Yesterday was another great day of bar poker for me at the Thursday Night Mason's Sports Grill NL Holdem poker tournament held by FreeSpades Poker. (Link : http://spadesgamesllc.com/poker/). <--- Free plug worth some extra chips?
There were 45 runners and at my first table, there was a young girl that had never played before. Needless to say, she was calling with any face card and hitting them on the flop. She kept on calling any bet and 80% of the time was the eventual winner....LOL. When we got new players on the table, they looked at her chip stack and thought that she was an experienced player. When she showed the hands that she was calling raises with, they would go ballistic. BTW, she did make final table, but busted out 10th!
Memorable hand from that first table:
I was the big blind with appx. 15K. The blinds are at 100-200. Two limpers and the cutoff with 13K makes it 400 to go. The small blind with 6K calls. I looked down and see a J8, so I call hoping that with the other limpers, it would give me good pot odds. The other two also call, so now the pot is 2000. The flop comes 9TQ rainbow giving me the second nuts. Small Blind checks and I check behind hoping that one of the rest of the group has a Q and I could trap. Check...Check... and sure enough, the Cutoff bets out 1500. I'm getting ready to hollywood, but to my surprise, the small blind (a very strong player) goes all-in. I went into a zone, not only wondering whether he had the KJ, but also wondering what I should do to get the Cutoff to call and try to get his chips on the turn and river. I finally say "I got a good hand that I can't fold" and announce a call. The other two folded and the cutoff basically instacalled....hmmm! The turn is a 7 and I check, trying to see if the Cutoff will bet into a dry side pot with the KJ. He checks also. OK...no KJ there. The river is a 2, and at that point, I decide that I'm going to play act and go all in making him think that I'm trying to bluff him out of the hand. Note that this guy looked like a leisure player that knew how to play ABC poker, but did not understand the finer strategy of dry side pots and that the flop reaked of a potential straight. After about 1 whole minute of thought (LOL) I looked at him and said..."I think I have a better hand than you, so I'm all in." I was surprised that he took less than 5 seconds to call my all in, and was momentarily worried about him playing me with the KJ, but when I showed my straight, he mucked his cards. He later said that he had pocket 10's. The small blind showed his QJ, so now, I was the tourney chip leader.
The middle part of the tourney was uneventful and I played basic poker maintaining a healthy chip stack. It is noteworthy that during this time, JT (a very aggressive loose kid) was building a tremendous chip lead, by taking out one guy when his pocket A's beat out the guy's pocket K's, and when he called a preflop raise with his 6 9 and the board came out 23454. The other lady in the hand bet out the pot and he raised all-in. She thought for a while and could not put him on a 6, so she called with her AQ.
By the time we got to the final table, JT had amassed a stack of close to 80K. I had 50K which was the average, considering that there were 2-3 others that were in their 10's and 20's.
The final table had some interesting hands.
With blinds at 2000-4000, UTG goes all in for 45K. I look down at AJ and considering that there are 6 players behind me, I fold. JT in the cutoff goes all in with his big stack. The blinds fold and on the flip, UTG shows AT and JT shows 33 (LOL). A 3 on the river nailed the coffin shut on UTG and we are now down to 8 players. JT now has appx. 120K.
I was able to steal some blinds and then, from the small blind and 4 limpers in front of me I look down and see AJ suited. I decide that this is my moment, so I push all-in with 70K. JT is the first limper that the raise gets to and he instantly goes all in...(he has me covered)...the rest fold and on the flip, I show my AJ and JT shows J10 (LOL). The board gives me an A and JT is completely crippled. Hello new chip leader!!
The rest of the tourney was a complete big stack bullying by me, and then the heads up took appx. 8 hands to conclude and give me the victory. 1st place got me a $30 bar cash certificate, but more than anything, gave me a boost in confidence that I could play against all kinds of poker, even loose aggressive donkey players like JT.
19 June 2009
18 June 2009
To Deal or Not to Deal
My friend Tim called me last week and told me about a home poker tournament at a friend's house for Saturday. There would be two back to back tournaments with about 15-20 people entering and a $20 buy in for each. I told him I would go to both and I would see him there. He would come late and probably would miss the first tournament.
I arrived at 8:00pm and there were 14 anxious players sitting around, and I quickly realized that what they knew about poker came from the penny games they might have had in college or from the poker they had watched on TV. This was looking to be a good night! We started on two tables of 7 players each, and the host asked for suggestions on how to pay off the $280 that was collected. It was agreed that 1st would get $180, 2nd-$80 and 3rd-$20. Although the play was atrocious and the suckouts were happening frequently, I managed to survive down to 5 players with my chip stack at about 4 big blinds. One guy had 30 big blinds, another two players had about 15 big blinds and the other had 2 big blinds.
Just as the blinds were coming to me again, my friend Tim arrives and when I told him what the chip denominations were, he gave me a look of quiet disconcert, knowing full well that I would have to suck out to get in the money. But, I had another idea brewing in my mind. I suggested to the remaining players that we should split the pot and start the other game since so many others were getting restless and we were here for fun. One guy asked what each would get, at which point, the host (who was out of the game) started splitting the $20 bills in five stacks. One of the stacks had only $40, while the others had $60 each. When he mentioned this, one of the players with 15 big blinds offered to take the $40 since it was all for fun and he would have made a gain of $20 that he could use to buy into the next tournament, and therefore, play for free. God...I love these guys! From getting trampled by their suckouts to making a gain of $40!
We started the next tournament and decided that this time, it would be a rebuy tournament. I busted out half way through and right before the two tables were combined, when I tried to bluff with an all-in on the river. I forgot that you shouldn't try to bluff people that have no clue about betting ranges on teh flop. However, my friend Tim was still in it and I decided to stick around and see what he would do. I also volunteered to be the dealer so the game can go faster. When it got down to 5 people, Tim was down to 4 big blinds, so I raised the idea that since it was getting late, they would perhaps want to split the prize money. There was a total of $320 collected, so I suggested a split of $60 a piece with the extra $20 going to the house for hosting the poker tournament. One of the guys quickly turned down the idea, saying that the house shouldn't get anything, and that they should continue playing and the winner would get the extra $20. They all agreed, so each of the 5 got $60, but then one guy with a small to medium stack said that $20 for the winner is too little, so they should all put back $20 each. I looked at Tim and although he didn't want this, he couldn't really refuse since he was small chip stack and it would appear as though he was taking advantage of them...LOL
So now, the 5 players were playing for the $120 winner take all. In two hands, the guy that had said to put $20 back into the pot was out and there were 4 players left. Again, I suggested an even split of the $120 with each getting $30. They wanted to keep on playing, however, and Tim, who was going to be all in in 1 more deal, said that he needs to go and would agree to the $30 a piece. Seeing that they just wanted to continue playing since they were having fun playing poker for the "first time", I looked at Tim and asked him how much he was willing to take. Getting my cue, Tim said $20 was fine with him, so I asked the others whether they agreed to give Tim $20 and then they could play for the remaining $100. They all said OK, so Tim got his $20 (total $60) and gave back his 1.5 blind remaining chip stack. Two hands later, I excused myself and said that I had to leave.
I met Tim outside and we laughed our asses off. I hope that these guys never find out about this blog because I want to be invited back to this home game.
I arrived at 8:00pm and there were 14 anxious players sitting around, and I quickly realized that what they knew about poker came from the penny games they might have had in college or from the poker they had watched on TV. This was looking to be a good night! We started on two tables of 7 players each, and the host asked for suggestions on how to pay off the $280 that was collected. It was agreed that 1st would get $180, 2nd-$80 and 3rd-$20. Although the play was atrocious and the suckouts were happening frequently, I managed to survive down to 5 players with my chip stack at about 4 big blinds. One guy had 30 big blinds, another two players had about 15 big blinds and the other had 2 big blinds.
Just as the blinds were coming to me again, my friend Tim arrives and when I told him what the chip denominations were, he gave me a look of quiet disconcert, knowing full well that I would have to suck out to get in the money. But, I had another idea brewing in my mind. I suggested to the remaining players that we should split the pot and start the other game since so many others were getting restless and we were here for fun. One guy asked what each would get, at which point, the host (who was out of the game) started splitting the $20 bills in five stacks. One of the stacks had only $40, while the others had $60 each. When he mentioned this, one of the players with 15 big blinds offered to take the $40 since it was all for fun and he would have made a gain of $20 that he could use to buy into the next tournament, and therefore, play for free. God...I love these guys! From getting trampled by their suckouts to making a gain of $40!
We started the next tournament and decided that this time, it would be a rebuy tournament. I busted out half way through and right before the two tables were combined, when I tried to bluff with an all-in on the river. I forgot that you shouldn't try to bluff people that have no clue about betting ranges on teh flop. However, my friend Tim was still in it and I decided to stick around and see what he would do. I also volunteered to be the dealer so the game can go faster. When it got down to 5 people, Tim was down to 4 big blinds, so I raised the idea that since it was getting late, they would perhaps want to split the prize money. There was a total of $320 collected, so I suggested a split of $60 a piece with the extra $20 going to the house for hosting the poker tournament. One of the guys quickly turned down the idea, saying that the house shouldn't get anything, and that they should continue playing and the winner would get the extra $20. They all agreed, so each of the 5 got $60, but then one guy with a small to medium stack said that $20 for the winner is too little, so they should all put back $20 each. I looked at Tim and although he didn't want this, he couldn't really refuse since he was small chip stack and it would appear as though he was taking advantage of them...LOL
So now, the 5 players were playing for the $120 winner take all. In two hands, the guy that had said to put $20 back into the pot was out and there were 4 players left. Again, I suggested an even split of the $120 with each getting $30. They wanted to keep on playing, however, and Tim, who was going to be all in in 1 more deal, said that he needs to go and would agree to the $30 a piece. Seeing that they just wanted to continue playing since they were having fun playing poker for the "first time", I looked at Tim and asked him how much he was willing to take. Getting my cue, Tim said $20 was fine with him, so I asked the others whether they agreed to give Tim $20 and then they could play for the remaining $100. They all said OK, so Tim got his $20 (total $60) and gave back his 1.5 blind remaining chip stack. Two hands later, I excused myself and said that I had to leave.
I met Tim outside and we laughed our asses off. I hope that these guys never find out about this blog because I want to be invited back to this home game.
Warm-Up for Upcoming Vegas Trip
Yesterday, I played in a local bar tournament. It was a championship freeroll (poker for money is illegal in Georgia) for players that had received rank points during the past 3 months by playing at this location. I managed to receive an extra 1200 in chips (on top of the nearly 10,000 that everyone gets) because of my 6 rank points, so I started out with a slight chip advantage to all but one other player.
During the third blind set (15 minute blinds), I made a total donkey play and got caught trying to bluff a strong player who had paired his AJ on a AKQ flop. On the turn 6, he bet 1000, which was a pot size bet, and I called with KT. On the river 8, I reraised his bet of 1300 to 3200 to represent that I had a better hand (better than what...I don't know?). He basically instacalled and I was now down to 4500 in chips with the average around 12,000.
Towards the end of the next blind set (100-200), and with around 5000 in chips, I am on the button with 3 limpers in front of me and holding the AcTc. The Tournament Director announces that in 3 minutes the regular freeroll tournament would close its seating, so I decide to loosen up and be very aggressive. I'm on the "do or die in less than 3 minutes" strategy, so I raise it to 800. Gifford, a friend who is in the big blind, and who plays only good hands, thinks for a long time and finally pushes all-in (he had appx. 12,000) with AK. The rest of the field folds, I call all-in, and Gif and I see the flop that comes out blank for both of us, but with two clubs. The turn is another blank, but the river shows the 3 of clubs, which gives me the nut flush. I have sucked out, and now I am back in the tourney with 10,800 in chips.
The next memorable hand occurs when we are down to a final table of 9 and the blinds are at 1000-2000. I'm on the cutoff with 12,000 in chips. It is folded to me and I have A3 suited. The button has appx. 14,000 in chips and he has not been aggressive at all. The small blind has 4500 behind and it seems that he wants to at least be awarded a card protector (8th place prize). The big blind has about 22,000 behind, and I doubt that he would want to get crippled so late in the tourney with anything but JJ or higher. So, I decide to gamble and push all-in with my A3. The button folds as does the small blind. Good read so far! The big blind thinks for a short while and finally says ... "I'm getting the right pot odds to call" and proceeds to call with QJ offsuit. What? What pot odds? The flop and turn don't improve either of our hands and the river is the unnecessary A to double me up. I still don't understand why people are thinking about pot odds at this late stage where one big loss will cripple them.
Later, I am able to steal some blinds and antes, and then, the following hand plays out. The blinds are at 2000-4000 with a 500 ante. There are 5 players left and I am the big blind with 35,000. It is folded around to the small blind (with 120,000 and the big stack on the table) who calls and I check the big blind holding 7 9 offsuit. The flop comes 8J4 rainbow....1 spade. Check-Check. The turn is the 5 of spades. The small blind checks and I check behind, hoping for a 6 or T that is not a spade. The river is the 6 of spades. The small blind checks and I push all-in hoping that the small blind has caught some of it and believes that I'm trying to steal. (I was pretty sure at this point that he didn't have the flush). The small blind instacalls and with an air of confidence announces that he has a straight. He shows a 2 3. I show my 7 9 and take down the pot with the higher straight.
Eventually, the others at the table get busted out and it gets down to the two of us heads-up.
We go through some folds and steals and at one point we're exactly even in chip stacks with 150,000 each. The blinds are at 20,000-40,000 and the clock shows that in 20 seconds, they are going up to 40,000-80,000. (I know...crappy structure, but it is free bar poker). I'm in the small blind and get the 9 T of spades. I decide to gamble and push all in. He thinks a little and calls the all in with K 8 offsuit. I haven't gone to a poker hand odds calculator, but I think we're about even...he being slightly ahead (I'm thinking it's about 53%-47%). The board doesn't help either of us, so he takes down the tournament with a K high.
For second place, I received a 400 clay chip set and an octagonal folding table top. First place received an oval 8-seater poker table with leather arm rests and folding legs, a 500 clay chip set in a mahogany casing and two decks of Copag plastic playing cards.
Hopefully, this is my warm up for my upcoming trip to Vegas....planning on playing the $1500 NL tournament event on June 29.
I'll keep you updated through this blog.
During the third blind set (15 minute blinds), I made a total donkey play and got caught trying to bluff a strong player who had paired his AJ on a AKQ flop. On the turn 6, he bet 1000, which was a pot size bet, and I called with KT. On the river 8, I reraised his bet of 1300 to 3200 to represent that I had a better hand (better than what...I don't know?). He basically instacalled and I was now down to 4500 in chips with the average around 12,000.
Towards the end of the next blind set (100-200), and with around 5000 in chips, I am on the button with 3 limpers in front of me and holding the AcTc. The Tournament Director announces that in 3 minutes the regular freeroll tournament would close its seating, so I decide to loosen up and be very aggressive. I'm on the "do or die in less than 3 minutes" strategy, so I raise it to 800. Gifford, a friend who is in the big blind, and who plays only good hands, thinks for a long time and finally pushes all-in (he had appx. 12,000) with AK. The rest of the field folds, I call all-in, and Gif and I see the flop that comes out blank for both of us, but with two clubs. The turn is another blank, but the river shows the 3 of clubs, which gives me the nut flush. I have sucked out, and now I am back in the tourney with 10,800 in chips.
The next memorable hand occurs when we are down to a final table of 9 and the blinds are at 1000-2000. I'm on the cutoff with 12,000 in chips. It is folded to me and I have A3 suited. The button has appx. 14,000 in chips and he has not been aggressive at all. The small blind has 4500 behind and it seems that he wants to at least be awarded a card protector (8th place prize). The big blind has about 22,000 behind, and I doubt that he would want to get crippled so late in the tourney with anything but JJ or higher. So, I decide to gamble and push all-in with my A3. The button folds as does the small blind. Good read so far! The big blind thinks for a short while and finally says ... "I'm getting the right pot odds to call" and proceeds to call with QJ offsuit. What? What pot odds? The flop and turn don't improve either of our hands and the river is the unnecessary A to double me up. I still don't understand why people are thinking about pot odds at this late stage where one big loss will cripple them.
Later, I am able to steal some blinds and antes, and then, the following hand plays out. The blinds are at 2000-4000 with a 500 ante. There are 5 players left and I am the big blind with 35,000. It is folded around to the small blind (with 120,000 and the big stack on the table) who calls and I check the big blind holding 7 9 offsuit. The flop comes 8J4 rainbow....1 spade. Check-Check. The turn is the 5 of spades. The small blind checks and I check behind, hoping for a 6 or T that is not a spade. The river is the 6 of spades. The small blind checks and I push all-in hoping that the small blind has caught some of it and believes that I'm trying to steal. (I was pretty sure at this point that he didn't have the flush). The small blind instacalls and with an air of confidence announces that he has a straight. He shows a 2 3. I show my 7 9 and take down the pot with the higher straight.
Eventually, the others at the table get busted out and it gets down to the two of us heads-up.
We go through some folds and steals and at one point we're exactly even in chip stacks with 150,000 each. The blinds are at 20,000-40,000 and the clock shows that in 20 seconds, they are going up to 40,000-80,000. (I know...crappy structure, but it is free bar poker). I'm in the small blind and get the 9 T of spades. I decide to gamble and push all in. He thinks a little and calls the all in with K 8 offsuit. I haven't gone to a poker hand odds calculator, but I think we're about even...he being slightly ahead (I'm thinking it's about 53%-47%). The board doesn't help either of us, so he takes down the tournament with a K high.
For second place, I received a 400 clay chip set and an octagonal folding table top. First place received an oval 8-seater poker table with leather arm rests and folding legs, a 500 clay chip set in a mahogany casing and two decks of Copag plastic playing cards.
Hopefully, this is my warm up for my upcoming trip to Vegas....planning on playing the $1500 NL tournament event on June 29.
I'll keep you updated through this blog.
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