It's been quite a while since I posted, but I have been playing quite a bit of poker.
A few weeks ago, some buds and I went up to Tulalip on a Saturday. I played poker while they shopped, drank, and played slots. There was an 11am tournament but the structure was really terrible (blinds doubling every level) so I was rather dispirited and didn't play well. I still made it into the top 1/4 of the field but not the money. The cash games were pretty juicy though. Very loose. One hand stands out in particular:
It was a $2/$5 no-limit table. I was in the big blind. Five players limped in (!), and I looked down to see pocket Aces. I raised to $25 and everybody called (!). I told you it was a loose game. I really didn't like seeing so many players still in the hand.
The flop came King, Queen, Six rainbow. Not a bad flop for pocket Aces when there's been no indication of pre-flop strength. As first to bet, I put out $100. The next two players folded; then the next one went all-in, for about $250 more (I had him covered). Everybody else folded back to me, so it was heads-up. I thought for a long, long time. I even apologized to the table for taking so much time, but I couldn't figure out what my opponent had. I had been watching him for awhile and didn't really think he was that good of a player, but even donkeys can flop monsters.
So what did he have? A flopped set fit the flop bet, but why would somebody limp with pocket Kings or pocket Queens? And would somebody call a big pre-flop raise with pocket sixes? (I wouldn't.)
Finally, I said, "Did you flop two pair?" The only hand I could think of was King/Queen. I couldn't see somebody re-raising all-in with Ace/Queen or even Ace/King, although I suppose it's possible.
I finally folded, tossing my Aces face-up onto the table. (I almost never fold face-up.) After this, he showed his hand as well -- King/Queen, for a flopped two pair. I was really behind! Everybody at the table was blown away with the fact that I could both call his hand and fold two Aces, but when I spent some time thinking about it, it wasn't that hard of a move. I would have been in a lot worse shape if he had smooth-called, then shoved on either the turn or river. Maybe he was worried I had a straight draw. But I probably would have lost a lot more money.
A similar hand happened the following week in Reno, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
I decided to spend a few days in Reno, at the World Poker Challenge in the Grand Sierra (the former Reno Hilton). They have a $5000 event that used to be part of the World Poker Tour. They still hold the event, but it's no longer televised. But I decided to play some of the prelim events.
Get this -- $30/night got me a deluxe Suite room! I guess the hotel industry is truly hurting.
I did play one of the tournaments, and made it to the final three tables, but they only paid the final nine so once again, I got frozen out. But I did play a really good hand early on.
I had pocket Jacks in late position and raised after two limpers. They both called. The flop was Ten/Nine/Eight, so I had an overpair and a sweet eight-card straight draw. It was checked to me, and I put out a decent bet. I was happy just to buy the pot there, but if I got called that was okay too. Well, the next player (a scary-good older lady) check-raised me an amount that would put me all-in. The third player folded, and it was back to me. Once again, I thought for quite a while, and once again I made a not-too-hard fold face-up. Then she showed her hand -- Queen/Jack, for a flopped nut straight. I was practically drawing dead. It was, I must admit, an excellent play.
Later at the same table, I got dealt pocket Kings and raised big pre-flop. I got a call from the same lady. The flop came Ace/King/Ace, so I flopped a full house, but not the nuts. I could totally see from her reaction that she was thrilled with her hand, and this bothered me. I put her on one of three hands; two of which beat me: (1) Pocket Aces, for flopped quads; (2) Ace/King, for a flopped nut full-house; or (3) Ace/X, for flopped trips. I slowed down and let her take the lead in the betting. But of course there was no avoiding it; by the turn all the chips were in the middle. The turn was a Ten, and I called her all-in. She showed Ace/Jack, so I had her crushed. That is, until the river came -- another Ten, so her Aces full beat my Kings full. Ugh. What a bad beat. All I can say is that I still had plenty of chips left ... and later, I actually knocked her out of the tournament.
While I was there at the Grand Sierra, Jennifer Harman held a charity tournament to raise money for the Kidney Foundation (she is a kidney disease survivor). I thought about playing it, but decided against it because the structure was so awful and the cash games so lucrative. But a whole lot of pros came to town to play, including Todd Brunson, Andy Bloch, Jeff Madsen, Howard Lederer, and a bunch more that I've forgotten. Kathy Liebert was the last pro to show up to play, and also the last one to be knocked out. I thought that was impressive. Layne Flack was "scheduled to appear", as the saying goes, but was a no-show. Maybe he couldn't make bail.
While I was in Reno, I went downtown to take a look around, and it was just as dreary as I remember it. There was of course almost no poker action going on -- everybody was out at the Grand Sierra. I also stopped by the Atlantis and the Peppermill, two larger resorts south of downtown. I played some limit at the Atlantis.
I got back from Reno just in time to head to Phoenix for a work function. In between teaching classes and meeting customers, I attended the "Fourth Annual InterSystems Developers Conference Poker Tournament" (although it was my first year playing). It was a $20 buy-in; 43 players entered, and your favorite blogger ended up winning. The cash prize for first was $265, but more importantly the winner received a really awesome bracelet! I was disappointed when I saw it though; I was hoping for something really tacky but this one is quite elegant. It has "DEVCON 2009 Poker Champion" engraved on it. It almost looks like a medic-alert bracelet; I showed it to a friend and he said that either I had won the poker tournament or I have an allergy to penicillin.
I wish I could share with you some defining hand from the tournament, but I really don't have any. The structure was short levels and rapidly escalating blinds; although I generally don't like such a structure (see the above Tulalip/Kidney Foundation tournaments), of all the players there I think I knew the best way to exploit it. The key for me was to play just a little bit looser than usual (but still tight); release post-flop immediately if you don't hit paydirt; and whatever you do, don't bluff. What's the opposite of bluff? Whenever I got lucky and flopped two pair, I'd just bet the most and somebody would always call with top pair or middle pair. Frankly, I got hit by the deck. Anybody could have won with the hands I got dealt.
Anyhow, that's what I've been up to this past month or so. I still have the Pendleton Poker Round-Up circled on my calendar; and of course you can count on me playing some of the WSOP events (while wearing my DevCon bracelet, I promise!).
