Recent Live Sessions: Part 1

I haven't posted at all recently, no real reason besides being busy most of the time and/or lazy/preoccupied when I actually do have the time. Umm, I turned 18 on February 25th and went to the Poker Room for my first time on the 29th when my friend Thomas came up to visit from Tampa.

-FEBRUARY 29TH-

He got into town at like 7pm, we got to the poker at around 8-8:30pm (they close at 12:00). As soon as we get we see they have 3 spots left in a $65 6-Max Winner-Take-All Turbo SNG (wow that is a mouthful). The structure was really bad (start with 1500, 50-100 blinds that go up every 12 minutes) and I initially regretted entering it. The table looked pretty soft going in though and it turned out to be very true.

First hand I fold 6-3os UTG, otherwise a hand not worth mentioning if it didn't tell a bit about 2 specific opponents. The guy on my left wore an expensive looking sweater and a nice watch, he limped, a very portly woman with a nose ring raised to 350, the guy to her left looked really trashed (he even had a beer in his left hand for most of the time he played) and he called 350 on the button, SB folds, Thomas folds BB, back to rich-sweater guy who calls 250 more. The board ran out all middle rags with a series of bets and calls from the two men (the woman folded on the flop) and the rich guy tabled 3-3 for 6th pair (an under pair to the entire board) to which the drunk guy tabled like 4th pair (I don't remember the board) to win the pot.

On the second hand I'm in the BB with T-4os, rich guy limps UTG, fat chick folds, drunk guy limps, button limps, Thomas folds his SB and I check.

Flop: (Pot: 450)
A-K-J, rainbow

Check, Check, Check, and Check.

Turn: (Pot:450)
T, board still rainbow.

Check, Check, Check, and Check.

River: (Pot: 450)
4

I bet 200 for value hoping to get a call from a J-9 type of hand. The rich guy just calls me and the drunk guy raises 400 more to 600 total. Not knowing anything about him but 1 hand I decide that a naked Queen would have played this hand very similarly. Plus, I know that the rich guy behind me will probably pay him off like last hand so I'll get to see his cards for free and I decide not to risk 400 more of my already small stack in hopes that he's making a play at the pot. I fold. Rich guy calls with 6-6 (lol) and the drunk tables Kd-5d. Nice fold me... lol donkaments.

Its okay though because the very next hand:

The blinds are still 50-100 and I've got 1200 after 2 hands. I pick up Q-Q in the SB. Fat chick folds UTG, drunk guy calls 100, CO folds, Thomas folds the button, and I make it 400 total, rich guy calls 300 more from the BB and the drunk guy calls 300 more.

Flop: (Pot: 1200)
J-9-2, rainbow.

I ship for 800 total, rich guy folds, and drunk guy doesn't hesitate in calling me. He turns over the... K-3os. I dodged a King and doubled up to 2800.

Drunk guy gave away his last few hundred and exited in 6th. The quiet guy who was in Seat 2 between the drunk guy and Thomas went out in 5th but I really don't remember how, I know it was standard on both players parts, probably a flip or something. I won a small pot with J-9 in a blind vs blind pot with the rich guy during 100-200 where I flopped top-pair with a Jack and he payed my flop and turn bets off with mid-pair (we checked the river when the flush draw got there). That put me up over 3500 and solid chip leader.

Blinds at 200-400, I'm in the BB with A-A. Rich guy has like 700-800 total in his stack and makes the strong play of limping for 400 UTG (lol), it folds around to me and I min-bet him all-in since he's obviously calling. He calls and has J-6os. He got a pretty bad flop of 8-8-4 so not much of a sweat for me. That got me up over 4200.

While playing 3 handed Thomas went nuts with the all-in. It was working and he only had like 6BBs when he started so I don't blame him or anything but it was definitely noticeable that he was shipping a lot. The one time he didn't ship was when I raised the button with A-9s and both him and fatty folded. She made some comment about how she wasn't sure if she was playing 2 players or 1 as team, obviously implying that we were colluding which was not the case. We were clearly there together and friends so I can kind of see her concern, but that's a hell of thing to accuse someone of. Anyway she ended up calling his next all-in with Q-J and failed to improve against his A-6. We got HU about even in chips, about 4500 each (9000 in play), blinds were like 300-600 and I got it in with K-Q vs his A-5 and he made quad Aces because he runs like God (haha, joking). GG me, Thomas wins $300.

As soon as the floor man shakes his hand and tells me "tough luck" he mentions that there is another one about to fill up with 2 spots left. So obviously we jump in that since from our first one and looking around the tournament area the overall competition in these things is really low.

The fat chick is back in this one in Seat 2. I'm in Seat 4 with Thomas on my left in Seat 5.

First hand, I'm in the SB with J-J. UTG is a young guy who is also there with his buddy who also happens to be at the table on my right in Seat 3 (real friend oriented game this time, harhar), so UTG folds, MP folds, Fatty makes it 350, button folds, I decide to just flat call because based on the last one I thought that picking up chips would be super easy at the end from the people who don't understand when to start shipping and stop limping/calling therefore I didn't wanna flip in case she had like A-Q, etc. Thomas folded BB.

Flop: (Pot: 800)
J-9-4, rainbow.

I check hoping she c-bets, she bets 400, I just call and decide that I'll think for a few seconds on whatever the turn is and then just sloppily slide my chips in to try and get a call.

Turn: (Pot: 1600)
7

All-in, call-in. She has T-T, I fade the 4 outs she picked up on the turn and I've got 3100 after 1 hand played.

I just chopped away for the next level or two, just raising in late position to stay even. Thomas got short after he lost a flip with 6-6 vs like A-J. The guy in Seat 1 went out in 5th, he was followed by the young guy in Seat 6 who lost a 60-40 against his buddy. That guy folded his button and I moved Thomas in for like his last 6-7BBs from the SB with A-9, he woke up with 5-5, but I flopped an Ace to get HU with a good chance to win one for myself. I had the guy real short but he just kept doubling up. I get him in with 8-8 vs his A-Q, flop Q. I chop him down low again via pre-flop raise and take it. I get him with A-4s vs his K-3, turn 3 to double up.

Finally,

I limp J-8s from the SB because he had just doubled up to close to me in chips and he was letting me see flops cheaply so I mixed it up and completed. He checked.

Flop: (Pot: 1200)
J-9-7

He min-bets 600, I move him for his last 2500 or so and he calls with... 4-4? I fade the 4 and take down $300. We left at that time as it was like 11:45 and they were starting to wind down for the night.

Good night for both of us.

We went back the next day and played the 2-2 NL ($100 max) ring games. That was a bore as those are some of the biggest nit games I've ever seen. It was shocking to me based on my experiences in the SNGs from the night before and the things that I'd been told from other friends who had played there previously. I broke even at the first cash table, played a $65 turbo where I lost a race 3 handed for my 5BB stack with As-Js vs 7-7 (aside from Qs-Qc, which I got all-in pre vs Qd-Qh and chopped even though she flopped 3 diamonds for the ultimate sweat, A-J was the best hand I saw the whole SNG), and then I won $66 at my second cash table with Ad-Qd where I made the nut flush on the turn vs top pair Kings to win a decent sized pot. I played for like 2 hours at that table and T-T was the best hand I saw, of which I won a decent sized pot against the only LAG at the table who had 8-8 on the J-4-3-4-9 board where he bet every street, I just couldn't fold in that spot against that guy. We went to dinner that night and then went and saw There Will Be Blood (my second time seeing it in theaters) because Thomas wanted to see it.

I went back two weeks later with my friend Don, I'll post that amazing story later.