Three Tickets

So I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Capitol started a promotion with player's cards that give you $1 for every hour you play. It can be used towards food or even just cashed out (supposedly, I haven't tried yet nor has anyone else I've talked to). Oh, and there's also a drawing in February for a Ford Mustang, a handful of cash prizes, and a few different cruises. Not bad really, except for the fact that the way to get a ticket is to make a hand in the ring games of a fullhouse or better.

Any fullhouse? Seems easy enough right? Well I had played for something like 12 hours and had gotten one ticket. One. Quad sevens from a couple sessions ago and that was all (both cards have to play from your hand, so that might make it a little tougher). I even brought this up at lunch (Pho FTW) with Tony and Tommy, and they remarked "yeah but somehow you win giant pots with one pair." I guess it all evens out.

After lunch the three of us ventured over to Cap. There was an open seat at 6/12 so I jumped in. Unfortunately the table didn't look too appealing, as it had a few tighter players including one prop. Mehhhhh, let's see how bad the other players were. My first hand dealt in I get black tens in a killpot. I raised over a limper and we were heads up to a flop Q87 all clubs. Uh oh? The limper checked his cards again, then checked. I bet, he called. Club draw?

The turn brought out a red six, giving me a gutshot straight draw to go with my flush draw and pair of tens. Again the limper checked to me, I bet, and he called. The river was a red ten. This time the limper bet into me. Ughhh, a nine? Ace of clubs, nine whatever? I've never played with the man before and I'm not laying down a set heads up here so I called and he flipped over ace ten, no clubs. Okay...thanks?

A few orbits later I decided to cash out because the game was just awful. A few props and solid regs meant it was time for splitsville, I have no idea how the non-prop players could actually just sit there and chop the blinds/play heads up pots the entire time. The game is normally very good, but that would be two sessions in a row I felt that 6/12's game was not worth playing.

So I took about $140 in profit and moved on over to 4/8 and proceeded to get killed for awhile. This one particular guy in a light blue V-neck sweater had my number for a good while, but I ended up getting him back later on in the evening. Remember the tickets I told you about? Well my fist one of the night came when I flopped a set of twos against V-necks' KT on a T52 all heart board (he had the king of hearts in his hand). I led the flop and somehow V-neck didn't raise until the turn brought out another ten, giving me a fullhouse. I led the turn, he raised, I three bet and he only called me down. Ship the pot and one ticket.

Ticket two came when I had 44 in the BB against a couple of limpers and a small blind. The flop came out KK3, I led the flop and was called by one loose player in position. The turn brought out another king so again I bet, but this time he folded. I showed my fullhouse and collected yet another ticket.

A couple hands later I had 97 suited in LP and limped behind a few limpers, the flop came out A97 rainbow. Hoorah? V-neck led into the field from UTG (seat eight), called in one spot, I raised from the four seat, all folded except V-neck and the one caller in between us.

The turn was a six, and both players check/called my bet. The river brought out a nine. Boom. Checked to me, I bet, and then seat eight angrily started saying "ugh my hand is killed." Hmmm, did I suck out against A7? But he didn't re-raise me on the flop...Turned out he had aces up on the turn when the six came, and I needed to hit my nine or seven on the river. Weeee three tickets in a matter of a few orbits, when it took me FOR-EV-ER to get one. Thanks for reading, and hopefully at least a couple people will get that reference.

Game Selection

Pretty simply, game selection is a process wherein players choose the right poker games that will best suit their skills and styles of play to win as much money as possible. But we'll get to that later...

Yesterday I woke up around 3am, ahhh the effects of working graveyard too many days in a row. After screwing around on the internet for too long, watching Inception for the first time since theatres, getting a haircut, and then grabbing a nap (well, super power nap), I awoke at 10pm and wondered where the hell the day went.

Yikes, I wanted to play cards today! Oh well, off to Capitol. I arrived at about 11pm and was third up on the 4/8 list and like 8th on the 6/12. Wow, and I thought the place might be dead! I got my 4/8 seat relatively quickly, and was ready to camp out for awhile as it didn't seem like 6/12's list was moving at all.

My first impression of the 4/8 table was that it was amazing. Just amazing. I counted a couple maniacs, one tightish player, and the rest were LPPs. Six way flops were definitely the norm for this table, even after I would raise from early position.

I raised a few times pre-flop with five callers and couldn't hit a good flop. 77 met a flop of with broadway cards and a donk bet into me, QQ had a flop of AKx with another donk bet into me, and a black AK met a flop of 987 two diamonds multiway. I was check/folding the flops sure, but I was getting a ton of information at showdown for these hands. Hands showing down that had cold called my raises pre-flop were holdings such as A2os, K4os, T3 suited, etc. I mean there was definitely money to be made at this table, the key was going to be hitting a flop and then holding.

The first pot I won came somewhere around my third orbit when I looked down at JT of spades in the BB in a killpot. Limped in four spots, the small blind completed, and I completed. We saw a flop of J43 with one spade. I bet, the button called and then the small blind called. I had been watching these players play, and in reality they could literally have anything. A jack with a higher kicker was definitely possible, but it wasn't probable.

The turn paired the three and put a rainbow out there, no flush draws present. Someone could definitely be holding a three, but the small blind checked and I fired $16 into the pot of about $68 (72 minus the $4 rake) and was called again in two spots.

The river paired the four, making the board J4343. Small blind checked again, and hey, whaddya know, I fired $16 more into the pot. The button folded, and small blind looked me up with J6os. My ten kicker played and I scooped in a sizeable pot. Very next hand I was dealt 87 of clubs in the small blind. Limped in four spots or so, I completed, and the flop came out AQT all clubs. I bet and was called by a few players. The turn was a non club jack, I bet and only got one caller this time. The river was a red seven, I bet and was called by a man who showed the king of clubs and nothing else. My flush was good. Just like that, I flipped around from down a couple stacks to a comfortable profit.

Things went dead again for awhile, so I just hung back and watched the table. Eventually my name was called for 6/12, but I had been scoping out the game in between the 4/8 hands. I noticed a couple regs who were somewhat tight and a prop named Sing who plays pretty well. There were definitely a few players over there that I could exploit, but my 4/8 table was definitely way too awesome to leave. Everyone had healthy chipstacks, everyone was gambling, leaving the table definitely would have been a mistake. Sure, $2 chips are sexy, but I felt like there was more money to be made at 4/8. Had the 6/12 game been a 9/18 game...well then maybe we'd have a coinflip.

After asking to be rolled (put to the back of the list) for 6/12, I was dealt AK UTG+1. UTG called, I raised, called by seat one, seat two three bet, folded around to the blinds who both called, UTG called, I capped, everyone else called. Six ways to a flop of A23 with two clubs. I had the king of clubs in my hand and the ace on the board was also a club. Checked to me and I bet, called by seat one, seat two raised, called by a couple of players, I three bet, called by seat one, called by seat two, called by the other players.

Wow, such sick action, and to be honest I'm not entirely sure how good my hand is. I mean, a lot of 4/8 players are passive calling stations, so A2 or A3 definitely isn't out of the question. The turn was actually a bad card, as it brought out a ten of spades. Checked to me, I bet, and luckily only got three callers...no raising.

The river was a seven, making the board A23T7. Well, I'm sure if someone had 54 I would have known by now, same for most players with a set. My only real worry at the time was maybe someone had two pair of some sort. Checked to me, I still bet, and only got called by seat two. I showed AK and took down a huge pot with just one pair. Weeeee, who says one pair is no good at 4/8.

Won a couple other decent sized pots later on, but none with as much as action as that last hand. Most were just me betting and getting called down, somewhat typical of a 4/8 game. Bet, call, bet, call. Doesn't bother me one bit. After double mushroom beef with rice and a couple diet cokes, I cashed out $280 more than I came with. Thanks for reading, have a happy new year!

The Micros - Holiday Special

A Quickie before Xmas

First off, Happy Holidays everyone. Religious views and all that aside, I enjoy this time of year for the food and family stuff. My brother picked up an awesome "Bachelor tree" for us the other day and I just had to post it somewhere.



It kinda looks like that. The camera on my phone is terrible so I won't bother posting the actual pic. Anyway, I rolled into Capitol after work Thursday just in time to watch Tony rake in a nice pot over at 4/8. I was third up on both lists and was ready to grind some holiday pokers. The room was pretty busy, I guess people had already gotten their shopping done.

I sat at 4/8 for a couple orbits, won $9, then made my way over to 6/12 with a rack and a half of chips and a smile. CL, Wayne, Wilson, and a couple other regs were already there, and the action seemed loose. My second hand in I woke up with Queens in LP and raised a couple limpers. We saw the flop five handed and it was something like 633. I bet and got a couple callers, wondering if someone was slowplaying a hand. The turn was a five, so an ugly straight got there, but not much else. I bet, another couple of callers. The river was a ten, a perfect card really. I bet and only Claudia called me. My hand was good and we were off.

After that hand seat four ended up opening up, and Wayne asked me if I'd like to move to his seat (seat three) and he'd slide over for me. Wayne and I have been playing rather consistently together for the last month or so, and he knows I like the corner seats (I was stuck in seat six at that moment) so that was nice of him. I also know that he likes being on the left of me when he can, so part of it was him being nice and the other part I'm sure was that he'd like position. I don't mind him having position, as I know he won't three bet me wide and he's actually a nice guy to sit next to.

So I slid over, played through my blinds, then raised over CL's limp (she limps a wide range, and that's an understatement) with pocket sevens, Wilson defended his SB, BB called, and we saw a flop four ways of 732 with two diamonds. Is it going to be one of those nights? Checked to me and I bet, Wilson raised, called in both places, I three bet, Wilson called along with everyone else. The turn was a five, kinda scary since the wheel draw got there as did 64, but both of those would be gutshot straight draws on the flop, and I don't see Wilson Check raising that nor do I see the limpers cold calling two bets back to them with those hands unless they had diamonds mixed in.

I bet the turn, and everyone called. The river paired the seven, giving me quads. Hah, I had been saying in my head to pair the board, but I didn't expect to pair the seven. I bet and only Wilson called. Later on I wondered what Wilson had in this hand and I think it's a midpair like 99-66 (not sevens obviously). I really like his line in the hand for what it's worth if he did indeed have one of those holdings, unfortunately for him I woke up with a hand.

A few hands later I raised Queens from the BB against an LPP limper in seat nine, CL in seat one, and the SB. The flop came out AK5 though with two hearts. Ugh. I bet out anyway because the two LPPs behind me definitely did not have just aces or kings in their range, but unfortunately both of them called. The turn was ten, and at this point I was fairly content with shutting down for the hand. I had picked up a gutshot straight draw, but I was fairly confident seat nine liked her hand on the flop call. Seat one didn't have to have me beat, but I hadn't seen seat nine do anything super crazy postflop. Both players checked through the turn however, and we saw a six on the river.

The hearts missed, and both players checked the turn...hmm, might I be good? I checked, seat nine bet, and then CL folded in seat one. Didn't bet the turn, but now is betting the river? Probably not an ace, but could still be Kx. Maybe a goofy two pair? I called and she turned over J2 of hearts for the missed flush draw. Hmmm, maybe I should have kept barrelling, I could have gotten bet off my hand on the turn.

I can't remember many other hands that vividly, so I'll stop there. Tony ended up coming over from his 4/8 game, replacing the LPP in seat nine. A couple other LPPs went bust and eventually we had a table full of decent players i.e. no bueno. I was up about $300 for the day and was content with breaking the game, even if it was only 7:30pm. Oh well, the games will be there later. I went home, played some Rockband 3 with the bro, ate dinner and crashed out early.

Happy Holidays everyone, enjoy your families and friends.

A Couple Messy Sessions (Part II: Saturday)

Told you not to hold your breath, man I'm updating this almost a week late. Sorry about that, but like I mentioned, shit was going to be hectic this week. So 6/12 with Tony, Wayne, and Davin went alright. Early on in the session I had a rough patch, mostly against a spewy guy in seat nine who I just couldn't hold against. I was in the game for $700 (three and a half racks) by the time all was said and done.

A few fun hands occurred when I got back from a quick bite to eat with Tommy and sat down on Davin's left. I think this was the first I had seen of Davin, so I posted my missed blinds in the cutoff and Davin raised directly to my right. I looked down on a couple red Queens and three bet. Folded around to seat nine who called and Davin who also called.

The flop came out ace high unfortunately, something like AT3. Seat nine donked the flop, Davin called, and I raised. Both called and we saw a deuce turn. Checked to me, and I opted to check it back. The river was a four and seat nine looked like he was going to bet out, then decided to check. Davin said something to the extent of "man don't call me, I don't want to turn my cards up" and bet $12 into the pot. I had planned on calling a river bet from seat nine, but Davin's hand sounded like a set or a straight. I folded and seat nine looked up Davin who had pocket fives for the rivered straight. Seat nine flashed an ace for what it's worth.

The very next hand I picked up Kings and three bet Davin again. "Will you be doing this the entire time?" he asked me. I jokingly snapped back "hey it hasn't worked yet, don't be mad, you won a pot last time." This time there was maybe four or five other people in the hand, and we saw a flop five or six ways for three bets a piece. The flop was something like Jack high with a couple clubs. Checked to me in the hijack, I bet, I got like three or four callers, and Davin said something like "wow I wish I had AT of clubs here" then folded.

The turn was a blank, I bet and was called by a couple more people. The river was an ace...not the prettiest card in the deck, but it wasn't a club and the action ended up getting checked to me. I was in position and figured if someone made aces up they would have bet into me, and while there's a chance the nutflush draw just made top pair, I had to value bet my hand. I opted to bet and only seat nine called me. I showed kings and he mucked his hand, likely a jack that couldn't make two pair.

Sometime a bit later I won another big pot, this time with AJ of hearts against QQ. I raised UTG, a LPP player three bet me, Davin defended his BB and I called. The flop was KQx, I check called a flop bet three ways, then spiked broadway on the turn. Davin checked, I checked, and the lady bet out. Davin tank/folded (I really wanted a call obviously), then I raised. The lady must have known for a fact I had a straight and not two pair, because she only called with her middle set The river blanked out and I had a decent comeback after being close to down $400 for the session at one point. In the end I think I lost a little over $100, not bad considering things had started off very bleak.

Stay tuned, I had a quick session tonight (Thursday) with Tony playing 6/12, and I even had a brief flirtation with the high hand board. First I have to thank him for a couple awesome Xmas presents, as he was my Secret Santa this year (awwww <3 bff). He got me the newest add-on to Red Dead Redemption for when I feel like mindlessly killing Zombies and a 12-pack of my favorite beer. Thanks pal! Oh, I'll also include the gift I gave, a Jets throwback Darrelle Revis jersey for my friend Kenny. I know it's a mirror at work, but maybe I should have shipped some windex along with the jersey haha.

A Couple Messy Sessions (Part I: Thursday)

I've been busy busy busy the last few days or so, and it doesn't seem to show any signs of slowing down until this Thursday. Last Thursday I headed over to Capitol for a session after work. Things were rocky at 4/8 yet again for me, as I had a great table with a lot of psychos, but I simply couldn't win a hand.

Things would change up a bit though as my fourth hand at 6/12 I picked up aces in the big blind against UTG's Queens. We capped pre-flop with six players seeing the flop (aye caramba!) The flop came out ten high, something like T73 rainbow. I kinda figured UTG had a hand, though he did seem like an action player. I bet into him and he raised, folded all the way around to an attractive asian girl (NC, I've mentioned her before in the blog) who called two bets cold, I 3-bet, UTG finally just called and NC called.

The turn was a four, somewhat scary if NC has something like 65, but I didn't think she'd call two bets cold with a gutshot on the flop so I wasn't too worried. She checked, I bet, both called. The river was a nine, making the board T7349. Again, not all that pretty, but I figured UTG had something like a pair Kings or Queens and I really didn't want to see a face card on the river. NC checked, I bet, UTG said something to the extent of "oh you have a big pair, let's see how big" and raised me. Wtf? NC folded and it came back around to me.

I paused a little bit and looked at the board. I'm not throwing my hand away in this spot probably ever, but why the river raise on that card? "You can't have jack eight right? That doesn't make sense" I said to him. "Pocket kings huh? You have pocket kings?" UTG asked me as I was debating. Is this guy not afraid of kings? Does he have the other two aces? A set of nines? "Man, I was kind of hoping that's what you had" I blurted out, in response to his question about whether or not I had kings.

"Oh yeah?" he asked in an almost hushed tone. I made the call, pretty much expecting to see a set of nines or tens when he flipped over pocket queens. Phew, I tabled my aces and he told me "nice hand, I was hoping you had jacks." Poor kid, sucks to get queens or kings when somebody else has aces, but you don't have to scare the shit out of me with that river raise. I appreciated the extra $12 I guess haha.

After that hand I won a few more nice pots and found myself close to +$300 for the session...unfortunately I cooled off considerably and didn't win another hand for over two hours. I watched my chipstack dwindle from about three racks down to under one; I even had to reload another rack. I came back a little bit after that, but wow what a terrible second half of a session. I spent the majority of my time folding trash hands then the rest taking beats. I'm pretty stoic when I take beats, if anything I think I look dazed or in a trance, not once did I react poorly but NC even commented on how unlucky I was getting and seemed to legitimately feel sorry for me. Too bad she's taken, I would have loved a sympathy hug.

To be honest, at the end of the day I felt like I should have been down three racks based on how poorly I ran, so that cheered me up some. It really sucks swinging that far down though after crushing the table initially. I'll be back to blog about my Saturday session spent with my pal Tony/fender403 where we played 6/12 along with WI, Suzanne, and Davin Anderson. I've mentioned him before in some old 9/18 and 15/30 entries, so we'll talk about a couple fun hands against him. No promises on how soon, I have to work both jobs the next couple of days/nights so it's going to be hectic.

Case of the Mondays (Part II: 6/12 Rollercoaster)

I was trying to think of another pic or video related to Mondays, and I remembered my favorite Orgy song, a cover of New Order's "Blue Monday."

Anyway, like I mentioned last time, 6/12 was a roller coaster ride of awesome, and some not-so-awesome. My table had a couple familiar faces, one being an older woman I'll call PM in seat two, a younger guy in seat five who wore sunglasses (I'll call him "Shades") and then a middle aged man wearing eyeglasses in seat eight who was sometimes vocally hostile to dealers and other players. Apparently he was stuck pretty bad, and in the end I'd estimate I saw him dump at least four racks into the game. The rest of the players were pretty LPPish, with one or two LAGs thrown in. Good table, with just one catch...you gotta hold!

So the first big pot I was in I raised AQos UTG and saw a six way flop of Q63 with two diamonds. I had lost a couple smaller pots early on and didn't show my cards, so perhaps people thought my raises didn't mean much. The SB in seat nine donk bet into me, PM called, I raised, called in two spots behind me, SB called and PM called. The turn was a ten of spades, a bit scary because QT is a fairly common pre-flop call, but I bet and wasn't raised by anyone, only called in three spots. Haha, only three spots. When the river was being dealt, all I could think about was...



The river was a non-diamond three, pairing the board. Q63T3, no flushes, no straights. Checked to me and I value bet my AQ and was looked up by only Mr. Hostility in seat eight, who showed KQ. Poor guy, one notch too low. That was a sick pot, and got me close to even for the day.

About an orbit later I was dealt AQ again, this time though I was in Middle position. Folded to me and I opened for $12, Shades called me from the cutoff, a younger white kid in seat seven called me from the SB, the BB defended and we saw a flop of QJ4 with two hearts. I bet, called by shades and seat seven, the BB folded.

The turn was a two of hearts, putting three hearts on the board. Checked to me, I bet, Shades raised, seat seven tanked a little/checked his cards again and then called, and then the action was back to me. I was pretty sure I could beat seat seven's hand, but what about Shades? He had been getting a touch out of line, and something told me he didn't have a flush. I thought he might have been getting out of line with a hand like Jx with a heart draw, so I decided to make the call. If he had something like a weak two pair I still had some outs, and like I mentioned I still thought I was ahead.

The river was a non-heart three. SB checked, I checked, and then Shades checked behind. Hmmm, was I good? Seat seven shook his head and showed a missed K-high flush draw. I can beat that...I showed my AQ. Then Shades showed 42os for a turned two pair, and took down the pot. I couldn't help but smirk a little bit, but I kept my cool and didn't say anything negative. If the dude wants to call my pre-flop raises with four high, he is more than welcome.

After that hand I spiraled down a little bit, losing with pocket tens a few different times, Kings lost again, but then came back a little with Queens, flopping a set in a four way pot and then turning the boat. Then I picked up aces against the laggy seat six's queens which brought me back even more. The last hand I'll talk about brought me back closer to even for the day and was the last big pot I was in before my table broke.

It was a killpot and limped in a couple spots, and I looked down at a red KQos. I raised over the limpers, which included a LPPish asian guy in seat one and PM in seat two. Six people saw the flop of Q73 rainbow. Remember, this was a killpot so and I raised so 6 people times 12 chips times $2/chip = roughly $144 in the pot preflop. I flopped TPGK, now it's time to hold.

The action was pretty tame, as it was checked to me, I bet and got a few callers. The turn paired the seven and I'll admit I was tad bit scared of someone floating the flop with midpair. I mean, with $144 in the pot on the flop, I'm probably peeling for one more bet. The pot's about $192 after the flop, and on the turn I bet and only got called by seat 1 and by PM, so now it's about $264. The river was a deuce, checked to me, again I value bet my TPGK with a pair on the board, and this time only PM called while saying "good hand." Those are some of the sweetest words you can hear, because you know it's a crying call on the end. A decent one if I just barreled with AK in this spot, but unfortunately for her I had the queen and she only had "a pocket pair." Sick sick pot, and it made it so I was about a $60 winner at 6/12, so only a $40 loser for the day.

The table ended up breaking shortly after so I sat and watched the ending to the Texans/Ravens game (poor Texans' fans, Schaub threw a pick six to end the game), then made my way home.

Case of the Mondays (Part I: 4/8 Hell)

After a great night's sleep and a morning of forum games, I decided to catch the Monday night NFL games while playing some cards at Capitol. Ahhh it feels good to be off for a full day, I don't get too many of these.

So I arrived around 330pm or so and was first up on the 6/12 list, so I decided to jump into an open 4/8 seat. My table was AMAZING. I mean I saw some dude call two cold on the flop with J3 of diamonds on a black A87 board only to hit runner runner gutshot. How does that happen? I had at least three people at the table playing this horribly, and everyone else wasn't much better.

You know the trick to winning at these types of tables though, right? Right. Your cards have to actually hit and hold while dodging landmine after landmine. It's a task easier said than done.

The first big hand I played at this table I raised a live straddle ($8) on my direct right to $12 from the six seat with AQ of hearts. The girl had been playing crazy and was definitely a maniac. Seat one flatted my raise (he was the guy that showed down J3 of diamonds earlier), and it folded around to the small blind who called. The girl in seat five whose straddle I raised made it $16 to go. I capped and we saw a flop four handed with $80 already in the middle. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

The flop came out 355 with one heart. Not a great flop for my hand, but it wasn't terrible either. SB and the straddler checked, I bet, seat one called, small blind folded, and the girl in the straddle called. No surprises here...I could be ahead, I could be behind, these two could have anything. I decided I was betting until something told me to stop.

The turn was actually a great card: the seven of hearts. Now I had a couple overs as well as the nut heart draw. The girl checked, I bet, and again both called. The river was a non-heart four, making the board 35574 i.e. freaking ugly. I was now definitely worried that one of these two could have a six, and I definitely did not want to bet/fold this hand at this point with all the money in the pot. I guess a good play would be bet/fold here, but I opted to check behind the straddler and watch seat one bet $8 into the pot of about $128. The girl folded and flashed K8 of hearts (ugh put a heart out one time), leaving me alone to call $8 with the possibility of winning $136 if the seat one was bluffing or betting a weaker ace-high. I'm not good enough to fold getting 17 to 1 against a guy who I already described as being awful, so I called and he showed A6 for a rivered straight. Of course A6 had to get there, oh well, I got my money in really well in this hand, and I didn't even make a pair.

After that hand I lost with K9 of spades, missing a combo flush/straight draw from the BB and that caused me to buy another rack of chips. Yikes. The only big pot I ended up winning at this table was with a pair of jacks that managed to hold, I think I might have picked up a smaller pot somewhere else along the line, but maybe not. After this hour of hell and a couple of 4/8 players leaving and endangering the table of a possible break, I decided to take my 6/12 seat. I had asked to be rolled once already because of how good this 4/8 table was, but alas, it was not to be. Maybe next time I can capitalize on them. I ended up cashing out a little over $200 in orange chips, unfortunately I paid for 300 of them.

Look for part two sometime tomorrow, I'll break down a wild ride at 6/12 that saw me swing down, then up, then down, and then...well, you get the idea.

Friday Night with Fender (Part II: 6/12 Action)

So after a fun 4/8 session with Tony I made my way back to the Pai Gow room where they had opened a 6/12 game. I saw a couple familiar faces in the game, including a cute asian girl (KV), John (guy from my earlier 4/8 table) and another reg I'll call CS.

The action was pretty bad early on, maybe the first half hour or so and I debated moving to a 4/8 game with more action. As the table filled up though, our buddy John from earlier started opening up some. I got involved in some hands against him and the mamy callers his raises got. You see, if John was opening with a ton of raises he'd be getting three bet mercilessly in online games, but in low stakes live games? Call, call, call. I was guilty of it early on at 4/8 too, so I can't talk too much, but I was well aware of it during my time with him at 6/12.

I did well early on, flopping top pair and holding a couple times as well as flopping a straight and getting some action, but my big pairs (KK and QQ) both got cracked in some big pots, then I went card dead for awhile. John meanwhile went on a pretty good heater, hitting a lot with his junk and eventually cashed out a rack winner. He said he was going to pick up a Chicago fire pizza and head home to the wife, whom he told he'd be home by 5:30 (it was 5:45 when he said this). The dude is funny and I like him a lot, I wish he'd play more/longer.

Eventually Tony had to go home for the night so I wished him well, then our table got moved from the Pai Gow room back into the main card room. That seemed to be just what I needed, as I engaged the boomswitch soon after we table changed into the main room. Eventually a guy who had been playing NL for a majority of the night came over to the table and sat on my direct right, let's call him CY. He was playing pretty loose and opening a wide range, so I looked to exploit that in spots where I could.

I got a couple AK type hands against him and three bet a few of his opens. One hand I faced some resistance from a different player in the hand, and I failed to even flop a pair, so I had to fold. But the other two I flopped TPTK after a cap pre-flop of at least four players seeing the flop and then a flop lead from CY followed by a raise from me. He looked me up both times after turn and river bets, and he said he only had a small pocket pair both times (more likely he flopped or turned a pair and decided to look me up).

One of my biggest multiway pots I won that night came with CY as one of the main aggressors. Limped in quite a few spots, I limped from the CO with 75 of hearts, WI (older tight reg, plays somewhat passive at times) limped the button, and Feliz complete his SB from seat six. The flop was a jackpot 643 rainbow. Early Merry Xmas for me.

Feliz led out from the SB, called in one spot, CY raised, I flatted (may be a weird line, but I didn't want to three bet and shut anyone out. I figured if I three bet it may give Feliz a chance to fold a pair of sevens or other similar holdings since he knows how I play. WI folded, Feliz three bet, the earlier caller still called, CY capped, I called, as did the other two players.

Four ways to the turn which brought out a ten of clubs. Feliz led out again, the earlier caller still called, CY only called this time, and I put in a raise. Feliz folded, the caller called and CY again called. The river was a queen, still giving me the nuts. Checked to me, I bet, the caller in between me and CY finally folded, and then CY tank called me. I was good obviously and raked in a sweet pot with a flopped straight.

I eventually got called away from the game by some friends hanging out at the Old Tavern (dive bar down the street). The table wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the best table I've had lately by a long shot. Feliz is a good player, WI isn't bad either, and everyone else that was there really wasn't playing overly crazy. CY had even attempted to calm down after I had been exploiting his opens for most of the night. I decided making a rack and a half ($300) was good enough, time to go hang out with friends and enjoy a Friday night off from work and poker.

Friday Night with Fender (Part I: 4/8 and Fat Tire)

My buddy Tony, or fender403 as some of you may know him, had invited me earlier in the week to play cards with him on Friday night, but I told him I probably wouldn't be able to go. I had been playing a ton of cards lately and Friday was usually one of my busier days working with the kids. I had planned on working from 8a-630p that day and probably wouldn't feel up to playing. That being said, in typical Friday fashion, one of my kids' parents phoned it in and I was heading to Capitol by 230pm. Weeeee.

I arrived and saw that 6/12 was not yet running, but Tony couldn't stop bragging about how great his table was. I got a 4/8 seat in about 10 minutes, but not at Tony's table. I asked him if he minded that I sit with him for a bit and play along with him and he said that'd be cool. He's pretty courteous to me and asks if it's cool to table change over to my tables, so I thought I'd return the favor. The only time I'll tell him no is if the game is not good i.e. no one's gambling...the last thing I need is another solid player at that point.

When a seat opened up at his table it just happened to be directly to his right, so seat three. We hung out and shot the shit for a bit while getting $1 Fat tires from the bar (awesome). He had initially offered a round of diet cokes since we're both little girls trying to watch our figures at the moment, but we couldn't pass up the $1 Fat Tire drafts. In typical Santi fashion, I was tipsy after about half of it lol.



Needless to say I was involved in the action almost immediately. I recognized a guy in seat nine named John, he's a usual 6/12 player (and I'd end up facing off with him later in the night at 6/12), and knew he had a tendency to play loose/fast. My second hand at the table he opened from EP and I flatted from LP with KQos and one of the blinds came along. In retrospect I'd like myself to three-bet John here because of my previous history with him, but at this point in the day I had no idea what mood he was in and what cards he was opening so I just flatted in position.

The flop came AK6 with no flush. The BB checked and John pet out per usual, I decided to raise my midpair good kicker, the BB folded and John called. I've seen John open connectors as weak and low as 76, so I really thought my King was well ahead of his range. The turn was another low card, John checked, I bet, and John check raised me to $16. Hmmm, we have some history together, but a lot of that was a long time ago. I definitely don't remember him ever bluff checkraising a turn, in this spot in the past he has at the very least an ace, most likely two pair or even a set. I released my hand and he took down the pot.

A few hands later I limped behind an UTG limper with QT of clubs. In loose 4/8 games I like limping behind with cards like this because it's very likely that after a couple limpers everyone else will come along with absolute trash. To my delight we saw a flop somewhere around six or seven handed of A87 with the ace and eight being clubs. Awesome flop for my hand. John led out from the SB, called in one spot, I raised, got a few callers behind me, John called and UTG called.

A ton of money in the pot and I have the second nutflush draw, obviously I'm loving my equity in this pot against five other players. The turn brought out a nine of clubs, giving me the second nutflush and putting out a wonderful action board of A987. You think with seven people seeing the flop in a 4/8 game that a few people might have a piece of this board? It gets checked to me, I bet, then a guy in seat five raises. Hmmmm, King high flush? Or a straight? Or two pair? Or a set? An older gentleman in seat seven calls $16 cold, then it folded around to UTG on my right who also called $16. Wow, do one of these guys have the King of clubs? I'm thinking it's a possibility, and I had better charge him the max to try and get that fourth club. Three! I put $16 more dollars in the pot making it $24 to see the river card for my remaining opponents. Seat five only called at this point (why hello straight/two-pair/set), seat seven actually folded (baby straight like 65? One pair of aces?) and then UTG called and said "pair the board!"

Ugh. No, do not pair the board. That's the last thing I want. In fact, I'd rather you put out another club than for you to pair the board. The river was a nine of spades I believe and UTg bet out on the A8798 board. Aye yahhhhh I called and seat five called behind me. UTG showed 98os for runner runner full house and swept in a huge pot. Why couldn't you pair the seven dealer? Or Pair the ace maybe (that might not have been good to be honest, seat five may have had aces up). Regardless, I built a sick pot that would have been mine a good majority of the time and for that I was satisfied.

No other 4/8 pots really came close to that one while I was there, at least hands that I was involved in anyway. I watched Tony go on an absolute tear for awhile and it was cool watching him play well and get to run well. By the time our table lost players and was forced to break I was about $25 below what I started with, which wasn't too bad considering the pots I lost early. 6/12 had actually started a half hour before my 4/8 game broke, but I decided to hang out with Tony rather than jump into a new 6/12 game right away. There was a seat open after the table break though, so I saw that as my opportunity to transition over. Part two should be out tomorrow sometime, thanks for reading.

Persevere

per·se·vere
1. a. To persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement.



So two days removed from taking an absolute pummeling at 6/12, I was left with no one and nowhere to watch the Colts/Titans game after work...how about some cards? Lovely idea.

There was a new 6/12 game running and they had an open seat. Awesome. Or so I thought. I bought in for $300...and then added $200 more...and then about an hour later $200 more. Aye. Yah. In for three and a half racks ($700) and there didn't seem to be any inclination that the beats would stop.

I'd say I won three pots in the first few hours I played, two of them were flop continuation bets that didn't get called...so yeah, the chips were most definitely not flowing in. It's hard not to think negatively when your big cards are missing and you're getting beaten by "set-up hands."

Most players have a stoploss, that is, a certain amount of money they will designate to lose in a session and then when they reach that point they will take a break or quit for the day. For LHE, the standard stoploss is about 30BBs (at 6/12, this would be $360). I was well above 40BBs, but I have never really bought into the idea of a stoploss. If I'm not flustered, I'm still playing correctly and I have a good table...well I won't be leaving anytime soon. My plan was to weather the storm and wait for a decent run of cards. Technically you can lose forever, there are never any guarantees that a run of cards is coming your way, but luckily for me things turned around.

I won a couple big pots with AK, and I could feel the momentum start to swing back in my favor. I lulled around -$300 for awhile, then made a quick run and found myself down between -$120 and -$180 for a few orbits, then I made another run back close to even. Obviously these jumps are spaced out across a few hours of play, as I'm just giving you an idea of how hard it can be to climb out of a hole once you get stuck.

I know I've said before that it's a good idea to seperate yourself from the results, but after climbing out of a $500 hole and getting close to even, I'd say around my 6th hour of play that night I had a fantastic mix of feeling relief, happiness, and pride. Things continued to get better at that point as I started scratching into the black; I was actually in the positive! A couple killpots later I had a tower of red chips, about 450 of them ($900). Nevermind the fact that I had bought 350 of them five hours earlier.

Slowly but surely the fishier players left the table and left me with some decent players and a couple of guys who actually play for a living, so I saw that as my cue to exist. I called my friend Aaron to talk to him about the session, and we agreed that sometimes after a day of getting crushed, crawling back and churning a small profit after going through hell can feel more rewarding than just sitting down and crushing without resistance.

Stay tuned for an update from Friday night where I played with my pal Tony for a bit. He got to witness me turning the second nutflush, putting in three bets with it on the turn against three people, then get crushed by a four outer on the end. Good times!

Blatant Lies

I rolled into Capitol at around 3pm Tuesday and noticed 6/12 only had an interest list. Interesting, must be a slow day. I threw my name along up there with a handful of others, then wandered over to an open 4/8 seat. First hand I was dealt in I opened pocket nines from EP, maybe UTG+2. Folded around to the button who called, small blind called and the big blind defended. The flop came out Queen high with two spades. Both of the blinds checked, I bet, the button folded, small blind check-raised, big blind folded and I called.

This was my first hand at the table, first hand of the day, so reads are nonexistent. 30 year oldish white dude wearing a UCLA cap and had about $240 worth of orange chips in front of him. It was a Q42 flop, two spades, what's he checkraising here? AQ/KQ are possibilities, baby sets, flush draws. The turn card was a queen of hearts.

Hmmmm...interesting. I decided that the queen was either an awesomely good or awesomely bad card for me and it was time to find out which. The small blind led out for eight chips and I took my stack of 16 and cut them neatly into four stacks of four. Now, I'm staring right at the guy from the nine seat, he's sitting in the six seat. All of a sudden I see him sit straight up, look at the dealer and say "I only called."

The dealer had been chatting a little to a player in seat two and this kind of took him by surprise. "You bet" the dealer said. This time seat six said "I checked." At this point I absolutely know he has a flush draw, and I'm proud of myself for charging him the max for trying to draw out on me. But I'm also getting annoyed at his attempt at an angle to see a river card for one bet. "You led out, I raised" I finally said.

Then the guy had the nerve to say "He didn't bring all his chips out at once," implying that I had performed a string bet. Now I'm pissed. The dealer just looked at me confused and said "you didn't do that, right?" I looked at the dealer, back at the player and said "no, in fact, I know I didn't do that." Seat seven came to my aid and said "the young man put all his chips out at once, there was nothing wrong with his raise." Defeated, seat six reached for eight more chips and made the call.

The river was a ten of spades. Seat six checked and I checked behind and said "go ahead, you're good now" and he threw down his hand triumphantly while leaning back into his chair. A9 of spades, whaddya know, the nutflush draw that got there. He looked so smug, I couldn't help but needle. "Hey I didn't mean to raise the turn, can I have eight chips back? No? Okay." My neighbors seat seven and eight just smirked a little and shook their heads while seat six kept his head down and stacked the chips.

It's amazing to me what some people do in the face of adversity. I've seen angles here and there, some sleazier than others, but I've never seen someone stoop so slow to save eight bucks.

Define Frustration

frus·tra·tion:
1. a. The act of frustrating or an instance of being frustrated.
b. The state of being frustrated.

frus·trate
1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart.
b. To cause feelings of discouragement or bafflement in.
2. To make ineffectual or invalid; nullify.



Ohhh limit poker, how I love you. I always tell people that I prefer live low stakes LHE because of the big pots, the multiway action, and the atmosphere. I'll hear things like "you can't bet a person off their hand," "my aces always get cracked," and "there's no skill in that game" and I almost never try and correct that person. You're right, getting people to put in four bets pre-flop with utter trash for a hand does not take skill, you definitely can't run a bluff in limit, and my aces have never won a huge pot in a limit game. Right.

Monday night I grabbed some free pizza with my brother and we talked a little about the game of poker and what I hoped to accomplish through playing. In short, I told him it wasn't as much about the money as it was the competition and the desire to play solid fundamental poker. I've been doing my best to seperate myself from the results and realize that as long as I make the best possible decisions, nothing else really matters. I work two jobs, I don't have any real kind of debt, the money doesn't matter.

I won't lie though, last night was the first time in a long time I had felt frustrated at a poker table. Seven hours of bad cards mixed in with terrible beats, a few awesome wins, and then terrible beats again. Perhaps it's because I've been fighting a cold the last week or so, maybe it's because I just like winning and the competitor in me just couldn't handle losing anymore that day...whatever it was the emotional highs and lows last night just kind of culminated into a moment of sheer frustration. I didn't yell at anyone or even appear to lose my temper I don't think...my biggest outbursts were a long quiet exhale (which felt really good at the time) and a quick standup to stretch my legs, put my hands above of my head, breathe a little then sit back down. I hate drawing attention to myself, so even these minute things seemed like I was being an idiot at the time.

Overall for the day I dropped close to a rack at 4/8 and then close to a rack at 6/12, the math says I'm still up money this week somehow, so not all is lost. I'm probably going to take the rest of the week off from poker and look to play again Sunday night or next Monday. Look for updates later this week that will break down a few hands I played last night and also an incident where a guy blatantly lied to a dealer's face and tried to cheat his way out of calling an $8 turn raise from me at 4/8. It was pretty pathetic, and I look forward to telling that story.

My Ideal Table

After sleeping through the afternoon and night football games because of my graveyard shift, I was wide awake at 1am Monday hacking up my lungs. I've been a bit under the weather this past week, but it seems like I get better as the day goes on. I ran some errands which included requesting time off of for my Vegas trip in January and getting some laundry done, then hit up Capitol at around 2pm.

As soon as I walked in the door and put my name on the lists Oscar started asking for interest in opening up a new 6/12 table. Wouldn't you know it, I run goooot and had a new 6/12 game opened 30 seconds after arrived. I walked over to the new table and locked up the three seat. I don't have a lucky seat or anything like that, but I do love the corners (like the two/three, seven/eight) because you usually get the most room and you can see everyone on the table. The seats that I didn't mention usually have a couple blind spots or seats where you'd have to strain/make an obvious attempt to look at the person.

As the seats filled in I liked my table more and more. There were quite a few LPPs (loose-passive preflop, passive postflop players) and a couple LAGs (loose aggressive). That dynamic usually makes for a fun table: lots of callers preflop and tons of chips in the middle. A lot of pots were at least five handed on the flop, even with an opening raise. Coldcalling raises in position was definitely the norm, and I almost never saw someone three bet a hand. I saw people coldcall a raise with Kings or Queens at least four times this session, and one pot I was involved in UTG limped in with Kings and the SB merely completed with Jacks. Both flopped sets, and fireworks didn't go off until the turn.

So anyway, now that you are familiar with my table, I'll get into my session. I started off a tad meh, missed my first few opens with cards like KQ suited and AQ, and soon found myself down a couple $40 stacks of red #2 chips. If you can't make a pair in this game you're probably not going to win. These types of players generally do not fold. No need to fear though, I got lucky in a big pot somewhere around my second hour at the table.

I'm in the BB with A5 of diamonds. UTG+1 (a cute asian girl, we'll call her NC) raised, cold called by about four people, small blind called, and I defended my BB with a suited ace. Seven way to a flop of K54 with one diamond. Small blind and I both check, UTG+1 bets, called in two spots behind her, small blind called, and getting roughly 18:1 on my $6, I called. NC is a bit of an LP preflop at times (so her raise was probably a big hand), but can get LAG after the flop. I'm putting her on a big hand at this point, probably AK, but maybe KQ. Obviously I'm looking for a five, maybe my ace is good if I hit it, and a diamond would give me an excuse to call a turn bet. The pot is much too big to fold for one more bet and I'm completing the action. Also, my position to the aggressor in the hand is fantastic; read the next sentence and you'll see why.

The turn brings out a five of clubs, actually putting a club flush draw on the board now. Small blind checks, I check, UTG+1 still bets and at this point in time I'm really hoping she has AK/KQ and not a full house (Kings full being the most likely option). Everyone folds behind except the small blind. He had been fairly tight in comparison to the rest of the table, so his turn call might be an OESD (67), he could have picked up a flush draw now, or he has a weak King. I raise to 12 chips ($24 total), NC quickly calls and the small blind calls.

The river brings a two of clubs out. Small blind checks, I value bet my trips top kicker, NC calls, and small blind folds. I showed my hand, NC flashed AK and a bit of frustration with the turn card (yay three outer), and I raked in a sea of red chips. Three outers (if you're not counting my backdoor draws) come and go, we all dish them out and we all take them.

Aside from this hand and a couple smaller pots, I was somewhat card dead and hovered around +$40-$+100 for a long stretch of time. I don't mind folding a lot of bad cards, it beats running into monsters or getting medium strength hands that finish second. I just enjoyed watching the action at the table and trying my best to read the hands I wasn't in.

The second half of my session I caught fire for awhile, picked up aces a few times and won all three. Also won with Kings once, but balanced some of that out by losing a couple big killpots with AK and another one after flopping two pair and getting gutterballed on the turn. Fun hands and big pots, I really enjoyed my time at the table. I was up a couple racks at about 8pm when my brother texted me and said his friend Billie (a cute/short brunette fwiw, too bad she prefers women) was going to hook it up with some free pizza and asked if I was interested. Well I hadn't eaten since about noon, I had been up since 1am, my cough had started to come back...hmmm, well, I do love pizza (combo no onions FTW). I raised AJ UTG, flopped TP but lost to JT turning broadway, cashed out about +$320 and called it a night.

The Micros - Episode 1: Pilot

Most of you have probably seen it, but if you haven't, watch it.

Back to the Grind

Ahhh coming off a six rack day, what's the worst that can happen? Well, I'll tell ya, not much at first. I came back and was hotter than ever. AK of hearts limped in a spot, I raise, BB calls and the limper calls. I bet the flop and the turn on a ragged board, they both call. I check back the river and AK is good. Next hand I open AJ after a limper, cold called by the button, BB and the limper. Same thing, bet flop, two callers. Bet turn, two callers. Check back river, my hand was good.

Wowww...godmode still engaged. Tony showed up and sat in the nine seat, by the way I was in the six. One hand he observed me play was KTos on the button vs a limper.

A player in seat four limped in (he had been playing pretty loose, open limping as he pleased) so I decided to iso-raise him from the button. Clark, sitting in seat seven in the small blind cold called my raise, the BB folded and the limper called.

Three to the flop of T85 with the eight and five being diamonds. Clark had actually been playing somewhat passive to this point, so it concerned me when he donk bet into me and the limper called. Hmmmm, I guess Clark would coldcall AT here and then bet to "see where he's at." He's an older guy and hey, he actually owns the cardroom I'm playing at. I decide he's donking a flush draw and an open ended straight draw here a good chunk of the time so I raised, Clark called and then the limper called.

The turn brought out a seven on hearts. Checked to me, I bet, both call. The river pairs the seven, no diamond. Checked to me, I think for a split second about checking back scared of AT, then I remember that I have top pair king kicker and value betting is awesome. I bet, Clark says he missed and folds then the limper shows me 89 of diamonds for a HUGE draw. He says there's no way I raise the flop unless I have him beat with AK of diamonds being the exception, therefore he could only beat one of my hands (I'd raise a naked AK here sometimes to be honest, especially if I have the ace of diamonds, but in this case he's right). He ended up folding and I won a nice pot.

I eventually got moved to the main game which was a tad bit nittier, yada yada, I was up around a rack and a half at one point during the session (+$300) but ended up cashing out and grabbing dinner with Tony after about a $160 win. Set of twos lost in a killpot to a turned straight. It seemed like that hand was the hand that sent me into a Talespin. That'll end the first chapter...

Unfortunately, part two is going to SUCK. I swing from a decent win down to losing $230...for the day...weeeeeee $400 downswing for the fucking loss.

A couple fun hands to look for are AK losing to AJ in a killpot, capped pre-flop, capped flop, rivered three outer to the table drunk maniac. AK also flopped TPTK vs a guy looking for a gutterball in a killpot...instead he goes running trips. UGH.

In fact you know what, you won't get a part two, these cliff notes will have to do. I had planned on going home since I wasn't feeling well, but my headache was gone after dinner and my table looked good. Oh well, that's poker, you can't run hot forever. We're back to the grind my friends, and on that note, man do I miss Alice in Chains.

No Tip?

So an interesting statement came up the other night at my 6/12 table. One reg I've played with before in the past, an older guy, can be a decent TAG most nights when he wants to be but still has enough gamboool in his blood that limping behind 52os isn't a problem on others, made a statement about tipping.

Literally out of nowhere he started talking about how he only tips dealers at Capitol now, and almost never tips when he plays anywhere else. He justfied this statement by breaking down the amount of hours he plays in a day, per week, per month, and every dollar per pot he wins over time would equal out to around $5k a year for him.

Thats all fine and dandy, but he needs to realize that you get what you pay for. If we all just stopped tipping dealers, we'd start losing some. Good dealers are an important aspect of live play, I'm sure you internet players out there think live play is slow enough already, but throw in a dealer who can barely get your cards to you, much less read a board correctly...and well we're going to have issues.

On the flip side tipping more than a $1/hand is probably a leak. If it's a massive pot I usually tip a couple bucks, but in the past I'd say over tipping was one of my biggest leaks.

I didn't really want to spawn a tip vs no tip debate with this post, but it may be inevitable. As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to take a page from Indiana Jones and that scene where he throws the Nazi out of the blimp. No tip? You old scrooge, out you go.



*thumb points to window*

"No tip."