The Joker in Vegas

[Joker161]

Levels 3 and 4. I need something to happen. First hand back I get AsJs4d3d. There's a raise and a call, so I call (bit of a gamble). Two spades on the flop. I check, bet, call and I call. Turn is a second two. We check it round. River is the spade I need. I check, planning to call the bet I was expecting, but it's checked round. One of them shows a queen high flush, so he might have called a bet. Anyway, I'm up to 5k. I win a small pot when I call a raise with AQJT. We check the ace high flop then I bet the turn and he folds. I win another small pot. I raise with kings, one caller, king high flop, I bet and he folds. On 6k. This is a right old grind!

[Joker161]

I get moved, and then have two handy hands in a row. I get AA34s. A call to my right, I raise to 600 and there are four callers. I bet the king high flop and they all fold. The very next hand I get AQQ5ss. I call a raise as do three others. The flop gives me a 2nd nut flush draw. The same bloke to my immediate right bets, I call and the rest fold. The turn gives me the flush. He bets I call. After the last experience I decide not to raise! River is another heart, and no paired board, thankfully. He checks, I bet and he folds. As I'm typing this, I limp with three others with 9775s. It comes three of my suit. There's a bet, call, I raise and they both fold. Out of nowhere I'm on over 11k. And breathe.

[Joker161]

A couple of mad hands. I have AAxx double suited. I only call because I'm trying to get the player to my left in a hand. $500 of our $1500 is a bounty (didn't I mention that?) and he's only on about 1200 in chips. Anyway, he doesn't call and the flop has two diamonds, one of my suits. It's checked round. The turn isn't a diamond, but I bet out. There's a call, then a raise. I call the raise (4000) and then the bloke who called my raise goes all in. We both fold. So annoying that the second bloke made it 4k. The very next hand I'm in again for the aforementioned reason. I have the same ace high diamond flush draw. I bet the flop and I get one call. I miss the turn and call the pot bet (2700). The diamond comes on the river (phew!). I'm all in for another 3k and get the call. So I lose a lot, then win a lot and am now on 13k. A few hands later I get into the treasured pot with the short stack. Another short stack makes it 3k all in (two bounties!), but a big stack goes all in to get rid of me, which works. He knocks them both out with a nut flush. $1000 in one hand!

[Joker161]

Levels 5 and 6.

Big limp fest. I have 9953s. Flop is A23. It gets checked round. Turn is a 4. I bet out and get two callers. River a jack. I bottle it and check (game of the nuts). It gets checked round and I win the pot. I raise with KK98. I get four callers! Flop is 623. Bet, call, I fold. Two players left. Then it gets very messy and the turn and river are 8 and 7. So I would have had a straight, but there were three clubs on the board. One of them puts a massive bet in and the other one folds. After all that, I'm on 16k. Somehow, I'm one of the shorter stacks. I won a small pot, then raised with JJ42. A bit loose. I get two callers. Flop is A76. I bet out and get two callers. The turn is a five with three diamonds now. The other two start betting big and I'm out of there. Bit of a waste of 3000 chips. I'm on about 11k. Another limped pot. I lost 1k punting on the river. He has a better two pair.

[Joker161]

I finally win a bounty! Call, I call, my immediate left raises. There are two callers, so I make a bit of a loose call with AK22s. Flop comes J32. I decide this is my moment. I pot, the initial raiser goes all in and the rest fold. He has KK and the diamond flush draw. He misses everything and it turns out he has 7100 to my 7700. So I take his bounty! Very exciting - what ever happens now, I've cashed for $500! I'm on 21k. Then a comedy hand. My immediate right seems to have got very low somehow. We have a limped pot, then he goes all in on the flop and it's only 1800 to call. I call and so does someone else. My hand is JJ75ss and the flop gives me an over pair (for what it's worth) and the flush draw. The two of us not all in check it down. Jack on the turn and then I make my flush on the river. The all in has the nut flush. SO close to a second bounty! Big hand. I get AA95ss. There's a min raise, I make it 2500 and get three callers! Flop is A23. Someone goes all in for about 10k. I assume he has the straight, but with lots of outs, and the bounty, I have to call. He has AKJT - very pretty pre-flop, but not great on this flop. The four on the turn gives me the straight that I didn't need. Another bounty! One more and I'm even for this tournament! And I'm on 35k.

[Joker161]

There is late entry until the end of Level 6. 20 minutes before the end of the level this bloke shows up and I assume I should know who he is because the whole table is congratulating him on a final table, and a second place, etc. Anyway, he's all in within three hands and comes fourth in a massive hand. The bloke who's just joined the table hits the river and wins two bounties! Just before the break, I get KK74s. There's a min raise, and I make it 2500. The min raiser calls. Flop is KJ5. I bet 5k and he calls. The turn is an ace and he pots for 15k. He's quite loose and could just be drawing, but he could have raised with aces. There's the straight too. I decide I'll have a better spot later. I show the kings and he looks surprised. Hmm. I end the Level on about 26k. So far there are 808 entries and only 225 left!

[Joker161]

Levels 7 and 8.

I'm in the BB and it gets folded all the way to a new bloke on my left in the SB. He calls and we see a flop. I have bottom two pair and an inside straight draw. He bets the minimum, 500, and I raise to 1500. He pots for 5k. Hmm. Should have taken the card for 500. Next, there's a call, then a short stack makes it 2k. I have AKK5 and so pot it for 7200. Sadly, he folds. No bounty for me! He then loses his bounty a few hands later. Then the big hand. Two callers, and I have KK43s on the button. I pot for 3200 and get three callers! The flop has an ace and two clubs, my suit. I bet out 10k and get two callers. The turn is the Jack of spades. First bloke checks, and the second pots. There's about 45k in the pot and I have less than 10k back. I decide to there's just too much in there. I call and miss. He has a straight.  All good fun and a shame it's over. At least I might get to bed at a reasonable hour for the 7am England match. And I've got $1000 in bounties!

[pables]

Great blogging Joe
Just unfortunate with timing issues but Omaha is always a ballsy
Positional game where letting go is just as important as
pulling the trigger
Great read interesting lay down with kk would love to have seen that one out
Run better
Ian x

[Joker161]

Saturday 7th July

I wake up at 4am. Less than four hours sleep? Of course - I forgot the Melatonin. I try to sleep a bit more but it's difficult given the excitement brewing with the footie. And then the match. A combination of being on my own in a hotel room and the ease of victory led to a slightly subdued feeling. Also, I got a video call from all my mates in the Eagle in Clapham. Perhaps this was not the year to be in Vegas! I missed quite a lot of the 1990 World Cup because I had a job as a driver at Wimbledon. Not great timing. Checking quarter final and semi final dates didn't seem that relevant when I booked; at the time, England were considered to be pretty rubbish.

[Joker161]

Good news #2: the $600 at the Venetian today is back in the main poker room. Much nicer. Good news #3: it's a two-day 40 minute blind affair. I had forgotten this fact and thought it was going to be another one day 30 minute job. The plan is to watch Edmund lose to Djokovic, get to the Venetian and have lunch at the Grand Lux before the 1pm start. I'll get back to you later.

[Joker161]

Levels 1-3.

In the first level I dribble about 2k. Partly because the Croatia/Russia extra time was going on, and partly because to my immediate right I have a mega loose player who plays two thirds of his hands. I've been tempted a few times. Level 2. I get KK. There's a raise, a call and I reraise. They both fold. Level 3. I get AJs and raise. The second loosest player reraises. Because it's him I call. Flop is low rubbish. He bets I fold. Generally I'm getting rubbish hands as you can tell from the lack of action in this paragraph. I get A8 and raise. Second loosest (SL) calls. Flop is all clubs, K82. He bets small and I call because I have the ace of clubs. Turn is a 2. Check, check. River is an ace. Handy. He bets, I call. He has 32 FFS. I get AJ in the BB and there are five calls before me! I don't raise. Flop comes T95 two clubs. I have the ace of clubs. Check, SL bets small, four calls, including me. Turn is a queen. Handy. I check and so does everyone else. River a king. Nice! I bet and get one caller. I notice after the bet that there are now three hearts on the board, but the caller has KQ, so I finally win a decent pot. I'm on 17k at the break.

[Joker161]

Levels 3-6.

A raiser, and I call with AQs in the BB. Flop is low with two of my suit. Check, bet, call. I miss the turn, but bet it and he folds. Up to 19k. I raise UTG+1 with AQs. Immediate left reraises. I call. Miss the flop. He shows AKs. Bit of an error. There's a raise and I reraise from the BB with KK. He calls. Flop is ten high. I bet and he calls. Turn is a king, but there are three clubs. I bet and he folds. Back to 20k. End of Level 5. I haven't played a hand for ever, so I raise first in (with 85s) just so they don't think I'm a total rock. Obviously I get three callers. Flop is K76. Interesting. Check, check and I bet my straight draw. SL calls. Turn is a king. Check, check. River an eight. There are three spades, which should have slowed me down. He bets and I call given some of the rubbish he's shown. He has the nut flush. I lose over a third of my stack in a hand in which I shouldn't have been involved. Very annoying. Then I win a hand with SL! He raises EP and very loose (remember him?), calls in the SB and I call with 65s in the big. Flop gives me a flush draw. SL bets, loose folds and I call. I miss the turn but bet out and SL folds! SL loses a big pot when his aces get cracked by queens. He's been playing nearly every hand since. Last hand of Level 6. The queens guy raises, the button calls and I make it 3500 from the BB with QQ. Queens boy folds and the button calls. He's been quite tight. The flop is kind; jack high. I go all in for my last 8k. He thinks for a bit and calls with 87s for middle pair. "I put you on AK." Why? As queens boy leaves for the break he says "I folded AJ". Turn and river were both aces. Phew! Up to 26k.

[Joker161]

Levels 7 and 8. I knock out SL! He's just lost a big pot where he was basically gambling. I get KK and raise, the button calls and he pushes from the SB with about 4k. I make it 10k and the button folds and SL has 72s, obviously. I'm on 33k. Both loose boys are out, but we have a new one (NLB) and he raises, I call in the SB with 44 and the BB calls too. Flop is TT3. I check, check, bet. I raise and they both fold. I get involved with NLB. I raise UTG with 55 (a bit lairy). He calls and everyone else folds. The flop is AQT. I bet to rep the ace and he calls. I fold his turn bet. There's a call from the tighter bloke from whom I won with QQ before the break. I raise with AK, an he's the only caller. Flop is king high. He checks, I bet, he calls. Same on the turn. I bottle the river and just check. He has KQ. Up to 37k. Same bloke gets very short and goes all in for 3700. I decide to gamble and call with 22. He hits. Not the sort of thing I usually do. All a bit odd. The start of the rot.

[Joker161]

Level 9. Card dead. Blinds are 100/400/800 and I'm dribbling chips. I raise to steal and there are two all ins ahead of me. One of them has kings. The NLB has gone after losing most of his chips punting on a flush draw. We have a new NLB to my immediate right and he's a nice bloke from Birmingham. I get AJs which looks amazing after the rubbish I've had and three bet one of his many raises. He goes all in, I fold and he shows kings. I'm down to 14k. I raise with 77 and get reraised. I call with the plan to push on most flops. It comes T96 and I push. He snaps with AA. I get a flush draw on the turn but miss on the river. I wasn't getting any luck, but I'm still annoyed with that last hour. Poor play.

[littlemoley]

Loving the blog Joe. Keep it going.