Man, the dust collects quickly when you're all distracted and busy and whatnot...
What's been up? Life, basically. Between this new job and a bunch of other things going on, I've barely had a chance to even think about blogging, or even what to write about.
I still have the same feeds in my Reader (oh, GFY Google for changing Reader's UI, booooooo) and keep up with things, whether it's LJ's little baby, or VeryJosie's evolving live exploits, or the various Vegas shenanigans in December - and still have a lot of opinions about all sorts of things I read and hear on a daily basis - but I don't really have an urge to write about any of it.
It's very strange, actually. The older I get, the less important I think my opinions are - or more properly, I don't think those opinions are really important or interesting to anyone but myself.
-BabyGirlHeff: Now 2 and incredibly demanding, as I'm told most girls are at that age.
Very verbal and intelligent (most fathers say that, I wouldn't unless it were actually true.)
She likes counting to 12, is a whiz with an iPhone, and continually asks to watch either Spiderman (the old TV cartoons of the 60s and 80s) on Netflix or that horrible, whiny bitch of a Canadian kid, Caillou (F U Pebble. Stupidest name ever.)
She photographs well, too, as you can tell from the top right of the page...
- Poker - What's that? Well, I do have an iPad2 now courtesy of bonus grinding, but hardly have time to play anymore.
I have the original bankroll I deposited post-Black Friday and when I have some time, I goof around, lose $$ at cash and MTTs, scoop it back up at SnGs, and try to tilt as many randoms as possible with idiotic chat. So that much hasn't changed... :-)
I haven't played live since that double dip final tabling two daily MTTs at Delaware Park in May - I don't count the silly free bar poker tourneys I dabble in around here - so I have to have a lot of rust in my game. It can't be in that bad of a shape - I still think about the game and try to read and learn about hands when I can - but I'm certainly not getting the trigger time in to remain on top of things.
Oh, and DoJ hurry plz and get my FTP money back to me. Part of the reason I haven't played since May is I don't have a live bankroll to splash around with - going job hunting for a few months will evaporate that in a jiffy.
- Fantasy Football - I actually managed to ride Purple Jesus and Breesus to a nice 6-2 start - and then I couldn't beat anyone but this guy for two months and missed the money bracket of my league. That was disappointing. I think I've been playing with this same crew of bloggers for 2-3 seasons of football and baseball and keep pulling an 0-fer. I just don't research and pay attention as much as I used to.
- I'm not sure how I feel about leaving the media industry. I don't really miss it, and yet every day had a youneverknowwhatwillhappen feel to it, no matter how mundane. Now I work with much smarter people, in a more professional industry, and am a lot more challenged on a daily basis - but I do it for less pay over more hours. Still, I'm more blessed than most of my former co-workers - as difficult as 2011 was for me, I came through the other side pretty well all things considered.
So who knows what 2012 will bring.
Maybe I figure out a way to leverage 15 years of experience into something else and start another adventure...
Maybe I realize that I'm hitting 39 this year and have to get to the gym more often before I really grow a pot...
I just hope I get to play some cards this year and live to see 2013.
I have simple goals. 2012 being better than 2011 would be one of them.
Good times to all (any?) of you reading. Happy New Year!!!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
From morning to night at Delaware Park... more $$$
So after the 6th place cash, I checked emails/made phone calls and decided to wait in the looonnnnggggest deli line ever for a $4 hot dog which was - well, it was grilled, hot, and on a bun with sauerkraut, so at least it was as ordered. By the time I wandered back to the main room, it was almost 6, and the only game without a list was... 8/16 limit?
Well, what the hell, why not, give me two racks of yellow and let's spew chips...
On the good side, they were running the game with reduced $2 rake, and the two chip/four chip structure should have made it a fun action game. What it actually turned out to be was a bunch of older momos limp/calling everything, so you ended up with fourway raised pots on the flop and turn needing to show down a pretty good hand to scoop the pot - and that wasn't really what I had in mind. Then again, it was live limit poker - so I was expecting that and adjusted - but I never made anything except a running straight to bink someone's flopped set, and ended up down 5-6 bets after 30-40 minutes. Then the floor finally announced that the 4/8 Omaha H/L game was starting - a game I put my name on the list for like five hours earlier.
So I figured I should get over there and at least make sure the game started - see how it was for 30 minutes, and then decide if I was going to play the 7pm tourney or just donk around at a cash game until midnight, when I'd have to leave and drive back home. We got a full table and started the game - but after watching the first half orbit, with people limping behind preflop with A23x and the dealer almost biffing quartered pots twice - I got up and bought into the 7pm tourney before I really went on tilt.
That's the bad side about no online poker - you just can't run a split pot game with any kind of speed or pep to make it worth playing. Live PLO or PLO8 might be worthwhile - but limit Omaha live is pure agony, and this is coming from someone who actually likes four card bingo.
The 7pm tourney crowd was an older mix of players - the morning tourney had quite a few guys I could tell were slumming b/c they couldn't play on Stars or Tilt - not so much on a Friday night. I don't remember as much from this run b/c I didn't take as many notes - but I was on another heater of chip accumulation throughout the tourney. From 10K starting chips to 52K at the second break to 130K as we got to two tables left (which was 2X average stack, but only 20 big blinds.)
I was always well ahead of the average stack, was able to win a lot of pots without showdowns, and then took those extra chips to gamble with small stacks for the knockout. I remember having to ask for a count from the dealer a lot, b/c I was always having to call someone's shove or big turn bet. In fact the only time all day I was allin and covered was when I jammed into the aces during the morning tourney - and that's always a good thing.
*I boned one player early in a couple of smallish pots (Ax over KK on a AAx pot, Aces full over Kings full on a AAKKx board) , and he tilt-went out of his way to try and win a hand against me, calling every hand I opened. I ended up taking his original stack and his re-entry as well.
*Got all in with someone preflop on a coin flip, they hit a set on the flop and I runner runnered a flush on them.
*Heffed Hand #onebillion - With two tables left, I open in MP with 98s for a standard raise, big blind defends. Flop J67r and villain instantly shoves for a little over pot, about 40K, which is about 1/3rd of my stack. I think for a minute, count it out, feel like GAMBOOL and say "hey, it's only chips" and toss in the call. I'm up against JT.
Turn T. Half the table goes "whoa." Villain doesn't fill up. My only reaction is a barely audible "boom" on the river. I don't think he was very amused.
By this point all the old nits start talking about chops and bubble saves - which I'm really trying to ignore. I mean, I didn't buy in to play 4-5 hours and end up with a 14-way chop. I finally say I'll listen with 12 players left just to get a couple of the more insistent ones to shut up, hoping they just go busto soon - which they do, thankfully enough.
In the meantime, I actually start hitting some rough waters.
I open AKo, a short stacked big blind decides to properly call off with T8o and hits.
That player then jams into my blind and I call with 33. He shows 88. I call for a three ball which hits the flop. I didn't call for the eight on the turn.
When we get to 10 players, we consolidate to one table, agree to a $100 bubble save for 10th out of our pockets - and then I get to jam aces into the same player's open raise. He calls, I show, he says, "I need Broadway" as he flips over AKo. Flop is QJT. Ahem.
I turn a flush draw, but I ended up under 70K and a below-average stack for the first time in forever. But, I did just let it all go after the hand was over. It's poker. It happens. I cracked aces to cash in the morning, it's all karma, blah blah.
Luckily, there were still shorter stacks to pick on and I can play a 10-15BB stack better than most people. Soon enough the bubble burst and I had scrounged just enough chips to where I could start raise/jamming/winning pots for free like it was my job or something, I was up over 200k seven-handed and 300K six handed, which was over 1/3 of the chips in play. Got to admit, it was fun to play like that.
It was past 1am, though, I still had that drive in front of me, and I started to run out of gas at the table. My opens started getting flatted a lot more, and I couldn't hit a flop. Basically, I kept maintaining my stack and let everyone else knock each other out.
When we finally got heads up, I was probably down in chips 2-1 or so with that same 250-300K stack, but we were at 3K/10K/20K blinds. First was 2400, second was 1500, it was after 1:30am by now, there wasn't any postflop play left for us - and so I figured I had nothing to lose by offering a chop to the 40ish woman across the table who looked like she knew enough to do some business.
"You really feel like flipping for $900? I'll play it either way, but hey, one double up and I'm back in front. How about we chop?"
"What's the chop number?"
TD runs it - $1950 for an even chop.
"Give me $2000 and it's a deal."
Hell yeah it's a deal. $400 free mobneys. Yeah, I would have loved to play it out and see, but that was too good of spot to pass up. We signed for the adjusted payout, I got my chips, left about $100 for tip (with a 3-5% takeout already, that's perfectly fair) cashed out the rest, and I was in my car 10 minutes later on the way home. Not that I got home before 5am thanks to overnight construction and a couple of accidents that blocked traffic on the interstate.
But, it was a fun drive back with a roll of C-notes in my pocket. That's actually my biggest win in a single tournament ever. While I've final tabled some 50-50s before, I never cashed for the big bucks - well, except for the Main Event satellite I won once, but that's not the same thing.
This is obviously sustainable and real and means I should expect to final table a live MTT oh, every other time I play one..... Not.
Well, what the hell, why not, give me two racks of yellow and let's spew chips...
On the good side, they were running the game with reduced $2 rake, and the two chip/four chip structure should have made it a fun action game. What it actually turned out to be was a bunch of older momos limp/calling everything, so you ended up with fourway raised pots on the flop and turn needing to show down a pretty good hand to scoop the pot - and that wasn't really what I had in mind. Then again, it was live limit poker - so I was expecting that and adjusted - but I never made anything except a running straight to bink someone's flopped set, and ended up down 5-6 bets after 30-40 minutes. Then the floor finally announced that the 4/8 Omaha H/L game was starting - a game I put my name on the list for like five hours earlier.
So I figured I should get over there and at least make sure the game started - see how it was for 30 minutes, and then decide if I was going to play the 7pm tourney or just donk around at a cash game until midnight, when I'd have to leave and drive back home. We got a full table and started the game - but after watching the first half orbit, with people limping behind preflop with A23x and the dealer almost biffing quartered pots twice - I got up and bought into the 7pm tourney before I really went on tilt.
That's the bad side about no online poker - you just can't run a split pot game with any kind of speed or pep to make it worth playing. Live PLO or PLO8 might be worthwhile - but limit Omaha live is pure agony, and this is coming from someone who actually likes four card bingo.
The 7pm tourney crowd was an older mix of players - the morning tourney had quite a few guys I could tell were slumming b/c they couldn't play on Stars or Tilt - not so much on a Friday night. I don't remember as much from this run b/c I didn't take as many notes - but I was on another heater of chip accumulation throughout the tourney. From 10K starting chips to 52K at the second break to 130K as we got to two tables left (which was 2X average stack, but only 20 big blinds.)
I was always well ahead of the average stack, was able to win a lot of pots without showdowns, and then took those extra chips to gamble with small stacks for the knockout. I remember having to ask for a count from the dealer a lot, b/c I was always having to call someone's shove or big turn bet. In fact the only time all day I was allin and covered was when I jammed into the aces during the morning tourney - and that's always a good thing.
*I boned one player early in a couple of smallish pots (Ax over KK on a AAx pot, Aces full over Kings full on a AAKKx board) , and he tilt-went out of his way to try and win a hand against me, calling every hand I opened. I ended up taking his original stack and his re-entry as well.
*Got all in with someone preflop on a coin flip, they hit a set on the flop and I runner runnered a flush on them.
*Heffed Hand #onebillion - With two tables left, I open in MP with 98s for a standard raise, big blind defends. Flop J67r and villain instantly shoves for a little over pot, about 40K, which is about 1/3rd of my stack. I think for a minute, count it out, feel like GAMBOOL and say "hey, it's only chips" and toss in the call. I'm up against JT.
Turn T. Half the table goes "whoa." Villain doesn't fill up. My only reaction is a barely audible "boom" on the river. I don't think he was very amused.
By this point all the old nits start talking about chops and bubble saves - which I'm really trying to ignore. I mean, I didn't buy in to play 4-5 hours and end up with a 14-way chop. I finally say I'll listen with 12 players left just to get a couple of the more insistent ones to shut up, hoping they just go busto soon - which they do, thankfully enough.
In the meantime, I actually start hitting some rough waters.
I open AKo, a short stacked big blind decides to properly call off with T8o and hits.
That player then jams into my blind and I call with 33. He shows 88. I call for a three ball which hits the flop. I didn't call for the eight on the turn.
When we get to 10 players, we consolidate to one table, agree to a $100 bubble save for 10th out of our pockets - and then I get to jam aces into the same player's open raise. He calls, I show, he says, "I need Broadway" as he flips over AKo. Flop is QJT. Ahem.
I turn a flush draw, but I ended up under 70K and a below-average stack for the first time in forever. But, I did just let it all go after the hand was over. It's poker. It happens. I cracked aces to cash in the morning, it's all karma, blah blah.
Luckily, there were still shorter stacks to pick on and I can play a 10-15BB stack better than most people. Soon enough the bubble burst and I had scrounged just enough chips to where I could start raise/jamming/winning pots for free like it was my job or something, I was up over 200k seven-handed and 300K six handed, which was over 1/3 of the chips in play. Got to admit, it was fun to play like that.
It was past 1am, though, I still had that drive in front of me, and I started to run out of gas at the table. My opens started getting flatted a lot more, and I couldn't hit a flop. Basically, I kept maintaining my stack and let everyone else knock each other out.
When we finally got heads up, I was probably down in chips 2-1 or so with that same 250-300K stack, but we were at 3K/10K/20K blinds. First was 2400, second was 1500, it was after 1:30am by now, there wasn't any postflop play left for us - and so I figured I had nothing to lose by offering a chop to the 40ish woman across the table who looked like she knew enough to do some business.
"You really feel like flipping for $900? I'll play it either way, but hey, one double up and I'm back in front. How about we chop?"
"What's the chop number?"
TD runs it - $1950 for an even chop.
"Give me $2000 and it's a deal."
Hell yeah it's a deal. $400 free mobneys. Yeah, I would have loved to play it out and see, but that was too good of spot to pass up. We signed for the adjusted payout, I got my chips, left about $100 for tip (with a 3-5% takeout already, that's perfectly fair) cashed out the rest, and I was in my car 10 minutes later on the way home. Not that I got home before 5am thanks to overnight construction and a couple of accidents that blocked traffic on the interstate.
But, it was a fun drive back with a roll of C-notes in my pocket. That's actually my biggest win in a single tournament ever. While I've final tabled some 50-50s before, I never cashed for the big bucks - well, except for the Main Event satellite I won once, but that's not the same thing.
This is obviously sustainable and real and means I should expect to final table a live MTT oh, every other time I play one..... Not.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Delaware Park trip report... $$$
So, I finally got the chance to go out an hit a live session of poker Friday. I took some of the Stars cashout and headed up I-95 to Delaware Park. It's funny, I had no idea I hadn't played a real live tournament since this over two years ago.
Long story short:
I final tabled the $65 11am tourney - about 90 runners - in 6th for $275.
I final tabled the $100 7pm tourney - about 80 runners - and chop it HU for $1900.
So that was nice. Live poker can be fun.
Long story long:
Since it had been awhile between live sessions, I didn't really want to jump right in and play cash - so even though Charles Town is a lot closer to me, they don't run anywhere near the amount of tournaments that Delaware Park does and I ended up driving there.
Took me about 2 hours and change to drive Friday morning, I pull up and valet park at the main entrance on the East end of the building - and realize that the poker room is at the complete opposite West end of the building.
LOL walking through all the slots, but since I'd only been there once before to check out the place pre-table games, it wasn't bad to get up to speed on what it all looked like now.
Get to the room, get a player card, buy into the 11am tourney, find my seat, and we let it rip. 7500 starting stacks, 20 min levels, standard fast AC/East Coast daily tourney structure.
At first it takes a little while to get back into the feel and flow of things. I'm used to handling chips and whatnot - but at a bar, not on green felt with padded rails. I don't have a hat on, but I've got my prescription sunglasses and my little Eeyore, so I'm trying to look a little noobish.
Anyway, I start making hands quickly. I stack a poorly played AA when I flop a set on a monotone board and villain jams 60BB, extract value from KQ with AQ in a limped multiway pot after a QQx flop - and then I pull off the first of many Heffed Hands on the day.
I get frisky at 100/200 and open 86o in EP for 600 and get flatted in LP and by the big blind.
Flop 873r, I decide to lead 1200, LP flats, blind folds.
Turn 4, I check, LP jams for a little over pot. Again, I'm thinking online (hey, people try to take pots away from you all the time in these kind of spots) instead of live (people don't bluff spots like this), decide I can bink a 5, 6 or 8 if I need to, and I've got enough of a stack built up to take a shot like this.
I call, see I'm up against 99, say, "Ooh, I've got some outs" - and watch a 5 hit the river.
This is how the AM tourney ran - I just kept building up a stack. 20K at 100/200, 28K when the antes kick in, 45K (3x average stack) by the second break. I kept picking my spots and decided to station people when appropriate..
Another table, I think this was at 75/300/600. EP opens to 1500, I flat behind him in MP with KJs.
Flop Jack high rainbow, he donks like 2500, I call.
Turn blank without any realistic draws, he donks 4K, I call.
River blank, he donks 5500... and I don't get an overpair/JackAce read.
I call and win vs. ATo.
I get moved around a lot, end up next to a local dude who 1) could play 2) was funny and 3) was on a stupid sick heater. I get moved to his right with a nice 50K stack and proceed to tread water while I watch him go from 30K to like 170K in two orbits.
But, at least I was amused with some decent live poker banter while I turtled up in massive card death as we neared the final table bubble for payouts. That nice, 2x, 3x average stack was rapidly becoming a shortie as we got through hour four. I wanted to play the 3pm PLO tourney, but I'm not going to punt a stack. Not really.
13 players left, I'm down to like 45K at 400/2k/4k. I look down at QTs UTG and figure why not, it's a suited one-gapper and likely live vs. Ax hands that will call. I ship, folds around to some Asian kid in the small blind who instantly reships. Oops.
Now earlier, he opened 3K from MP, I repopped the button to 11K with air, and he jammed 30K more with AJo (he showed after I tank folded and asked to see a card) But of course he has Aces this time.
Flop JJ7. That's not good.
Turn 9. Hey I have a chance.
River 8. So, so silly.
Kid only had 10K more than me. Naturally he was next out. He came back to the final table later and said he ran a boat into quads for stacks at a 1/2 NL table. So yeah, I basically cost him at least $400 or so.
After that doubleup, a few hands later the local grinder busts two short stacks in one hand - and we pop the final table bubble without anyone even realizing it. Yay cash and no bitching about chops or bubble saves...
Final table was pretty nondescript. I actually got up to about 140, 150K, which was above average six handed - but we were playing 2K/6k/12k blinds, so like that actually matters. Last hand, it folds around to me and I ship about 130K with A9s from the small blind. Big blind who covers me tanks and says, "I know I have the best hand here." and I think, well hurry up and call me then. He calls with 55 and I don't hit.
I was a little surprised to see a pair that small, because he's essentially flipping 2/3rd of his stack if he's right and crushed if I actually have it. But hey, it's a short stacked low buyin live tourney final table, like there's time to wait around for a bigger hand.
So I go to the cage, sign for sixth, pick up my chips, and have a little under two hours to kill until the 7pm starts.
More TK, including a mini-review of Delaware Park....
Long story short:
I final tabled the $65 11am tourney - about 90 runners - in 6th for $275.
I final tabled the $100 7pm tourney - about 80 runners - and chop it HU for $1900.
So that was nice. Live poker can be fun.
Long story long:
Since it had been awhile between live sessions, I didn't really want to jump right in and play cash - so even though Charles Town is a lot closer to me, they don't run anywhere near the amount of tournaments that Delaware Park does and I ended up driving there.
Took me about 2 hours and change to drive Friday morning, I pull up and valet park at the main entrance on the East end of the building - and realize that the poker room is at the complete opposite West end of the building.
LOL walking through all the slots, but since I'd only been there once before to check out the place pre-table games, it wasn't bad to get up to speed on what it all looked like now.
Get to the room, get a player card, buy into the 11am tourney, find my seat, and we let it rip. 7500 starting stacks, 20 min levels, standard fast AC/East Coast daily tourney structure.
At first it takes a little while to get back into the feel and flow of things. I'm used to handling chips and whatnot - but at a bar, not on green felt with padded rails. I don't have a hat on, but I've got my prescription sunglasses and my little Eeyore, so I'm trying to look a little noobish.
Anyway, I start making hands quickly. I stack a poorly played AA when I flop a set on a monotone board and villain jams 60BB, extract value from KQ with AQ in a limped multiway pot after a QQx flop - and then I pull off the first of many Heffed Hands on the day.
I get frisky at 100/200 and open 86o in EP for 600 and get flatted in LP and by the big blind.
Flop 873r, I decide to lead 1200, LP flats, blind folds.
Turn 4, I check, LP jams for a little over pot. Again, I'm thinking online (hey, people try to take pots away from you all the time in these kind of spots) instead of live (people don't bluff spots like this), decide I can bink a 5, 6 or 8 if I need to, and I've got enough of a stack built up to take a shot like this.
I call, see I'm up against 99, say, "Ooh, I've got some outs" - and watch a 5 hit the river.
This is how the AM tourney ran - I just kept building up a stack. 20K at 100/200, 28K when the antes kick in, 45K (3x average stack) by the second break. I kept picking my spots and decided to station people when appropriate..
Another table, I think this was at 75/300/600. EP opens to 1500, I flat behind him in MP with KJs.
Flop Jack high rainbow, he donks like 2500, I call.
Turn blank without any realistic draws, he donks 4K, I call.
River blank, he donks 5500... and I don't get an overpair/JackAce read.
I call and win vs. ATo.
I get moved around a lot, end up next to a local dude who 1) could play 2) was funny and 3) was on a stupid sick heater. I get moved to his right with a nice 50K stack and proceed to tread water while I watch him go from 30K to like 170K in two orbits.
But, at least I was amused with some decent live poker banter while I turtled up in massive card death as we neared the final table bubble for payouts. That nice, 2x, 3x average stack was rapidly becoming a shortie as we got through hour four. I wanted to play the 3pm PLO tourney, but I'm not going to punt a stack. Not really.
13 players left, I'm down to like 45K at 400/2k/4k. I look down at QTs UTG and figure why not, it's a suited one-gapper and likely live vs. Ax hands that will call. I ship, folds around to some Asian kid in the small blind who instantly reships. Oops.
Now earlier, he opened 3K from MP, I repopped the button to 11K with air, and he jammed 30K more with AJo (he showed after I tank folded and asked to see a card) But of course he has Aces this time.
Flop JJ7. That's not good.
Turn 9. Hey I have a chance.
River 8. So, so silly.
Kid only had 10K more than me. Naturally he was next out. He came back to the final table later and said he ran a boat into quads for stacks at a 1/2 NL table. So yeah, I basically cost him at least $400 or so.
After that doubleup, a few hands later the local grinder busts two short stacks in one hand - and we pop the final table bubble without anyone even realizing it. Yay cash and no bitching about chops or bubble saves...
Final table was pretty nondescript. I actually got up to about 140, 150K, which was above average six handed - but we were playing 2K/6k/12k blinds, so like that actually matters. Last hand, it folds around to me and I ship about 130K with A9s from the small blind. Big blind who covers me tanks and says, "I know I have the best hand here." and I think, well hurry up and call me then. He calls with 55 and I don't hit.
I was a little surprised to see a pair that small, because he's essentially flipping 2/3rd of his stack if he's right and crushed if I actually have it. But hey, it's a short stacked low buyin live tourney final table, like there's time to wait around for a bigger hand.
So I go to the cage, sign for sixth, pick up my chips, and have a little under two hours to kill until the 7pm starts.
More TK, including a mini-review of Delaware Park....
Monday, April 18, 2011
Weekend and more De-Throning...
Since there's nothing better to talk about at the moment, let's revisit our last little bit of glory - the De-Throning of VeryJosie, Part the Second!
Game 2
VJ gets out to a small lead early - then she opens 3x to 60, I flat with T8o.
Flop 997, two hearts, I check/call 80.
Turn Td, now two diamonds as well, I check/call 180.
River 4d, I check/tank call 300, see Ah5c, I win and take a 2-1 chip lead.
veryjosie: i am soooo on tilt
veryjosie raises to 80
heffmike: obv/
heffmike folds
Uncalled bet of 60 returned to veryjosie
veryjosie: lol
veryjosie shows [7c 2d] Seven Two high
She does know how to fill up, though
Seat 1: veryjosie (735)
Seat 2: heffmike (2,265)
heffmike posts the small blind of 15
veryjosie posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [8d Ad]
heffmike raises to 80
veryjosie calls 50
*** FLOP *** [Qc 4s 7d]
veryjosie checks
heffmike checks
*** TURN *** [Qc 4s 7d] [7c]
veryjosie checks
heffmike checks
*** RIVER *** [Qc 4s 7d 7c] [9s]
veryjosie bets 655, and is all in
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike: I should call you with Ace high, but no easy chips.
heffmike folds
Uncalled bet of 655 returned to veryjosie
veryjosie shows [7h 9d] a full house, Sevens full of Nines
veryjosie wins the pot (160)
A little later, I open/limp 5s3s for 40 with a 3-1 chip lead. VJ raises to 120, I call.
Flop 432r, she jams 640 into a 240 pot. Even if she has an overpair, I have a lot of outs.
Bet sizing screams Ax more than a second-level bet for value.
I call, see AKo, I hold and win, and I'm up 2-0.
Took about twice as long as game 1, but I felt in control both times and was just riding the wave.
Game 3 was a hell of a lot more work and lasted over 30 minutes.
First hand, I limp the button, VJ raises, I fold, she shows AA.
Second hand, VJ raises her button, I fold, she shows 66.
Third hand, the one time I make a move all night:
I raise AJo to 50, she calls.
Flop Q66, two clubs, she donks 60 and I call.
Turn Ks, she checks, I check behind.
River 5c, completing the flush, she bets 60, I raise to 200, she calls with Qd2d and PWNS.
Fourth hand, VJ completes, I check A5o.
Flop AT5 with a heart draw, I bet 60, she calls.
Turn Jc, I bet 80 and she calls again,
River 9c for a backdoor flush, I check/call 80 and beat her QQ no club.
VJ turns on her boat switch later. She makes them twice and notches me, once when I have an underboat and the other with top pair - and I'm down almost 3-1 pretty quickly. I grind it back to even, then start falling behind again when I gambool silly...
VJ opens 3x to 150, I repop to 450 with KTo, VJ jams 1745 and obviously covers.
I figure I've got a 1/3 of the stack in already and with a 2-0 lead, it's gambool time.
Flop KT8.
Turn Ace
River blank. Now I'm up 5-1.
Of course it's not that simple.
Twice I get it in pre with overcards vs. her small pocket pairs and lose flips, but I still maintain a small chip lead until we get it in for the last time.
I openlimp to 60 with A8, VJ repops to 240, I decide to jam,and VJ tank calls off with 55.
I flop an Ace and fade the the two outer FTW.
***********
Looking back, man I was playing passive/trappy on purpose.
Limping a lot of buttons, keeping pots fairly small preflop, flatting preflop raises with a wide-ass range - then trying to play more postflop...
It wasn't really by design - well, not entirely.
But I do have a pretty good bead on VJ's play, recognized some tendencies over time... and adjusted what I normally do accordingly.
Anyhow, we were going to try another best-of-five sometime this week... but unless there's some other avenue for HU SnGs for free on the interwebz... so much for that.
***********
I did decide to have a last call/one more session Friday before all the doors slammed shut - burned up all my FTP points for $26 tokens (and a deck of cards, whee!) and jumped in a bunch of 90-mans and Rush MTTs. I ran into overpairs a couple of times - but I did manage to final table the last tourney I'll probably ever get to play on FTP, the ol' reliable 90-man $24+2.
I do my usual silly shit:
I jam A7s into an openlimped 44, board runs T85T8 and I counterfeit on the river.
I jam KTs into the same guy openlimping A2s, board runs J95AQ and I spike the river again.
I jam QTs into 22 and AK, board runs AJ5K5 - and I'm a genius again.
On the final table bubble I call off to a 10BB shove with ATs and hold vs. KQo
I hit the FT 3rd in chips with 20BB.
Nothing happens until we're five-handed, I shove 8BB with K8, get called by A7 and make trip eights.
I'm jamming a lot, so when the button opens four handed, I have an easy 25BB reshove with AKs - he tank calls with AQo and suddenly I've got the chip lead with a little under half the chips in play.
So of course I finally quit hitting everything.
KT vs. a shorty KJ.
99 vs. AQ
I jams 15BB BvB with A2 and run into A7 - and that's that.
4th/90 for $190 more I won't see until the DoJ figures out what it wants to do...
Microcosm of the overall run online run for me.
I only get deep when I spew and donk around early and hit - but I play really well with shallow stacks near bubbles - and naturally, when I'm close enough to get the W that's when I quit spiking everything and miss the big pay bumps.
So it's fitting I close this poker chapter this way - consistently profitable, but never making a really big score.
************
This blog won't go dark - although there will be less to talk about obviously, there still are some loose ends...
- Caps playoff run, of course... 2 down, 14 to go...
- Hey, I still need a new job - the old one is extended until the end of June, but the half-life is rapidly fading on it.
- Maybe some live play to talk about - although I was going to do it out of the online roll, so we'll see how that will work out in the near future...
Regardless of what happens with the future of online poker - the sad thing is, good luck finding a low or mid-stakes live game that's NOT unlimited hold them - or finding a quick one-table SnG - or playing a friendly blogger game like smboatdrink's 10-game tourney.
All those type of things are going by the boards without some kind of virtual poker room to support it.
Maybe if something was organized as a free home game on one of the sites for teh bloggerz - but somehow I don't think that would fly longterm - it's not really poker if there's not money at stake, even if it's only a five spot.
Just keep up with the smart bloggers and posters out there, and we'll all see what transpires...
Game 2
VJ gets out to a small lead early - then she opens 3x to 60, I flat with T8o.
Flop 997, two hearts, I check/call 80.
Turn Td, now two diamonds as well, I check/call 180.
River 4d, I check/tank call 300, see Ah5c, I win and take a 2-1 chip lead.
veryjosie: i am soooo on tilt
veryjosie raises to 80
heffmike: obv/
heffmike folds
Uncalled bet of 60 returned to veryjosie
veryjosie: lol
veryjosie shows [7c 2d] Seven Two high
She does know how to fill up, though
Seat 1: veryjosie (735)
Seat 2: heffmike (2,265)
heffmike posts the small blind of 15
veryjosie posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [8d Ad]
heffmike raises to 80
veryjosie calls 50
*** FLOP *** [Qc 4s 7d]
veryjosie checks
heffmike checks
*** TURN *** [Qc 4s 7d] [7c]
veryjosie checks
heffmike checks
*** RIVER *** [Qc 4s 7d 7c] [9s]
veryjosie bets 655, and is all in
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike: I should call you with Ace high, but no easy chips.
heffmike folds
Uncalled bet of 655 returned to veryjosie
veryjosie shows [7h 9d] a full house, Sevens full of Nines
veryjosie wins the pot (160)
A little later, I open/limp 5s3s for 40 with a 3-1 chip lead. VJ raises to 120, I call.
Flop 432r, she jams 640 into a 240 pot. Even if she has an overpair, I have a lot of outs.
Bet sizing screams Ax more than a second-level bet for value.
I call, see AKo, I hold and win, and I'm up 2-0.
Took about twice as long as game 1, but I felt in control both times and was just riding the wave.
Game 3 was a hell of a lot more work and lasted over 30 minutes.
First hand, I limp the button, VJ raises, I fold, she shows AA.
Second hand, VJ raises her button, I fold, she shows 66.
Third hand, the one time I make a move all night:
I raise AJo to 50, she calls.
Flop Q66, two clubs, she donks 60 and I call.
Turn Ks, she checks, I check behind.
River 5c, completing the flush, she bets 60, I raise to 200, she calls with Qd2d and PWNS.
Fourth hand, VJ completes, I check A5o.
Flop AT5 with a heart draw, I bet 60, she calls.
Turn Jc, I bet 80 and she calls again,
River 9c for a backdoor flush, I check/call 80 and beat her QQ no club.
VJ turns on her boat switch later. She makes them twice and notches me, once when I have an underboat and the other with top pair - and I'm down almost 3-1 pretty quickly. I grind it back to even, then start falling behind again when I gambool silly...
VJ opens 3x to 150, I repop to 450 with KTo, VJ jams 1745 and obviously covers.
I figure I've got a 1/3 of the stack in already and with a 2-0 lead, it's gambool time.
Flop KT8.
Turn Ace
River blank. Now I'm up 5-1.
Of course it's not that simple.
Twice I get it in pre with overcards vs. her small pocket pairs and lose flips, but I still maintain a small chip lead until we get it in for the last time.
I openlimp to 60 with A8, VJ repops to 240, I decide to jam,and VJ tank calls off with 55.
I flop an Ace and fade the the two outer FTW.
***********
Looking back, man I was playing passive/trappy on purpose.
Limping a lot of buttons, keeping pots fairly small preflop, flatting preflop raises with a wide-ass range - then trying to play more postflop...
It wasn't really by design - well, not entirely.
But I do have a pretty good bead on VJ's play, recognized some tendencies over time... and adjusted what I normally do accordingly.
Anyhow, we were going to try another best-of-five sometime this week... but unless there's some other avenue for HU SnGs for free on the interwebz... so much for that.
***********
I did decide to have a last call/one more session Friday before all the doors slammed shut - burned up all my FTP points for $26 tokens (and a deck of cards, whee!) and jumped in a bunch of 90-mans and Rush MTTs. I ran into overpairs a couple of times - but I did manage to final table the last tourney I'll probably ever get to play on FTP, the ol' reliable 90-man $24+2.
I do my usual silly shit:
I jam A7s into an openlimped 44, board runs T85T8 and I counterfeit on the river.
I jam KTs into the same guy openlimping A2s, board runs J95AQ and I spike the river again.
I jam QTs into 22 and AK, board runs AJ5K5 - and I'm a genius again.
On the final table bubble I call off to a 10BB shove with ATs and hold vs. KQo
I hit the FT 3rd in chips with 20BB.
Nothing happens until we're five-handed, I shove 8BB with K8, get called by A7 and make trip eights.
I'm jamming a lot, so when the button opens four handed, I have an easy 25BB reshove with AKs - he tank calls with AQo and suddenly I've got the chip lead with a little under half the chips in play.
So of course I finally quit hitting everything.
KT vs. a shorty KJ.
99 vs. AQ
I jams 15BB BvB with A2 and run into A7 - and that's that.
4th/90 for $190 more I won't see until the DoJ figures out what it wants to do...
Microcosm of the overall run online run for me.
I only get deep when I spew and donk around early and hit - but I play really well with shallow stacks near bubbles - and naturally, when I'm close enough to get the W that's when I quit spiking everything and miss the big pay bumps.
So it's fitting I close this poker chapter this way - consistently profitable, but never making a really big score.
************
This blog won't go dark - although there will be less to talk about obviously, there still are some loose ends...
- Caps playoff run, of course... 2 down, 14 to go...
- Hey, I still need a new job - the old one is extended until the end of June, but the half-life is rapidly fading on it.
- Maybe some live play to talk about - although I was going to do it out of the online roll, so we'll see how that will work out in the near future...
Regardless of what happens with the future of online poker - the sad thing is, good luck finding a low or mid-stakes live game that's NOT unlimited hold them - or finding a quick one-table SnG - or playing a friendly blogger game like smboatdrink's 10-game tourney.
All those type of things are going by the boards without some kind of virtual poker room to support it.
Maybe if something was organized as a free home game on one of the sites for teh bloggerz - but somehow I don't think that would fly longterm - it's not really poker if there's not money at stake, even if it's only a five spot.
Just keep up with the smart bloggers and posters out there, and we'll all see what transpires...
Friday, April 15, 2011
Iike a dinosaur watching the asteroid hit.
Could be worse, I suppose.
I don't make a living at this, and I have mobney stuck on the sites rather than in payment processor limbo.
However, I would have liked to have an offline roll - I've got enough online poker-only mobney to play indefinitely live, but that's what I get for being slack in 2011 and not pulling it off sooner. Who knows when/if it'll ever be freed up or not.
I guess this means I'm not playing the Ante Up PLO tourney tomorrow.
At least I'll have some more free time now.
EDIT: just read this and sit tight. Nothing else to do at the moment. Nothing else you can do.
The De-Throning, Part The First:
So VeryJosie and I are playing 1500 starting stacks, starting at 10/20.
Very first hand, I limp the suited Grump (4s2s) on the button, VJ raises to 80, I call.
Flop A82 with two clubs, she donks 1/2 pot, I call.
Turn another deuce. She checks, I bet 240 into the 320 pot, she folds, I show.
We're off and running now.
VJ opens 3x to 60, I flat with das Hämmerchen (72o)
Flop 743 with club draw, I check/call 80.
Turn 8, it checks through.
River 2, I donk 1/2 pot, she folds what she says is AKs, I show.
So I'm playing fairly wide open and free, obviously.
VJ opens 3x to 60 again, I repop to 225 with AQo, she folds.
I'm up 1800 to 1200 when she opens her button again 3x to 60.
I repop again to 225, this time with TT.
She types grrrr in the chat and flats.
I don't really like that. Probably walking into a big hand.
Flop T53 with a spade draw. I can like that.
I check, she bets 120 into the 450 pot - sketchy, like it's meant to induce.
I can either jam or just reraise - trying to figure out what gets the rest in better.
I reraise to 450. VJ tank jams for 975 total, and I hold vs. her KK no spade for the 1-0 lead.
Spade draw with the 2s got there on the river, so my other likely semibluffs would've hit as well.
Only 20 hands, one level of play.
Six minutes, Doug E. Fresh, you're on.
Of course, I basically coolered VJ with a two outer to win Game 1.
If the flop comes all undercards, I certainly double her up.
I probably get away on a rainbow flop with a couple of overcards.
But that's poker. 60BB on the flop with an overpair should be good more often than not HU.
Heff 1, VJ 0.
Very first hand, I limp the suited Grump (4s2s) on the button, VJ raises to 80, I call.
Flop A82 with two clubs, she donks 1/2 pot, I call.
Turn another deuce. She checks, I bet 240 into the 320 pot, she folds, I show.
We're off and running now.
VJ opens 3x to 60, I flat with das Hämmerchen (72o)
Flop 743 with club draw, I check/call 80.
Turn 8, it checks through.
River 2, I donk 1/2 pot, she folds what she says is AKs, I show.
So I'm playing fairly wide open and free, obviously.
VJ opens 3x to 60 again, I repop to 225 with AQo, she folds.
I'm up 1800 to 1200 when she opens her button again 3x to 60.
I repop again to 225, this time with TT.
She types grrrr in the chat and flats.
I don't really like that. Probably walking into a big hand.
Flop T53 with a spade draw. I can like that.
I check, she bets 120 into the 450 pot - sketchy, like it's meant to induce.
I can either jam or just reraise - trying to figure out what gets the rest in better.
I reraise to 450. VJ tank jams for 975 total, and I hold vs. her KK no spade for the 1-0 lead.
Spade draw with the 2s got there on the river, so my other likely semibluffs would've hit as well.
Only 20 hands, one level of play.
Six minutes, Doug E. Fresh, you're on.
Of course, I basically coolered VJ with a two outer to win Game 1.
If the flop comes all undercards, I certainly double her up.
I probably get away on a rainbow flop with a couple of overcards.
But that's poker. 60BB on the flop with an overpair should be good more often than not HU.
Heff 1, VJ 0.