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.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
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....