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FTOPS/MTT Blog…
“I must got an angel, cause look how death missed his ass. Unbreakable, what you thought they called me Mr. Glass? Look back on my life like the ghost of Christmas past, Toys R Us where I used to spend that Christmas cash. And I still won’t grow up, I’m a grown ass kid. Swear I should be locked up for stupid ish that I did. But I’m a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph, make music that’s fire, spit my soul through the wire…” Kanye West – Through The Wire.
FTOPS has ended and yet again I have no 6 figure scores. I bubbled the Mini Ftops Horse final table (9th place – 8 made the final) and I also got 18th in the Mixed Holdem Limit/No Limit FTOPS event. Couple close shots lately but nothing big.
Anyways, aside from the little FTOPS talk I want to talk to everyone about Multi Table Tournaments. MTT’s are one of the toughest forms of poker. You have to yield your way through huge fields and have a lot of luck to eventually be the winner. There isn’t much room for mistakes and one hand can cost you the tournament. With that being said, I think anyone who plays multis, backs people, is backed by someone, or wants to be backed by someone, should read this thread from 2+2.
It’s become a pretty long thread but I think there is a lot of important poker information and knowledge in that thread. It can be useful to anyone who is involved in poker or who wants to be involved in poker. I won’t say too much but I suggest everyone read it if they haven’t already.
Also Dan from Pocketfives interviewed me and wrote an article about my blogging. You can check it out here. Very well written article by him. Thanks Dan.
Check that thread out from 2+2. It has a ton of valuable information and it is well worth the read. I am off to bed and I will blog again shortly. Goodnight.
FTOPS Has Started!..
“We just tryin to get by. Tryin to make it to the top but the mountain’s so high. Good thing I know how to rock climb. Swingin over you dudes like monkeys, I find vines.” Juelz Santana – Days Of Our Lives.
The FTOPS is here!!! Although it seems like there are huge online poker series almost every month I still am excited for the FTOPS. I bubbled event #2 (the shootout) tonight. I got heads up and we were about even in chips and I misplayed one hand to give him a lead and then lost top pair vs. overpair in a hand where I probably go broke everytime only having 15-20bbs. Frustrating to make a mistake heads up in a tournament I feel like I have a huge edge in. I really enjoy shootouts. Tomorrow is the one rebuy, one addon. I have a feeling I’m going to do well in this. I love 1r1a tourneys too lol.
I’m excited to play these FTOPS and big multis in general. I guess it’s just refreshing having shots at big money every night. I’m trying to gear for WSOP and fine tune my game and all my leaks. I guess my style of play is pretty high variance people would say. I’ve been analyzing a lot of things I do and I’m trying to make sure I’m not playing spots where it’s hurting me more than helping me.
I could go on for a while about my play in this blog and the things I do right and wrong but I really am trying to just look at so many different aspects that are completely the opposite of my game. I don’t want to give too much detail but I’m just trying to look at poker in a different light than I have been looking at it in the past. I feel like I adjust pretty well to how the game is evolving but its all about your opponent; their game, their thoughts, how they play. It’s easy to become satisfied and content with plays, situations, and scenarios in poker. I pretty much know when and where my hand is a favorite over x’s range or y’s shove, etc. Sometimes instead of taking my knowledge for granted and being content with what I have learned over the years, maybe I should rethink my thought processes and see what else I can do instead of trying to make every play I make completely “standard.”
Oh well. I hope I got that thought across right. It’s almost 5am. I’m pooped. Goodnight.
Hard Rock Tournament/Random…
“They tryin to shoot down my flight, before it lands, before it lands… But you could miss me with all that. Diss me then crawl back. I really wish yall would fall back. But gettin rich supposed to solve that…” Drake – Lust For Life.
Hey everyone. Got some people wondering where I’ve been. I’ve been playing a lot of poker actually just away from the Internet. I went to a tournament in Tampa at the Hard Rock about a month or so ago. I have the hand history from that. It was a pretty fun tournament. I didn’t get too deep but I got deep enough to post some interesting and fun hands. I’m pretty sure the blind levels were hour long and we started with 11k in chips.
My table had a good mix of people. I knew two faces from the Hard Rock in South Florida. There were also some Hard Rock Tampa players (who knew each other) and some younger kids at the table.
The first notable pot I play a guy makes it 150 preflop (at 25/50) utg. I call mis position with 78ss, another player “Art” calls. I know Art from South Florida Hard Rock and cash games. Flop comes QT2ss we all check to art who bets 650. Utg calls and I call. Turn is the Js. We all check. River Jh. I bet 1400 and utg calls and I win the pot, up to 14k early.
Theres one local at the table who has been active 3 betting preflop. I didn’t know what to make of it at first. I raised utg to 150 with KKs and he repopped me to 325. This was like his 2nd or 3rd small 3bet preflop. I call and the flop comes 56Jss. I check to him he bets 650. I was going to raise the flop (which I should have) but the guy seemed tight and I wasn’t sure what his 3bets meant yet, so I decided to keep the pot small and see what happened on the turn. The turn was a horrible card, the Ac. I checked again and he bet 750. I called. The river bricked and we check checked and he said “I have a jack.” So apparently hes reraising light preflop with JT/QJ/JK 15.5k
Couple hands later at 50/100 someone makes it 300 ep I call with 34cc and the guy from above squeezes to 1600 and shows KK. So maybe his big 3bet is actually a hand? =)
Here’s one of the most interesting hands I played of the day. It happens to be with the same guy from the above two paragraphs. I open QhKd in 2nd position to 300. One guy calls 300 then the guy from above makes it 650. It folds back to me and I decide to go with my read on the guy and pick the pot up there, or rep a big hand for postflop and make it 1650. He calls, other guy folds. Flop comes J78hh. I bet 1800 and he calls again. The turn is the 3h. Now I dont have much, lol, but I really think he’s pretty weak given my read and given how the hand has gone down so far. He had 8k behind and I had about 10k behind. I thought he would fold a ton of his range here. He tanked for a little while, asked me if I had AKhh or AQhh and after about 2 minutes he mucks saying he had a set. I highly doubt he had a set but I think he had like QJ or some kind of jack. Risky bluff, but went with instincts and now up to 16.5k
50/100 guy limps, really aggressive young kid limps, sb limps, I check 99 in the big blind. Flop 962ss. Checks to aggro kid he bets 300. I decide to play the hand a little tricky with a weird bet size and raise to 1175. He calls with about 2.5k behind. I was expecting a shove or fold. The turn is the 7s. I decide to check to induce bluffs (since im never folding.) He checks as well. The river pairs the board with a 6 and I move in. He calls and I win the pot and I am up to 20k.
We are playing 7 handed and I raise K8dd. SB calls and BB calls. Flop KQ5sss we all check. turn is Jh i bet 750, bb calls. River Tc chk chk he has JTo no spade, lose a little pot.
Very next hand I raise to 400 at 75/150 with KKhd. Sb calls and BB calls. Flop comes K97hh I bet 800 and the bb makes it 2k with 9k behind. I decide to just call here and risk the flush hitting, that’s about the only scare card for my hand. His raise is pretty strong and I want him to proceed with the action on the turn out of position. Turn is the 6d and he bets 3k. I move all in and he calls with 77. Up to 31k.
I tightened up considerably because I was getting no hands and I had a pretty comfortable stack/feel for the table. An Internet kid (I assume) raises to 600 on the button at 100/200. I have AKo in the bb and make it 2200. He makes it 5200 with 11.2k behind. I was pretty sure he didn’t have anything here. I figured he would jam made hands and he was probably just making a fancy play on the pot. So I make an easy shove even though it appears I have no fold equity lol and he mucks. 35k now.
This HR regular from Tampa I believe makes it 525 pre. He makes some weird plays kinda amateurish. I call mid position with AQo. Flop comes 552r he bets 1k, I make it 3200 and he mucks. Up to 38k. Same guy raises limper to 750. I have AA in the bb hes hijack. I make it 2700 he calls. Flop 223ssc I have Black aces. I bet 3700 he mucks it 8500 with 20k behind. Earlier in the day he raised like a mid pair on a paired board just to “see where he was at.” So I assume he was doing the same here. I figured he would go with 99+, So I shoved. He ended up mucking. I really should of just called and checked shove turn here, but I thought he was going to call with a any pair really. I probably lost 20k value in this hand but its okay. 49k.
I get moved to a new table and have about 45k. A guy to my direct left who looks like an amateur is running the table over. I raise 2nd pos with 45ss and he calls. Flop comes Q45hh I bet 2325 and he calls. Turn Th we check check, river Qs I check he bets 17k and shows me AKhh. I made it 1050 pre at 200/400.
I test the table out, try to see how the guy to my left is playing with a big stack. Hes in a lot of pots but hes not too crazy. But like the pot above, if I make a hand he is going to pay me off big! I raise QKss on hijack short stack on button calls with 5k behind, bb calls. Flop 573ss I bet 2100 ss goes all in for 5k I call he has 9Tss I fade 58k.
I raised 88 mid position, old guy in the big blind calls (apparently was bad player lol.) I made it 1525 pre at 300/600/50a probably. Flop is A23cc we both check. turn is 4c. We both check. River is 6s, he bets 3k. I didnt think he’d bet an ace on the river and I didn’t think he had a 5 without betting the turn. He turns over 35o and wins the pot.
Next hand I raise T8hh to 1525, short stack goes all in for 6k more. I call he turns over AJo and I brick, down to 43k. Another short stack moves all in for 10k from the hijack. I call on the button with TT. He has 99 and the board runs 952K7 and now I am down to 32k, Jeeeezzzz…
I get moved to a new table and the blinds are not 400/800/100a. I have a big stack to my left. First hand I open A4o to 2100 on the cutoff and on the button he makes it like 6k. I should of went with instincts and shoved and decided to muck. Guy says something about showing who’s table it is blah blah. Then I raise AJo ep he flats and floats my flop bet on dry board and I end up folding turn.
My bustout hand I have about 20k at 400/800/100a and raise AThh utg to 2k. Mid position calls and button calls. Flop comes 762h and we all check. Turn is the 7c and I bet 4800 I believe. I know this is a weird line to take, not betting the flop and betting the 7 on the turn. But I would play my big hands like this if I was planning to check raise the flop and didn’t think anyone had a 7. So I bet and the button flat calls me. Now this guy has already been in a couple pots and all I get from him is weakness here. I really don’t know anything about him but at this point there is like 18k in the pot and I have about 14k behind or something. The river hits 9. I think about it for a little and decide to fight for the pot and I really figure this guy for an 89/45/33/44/55/AJ type hands. I really feel like hes not strong at all here and I shove. He thinks for about 30 seconds and calls. I flip up my AT and he thinks for a second and then shows 55 and I’m out of the tournament. I played for I think 8 hours and was pretty disappointed how everything went down.
I should of been more patient at the last table but I was a little annoyed with how I lost my stack earlier and some pots I lost. The TT vs 99 was huge for my tournament and then I just made some mistakes in the end. I really don’t mind losing how I lost because I sensed weakness and the guy had to make a tough call, but I don’t need to be in spots in that tournament when they will give it to you either. So that’s how that tournament went. A good opportunity at a decent live score down the drain.
I’m really confident about my life game at the time and that is great considering the WSOP is coming. I will definitely be blogging a lot out there so I can tell everyone how I’m doing and what tournaments I’m playing etc. The WSOP has a sick tournament schedule but I don’t know when I will be going out to Vegas yet. The Venetian and Caesars are also running good tournaments so I will be playing those too.
Other than that I have been playing a lot of poker and doing other things. I was in two basketball leagues, one just wrapped up and now I have one left. We play twice a week but the competition isn’t very good. It’s good exercise and it’s nice to be playing in some organized games every now and then. I have also been in the gym and just been hanging out with friends/family/girlfriend.
I know some people have posted about me not blogging that much which is understandable. Don’t take it out on me. I don’t have an obligation to blog. I understand it is free entertainment but it’s not easy having something to write about all the time =) I appreciate those who come and read the blog though. Goodnight.
Also congrats to thedonator who chopped the 100r tonight on Sunday. I got deep in the Sunday Million again and busted 100th or so place AK to QQ. I lost a bunch of flips late in tournaments today and it was really frustrating. It’s poker though lol, everyone has the same complaints. So just realize you’re not the only one who feels they don’t run good. I’m sure every poker player thinks they run bad. =)
Hello World…
“Now the road to the riches is takin me longer. It ain’t kill me yet so it’s makin me stronger. I don’t know if it’s the hate, frustration or hunger; that keep a dude goin, workin for a reason. Ish don’t just happen, Ish happen’s for a reason. I’m that dude like it or love it…” Jadakiss – Still Feel me.
Hello again to the Internet Blogging world! I’ve been busy, busy, busy. Trying to get a bunch of stuff done with a lot on my plate. I haven’t been playing too many MTTs only on the weekends. They have been going alright. Couple scores here and there. I did recently play in some live tournaments locally in South Florida.
Yesterday I played in a $900 Heads up Tournament. It was capped at 128 players and I think it might of sold out. It was 50k to first. I drew an unknown in the first round. If I won my match and my buddy Jason Mercier (treysfull) won his match we would play against each other. The second hand of his match he got it all in preflop AK vs 99 and lost. My opponent was pretty easy. He kept showing me all of his hands. He was making it 250 preflop at 50/100 (as was I.) I originally thought he was going to play well and control pots, etc, but I was wrong about that.
We went back and forth the first ten pots or so. I was trying to figure him out. He kept showing me AK AQ, etc. He was showing his hands and he was starting with good hands. One hand I made it 250 with J7dd and he reraised me to 600. We both started with 7k so I decided to peel. The flop came 522r and he bet 1500. I folded and he turned over A5o. I knew this match was going to be easy and he would get his money in bad. Another pot that was interesting early was when I made it 250 with 66. He called. The flop came 78ss2d and he pot bet into me 500. I decided to float, and we checked the rest of the way and he turned over Q2o. So the guy was pretty aggressive and seemed eager to get his chips in with any piece. About 12-15 hands into the match he makes it 500 preflop (which he did in another raise preflop) and I looked down at AKo. I made it 1700 and he instantly moved all in. I called and he tabled ATcc. The board ran out Q94c2c6c and he won the match. He said sorry for the bad beat etc, and I wished him good luck. Frustrating losing like that. I really wanted to do well in that tournament and felt like I would have. Heads up tournaments are great and hopefully they run some more at the casino.
I also played in a $900 main event the casino ran as well. I had a great starting table and ended up busting 4 hours in or so. I misplayed three hands which cost me big. There’s a couple interesting hands from that tournament but I’d rather leave them out. I didn’t last long enough and play well enough to post any hands from that tournament lol. Just a couple big mistakes and I am pretty disappointed about it.
The big project I was talking about forever ago… (Probably 4-5 months ago but it seems like forever) is still going on and I’ll let everyone know about it when I can.
Other than that stuff I am just doing the same poker thing, working out, playing in two basketball leagues, and some other stuff. Just have been busy and haven’t had much to blog about really. If and when I get involved in more live tournaments or have some more to write about I will start blogging some more. Once a month updates is unacceptable. I apologize.
I’ll leave you guys with this hand from the $900 Main Event at the Isle Casino I played at the other day.
Previous history with opponent: I believe he thinks I am active and aggressive. He thinks I am some Internet player who is on the looser side. He defended his big blind twice against me. The second time I made it 75/150 with J7o from the cutoff and he called. The flop came J78h and he check called my 600 bet. Turn came 4h we both checked and river Qd he bet 1200 and I called and his 95hh missed (gutter on flop.)
Hand in question: He raises UTG 800 at 100/200 with probably 20k stack. I call on the button with T7hh. Flop comes KT5h and he bets 1100. I decide to float. The turn comes the 4h and he bets 3200. He has about 15k behind and I started the hand with ~30k. What is your action on the turn? I think his range here is AA KK or AK. He wasn’t particularly active preflop but his 800 raise made me initially feel like he had AK. His turn bet made me feel like he was committed and loved his hand. Now if I put him on those three hands the next question is can he fold AA or AK? Obviously he is not going to fold the nuts (KK), but is he a solid/tight enough player to think I could have him beat here if I shove the turn? This was the dilemma I faced during the hand and on the turn. Tell me what you guys think.
Until next blog…It wont be that long away I promise! I will be playing online tomorrow so maybe I will have something to blog about after then.
First Febuary Blog…
“Despite the accumulated success, If my attitude ever strayed I made it regress. I never want to win the lottery only because my uncle told me he who made it while struggling made it the best.” Drake – What I’m Thinking Now.
Been a little while since I blogged. I guess I’ve just been busy and tired. Last blog I said I was going to tell a story about my first trip to Borgata/Atlantic City so let me get that out of the way.
I think I was a Sophomore or Junior in college. Pretty sure a Sophomore. Yeah, it was 2006. My buddy Stuart “Thedonator” Paterson was still in on the fourth day texting me updates on how he was doing. I wanted to take the first flight out of Orlando to Atlantic City but I waited and waited until I heard the good news, that he made the final table. I remember it was 1am or 2am and we were on the phone and I was asking him if he would mind If I flew up to watch his final table. He said he didn’t mind and I immediately booked the flight that left at 10am (in about 6-8 hours.) I was pretty excited for him. The final table was stacked with Erick Lindgren and Michael Mizrachi, as well as Amnon Filipi and John D’Agostino.
I arrived into Atlantic city and the first thing I remember is taking a cab to the Borgata. I was looking around and it seemed like it was a city surrounded by swamp or marsh. It was pretty crazy. I got to the Borgata and met up with Stu. He seemed pretty excited and happy and we ended up going to lunch. We had lunch with Erick Lindgren, Gavin smith, and Bill Edler. It was pretty funny because at the time I was reading Gavin Smith’s blog (when he used to write in it.) So here I am, my first taste of poker life on the road, getting to eat lunch with these guys I had seen on television. They were all really nice, especially Bill Edler. The lunch was fun and then after that we hung out and got ready for the final table. Stu had to do some interviews and get some makeup done, haha.
The whole production of the WPT was pretty crazy in itself. They transformed a room into a stage for the poker tournament. We were sitting in bleachers and pretty far away from the action. Stu ended up busting in 6th place. He wasn’t happy but later in the night I remember we went to the craps table and Gavin, Bill Edler, Mike Sexton and others were there gambling. Bill Edler taught me how to teach craps, and not to say the “Forbidden number.” It was a good time. I also believe I met Josh Arieh and his buddy who was on survivor. I ended up staying up pretty late and making my flight the next morning.
I wasn’t in Atlantic City for more than a day but I at least got to see my buddy at a WPT final table and have my first poker road experience. I hadn’t been exposed to life on the tour yet. It was before my first trip out to Vegas for the WSOP. I just remember thinking how glamorous and exciting everything was. I guess when you don’t know better that’s how poker is perceived.
Anyways, aside from that little side story things have been going well. I played that live tournament I bubbled a couple months ago again down at the Hard Rock and guess what? I BUBBLED IT AGAIN. I had all the chips with about 16 people left and made two bad plays and lost half my stack, and then got it in real good with one to come and got sucked out on. Oh well. I have the hand history in my phone but I don’t know If I will post it. Maybe next blog. Let me know if anyone wants me to write about it and I will write about it. There’s actually a lot of interesting hands so I guess I have some material for a blog If I can’t think of anything one night.
Aside from that the FTOPS is going on right now. I have had a couple cashes and deep runs but nothing substantial. It hasn’t been working out in the end. I did end up getting lucky and winning the $162 on stars on Tuesday night. I played well for the most part. I sucked out nasty a couple times. Once when I was short at 3k/6k with 80k I shoved AQcc in middle position 8 handed. The button reshoved, and the big blind called as well. They flipped over JJ (button) and the bb had AA. The board came QQ99x and I ended up tripling up. I also shoved A2 over a button raise on the final table bubble and he called with A9 and I won as well. Aside from a couple bad plays/suckouts, I think I played the final table perfect. It was nice to book a win in a big tournament and the getting lucky thing is actually pretty fun lol (although in any given tournament you have to get super lucky to make it to the end and win anyways.)
So that’s what’s been going on with me. I am going to go see my girlfriend over the weekend and don’t know if I will play the 5k FTOPS. I probably won’t but I’m not sure yet. I feel like I’m supposed to play it. The last 5k 9 handed FTOPS they had I bubbled it and really played my best poker. I would hate to miss a shot at 600k+ and one of the biggest online tournaments but sometimes missing poker is a good thing. It is Valentine’s day after all and I can’t neglect my girl! I am so torn lol. Maybe the 5k is the tournament that I’m going to get my first six figure score in. I really have that urge that I need to play it. Anyway, I am 99% not playing the 5k FTOPS on Saturday. Let me stop talking about it.
I am about to get to bed. Congrats to Stu “thedonator” Paterson tonight on winning the 100r! Goodnight.
Busted 3k Borgata Main, Played Well…
“I got my shades on waitin’ for the sun to shine my way. Got my boom box, suntan lotion, waitin for action. They say when you play with skills good luck could happen.” Jay-Z – Guns and Roses.
Well, I thought I was playing with skills, and I guess I was fortunate in some spots, but my luck ran out in the end I suppose. I busted the Borgata Main Event 3k buyin a couple hours ago. I went into day 2 with 20.4k with the blinds at 500/1k 100a. My starting table was amazing. I had Matt Brady (live poker pro who just won Aruba tournament for 1 million a couple months ago) to my direct left. Everyone else at the table besides one player was tight and straight forward. Since I was so short I decided I would sit back and see how the table was and determine what I could get away with, who would call me with what, etc.
I met Matt over the summer when I was in Vegas for the WSOP. We played together at Caesar’s. He really impressed me today. He played great. I will talk more about that and him in a little bit but let me tell you how my day went.
The first hand I play I get.. ACES! YES YES YES! I have about 18k and make it 2600. Everyone mucks. Oh well, at least I know they exist! I get down to 16k and move in with QQ in middle position, everyone folds again. I also pick up JJ and shove, no callers. I am still hovering around 18-20k.
The first semi interesting spot that comes up is when a player on the cutoff makes it 2700 and I move in from the big blind with QKo. He folds pretty quickly to my 18k all in reraise and I move up to 24k in chips.
Another pretty sick/easy fold for live tournament came when the guy to my right, who was a very tight player, makes it 3700 preflop at 500/1k. He raised from the hijack and I am to his direct left with 88 on the cutoff. Normally this is a shove online all day long vs. an aggressive player but this guy was tight and it’s a deep stacked live tournament. I decided to just muck. No biggie. This was the second hand this player had played I believe.
Now the levels move up to 600/1200 100a and the same tight player from above makes it 4300 preflop in 3rd position. I am in 4th position and look down at TT. This spot is soooooooooooo close. I mean I was baffled what to do here. This guy is such a tight player and this is really only his third hand he’s raised. I have 24k in chips. I tanked it for a while. I figured I just had to let it go and wait for a spot where I know I am getting it in ahead. I thought for a little bit and decided to muck. He showed me AKo. He said if I shoved he would of had to think about if he wanted to call and gamble and race against me. Crazy to think I could make a player with 80k-100k fold AK to my shove there but he mucked AK later in the tournament so I believe him. I don’t mind my fold here but I definitely think it was close. If I knew he could fold AK/AQ I think its closer to a shove but I didn’t know that and I knew he was super tight and went with the muck.
I shove AJo on the hijack for 20k and move up to 23k. The blinds are still 800/1600 200a. Everyone folds. The player in the 3 seat was active and was tricky and limped for 1600. The button (who was also a tight player) makes it 4500. I’m in the big blind with 77 and 16k total. WOW. What made me fold here was two things. When the first guy limped he looked at my stack and then did something that made me believe he had a pretty good hand and didn’t mind gambling against me. Also the fact that the button was tight and I didn’t think he would do this with a hand like 22-66 or anything. He could never fold either so I made an easy fold. The limper reraised to 12.6k and claimed JJ while the button raiser claimed TT -shrug- If it limps to me I probably shove but I don’t know if the first guy really had JJ. The button probably really did have TT though.
About an orbit later, I still am blinding down waiting for a good spot to get my chips in. There are 3 limpers in the pot when I am in the small blind with 23cc. I have 800 invested and call 800 more with 10.7k behind. Matt checks his big blind and the flop comes 22d8hh. We all check and the turn comes Jd. Putting two flush draws out there. I decide to check again and hope that someone fires. Matt bets 2900 and Jason Young (who was moved to the table a little bit ago with chips) calls the 2900. I then move in for 10.7k. Matt folds and Jason calls with K5dd. He hits the Ks on the river but it doesn’t help him and I go up to 37k in chips.
The blinds are now 1k/2k 200a and I raise a couple pots with KJdd and A8cc in good position. I have a great image so nobody is playing back at me, although I’ve had it in the hands I’ve been in. I raise ATo one off the hijack and the tight big blind defends. It looked like he wanted to reraise me preflop but he decided against it. The flop comes 689ss and I had As. He checks to me, I bet 6800 and he tank folded. I imagine he had a hand like AQ here. Up to 44k.
This next hand is probably the second most interesting of the day. I make it 5200 preflop with 88 and the button calls and Jason Young calls in the big blind. The flop comes A73hh and we all check. The turn is the Kd putting two diamonds up as well. We all check again. The river comes the 7s and Jason bets out 8300. At this point I am almost positive my 88 is good against Jason. I really don’t think he would bet a King here and I don’t think he has an ace in this spot. A seven might be the most likely of combinations but I really felt like since me nor the button showed any interest in the pot that he was going to take his stab at it. At this point I see the button show his hand to the guy next to him. When he looked at his hand originally in the hand he squeezed it so I knew he had some paint. I thought he might of had KQ or QQ/JJ. But like I said he showed his neighbor his hand which made me believe he didn’t care about the rest of the action in the pot. The only problem with me calling Jason here is that I thought the other guy might come along with KQ if he didn’t think I had an ace. Instead of just calling Jason I decided to raise the river. I made it 11k more on the river over his 8300 raise. I left myself with about 20k in chips. I feel like my hand definitely seems like AA or KK here. Jason turned over 45dd and said he had 14 outs or something and mucked. Normally I just call the 8k on the river and don’t risk the other 11k but I wanted to squeeze the button out. The button said he had JJ, so he wouldn’t of called anyways, but I took a different line here which turned my hand into a bluff although I didn’t have to. I think its a pretty interesting spot since normally I just call because I was pretty sure I was good (which my read was right) but I wasn’t sure about the button getting in there with a K. I am now up to 65k after this hand, awesome!
Things are looking good until this hand comes up against Matt. Let me give a little history to the day. Me and Matt have been talking all day about hands. I have been honest with him and shown him some of my hands and he has shown me some of his. Sometimes people lie about their holdings and other things at the poker table but I felt like me and Matt were being straight up against each other. We were staying away from each other because the table was so good and there were other spots at the table. We also talked about a hand where he said if he had 99 on a 752hh board sometimes he checks behind because his hand cant handle that much heat. With all that said this hand comes up:
I make it 5200 on the cutoff with AQo. The big blind is the tricky player who has been really aggressive playing back at Matt a bunch, but hasn’t messed with me. Matt calls on the button and everyone else folds. The flop comes 222. Normally my hand is pretty good here on these flops. As long as he doesn’t have a pair I am good. I also know that Matt could definitely have a pair here, or nothing, and float me. I decided to check the flop and see what develops. The turn comes an 8. I check again and this time he bets 6800. I wasn’t really convinced at this point. I know my hand looks like AQ/AK but I still wanted to see what happened on the river. I could play AA or KK like this and super trap someone but I didn’t have it this time. The river comes another 8, making the board 22288. He asks me how much I have behind after I check the river, and he moves all in (puts me all in for 48k.) Now this is where the psychology comes into play. I don’t think he ever has AK. I think he reraises QQ-AA against me preflop. I also know he could just have any suited connector or like QJ KJ KQ, etc. So I limited it to this: I thought he could have 99, TT, JJ. I also thought maybe 33-77 and he got counterfeited on the river. The only problem with the river is the fact that I’m calling the chop. I couldn’t really see him just putting me all in on the river with 99, TT, JJ because he could still get value from me since my hand looks so much like AK/AQ. I definitely thought he would shove 33-77 since he got counterfeit and wanted the whole pot to himself. I also thought he would do that with all of his other bluff hands like 56 suited, qj, qk… I tanked it for a while and asked if this was one of those hands where he checks behind with TT because it can’t handle the heat? I ended up thinking about it for a while, and decided that he was tricky and capable enough to play 99-JJ or even AA or something like this and it would be stupid to call for a chop. I ended up mucking and he later told me he had 33. I don’t mind my fold here at all. I think it comes down to 33-77 and 99-JJ and I think he value bets 99-JJ but I could be wrong. Maybe I should call the river given that thinking but Matt plays good and I let him have it. I also could have bet the flop and went from there. Sometimes I fire two bullets on boards like that but I didn’t want to do that against Matt because he wouldn’t fold JJ or TT there against me.
Matt also made a sick laydown and gave me some insight to live play. Tight player makes it 5500 at 800/1600, other guy who won AQ vs. AK and got short again, shoved in 25k and Matt had AKo in the big blind and 50k. He ended up tanking and mucking. The first guy had AA and busted the other guys TT. Matt’s reasoning for the hand was that the first guy was tight and opened big and that he didn’t think the second player would move in with AQ again since he did that earlier and beat AK. So he would be flipping against the second guy at the minimum and he still had the tight first over raiser to worry about. His thinking was spot on. We talked all day until I busted and he really understands live play. It was interesting seeing his opinion on poker and talking to him about hands because it will help me in the future when I play more live poker. It definitely is a different game and he got me thinking differently which is good.
Okay, on to my tournament again. Jason Young makes it 5k at 1200/2400 from the cutoff and I have 89ss in the big blind. I call the min raise and the flop comes AT2s. He bets 5k and I muck. The next hand he opened Q3o, so I guess I could of shoved here in this spot but I didn’t mind that I called. I had been patient all day I don’t just like moving in with 9 high praying they fold. A couple hands later a tight player limps for 2400 and I move in for 39k with AKo. Everyone folds. I didn’t want to make it 8500 and have to brick a flop or have someone behind me flat call and I play out of position so I shoved to pick up the 8k in the pot. I am now up to 47k.
It folds to me on the button and I look down at KJo. The big blind has about 25k and the blinds are 1200/2400 300a. I think about what to do. KJo plays pretty good on the button, and I wont fold to the big blind either, or I wouldn’t even raise. I thought about just moving in and that seemed like a little too much with 42k in chips, although I am picking up about 6k. I decided to raise to 6200. Matt thought for a little bit and moved all in. The big blind folded and I had a decision. I thought for a little bit and folded as well. Matt told me he had QK. I would never call it off in this spot but I wish I would of shoved preflop. We talked about the hand and Matt says he folds AT, QK, but better he would call. I know shoving for 42k there is a lot but I don’t mind gambling vs. the big blind with KJ or having a chance to pick up 6k. Also only a couple hands Matt calls me with have me crushed. If I knew he folds QK and AT there it’s probably a shove. I don’t mind how I played it again. Oh well.
So here comes my bust out hand. A couple hands later I have 35.5k in chips and the blinds are 1200/2400 300a. I am short stacked like I have been all day. I am in third position and look down at TT. I think the only right play in this spot is a shove and I moved in for 35.5k. It folds to Jason Young in the big blind and he asks me If I want action? I said “Yeah.” He called. I thought for sure he called me with like 66-88 before he flipped up his hand. He turned over AQcc and the board came KQ2cc3hAh and I was out.
I battled hard and felt like I played pretty good today. I didn’t do anything to jeopardize me having a shot. I got into a flip to get up to 70k and I didn’t win it. Oh well. It is frustrating that I had some hands and didn’t get action and that all the pots they were unopened and everyone folded. It is also frustrating that I was up to 65k and couldn’t keep increasing. I felt like I played really good today and did all I could. I am happy with how it went.
I will be leaving to go back to Florida probably tomorrow. It will be nice to get back home and start playing online again. FTOPS is coming up and hopefully I can have a better run than I did last FTOPS. I am DEFINITELY WINNING AN FTOPS EVENT! I’m getting better by the day and soon everything will come together. I will update the blog tomorrow or the day after and talk about my first experience to Atlantic City a couple years back. It should be a good read.
Made It To Day 2 Of The Borgata 3k Main…
“They say what goes up must come down, but I aint reach my cruisin’ altitude. Take a look at what I did, but can you imagine what I’m about to do?” Ludacris – On Top of the World.
I made it to day 2 of the Borgata 3k Main Event. It wasn’t pretty. We started with 50k in chips and 75 minute levels. The blinds started at 25/50 and slowly progressed from there. I ended the day with 20.4k. The blinds will be going to 500/1k 100a when we resume on Tuesday. Let me tell you how my day went today…
When I got to the table I recognized one Internet kid I know in the 10 seat who plays good. Aside from that I didn’t know anyone else. The first interesting pot I get into was at 50/100 when I raised 74dd in early position and got 4 callers. The flop came 762r and I bet 800. Two call. The turn is 5 we all check and the river is 4 we check to the last guy who bets 3k. I tanked for a minute and didn’t think he was bluffing and my 2 pair were no good. I folded and the other guy looked him up with 45ss. The other guy had AK.
Next hand I raise with 84hh and the sb calls. The flop comes J23hh and he checks to me. I bet 425 he calls. The turn is the Jh and he checks to me again. I’m praying he has QJ or something at this point and decide to bet 700. He raises me to 1500. I just call and the river comes the 8s. This is a good card for me if he does have a jack its less likely that the 8 fills him up since I have one in my hand. He fired 5k on the river. I tanked it for a while deciding if I should call. He could easily have 22 or 33 or a higher flush but I looked him up and he mucked. I was up to 57k after the first 2 levels of play.
The table is pretty crazy. One guy limps for 100, one guy raises to 350, I reraise cutoff with A5hh to 1250, and the small blind reraises me with J5o to 4600 and shows it. This was the first three bet I did which happened to be two hours into the tournament. I made an effort to not three bet light early but I guess people still feel the need to squeeze J5o against me lol. Nobody at the table has folded to a 3 bet either. There is probably a 95% flop rate. It’s just crazy.
There are two guys at the table who are playing every hand. The first one limps UTG and another middle position player limps. I have QQ on the cutoff and make it 750 at 75/150. The big blind just calls (the guy who had AK and called my flop bet on the 762 rainbow hand) and UTG calls (the other guy who is in every pot.) The flop comes AQ7dd GIN!!!! It checks to me and I bet 1650. The big blind makes it 4650 total. He has two 10k pink chips behind him along with four green chips totaling 20.1k (green chips are 25.) I can tell he loves his hand on this flop and I thought he had 77 or AQ/A7 for sure. Maybe even KJdd. Sometimes I just call his reraise on the flop here but I could tell he wanted to get his chips in the pot. I didn’t want a bad turn to peel for me or him and scare him away so I decided to make it 13k (10k more than his raise.) He went all in and I snap called. He threw down AA on the table and I bricked the one outer. I really couldn’t believe this guy who was playing every hand ended up having AA here and just called preflop and hit the perfect flop. Oh well. I went down to about 31k after that pot. He had 26k or so to start that hand before I doubled him.
Another aggressive player was 3 betting a lot at the table. One guy made it 400 preflop, he made it 900 and I made it 2650 out of the small blind with 89ss. He called and the fop came QT3cc. We both checked. The turn came 9c and I decided to bluff here and bet 3800. He made it 10k and I folded. This was probably a really bad 4 bet but I hadn’t been crazy preflop and this was before I realized that nobody at the table was going to fold to a 3bet. Also I was out of position and wasn’t deep enough to make this play. This was horrible by me.
A couple hands later the same aggressive guy makes it 400 preflop and gets 3 callers. I call with 89o on the cutoff. The flop comes Q92r and he bets 1125. I call, the others fold. The turn comes Q we both check. River comes J and he bets 2800. I thought this hand out for a while because the Jack hits everything and I really don’t beat anything on the river. This guy had been betting every flop and really just trying to bully people which made me ultimately call him. He mucked his hand and I was back up to 28k. I got a couple really good reads off him and hopefully I play with him more in the future of this tournament and can use them to my advantage.
This next hand is pretty ridiculously sick. Oh let me also add that I was straddling or blind raising under the gun every time for the early levels. This generated some crazy action and I’m sure people thought I was a nut. I learned this from Stu lol. Anyways, really the only showdown I’ve been in that was a big pot was the QQ vs AA pot. So I raise 63dd on the hijack and the button, who is an active player, calls. I know hes flatting here with a million hands. The flop comes KQ6 one diamond. I Bet 750 on the flop and he floats me on the button. The turn comes A and I bet 2200. He calls again. At this point I really think hes just floating me to outplay me again on the river. I probably should of changed my line in this hand on the turn or river but I thought my line screamed JT or AJ. The river comes T making it KQ6AT and I fire 3850. He snap calls and I say “Jeez what do you have AQ?” I tell him I have a 6 and he flips over Q4dd. He called me with a pair of queens on the river. Pretty crazy. I would imagine hes good there probably 5% of the time by just calling. I could be bluffing with a K, A, etc. -shrug- I’m not sure his thought process on the hand but that was the first pot I really fired into so I was shocked to see him call there. Good call though I guess he had a read on me or something. I am now down to 21k.
At this point I realize if people are calling me with Q4 on a board of KQ6AT then I am doing something wrong and I need to tighten up lol. The level goes up to 150/300 and 200/400 and I play exactly 3 hands during these levels in these 3 hours. I have never been so card dead/played so tight in my life. I open one pot with AK and the bb defends and it comes J45hh and I fire and he raises me and I have to muck. Since I had built a tight image (in the mind of some players) I pulled off this squeeze. The Internet kid I talked about earlier who plays good made it 1100 on the hijack and the cutoff called. The cutoff was a new player to the table who seemed tight. I had 74o on the button and make it 3900 with 10k behind. I know the Internet kid knows that I have tightened up a lot and will respect it unless he has a big hand. Also I don’t think the other caller will go crazy when I only have 10k behind. They both muck and I go up to 17k.
My third hand I play during this level is when I have 16k in chips and make it 1100 preflop with AhKc on the hijack. The cutoff calls and the small blind reraises to 6k total. I move all in for 10.1k more and he calls with K7hh. Wow. The flop comes 93hh45 HE HAS SO MANY OUTS!!… and the river is the Js and I double up to 34k!
The blinds are now up to 300/60 and I raise a limper with AJhh. He calls and the flop comes T83h and he checks and I take down the pot with a continuation bet. I also opened 64ss and got 3bet. Thanks for the reminder that I have to stay tight and wait for a hand at this table guy. I finally get a decent hand with TT on the cutoff and the big blind calls my 1550 raise. The flop comes A66 and we both check. The turn is a K and we both check. River comes 5 and he bets 1500 and I call and he mucks. 35k.
I have now blinded down to 27k. I don’t think I’ve really played any pots. I am really card dead. I have never been so card dead ever in my life. There is a limper for 600 and the guy to my right on the cutoff makes it 1600. A small 1k raise. At first I thought this shouted strength. I looked down at AJo on the button and decided to stab at the money in the pot already and made it 4600. It got back to the initial raiser and he put me all in. He had KK and I mucked. I wish I would of just called here but obviously I was just trying to pick up the dead money out there. Normally I just call in position I don’t know why I didn’t do that in this pot.
And from there on out I just blind down until the end of the night and end with 20.4k going into day 2 on Tuesday. I didn’t get AA or KK all day once again. I got AK twice, QQ once, TT once, AJ twice. Those were my best hands. I looked at K3 and Q2 all day it was really bad. I need to get back to online play where I can play 20 tournaments in a day and see some hands! Just kidding =). I know the deck has to smack me in the face soon! Hopefully Tuesday I can run my 20k up to 300k in the first couple levels lol.
That’s about all I have to say. Today didn’t really go so well but I’m still alive and still have a shot. The blinds will go up to 500/1k 100a and hopefully I get hot. I have been pretty card dead my last couple of live tournaments so maybe things will change come Tuesday. I am proud that I switched gears and didn’t panic and just dealt with what was presented to me. I didn’t get out of line and try to force the play. Thanks for reading. Goodnight.
Close Again In The 2k, Yet So Far…
“People walk by and stare like I’m somebody Important. But more and more I’m just feeling like I’m dormant. This must be the calm before that big storm hits.” Anonymous.
The theme of my trip to Atlantic city seems to be the same thing over and over again. Play all day, lose towards the end of the night. Yesterday I played the 2k tournament. It started at 11am and I busted around 11-11:30pm. I think it had 230 people and I got about 50th place with 27 getting paid. The tournament was awesome. You started with 15k in chips and 60 minute levels.
The first hand I play a guy to my right raises the cutoff to 200 and I call with JJ on the button. Flop comes KT8r and we both check, the turn is a 3. Check Check. River is a 9 and I bet 200 and he calls and loses with A8. Take note of this player because he couldn’t win a pot and was visibly frustrated at the beginning of the tournament.
UTG limps, and the same guy to my right makes it 175. I call with KJo and utg calls. The flop comes AJ6dd. It checks to me and I bet 300. The guy to my right calls. The turn comes the Kh and we both check. He bet 400 on the river and I beat his A9cc and was up to about 16.5k
UTG raises to 125 and the guy to my right calls from sb and I call from the bb with 57cc. The flop comes K36hh we all check, turn is Kc we all check, river is 4d sb bets 300 I make it 800 and he folds. So this is three straight pots I have beat him out of.
The very next hand utg raises again to 125. Guy to my right calls on the button and I call in the small blind with 99. The big blind calls as well. The flop comes T94r and we check to the button. He bets 300 and I make it 1200. I made it more this hand because I thought he was getting sick of losing pots to me and would pay me off lighter. The turn comes Kd putting two diamonds up and QJ gets there. I decided what to do. I really thought the guy had a T here and didn’t think he had a drawing type hand. I should of lead the turn since I’m not going to fold anyways but I wanted to see what he did. I checked to him and he bet 1600 with about 6k behind. I thought about it for a minute and decided to move in and maybe he would call me light with just a T or a JT QT type hand. He mucked and showed KThh for top two. I guess I should have lead the turn and played that street bad.
I raise QJo at 50/100 the bb calls. The flop comes J55dd and I bet 400 and he called. The turn came the 9h and he lead for 700. I really thought he turned a 9 here somehow, maybe with a flush draw. I called. The river came the 3d and he bet 800. I didn’t think he would bet this small if he hit the flush and decided to call. He turned up A9 and lost. I am at 22.6k now from my starting stack of 15k.
UTG limps 2nd position limps and I limp button with 66 red. Flop comes 882ss and UTG bets 450. I decided to call here and see what happened on the turn. He checked the turn which was the 4h, I checked as well. On the river he bet 700 after the Th fell and I decided to look him up. He showed QKss for a missed flush draw.
I had two Internet players at my table, BadgerPro(andy) and fratboy247. Andy was active early and I didn’t really mind. Sometimes I mix it up since was two to his left and apply the pressure early but I decided to wait and apply the pressure when the antes were in play and blinds were higher. So I decided not to 3bet him until those levels unless I felt I had to. He made it 450 in middle position and the guy to my right called. I called as well with TTd. The flop came J45ddd and they checked to me. I bet 800. (The blinds are now 75/150.) Andy folded and the other guy called. The turn comes Jh and we both check. The river comes the Ts and I bet 1900. The guy looked me up with 66 and I scooped the pot. I am around 22.5k
UTG limps for 150. I limp in 2nd position with QTss and sb and bb are along for the ride too. The flop comes 972sss and I flop the third nuts. It checks to me and I bet 350. The sb calls. The turn is the Ad and I bet 700, he calls again after checking. The river is the 8c and he checks. I bet 2200 into a 2500 pot. I thought he had the As and would call the river, he mucked. 24k
There are two limpers at 100/200 and Andy makes it 900 in middle position. I have JJ on the cutoff and decide to just flat. Fratboy calls as well as one limper. The flop comes A44cc and we all check. The turn is the Ah putting two flush draws up. I wanted to bet after they all checked to me but I thought Andy could have KK or QQ here and would call. I guess I should still bet to see where I am at considering the fact that I think I have the best hand here unless he has KK or QQ only. I didn’t really think about it in the heat of the moment. There was about 4k out there and I just knuckled. The river came the Ks and we all checked and Andy won with a rivered QK.
Andy had chips until he got into this pot. I want to talk about a lay down he made that not many people would make. He raised to 600 preflop and the guy in between us called. The flop came 852ss and he bet 1100 on the flop. The guy made it 2200. Then he reraised to 5600. His opponent was pretty straight forward and hadn’t gotten out of line or anything. The turn came As and Andy checked (after already putting like 6k into the pot with a set of fives) and the guy instantly bet 4k. Andy had about 10-12k behind still and folded his 55 face up almost instantly. The guy showed T8ss and he won the pot. It’s tough to not fall in love with your hand here on the flop and continue to go with it. He made a good fold and didn’t try to fish on the river or anything. He knew he was beat and got rid of his hand without trying to talk himself out of it.
I raise J9hh UTG to 800 at 150/300 and the big blind calls. The flop comes T8hhQ. He checks to me and I bet 1200, he calls. I turn the straight flush with the Qh. We both check. The river comes the Ac. I am praying he has AQ but he checks into me, I bet 2k and he mucks, up to 26k.
Guy limps 2nd position to 400. Active hijack player makes it 150 and I call with Qjss in the big blind. The small blind calls as well and we go four to the flop. It comes Q74r and we all check. The turn is a 2 and I bet 2300, they all fold 32k.
A new player gets moved to the table UTG his first hand, he limps. A couple other limpers and I have JJ in the sb. With the antes and dead money out there I decide to make it 2700. The utg limper then makes it 4k more. It was a weird spot given the potential psychology involved, but after playing with the guy for longer, I realized he was a nit and most likely had AA or KK there. While the hand took place though I thought I could be getting outplayed lol. I guess I always think that.
Blinds now 300/600 and this tight guy makes it 3150 on the hijack. I pick up AQo in the bb. He has about 12k behind. He has been really tight and I wasn’t sure what his big raise meant. I was worried about him having AK and I tanked it for a minute. I really was stuck in this spot because he raised so much preflop. I had seen him raise larger preflop but never this big. I decided my hand was too strong to fold and I moved all in. He instantly mucked and I was at about 30k.
I went to dinner break with about 12k in chips going into 400/800. I got back and the very first hand Andy makes it 2100 with 18k behind and the guy to my right calls 2100. I have 88 on the hijack and tank it for a minute. I didn’t know how wide Andy was opening but I figured he would open a lot of hands here still, since he had been all day. With the extra dead 2100 out there I had to shove I decided. I moved all in, Andy folded, and the guy between us thought for a while before calling the 12k more. He had 33 and I won the hand and was up to 32k.
At this point I stopped writing hands to my blackberry. The table got really crazy and one of the players was having a fit. We had the floor called to our table probably 10 times in the span of 2-3 hours. I tried not to get upset. One hand I had the clock called on me after only a minute of thought because the guy said “he thought I was going to fold.” Anyways, it was kind of crazy, people were mad and it wasn’t good poker environment. I didn’t want to write the hands down to my phone and potentially get in trouble while I was writing on my phone and I didn’t want to get up from the table every hand I had to write about. Also, there wasn’t much to write about after this point.
I was card dead, and I had a stack size where I had to just wait for hands. There were two players at the table who were basically in every hand and I tried to hang in there. The blinds were 500/1k and I only had about 20k and shoved AK one time. Other than that there wasn’t much that happened.
I got moved to a table with a couple Internet players when we were down to about 60 left. I had about 20k in chips at 600/1200 200a. I moved in one hand with JTo on the button and picked up the blinds and antes. Another time a player to my right who was limping a lot limped UTG and I shoved AJo in 2nd position and picked up the blinds and antes as well. I was just hanging around trying to find a spot to double up when this hand came up.
An active Internet player (not sure who he was) made it 3200 on the cutoff. A tighter player called on the button and I looked down at JTo. I had 1200 invested and had to call 2k more in about a 10k pot. 5-1 on my money, I’m not folding many hands here. I call and the flop comes T64cc. I check and the Internet kid thinks for a minute before betting 5600. The button had about 25k behind and I had about 20k behind. My first instincts were that the Internet player wouldn’t bet here because he would be worried about the tight guy calling on the button. After I thought about it a little more I realized the Internet kid had 60-70k and that he would probably bet here any hand he raised because we both either have to shove or fold. Neither of us can really call vs. him in this spot. Also maybe he wasn’t worried about the guy calling on the button because he had more history with him than I did since I just got to the table. I only saw him limp AK utg and then tank it for a minute to call a short stacks all in, so I figured he was a tight live player. Anyways, the button folded and the decision was on me. I came to the conclusion that the Internet kid would bet here his whole range considering hes only rising 5.5k to win the 11k in the pot and the fact that we either shove or fold on him. I moved in for about 15k more and he asked how much more it was and said call. Dang. I told him i had a T and he said he did too. I prayed it was 9T suited or something but he flipped over KThh and I didn’t improve and I busted in about 50th place.
I think the last hand I can’t get away from. Also the blinds were going up to 800-1600 300a in about 3-5 minutes. I really couldn’t get anything going in this tournament. Again, it was a tournament where I didn’t get AA or KK at all. I had AK twice with no showdown and QQ once. I did pick up JJ about 5 times though lol. I keep talking about this. I know you see a lot less hands live but after playing for 10-12 hours and probably seeing 300-400 hands the odds are supposed to catch up. I need to stop talking about that haha. Anyways, It’s frustrating getting deep and playing for so long and getting nothing out of it. At least it’s experience.
I have a good Atlantic City story. Today my buddy Hans left his shower on while he went down to sweat our friend Tim who was still in the 2k but bubbled it. He was supposed to check out of his room but he wanted for it to appear as someone was there in the shower. He probably left the room for about 30 minutes. We get back to his room, and step inside and immediately step into a puddle of water. LOL. We open the bathroom door and the whole bathroom including the side room where the toilet is is covered with water. The floor had at least 1-2 inches of water on it. It had even seeped through into the closet, outside the hotel room, and on the outside wall of the bathroom lol. It’s a pretty serious water disaster. I know how bad water damage is so I’m not sure what the deal is. We spent about an hour cleaning up the bathroom with towels and ringing them out in the sing and the shower. We haven’t been back to the room in a couple hours. We were supposed to bring towels from my room to go clean the rest of his room but we went to White house subs (awesome sub place in Atlantic City) and then have been in my room ever since. Hopefully the damage isn’t anything serious and he doesn’t get in too much trouble lol.
I’m not playing until the 3k on Sunday/Monday. I will probably play on Sunday and avoid playing online that day. Hopefully the 3k is my tournament since none of these other tournaments have panned out for me. I would hate to leave Atlantic City empty handed. Talk to you guys later.
Another 13 Hour Day, Another Bubble…
“I’ve been real all my life, they confuse it with conceit. Since I will not lose they try to help him cheat. But I will not lose, for even in defeat there’s a valuable lesson learned so it evens it up for me.” Jay-Z – Blueprint 2
Today Was the $560 Deepstacked NL Event at the Borgata. You started with 30k in chips and 45 minute levels. The levels went 25-50, 50-100, and so on. I felt pretty good going into today. I really like deepstacked tournaments. They have a lot more room for play and it allows you to make more mistakes and you also have higher reward. When I got to my table I noticed some players. Online player “JOEYTHEB” was to my immediate left, Mike Sica, and Jacobo Fernandez.
I played a couple small pots here and there feeling out the table. I raised J8ss UTG to 300 and the big blind called. This is in the second level of play. The flop came 862r and I bet 400. She called. The turn came another 8. She checked, I bet 600, she made it 2k. At this point I thought she had a 6 and was feeling me out. She wasn’t that experienced of a player. I decided to call. The river was a 4. She checked to me again. I didn’t think she had anything at this point and decided to value bet 1200. She immediately raised to 3500. I thought about it for a minute. Her line made absolutely no sense and I figured she was full of it. I called and she mucked her hand claiming AK. -Shrug-
The next interesting hand came when UTG limps for 100, sica limps and the cutoff makes it 325. I called in the small blind with 66. UTG mucked, Sica called. The flop came A64r and I checked. Sica bet 575 and the raiser called. I made it 2300 and Sica mucked and the other guy called. The turn came a T, rainbow board. I bet 4k. The guy said “CALL” really distinctively. He was really vocal when he said it. I don’t think he believed me what so ever at this point. The river was an 8 and I thought for sure he was going to call the river. I bet 11.5k and he ended up thinking and folding. I wish I would have bet 9k or something. I think I might have played this hand too fast on the flop or bet too much on the river. It’s a really dry board on the flop but I wanted to get some more money in the pot there, especially out of position and vs. two players.
I get a little more aggressive and have some chips now. Jacobo raises the lady to my right calls and I call with 77. The flop comes K73ss and Jacobo makes it 700. I make it 2250 and Jacobo calls. The turn comes the Td putting two flush draws up. He checks and I bet the same amount I did on the turn in the hand before, 4k. He makes it 11k with 18k. I thought for sure he had AKss or KT here or maybe 33. I definitely thought he had to go with his hand at this point for raising the turn. I decided to move in and he tanked for a couple minutes and folding AK face up. I had 56.5k at the first break.
Sica makes it 400 at 75/150 on the hijack. I reraised in the small blind with AKo to 1475. He called. The flop came T89r. I checked and he checked. The turn came Jd putting two diamonds and a one card straight. I figured this was a good card to bluff at because he basically needs the Q here to continue. He could have JJ also but I think he either raises the turn or folds. I bet 2200 and he made it 7k more. I ended up mucking I think he had QQ here.
I raised to 400 with AKhh and JOEYTHEB makes it 1200. I decided to just call here out of position and keep the pot small. He hadn’t done anything crazy and I didn’t think he was 3 betting me light. The flop came 962hh. I flopped a flush draw. I checked and he bet 1400, I called. The turn came the Jc, putting two clubs on board. I checked and he bet 3100. At this point I figured he had AA or JJ. He played a hand earlier where he only tried to get two streets of value on someone with a big hand and played it cautiously. I think he might think I could smooth call his raise preflop with monster hands like AA or KK so if he had KK after this action I think he might check the turn for pot control. When he bet I figured it was AA or JJ because he wasn’t worried it seemed. I decided I could call 3100 and get paid of 7 or 8k on the river if I hit. I decided to call. The river bricked and we both checked and he had AA and won the pot. I am now down to 46k.
The guy I beat out of the pot earlier with a set of sixes raised to 500 preflop at 100/200. I called on the hijack with A5ss and the big blind called. The flop came QT4ss and he bet 1500. It was about a pot sized bet. I called. Heads up to the turn. I turned the nuts with the 8s and he checked. I bet 2400 and he made it 7400. I decided to just call here with the nuts and maybe let him bluff/fire at the river and hope the river didn’t pair the board. This guy wasn’t out of line at all so I think he just has a set here or a smaller flush and KK AA and small shot of AQ. The river bricks 6c and I still have the nuts. He checks pretty quickly, I bet 13k and he snap calls. I win the pot and am now up to 69k. He told me he didn’t have a set but he had a huge hand which probably means KK.
Jacobo opens to 900 at 150/300 25a after winning a big pot. The cutoff calls with only 7k behind. I have AQo in the big blind and decide to put in a raise. I make it 3400 and Jacobo makes it 9600. I mucked. Down to 65k. This hand was good because I think Jacobo might have just had enough of me. He plays pretty aggressive, continuation betting every flop he raises etc. I think he was tired of me too but I wish I would have just called preflop like I normally do. It’s alright though, I was mixing it up.
The girl to my right just lost a ton of chips all in preflop QQ vs. KK. She has like 7k left at 200/400 on the cutoff and moves in. I have AA on the button and call. She wins the pot J85QK.
I am now down to about 42k. The girl limps for 800 I limp with Q9hh. Two others limp and small blind and big blind are in as well. The flop comes AQ5r we all check the flop, turn is the 7 we all check again, river is another Q. The girl bets 2500. I decided to just call but I think vs. her I am supposed to raise here because she was in this spot a couple times in the tournament and made bad value bets on boards like these. I am up to 50k.
I raised JTo in third position before the break. This new guy at the table who is getting a massage, a younger kid, calls in the big blind. I made it 2100 preflop. He had about 20k to start the hand. The flop comes AJ5r and we both check. The turn comes the Ac putting two clubs up. He bets 3500 and I call. The river comes the Ts which I really hated and he moved all in for 14k. He gave a speech about how he could only win the hand if he moved in on the river and then moved in. Now he gave off a tell in the process of this action on the river and everything. I don’t want to give off the tell but it’s a tell that I discovered from myself doing it. So basically a tell that I had/have when I am bluffing he did it. I engaged in a little more conversation with him. I asked him what happens if I call and bust him and the massage girl has to leave what happens with your massage? He said I am hurting him and her and some other comment lol. It was a good comment actually, but in the end I thought he had QK or straight nada. I decided to call and he mucked his hand and I was up to 69k again.
I picked up a couple small pots and was now up to 73k. I raised A4ss on the button to 2600 at 500/1k. JOEYTHEB moved all in in the small blind for 16k. I wanted to muck but convinced myself he shoves QK here, which I know he does. But still I think I should have mucked. I’m never ahead only of QK even though I know A4 plays good on the button he had been relatively tight throughout the day, especially short stacked. He had 77 and the flop came 745ss. Action! The turn was a 6 so it brought chop outs and he rivered quads. I go down to about 57k now. This hand I should of went with my instincts and folded instead of calling off 13k more. Oh well it was a small mistake.
A new player who hadn’t opened any pots yet who seemed pretty tight raised it to 4k at 600/1200 on the cutoff. I have QQ on the button and decide what to do. He had about 60k, the same as me. I decided the best play here would be to just call and see what happens post flop. I didn’t want to get blown off my hand preflop and wasn’t sure about the player. The flop came T74r and he checked. I bet 6800 and he mucked. I am up to 63k now but when we go on dinner break I blind down to 53k.
I ate some dinner, did some pushups and stretched and got some fresh air. I got back to the poker room ready and refreshed to take some big pots down.
We are now in level 800/1600 200a I believe. The girl to my right had really bad tells with her raises and body language. She was making larger raises with good hands. She made it 3600 one hand. I looked down at 45ss and decided to three bet. I made it 9800. The button, who was a relatively new player to the table flat called. In a live tournament against normal live (non online players) this flat here is either JJ or AK almost 90% of the time. I guess QQ is also considered here but KK or AA they will get it in and don’t know how to trap for the most part. I was banking on him having AK and the flop bricking and maybe me taking it down. The flop came 998s and I bet 14.8k He called. I immediately knew he had JJ or QQ. The turn came 7 and I picked up 4 outs. I checked and he was motioning with his hand on the table knocking it on the table with his fingertips and it was taken as a check. He said he meant to bet. The river came Q and I checked. I decided to just give up on the pot. I had about 32k behind and didn’t think he would fold the turn or the river regardless. He shoved with JJ and I folded.
A couple hands later the girl makes it 5k on the button. She had been really active in late position as of late. I looked down at KJss in the small blind and shoved 28k more. She tanked and called with 99. The board ran out J24A2 and I scooped the pot. The next hand she made it 6k preflop at 1k/2k I believe on the cutoff. I shoved in ATcc on the button and she mucked again. I am now up to 80k.
A tight internet kid who was moved to the table who was playing really solid raised the cutoff to 5600 and I reraised in the small blind with AJo to 16.8k he mucked and I was up to 86k. This was the first time I had played back at him. He played well. He was tight but had a lot of big hands while at the table. He showed 6 big hands during play.
One interesting spot is when the girl limped in the small blind once it folded to us and I checked my option with Js5h. The flop comes AQJhh and she open shoved for about 50k. She did this earlier in the day with a flush draw and got called. I figured she had baby hearts. I didn’t really tank it but I guess maybe I should have. I am a 65% favorite here. I wish I would of thought about it more because I really 100000000% know she has a flush draw here. She could have Kxhh but I couldn’t see her playing a combo draw like that. Just a pure flush draw. Oh well. It was a ton of chips to call when I only had 2k committed but I think it might be a spot I need to think about again, just because I am pretty positive of her hand like that. I even told her I go I know you have small hearts here. She’s like yeah how did you know! And shoes the 74hh.
Couple hands later girl makes it 9k on the hijack. I shove 64k more with QKo. She shows 66 and mucks I am up to 93k.
Here is probably where the hand that cost me the tournament happens. There was this guy in the 10 seat. He plays a lot of small cash and satellites he said. He made a lot of crazy plays while he was at the table. One time he open shoved like 60bbs+ into a 2.5x raise I made. He also open shoved 88 at 1k/2k for like 100k into 4 stacks of 30k, 40k, 30k, and 80k. He wasn’t very experienced in tournament play and he made a lot of mistakes. One hand at 1k/2k I raised the hijack with QKo to 5200. He instashoved from the small blind for 60k and the big blind had 10k and called with A4. I wanted to call here sooooo bad. I told the guy I thought he had cheese and that was it. At best I thought this guy had 44 but I really thought he had absolutely nothing. I only had like 75k so I couldn’t make the call although my instincts were SCREAMING AT ME TO CALL! I mucked and the guy turned up QTo. Good shove. The big blind tripled up with A4. Another hand that this guy played extremely bad was when JOEYTHEB made it 8.5k preflop at 1.5k/3k. The guy reraised to 25k and it came back to Joey and he moved in for 30k more. There is about 100k in the pot and the guy has to call 30k to win 100k. He has about 35-45k behind. He tanked it for 3 minutes and folded. It was crazy. He was getting 3-1 on his money, turned his hand into a bluff, and folded. I couldn’t believe any aspect of the hand.
I have about 80k now and the blinds are 2k/4k. JOEYTHEB is on the button and I am on the cutoff. There is a dead small blind since he just busted and the player above is in the big blind. It folds to me I have Ad4s. I raise it to 12k (more than I normally would to tell the big blind, look buddy I am NEVER FOLDING HERE!@!!!) He moves in for 33k total and I snap call. He turns over Q9o. The flop comes JT3dd I have the ace of diamonds. The turn is the Kd giving him the straight, and I bricked the river. He won the 70k pot and I went down to 48k.
I folded a couple hands and there were only 10 minutes left in the night. I wasn’t stressing it though. If I had to go back to day 2 with 30k so be it. The blinds would be 3/6k on day 2 and I would be extremely shortstacked. I was still looking to shove in since people wouldn’t want to bust so late in the night or lose big pots. I would pick up 10k every pot I picked up without a call. I folded a couple hands where I could have shoved. I ended up shoving 78o for 38k on the hijack into the two tightest guys at the table’s blinds. The small blind had about 33k and he called with 77. Damn. I was surprised to see 77 here because he snap called me and I thought he was way tighter than that. I could see him maybe folding 77 there but oh well. I didn’t hit a T or 8 when the board ran out and I was down to 4.3k. Brutal. There was 10 minutes left in the night and I put my last 4k in with the 400 ante and lost to JJ. The guy who won with the q9 against me busted a couple hands after he doubled when he defended his bb with 67o vs. the tight internet kid who had QQ on a 688 board. Sucks. That 70k would have been much better in my hands.
I don’t think I could have done anything differently. I set everything up early and just didn’t get the hands when I needed. I had Aces once early in the day, Kings once in the middle of the day, and AK only twice. I really didn’t pick up any hands in the end either. It kind of seems like I say this in all my blogs. I wonder if it’s me or if it’s just me running below expectation? I mean I am going 40-50 hands without seeing a premium hand. Maybe I will log all my hands and see if I’m crazy or what. In 10 hours of play I probably see 300-400 hands and I should be getting more hands than I did. If I could have picked up some more hands I could have trapped some of the looser players, etc.
I don’t know what else I can do in these tournaments. Honestly, it’s rough. Playing for so long and getting nothing both times. At least I am able to play the 2k now on Thursday. I would have had to miss it if I made day 2 of this tournament. I would rather still be in this tournament though. I spent 13 hours today grinding this tournament and I hate losing. I wouldn’t have cared to miss the 2k one bit. Oh well, maybe the 2k is meant for me. I’m going to stay positive. There are a couple more tournaments to play and those are where the big money is. I am meant to win the big money not the small money!!!
Also I wanted to give a shoutout to Johnnie Walker who is currently blogging for the Borgata. He said some nice things to me about an article I wrote for pocketfives and I really apprecited the positive comments. Thanks again Johnnie.
Borgata 1k. 54 Paid, 55th Place…
“I know the process is so much stress but its the progress that feels the best. Cause I came from the projects straight to success and you’re next. So try, they can’t steal your pride it’s inside. Then find it and keep on grinding cause in every dark cloud there’s a silver lining… I know.” Lil Wayne – Tie My Hands.
So let me just explain how I went in with 142k blinds 2k/4k 400a with the average 100k 8 to the money and still bubbled.
I get to the tournament area about 10 minutes before we start and find my bag and my table. Couple people have about 160k, some 100k, one guy has like 30k, and a 200k stack to my right. I played with 2 of the guys previously yesterday. I decide to just hang around and wait and see how people play and not get too crazy. The third hand of the day a guy in middle position with 160k makes it 12k, the small blind calls, and I have 55 in the big blind. I call 8k more. We see a flop of 862ss and the initial raiser continuation bets 30k. The guy to my right makes it 90k. I muck, the other guy tanks 99 for 2 minutes and folds.
I fold an orbit or so. I haven’t raised a pot yet. I pick up KJo on the cutoff and make it 10.6k I normally raise to 9800 or something but figured I would make it a little more since the big blind was a looser Asian player. He calls and the flop comes 864r. He checks, I bet 14.8k and he calls. The turn is 7d. He checks and I was planning on bluffing here, but I figured I would rather see his river action before I tried to run a bluff on this board. I checked as well. The river came Kh and he checked again. At this point I can very likely have the best hand and I decided to check as well. I figured if I bet the river I am only getting called if I am beat. He turned over K6cc and scooped the pot with two pair. I am upset that I didn’t bet the turn because I probably would of won the pot but I think I played the hand well. I was planning on firing the river and it just didn’t work out the way I planned. No biggie.
I now have 90k in chips. I had gotten hit by the blinds once or twice. The very next hand I am in the hijack and a guy in middle position makes it 12k with 56k behind. I look down at 99 and decide what to do. I decide to move in. I declare all in and everyone folds back to the guy. He started agonizing about his decision. He thinks for 2 minutes before asking if I will show. I shook my head up and down telling him I would show him my hand. We are about 3-4 people away from the money and I never want a call here. I can have the best hand here only if he has AQ or AK. I doubt anyone would ever call here with less than 88. I was pretty worried when he was taking so long that he might of had TT or JJ. He agonizes some more and wants to fold. Somehow I just think people want to beat me. They just think I am a jerk or I look like a jerk. I don’t know what it is. I’m respectful and polite for the most part I guess it’s just my image. He ends up saying he calls and I turn over my 99. He doesn’t look too happy and flips over AQo. The board runs out AT8T8 and he wins the 150k flip on the bubble. Sigh…
I now have about 19k in chips. I fold a hand then shove T4hh in middle position. Everyone folds I go up to 28k. I shove KTdd two hands later UTG+1 and everyone folds. Up to 38k. I am now in the big blind and the cutoff limps for 4k, the small blind completes, and I squeeze A5o. I shove in my stack. The cutoff tanks for a while and folds and the small blind folds. Now I’m at 48k and we are going on break, on the absolute bubble.
I come back from break and the blinds are now 3k/6k 500a. A couple hands into hand for hand play the guy with AQo above limps for 6k in second position. I am in middle position and move in with QKo for 43k total. It folds to the big blind who has about 65k and he tanks for 3 minutes while everyone crowds around the table. He is tanking it pretty well. I figured him for JJ or AQ. He looked like he didn’t want to call. He thought about it for two or three minutes deciding what to do, counting his stack, what he would have left, and he ends up putting in the chips to call. The limper folds and the guy opens up AKo. He started claiming how “He hates AK so much..” the board runs out J522A and I lose in 55th place on the absolute bubble.
Not sure what else to say. Sucks. Felt really good going into today. I like how I played every hand. Sure I could of played differently but I think I did my best. On to the next tournament though.
I was pretty bummed after I lost and went for a walk around Atlantic City. It was pretty cold but luckily my buddy Brian gave me this awesome North Face jacket when I came up here and I’m glad he did. I enjoy the cold weather but the cold up here is way different than Florida cold weather. I was out walking and hanging out contemplating for an hour or two until it started to get dark and the temperature dropped considerably. I couldn’t feel my hands when they were out of my pockets and decided it was time to walk back to the Borgata.
I will be playing the $400 tournament tomorrow. If it doesn’t work out I will come to the computer and play the 1k online and scoop it. Either way I’m having chips tomorrow or winning something online. End of story. I am going to win something at the Borgata too, without a doubt.
Also the quote at the top of the page is pretty powerful. When Lil Wayne does deep songs like that he really can put things into perspective. These are the kind of quotes I talk about when I think rap music is just a lot more than some of the garbage that they talk about. Goodnight guys.