy to my right folded. Flop was ugly, all low and diamond, with a raise, re-raise and call in front of me I folded.

A few hands later I checked from the big blind with a weak Q/8 off. Flop came ugly...Q/J/9, 2 diamonds. Guy to my right checked, I raised, everyone folded to him and he went into the tank. Then he started trying to get a reaction to me. I decided to throw off a few false tells by acting super strong...if he knows the tells. I looked pretty uninterested, let my attention wander...and waited until the third time he asked, "You have K/10 already?"

He had made a HUGE mistake. If he had just come over the top I would have folded. I had top pair, weak kicker on a draw heavy board. But after his talk and trying to draw me out I knew he was weak. If he just called I was raising big on the turn, if he raised I was moving all in. I finally engaged him in conversation.

"I might. Hard to say."
He had no clue how to respond and folded. When he did he inadvertently exposed the deuce of diamonds and I heard him telling someone he had "a real high one to go with it"...I assume the King or Ace. Anyhow, the hand was still being talked about several minuted later.

And here is where I stopped playing well. I had built a great table image...but now I tightened up. That was the first of the 3 mistakes that would hurt me.

The second came shortly when I raised UTG with Big Slick. 3 callers. Flop came Q/Q/9. Guy to my right...who had thought a long time before calling...checked. Every instinct I had said to raise. I meekly checked, essentially giving up on the hand. An old guy I had watched for a while went all in. Folded to the guy to my right who hesitated for a long time. I figured he had an under pair at worst but the 2 queens were just too much. He folded.

I had to think about it. I knew the old guy didn't have a Queen. I actually thought he might have hit the nine. I had watched him play and he was weak tight. He would bet once with middle pair, then hope to check it down. Going all in represented either strength or a stone cold bluff. Even if he had the 9 I was drawing thin to 6 outs. Folding was correct.

And for whatever reason, I looked at the guy to my right and said, "This is a HORRIBLE call"...and called. Old guy ended up having Pocket Jacks and they held up. And I was right...I was not getting the right odds to call, particularly when it turned out the guy to my right had also had big slick and someone else folded a third Ace. I was actually drawing to just 4 outs...

Anyhow, now I was down a bit. The very next hand the woman three seats to my right...who was short stacked...came over the top of a raiser and a caller to go all in. In the big blind I looked down at the Cowboys. I re-raised enough to commit anyone who called as I wanted to isolate her. It worked and I regained a good portion of what I had lost.

Then came the hand I didn't play. UTG the next round I limped with 6/7 suited. A guy who is regarded as one of the better players but whom had been unwilling to play with me. He is a guy I have played before...he was the guy on my left. Anyhow, he had been up and down a bit. Now he was down. After another limper, he raised all in. Guy to my right, as is his wont, hemmed and hawed for a while...and then called.

I desperately wanted to call. I had the chips to play with, though it would definitely cut into me about 40%, I was highly unlikely to be dominated...and I had the first guy read for being on a move. Still, I would be calling with 7 high...I REALLY wanted to call...but for whatever reason...I folded. And the guy was on a move with 3/4 and was against K/10 suited...same suit as my 6/7. Well...the guy paired his 4, I would have hit the straight, and the K/10 never hit anything.

From then I pretty much just got blinded until we collapsed to the final table. Once there I was middle of the pack in chips.

The table was a fast table with a lot of raising and re-raising. One guy took down a huge pot when he jacked pre-flop with pocket queens and flopped a full house. The very next hand he raised, the guy 3 seats to my right re-raised, the original guy raised again, guy to my right went all-in, and after thinking for a while got called. Guy to my right had pocket Jacks. Guy who flopped the boat? Pocket Queens. The Queens held up and guy to my right was crippled.

The next hand everyone limped to the small blind...who was the guy I had bluffed earlier. He limped, I had pocket jacks so raised, he re-raised, I checked the pot...it would about double me up now, I shoved, he called...with Aces. Oops. I was left with 1000 chips and blinds of 1/2K.

Now, here is where tournament strategy comes into play. If I care about the points (I don't) then I don't even look at my cards, I make the guy 3 seats to my right go through the blinds...he has 3K. On the other hand, if I want to see if I can make a comeback, I look for my best hand.

Best part is I now hit a hot streak. If I went all in the first hand I would have quadrupled up. The next hand (2/6 off) I would have flopped 2 pair. Then the tragic happened...I picked up Big Slick. It was the best hand I would get before being in the blinds, I called.

And the guy who had gone all-in with 3/4 called, among others, and flopped 2 pair. 3s and 4s. I was done.

I played really well early...I was aggressive, I played good cards strongly and when I did not have cards I played the players and picked up a couple pots I had no business winning. However, late I became passive, made 2 bad calls...I need to close out stronger.

The Retirement Game

Last week I filled in on Phil's team, a Men's League game. For some inexplicable reason they put me at third base. 3rd is known as "the Hot Corner" for the large number of screaming line drives that make their way down the path. Now, if the ball is in the air I am fine but on the ground my confidence is shot, plus I have been in a batting slump.

First play of the game, the old adage that "The ball finds the unprepared" came true as the first batter grounded it directly to me. I mean between my legs right to me. And I froze. I could not read the ball, thought it was to the short stop.

Well, now my confidence is even worse. But I am out there trying. And a couple batters later a shot down the line looked stoppable. I laid out for it. I had never played 3rd except for one inning in all my life. It was not a smart dive. The ball was outside my reach and I landed badly, driving all my weight onto my left shoulder.

A few years ago I weighed 220 and it would have been no big deal. Now I am about 265 and...how do I put this politely...the added figure is NOT from building up muscle...as can be seen from the profile pic. Anyhow, it instantly started to hurt a little bit. Well, as the game went on it got worse. Every (pathetic) swing of the bat tore it and the plays I did make were no help.

On the bright side, I had only 2 more legit chances in the entire game. One was a line drive I caught that drew a lot of oohs and ahs from both teams...ironically, I thought it was an easy play. The second was a ball I charged perfectly and threw on a hop to first...bad throw but it beat him. However, the ump called him safe. He later admitted he had blown the call...no big deal, really...it happens.

Anyhow, my arm killed me all week. Until Saturday I did not even shave, mostly because I could not lift my arm. It hurt all the time and made sleeping very difficult. At work I had to physically lift it up to the keyboard with my right arm. Pathetic. And all that is set-up for the How You Doin' game.

I wasn't going to go. My arm still hurt, though not nearly as bad, but I still can't lift it above about chest high. I left the video camera at home (I am working on a documentary project for the team) so there was no point to going...until JJ called and said I was the 5th guy. He did not know about my arm.

So one of my character flaws from the past rose up. Growing up I was hyper competitive. I did a lot of damage playing basketball on sprained ankles, stuff like that. And winning. Because I would push past the pain to do what needed to be done to win. And it wasn't just in athletics...long before I knew strategy guides existed I knew to start the game of Risk in Australia and/or South America. I could win Diplomacy starting with Turkey or Russia. I never lost a tournament game in chess, even at state. I was too competitive to let someone outwork me. And I loved to play.

I still love to play. So I sacked up and headed down to the game. Got there as the team was milling around waiting for 2 later players to make it. Asked JJ to "hide me" at the bottom of the batting order and in right center where very few balls are hit, planning not to even attempt to catch a ball, just to track down anything hit that way and heave the ball back in to make them hit it again. Yeah, I laughed when I read that line too. I know me too well. Yes, I can let myself lose a game now, unlike when I was growing up...but I still cannot not expend effort in an athletic competition.

While we were milling around waiting for the game to start one of my teammates made a friendly gesture of camaraderie...he tapped me on the shoulder. The pain was so intense it literally drove me to his knees. I know what you are thinking...he got smart and didn't play.


Hahahahahahahahhaa. Oh, you kid. Of course I played. I am that way.

Anyhow, we were the visitors. Batting 9th, I figured I would not hit for a couple of innings. Wrong. I came up with runners on 1st and 3rd, 1 out. I physically could not even swing the bat right handed so I was going to hit from the left side. My plan was to work the count...see if he could get 3 strikes over the plate or if I would walk.

The first pitch looked so awesome I could not help myself. I swung. At least I did not swing hard. It was a slow roller to the first baseman who got the force at second but I was safe at first. And the run scored. As did I. Big first inning.

No chances in the first couple innings in the field and I would lead off the third. Again, the plan was to NOT SWING. I should not have even taken a bat up there. First pitch was bad, ball one. 2nd pitch I could see was a strike and if feeling good I would have crushed it. Instead I followed the plan and DIDN'T SWING. Go me! Of course, on the very next pitch I undid all my good work by uncorking a mighty swing that Casey might have envied. I mean I really unwound and obliterated the ball. Well, okay, so obliterated might be a bit of hyperbole...I will say it was hit so hard that lots of things happened. First, I screamed in pain and bent over in the batters box. And still made it to first because I hit it so hard the first baseman could not handle it and even after connecting with him it skittered into the outfield. But it about crippled me.

And remember the adage that the ball finds the unprepared? Bottom half of the inning, the ball found me. Soft liner almost directly to me. Now, remember...I had promised myself I would not even attempt a catch, I would just recover and throw to the infield. Uh-huh. Any other lies, Mr. Weasel? I briefly considered bare handing it with my right hand but then gauged the arc...I could basket catch that sucker! So I did...I moved back and forth to where I caught it waist high and used both hands...fundamentally horrible, but very effective. Even after the game I was catching compliments on that one because they saw how I had to maneuver just to be physically capable of making the catch.

My next time up I swung 1 handed...and singled to right. I am 2 for 3 with no physical ability...and then came the long inning.

Two batters flew to right and our right fielder could not handle them. I was doing what I do, backing her up and held the runners to fewer bases. Then came a liner that, if I am feeling good, I probably catch. This time I wisely angle back to stop the ball and throw it back in. Then another one I would catch if I were right but I wait for the bounce and grab it with my bare hand...which wrenched my shoulder and caused beads of sweat to pop out on my forehead. Another ball my way...I was getting to the ball and getting it back in quickly but I was frustrated because those were easy catches if I could move and extend my arm. As it was, not one of them was catch able.

Anyhow, we finally got out of the inning. My next time up I saw where the third base girl was playing and knew she had just an average arm. The plan was a soft one handed swing...basically a legal bunt that would not even get to her it would be rolling so slow. I kept my left arm in tight, let my top hand roll off, nice, soft swing...and flew out to moderately deep left. Best ball I have hit in two weeks. Hilarious. Also probably the last ball I will ever hit unless something changes.

I am too easily injured nowadays, my skills have deteriorated, and I don't feel like I am helpful to my team when I play. Time to pack it in and what better time than after a 2-4 performance from the left side with every chance handled cleanly?

So I "retired" after the game.

A sad day for me. I love to play...I just am not in shape to anymore.

H.O.R.S.E.

With the Goose off in Arizona last week I spent a sad amount of time playing on Poker Stars. Some of the time I spent on the classic No Limit tournaments, mostly sit & gos but I played a lot of H.O.R.S.E. as well and learned some interesting things. Each game had something to offer. Prior to this I had played very little Limit Hold Em, a small amount of Omaha, and never played Stud or Razz.

Limit Hold 'Em would actually probably be my best game. I have the patience to wait for good hands, I generally get pretty good reads on my opponents, and I know the percentages. Still, it is such a slow game...it is good for learning patience. I came out of almost every Limit session up a little bit. I waited for good hands in good position and played them aggressively. At one point I had not played a hand in nearly 2 full circuits as I was pretty card dead when I picked up the Rockets under the gun. I raised them and it came back to me with a re-raise. I 3 bet...and everyone called. When I flopped a set I saw no point to slow-playing. The betting was capped on every round and I raked a huge pot. Now, anyone who was paying attention should not have been in that hand without a pretty good straight draw (no flush possible) and there wasn't one. Sure, by folding when 2 and 3 bets came to my blind I was getting ground down a bit...but it is limit. I did not get ground much and was able to maximize my winnings when I got a hand. So the key I learned was patience.

Omaha is a much faster game. Because so many combinations can hit, lots of people play any 4 cards. Using the patience from Limit, I waited for hands that were connected, preferably with a suited Ace. When I flopped, if it was a small draw I folded and if it was to the nuts I called or raised, depending on the game. Because of the nature of Omaha I won some huge pots and lost some huge ones. Then when it switched to Omaha High Low, I only played hands with the potential to win the low. As a result, when I won pots they were typically the whole pot and when I lost I was usually out of the hand early as if no low is possible I got out. Twice I folded straights when I believed an opponent had a flush or full house and once I folded a full house (deuces full of 2s) believing one of the 2 opponents had to have queens over deuces. I was right...and wrong. One guy had that, the other had Aces full. The lesson to be learned from Omaha is pretty simple; you have to be willing to fold when you are beat.

Razz is a different game where you want a bad hand. A/3/4/5/6 is pretty solid. An 8 high is questionable. And all too often you find yourself with a hand that looks good but is beating by subtlety. You and your opponent both roll 7 low hands but he is 7/5/4/3/2 and you are 7/6/3/2/a...and you lose. Subtle differences in hand strength make or break a hand so you start developing a feel for how good your hand needs to be to stay in.

Stud is a game that requires you to pay attention and use your memory. If you are dealt 3 to the flush but see 4 cards of your suit up on other boards there is not much point to playing the hand. Forgetting someone folded one jack and another opponent has a Jack showing renders your buried jacks meaningless. The player who does not pay attention to who has what door cards and other cards showing on their board...and who forgets what was folded...finds them self drawing thin too often. And by following the betting pattern you can often discern what people are representing. So Stud is great for developing memory.

Last but not least, the Hi-lo split versions of the game help with developing a sense for the meaning to percentages and getting a feel for pot odds. When you hit your flush and pull in just 50% of the pot...well, sometimes you barely break even!

So HORSE is great for seeing poker from other angles. It remains to be seen if I will put those lessons to good use.

Coffeehousing:Why it matters

I had a plan: I would play 2 blind levels to the best of my ability, then play virtually every hand and bust out before the end of the third blind level. I had places to be.

First hand I played I limped from the small blind with 4 callers behind with my A/8. Flop came ragged, A/9/5. No reasonable straight or flush draws, I decided to bet it and see what happened. Only one caller, an old guy I have played before and he is pretty wild. He actually reraised me. Effective stacks of 5K, about 400 in the pot and his raise of 100 over my 100...I called. I blind checked the turn. It was a blank, he raised 100. Call. River, another blank, I considered raising but decided to play smart; if I raised, he would reraise no matter what he had and I had him probably on an Ace with a marginal kicker...much like my own. I checked, he raised 100, I wanted to see it...he had pocket 5s. I did not feel bad about it, I actually think (other than playing the hand at all...) I played it pretty well.

I have played with this guy before and he tends to think blind aggression is good. I have seen him with 20BB get 80% of his stack in on a Jack high...several times. He will bet and reraise whenever he is in a hand even with third pair or just a paint card so against him if I have even a pair I pretty much check and call because I want to see a showdown. I got out of this one pretty cheap.

The very next hand, on the button, I picked up pocket 5s. I nearly folded them because you only hit a set 1 in 8 times. But after 4 limpers I came to my senses...cards have no memory. I had a 1 in 8 chance of hitting my set and if I did I would make a lot more than 8-1...so I limped. Sure enough, K/7/5. I did not like the potential straight draw but after it was checked around I raised the pot. 2 callers, one Todd's wife, whom I have not played with before. Turn was a blank, I raised, they folded, I showed because I thought it was funny.

My next hand I picked up K/10o, a hand I usually don't play, but this time I called from late position to see a flop. Here is why it is a bad idea. I hit top pair on the flop and there were 2 diamonds. Someone raised, 3 callers. I merely called. Turn gave me a flush draw...the NUT flush draw. So with the same raiser/3 callers I came along for the ride. I missed my flush and with the raiser again raising and 2 callers I knew my 10s were no good and no way would they all be bluffed out. I folded. The guy raising all the way along? 2/3 diamonds...he hit the flush. I had everyone until the river, pretty funny stuff.

Raised an A/J, couple callers, low flop, lots of action, folded.

Then I started blinding down a bit. After a while, blinds now 50/100, the table had loosened a lot with heavy action on virtually every hand. On the button, I had3750 left, a couple 1 limper, I raised to 500, Paul agonized for a while before calling from the big blind, the maniac old guy called pretty quick.

I briefly considered blind raising but elected not to. Flop was ugly, 4/5/8, 2 diamonds. I was going to bet the pot, 2K. I knew Paul would call and so would the old guy...but that would only leave me 1250. I decided to try to pick up the pot as it was. I went all in. Paul went into the tank for a long time. He hated to give it up but with someone after him...he was out of position and folded. The old guy went in the tank for a long time. When he did I wanted him to call...he probably had 2 court cards or some ridiculous draw. Finally he called...and he was in shape than I would have believed, 5/6 diamonds. He could hit a 5,6,7, or diamonds...but blanks rolled off the turn and river and I was way up. Oh, and Paul pulled back his cards and showed pocket Jacks.

I am not sure about my play on this hand. Had I raised just the 2K that was in the pot...or less...I would still have been committed to it but might have made more as he probably would have called. On the other hand, I really don't want 3 of us seeing a turn card and I don't want anyone reraising me there. I need to think about that a bit. Did I want them to call? I was kind of going with my, "Any hand where you win the pot and don't show your hand is a good one." I often tell people I teach how to play that the best hands you play are the ones where you win without a showdown because THERE IS NO WAY TO LOSE THE HAND IF YOUR OPPONENT FOLDS! So I would not have minded them folding...

Although I hit a cold run of cards, I did see one interesting hand that would matter later and it was one I was not involved in. Flop came Q/2/2. Forrest led out, pretty small bet. Paul called. Turn was another Queen, Forrest led small, maybe 300 or so, and Paul called. River was a King. Forrest now led for 1K. Paul went into the tank.

I have seen Forrest play a few times and this betting pattern means he has something. His bets at least alluded to the size of the pot. He could have a deuce, he might have the Queen, or he could have a pair higher than the deuces. He could also have the King. I knew he had something because if he had nothing he would have made a HUGE bet.

Meanwhile Paul has something too. He wasn't on a draw as there were no flush or straight draws. His reaction made me think maybe he had pockets higher than Deuces but he was afraid of the King. Then he started coffee housing. "I am going to bet you DON'T have the boat." And he re-raised.

As soon as he said that I knew he had the boat, possibly the Queen, maybe the deuces. I knew he had the queen or deuce in his hand. And when Forrest merely called I knew he was beat. Sure enough, Forrest rolled over the King and Paul flipped up Q/8.

In every big hand he was involved in Paul tried to engage the other person. When I had the Rockets he looked at me for a long time and I basically ignored him, leading to his fold. I should have looked over at him, he probably would have called. In this hand he tried to talk Forrest into a call with his challenge. I would use this later.

Anyway, did not play another hand before the break. Now my goal was to call off my chips in 20 minutes.

First hand picked up A/Qo. Blinds 1/200, raised to 800. 2 callers. Flop was j/9/j. Forrest checked, I raised a weak 1500. Paul called, Forrest called. Turn was an 8. Now I had a gut shot straight draw...though to anyone with 9/J I was drawing dead. I underbet again, both called. River was a blank. I thought about going all in for my last 4K but there was over 10K in there and all I could beat was a bluff. I checked, Paul went all in...I had him covered by 100. Forest folded.

I know Paul is capable of a bluff. After all, he raised every street with a 2/3. He is a pretty solid player, somewhat tricky. But what bluffs could he be on at this point? A/K has me beat, 10/Q has me beat, A/Q we split, any Jack has me beat...really, the only thing I can beat is a weak Ace or low suited connectors, neither of which I believe he held. I actually went into coffee house mode a bit. "No flush...you could have a missed flush. Would you stay with q/10? Maybe." thought about it a bit more and then did the smart thing. He had at least a pair. I folded.

The next dealer accidentally flashed his cards as he was scooping them up...9/10. If I was playing solid I would have said I misplayed. On a dangerous flop like that with 2 callers I should have been done there on the flop. However, it was a good hand for me...I got rid of almost half my chips with a hand I was not upset to have played.

Next hand, pocket 6s. Limped along with about 4 others. Flop was A/7/4. Raise and call in front of me, I folded. Turn was an 8. River was a 5. I started laughing as the showdown had the old guy maniac showing A/2, another guy showing 2 pair...and then everyone realizing the old guy had the nut flush.

6/8o, limped from button to see what would happen. Hit nothing on the flop, folded.

3/8off, checked from big blind. Flop was 8/5/3, 2 diamonds. Bet the pot. Todd's wife called, guy to my right went all in. Now, I was going all in regardless here, but first I decided to see how close I could come to his hand.

He was a weak-tight player. The first hand he played was j/7...because he had seen nothing better. Still no excuse to play that trash. So he will play bad hands. And he played it for a couple streets. But then he played a K/10 and on a 10/3/3 flop with Todd raising, his wife calling, and a raise past that, he laid it down. Rightfully so, as said raiser had trip 3s. So he had some skills. He looked a bit desperate so I finally put him on a draw. Sure enough, he had 2 diamonds. And he turned the flush so I was done in 4 hands, none of which did I feel bad about. Well, maybe the 6/8o....if I were playing serious I would not have played that. Oh, and the best part? That hand finished 1 minute before my goal...

On Pot Control

One of the reasons I enjoy writing on here is it gives me a chance to go back over games and, sometimes, to spotlight errors I make which I can then tighten up. And this is one of those times. It goes back to a big hand I lost to Phil. On the one hand, I can't think of a way I could have played the hand where I would have won. He had a hand he was not going to be driven off so no raise would have won it for me and he had better cards. The problem was I paid him far too many chips...and it was my own misplays that made it that way.

With effective stacks of about 4K the situation was pretty clear. I had been on a rush, built a decent lead, and had been driving people out with raises. Phil was gun shy towards me, having lost 2 or 3 big pots. The blinds were 50/100.

With a couple limpers I picked up the fishhooks on the button. I raised to 300, Phil called UTG, everyone else folded, pot had about 800. Flop was gorgeous, all low, though there was a potential straight if he called with something goofy like a 6/8 or something weird like that. He came out and raised 200. Based on what I had seen I put him on something like top pair with top kicker or maybe 2 big cards. I reraised to 1000. He hesitated, then called. Turn was a King and he hit it. I knew he hit it as sure as if I saw his King. I did not know if he had A/K, K/7, or what...but I knew he had a King. But when he put in another 1000 I called anyway for reasons I will go into shortly and on the river his last 1200 was called as well.

From my standpoint the thinking went like this:
pre-flop with just limpers I believe my Jacks are good.
On the flop, which I loved, I believed I had the best hand. When I have the best hand I love to get all the chips in the pot and double up. I was planning to bet the pot and when he showed interest I adjusted my bet up a bit. The plan was to get all the chips in on the river.
On the turn when he hit the king I went into, "I might hit a miracle card" mode. Horrible play. I knew it was but I also knew I had the chips to play with. On the river, I know I am beat but, as I commented at the time, "there is so much in the pot I can't not call". Another HORRID play. I was 99.9999% convinced I was beat and getting only about 6-1 on my chips. A fold saves 1200 chips and I would still have been in fine shape, though no longer chip lead. Basically it was a frustration call.

From Phil's standpoint, the hand went something like this: limp with big hand, call a frequent raiser, see beautiful flop of all unders, send out feeler bet, get re-raised. Only pocket Aces or a bizarre medium suited connectors that hit 2 pair or straight are beating him. Turn gives a set. Now the object is to get all the chips in the center and the opponent is very aggressive. A nice raise of almost half the remaining chips. Innocuous river card, the rest of the chips go in.

And now, a look at the hand as I SHOULD have played it.

I like my pre-flop raise. There has been plenty of raising in the game so far and a fair amount of limping as well. I have no reason to believe the Cowboys are lurking.

I don't even like my PLANNED raise on the flop. Sure, the odds are my hand is best. But with a pot of 800 and just a pair of Jacks I really don't have a lot. I am vulnerable to any Queen, King, or Ace that falls on the turn or river, to any 2 pair. I want to play a small pot here.
So when Phil bets 200 I should either A)call or B) reraise the same amount or slightly more. No need to bump up to 1000 and make it a big pot.

He was willing to play a small pot with his Kings. If I just call there is only 1200 in the pot. I am not getting hurt, nor is he. This will be important on the turn.

When the King rolled off I saw his reaction. I KNEW he had the King and was beat. If there is only 1200 in the pot I am not tied to it. No big deal, I can let it go and not think about it. He is unlikely to switch gears and throw a huge bet out there and if he does I can happily lay it down.

This was a case of being overaggressive. I would not care hugely except for one basic fact: I do this too often. I get too aggressive, create unnecessarily large pots and then too often can't get away from them because I committed myself with too weak a hand.

I need to be more patient. Every pot does not need to be a big, make or break pot where huge amounts of chips are exchanged. Just as an open raise of 500 with blinds at 25/50 is ridiculous, so my habit of betting the pot borders on ridiculous.

I need to work on controlling the size of the pot. Sure, if I have the nuts I want as many chips as possible in the pot. Otherwise, do I REALLY want to play for all my chips with a weak pair or even 2 pair, something like that?

I need to work on betting less and less often. Sure, aggression is good...when properly channeled. Improperly channeled it leads to huge pots that need not have been played.

Imagine this: Phil calls my 300, I call his 200, I fold to the King. I am still chip leader. I lost only 500 chips on a hand where my Jacks ran into a SET of Kings. I lost less than 10% of my stack.

This has been an ongoing theme that for whatever reason has eluded me in my post-mortems.

So maybe I will have better success sizing my bets with half or 2/3rds of the pot. By slowing down I might do a better job of getting my chips in the center in better situations.

Of course, I understand one reason this occurs. I play pretty tight pre-flop so when I actually catch a hand I want to make some chips off it. But that detracts from the patience I need. Patient aggression, that is a good plan...but can be made better by changing it to patient intelligent aggression.

So we will see if I take the lesson to heart and begin sizing my bets more wisely.

Texas Hold 'Em

I was pretty pumped. Nate was bringing FOUR people with him, had 2 people from Craigslist, 5 people from the softball team, Roman was showing, a couple more from work said they would show up...I was worried 2 tables would not be enough. Then Nate called...he had a fight with his wife and wasn't showing, we called Becky...she bought an ATV, they were not coming, and so forth...we ended up with a sad showing of 6 people. On the bright side...a good group.

Early on I was not getting much to play. But I hit a little run...pocket 10s, picked up a bit, pocket queens, lost a bit, A/k, lost a bit, k/j, lost a bit...hmm. Pocket Kings, picked up a nice pot. Next hand, pocket Kings, picked up a few hundred, showed them...back to back hands with the kings, nice. Used my image of having a hot run to raise with A/J, on a ragged Queen high flop, raised again, everyone folded, I was chip lead, nobody in real danger.

Picked up pocket jacks. Phil called. He had tilted toward me a bit and talked about it since he was in on both my Pocket King hands and I had seen him play a hand where he hit top pair on a 7 high flop and he played it rather strongly and only won when he paired his Jack on the river to beat pocket 9s. This flop was another just like it...4,5,6 rainbow. He came out with a pretty small bet...200 into a pot of about 800. I had him covered so we were playing for about 5K. I re-raised to 1000, he hesitantly called. I initially put him on maybe a suited Ace where he hit the top pair again, though I also tentatively put him on an overpair. Turn was ugly, a King. Something about the way he reacted made me believe he had hit it but when he bet 1000 I called anyway. Part of that was pure ego. I never think I can't come back from taking a hit and I had the chip lead by a shade over 2K when the hand started. That was a frustration call, a tilt call because I thought I had him up until then. River was a blank. I figured him for 2 pair at worst but by now when he went all-in for his last 1200 there were 6K in there...1200 to win 6K, I better be real sure I am beat to fold. I was sure...and called anyway because I am an idiot. And he had me the whole way...he had pocket Kings.

I was still okay, had about 2K, blinds of 1/200. About 3 hands later I picked up 5/6 clubs in the small blind and everyone folded to me. I thought about raising to drive Emily out but A) she is so competitive with me she would call anyway. Bluffing her off a pot I am in is all but impossible and B) she is fully capable of re-raising me and with just 2K left I am not calling that with a 6 high. I limped, she checked. Flop was great for me...4c, 5d, 7c. I picked up middle pair, straight, flush, and straight flush draws. I raised, she called. Turn was the King of Clubs...I hit my flush. I went all in. She called. And flipped up...3/9 of clubs. I was drawing to 1 out, the 8 of clubs. She had the 3 that would have helped me. River was a blank and in 2 played hands I went from chip lead to first out, mostly on 2 horrible calls when I (correctly) believed I was behind Phil but knew I could come back and played for the miracle card. That was stupid. The hand with Emily...in that situation I am not good enough to get away from that hand. No way did I put her on a made flush and I don't feel bad about that hand at all. If I did not put myself in low position with a couple misplays earlier I would not need to push here anyway. Overall I played well but getting outplayed by Phil basically put me out first.

Lydias

I was wondering if Saturday was a fluke or if I was just a poor player. The Goose wanted to go to Sex and the City (2008), an abomination even I won't go see, so I elected to take a run at getting off tilt. On nights where I am trying to get off tilt the idea is to play well, not win. 16 people, 2 full tables. To my left was the only guy at our table and he was chain-smoking. Perfect. This will be a test of my "get off tilt" skills. I have been up tight ever since my play in the Saturday morning softball debacle so this will be a good test.



Early on I am playing almost no hands, just watching. I am reading pretty well. I have something on the guy on my left. At one point I pick up pocket 7s. Usually in this league I can limp with them. Bob, just to my right, raises. Uh-oh. That is unusual. He is steaming a bit from losing the prior hand...and I see a couple people making it obvious they will call. I do something I almost never do in this situation...I fold. Good fold as the flop is Aces and Kings and lots of chips change hands.



Pick up A/Ko from late, raise, couple callers, 4/5/6 flop, raise and re-raise in front of me, I fold. Very next hand pick up A/K suited, call a raise all-in to 850. Like 4 other callers. Fold to a big flop bet that missed me completely. A pair of 9s wins the hand (and would have even if I stayed).



Check in with K/J in big blind, down to 6 handed. Flop comes Q/J/Q. I raise, the guy to my left calls. Hmm. I have a pretty good read on him. I have not seen him slow-play yet. When he has something he generally re-raises, when he has a vulnerable hand or nothing he goes all-in. I figure he is on a draw. Turn is a blank. I double my raise. He calls. Something not right here. He checks the river, I check behind...he was slow-playing the Queen/6. Nicely played, something I had not seen from him before. Now I am down to about 1100.



I almost went all-in with a trash hand just to call it a night. Then it occurred to me...that would be a continuation of my tilt. I am good enough to come back, the blinds are only 50/100 so I still have an M of 7+. Sure enough, I check in the big blind with a 7/8, flop 2 pairs, take down a decent pot, pick up a couple more hands and build back to a shade over 2K.



In the big blind we have a family pot, I check with pocket 3s. I thought about raising but at this table, all 5 other people (we had already lost 3 and brought one over from the other table) will call and I don't mind seeing a cheap flop trying to catch a set. And the flop is GORGEOUS, K/8/3 rainbow. If anybody at this table other than Barb had pocket Kings they would have raised for sure and probably would have raised 8s. Everyone had already shown that by raising with as little as threes. But someone is sure to have either a King or 8. Now I want to get action. How best to maximize?


All night I have raised any time I had a hand and gotten multiple callers. I briefly considered slow-playing since this was not a dangerous flop. Then I came to my senses. They might check around as they had often done...they love to check call. I want to get some chips in the center. I raised 500 into a pot of 600. One caller, 2...and the girl I have never played with before goes all in. Interesting.



I have yet to see her raise without SOMETHING. And usually something strong. I briefly consider pocket Kings but just as quickly dismiss it. She raised with K/J, pocket 5s...she would have raised the Kings and probably the 8s. But I could see her playing something like a K/8 and she would be drawing to 4 outs. I did not see myself getting away from the hand so I went all-in...though I only had her covered by like 50 chips. Everyone folded and she flipped up...8/4. She was drawing real thin to running 8s or an 8 and pairing the board. No help to her and I had about 6-7K.



Took down a couple more hands, was feeling frisky, just Barbara and I in a hand. I checked with 10/5...notice a pattern? Since the early A/Ks and 7s, I was getting horrific hands. I was pretty much only playing when I could check my blind and the rest of the time...I was not even completing the small blind. So I was playing well, I was back to being patient, I was playing smart. I decided I had accomplished my goal and could loosen up, have a bit of fun and go home. Well, anyway, flop came A/K/rag. I raised. She hesitantly called. We checked the turn. A King came on the river, I bet it, she thought about it, and finally called, saying, "You have the third King, don't you?" Nope. But good to know you will call when you think you are beat...and then I made a huge mistake. I should have advertised the bluff, because that is what it is...but I mucked face down to her A/8.



Picked up pocket 10s, again in the big blind. With blinds of 1/200 and everyone with stacks about 30-50BB planned a standard raise, 3x blind + 1BB/limper. But first Brad raised to 500, actually a shade less than I was going to raise. I briefly considered re-raising but something about his raise felt different. I had seen him raise with A/Q, K/J...but here I had him on pockets and suspected higher than my 10s. Still, for 300 chips and with 2 callers already, I was calling 300 to potentially hit almost 2K already in the pot. Another player called behind me. Flop was nice, all rags, but 2 clubs. I briefly considered checking. Then I decided to bet 400. I know it sounds weird, a horrendous underbet...but I had noticed a pattern. On big bets people called with anything...any draw, any pair, etc. But with smaller bets...they had been taking down the pot.



Unfortunately, I made a horrendous error. I meant to grab 4 red chips...and instead grabbed 4 green. Instead of 400 I bet 2K. And once the chips were in, the bet was made. Even before I completed I saw Brad grabbing all his chips which confirmed my pre-flop read. Folded to him, he went all-in, and it was only 600 more than my bet. Even if I knew he had Aces with over 6K in the pot I would be getting 10-1 so I was calling just in case I was wrong. I was pretty sure he did not have Aces. "Jacks or Queens?" I said as I flipped up my 10s. Queens. I got no help and was down to about 5K.



By now the blinds were 3/600. I did not get another playable hand for a while. It was so bad that I considered playing 7/9o from early position just because it looked comparatively good. I wisely folded and watched the flop come 7/k/7 and turn the 9. Would have raked a HUGE pot. Oh, well.



But then I started blinding into the danger zone. Caught Randy in a bluff when it was folded to him, he went all in for a couple thousand, I had a J/10. I called...only to find the guy calling behind me. Had I seen him I would have folded...and when my J/10 beat Randy's 8/6 but lost to the other guys' K/J I was hurting. Now I was looking for a hand to go all in on.



Got down to about 1100 with the blinds now 4/800. I had 2 hands before I would be in the big blind again. Under the gun Randy went all in, he had me covered, and I looked down at 7/8suited. Not a great hand but good equity against Randy's range...which was literally any 2 cards. I called. Got 2 more callers...uh-oh. Randy had an 8/6 so I was ahead of him but an A/7 won with Ace high and I was out in 7th.

So a quick post-mortem;

The good: I played patiently, waited for good cards that seldom came, and when I had a hand that was essentially the nuts I extracted the maximum. I read the hands well and did not call with trash just because it was good compared to what I had been seeing. On three or four hands I had called exactly who had what before they rolled their hands. And I did not let their slow-rolling get me off center.

The bad: I made the mis-read on the trip queens, the mis-bet when I had him on a better over pair, and the call against Randy when I thought it was just the 2 of us.

The ugly: I did not set out to win, I set out to get off tilt. I was fine with going out early, did not care. Wrong mind set. I should have played my best game instead of just going with the flow. I made just one move all night...the idiotic bluff against the unbluffable see every river bet Barbara...when I know at least two of them lay down their hand to re-raises on the flop over 80% of the time. I never entered a pot simply to steal which I should have.

But overall I am pleased. Now I feel refreshed and ready to go Saturday. I may not win but I will play well.

Starving Crazed Weasels, May

Just 9 people showed up. I was a bit on tilt from the HYD debacle where I played probably the worst game of my life and topped that off by having a pathetic performance...so I was a bit down on myself.

On the bright side, I got in a half dozen or so games of Raw Deal and had fun with them, but the tournament I had a hard time getting set up as we went, while setting up, from 8 to 10 people, then settled in at 9. Meanwhile, I had set up one table, then 2, then condensed it back down to 1...by the time we got settled in I was not into it which was really sad since I had been looking forward to this for weeks.

I bled off a lot of chips playing too loose which is hilarious since usually I play too tight at these because of the nature of the game. And I KNEW I was playing poorly, too. I let myself get pushed off a couple hands where I was sure I was folding the best hand but there were 3 or 4 people behind me. I would have won at least 2 of those.

On the first blind level I got all the way down to 1050 chips. One person limped, I looked down at pocket 9s. If I made a standard raise to 200 I would have 800 left with probably 6-800 in the pot so I would be committed. I was tilting a bit so I shoved. Folded to Kevin who thought for quite a while. Finally he called and I said, "Best I can hope for is a race" though I was at least vaguely hopeful he had something like A/6 suited. Nope, A/10...straight race. I got lucky and my nines held up.

Lost about 500 when I checked from the big blind, flopped a straight flush draw and never hit anything. Raised J/10d planning to go all in, everyone folded. Pete pointed out it was the first uncontested pot of the evening. By that point he had been all-in a couple times, Robin had been all in, I think Kevin and Phillip also...and every all-in at risk had won, including me. I won again when I was pushed all-in in a three way pot, managed to triple up and hit 3300 chips...the highest total I would hit on the night.

Pete raised all in for about 1000. I knew he had a pretty wide range of hands at that point. I had a King and was going to call even with a 6 kicker...but Phillip looked ready to call behind me and Kevin often will call all-ins. I don't want to play for a third of my chips with K/6 so I folded. Would have flopped trips and won a huge pot. Still the right fold since Phillip did call...and had a better hand than me.

Lost a few when I limped from late with pocket 3s. Got blinded a bit.

Picked up A/Ks a few hands later, raised it, 3 callers. Flop of 7/8/9, 2 diamonds...I raised and then saw someone I have 2 tells on was going to push all in, though I was first to act. He was giving off both tells which was weird. He gave off the one he does when he bluffs. But he also gave the one that said he had a strong hand. There were 2 other people to act, one of whom folded, one called mine, and my nemesis raised a further 500. I had 1500 left so it was either all in or fold. And every instinct said call. I am still irritated with myself for folding but I did.

Now, blinds of 1/200 and 1500 left I have an M of 5...desperation time. From middle position it was folded to me, I looked down at pocket 7s. Send in the chips. Again Kevin called, this time with a dry Ace. But he hit the Ace and I was done.

I played poorly all night, getting pushed around and making a couple calls I probably shouldn't have. Oh, well, some days are good, some days suck beginning to end like this one did, starting with the first softball game.

HYD Tournament

We had a "D League or below" tournament. We were going to be tight on players...only 10 of us showing up. And then one of the 10 was not there for the first game...so we went with a 3 player outfield. No big deal.

Top of our first did not last long. 3 groundouts. Bottom of the first lasted a bit longer as we gave up a 3 spot. Top of the second went better...we had 4 batters. Bottom of the first was a little tougher...they had 1 in, 2 on, 1 out, and I played a grounder perfectly, moving to my left. All I had to do was scoop it up, step on the bag, and throw to first for the double play.I had done everything right. I watched their feet, swing, and the pitch location. I knew the situation. I had a plan for anywhere the ball was hit to me. And I got moving perfectly, the ball was right where I needed it...and I just whiffed. It rolled right under my glove. Fortunately we got the third out, but that was in my head.

We had just 3 batters that inning.

Next inning, almost the exact same situation except this time they had not scored. I played it perfectly, this time got my glove on the ball...and left it on the ground. Another easy double play I turned into base runners. They scored 1 because of that.

Our 1, 2, 3 hitters again. Ryan dribbled to short, outran the throw and was safe...except as the pitcher started their windup he was then called out because he touched the white bag while running there. Becky then hit a smash down the line to left and their left fielder made a spectacular leaping back hand catch to turn an easy triple into out number 2. I then flew out to deep right.

I managed to boot another ball in the bottom half of the inning though by that point it was over anyway. We got shut out and mercy ruled.

Game 2 was against a team that had gotten slaughtered 19-3. Again we were up first. Ryan made an out, Becky singled, I tried to go the other way and instead lined a base hit into left center. Our next hitter struck out...oops. We went to the bottom half tied at 0.

I made a play (finally) on a grounder and caught a pop in the infield. I started to get a bit of confidence back. We got shut down again. I made another play, our outfield was on fire, and JJ caught a liner. 2 innings, no runs. We now were scoreless for 5 innings for the day, maybe 6.

Becky led off and singled. Then I did go the other way and tripled over their right fielders head. Becky scored and the drought was over. Julie brought me in with a fly to left and we had a 2-0 lead.

Made a couple more plays as we built a 7-2 lead, though I still struggled at the plate, flying to left my next at-bat, but that was okay. We were scoring, playing good d, and doing well.

They did threaten finally, loading the bases with 1 or 2 runs in and 1 out. Guy hit a soft grounder to my left. For the third time all I had to do was pick it up, step on the bag, throw to first. Easy play. And for the third time I completely botched it. 6 runs later we were down by 1 and I for one was demoralized. So demoralized that a grounder hit straight to me i did not charge, let come to me, fielded cleanly but the throw was WAY late.

I made one more error of note. Sharp hit ground ball too far to my left. Somehow I made the play. Ironic. All day simple, easy, lightly hit ground balls were essentially unplayable for me. Hit a sharp grounder just about straight over 2nd and I get it...spun, saw the first basemen, and LASERED it...nowhere near anybody. Wasn't our first basemen I had seen, it was their coach, but even him the ball was nowhere near.

We got 10 runned again.

And I was completely crushed by the way I played. I am pathetic. I suck. I cannot believe how bad I am.

Was I wrong?

In my last post I talked about a certain individual and called them a horrible player. Here is an interesting anomaly; in the last few months, no other player has won more than 2 tournaments but he has won 3. How is that possible if he is a horrible player?

A lot of it goes to the nature of these tournaments. They are typically 1 - 2 tables. They run about 3 hours. In that amount of time someone who plays heavily on the "luck factor" is going to do fairly well. It only takes hitting a couple of ridiculous draws to win enough chips to pay for a lot of missed draws. However, in a longer tournament that type of player is going to come back to the pack.

I would use the example of the 3 month tournament at West Linn. Mr. R was at the same table as me. On one of the first hands I flopped a set, bet it, was re-raised by Dee, and he called. Turn I bet, Dee raised, he called. River completed a straight that, on the flop, he had to hit runner runner to hit a double gut shot (he had to hit a 9 & 10 to hit the straight) straight at the ignorant end. I read him right, Dee read him wrong, and he added almost triple the chips to his stack.

He then hit another long-shot draw to almost double that up.

And I still outlasted him.

I outlasted him because he kept playing those long shot draws. And with 8 tables the luck factor was somewhat minimized. The math started to catch up to him as the 20-1 draws stopped hitting and his chips disappeared.

And that is the thing. He will virtually always play long-shot draws. And since he plays them they are going to hit that small percentage of the time. Combine those with the chips he gets from his legitimate hands and you have someone who can do very well in a sprint type tournament.

He is the type of player that keeps professional gamblers going. He plays poorly but hits those bad percentage plays often enough to keep him playing them.

Strangely, it is almost an ideal strategy for these small tournaments. Let's look at a typical hand. Start with 3000 chips (he starts with 3300 for showing up early). Blinds are 25/50. I fold, most people limp. He gets in for 50 with a 6/10 off.

Flop comes Ace/7/2 rainbow. Someone bets the Ace, say...200, a not unusual bet. Someone else raises another 200. Randy will call. Turn is a 9. The Ace bets 500. The other guy calls. So does Randy. Now he has laid out 1250 chips. If he hits the 8 on the river he will make almost 4K chips just based on what is already in the pot...and probably more if someone bets or pays him off on the end. Is it a good play? No, it was a HORRIBLE play. He is going to lose that 1250 chips more than a dozen times. Say he loses just 10 times on runner-runner draws for each one he hits. 1250x10= 12,500 chips. He would have to bust 4 guys and get 17% of a 5th guy's chips just to break even. But that one time he hits the payoff is HUGE. He looks down at 5 - 6K in chips and that is all he sees.

And to his credit...he is a decent big stack player. He raises often and early and does so with any 2 cards so you have no clue if he has Aces or 2/10. He puts pressure. If someone checks to him he generally commits some chips.

On the downside he takes huge risks. He called 4 times the blinds with a 10/4off the last time I played him. He will give chips back in a hurry. I never worry about being behind him in chips because I know as soon as I get a hand I am an odds on favorite to double up. If I can't have the chips I would rather have them in the hands of someone who chases statistically ridiculous draws. If John has the chips...I worry. He is a good player who gets his chips in good. If Chris has the chips...I worry. She is a tight player who is not going to give her chips away unless she has something. If Bill R has the chips...I worry because he is a tricky player. If Randy has the chips I know I have a pretty good chance of getting them.

And that is why I say he is a bad player. I would argue I am better than any of the others I mentioned except John. I have the ability to shift gears, I understand and use percentages, am careful about which draws I chase, I put people on hands, I am willing to lay down bad hands when necessary and bet with bad hands when the possibility is there. I know there are times to play a poor percentage play but I don't do it every time...there has to be a reason it makes sense. In his case...he thinks he is making the correct play.

I wish I had more time. If I played in 10 of those tournaments I would win more than 3. Oh, well. Life goes on.

Lydias

Traffic was fairly light, got a wild hair, stopped in to play for the first time in quite some time. Just had a sudden concupiscence like desire to play poker, even there. I am not a big fan of playing at Lydias...it is full of tilt-inducing type factors such as:

- the smoke. heavy smokers, a pall over the table
- rude players. they slow-roll like mothers, they don't know the rules, they don't pay attention
- horrific players who have scary-good luck; they regularly play AND HIT needing runner-runner...

And that is just off the top of my head.

Anyhow, I wanted to play so, even though I was a bit late, I stopped in. Wow, I made it 15 players! I was down about 400 chips for arriving late, but as I have said before...when I am playing well, at least against most of these people, a 10% chip discrepancy means nothing. I will take their chips anyway. When I am playing poorly it also does not matter, I will choke off my chips pretty fast. About the only time it matters is when I am being blinded out and lose fold equity...but coming in with 2600 chips or so and blinds at 25/50? I am fine with that.

First hand, j/3o. Fold.
Second hand j/2o. Fold.
Third hand 9/5o. Fold.
Fourth hand 3/7o. Fold.
Fifth hand 2/3. fold.

On the bright side, this gave me a chance to get a feel for the table. And I was salivating. Bob was to my right. He is the only player I really had a lot of respect for. Other than Bob...well, there was 2 all-ins where the guy going all-in had 8 high...and was ahead. On the first blind level. Seriously, if I could just catch a pair I would be a favorite.

Finally, in the big blind I checked my option with an Ace/7 off. The flop gave me trip Aces. I bet it, 4 callers. That says a lot about the table. Turn was a deuce. I bet, all but Bob folded. River was another blank. I figured Bob for the Ace as well and had kicker issues so when he checked I checked behind. Hmm. I had him out kicked all right...but he had a deuce kicker which meant he had turned the full house. My river check saved me a lot of chips.


Normally I would slow WAY down but from small blind position with 4 limpers I limped as well with pocket 4s. The flop was gorgeous...K/7/4. No flush draws, no straight draws. Old guy across from me bet it for me. I put him on anything from the King to a stone cold bluff with even just a 10 high. Yes, the hand range was that wide. And 3 people called. Well, I had a choice. I wanted to get all-in by the river. Should I re-raise and hope a couple people stuck with me? Or should I try to keep them in and just call? I figured he would bet again so even though his bet was smaller than I wanted, I just called. Turn was a Jack putting a 2 flush on the board. On this table, that was bad...someone would stay around on a runner-runner flush draw. Still, he bet it, everyone called, so I called. River was a blank. He bet, calls, I re-raised all-in to 1500 (he had bet 500). He called, everyone else folded. I showed, he showed...his pair of Jacks. With a 3 kicker. Awesome.

Now I have about 5K, maybe 6. I am thinking I will have a pretty good shot at winning. Pick up pocket Kings. Raise. 2 callers. Take them for a ride including the old guy. They actually fold at the turn. I want them to KNOW I have good cards when I bet. I showed.


Limped with K/J after 3 or 4 other people limp. Flop comes 8/j/8. I bet. 3 callers. Turn is a king. I bet, the old guy comes over the top all in. But I am priced in as his raise is like 300 into a 4 or 5K pot. And he has...the k/j as well. Split pot. Made maybe 500 chips off the pot.

But I have consistently been showing down good cards. Call a raise with a q/10 clubs. Not a great hand but at this table I will play weaker cards more often. Flop has 2 clubs, an Ace and a King. I raise with nothing but a draw...and everyone folds. I did not feel bad about the raise as I had 9 clubs and 3 10s to draw to, plus I would not bet against a Queen high being the best hand.

Meanwhile, I had been watching the guy to my left. He had no concept of risk versus reward and bet sizing. In a pot of 500 he bet 2000. In a pot of 350 he went all in. Now, on the one hand this is a solid strategy as he built a nice chip stack since his bets were so large in relation to the pot that they weren't worth calling. On the other hand...as soon as I could catch a hand with him in it I was going to either double up or take him out because I was pretty sure that when he made those bets it was because he was weak and did not want a call.

Sure enough, when we collapsed to 1 table, he tried that move on a board of 2/10/K and Randy called him. Of course, Randy had nothing...something like a 6/9 or some such crap. But our villain was even worse, holding a 2/4. Randy hit the 6 to take him out. That was terrible because Randy is not the guy you want having chips and he was the monster chip lead.

Randy is a horrible, horrible player. He will chase ridiculous draws needing runner runner or more. He has no concept of pot odds, no clue what his opponent might hold...he is the epitome of someone who "just plays their cards"...except he not only plays his cards, he plays every long shot draw in existence. Sadly, when he hits them that lets him play more. If you play 10 10-1 shots you figure to hit one. So against him I "charge him for his draws" by betting VERY, VERY heavily...if I hit ANYTHING...even a pair...and have him read for a draw I go all in.

But before I could came up a hand with Bill. I raised with pocket 6s. He was big blind and was going to fold since I raised it 3 times the blind. While he was pondering I was talking to Bob because someone commented on the size of the raise. "Ah, it is habit...when I have a strong hand it is 3 times the blinds + 1 blind per person already in the hand."

That was a mistake because he might have folded but when he figured out it is my "standard" raise he reluctantly called. Had I kept my mouth shut he might have overvalued my hand. On the bright side, the flop was beautiful for me...2/7/10. About the only thing he could reasonably have hit would be the 10 and then only if he had an Ace. But I know his game and had him on a couple picture cards. He checked and I went all in. He thought about it, thought about it, thought about it...while he was doing that I got very happy. I knew I was right...he had nothing but a couple of over cards. If he folded, I had a nice pick-up. If he called I was a huge favorite; 45 cards unknown, 39 help me, 6 help him...a little better than 6-1 so I pretty much wanted him to call. He did and turned over about what I expected...King-Jack. Even more amazing, he made the call with a King high against someone who raised pre-flop, had consistently won every showdown, and who had raised after the flop. I was in great shape to add a healthy chunk to my stack and take out the best player not named me left at the table.

Until he turned the Jack.

Now I was back down to about 4K. Only now the blinds were 4/800. And he had a good size stack.


A few hands later for the second time I picked up pocket kings. Raise, raise the flop, raise the turn, they folded. I wanted to emphasize the quality of hands I was playing so I showed.

The reason I kept showing was simple. By now it was just Randy, Bill and I. I wanted them to fold when I had the goods. I did not want Randy in particular sticking around on horrible draws. I did not want them to think I was bluffing. Against that crowd I simply don't bluff. If I am betting...I have the goods. You have to outdraw me or have hidden strength to win the hand.


A couple hands later I had K/7 hearts. I needed chips as I was low so I went all-in. They both folded and I picked up 1200 chips.

Randy raised the next couple of hands. I was down to about 4000 and the blinds went to 500/1000. I had to make a move. Bill folded on the button, I had j/9 suited on the small blind. I went all in. Randy called with the 10/4 off. Would I have called? No. But I am not Randy. I am not sure what hand he thought I might have but he got his chips in pretty good for Randy...he had about a 33% shot to win.

So the 2 hands that really hurt I got my chips in as a 72.32-27.68 percent and 67.73%-30..96% favorite and got outdrawn both times. If I can get in as a 3-1 favorite with regularity I don't feel bad. I played really well in my own opinion and just ran into 2 bad calls that ended well for the caller. Bill's pre-flop call with King Jack was not bad, it was his post flop call that was horrid. People who regularly get their chips in as 3-1 dogs when they are calling, not raising, don't deserve to win very often. About 1 in 4 times. But that 1 time really hurts.

It saddens me that I finished third. When John was still playing there I always thought he was the odds-on favorite to win any given tournament. Last night there was 1 other player there (Ryan) who I think is at least as good as me...he understands pot odds, drawing odds, he works to put people on hands, he understands when and why to raise/fold/call....and a few people who I respect as decent players that I, right or wrong, believe I am better than...including Bill among the final three...but overall, I thought Ryan or I should be the odds on favorite to win and when he got taken out mid way through I believed right down to the end I had a good shot at it. Had I not taken the beat on the end there I would have had the chips to wait for a good time to get in good again...hard to say if I could have come back from the deficit though as they each had about 20K and I would have had 8. I am good enough to pick the right time...but as we all know, Randy will call EVERY time so I need to hit that 2 more times probably to get a lead on him.

Next time, gadget, next time.