Casino Regina Nov 11 report
First break. 198 players. Big field.
Made it through the re-buy period with only two re-buys and one add-on so I am only in for $400 today.
all_aces is here (not playing). I have not met JasonA yet and I have a $200 side bet with him in today's tournament.
Made it through the re-buy period with only two re-buys and one add-on so I am only in for $400 today.
all_aces is here (not playing). I have not met JasonA yet and I have a $200 side bet with him in today's tournament.
Comments
Some big ring games are being talked about. Regina does not spread big bet poker, but I think you may see a 50-100 game tonight.
Omaha is not my game, so I will try and simply tighten up and depend on superior hand selection and post flop play to give me an edge. In other words, no wild aggression and stealing because I have not instinct for the game.
Nov 11: Omaha/8 $100 buy-in, unlimted conditional $100 re-buys, $100 add-on.
I start the day with a brisk 10K run. I run by a barber shop about two blocks from the hotel. I decide to get a lucky head shaving. After my run I walk back and get to the door as the barber is locking the door. Grumpy barber will not give me a haircut. So… I go back to hotel with some hair still remaining on my head. Sigh. Bad beat.
198 players start the tournament.
Like stud, I find great notes difficult to take so there are some gaps. And, I am a BAD O-8 player. I welcome comments and criticism.
I didn’t make too many notes during the re-buy period (first four levels, 25 min each).
Funny story though… About an hour in there is an announcement "High hand is a jack high straight flush." (there is a prize for high hand). There is a discussion about whether or not this will hold up. I believe it will and I will book some action. The players practically elbow each other out of the way. In the end I book $20 qith Tony, Les, and Tom. Precisely one minute later "New high hand, queen high straight flush." I am out $60.
I wind up taking two re-buys and the add-on (total cost $400).
HAND #1. Very tight player raises pre-flop. I put him on A-A-X-X. I defend the blind with K-8-7-4 (gross I know, but I think I know that I am up against). Flop is 8-9-Q. I check. Limper check. Rock bets. I check raise. My hope is to clear the field and take me draw up against the rock who has, for now, better than I’ve got. Limper calls. Rock calls. Turn card is 7 giving me two pair. I bet. Both call. River is 4. I check, limper bet. Rock raises! I give this some thought. I put him on A-A-2-X and trying to move me off my hand. I call. Limper calls. I win high. Limper takes low with A-2. I guessed right, rock was trying to move me off my hand.
HAND #2. Last hand of the re-buy period I get lucky. I have K-K-X-X. Flop is K-Q-6. I bet out and I get raised. There is a caller and I call. Turn is a rag. I check raise and get three bet. I cap. River is a ten. It is checked around and I win big pot. The too aggressive player was ramming along with bottom set.
Level 5 betting $150-300 My stack 6,850
Level 6 betting $200-400 My stack 6,100
HAND #3. Hands like this remind me that I am a bad O-8 player. I call a raise in the small bling with A-3-5-Q (suited queen). Lose a bunch of money.
HAND #4. A-2-4-8. Flop a bad draw, but carry on with the hand.
At this point I chastised myself quite badly. I am a bad Omaha/8 player. I remind myself to play tight because I do not have the instinct to play otherwise.
Level 7 betting $300-600 My stack 3,700
I am kicking myself for getting low on chips with bad play. I am the author of my own disaster.
HAND #5. I am the big blind with 5-6-7-Q. Flop A-4-5 with two spades. The UTG player bets. One other caller. I doubt that either player has 2-3 so, I call. I think this is ANOTHER bad play, but it works out. The UTG player has bet out a single ace. I make straight on turn. River is another ace but it goes check check and I sweep. Bad play on my part. Bad play on UTG part. I get lucky.
I am, I realize, at a bad table. There are five rocks. That means it will be hard to get at their chips in omaha/8. The field is filled with players who will paly bad cards too deep, but they are not at my table sigh.
HAND #5. A-3-4-9 suited ace. Flop of 8-7-K is checked around. Turn is 5. I check. There is a bet and a call. I figure I am at least tied for low and that I cannot be counterfitted because I have a 4 as well. I call. I am right. My A-3 takes half.
HAND #6. Another lucky big one.K-K-5-4 (one suited king) I limp in. Flop is 3-2-X (made my spade flush). I bet. Two callers and then I get check raised all in to 500. I call. Others two call. Turn pairs the board (3). Checked around. River is a blank. I bet and get one caller. My king high spades sweep.
My table busts (good).
Level 8 betting $400-800 My stack 10,750
HAND #7. Small blind with A-2-2-8 (suited 8). There is a raise, re-raise, and a caller. I fold. I would have made a small amount (quartered). But this is, I think, a small area of improvement for me O-8. A year ago I doubt that I would have ever folded an A-2. I think that was a good fold.
BAD BEAT. The level ends and it is the supper break. I go, as usual, to the mall to grab my Taco Time supper. But, the whole place has shit down at 5 pm and I miss supper? Now what? I eat in the hotel restaurant instead.
GOOD BEAT. Handed out the $100 tip for the trip. My cajun wrap was $9 with a coke for $13. I gave Bobbi $100 and told her to split the extra with the hostess. They seemed pleased.
As previously reported, there
Level 9 betting $600-1200 My stack 9,200
HAND #8. I raise after on limper with K-K-9-7. I checks down after my bet and one raise on the flop. However, I chastise myself (again) because THEY WILL NOT FOLD. There is almost no fold equity at this point in the tournament. The proper meta-strategy is to acquire a hand and bet it. I do not think that K-K-9-7 is adequate to pop it after a limper because THEY WILL NOT FOLD. Still too soon to push.
HAND #9. I was getting REALLY low on chips having played on other hand poorly. Then, in the big blind I have A-2-J-7 (suited ace) in the big blind. There is a limper and then a raiser. I call. Limper calls. Flop is A-J-6. I check and call the flop and the turn (fearing a set of aces) but I go runner runner nut high hearts. Neither of then have low and I sweep a monster. He did have a set of aces. Sick beat. Lucky for me.
To be continued...
Level 10 betting $800-1600 My stack 15,500
There are 11 tables left. Average stack is 8100.
340 re-buys. 182 add-ons. 900,000 chips in play. Both today and yesterday the average chips per player has been 4500 (1.5 add-ons and a re-buy). If this holds tomorrow then chips in play will be 1,575,000. Gonna be a long day.
HAND #10. Interesting hand.A-4-8-J. I call. Flop checks around. On the turn I have weak two pair and jack high diamond flush. On the river I make diamonds. He fires. I hope he has low and I call. Nope. He has semi-bluffed a diamond draw but my diamonds are higher. I sweep it. Woohoo.
At this point there are 11 tables left, I have a 4 table chips count. Kewl. The bad news is that I could never get the ball rolling from this point and for the remainder of the tournament I seesawed between 23K and 6K.
Level 11 betting $1,000-2,000 My stack 22,800
First place prize money is $21,000.
By five minutes left in this level there are 8 tables. I am double average. Playing no hands.
Level 12 betting $1,500-3,000 My stack 21,300
8 tables left.
HAND #11. Limp in small blind with 3-4-X-X. Flop is 2-5-6. I bet and get no callers. Sigh.
I caught myself starting to think about trying to run over the field. Bad Dave. Bad. The field WILL NOT FOLD. I give myself a little talking to.
HAND #12. A-2-5-9 (suited ace). I raise bring it in. All fold, including the super small stack big blind??? I would have called without looking if I were him.
7 tables with 8 minuted left in level 12.
HAND #13. Lesson of the hand… TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. In big blind with A-T-X-X. There is one limper. The flop is A-2-T. I bet. Very conservative limper calls. Turn is 8. I check. She checks. River is a 4. I check. She bets. I study her for a moment. I can SEE the adrenaline rush. Respiratory rate up. Heart rate up. Trying to control herself, but I can tell she wants to open her mouth and breath. I am prepared to fold, but then I reason that if the DOES have 5-3 she would have bet the turn. I call. Nope. 5-3. Beep beep. I lose 3,000 that I didn’t need to.
We get to a break. Whew.
Level 13 betting 2,000-4,000 My stack 17,500
Average stack is 15,000 (there are six tables left). I am slightly above average. But, the cost of a single hand played to the river is 12,000 chips. So, I decide that if I have an overlay at this point is it in "better hand selection" and "better ability to fold sketchy draws." This is, very likely, not true since my HUGE LEAK in O-8 is calling with hands that should be folded.
With 8 minutes to go there are 5 tables. We are in the points.
The Mike Caro "chip glance tell." This is a KILLER tell. There was a hand in which the flop was J-9-7. A player who is very generally as regarded a one of the better in the field here gave of a HUGE tell. He LOVED the flop. Sure enough he held T-8 for the nuts. Interesting.
Level 14 betting 3,000-6,000 My stack 18,000
HAND #14. This is the hand I regret the most. I was big blind with 2-5-6-X. Flop was 4-7-J. I check. UTG limper bets out. I call. Turn is 3. I check. He bets. I figure I any ace for a bike. Any three for nut straight. And 5 or six. So I call. I miss and call the river and lose low to the UTG who limped in with A-5-J-T (no suit). I think, in retrospect, that I should have simply folded. This was much too speculative a hand to be willing to lose almost my whole stack.
HAND #15. I bust Adam**. I have $6K to start hand. I limp in with A-3-4-6 double suited. Adam** in small blind limps in. Big blind checks. Funny. I am the big stack of the three of us left. I have $3K left. Adam** has $1K left. BB has $1.5K left. Woohoo, I can’t go bust on the hand! Adam bets out and I call with a diamond draw. I go runner runner set of sixes and bust him. Sorry Adam**. See you at breakfast tomorrow.
5 minutes left. 4 tables left.
HAND #16. Colin raises UTG. I 3-bet with A-2-7-Q double suited. Flop is 2-3-5. He checks I bet (all-in) figuring that I will have to call anyway. Colin calls. He has A-4-5-6 for a bike and a six high straight! River is a 4 and I get a quarter.
Level 15 betting 4,000-8,000 My stack 7,500
I am, obviously, in trouble.
HAND #17. Skilled O-8 player raises I call with K-Q-J-9 (suited 9). Bad news. He has A-K-Q-7. Flop is A-K-Q giving be a gutshot ten but I do not hit and I am out in 27th spot. Ugh. Two tourneys, two close calls. The only good news, I suppose, is that I have come close for two days in games I am bad at. The next two days I am back in the zone.
Following the tournament I head out to Tony Romas with all_aces for some beer, ribs, and good company. Much chat of poker and life. Enjoyable evening even with the poor finish.