Ok latest news from LV.
Tuesday - Ceasar"s $340 megastack NLHE (12,500 starting chips and 50 minute clock). 498 runners for yet another top Ceasar"s event.
12,300 at first break (end of level 2). Trying to play more hands and get chips early with little success. I have had to fold some less than premium hands when I have been re raised pre flop. I also have had to fold when representing an ace on the flop when I had 78 suited. Hands that went a liitle better include a raise with Ts
in cutoff with 1 caller. Flop JT5 (2 hearts) and I bet 250 and get called. The turn is another 5, I bet 600 and he folds. I put him on a draw and tried to make it too expensive to call, I pick up a nice pot. I limp UTG with 55, the button limps and the SB makes up. BB checks and the flop is JT5 rainbow. I check my set and the button bets 300, SB calls, BB calls. I raise to 1,300 and all fold. I thought one of them might come along for the ride but pick up another nice pot all the same. Finally all fold to the button who limps. I am in SB with K4 and make up, BB checks. Flop K48 rainbow and I check, button bets 300 and I call. Turn is K and I check, button bets 700 and I call. River is 3 and I check hoping he fires again, however he checks and mucks and I take another pot. I have a loose image and I hope that I can take advantage of this when I pick up a big hand in the next level.
Unfortunately I do not make the 2nd break as I bust out with 15mins to go in level 4. Most of my stack was lost due to bad play by myself in level 3. I raise to 600 in mid position with J9 and get one caller. Flop is 8T4 rainbow, I bet 1,000 and it get raised to 2,500. I put him on a ten (AT or KT maybe) and decide to call, either to hit my straight or bluff on a later street. Turn is 6, I check and he bets 3,000. I have 9,000 left and I go into the tank. I can move all in to represent an overpair or call to hit the straight or bluff the river. I could just fold at this point, but I want to get chips. I call and the river is another ten. This is a horrible card. Now I cannot bluff the river as he will not fold trip tens, so I have to give the hand up. I check, he moves all in and I fold. So I have done 50% of my stack in one hand. This is bad play. Thinking it over later I should either move all in on the flop (with 8 outs if I get called) or fold to the re raise or if I miss the turn, that would leave me with at least 9k still in chips and plenty of play. This was a bad decision and is something I need to learn from. Now I have to tighten up and wait for a double up hand. I still have time but cannot mess around with silly hands now. A few hands later the cutoff limps and so does the button, the SB makes up and I find AT on BB. I consider the raise but decide to check and conceal my ace. Flop is ATK rainbow and I check looking to check raise, but all check behind. I am wary of QJ as that is a limping hand, but I will do chips if it is out there as I cannot let this go with my stack. Turn is 4, I bet 500, cutoff calls and button calls. River is another ace and I value bet 1,200 and the button calls. I played this well in the end to get the river bet called and I am back up to 8,500. Another setback when after 2 limps I find K8 on SB and make up, BB checks. Flop K97 and I check (probably should bet out here rather than call a bet), solid player bets and I call. Turn is 2 and I check again, matey fires again and I have to put him on a better kicker and have to fold. Then the exit hand. There is a raise from 2nd position to 1,200 and a smooth call from cutoff. I am already looking for the squeeze opportunity when I wake up with TT on the button and move all in for 6,200. Original raiser folds and the cutoff calls. AK vs TT and an ace on the flop sends me to the sportsbook. Disappointing that I needed to take a 50/50 at this stage of the tournament, I should have preserved my chips better so I was not in that situation (the J9 play was particulary bad).
I did manage to back a winner at hollywood park using my mother"s tried and tested technique for picking winners on the horses (ie by the name of the horse). "Chubby" romped home by 5 lengths and I was $100 better off. This was spent wisely on Miller Light and Chinese food before I sat down to play the 7pm $150 NLHE tournament at Ceasar"s. 5,000 starting chips and 40mins levels, 140 runners and I was trying to emulate Jon"s achievement by taking it down.
4,500 at 1st break (end of level 2). I am on a crazy table. There is a crazy lady who is raising every pot and betting every flop. And she is doing this whilst having a massage at the table. This is gross. Now I know that I am a few pounds above my fighting weight and so I am fine one to talk but this was a large lady. The sight of his gurth being moved from side to side made me feel a little sick. I had to look away. Why do players need a massage at the table anyway? Its like eating at the table, I cannot stand that either, we are here to play poker not eat or get relaxed. Rant over. Anyway I have stayed mainly out of trouble, re raised with QQ to no action and had JJ twice, the first time having to fold on a AQ7 flop and the 2nd time having to fold to a re raise and re re raise all in (they had 44 and AQ, crazy crazy table). Finally the lady does not raise and it fold round to short stack SB who makes up. I look down at KK in BB (why did she choose this hand not to raise?). I decide to take a chance and trap so check. The flop is K42 rainbow and I am praying he has 42 or anything. He checks, I check behind hoping he bets the turn. He checks, I bet 50 and he folds, damm.
Once again I do not make the 2nd break as I am out just 30 mins into level 3. This time is nothing to do with my bad play and I just get unlucky. Still 4,500 and on the BB. Short stack on button moves all in for 1,900, SB calls. I find KK again and move all in, SB huffs and puffs and calls, I have him covered by 600. Its KK vs 77 (SB) vs AQ (button). Flop 897 turn Q and river 2 and I am down to just 600 chips with 100 in the SB next hand. I would be in good shape if the kings hold but thats just how it goes sometimes. I have to fold SB to UTG raiser who has not played any hands (she was both very tight and very fit and had QQ). All fold to me I look at 1 card, the
and lob the 500 chips in, BB calls with K6. I say that I have only looked at 1 card and show
before exposing my other card, the
(great). They hold and back up to 1,100. Cannot find another spot to get chips in with first and have to let the blinds go through me. Finally it fold to me on the button, I stick them in with
and SB moves all in, BB calls. I am not in a good spot, 96 vs TT vs JJ. Jacks hold and it is goodnight from me. Not much I could do about this tournament, at least I didn"t donk off half my stack this time.
The good news is that the pu$$ycats work on Tuesday"s so I get my fix before returning to the Circus for some more Miller Light & video poker. Despite getting 4 of a kind twice I still cannot return a profit on this trip yet (not that that will stop me trying).
Wednesday - Ceasar"s $235 megastack NLHE (7,500 starting chips and 50 minute clock). 425 runners for this event and the worst of the trip so far foe me.
0 chips at first break (end of level 2). I bust out on the last hand before the break, details of that to follow. The bad play comes before that. I did 2,500 in chips within the first 20 mins. I started out trying to be aggressive but soon found out there were some uber hyper aggressive players to my left. They kept re raising me and I had to release when I had rubbish or when I missed the flop (which was all of them) when I had a playable hand or draw. Nothing other to note except I was down to 5,000 and had not won a single pot. So I tighten up and don"t play a hand for the next hour. I find AK off UTG and raise to 300 and get 1 caller. I bet 500 into a king high flop to take my first pot. Now to the exit hand. There are 4 limpers and I find
in late position and promptly raise to 650 (4,000 behind). The blinds fold and the 2nd limper re raises to 2,700. All fold and I go into the tank. It is all very strange and I am trying to put him on a hand. I don"t think he is that strong and with my chip stack as long as he doesn"t have AA or KK I am 50/50 to double up to over 9k. After a dwell I move all in and I am surprised there is no insta call. He says that I know he is pot committed and after a short think he calls. JJ vs AK and a jack on the flop busts me in level 2. At the time I am not sure if this is bad play or not. I talk it through with Jon at the break and he would have done the same. What is most disappointing is that I have had to take a chance like that this early in a deep stack tournament. I need to stop bleeding chips early on and getting short stacked. It is fine to play certain hands in position in order to try and flop a monster and get chipped up, as long as it does not do too much damage. But this has not been the case as I have never built up a big chip stack early (except for Binion"s and that was because I hit some hands). In the tournament tomorrow I plan to revert to my old style but then play even tighter than that in the first 3 levels. The aim is to play solid and preserve my chips till I find the best situation to put them in the pot.
Martyn & Jon are still in so I am on my jack jones. I head to the sportsbook to watch baseball and bets on the horses. Another winner "Devilish Denue" and another $75 added to the thinker bankroll. They also give out free beer vouchers when you place a bet. This is fantastic and if they did this in the UK I don"t think I would be able to leave the betting shop at lunchtime and go back to work. Jon busts out next hitting top 2 on a flop when someone else hit a set. Martyn busts just before the start of the ice hockey which is improved viewing this evening as I can see the puck this time. I am ribbing Jon throughout as his team are playing and despite a tight finish they win stanley"s cup. Cue various wooping and hollering from various septics in the sportsbook. Total strangers are hugging and high 5ing each other, its all a bit american really. Then we head to the food court for fish & chips (well fish & fries really) which was very tasty before heading back to the circus to blog.
Other things from today was that I was seated in seat 10 and next to the most gorgeous dealer in LV so far. Not sure what her name was but she was of Bulgarian origin and smelt lovely. She was a Sandra Bullock lookalike and big football fan (she called it football and not soccer, so the yanks have not got to her yet). She loved it when she found out I was from England, appartently she loves England and the English. Her favourite player is Berbatov and he is going to sign for Man Utd in the summer (you heard it here first).
Plan for tomorrow is the megastack again, this time a plan to be super tight and preserve chips and put them to better use. Jon may be off to the Rio to play the WSOP 6 handed event, but he has not made his mind up yet.
So thats you all up to date. Hopefully I will make the neccesary adjustments to my game and put in a better performance tomorrow.
Till the next time...
NO BAD BEATS - Don"t bust out in level 2 of a deep stack
