Golden Gates

   This was my first trip to Golden Gates. I had seen it on the HPT but never played there. The place is small. I mean my apartment is bigger than the slots area. Just kidding, but not by much. One craps table and a maybe 4 blackjack tables. A few rows of slots finish off the gambling area. The poker room is about the same size.  Eighteen poker tables with fixed legged chairs. At least the cash tables have shufflers. The tourny tables don't. They're all kinda packed together. But its quiet. If there is no table talk you can hear the sounds of Kansas or Styx playng in the background.

   I went to GG because their tournament provides a better structure than the other casinos in Black Hawk. Starting stack is 13k in chips, 20 minute blinds starting at 25-50. I was early for the 3pm tourney and the poker room was hopping. There was maybe 10 tables going including the 12pm tourney, Lady Luck might have 4 including the tourney. Isle would have none. So this was the place for poker in Black Hawk besides Ameristar which typically had a 1.5 hour wait to be seated. I put may name on the list for 2-100 along with the 9 players already on the list. Lucky for me they started a new table just a few minutes later. I sat down with $100 and reviewed my rules for case games.

   1. Do not get involved in a big hand for the first 30 minutes

   2. Bet, don't call

   3. Curiosity killed the cat

 
   About the third hand in (maybe less) I was dealt pocket duces. It was raised to 7 preflop but I was in late position so I called along with one other player before me. It was a low flop and included a duce. I hit trips on the and lead out for $10. The pre-flop raiser was in early position and check-raised me to $30. The other caller folded and I shoved with my last $83. The raiser still thought her KK was good and insta-called. I doubled up in the third hand.
I later asked myself if she was a bad player. I reviewed the had like this:
    1. Pre flop raiser : I have a good hand.
    2. Two pre-flop callers : We want to see a flop.
    3. I lead out for $10 after the flop : I hit part of that.
    4. Pre-flop raiser pops it to $30 : I still think I have the best hand.
    5. I re-raise all-in for $90 ($70 for raiser to call) : I hit the flop hard... I have the best hand.

   Before the call there is now 3x7 + 10 + 30 + 83 =$144 in the pot.  The caller was getting about 1.7:1 on a call. All she could beat was top pair, she was losing to 2 pair or better. Two outs twice is about 10% to the river. She obviously thought her kings were good, because she wasn't getting 9:1 on a call. I know it's tough to lay down an overpair to the flop, especially a big pair but when you ask a question you should think about the answer you get.

   I made a few more good hands and cashed out $144 ahead. I used $90 of it to buy into the 3pm tourney and busted 2.5 hours later. The blinds were 400-800 and my stack was just above starting, about 15k. I was well behind the average. I was quickly approaching that 10 BB metric and knew I had to make something happen. I was dealt 33 and limped in from late position. I was happy to see a flop for cheap. The flop came J93 with 2 clubs and the lady in early position lead out for 2k. I called her luck box because she won every coin flip she was in since the start of the tourney. She wasn't passive, but she made a lot of loose calls and won them all and built a huge chip stack in the process. The two clubs on board made me think about shoving, but I thought a good raise should be effective on pushing out any flush draw. I popped it to 9k and luck box just called. The turn was a non-club blank and luck box lead out for more than I had. I called and she flipped over 8T suited (clubs, of course) for both a flush and open-ended straight draws. Fifteen outs and she hit a Q on the river to make her straight. I concluded even if I shoved all-in on the flop she would have called anyway, so I was losing no matter what. My only other option would have been to flat call the flop, turn and river and I think I would have called all the way because the flush never came ( I never saw the straight comming).

  Oh well, I was still up for the day and felt pretty good about my play. I think I'll play the 3pm tourney again next week. I hestitate because I was told it typically runs to 7pm or later. That's a long time to play and come up empty handed. I guess I need to get used to long tourneys if I want to play the Main Event some day. My goal is to cash in 1 out of 4 tourneys I play. This year so far I am 1 out of 3. I'll keep you posted....

Black Hawk Redux

I returned to Black Hawk again this past Saturday for some more punishment. I arrived at Lady Luck about 1.5 hours befor the 2pm tournament and got seated at the 2-10 live game (1-2 blinds with a $10 limit on ever street). With the exception of one or two small pot wins I was bleeding chips the whole time. I am a tight player (even at a limit table) and I guess I got no action because of it. I used my image to bluff one hand against a loose player (LP) heads up. I had AKs in middle position and made my standard $7 raise, everyone folded except LP and we saw a flop of 10 high. I made a small c-bet and got called. I missed the turn and the river, but I fired the max - $10 on both streets and while I was counting out the chips for the river bet the dealer started shoving the pot my way. I guess my mannerism mde LP think I had a big pocket pair and he folded before I could get my chippies into the pot.
Despite bluffing that one hand I was still bleeding chips as the 2 o'clock hour approached. I had announced to the players near me my intention to switch to the tournament at 2 but I wanted to get in as many hands as I could before the game started. It was almost 2pm and I stll han't paid for my tourny entry yet when I picked up J7 suited (diamonds) from late position. Along with 2 others I limped as did both the blinds. I don't normally play J7, but this would probably be my last hand before the tourney, and they were suited, and I had seen enough "any-two-suited" hands winning big pots so I jumped in. The flop came J33 and the BB bet $10. I considered he migh have a 3, but I was going to play this last hand no matter what. I called. The turn came a 7 and the BB led out again for another $10. I was still losing to a 3, but like a donk I called anyway. The river was a J, I filled up. The BB checks to me and I lead out for $10. He raises to $20, I pop it to $30 and he calls. He did have a 3, I sucked out and won the pot. The part I felt bad about is I left the table right after that hand. I felt like I hit-and-run. But I was going to the tourney and the players around me knew it.

I was bubble boy in the tourney. I should never have made it that far. Final table with seven players left, 4 with big stacks and 3 short when this hand came up. Blinds are 400-800 and UTG min raises. The table was tight up to that point. Small stacks waiting for a hand to shove with and big stacks waiting for the small one to bust. UTG+1 raises to 4000, the next big stack shoves AI, and the 4th big stack also shoves. All 3 small stacks fold. UTG and +1 call AI. The young lady to my left comments that if the big stack wins we will be at 4 players and the tourny pays 3 places. It was one of those hands you don't see too often but you know it when it happens. UTG min raised with AA trying to get some value, hoping one player might shove and he'd (UTG) be in good shape to win a bunch of chips and take a player out. UTG+1 had QQ, made a big raise to try and isolate the initial raiser. The other two big stacks had KK and 99, there was enough money in the pot to justify an AI call (I don't know if that's true for the 99 hand). Sure enough AA held up and he took out the other 3 big stacks all in one hand. Now its one player with 95% of the chips in play and the other 3 with less than 10 BB each. I was the bubble boy when I shoved AI with about 5k against a smaller stack in the BB and the chip leader in the SB. The chip leader folded and the BB called AI with 57diamonds against my AJ off suit. The BB hit a 7 and took most of my chips. I was AI and lost 2 hands later.
I thought I may have played my AJ wrong. I shoved AI hoping to pick up the blinds, but instead I put the shorter stack BB to a decision. I think she figured she couldn't give up her BB and needed to gamble to make the money so she called AI pre-flop. Had I though about it I might have just limped and then shoved on the flop. My thinking here is that it might be easier for the BB to fold after the flop if she didn't hit it hard. If she did hit hard then the result is the same as if I shove pre-flop (she calls, hits and I lose). The risk in limping of course is letting in the other players (button and SB) and seeing a flop against more than one opponent. I guess I played it right and just got unlucky...

A New Year

Well, it was the first game of the new year. I've been back in Colorado two weeks and hadn't done anything but work, clean and grocery shop. I decided I needed a break so on Saturday morning I made the 90 minute trip up to Black Hawk. I parked at the Isle beacuse that's the only casino I have a players card for. I got there about 1pm and the place was buzzing. I'd guess 75% of the slot machines had someone seated at them and maybe haf of the table games were full. I made the trek through the casino and up the escalator to the poker room. Checked in at the desk and looked into the room and found... nothing. All the tables were empty. Not a sole in the room. I don't know my way around Black Hawk yet so I made my way back the way I came In hopes of finding another casion that actually had a game going. I wound up at the Lady Luck, found the poker room and got the last seat (2 tables) at 2-10 limit.

I was looking for a 2-100 game (effectively NL) and I didn't realize this was played more like a limit game than a NL game. In a lot of cases you can't bet players off a draw with just a $10 bet into a $30+ pot. On the other hand, I found myself getting the right pot odds to make a lot of $10 calls to make my draws. Of course they never came.

The most interesting hand of the night was my last hand. I had planned on playing 3-4 hours and heading home. At this point I was playing 10+ hours and kicking myself for not quitting while I was ahead. I guess I was down to about $60 of my original $200 and picked up AJo UTG. I was playing pretty tight so I tought if I raised I'd get no action so I limped. a couple of players behind limped then the button popped it to $7. I called and I think one player behind called. The flop came 66A and I led out for $10, one fold and the button called. I figured the button for a weak A or a pocket pair. The turn was a J. Sweet. Now I'm thinking I got the best hand so I lead out again for $10 but this time the button raises me $10 more. I now think this is where I should have put him on a 6 or something stronger than my top two, but I was desperate to win a pot, so I called. I guess I was hoping he had something like AK or AQ. The river of dreams.... another Ace. Now I've got the nuts, or thought I did. I played it sneaky, check to the button, he bet, I raised all-in for my last $10. Button called.

Starting Monday (two days after this game) the Lady Luck poker room begins its bad beat promotion. I think it is any hand AAA88 or better that loses at show down gets something like $1000. The player on the button turned over 66 for flopped quads. I grabbed my coat and steamed home.

I knew I was behind most of the hand, yet I kept putting money in the pot in hope that I would suck out on the turn or river. What I didn't know was that I drawing nearly dead on the flop. I'm just not good enough to lay down big hands.