I love my job...

My job rocks. Since we have a filing deadline that is tomorrow (1st of 3 big deadlines), I have been working pretty late each night but usually making it home in time for the BBT3 tournaments. However, I knew tonight was going to be close since the Bodonkey starts at 9:05. I was at work at around 8:30am... around 8:45PM, I started thinking that I should have registered for Bodonkey earlier... at 8:50, I cut out of work and I rushed home... literally. I ran to the parking lot, hopped in my car, went 80+ mph the whole way (speed limit 55) except in my neighborhood where I slowed down when I saw I had 2 minutes to spare.

I run home, boot up my laptop and running windows on a Mac takes a few seconds longer to boot up... nonetheless, my clock is showing 9:04 and I'm thinking "come on, come on!" Finally, it boots up, I double click the Bodog icon and then what seemed like the worst beat ever happens...

"Please click "ok" to install upgrade to the software."

WTF! I think to myself this sucks... I rushed home and I'm not even gonna make it. Well, apparently, with 45 seconds to spare, I was able to register... and as soon as I registered, I got up and finished off other things I hadn't started... like feeding my pets, then running out to get some chinese, etc. About 30 minutes later, I was finally able to sit down and play... while I ate my Chinese food.

Well, this whole thing was a disaster... playing the Skillz series was a disaster. It's one thing for me to not know anything about the game... it's a whole another thing to play a game I know nothing about without really paying attention to what's going on... I'm not really making excuses... it's just how it was. As for bodonkey, my AA was no good against someone's TT (I really don't remember who it was... this whole night has been/still is a blur) on a 9 high or 7 high or some all low flop. It was a runner runner straight... I remember that part. Oh well. It hurts because I am currently in 27th place or whatever and I believe only top 18 qualifies for the final SNG to fight for the WSOP seat. And there are only like 5 tourneys left or something. But then again, once this promotion is done, I'll probably never play on Bodog until something similar pops up so either way, I don't really care.

It's 10:40pm, I am finally home and unfortunately, out of both blogger related tourneys... it would be a perfect time to start playing cash games like I normally would or try to go to bed to catch up on sleep but unfortunately, I will actually be working... I'll probably work at home... but I might go back to the office if I want to print stuff out or something. This is awesome... I hope my work takes me all night to complete. As a matter of fact, I hope I spend all night completing this report and that in the morning, be told that this whole thing is a piece of shit.

As you can tell, I'm in a very cheerful mood. Good luck to all those who are still playing (except for the prop bet crew - I'd link you guys but I gotta go back to work).

WORST BEAT EVER.

So close...

I had to work a fair amount this weekend which meant I didn't get to play as much poker... not being able to play poker on the weekends when all the donkeys are out in full force is definitely a bad beat in itself. But then again, my "didn't get to play much" translates into playing for like 7 hrs total for the weekend. For some, that's not much at all but for others, it may sound like a lot...

So, I didn't get a chance to play much cash games but instead, I took a few shots at MTTs for a change. With FTOPS starting soon as well as the TOC coming up in June and all the tourneys I play during the BBT3, I figured it would be good if I studied MTT strategies and played more tournaments. I also want to win a WSOP package one way or another (whether I play in it or not is a different story) so, I decided to take a shot at the WSOP ME super sat...



Top 2 gets the seat, 3rd place gets a very ghey $250... My hopes were dashed when the button who had a similar size stack but I had him slightly covered raised from the button, I shoved from the SB with JJ... only to get called by the big stack who woke up with KK. That sucked...

Then there was the big game. Of all the blogger tourneys, I have to admit that this is my favorite, mainly because of the prize pool that this tournament generates. $1,200 first place prize is definitely worth fighting for unlike the other blogger tourneys. I got my necessary suckouts and made a few good reads/plays but in the end, I busted out in 4th place when I decided to make a stand with A9 against the big stack's A6 but this time, it was my turn to get sucked out on...



Ended up with a semi-ghey $350...

Speaking of ghey, how much are you hating presto here...



Set over set over set on the flop... what are the odds!?

I hope everyone had a very profitable weekend.

The Legend was born...

Finally!!! I've been working on my MTT game, watching PXF videos, reading blogs, strategy posts, etc and I finally made the biggest tournament accomplishment ever. To become the legend of the pooooooooooooosh fest.

For those that don't know, the push fest is where Buddy or IT would announce on BDR that we would do the push fest. We would all jump into a 50FTP satellite or a $3.30 KO tourney and we would shove every hand. EVERY. SINGLE. HAND. SHOVE. The blogger that lasts the longest will collect $5 or $7 (depending on whether it's the FTP or the KO) from every other blogger that participated. I really never participated in this until two days ago when I finally popped my cherry. Then I realized how addictive it was... so yesterday, when they announced it, I decided to bring my "A" game to this thing. I must be a damn good poker player... after all, not only did I outlast all the bloggers, I fuckin took this bitch ass down shoving every single hand.



Click on the picture below for the list of every hand, the villains' hands and the winning hand.



The biggest turning point was clearly when my Kc8c won in a 4 way all in against Donkette's 6c7h, and the AQ and AK of the nonbloggers. In the final hand, when the guy finally called my all in after folding 12 straight hands and he flips over QJ against my 24, I had no doubt in my mind...

Better late than never

About 2 weeks ago, I was going to do a Vegas recap. Instead, work became really busy, Gus passed away, I went on tilt, and just basically, didn't allow me to recap Vegas. By the time it was all said and done, it seemed like it wasn't worth recapping. However, earlier this week, Don was at the table during the MATH or Skills or something (jeez, the whole BBT is making all the tourneys a blur) and asked if I had posted about the counterfeited straight flush. Admittedly, by then, my memory was kind of a blur so I told him all I remembered was that I had a straight flush but got counterfeited by the river and that I had a 7 card straight flush... But that got me to thinking... and then I look back at my notes of Vegas... and realized how bad I was running... This isn't a bad beat but it signifies how running bad and playing bad just combines the ill effects...

The said straight flush hand basically came like this. I had the Ah2h and I don't remember the preflop action but there were two of us that saw the flop at this loose, juicy 1-2NL (deep deep stacks) at the Venetian. Flop comes 3-4-5 all hearts. This is kind of a dream flop but also a tough one in the sense that first of all, I have a straight flush which is awesome. Except it's not the nut straight flush (6h7h has a better straight flush). I also have the Ah. So basically, I really can't make any money unless someone has trips and the board pairs. So, I check at which point, it gets checked around. The turn comes an interesting 7h, making the board 3h-4h-5h-7h. I check again, basically hating that card because now, even if someone held Kh, I'm not sure I get much action. River amazingly completes the straight flush on the board by putting 6h. Now I'm feeling sick because my hand is no good... fortunately, we both check and we chop the pot... As I show my 7 card straight flush...

That shoulda been the sign that it's not my week when you flop a straight flush and get counterfeited... sure, I coulda taken down the small pot by betting on the flop or even the turn but man... what are the odds!?

I will say this though. It was a lot of fun playing live poker and it was even more fun playing at the same table with Don. It was like call of the sirens when he kept asking me when I was gonna move to Vegas and take a shot at being pro. He said it best.

"You can play this [poker] all night long man, taking money off of tourists. Then you go home in the morning and wake up in time for the Mookie."

Priceless.

"But on Thursdays, you might have to set the alarm."

I laugh and we both say "cuz the Riverchasers start an hour early!"

I thought to myself, my god, THAT is the life!!!! (of a degenerate)

Now that the two Eurodonks I know have gone pro (well, the other is about to), I'm actually thinking it won't be too long (cuz I'm sooooooo jealous)... I have a number in mind that I have told some of you that I want to get to before I quit my job. Basically, I want my liquid assets to be $x before I quit. It's not really a secret and if anyone is curious, hit me up via girlychat or email and I'll be happy to tell you (it will prob also show how much of a bankroll nit I am). I just don't want to put it out here on the blog. But in the words of the great, I am de-schlubbing... And like Don always says, I can take a shot and if it doesn't work out, hell, I'm a CPA, I could get a job anywhere.

POOOOOOSH cherry popped

I joined the POOOOOOOOSH fest for the first time and ScottMc lasted longest... so we all owed him $5... aside from talking shit to the bloggers (pretending like I had no idea why everyone was shoving), this was the funniest part of the push fest.

Sometimes, sleep isn't worth it

Edit - due to cmitch's suggestion, I am changing name of the donkey

On my previous post, some of you asked what I thought the opponent had or if I had not seen the set coming... as the title indicated, I was literally in a spiral of tilt. I was just tilting so hard I was pretty much blind. I didn't really put my opponents on any reasonable range of hands and I was just basically monkey shoving. I'm not even gonna try to lie or tell you that I had a certain read because I didn't. I was blinded by tilt, my focus really hasn't been the same since I lost Gus, and coupled those with bad beats and set up and it got to the point where even when it wasn't a bad beat or a set up hand, I was just spewing chips and paying off my opponents. I knew that was bad and I knew I was spewing badly so I decided to really refocus and play the game that I know I can play. Fortunately, despite a few bumps and bruises, I had a monstrous session at 5-10NL last night where by the end, I had quadrupled my max buy-in.

Well, then later at night, I was playing at the 2-4NL table and right when I was getting ready to go to bed, I noticed that cmitch jumped in. Now, I'm not one to leave a table when a big donkey comes into the game so I decided to stick around. :) (For those that don't know, I obv kid, cmitch is a very good, thinking player). Well, few minutes later though, I noticed that we actually had a big donkey. How big? This guy was insane. Cmitch tangled with him a few times early which revealed the hole cards of this said donkey as they got to showdown and it was incredible. The guy calls a preflop raise with pratically any two. J6o, 82s, 93o... I mean, you name it, it didn't matter. Cmitch tried bluffing him a few times but the guy would call with bottom pair on an extremely dangerous board. To say that I was licking my chops would be an understatement. Over email, I told cmitch that I could swear this guy played every single hand. I was wrong.

Cmitch - my stats on him are 86/13/1.0

That's right... he only played 86% of his hands... :)

I wish I saved more HHs but I think this kinda illustrates the point... and this isn't even the worst.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6117494289: Table Isola (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:39:55 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: JotJot ($539.25)
Seat 2: OhYesTGPFA ($682.90)
Seat 3: MrT999 ($359.85)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($1,371.25) <--- big stack woot!
Seat 5: BIG FISH ($107.50) <--- I love him
Seat 6: cmitch ($598.55)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of $2
BIG FISH posts the big blind of $4

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jc Ah]
cmitch folds
JotJot folds
OhYesTGPFA has 15 seconds left to act
OhYesTGPFA folds
MrT999 raises to $12
RecessRampage calls $10
BIG FISH calls $8

*** FLOP *** [4c 9c 7c]
RecessRampage checks
BIG FISH checks
MrT999 bets $20
RecessRampage folds
BIG FISH calls $20

*** TURN *** [4c 9c 7c] [Jd]
BIG FISH checks
MrT999 checks

*** RIVER *** [4c 9c 7c Jd] [8d]
BIG FISH checks
MrT999 checks

*** SHOW DOWN ***
MrT999 shows [Qh 7h] a pair of Sevens
BIG FISH mucks [2d 2s] <--- lowest pair, no club
MrT999 wins the pot ($73) with a pair of Sevens

Again, this isn't even the worst of it and yet he calls with no club and the lowest pair possible. As for me folding AJ on that board or not reraising against these guys... I just knew that I didn't need to reraise with marginal holdings because I'm fairly certain BIG FISH woulda called a reraise. Actually, I've seen him call a reraise so I pegged him as a guy who is perfect for a good ol' overbet for value. While we were playing, cmitch and I had this exchange via email.

Cmitch - fwiw i think he gives shoves a ton of respect, but a bet of all but 10% of his stack he is more likely to call :)

I disagreed with above sentiment. I pegged this guy as a total idiot. I get to prove my point here:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6117424013: Table Isola (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:31:45 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: JotJot ($216.50)
Seat 2: OhYesTGPFA ($629.90)
Seat 3: MrT999 ($92.70)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($1,234.50)
Seat 5: BIG FISH ($587.50) <--- got lucky few times (Mitch and I were literally rooting for this guy when he wasn't in a hand against us)
Seat 6: cmitch ($646.80)
BIG FISH posts the small blind of $2
cmitch posts the big blind of $4

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Qs Qc]
JotJot raises to $12
OhYesTGPFA folds
MrT999 folds
RecessRampage raises to $42
BIG FISH calls $40 <--- note, he smooth calls a reraise and yet, I give him no credit
cmitch folds
JotJot raises to $216.50, and is all in <--- uh oh, he seems to be playing tight but he's too short for me to fold. Maybe AK.
RecessRampage raises to $1,234.50, and is all in <--- to isolate against shorty
BIG FISH calls $545.50, and is all in <--- $550 call... with...
RecessRampage shows [Qs Qc]
BIG FISH shows [8d Ac] <--- Um, yeah, idiot
JotJot shows [Ks Kd]
Uncalled bet of $647 returned to RecessRampage

*** FLOP *** [6c 8h Kc]
*** TURN *** [6c 8h Kc] [Kh] <--- DQB for shorty
*** RIVER *** [6c 8h Kc Kh] [3s]
RecessRampage shows two pair, Kings and Queens
BIG FISH shows two pair, Kings and Eights
RecessRampage wins the side pot ($742) with two pair, Kings and Queens
JotJot shows four of a kind, Kings
JotJot wins the main pot ($650.50) with four of a kind, Kings
BIG FISH is sitting out

And yet, that A8 preflop all in call really didn't surprise me... because we had hisotry. From 30 minutes ago...

Full Tilt Poker Game #6117163213: Table Isola (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 1:02:53 ET - 2008/04/21
Seat 1: Octopus8 ($67.40)
Seat 2: OhYesTGPFA ($780.20)
Seat 3: MrT999 ($221.90)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($1,000.50) <--- SB
Seat 5: BIG FISH ($543.30) <--- BB
Seat 6: cmitch ($400)

*** HOLE CARDS **
Dealt to RecessRampage [Qd Qs]
cmitch folds
Octopus8 raises to $14
OhYesTGPFA folds
MrT999 folds
RecessRampage raises to $46
BIG FISH calls $42 <--- smooth call a reraise
Octopus8 raises to $67.40, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $21.40 <--- couldn't reraise because the all in was less than a full bet so only option I had was to call
BIG FISH calls $21.40

** FLOP ** [Jd Qh Tc] <--- very interesting flop
RecessRampage bets $100
BIG FISH calls $100

One thing about this donkey was that he seemed to shove when he had a really strong hand. So, if he had 89 or AK, I know, I mean I KNOW he woulda shoved here. So, I put him on like AJ or some garbage hand like that. So...

*** TURN ** [Jd Qh Tc] [6h] <--- blank
RecessRampage bets $833.10, and is all in <--- easy OBFV
BIG FISH has 15 seconds left to act <--- thinking???? lol
BIG FISH calls $375.90, and is all in <--- calls off $400 with...
RecessRampage shows [Qd Qs]
BIG FISH shows [7c 8h]
Octopus8 shows [As Kc]
Uncalled bet of $457.20 returned to RecessRampage

In case you are trying to figure out what he called with... yes, he's drawing to a 4 outer...

*** RIVER ** [Jd Qh Tc 6h] [8s]
RecessRampage shows three of a kind, Queens
BIG FISH shows a pair of Eights
RecessRampage wins the side pot ($951.80) with three of a kind, Queens
Octopus8 shows a straight, Ace high
Octopus8 wins the main pot ($199.20) with a straight, Ace high
BIG FISH is sitting out

To his credit though, he kept buying back in... Stacking him twice in 30 minutes was nice. I really needed to go to bed but I just couldn't leave till he left. I swear, if he were there all night, I woulda stayed up all night as well... fortunately for my need for sleep, he left shortly thereafter and so I was also able to get up and get my much needed sleep.

Same session - spiral of bad play and I don't know what

I'm not even gonna comment anymore... same table... within 10 minutes. This is awesome. I'm just whining about hands so don't read it if you're not interested.

Full Tilt Poker Game #6091602947: Table Artie (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:43:47 ET - 2008/04/19
Seat 1: leroyjetson ($434)
Seat 2: Realdeal1031 ($743.60)
Seat 4: FristSux ($516.30)
Seat 5: highfive1 ($1,413.75)
Seat 6: RecessRampage ($687)
RecessRampage posts the small blind of $2
leroyjetson posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Qs Ah]
Realdeal1031 raises to $12
FristSux calls $12
SiXxXy sits down
highfive1 has 15 seconds left to act
SiXxXy adds $160
highfive1 folds
RecessRampage raises to $52
leroyjetson folds
Realdeal1031 calls $40
FristSux calls $40
*** FLOP *** [9d Qd 5c]
RecessRampage bets $135
Realdeal1031 has 15 seconds left to act
Realdeal1031 raises to $350
FristSux folds
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage calls $215
*** TURN *** [9d Qd 5c] [Ks]
RecessRampage bets $285, and is all in
Realdeal1031 calls $285
RecessRampage shows [Qs Ah]
Realdeal1031 shows [5s 5h]
*** RIVER *** [9d Qd 5c Ks] [Kc]
RecessRampage shows two pair, Kings and Queens
Realdeal1031 shows a full house, Fives full of Kings
Realdeal1031 wins the pot ($1,427) with a full house, Fives full of Kings
RecessRampage adds $400
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $1,430 | Rake $3
Board: [9d Qd 5c Ks Kc]
Seat 1: leroyjetson (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: Realdeal1031 showed [5s 5h] and won ($1,427) with a full house, Fives full of Kings
Seat 4: FristSux folded on the Flop
Seat 5: highfive1 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: RecessRampage (small blind) showed [Qs Ah] and lost with two pair, Kings and Queens

Full Tilt Poker Game #6091654082: Table Artie (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:50:31 ET - 2008/04/19
Seat 1: leroyjetson ($439)
Seat 2: Realdeal1031 ($1,477.60)
Seat 3: SiXxXy ($124)
Seat 4: FristSux ($473.10)
Seat 5: highfive1 ($1,458.75)
Seat 6: RecessRampage ($406)
FristSux posts the small blind of $2
highfive1 posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ah Ac]
RecessRampage raises to $14
leroyjetson folds
Realdeal1031 folds
SiXxXy folds
FristSux calls $12
highfive1 folds
*** FLOP *** [4h 6c Ks]
FristSux checks
RecessRampage bets $23
FristSux raises to $46
RecessRampage calls $23
*** TURN *** [4h 6c Ks] [3c]
FristSux bets $85.55
SiXxXy adds $160
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage raises to $234
FristSux raises to $413.10, and is all in
RecessRampage calls $112, and is all in
FristSux shows [6d 6s]
RecessRampage shows [Ah Ac]
Uncalled bet of $67.10 returned to FristSux
*** RIVER *** [4h 6c Ks 3c] [2d]
FristSux shows three of a kind, Sixes
RecessRampage shows a pair of Aces
FristSux wins the pot ($813) with three of a kind, Sixes
RecessRampage adds $400
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $816 | Rake $3
Board: [4h 6c Ks 3c 2d]
Seat 1: leroyjetson didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: Realdeal1031 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: SiXxXy (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: FristSux (small blind) showed [6d 6s] and won ($813) with three of a kind, Sixes
Seat 5: highfive1 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: RecessRampage showed [Ah Ac] and lost with a pair of Aces

Running bad or playing bad...

I've been on somewhat of a cold streak. I haven't lost much but I haven't won anything. Especially at 2-4NL... which is supposed to be my bread and butter. When I was talking to LJ, she suggested that I post some hands... but I told her that I don't see too many hands where I feel like I played it wrong... it's either a set up hand or a bad beat... I think this hand illustrates how I've been running...

Full Tilt Poker Game #6091520406: Table Artie (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:33:12 ET - 2008/04/19
Seat 1: leroyjetson ($405)
Seat 2: Realdeal1031 ($1,164.50)
Seat 4: FristSux ($566)
Seat 5: highfive1 ($611.65) <--- SB
Seat 6: RecessRampage ($406) <--- BB

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Td Jd]
leroyjetson folds
Realdeal1031 folds
FristSux raises to $13.70
highfive1 calls $11.70
RecessRampage raises to $54.80
FristSux folds
highfive1 calls $41.10

Typical squeeze here with JTs. SB calls a raise from the button and then calls my 3 bet. I'm guessing he's got some sort of an ace or a pocket pair.

*** FLOP *** [6d 7d Ad] <--- gin! perfect flop!
highfive1 checks
RecessRampage bets $80
highfive1 raises to $363.30 <--- must be a set
RecessRampage calls $271.20, and is all in
highfive1 shows [9d Kd] <--- I mean come on... K9s calls a 3 bet OOP and hits?
RecessRampage shows [Td Jd]
Uncalled bet of $12.10 returned to highfive1
*** TURN *** [6d 7d Ad] [As]
*** RIVER *** [6d 7d Ad As] [7c]
highfive1 shows a flush, Ace high
RecessRampage shows a flush, Ace high
highfive1 wins the pot ($822.70) with a flush, Ace high
RecessRampage adds $400

Honestly, this is very typical of how I've been running the past month. To say this is frustrating is an understatement. Problem is, I'm starting to become a little passive at times because I fear the bad beats... other times, I am spewy because I'm trying to overcompensate. These beats are affecting how I play and I don't even know how to stop it...

One and done....

So I didn't get in till late and I missed the first 20 minutes of the Mookie. I boot up my computer, see that my chip stack dwindled down to 1350 but no big deal. I start to settle in and this is the first hand I play.


Full Tilt Poker Game #6064035177: The Mookie (42846003), Table 11 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:21:31 ET - 2008/04/16
Seat 1: smokkee (2,200)
Seat 2: RecessRampage (1,290)
Seat 3: Joanne1111 (2,040)
Seat 4: UnTiltable15 (2,865)
Seat 5: AndrewOlaf (2,910)
Seat 6: PokahDave (1,350)
Seat 8: NewinNov (1,025)
Seat 9: whiskigrl (1,720)
AndrewOlaf posts the small blind of 25
PokahDave posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #4

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Tc Ts]
NewinNov folds
whiskigrl folds
smokkee folds
RecessRampage raises to 175
Joanne1111 folds
UnTiltable15 calls 175
AndrewOlaf folds
PokahDave folds

*** FLOP *** [8s 2s 7h]
RecessRampage checks
UnTiltable15 bets 2,690, and is all in
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME

I check, thinking this guy has to bet and so I was going to checkraise... with shorter starting stacks, I wanted to let him take one stab, checkraise, and take it down. Instead, he shoves so now, I gotta think about what just happened. My hand doesn't beat too many hands. But the shove seemed to be really weak so I thought maybe I'm up against AsQs or something... so I finally make the call...

RecessRampage calls 1,115, and is all in
UnTiltable15 shows [9h 9s] <--- WOOT!!!
RecessRampage shows [Tc Ts]
Uncalled bet of 1,575 returned to UnTiltable15

*** TURN *** [8s 2s 7h] [9c] <--- DOH!!!
*** RIVER *** [8s 2s 7h 9c] [Ah]
UnTiltable15 shows three of a kind, Nines
RecessRampage shows a pair of Tens
UnTiltable15 wins the pot (2,655) with three of a kind, Nines
RecessRampage stands up

And that, my friends, is how you play one hand in the Mookie and be done.

Now I'm kinda bummed that I rushed home...

Moving on...

Thanks to everyone for their comments on my previous posts as well as those of you that changed their gchat status/emailed me personally/called me, etc. This was my first experience with losing a pet so I'm fine most of the time but there are times I have to adjust. Nonetheless, poker keeps my mind off of things... which I don't know if that's healthy or not... but I'm a degenerate to begin with so I guess that's a pointless debate.

Last night, I made another final table run in the Skillz series... which is ridiculous considering I know nothing about stud hi/lo. I mean I know how to play but I don't really know the strength of my holdings, etc. All I can do is pay attention to upcards, the potential of my hand, etc. There were quite a few times I folded what ended up being the best hand... like early on, I mucked AA in the hole on 6th street since it was unimproved... in a 4 way pot... only to see 77 take it down... yes, one pair. Of sevens. Took the high...

Well, anyways, I played tight, caught cards when I needed them most (read: all in) and managed to survive... but barely... as you can see below (courtesy of Hoy's screenshot).



This was at break and I didn't even have enough chips for the big blind... However, once again, I caught what I needed to catch when I needed to and next thing I know, we get to the final table and I'm no longer a short stack. I don't have any HHs or anything with me... So to make a long story short, I ended up coming in 4th place which is way better than what I expected and added to my lead in the $2k+ side prop bet that we got going. I love how all the prizes aren't enough that we had to make additional side bets... it's good though. It definitely adds more incentive to keep playing and keep playing well (or get lucky, if you're me).

R.I.P. Gus

*Nonpoker content*

Last night, my cat passed away. His kidneys failed him so despite the treatment that the vet was giving him, he never recovered. First signs of deterioration was that when I got back from Vegas, I noticed he wasn't eating as much. That turned into him not showing any interest in the wet food at all. I knew something was wrong so I figured I'd wait a few days and see what happened.

Fast forward to Sat night around midnight, he tried to go up the steps except his hind legs were giving out because he was so weak. I rushed him to the emergency veterinary hospital and around 2:30am, was told that he might not even make it through the night and that I had a choice to make. I could pay for treatment which may or may not work or I could just cut him loose then and there. After making sure that he was not in pain and that the treatment wouldn't just extend his misery, I opted to pay for the treatment.

The following evening, the vet called me to give me an update. After approx 18 hrs of treatment, Gus is showing no signs of improvement. She asked if I wanted to continue the treatment or to let him go. I asked her what she thought. Again, I don't want to keep him alive for my reasons. I want to give him a fighting chance but not if that means he's just gonna be in pain. But basically, his body was shutting down so he's sleeping most of the time and not really in pain. As long as there's life, there's hope. So I told her to continue with the treatment and that if there are no signs of improvement by Monday night (48hrs since he first got to the hospital), I was ready to "pull the plug." She assured me that she would call me if there was any change.

I knew it was bad news when I heard my phone vibrate on the nightstand next to me at 3am. I answered and the doctor gave me the grave news. Gus just passed away. I went over to the hospital to see him for the last time, pay the remaining balance for the hospital bill, and sign some papers regarding his cremation procedures. Rest in peace, Gus. We love you.

Riverchasers Final Table Run

Alright, I'm gonna try to keep the hand histories to a minimum... Believe it or not, I don't try to clutter up my blog with bunch of hand histories but I guess I will give you some examples of how I played the final table.

If I had to describe how I played early in the final table, there's one word for it.

UberTIGHT

My stack was fairly short so I did have to gamble in key spots. However, one thing I really wanted to make sure I did was that I was the one doing the shoving and not the one calling the shove or a raise. And if there was a raise, I wanted to make sure I had fold equity. Some of the examples below will probably seem weaktight to most of you. But I was convinced there'd be better spots so I waited. I'm not results oriented so I don't know if in the grand scheme of things if it's the right thing to do or not but it certainly worked out for me last night. First example...

Stack sizes were as follows:

Seat 1: stl_phily (71,407)
Seat 2: NumbBono (41,900)
Seat 4: Wadzilla (16,850)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (44,439)
Seat 7: hoyazo (72,344)
Seat 8: bayne_s (16,080)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (21,980)

Dealt to RecessRampage [Qc Jc]
stl_phily folds
NumbBono folds
Wadzilla raises to 5,200
pushmonkey72 folds
hoyazo folds
bayne_s folds
RecessRampage folds
Uncalled bet of 3,600 returned to Wadzilla

Again, I think a lot of people would have pushed here but my impression of Wadzilla at the time was that he was fairly tight. But I also wasn't sure if that meant he's capable of folding hands like AJ. Anything better and he's priced in to call, esp because he already has a 3rd of his stack out with that raise. I felt I hardly had any fold equity so I chose to fold.

In the next few hands, I fold A7 to an open raise, I fold 22 in EP, I fold A5s UTG. I jam K9 when it's folded to me and I'm in the SB. Stl_philly folds. My stack is clearly dwindling but I didn't want to panic. And then this hand happened:

Blinds 800/1600 ante 200, stack sizes

Seat 1: stl_phily (65,607)
Seat 2: NumbBono (37,700)
Seat 4: Wadzilla (24,050)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (56,239)
Seat 7: hoyazo (54,264)
Seat 8: bayne_s (27,960)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (19,180)

Dealt to RecessRampage [Jd Ks]
Wadzilla raises to 5,200
pushmonkey72 folds
hoyazo folds
bayne_s folds
RecessRampage folds
stl_phily has 15 seconds left to act
stl_phily calls 4,400
NumbBono folds
*** FLOP *** [Kh Ts Tc]
stl_phily checks
Wadzilla bets 18,650, and is all in
stl_phily calls 18,650
Wadzilla shows [Ad As]
stl_phily shows [Ah Ac]
*** TURN *** [Kh Ts Tc] [Qd]
*** RIVER *** [Kh Ts Tc Qd] [7c]

Good thing I didn't come over the top. I think a lot of people with my stack size may have but again, I felt I didn't have much fold equity, I felt Wazilla was fairly tight with his opening range and based on that, I just didn't want to shove KJ. Again, remember, I wanted to open raise, not reraise unless I had the cards or fold equity or both.

My stack keeps dwindling down to 15k and I am dealt A8o in the SB but I also fold that to NumbBono's UTG raise. No brainer there. No sense in shoving A-x against a guy who raised. I told you. TIGHT. I even toss a pair...

Seat 1: stl_phily (72,207)
Seat 2: NumbBono (42,950)
Seat 4: Wadzilla (26,050)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (51,589)
Seat 7: hoyazo (54,364)
Seat 8: bayne_s (23,310)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (14,530)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [2h 2s]
Wadzilla folds
pushmonkey72 folds
hoyazo folds
bayne_s raises to 23,060, and is all in
RecessRampage folds
stl_phily raises to 71,957, and is all in
NumbBono folds
stl_phily shows [Kh As]
bayne_s shows [9s Ac]
Uncalled bet of 48,897 returned to stl_phily
*** FLOP *** [3h Ad Kd]
*** TURN *** [3h Ad Kd] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [3h Ad Kd 6c] [2d] <--- DAMMIT!!!
stl_phily shows two pair, Aces and Kings
bayne_s shows a pair of Aces
stl_phily wins the pot (49,870) with two pair, Aces and Kings

Again, I didn't want to CALL an all in from Bayne who I think also falls on the tighter side. Even with his stack, he's not shoving ATC and I just didn't want to go to war there like that. However, when it was folded to me, I did open shove with K4. At this point though, I am ok with shoving with K4 rather than a suited connector because then if someone decides to call with QJ or something, I am actually ahead because of my one high card. I somehow manage to keep myself afloat by pretty much shoving about once per orbit but really not getting out of line. I'm clearly not building a stack. I'm just playing survival poker at this point, trying to wait for the opportune moment. And then it came... and I think this might be the most weak tight thing I've ever done and you guys might be shocked... but I folded KQs to a UTG+1 raise. That was probably a mistake... even if I didn't want to CALL, KQs was the best hand I've seen since I got to the final table... ah well... at least I'm still alive...

More folding and my stack is dwindling. I am UTG, blinds are about to come around so I shove my K4s... to get called by Hoy's 77, but I fortunately suckout my 3 outer on the flop and my pair of kings hold. I get my critical double up. The very next hand, I am in the BB with A7, everyone folds to Hoy who limps from the SB. I thought he might be getting tricky by limp calling from the SB but he's done that earlier against Bayne and then didn't have a hand. So, I shoved. Hoy called with 59o but his two live cards were basically dead when I flop 7-Q-7. Turn seals the deal and Hoy's fate when another Q comes for a boat. All of a sudden, I am up to 45k after one big suckout and a nice hold by A7.

Now it's down to 5 players and my stack is now healthy.
Seat 1: stl_phily (78,017)
Seat 2: NumbBono (46,350)
Seat 4: Wadzilla (71,750)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (38,989)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (49,894)

I am knocked down to 30k in chips when I raise with 88, get smooth called by Pushmonkey in the BB and on a QJx board, he checks to me, I fire a cbet, and he shoves. I fold. I am down to fairly desperate levels again and so I shove with A5. I don't like it when I get called but I am ahead of NumbBono's KQ. Flop gives me a good scare coming JTx, giving him two live cards and OESD but some how, my A5 holds. I guess it was my night.

Few hands later, I raise UTG with QJs (it is 5 handed after all), then Stl_philly shoves. Fortunately, pushmonkey makes my decision easy when he also shoves. Push's KK > Stl_philly's 99 and we are down to 4 players.

Seat 2: NumbBono (20,756)
Seat 4: Wadzilla (84,450)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (135,706)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (44,088)

I was concerned about Pushmonkey's huge stack. But I knew that amongst these 4, I had to have the most shorthanded experience and LJ reiterated that to me.

"Just play your game."

That was gonna be my mantra for the evening at this point. Well, that and WWRD.

I was surprised with the amount of calls I got on my raises and then folds to my cbets. Nonetheless, that kept me alive (blinds were coming so fast so that's the only way to survive) and then pushmonkey busts NumbBono, adding to his stack even more as we were down to 3.

Seat 4: Wadzilla (74,250)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (166,362)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (44,388)

Pushmonkey was starting to bully with his stack so I knew I had to make a stand with a marginal hand and double up. Then this hand came:

Dealt to RecessRampage [3c Ah]
pushmonkey72 raises to 11,700
RecessRampage raises to 40,188, and is all in
Wadzilla folds
pushmonkey72 calls 28,488
RecessRampage shows [3c Ah]
pushmonkey72 shows [Ts Jd]
*** FLOP *** [2s 8s 3d]
*** TURN *** [2s 8s 3d] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [2s 8s 3d 6d] [Kh]
RecessRampage shows a pair of Threes
pushmonkey72 shows King Jack high
RecessRampage wins the pot (84,576) with a pair of Threes

I knew I really didn't have much fold equity but I had to take a stand and A high 3 handed was good enough for me. Once again, a sick hold by my A-x hand and I get a crucial double up, even more so because it puts a slight dent to the big stack.

At this point, stealing is critical:

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [2c Jc]
pushmonkey72 folds
RecessRampage raises to 9,000
Wadzilla calls 6,000
*** FLOP *** [8s Kd 7h]
RecessRampage bets 14,000
Wadzilla has 15 seconds left to act
Wadzilla folds
Uncalled bet of 14,000 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot (19,200)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Qh 5s]
RecessRampage raises to 9,000
Wadzilla folds
pushmonkey72 calls 6,000
*** FLOP *** [Tc 4s 2s]
pushmonkey72 checks
RecessRampage bets 14,000
pushmonkey72 folds
Uncalled bet of 14,000 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot (20,700)

Again, I was surprised with the amount of call/folds I was getting but that helps even more than just picking up the blinds. Thanks to that, my stack is slowly growing and then this gem happens:

Seat 4: Wadzilla (65,950)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (127,774)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (91,276)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [As Ac]
pushmonkey72 raises to 11,700
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage raises to 33,000
Wadzilla folds
pushmonkey72 calls 21,300
*** FLOP *** [Qc Qs 2c]
RecessRampage bets 57,876, and is all in
pushmonkey72 folds
Uncalled bet of 57,876 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot (70,200)

Taking a big pot off pushmonkey is huge at this point. This obviously propels me to be the chipleader. I continue to apply pressure and I continue to get calls on my raises preflop but folds to my cbets.

Maybe it was all the raising/cbetting that I was doing but pushmonkey finally decides to make a stand. Unfortunately for him, this time, I had a real hand.

Seat 4: Wadzilla (65,950)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (83,074)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (135,976)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Kc Kd]
pushmonkey72 calls 3,000 <--- from the button
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage raises to 12,000
Wadzilla folds
pushmonkey72 calls 9,000
*** FLOP *** [7s 7h 5c]
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage bets 19,000
pushmonkey72 raises to 70,674, and is all in
RecessRampage calls 51,674
pushmonkey72 shows [Jh Th]
RecessRampage shows [Kc Kd]
*** TURN *** [7s 7h 5c] [2d]
*** RIVER *** [7s 7h 5c 2d] [Ad]
pushmonkey72 shows a pair of Sevens
RecessRampage shows two pair, Kings and Sevens
RecessRampage wins the pot (169,548) with two pair, Kings and Sevens

At this point, I have a commanding chip lead over Wadzilla in what I figured to be a match that I should be able to end quickly. Unfortunately, Wadzilla was gonna have none of that. I was raising A LOT from the button. Almost every time. And yet, even when I had a hand, he wouldn't bite. So, once in a while, I had to make some moves:

Seat 4: Wadzilla (90,050)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (194,950)
Wadzilla antes 500
RecessRampage antes 500
RecessRampage posts the small blind of 2,000
Wadzilla posts the big blind of 4,000
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ah 9d]
RecessRampage raises to 11,000
Wadzilla has 15 seconds left to act
Wadzilla calls 7,000
*** FLOP *** [8c 3s Th]
Wadzilla bets 14,000
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME
RecessRampage raises to 183,450, and is all in
Wadzilla has 15 seconds left to act
Wadzilla folds

I felt that his bet out indicated he caught a piece but wasn't so strong (if he had a T, I felt he would checkraise me, so I shoved, indicating strength based on my preflop action as well). He's patient the whole time and then I make an illadvised move by shoving over the top of Wadzilla's raise with 44 and he calls with 88. Big double up for Wadzilla. All of a sudden, my 200k+ stack was now down to 155k and he now has 125k.

I still continue to play aggressive and god dammit, I am HUC5 and HUC6 runner up. I should be above average in heads up play right!?

Seat 4: Wadzilla (125,500)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (159,500)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [9d Td]
Wadzilla calls 2,500
RecessRampage checks
*** FLOP *** [4d Tc As]
RecessRampage checks
Wadzilla bets 7,500
RecessRampage calls 7,500

With no raise, I Wadzilla didn't have an A. I thought about checkraise here but I figured I'll peel one more card and fire out if it's a blank.

*** TURN *** [4d Tc As] [6c] <--- blank
RecessRampage bets 22,000
Astin (Observer): aggression never won anythng <--- I disagree
Wadzilla folds
Uncalled bet of 22,000 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot (26,200)

I tried overbetting for value here but I guess he didn't have any piece of this board.

Seat 4: Wadzilla (112,400)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (172,600)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Js Jd]
RecessRampage raises to 13,000
Wadzilla has 15 seconds left to act
Wadzilla calls 8,000
*** FLOP *** [Jc Qc Kd] <--- he called my raise, I figured this had to hit him
Wadzilla checks
RecessRampage bets 159,000, and is all in
Wadzilla folds
Uncalled bet of 159,000 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot (27,200)

I flop a set and heads up, if he has a K, it would be very hard to get away for him, I thought so hence, the shove. Didn't work this time.

Wadzilla then ramps up his aggression (or started getting cards) and all of a sudden, I see my stack dwindling. I check my 77 from the BB and fold to his bet on a KQ9 (all heart) board. We still keep going back and forth and I even fold a pair here.

Seat 4: Wadzilla (114,400)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (170,600)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [5s 5h]
RecessRampage raises to 15,000
Wadzilla raises to 45,000
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage folds
Uncalled bet of 30,000 returned to Wadzilla
Wadzilla mucks
Wadzilla wins the pot (31,500)

I obviously considered shoving. But with my stack size, I didn't feel the need to race here. He's been playing very tight/passive up till this point so his reraise for more than a 3rd of his stack seemed extreme strength. At best, I was a slight favorite in a coin flip and I felt there was a better spot.

Same sequence as above happens when I have 22.

And based on that, all of a sudden, I am starting to see a lot of reraises from him preflop and I am laying down after a raise which is starting to really hurt my stack.

Seat 4: Wadzilla (205,150)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (79,850)

So, I need to start picking more marginal spots as well, like this:

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [4s 5c]
Wadzilla calls 3,000
RecessRampage checks
*** FLOP *** [Kd 6h 3s]
RecessRampage checks
Wadzilla bets 7,500
RecessRampage raises to 73,100, and is all in
Wadzilla folds
Uncalled bet of 65,600 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot (28,500)

Seat 4: Wadzilla (204,400)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (80,600)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Jd 3d]
RecessRampage calls 4,000 <--- Bad Recess!!! Brain fart...
Wadzilla checks
*** FLOP *** [2c Ad 4s]
Wadzilla bets 12,000 <--- weird... something's not right
RecessRampage raises to 71,600, and is all in
Wadzilla has 15 seconds left to act
Wadzilla folds
Uncalled bet of 59,600 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot (42,000)

That was bad but at least I was able to steal from him post flop...

I then runner runner a straight with JJ and get paid off for a fair amount and I regain the chip lead. This heads up match is taking forever. The blinds are starting to really increase too so I figured I need to ramp up my aggression even more. I start raising more, reraising some and where I can steal on the flop, I do.

Seat 4: Wadzilla (77,400)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (207,600)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [5c 4c]
Wadzilla calls 4,000
RecessRampage checks

*** FLOP *** [As 6h 3c]
RecessRampage checks
Wadzilla bets 12,000
RecessRampage raises to 54,000
Wadzilla folds
Uncalled bet of 42,000 returned to RecessRampage
RecessRampage mucks
RecessRampage wins the pot (42,000)

At this stage, taking these pots are huge. After the above hand, Wadzilla is down to 50k in chips and I feel that I am so close. And then after a few more back and forth, the final hand:

Seat 4: Wadzilla (70,400)
Seat 9: RecessRampage (214,600)
Wadzilla antes 1,000
RecessRampage antes 1,000
RecessRampage posts the small blind of 4,000
Wadzilla posts the big blind of 8,000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [7c As]
RecessRampage raises to 20,000
Wadzilla raises to 69,400, and is all in
RecessRampage calls 49,400
Wadzilla shows [3h Ac]
RecessRampage: gl me <--- SHAMELESS
RecessRampage shows [7c As]
*** FLOP *** [2c 9c Tc]
Wadzilla: ahh
*** TURN *** [2c 9c Tc] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [2c 9c Tc 6d] [Th]
Wadzilla shows a pair of Tens
RecessRampage shows a pair of Tens
RecessRampage wins the pot (140,800) with a pair of Tens
Wadzilla: gg
Wadzilla stands up
RecessRampage stands up

It was a tough, tough heads up match. Again, thanks to everyone railing!

And this post got much much longer than expected...

I'm IN!!!!

Too lazy and tired to recap HHs. Plenty of suckouts along the way, played very patient, and once it got down to 3-4 handed play, I felt very comfortable. Short handed cash really helps my instincts on how to play certain hands so I was able to take down quite a few pots uncontested. Wadzilla (do you have a blog?) played a great HU game. It was very hard to get chips from him but I constantly raised from the button and he finally started playing back. I waited for the right time but in the end, it was pretty much a HU setup where he had A3 and I had A7. With the blinds so high, it's almost inevitable to get it all in with any ace HU. I will say though that I did make a lot of plays HU with air. I may or may not post those HHs... I don't want my image to be totally shot...

Thanks to everyone who railed me. I couldn't keep track.... so many people, so thanks to all. Sorry for no individual mention except LJ who was on the girlie chat, telling me to just play my game once we got shorthanded. WWRD baby!!!

It's not always about how much you win...

But sometimes, it's about how much you don't lose.

Winning big pots are always exciting. But sometimes in poker, it's not all about how much you win but also about how much you don't lose. I've always felt that Don had good, solid reads on people and I got to witness one of the finest plays and one that HAD to shock the guys playing at the level that we were playing.

We were playing at a juicy 1-2NL table that played like a 2-5. $20 preflop raises would see 5 callers+. 7 limpers, raise to $25. Call x 7. Craziness. On one hand, bunch of people see a K-K-Q flop and Don bets out. One guy who floats almost every flop... actually, not almost. Every flop, and catches a lot of things calls (I guess if he's catching, technically, it's not floating). It's heads up going in to the turn and the turn comes a 9. There's another bet by Don, and the guy goes all in. Don tanks for a few minutes. It looks painful so I know he's got a K but probably a weak kicker. The villain in this hand was always calling down with hands like top pair so his shove was indicative of extreme strength since his play up to that point was very weak passive. Knowing that, Don eventually folded, showing his K. The guy flips over 99 for a turned boat. Everyone at the table except for me were shocked with Don's fold.

At this point, obviously, Don was getting irritated. I mean it's hard to not get anything and fold for 5 hours, you finally see a monster hand and you have to fold. When you are reading this, you think to yourself, oh, well if the other guy never bets unless he's got a monster, it's an easy fold. However, it's so different if you've sat there, invested a lot of time, waiting for that one monster... it's almost like you find ways to talk yourself into calling. But Don showed great discipline. As he started looking irritated, I reminded him that 95% of the players there pay off the other guy and that money not lost is the same as money won. I don't know if me talking to him had anything to do with it (I'd like to think that maybe it helped a little) but probably a combination of my pep talk and his great discipline, he managed to not go on tilt, then go on a little rush where he probably got some decent cards but also made plays to capitalize on that image (of being on a rush) and quickly recouped what was in that pot and then some.

That was the turning point for the night for him.

Now I didn't just say that to Don to try to get him off tilt. The fact is, it's true. Most players wouldn't be able to make that lay down in situations like that where they invested so much time, played disciplined poker while other monkeys are catching with stupid draws that don't even exist when they called without some freak runner runner bullshit. His reads were on but his cards weren't. I got him off a hand where I ended up winning a hand against the above passive player with top pair (A) and 7 kicker... Don, said he had me beat and he thought I was fairly weak. I told him that if he came over the top, I woulda folded. That was an instance where his reads were on, he just had to follow it up with a bet. He knew and to see him make the adjustment very quickly was very entertaining to watch.

He started making strong plays and lucky for the rest of the table, neither Don nor I really got any cards to get anything going for an extended period... because otherwise, we woulda cleaned out the table. But the opportunity to recoup any losses wouldn't have even been there if he called in that critical hand and paid off the other guy, falling into a spiral of tilt, etc etc. We've all been there. Money not lost was almost as important as the money won. By not calling the $200 shove that the other player made, basically, it was the same as a $200 win. Just because the pot is not being shoved your way, it doesn't mean that you didn't win. Because sometimes, money not lost is almost as good as counting that as a win.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

What's the boom for? Did I win the seat to the TOC? No, I did not. The owner of my new favorite blog did though so go congratulate Loretta8 over at his blog. It looks like he started blogging in January of this year but I was a late comer to this party. It was this post that made me fall in love. With actual strategy/thought posts lacking in the blog world these days (or at least, so I think), it was awesome to read his analysis on a WPT heads up hand. As Schaubs says, I'm a taker so any time there's a blogger who has something to offer, I am all over it. So, Loretta, congratulations on being one of only a handful of bloggers that I would immediately look to for good, solid analytical/strategic thinking... you know, for whatever that's worth.

But wait... that's not what the "BOOM" is for.

Last night was an interesting night. I busted out of Skills and Bodonkey early so I was looking to play some cash. Curious to see if there were any blogger cash games going on, I searched for Fuel55 and found him at a full ring 2/4 NL table. Now I haven't played full ring in a while but when I saw BoneDaddy there also, I just couldn't resist. Wasn't quite a blogger table but it was good enough. Well, not much came of that and since the two of them left shortly thereafter, I left also with a tiny profit. Then, there was talk of a blogger cash game at $1.50/3.00 NL Deep Stack so I bought in for $600. Now THIS was an interesting table. For the most part, we were playing shorthanded and it was anywhere between 3-6 players. I was totally in my element and even though players at this table included Fuel, RakeFeeder, and a few other nonbloggers (I think), I felt that the only one that I did not have a fairly significant advantage over was Wes. Now this is a guy who moved up to a much higher cash game level and as such, I could tell that he was strong enough to adjust to my aggression and play back at me a lot. But aside from that, I felt that my aggression that transcended from the shorthanded NL games pretty much did the work here and I left the table with a very solid profit, even after getting stacked by Wes early when my QQ did not hold up against his gutterball & flushdraw for my entire stack.

But that's not what the BOOM is for either.

Later that evening, Fuel tells me in the chat that there's a seat open at his table which he claimed was a soft 10/20NL table. Now let me say that I am a bankroll nit. But when I got that invite, I felt that taking a shot wouldn't hurt. So I took a page out of this horrible BR management donkey and decided to take a shot at a level that I am underrolled for.

I start off poorly... well, I don't think I played poorly. I just lost one of the biggest pots in my life when my KK loses to AcQc on a KJx flop with two clubs, all in on the flop (I bet out my top set of course). The villain hits his flush on the turn, the board doesn't pair and I lose a pot close to $2500. Ouch. Chalk that to biggest pot lost. But, I was unphased. I was determined to not let bankroll concerns come into play. I came to play poker, not to be a nit. I felt that I played fairly solid, adjusting to the table (Fuel could probably give you his take on how I played). Well, after a while, as I started chipping up, I am dealt AK... yes, the hand that I beat up on a lot in the past weeks. And this is where the BOOM happens.

Full Tilt Poker Game #5962824809: Table Star Mesa (6 max) - $10/$20 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:13:57 ET - 2008/04/09
Seat 1: Fuel55 ($4,418) <--- SB
Seat 2: 20 Buck Spin ($5,728) <--- BB
Seat 3: NigelWinters ($2,687)
Seat 4: RecessRampage ($2,235)
Seat 5: moronforce ($377)
Seat 6: mr doodles70 ($4,230.75)
Fuel55 posts the small blind of $10

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ad Kc]
NigelWinters folds
RecessRampage raises to $70 <--- UTG+1
moronforce folds
mr doodles70 folds
Fuel55 folds
20 Buck Spin has 15 seconds left to act <--- very loose player
20 Buck Spin calls $50

*** FLOP *** [8c Tc Ah]
20 Buck Spin checks
RecessRampage bets $120
20 Buck Spin raises to $400
RecessRampage calls $280

*** TURN *** [8c Tc Ah] [Ac] <--- I love and hate that card at the same time
20 Buck Spin has 15 seconds left to act
20 Buck Spin bets $600
RecessRampage calls $600

*** RIVER *** [8c Tc Ah Ac] [Kd] <--- gin!!!!!
20 Buck Spin has 15 seconds left to act
20 Buck Spin bets $4,658, and is all in
RecessRampage INSTAcalls $1,165, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $3,493 returned to 20 Buck Spin

*** SHOW DOWN ***
20 Buck Spin shows [Jc 9c] a flush, Ace high
RecessRampage shows [Ad Kc] a full house, Aces full of Kings
RecessRampage wins the pot ($4,477) with a full house, Aces full of Kings

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!! My biggest pot EVAH!!!!!!!



Thanks to Fuel for this courtesy screen shot... my pute was not cooperating with screen shots last night for some reason so I asked him to take the pic and email it to me. Nice touch!

The thing about bad beat stories

*NOTE - This is NOT a bad beat post

Despite the note, maybe I lost readers with the title already...

I am not going into any bad beat stories (an example might come up but again, telling the bad beat story is not the point of this post). But here's the thing. As I sit here tonight after getting back from Vegas, I am getting ready to go back to the daily grind in cube hell. Nothing like middle management of a big corporation in a reporting dept on a month following quarter ends. Yeah, hell is here.

Well, here's the thing. I can already see it. Tomorrow morning, I will walk in, say good morning to my team and naturally, they will ask me two questions.

- How was Vegas?
- Did you win any money?

Now most of my coworkers know I play poker. Some even know that I play fairly seriously (fairly seriously in their opinion - I didn't quite tell them how much of a degenerate I truly am). So, they expect to hear some extravagant stories about how I took down pots after pots or at the very least, win enough to cover my entire expense for the trip and then some... except since I basically don't go into details, all they will hear from me are these answers to the questions.

- It was great as usual. It's Vegas, you know?
- No, I, unfortunately, did not win any money.

And this conversation that will happen tomorrow (already happened tonight when I called my parents) made me think about why people talk about bad beats and maybe if there are exceptions to the "no bad beat stories" rule that I personally implemented for myself. Like fellow poker players don't ever want to hear bad beat stories right? I mean because then, it's endless. Fuckin go see a therapist or a counselor or something. Pay someone and you could spend 60 minutes telling them bad beat stories. But don't talk to us. We've all seen our fair share... Now I know some of us still do to an extent and I think that's ok... I mean you need an outlet so sometimes, I just let them slide and I know others do the same for me because I surely need an outlet as well.

Anyways, back to the point though... So, if I tell a nonpoker player or even a person who doesn't know me or how much I've made playing poker, etc, if I just tell them that I went to Vegas and I lost playing poker, they might think that I suck at it or that players in Vegas must be good... except it's quite the contrary (I can already see the comments coming in, telling me I suck esp from clowns like this one or this one... and since I didn't point her out, she woulda come in and left that comment even though, now that I mentioned her, the plan is foiled - damn, I'm good). Anyways, the point being, if I just mention the results, people will draw their own conclusions. I mean if poker is skill based, and if I am as good as I claim, how can I come home a loser right?

With my parents, since they are concerned that I might gamble my money away, I did explain that I made good decisions and that when the money went in, I was a significant favorite in a lot of the big pots that ended up going to the opponents. I kept telling them that I lost hands where I'm a 70-80% favorite and that I couldn't get anything going and that even though I was making good decisions, it just so happened that the bad beats I got were against the guys who happen to have a lot of chips also. Ok, one quick bad beat reference here since I did text Fuel and Schaubs to bitch about this one. On a flop of Q-9-7 rainbow, I shove my $200 into a $200+ pot. Villain decides to call me with A-10. Now, at this point, I am a 82% favorite to win. Of course, after the 8 on the turn and the J on the river, he completes a straight and I lose a $600+ pot. REBUY. This was just how my weekend went. Weakplayer was also in Vegas and when he asked me how I was for the trip, I told him how much I was stuck. However, since he's a fellow poker player, the conversation went like this:

WP - "How are you for the trip?"
RR - "I'm stuck $1,200+"
WP - *shrugs* "Is that a result of bad decisions or bad beats? Are you at least happy with the decisions you are making?"

And THAT, my friends is where there's a difference. To which, I truthfully answered, "mostly yes. I've made a few bad decisions but most of my decisions were good and the money went in good."

WP - "well, that's all you can do."

And ain't that the truth. However, when my coworkers ask me tomorrow the same question, they won't ask me about my decision making. I am comfortable with where I am at in my growth as a poker player and so I don't feel the need to justify my skill or anything with bad beat stories to illustrate that I should be a winning player. However, I do think that people don't want to be thought of as bad players and that's probably a big reason why they all like to tell bad beat stories. At least that way, they can blame luck instead of their donkery... I mean after all, even to nonpoker players, when I tell them bad beat stories, it feels like I'm making excuses on why I didn't win... And I hate excuses...

But Ace-Ten? On that fuckin board!? AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH..... live poker is so rigged!!! (I'll discuss some other interesting hands from Vegas in a later post)

EDIT - to answer some questions, I had KK in the hand against A-10.

Possibly the last post from me this week...

In 6 hrs, I will be on the flight to Vegas. I guess I kinda kept this fairly quiet in the sense of, I really didn't hype it up on here. Well, there's really nothing to hype because I don't know how much poker I'll be able to play. Hopefully tons since I am just kinda tagging along to a birthday party of which I only know like 1 or 2 out of the whole group of 10+. Actually, what am I talking about. I'm a degenerate. When they go clubbing or something, I will probably end up at a table full of middle aged guys making $20 raises at a $1-3NL table... Damn... CAN'T WAIT!!!!

So anyways, before I head out, one more AK hand where it's not going my way. Having said that, I don't hate my play here... I would say this is fairly standard...

Full Tilt Poker Game #5873274307: Table Crockery (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:26:26 ET - 2008/04/01
Seat 1: RecessRampage ($444) <--- BB
Seat 2: alldie83 ($406)
Seat 3: thelilbearbeeny ($946.30)
Seat 4: Jomibakkus7 ($632.50)
Seat 5: TheLiquidDream ($140.10)
Seat 6: Chipstars1 ($370) <--- SB

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ks Ac]
alldie83 has 15 seconds left to act
alldie83 folds
thelilbearbeeny folds
Jomibakkus7 folds
TheLiquidDream raises to $14 <--- from the button
Chipstars1 has 15 seconds left to act
Chipstars1 calls $12
RecessRampage raises to $56 <--- standard squeeze
TheLiquidDream folds
Chipstars1 raises to $370, and is all in
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage has requested TIME

Of course, this is where it gets interesting. The SB played this very tricky where he smooth called a raise, possibly expecting a squeeze play, and when I obliged, he shoves. Of course, he could do this with AA or KK but I thought with those two hands, he would try to milk me by not quite going all in. His shove seems more indicative of wanting a fold so I thought maybe a middle pocket pair. Getting close to 1.5:1, I felt that this call was ok considering I was most likely flipping.

RecessRampage calls $314
Chipstars1 shows [Jc Jh]
RecessRampage shows [Ks Ac]
*** FLOP *** [4d 4h Qc]
*** TURN *** [4d 4h Qc] [4c]
*** RIVER *** [4d 4h Qc 4c] [Th]
Chipstars1 shows a full house, Fours full of Jacks
RecessRampage shows three of a kind, Fours
Chipstars1 wins the pot ($751) with a full house, Fours full of Jacks
RecessRampage adds $326

I actually thought that was very tricky of him to do that with JJ. Normally, JJ would reraise there instead of smooth calling... or so I thought. JJ was higher than what I expected to see but still didn't matter. I thought it was probably a flip, it was a flip and I didn't win. In looking at it, I don't really have a problem I don't think, even though I hate getting my money in bad. Any thoughts?

This next hand... I don't even know where to begin. The villain pretty much pwned me all night, reraising me a lot and basically taking pots away from me. I never got to showdown with this guy until this hand...

Full Tilt Poker Game #5874938527: Table Crockery (6 max) - $2/$4 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:38:32 ET - 2008/04/01
Seat 1: RecessRampage ($629.70) <--- SB
Seat 2: pelky33 ($400) <--- BB
Seat 3: bertkc ($925.40)
Seat 4: carpmentor ($421.10)
Seat 5: j0hnnyChann ($81.50)
Seat 6: Mash Spud ($417.70)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ac Qs]
bertkc raises to $16 <--- UTG
carpmentor has 15 seconds left to act
carpmentor folds
j0hnnyChann folds
Mash Spud folds
RecessRampage raises to $52
pelky33 folds
bertkc has 15 seconds left to act
bertkc calls $36

Ok, you might be wondering why I 3 bet this from SB against a guy who raised UTG. That's actually because I had a read. The 4x bet seemed to indicate weakness more often than not. Also, if I reraise an UTG raiser, it indicates a much stronger hand than AQ on my part. Admittedly, I was shocked when he called, knowing I'm gonna be OOP against a guy who's been pwning me all night (basically, I was getting to the point where I was avoiding playing pots with this guy - which I thought added to the fact that I had a strong hand... and AQ is definitely a strong enough hand).

*** FLOP *** [2s 8d Ad]
RecessRampage bets $80
bertkc calls $80

Pretty good flop for me. I really didn't put him on AK since I think he woulda 4 bet me. I also felt that he was still weak but I couldn't figure out the call. I thought maybe a diamond draw.

*** TURN *** [2s 8d Ad] [As]
RecessRampage has 15 seconds left to act
RecessRampage bets $200
bertkc has 15 seconds left to act
bertkc has requested TIME
bertkc calls $200

Now gets interesting. Another A hits the board so I am fairly certain I am ahead. The problem is, I don't know what he has but by betting out here and with the preflop action, it smells a lot less like AK and a lot more like KK where I'm glad to see the board pair. I still couldn't figure what he was calling me with though. Lesser ace? Diamond? Boat?

*** RIVER *** [2s 8d Ad As] [8c] <--- perfect card!!!

Best card I coulda hoped for (aside from another A). Now, unless I lose to quad eights, I basically am either tied or if he had 22 or something and slowplayed his boat, he just got counterfeited. There's no point in betting here.

RecessRampage checks
bertkc bets $593.40, and is all in <--- must be an A, please don't let it be 88.
RecessRampage calls $297.70, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $295.70 returned to bertkc


So, any thoughts on what he had? Another A? Another 8? Missed diamond draw? Counterfeited boat? Thoughts???




Here, I'll let you even think about it some more.




I never woulda guessed this in a million years.


*** SHOW DOWN ***
bertkc shows [3s 6s] two pair, Aces and Eights
RecessRampage shows [Ac Qs] a full house, Aces full of Eights
RecessRampage wins the pot ($1,260.40) with a full house, Aces full of Eights
bertkc adds $104.30

I mean... no, this is no April fool's joke... I don't even know what to say... Of course, if I have KK which he could realistically put me on, I would definitely fold to this river shove. I'm just so confused... he was already up a buy in and I felt that this was not a spot that he needed to be in. Now granted, since he's been pwning me all night, maybe he thought he could just outplay me... which he kinda did... I was saved by the cards. I don't even know how to counter this kind of aggression...

Alright, well that's it from me... man, if I post from Vegas... ah, hell... it's possible. We all know how much of a degenerate I am... good luck all and Don, Chad, hopefully I'll see you guys soon!

I suck, not only at poker, but at April Fool's prank as well

Yesterday, Schaubs and I decide to play a prank on Fuel. Since he's got that overbet for value contest going, we were gonna do some bullshit hand history and send it to him. I actually wanted to do something funny... Basically, this was our email conversation from yesterday:

Me: Yeah, it is all for fun. It would be hilarious though if we did a hand where you're in the BB so I raise enough that most people will fold and you call. If I have the nuts on the river, I jam (check, check until then) and you call with like 8 high for $80... in a $100 pot... lol

(At the time, the above woulda been a winner...)

Me: even funnier will be if in the chat before you call, you type in the obligatory "you got anything?" Schaubs has 15 seconds to act. "I don't think you hit that (insert any card on the board)"

And then you call. With 8 high.

On a AKQT4 board...



But I didn't want it to be so obvious so I recreated a hand history from one of the hands I had from last night and just changed the table description, the names are all from the 2-4NL tables but I thought Fuel might not pay that much attention...

So this was the HH I sent him.

Full Tilt Poker Game #5860232176: Table Paseo (deep) - $0.15/$0.30 - No Limit Hold'em - 01:12:29 ET - 2008/04/01

Seat 2: time4time ($38.30)
Seat 3: RecessRampage ($99.70)
Seat 5: Schaubs ($101.95)
Seat 6: SteveTheWebGuy ($82.80)
Seat 7: daPHUNNIEman ($60)
Seat 8: IpwnU ($41.10)
Seat 9: ULY78 ($131.70)
time4time posts the small blind of $0.15
RecessRampage posts the big blind of $0.30
The button is in seat #9

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to RecessRampage [Ks Ad]
Schaubs raises to $1.05
SteveTheWebGuy calls $1.05
daPHUNNIEman has 15 seconds left to act
daPHUNNIEman has requested TIME
daPHUNNIEman calls $1.05
IpwnU folds
ULY78 folds
time4time folds
RecessRampage calls $0.75

*** FLOP *** [Kd Kc Qd]
RecessRampage checks
Schaubs checks
SteveTheWebGuy checks
daPHUNNIEman checks

*** TURN *** [Kd Kc Qd] [Ac] <---- gin!!!!
RecessRampage checks
Schaubs bets $1.50
RecessRampage raises to $97.15, and is all in
Schaubs calls $95.65 <--- instacalls!!!
SteveTheWebGuy folds
daPHUNNIEman folds
RecessRampage shows [Ks Ad]
Schaubs shows [Jc Tc]

*** RIVER *** [Kd Kc Qd Ac] [2s]
RecessRampage shows a full house, Kings full of Aces
SteveTheWebGuy shows a straight, Ace high
RecessRampage wins the pot ($198.50) with a full house, Kings full of Aces


Doctoring this hand history took forever and yet I make the most critical mistake that Fuel immediately noticed... Schaubs is in the hand all the way... except at showdown when mysteriously, SteveTheWebGuy shows a straight. D'oh!!! That's such a BAD BEAT!!!

So no April Fool's joke from this guy... it was so much fun during the planning stages though.

Yes, I know... we're very mature.