Hit the Sands again last night for some 1-2 NL. Finished down $2. It was one of those nights were even though I lost money I felt like a winner. I started out good, winiing a few small pots, but soon I started loosing. It got to the point where I was well into my second stack of reds when a new dealer sat down. I am not superstitious, but when he started dealing I started hitting hands. Its amazing how once I started to get good cards and win pots I also started to win pots without good cards. I mean suddenly I felt comfortable bluffing (once) with nothing but and Ace. I recognized I was in position and it was checked around to me and I made a 1/2 pot bet and with little thought the other players in the pot folded. I hand won several pots at showdown in the last few hands and I made it known that I was running well. I also pulled off a semi-bluff with a small flush draw.
There was one hand that did not go as planned. I was heads up against the lady in seat 2 ( I was in seat 10). She is a fairly solid player, winning every had she got to showdown with. I had lost a big pot to her earlier do to weak play on my part, but I wanted to get some of my money back. I had Q-10 and flopped the nut straight (8 to Q). It was a limp pot and I bet small, $6 and she called. The turn was an A and I bet small again and she called again. The river was a blank I thought about what to represent in order to get paid. If I bet small I think she would call if she had anything. If she was on a draw I wansn't going to get paid at all. I thought maybe if I bet really big she might think I was stealing and call. I threw out $56 into maybe a $30 pot and she insta-folded. Crap.
I think that will be all the poker for this holiday break. Tomorrow is my last day in Pennsylvania, then Sunday I'm off to Colorado again.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Home for the Holidays, Part II
Tuesday morning we set out for Atlantic City. We got an offer from Ballys for a free night and booked it a few weeks ago. What a sad sight, Ceasars had only 3 tables running, all 1-2 NLHE. Ballys had only 3 cash tables, but when the tournament started they had maybe 3 more tournament tables.
Finished the night up $90.
Crazy guy shoving AI pre-deal!
Dinner at Rainforest.... slow service
long drive
several resturants closed.
Finished the night up $90.
Crazy guy shoving AI pre-deal!
Dinner at Rainforest.... slow service
long drive
several resturants closed.
Home for the holidays, Part I
I flew in from Colorado on Saturday and burnt the day cleaning and getting used to the time change. Monday came around before I knew it and I needed to do some running. I felt the need just to get out and see how things had changed so I took the car and headed to the Sands casino in Bethelem. It's about 1 hour away in the same direction as where I used to work so I got to travel on some familiar roads. When I got there it wasn't too busy but there was a wait list for 1-2 NLHE so I asked what was open and got a seat at a 3-6 LHE table with the intent of moving to a 1-2 table when a seat became available. I spent 4 hours playing limit holdem and had a great time even though I blew $95. I like it because I can see alot of flops and get a good idea of how different hands play against a variety of players. I also find it easier to predict what other players have since most of the action is made hands doing the betting, drawing hands calling, complete missed hands folding, and the nuts raising. Bluffing isn't too common.
Home for the Holidays, Part IV
Yesterday I took another road trip to Bethlehem to the Sands. I got there about 6pm and was shocked to find every table in use and a waiting list on all games. I whish I had taken a picture of the board. The wait list on 3-6 limit wat 9 players. The wait list on 1-2 NL was 79!. They were telling people 1.5 hour wait for 1-2 NL! needless to say, I opted for the 3-6 and in 20 minutes I got a seat. I had crazy Manhatten guy on my right (the perfect place for him) and solid Tamaqua guy on my left. Both were a bit chatty. Manhatten was playing any two cards (aka ATC poker) and even raising sometimes with hands like 5-7o. It was fun to play with him because he almost always deliberatly showed me his cards. I don't get upset at limit tables because I except people chase the river with any possible draw and any part of the flop.
What also suprised me was how quickly the time passed. The first time I checked my phone it was 10:30pm, 4.5 hours had passed and I was down about 10 bucks. It took me another hour to loose 50 more and I finished the night down $58. By 11:30 there were maybe 3 empty seats at our table and 2 more people absent. I knew it was late and I got that feeling the table might soon break so I grabbed what few chips I had left and headed for the cashier cage.
Interesting observation at the cashier cage. The person in front of me was being helped by the cashier. I thought it was taking a long time for him to fininsh up, so I peaked around him to see what was going on. On the table was two trays of green and some loose chips of smaller demoninations. Each stack is 20 chips and there are 5 stacks to a tray, so that's 100 chips per tray at $25 per chip. The guy was cashing in more that $5000 in chips! That's bigger than my entire bank roll. I felt like I was wasting my time playing 3-6 LHE and 1-2 NLHE.
What also suprised me was how quickly the time passed. The first time I checked my phone it was 10:30pm, 4.5 hours had passed and I was down about 10 bucks. It took me another hour to loose 50 more and I finished the night down $58. By 11:30 there were maybe 3 empty seats at our table and 2 more people absent. I knew it was late and I got that feeling the table might soon break so I grabbed what few chips I had left and headed for the cashier cage.
Interesting observation at the cashier cage. The person in front of me was being helped by the cashier. I thought it was taking a long time for him to fininsh up, so I peaked around him to see what was going on. On the table was two trays of green and some loose chips of smaller demoninations. Each stack is 20 chips and there are 5 stacks to a tray, so that's 100 chips per tray at $25 per chip. The guy was cashing in more that $5000 in chips! That's bigger than my entire bank roll. I felt like I was wasting my time playing 3-6 LHE and 1-2 NLHE.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
More Vegas vacation...
I went back to Mirage to get in a 1-2 live game one night and got wait listed. I like cash games because I can pick my spots. I can wait all night for a good hand, in good position, against the right player. A lot of times I can even see a flop in my big blind.
Killing time in a poker room is not too hard. With games on ten different TVs and poker magazines killing 30 minutes is easy. But this time I decided to be a rail bird. I wanted to watch one of the higher stakes game to see how much different the play from the 1-2 game. The Mirage doesn't run a wide variety of games. I made the mistake of thinking the 3-6 game was no limit when in fact it is a limit game with 1-3 blinds. Betting levels are $3 preflop and on the flop and $6 for the turn and river. I decided to give it a try.
I lost my shirt. Its a chaser's game and come show down the winning hads are much stronger than in NLHE. I played too many hands and wound up second best most of the time.
Killing time in a poker room is not too hard. With games on ten different TVs and poker magazines killing 30 minutes is easy. But this time I decided to be a rail bird. I wanted to watch one of the higher stakes game to see how much different the play from the 1-2 game. The Mirage doesn't run a wide variety of games. I made the mistake of thinking the 3-6 game was no limit when in fact it is a limit game with 1-3 blinds. Betting levels are $3 preflop and on the flop and $6 for the turn and river. I decided to give it a try.
I lost my shirt. Its a chaser's game and come show down the winning hads are much stronger than in NLHE. I played too many hands and wound up second best most of the time.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thanksgiving in Vegas
My wife and I get to Vegas about twice a year. Because To save vacation time these trips usually coincide with holidays. This usually means fireworks and turkey in Vegas. Turkey was again spent in Vegas this year. We stayed almost a full week at Harrahs. I'm not rich and neither I nor my wife play a lot of slots so room comps are rare. Even though we rent a car we still like to stay on the strip so that i can come and go to the poker rooms as i please and Kim can walk to the shopping malls.
This was our second stay at Harrahs and probably our last. They are one of the cheapest rooms on the strip, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Last trip (May 2011) we upgraded our room for $15/night. It was a decent room, but it was too close to the outside Rumbar which played loud music into the wee hours of the morning. Our sleep was less than sound.
This trip we fell for the same upgrade trick. Be we were smarter and choose a room with a strip view away from the Rumbar. We were even more disappointed. Our strip view was just a room facing the strip. We could see part of the volcano at the Mirage and all of the air conditioners and vents on the roof of Harrahs. Add to that a CRT TV with less resolution than my first PC, an air conditioner that switched on and off every minute, two queen beds because a king wasn't available, and a toilet made for a hobbit that sat 12" off the floor and it made for a less than stellar stay.
Well, enough bitching about the accommodations, lets talk poker. Seven days of poker and almost nothing to show for it. I played almost exclusively at the Mirage for a couple of reasons. First, I think their poker room is comfortable. The chairs are on wheels and have big, thick cushions which makes long sessions much easier. Second, we like to use the comps from the poker room to eat at the over-priced burger bar at the Mirage. Finally, some of the staff there actually remembers my name from time to time. All these things let me relax and feel comfortable so I can focus on my game.
I started the week on Saturday with a little 1-2 NL live. I lost.
I played 4 tournaments during the week, 3 at Mirage and one at the Orleans. The first tournament was a $65 buy-in NLHE at the Mirage. The structure is a a little fast, 20 minute levels with 6k starting chips. Blinds start at 50-100 so you only start with 60 big blinds. I got lucky early on and nearly tripled my stack. A timely A-10 hit a flop with two aces followed by a suited T-9 to turn the nut straight gave me enough chips to coast into the late part of the tournament. When we started the final table I was below average in chips, but not short stacked. Out of about 30 starting players the tournament only paid 5 so there was still a lot of game left to play. I bided my time until we were down to 3 handed. I was up against a man in his early 30s and a slightly older woman. The woman made no secret that she was new to poker and had called all-ins from other players with marginal hands several times. Each time she would come from behind and eliminate another player. By the time we were 3 handed she had amassed a huge chip stack. Several times we offered a chop and she refused. The other player and I know how quickly chips can move around at the final table and we had been there over 4 hours so we were both pushing her to take the money and run, but no! After probably 30 minutes of trading places as chip leader and pushing large stacks of chips around I finally got it all in against the woman with AQo vs her QT. She busted and right after that the other guy and I chopped the remaining money. I had more chips so I got first place and a bit more money.
The problem here is that I got lucky early and lucky late and it made me think I played well. In fact, I think I played far too tight. I only remember bluffing at one pot. I remember folding good hands to big bets. As a result I played three other tournaments and did not cash in any. I thought my style was well suited for low buy-in, small tournaments but it wasn't.
To be continued...
This was our second stay at Harrahs and probably our last. They are one of the cheapest rooms on the strip, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Last trip (May 2011) we upgraded our room for $15/night. It was a decent room, but it was too close to the outside Rumbar which played loud music into the wee hours of the morning. Our sleep was less than sound.
This trip we fell for the same upgrade trick. Be we were smarter and choose a room with a strip view away from the Rumbar. We were even more disappointed. Our strip view was just a room facing the strip. We could see part of the volcano at the Mirage and all of the air conditioners and vents on the roof of Harrahs. Add to that a CRT TV with less resolution than my first PC, an air conditioner that switched on and off every minute, two queen beds because a king wasn't available, and a toilet made for a hobbit that sat 12" off the floor and it made for a less than stellar stay.
Well, enough bitching about the accommodations, lets talk poker. Seven days of poker and almost nothing to show for it. I played almost exclusively at the Mirage for a couple of reasons. First, I think their poker room is comfortable. The chairs are on wheels and have big, thick cushions which makes long sessions much easier. Second, we like to use the comps from the poker room to eat at the over-priced burger bar at the Mirage. Finally, some of the staff there actually remembers my name from time to time. All these things let me relax and feel comfortable so I can focus on my game.
I started the week on Saturday with a little 1-2 NL live. I lost.
I played 4 tournaments during the week, 3 at Mirage and one at the Orleans. The first tournament was a $65 buy-in NLHE at the Mirage. The structure is a a little fast, 20 minute levels with 6k starting chips. Blinds start at 50-100 so you only start with 60 big blinds. I got lucky early on and nearly tripled my stack. A timely A-10 hit a flop with two aces followed by a suited T-9 to turn the nut straight gave me enough chips to coast into the late part of the tournament. When we started the final table I was below average in chips, but not short stacked. Out of about 30 starting players the tournament only paid 5 so there was still a lot of game left to play. I bided my time until we were down to 3 handed. I was up against a man in his early 30s and a slightly older woman. The woman made no secret that she was new to poker and had called all-ins from other players with marginal hands several times. Each time she would come from behind and eliminate another player. By the time we were 3 handed she had amassed a huge chip stack. Several times we offered a chop and she refused. The other player and I know how quickly chips can move around at the final table and we had been there over 4 hours so we were both pushing her to take the money and run, but no! After probably 30 minutes of trading places as chip leader and pushing large stacks of chips around I finally got it all in against the woman with AQo vs her QT. She busted and right after that the other guy and I chopped the remaining money. I had more chips so I got first place and a bit more money.
The problem here is that I got lucky early and lucky late and it made me think I played well. In fact, I think I played far too tight. I only remember bluffing at one pot. I remember folding good hands to big bets. As a result I played three other tournaments and did not cash in any. I thought my style was well suited for low buy-in, small tournaments but it wasn't.
To be continued...
In the beginning...
Well, I guess I have to start somewhere. We've been going to vegas twice a year for several years. I got the idea from my sister-in-law, Diane. I was never a slot player like Diane, I prefered poker.
On our first trip there I got into a $40(?) 2-4 limit tournament at the Orleans. I think there were about 60 players. I didn't know it at the time, but it was also a bounty tournament. I didn't even know what that meant at the time and when a player busted and someone at the table would yell "BOUNTY on 6!" I had no idea what was going on.
Being as it was my first real tournament I was quite nervious and I guess I played really tight. Eventually I busted my first player and again someone shouted "BOUNTY!". Shortly after that the tournament director tossed me a $5 poker chip. I wound up getting 4 or 5 more before the tournament ended. We finally got down to 3 playes and one of the other remaing players suggested we chop the prize money. After they explained what it meant to chop the TD said we would still have to draw cards to determine an official winner. I drew a jack and that was enough to win the tournament. From then on I was hooked on poker.
After the TD payed us our prize money he turned to me and said they were all out of jackets and he would have to mail one to me. He took my name and address and I felt sure he would lose it five minutes after I walked out of the poker room. To my surprize a few weeks later I did receive my jacket in the mail.
So that's how my poker career began. A chance finish at an off-strip casino, a lucky draw. No strategy, no bluffs, no tricks. I sure wasn't good, but I guess I was lucky.
On our first trip there I got into a $40(?) 2-4 limit tournament at the Orleans. I think there were about 60 players. I didn't know it at the time, but it was also a bounty tournament. I didn't even know what that meant at the time and when a player busted and someone at the table would yell "BOUNTY on 6!" I had no idea what was going on.
Being as it was my first real tournament I was quite nervious and I guess I played really tight. Eventually I busted my first player and again someone shouted "BOUNTY!". Shortly after that the tournament director tossed me a $5 poker chip. I wound up getting 4 or 5 more before the tournament ended. We finally got down to 3 playes and one of the other remaing players suggested we chop the prize money. After they explained what it meant to chop the TD said we would still have to draw cards to determine an official winner. I drew a jack and that was enough to win the tournament. From then on I was hooked on poker.
After the TD payed us our prize money he turned to me and said they were all out of jackets and he would have to mail one to me. He took my name and address and I felt sure he would lose it five minutes after I walked out of the poker room. To my surprize a few weeks later I did receive my jacket in the mail.
So that's how my poker career began. A chance finish at an off-strip casino, a lucky draw. No strategy, no bluffs, no tricks. I sure wasn't good, but I guess I was lucky.
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