Home Town Plays

After getting back from LA last week I have played a couple of times at Parkers in Seattle. I played last Friday and again last night. I just can not make any traction in that 8/16 game. I do not know if my game has adjusted to the higher limits where I seem to be able to beat the game or if I am just subject to the much higher fluctuation that goes on in these lower games with multiple players seeing the flop for multiple bets. It is probably a combo of both. I just don't get to put in that long of a session in the 8/16 game to really make a big win. I have not been running great, just normal. Sometimes normal just is not good enough if you play a tight solid game in the lower limits and can't put in a long session. Big hands get snapped, and if you chase one or two pots, even if you are getting the odds, it can put a nice dent in your stack if you miss. That said I lost -$448 on Friday and made a whopping $75 last night. Not great, but not horrible. I will take it as a sign that I need to continue to work on my lower limit game and get better if I want to keep playing there.

Aaron heads to Reno next week for the ESPN series there and then off to Vegas again for the Mirage tournament. I hope to make an appearance at that event as well. Talk to you soon. SJ

Big Games, Big Swings

Well I finally got the update from Aaron on how he fared in the big game down in Vegas. That game is just huge, is started at $2000/$4000 mixed games with some $1000/$2000 blind pot limit Omaha in the mix as well without the cap. These pots were just massive. Aaron played one pot with Sammy Farha in the Pot limit omaha game that Aaron turned top full house, and Sammy made the nut flush. All the money went in on the turn between the two and Sammy made a one card royal flush on the river for a $350,000 pot. Ouch. Aaron ended up swinging about $400,000 and ended up the four day run a net winner of just $20,000. Basically break even. I just do not see the edge in this game. All of these players are the best at the game, the line up had Chip Reese, Ming Ly, some French guy, Sammy Farha and some other random top players as well in and out. They all play well so I think it comes down to luck. Not the best spot to be gambling with tons of money. Aaron thinks he has an edge, he said give him 20 plays and if he does not win then he may concede the point. I just hope he survives 20 plays. He is going to Tahoe to play the ESPN $10,000 event next weekend. Hope he hits it. Good luck. SJ

LA Trip

I was in LA this week for business but manages to squeeze in a little poker as well. How could you not visit the best poker palace in the world. I love the Commerce. Full of great people and great action. I went on Sunday the 17th. Unfortunately I did not win much. I played a little 20/40, then 40/80 waiting to get into the 100/200 game. I finally got in about two hours later and stuck $1,000 but had enough time to make a little money before I went to sleep for the night. I started out getting absolutely nothing to play. The game was aggressive, and not many pots played without at least one raise and usually a three bet to isolate. I must have paid $1000 in blinds before I played a hand. At $150 a round that is not that tough to do. I then proceeded to get the short end of the stick on a few hands to get stuck over $4000 for the day before I made a comeback. Now I wanted to go to the hotel and get some sleep as I had to work on Monday, but I just could not leave the game. I managed to get some cards, play well and finally get AA's to hold and eked out a $400 win. Not much to brag about but hey a win is a win. Went to bed at 4 am and had to sleep walk through Monday, but it was worth it play some real cards for a change.

I then went to the Bike on Tuesday the 19th as they had a pot limit tournament that I wanted to play in. I started out just surviving and finally made a few hands, and bluffed a little to get some chips. The about 1/2 way through a field of 190 I made a stupid and fatal mistake. I was in the small bind playing 150/300 blinds. A late position short stacked player went all in for $400. I had about $1900 in chips, which was not great but by all means not in any imminent danger of being out. Instead of re-raising to isolate, I limped with Q,J off, and the bid blind called the $100 as he was getting 11 to one on the call. The flop came K,J,10, two clubs. I checked and the bb checked. The turn came the A of clubs. I bet $1,500 with my straight and got called. The river was a blank, and I bet my last chips and got called by the BB who had 9,3 of clubs. I was out because I did not raise. I would have chopped the pot with the late raiser as we both had a straight, but because of my stupidity we were both out.

I then went to sit in the biggest game they had, which was just 30/60. It was too late to drive to the Commerce and I was not ready to go home yet so I just played that game with my Friend who does not like to play any higher than that anyway. Great LA action game, all games at every casino must be like that in LA. I just don't know how all these bad players stay alive, but LA is a big city and they must just keep making new bad players down there. I played for about two hours and made $675. Not a bad two days, and always a great time in LA.

On a side note, Aaron got bounced from the $25,000 event on the first day. Hard to do as they only eliminated 48 players on the first day, but he said he did not win one pot all day. He took solace in the $2000/$4000 mixed game at the Bellagio and made $50,000. Not a bad outcome. I think he gave most of it back if not all and then some the next day, but I have not talked to him all day so I do not know the end result. I hope he got out with a little. Talk to you soon....SJ

Aaron Out

Aaron was down to the final 6 and got busted. He made a move at the pot from late position. There was a raise up front, then a re-raise, and he moved in w/ A,Q sensing weakness. The original riaser had JJ, and laid down, but the second guy called with AK and it held up. I think that was a pretty weak call for all your chips with A,K facing a raise and re-raise in that situation you are at best a coin flip and most likely dominated. He called anyway looking to gamble and had Aaron in bad shape. Aaron is out and made $22,000. He is not very happy right now(understatement), but he will survive and live to fight another day. Like tomorrow in the $5000 buy in event. Go Dude. SJ

House of Pain

I had one of those days yesterday that we all hate. You actually get good cards and then can just not hold on to a pot. Not getting bad beats all that much, but just not winning. I went down to the Muck yesterday to play my usual Tuesday routine. Cash game before tourn, then tourn, and cash game after if there is time. I sat down in the $20/40 game to start and could just not get a hand to play. I blinded off about $300 before I finally went to the $30/60 game where I hoped my luck would change. I really did blind out than much. I think I played one pot and lost but other than that had nothing to play in two hours.

The $30/60 game was just the opposite. I had lots of pretty good hands to play that would flop in front and get run down. Overpairs to the board, that would finish as an under pair on the river. Straights on turn getting flushed on the river, etc. You know the day. It would have been better not to get the cards than to keep getting them and getting crushed. Lost all day. Lost -$1177 the first session. Lost -$210 in the tournament buyin that was uneventful. No big hands and pushed in short stacked with A7 suited against A,10 suited. Hit 7 on turn that made the other guy the flush.

The night $30/60 session was absolutely horrible. I bought in for $1000 and lost every big hand I was in. QQ, crushed on flop. One hand I had A,Q and called a raise out of the big blind and flop came 2,2,A. He bet I check raised, he called, turn 7, I bet, call. River 10, I bet he just calls and shows be a 2,3 off to win the pot. Wow he raised with 2,3 off and out flopped me and I bet all the way. Last hand of the night I had k,10 off in an 8 way pot on the button. I flopped the nut straight with two hearts on the board. I check raised the field which got down to three and the pot was three bet and I capped. I figured two of us had the nut straight, and I had the 10 of hearts so I knew he did not have K,10 hearts for a redraw. The guy that called I put on hearts. The turn brought a heart. I bet out, the other guy called that I thought had the straight as well, and the guy with the heart draw(I thought) mucked, the river paired the Q, and I got raised on the river. I reluctantly called as the pot was huge, and he showed me the K,Q of hearts, he made nut hearts on the turn, I loose. I had the nuts and lost again on the turn. O well. Those days happen. Lost -$915 in the night session. Huge loss for the day of -$2,302. Worst one of the year to date. O well I am going to LA on Sunday and will play at Commerce on Sunday and then a tournament at the Bike on Tuesday. Get it back there.

On a side not Aaron made the final table of the $2500 buyin at the Bellagio, he started 4th in chips, and as of 3:46pm on the west coast he is still in and three have been eliminated. Worst he can do now is 6th for a $22,000 payday. Go Aaron. Talk to you soon. SJ

Weak Play

I Played up at Parkers on Friday night in the $8/16 game. I played like garbage. Called with weak hands out of position and just played all around bad cards. I was a picture of what not to do. Of course I did not hit anything I played to compound the problem. I need to write that one off and go back the next time with a better game plan. I lost -$375, could have been worse, but I recognized I was not playing well and quit.

Aaron has been doing better in Vegas, but still no cashes. He got 29th in the $5000 buy in on Sat. but alas no money. Hopefully he is warming up for the $25,000 buy-in so he just wins it. Good luck. SJ

Home Game II

Went and played in the executive home game again last night. This is a group of business people in Seattle that get together once a month to play a little no limit game. The blinds were $2/5 with a $200 buy-in and then as many $300 buy-ins as you would like. The game is pretty good, and the players are average at best. The game is a little small but fun. I played pretty well, but was unable to get many hands to play. It plays real slow as we are self dealing so you do not get in many hands per hour. That said I made the best with what I had and managed to eke out a $308 win. Not bad for a few hours of slow play.

Aaron has done absolutely nothing in Vegas to date. Has not even got a sniff of the money and gone out early on both days so far. Do better dude. Good luck. SJ

Solid Day

Went and put in a long session at the Muck yesterday. Have not done that in a while, felt good to play for a long time and not have the time pressure to leave. I started in the $20/40 game and started out on the right foot. Playing pretty well right now, was making some good plays, good laydowns, and overall feeling pretty good about my game right now. The game had the usual mix of regulars and some one off people who came in to play. It was full of passive players except one other regular who plays aggressively but was running poorly so was a non-factor. I was able to control all the action in the pots I was in. People were respecting my raises, and overall staying away from my pots. I was up about $400 in a few hours of play and moved to the $30/60 game. That game had a little more aggressive play in it but still overall not a great quality of player. Some young guns in there thinking they could play, and making stupid comments to players when they got beat. I put one of them on tilt when I entered an unraised pot from middle/late position for a raise with 6,8, diamonds. He was in the BB and three bet it, I called. The flop came 9,6,5 one diamond. He fired at it, and I raised to make sure I knew where I was if he had AK, or a big pair. He re-raised, oops big pair, call to see what happens. A beautiful 7 came off on the turn, giving me a straight. He bet, I raised again, he re-raised, I just called. I just called here because he put me on an overpair making that re-raise and I felt I could get another raise out of him on the river if a big card came out. No big card came and he fired again, I raised again as I knew I was good here. He called at this point as he claims now he was curious as to what I had. I showed him the straight and he jumped out his chair and started talking about what a bad play I made to raise with 6,8 suited. This one goes down in the category of he has a lot more playing to do to understand why I made this play. How else are you going to play that hand? If I limp he can put me on it, I might steal the blinds, if I hit like I did I get tons of extra value out of the deceptiveness of the play. I might even win if an A comes(he had KK by the way) and I bet and he lays it down. Lots of fun and he was gunning for me the rest of the night which made it even more fun. I ended up the cash sessions up $890, and went to the tourn.

The tournament was a $110 buyin no-limit with a $100 rebuy. I got in for the full $210 and managed to wade my way to the final table with not many chips. Nothing too much of note in the tourn. I never had too many big cards, and went out 8th on a coin flip hand. I had A,7 clubs vs. Pocket 66. I did not hit and was out. Made a whopping $105. 66 players, and first was a little over $4000. O well.

Aaron is down at the Bellagio playing in all the events down there. Hope he hits one. He went out 36 in the main WPT event in Reno so I think he is due. Good luck. Talk to you soon. SJ