BC Poker Championship -- My day one (pt II)
Level 5 Blinds 150-300 My stack 24,500
Hand 5
I was not in this pot but it was a VERY important hand regarding the whole dynamic of the table. There is a late position raise and the big blind calls. The flop is K-J-2. BB checks. Late position raiser bets 2000. The BB check-raises to 6000. The raiser now moves in for 25000. The BB calls with Qjo??? The raiser shows AK but a river Q gives it to the big blind. Wow. I licked my lips.
Hand 6
Raise late with QTs. On a flop of T-x-x I bet he flop and turn. Checking the river and the SB wins with Kto
Hand 7
I make is 800 with Ako. The player who had his AK snapped by QJ in hand 5 moves in for 4000. I called the remaining 3200 and flopped an ace to bust his TT.
Level 6 Blinds 200-400 My stack 20,100
I made a note at this point that I was very happy with my table. I felt I had good control of all of my opponents and I felt that I could be paid off in a big pot if the opportunity came along. Most importantly, I was well situated to play small-ball.
Hand 8
There are two limpers. I call on the button with 7-7 (today’s hand of destiny?). The small blind calls. The flop is Q-J-2 and it checks around. The turn is another Q. The SB bets out for 2000. One limper calls. I made it 8000 and both folded. I felt pretty sure that the SB was bluffing and the limper was calling with a draw or a weak hand. The SB claims he laid down a Q – 4. I doubt it but it’s possible.
Welcome to the “pay attention” phase of the game… Two strange hands. Back in hand 5 you will recall crazy-gambler (CG) called his WHOLE stack with QJ on a board of K-J-2. Is this the player to bluff? No, no, no. Yet, one player pushed a naked A-J on the flop turn and river only to discover that CG has top pair. And, another player went bust moving all in behind CG. CG calls with KQ (which he stated is a hand he will never fold) and the all-in player shows K-7s. Very clever. It was not impossible to bluff CG. I took about three pots from him but you had to get him to the turn and put in a bet at that point. He would call. And, he did have some tells that would inform that he has nothing.
Level 7 Ante 25 Blinds 300-600 My stack 24,400
CG RUNS over the table. He cannot miss. By the end of level 7 he has a stack around 150,000. Some with crazy luck and some with clever play. For instance, he limps. There is a raise. He calls. The flop is A-A-6. All the money goes in. The raiser has A-Q and CG has A-K.
Hand 9
UTG I raise with A-Qs. Folded to BB who thinks and eventually moves in. I made is 1500 and he made is 6000 so I faced a call of 4500. I commented, “The only question that I have to ask is ‘how good an actor are you?’” In other words… was he selling me weakness or not? I concluded not and called. He showed 5-5 and I spiked a Q on the turn.
Hand 10
With T-8 spades I flop 9-7-6 two spades. Woohoo! I get a call from CG on the flop but he folds the turn… dang.
Quote of the day… walking out for a break I overhear a snippet of conversation: “Well, I knew I was going to be drinking tonight and tomorrow so I figured why bother trying?” Uh… why bother playing at all? It will leave you with an extra $2,500 for the drinking. Amazing what justification players will come up with to explain their poor result.
At the break I had a chat with Scott who is highly placed in the online poker world. I asked him about the withdrawal from the U.S. and he made it clear. Companies (like Paradise) are publicly traded and run by Boards of Directors. Since Enron BODs have been “on the hook” and since the BODs do not typically own many shares they are not too excited about taking risks. The private sites, however, are all about risk taking because the operators ARE the shareholders.
“Yukon” Brad Booth is out. Gavin Smith is still in.
Level 8 Ante 50 Blinds 400-800 My stack 37,000
Hand 11 (my most important hand of the day)
UTG makes is 1600. There is one caller. I call on the button with 7-6 clubs. The big blind calls. The flop is A-8-5 with two clubs. Roh-oh… 15 outs, time to go to war. BB checks. Raiser checks. Caller bets 2000. I make is 8000. BB moves all in (he has be barely covered). Both fold to me. I assume he has a set but with 15 outs and a pot of this size I call. He shows A-8. I am actually a VERY SMALL favourite and spike a beautiful 4 clubs on the river to win a 55K pot. Woohoo.
Level 9 Ante 75 Blinds 500-1000 My stack 58,500
I note a small amount of poker stink I resolve to freshen up at the next break after level 10.
Level 10 Ante 100 Blinds 600-1200 My stack 62,000
Hand 12
I limp in late position with A-8s. The button limps announcing, “OK, I will gamble with you.” The SB calls. The flop is A-7-4 with two diamonds (not my suit). Checked to me, I check and the button bets 2000. The SB calls. I did not think that the button had a big ace because I just could not imagine him limping in with a hand like A-J in that spot. I wasn’t sure about the SB but he was short stacked and I did not think he wanted to tangle. So, I made it 8000 and took down the pot.
I get moved to a new table and get a seat beside Gunn Tov Vist who is a Norwegian hottie here in Vancouver to host some players from the site she works for. It is interesting to note the effect of a hot, extroverted woman on a group of men at a poker table. There is a strong tendency to lose focus on the game.
I am tired and I want to wrap it up for the day. I resolved to play “Game mode + steal package” for the rest of the day.
Level 11 Ante 200 Blinds 800-1600
Luck is a wonderful thing… I was in the BB with A-Qs. There was a late position raise to 8000 form a BIG stack which I thought might be a steal and I was intending to come over the top to 25000. But… Jerry Carter in the SB moves all in for 14,000. I fold. Jerry has KQ but big stack has AK. Phew! Thank you Jerry (who wins the hand with a flush).
Hand 13
Early position big stack debates raising but decides to just call. I am the button with A-Q spades. I make is 5000. He calls. The flop is 9-7-2 with two spade (roh-oh another 15 outter). He bets out 7000. I make is 25000. He debates and mucks. As we are bagging the chips he asks about the hand. I tell him “I think you have T-T” He says he had 4-4 and was putting me on two overcards. Interestingly, I don’t think he understood that A-Qs is favoured over his pair on that flop.
THAT’s IT FOR THE NIGHT… except for the security incident.
I have a martini, a beer, and wine with Bob, Teri, and Teri’s sisters. Then I announce I am heading into the casino to play some craps. Bob thinks this is a REALLY bad idea. But, I cannot be swayed. I head into the casino. But, before I get there Bob runs over to security and tries to convince them that I am drunk and should not be permitted to gamble. They don’t buy it. I walk a lap of the casino and go back looking for Bob. Security tells me he went in after me. So, I head back in to find him. No luck… but he does call me on the cell. I reassure him and, in fact, I have one more cocktail with Colin from Kelowna and then I too head to bed at 1:30 am.
Hand 5
I was not in this pot but it was a VERY important hand regarding the whole dynamic of the table. There is a late position raise and the big blind calls. The flop is K-J-2. BB checks. Late position raiser bets 2000. The BB check-raises to 6000. The raiser now moves in for 25000. The BB calls with Qjo??? The raiser shows AK but a river Q gives it to the big blind. Wow. I licked my lips.
Hand 6
Raise late with QTs. On a flop of T-x-x I bet he flop and turn. Checking the river and the SB wins with Kto
Hand 7
I make is 800 with Ako. The player who had his AK snapped by QJ in hand 5 moves in for 4000. I called the remaining 3200 and flopped an ace to bust his TT.
Level 6 Blinds 200-400 My stack 20,100
I made a note at this point that I was very happy with my table. I felt I had good control of all of my opponents and I felt that I could be paid off in a big pot if the opportunity came along. Most importantly, I was well situated to play small-ball.
Hand 8
There are two limpers. I call on the button with 7-7 (today’s hand of destiny?). The small blind calls. The flop is Q-J-2 and it checks around. The turn is another Q. The SB bets out for 2000. One limper calls. I made it 8000 and both folded. I felt pretty sure that the SB was bluffing and the limper was calling with a draw or a weak hand. The SB claims he laid down a Q – 4. I doubt it but it’s possible.
Welcome to the “pay attention” phase of the game… Two strange hands. Back in hand 5 you will recall crazy-gambler (CG) called his WHOLE stack with QJ on a board of K-J-2. Is this the player to bluff? No, no, no. Yet, one player pushed a naked A-J on the flop turn and river only to discover that CG has top pair. And, another player went bust moving all in behind CG. CG calls with KQ (which he stated is a hand he will never fold) and the all-in player shows K-7s. Very clever. It was not impossible to bluff CG. I took about three pots from him but you had to get him to the turn and put in a bet at that point. He would call. And, he did have some tells that would inform that he has nothing.
Level 7 Ante 25 Blinds 300-600 My stack 24,400
CG RUNS over the table. He cannot miss. By the end of level 7 he has a stack around 150,000. Some with crazy luck and some with clever play. For instance, he limps. There is a raise. He calls. The flop is A-A-6. All the money goes in. The raiser has A-Q and CG has A-K.
Hand 9
UTG I raise with A-Qs. Folded to BB who thinks and eventually moves in. I made is 1500 and he made is 6000 so I faced a call of 4500. I commented, “The only question that I have to ask is ‘how good an actor are you?’” In other words… was he selling me weakness or not? I concluded not and called. He showed 5-5 and I spiked a Q on the turn.
Hand 10
With T-8 spades I flop 9-7-6 two spades. Woohoo! I get a call from CG on the flop but he folds the turn… dang.
Quote of the day… walking out for a break I overhear a snippet of conversation: “Well, I knew I was going to be drinking tonight and tomorrow so I figured why bother trying?” Uh… why bother playing at all? It will leave you with an extra $2,500 for the drinking. Amazing what justification players will come up with to explain their poor result.
At the break I had a chat with Scott who is highly placed in the online poker world. I asked him about the withdrawal from the U.S. and he made it clear. Companies (like Paradise) are publicly traded and run by Boards of Directors. Since Enron BODs have been “on the hook” and since the BODs do not typically own many shares they are not too excited about taking risks. The private sites, however, are all about risk taking because the operators ARE the shareholders.
“Yukon” Brad Booth is out. Gavin Smith is still in.
Level 8 Ante 50 Blinds 400-800 My stack 37,000
Hand 11 (my most important hand of the day)
UTG makes is 1600. There is one caller. I call on the button with 7-6 clubs. The big blind calls. The flop is A-8-5 with two clubs. Roh-oh… 15 outs, time to go to war. BB checks. Raiser checks. Caller bets 2000. I make is 8000. BB moves all in (he has be barely covered). Both fold to me. I assume he has a set but with 15 outs and a pot of this size I call. He shows A-8. I am actually a VERY SMALL favourite and spike a beautiful 4 clubs on the river to win a 55K pot. Woohoo.
Level 9 Ante 75 Blinds 500-1000 My stack 58,500
I note a small amount of poker stink I resolve to freshen up at the next break after level 10.
Level 10 Ante 100 Blinds 600-1200 My stack 62,000
Hand 12
I limp in late position with A-8s. The button limps announcing, “OK, I will gamble with you.” The SB calls. The flop is A-7-4 with two diamonds (not my suit). Checked to me, I check and the button bets 2000. The SB calls. I did not think that the button had a big ace because I just could not imagine him limping in with a hand like A-J in that spot. I wasn’t sure about the SB but he was short stacked and I did not think he wanted to tangle. So, I made it 8000 and took down the pot.
I get moved to a new table and get a seat beside Gunn Tov Vist who is a Norwegian hottie here in Vancouver to host some players from the site she works for. It is interesting to note the effect of a hot, extroverted woman on a group of men at a poker table. There is a strong tendency to lose focus on the game.
I am tired and I want to wrap it up for the day. I resolved to play “Game mode + steal package” for the rest of the day.
Level 11 Ante 200 Blinds 800-1600
Luck is a wonderful thing… I was in the BB with A-Qs. There was a late position raise to 8000 form a BIG stack which I thought might be a steal and I was intending to come over the top to 25000. But… Jerry Carter in the SB moves all in for 14,000. I fold. Jerry has KQ but big stack has AK. Phew! Thank you Jerry (who wins the hand with a flush).
Hand 13
Early position big stack debates raising but decides to just call. I am the button with A-Q spades. I make is 5000. He calls. The flop is 9-7-2 with two spade (roh-oh another 15 outter). He bets out 7000. I make is 25000. He debates and mucks. As we are bagging the chips he asks about the hand. I tell him “I think you have T-T” He says he had 4-4 and was putting me on two overcards. Interestingly, I don’t think he understood that A-Qs is favoured over his pair on that flop.
THAT’s IT FOR THE NIGHT… except for the security incident.
I have a martini, a beer, and wine with Bob, Teri, and Teri’s sisters. Then I announce I am heading into the casino to play some craps. Bob thinks this is a REALLY bad idea. But, I cannot be swayed. I head into the casino. But, before I get there Bob runs over to security and tries to convince them that I am drunk and should not be permitted to gamble. They don’t buy it. I walk a lap of the casino and go back looking for Bob. Security tells me he went in after me. So, I head back in to find him. No luck… but he does call me on the cell. I reassure him and, in fact, I have one more cocktail with Colin from Kelowna and then I too head to bed at 1:30 am.
Comments
Knock'em down, or break a leg or whatever.
Johnnie