VEGAS RECAP

Here it is, my first post in five months. Methinks a trip to the Holy City, and a winning won at that, is worthy of a new post. It started with my wife asking me what I wanted for my 40th birthday. I don't know, nothing much. I was content to ask for something I thought I had the chance to receive: the best steak dinner in town. Wife decided to fly in my best bud, Tom, from Orlando and surprise me. My other best bud, Steve, tagged along to double the effect. All my local friends were there as well, and the steak was imported in the form of tri-tip, catered by Wood Ranch. All in all, a perfect birthday.

But it didn't end there. Tom and I were scheduled to fly out of LAX Sunday night and arrive in Vegas for 44 glorious hours of poker, sleep and buffet. There would be time for nothing else. The poker began at the Mirage around 930P Sunday. We played until after 2A and neither of us did well. Tom, I think, lost only $17 but I fared much worse. My original $200 buy-in disappeared when the loosest player at the table flopped a set against my top two pair.

I bought in for another $200 and over time I got back to even. I was ready to quit around 1A but Tom was down over $100 at that point, so I ordered another Anchor Steam and got back to work. Over the next hour, I endured punishment like never before from the vagaries of chance. It started with K-K, which I lost to my good pal Tom and his J-J. The next hand, I had Q-Q and lost to A-J. I then turned the nut flush with Ad-Td and lost to a rivered full house. I kept getting big hands which all went down in flames, losing with A-K, A-K suited, A-A, and trip sevens. When the carnage was over, I was down $530, all from that final hour.

I had only taken $1k with me for the trip, but I felt I was playing fine so I needed a boost to the bankroll in case I got into a juicy game. I visited the ATM and pulled out another $500, intent to transform those twenties into hundreds over the next two days.

We started Monday by fueling up at the Wynn buffet, then we entered the noon tournament at the Venetian for $150. The first hand I entered was with old reliable, K-K, which went on to lose half my stack to Q-9. I got back to even but never much further until I busted out in level five. I hung around the poker room emailing via BlackBerry until Tom busted. We went to put in more hours at Mirage so that we could earn our $15 comp after eight hours of play.

Tom and I played at different tables. There's really no details to report other than the cards fell as they're supposed to during this session and I won $530, exactly the amount I had lost the night before. I was now down only the cost of the earlier tournament. When we hit the eight-hour mark, we cashed out, got our comp, and headed back to the Venetian for the evening tourney.

This time the entry was $120. Tom busted out hours before me and I went on to make the final table and finish 7th for $366. Only nine places were paid but the final table assembled the final ten, so we all contributed $15 to ensure busting tenth was good for at least repayment of the buy-in. I had been card dead for ages and finally got desperate enough that I was going to play the next hand no matter what. It turned out to be 9-9 which was an automatic all-in. I ran into queens and it was curtains at 1230A. The walk back to Treasure Island was great as it was pouring yet warm, a nice Vegas treat - lots of drunk girls splashing through puddles and such. Tom had another miserable day and he was crashed by the time I got back to the room.

Tuesday began at Cravings, the Mirage buffet. Our comps were good for $15 so we only had to pay a few bucks each for enough fuel for the day. We played $1/2 NL at the Venetian until 5P when we had to catch a cab to the airport. Tom had another miserable session but I was able to bank $633 while having a great time socializing with our tablemates. I doubled up as the chips were still on order, with K-K vs Q-Q. Finally, the kings won a pot. I would see them four more times and would win them all.

I lost with A-A but not as much as I should have after the board four-flushed on the turn. He had kings and would gladly have gone all-in preflop if I had chosen to play it fast. One of my biggest losses was an excellent river bluff raise early on, feigning flush, against a player who couldn't lay down aces up. I figured he might not be able to get away from it, but it was such a perfect spot, I had to make the attempt. Hours later, I felted the guy with a set of nines over his set of deuces, so the chips were merely on loan.

The other biggest loss was when I held a disguised overpair to the board and doubled up a lady with the dreaded ten-deuce, who had flopped two pair. I had no idea what she had because I never expected she would play junk, so I paid her off on the river hoping she'd show jacks. I was on the winning end of a monster pot when I had Q-T and another lady had T-8. We both flopped two pair and the river was a ten, giving us both the full house. It's easy money when you're on the correct side of that situation.

So, I finished with about $700 in poker winnings, minus the $400 cost of the room and flight. The whirlwind trip only could have been better if Tom had won too. It was good to get my poker mojo out of mothballs and get away for awhile. I look forward to my next Vegas sojourn whenever I can drum up a pal to join me.

SILLY ME

I joined an 8-Game Tournament to hone my all-around poker skills. There were 12 players and only 3 were paid. With 4 players remaining, I was the runaway chip leader. Then I played a hand of deuce-to-seven lowball as if it was razz. I stood pat with an ace in my hand as if it was low, not high. At the end, I merely checked and watched the pot go to the other guy who would have gladly folded his queen-high hand had I bet. Soon after, I invested a lot of money into a pot-limit Omaha hand as if we were playing hi-lo. I thought I had half the pot locked up but instead, I was scooped. Once I realized what a knucklehead I was being, I played another hand against that same player that I just doubled up. This time, I had the best hand when the money went in - I had an overpair to the board with a flush draw against his top pair with two overcards. He went on to hit one of each of his overcards without giving me the flush, so he doubled up again. I was crippled and I wound up busting in fourth place, out of the money.

PLAY LESS WIN MORE

So, I can pretty much only play tourneys on the weekends now. Last weekend, I made two final tables, bubbled another, and profited $1k. This weekend I did my taxes, but being off on Presidents' Day, I entered three tourneys Monday morning. I busted early from two of them, then finished third in the other, profiting $2.5k. I had a hunch that going back to work would not only improve my psyche but also my poker game.

HOME GAME

I have not been blogging because I have not been playing much in the past month. I finally broke down and got a real job, so I am no longer at home at all times, looking for action. I love the new job and plan to stay with it for many years, so poker goes back to being a leisure pursuit.

Last night, I got the call for a home game at my neighbor's house, where I played a tournament a few years ago, finishing second. I made for a game of six and we agreed on a $50 buy-in cash game with $.50/1.00 blinds. I established the limp early on, so as a result, most hands were four or five-way action with only the occasional preflop raise. I threw a lot of money at flops I had no business seeing, but I figured with my experience, my best chance at a big win would come by understanding where I'm at as the hand progresses, so I wanted to be involved in as many hands as possible.

My first buy-in was short-lived. The big blow came when I took a flop with T-5 and the flop came 9-7-5. There was some action, but I wasn't buying it. The turn was a 9 and there was a bet and a call. I made the call again, thinking neither guy had a nine. The river was a T and I figured I just beat whichever guy has a seven, so I called a $15 river bet and fell to Q-9.

I bought in for another $50 and immediately got A-A on the big blind. When the limpfest got around to me, I put in small raise, looking for a couple of callers, which is what I got. The flop was 7-5-4 and I led out with a bet. There was a call and then the small blind raised it up. I called. The turn was a J and he bet into me. Well, if he's not scared of the jack, then he's already got two pair or trips. I just had to hope it was two pair or a pair of sixes. I wasn't folding, so I went ahead and shoved and he showed trip fives. The river was another jack, so I would have beaten 5-4, but instead, I was rebuying again. I threw a $100 bill into the middle and was given a stack of green $5 chips. At this time, I was looking like the patsy at the table, but what nobody realized is that being $200 into a cash game for me is like being $50 in for them and I had no concerns that I wouldn't be able to get it back.

Almost imediately, my luck turned. I tried to shake things up by min-raising with Tc-4c in first position. I got one caller and the flop came Q-T-6. I bet out and he called. The turn was a 4, giving me two pair. I reached for chips which made him reach for chips so fast, that I decided to check to him. He bet $5 and I bumped it to $20, which he called instantly. The river was an 8 and I bet another $20. He folded and said he had nothing. I couldn't resist showing the T-4 and claiming I got lucky. I figured he had nothing so I was happy to have made the extra money on the turn.

I won another big pot when my third pair held up against a bettor and a caller. I called with my pair and straight and flush draw but checked the end when I didn't improve. My pair of eights were good enough. The hand of the night came when I limped utg with Kc-Qc, looking for a big multi-way pot with a superb multi-way pot type of hand. The flop came Q-9-6 and I led out, getting called, then raised. The turn was a K and I checked. The next guy bet out, which surprised me, then the third guy raised him. In a tougher game, I probably muck my hand at this point, but unless I'm getting burned by trips again, then I'm likely up against a lesser two pair. I had concerns about the J-T but I doubt if the raising guy would have been raising a draw on the flop. The other guy was more likely to have me beat but he had a smallish stack, so he was getting paid off regardless. The third guy, raising guy, with the big stack either has trip sixes or something he is overplaying, so I cold called the raise, as did the middle guy.

The river was a blank, so the strength of my hand now was the same as when I cold called on fourth street. I checked with the intention of calling a bet. The middle guy bet a measly $10 and the third guy proclaimed all-in. He didn't expect anybody to call him, so he thought I was just wasting time when I asked for a count. It turned out to be $108 to me. That's a lot in this game, but it's not enough to make me fold top two pair, so I called and the middle guy tossed in his remaining chips. The all-in guy had A-K and the middle guy had flopped two pair with Q-6. I took a huge pot, bringing me into the black.

I won some other more boring pots and redistributed some money back into the game with loose calls rather than locking up my win and ended the night up $220. There was one missed opportunity that went down like this: I raised to $3 with Ah-Kh and got called by two players. The flop came A-3-3. I checked, to allow somebody else to either get greedy or overplay their lesser ace, but it checked around. The turn was a 6 and one player bet $3. I just called, hoping the third guy would call as well, and instead he declared all-in. It was a crazy bet. These guys just like to say all-in, I guess. It was a $90 bet into a pot with less $20 in it. That guy had been a fan of the all-in move all night and had always shown the goods, so I was thinking of laying down my hand anyways, but when the other guy called him, I couldn't imagine that one of them didn't have a three, so I mucked my A-K. Turns out the all-in guy had A-Q and the caller had A-K like me. I guess my slowplay worked, but I didn't get to benefit from it.

There was one other notable hand. Three of the guys had come to the game contingent on Dave, the host, ordering the pay-per-view UFC match, which he had on in the other room. Two guys left the game to watch one of the undercard matches and the four of us who remained played some hands with a $1 ante. I got dealt an ace in every hand and so I saw every flop. On the last of these hands, I min-raised with A-4 and got some calls. The flop came 5-3-2 and I made the continuation bet. It folded to Dave, who pushed all-in with a pair of sixes. Again, it was a crazy $60 bet into a small pot. I relieved him of his stack, the same as if I would have had a pair of nines. It's easy to make money in home games like this where the opponents are so enamored with the all-in move that they think it's a device to ensure everybody else folds. The turn/river came 7/J so he would have saved money by seeing I was still interested on later streets if he had left himself the opportunity.

Well, the game broke for the UFC main event and I walked home to chat with Marci and the Jacksons, who were in my jacuzzi. When I got back, the match was soon decided and we got back to the game, but with the match over and me taking all their money, there was little reason for these guys to stick around, so the game busted at 10PM and that was that.

TRANSFER OF WEALTH

I haven't posted anything in awhile. I've still been playing, but more sporadically than usual. I served on a jury in November, and then I whipped my resume into shape and got back into the job hunt. I had my first interview last Friday, so we'll see where it leads. I've been playing mostly cash games the past six weeks, and mostly PLO of late. It's a game that can see some chips fly across the table. I play at the $2/4 stakes, but I'm seeing some hearty swings in the sessions I play.

Today, I got into a full ring game as opposed to my usual six-handed preference. I bought in for $250, then $300, then $250, then another $250, then $200 more before the table broke while I sat with $381 remaining. That was a big swing in the wrong direction. I wasn't chasing anything outlandish either. It was one of those sessions where one particular player had my number and busted me over and over.

My first buy-in left me when I lost with queens full against kings full for a $686 pot. A third guy appeared to have flopped the straight, but he made a sweetener bet on the flop and got both of us who tripped to call. He made a pot-sized bet on the turn and now was the time to release the hand, but I stubbornly called since I also had the queen-high diamond draw. The river paired fives and I had only $93 behind, so in it went. I had the third best possible hand behind 5-5 and K-K. When the kings called behind me (rather than push), the straight guy knew to save his money and fold. I don't know if he had the nut diamond draw, which would have been disastrous for me. I'd like to think I had diamonds and the lone queen for wins at least. I thought the five was a good card, but I was not happy to see the kings.

Twice more, I played big pots with the kings guy and both times he sucked out on me after the money got in. Our next big pot was a $611 payday for him. I had (A-6-5-5) and he had (A-K-J-9) with a flop of J-5-3. He reraised me on the flop, so I cold called him with my 92% win rate and we saw the J turn. I now had the boat but my winning percentage fell to 78%. He was still happy to get it all in so I obliged. Of course, I didn't know my win rate at the time, but I've looked up the numbers since. I knew at the time that I had a full house and he had A-J. I wasn't too concerned that he had quads or a 3 in his hand, so I was happy to get all in. The river was a K to give him the pot and send me to the ATM.

Not long after, and this is at a full table, mind you, we got it all in again. Again, I had the advantage, and again he sucked out on me for a $445 pot. I began with (Qh-Jh-Td-5c) versus his (Kh-Ks-8h-7c). He had raised preflop and I called to see the flop, which came Jc-6h-2h, giving me top pair with a flush draw and a backdoor straight draw. He bet and I called in position. The turn was the Qc and at this point, with me as the 63% favorite, we got all in. I wasn't happy to see the higher flush draw when the cards were exposed, and it was the 7h that did me in.

When the table broke, I settled into a short-handed table, and stayed patient and grinded back to within $100 of even on the day. There was one player who always seemed eager to get it in on the turn. After awhile, he got cocky and showed me his hand twice in a row after I folded to him. One time he had the ace on a suited board, getting me to fold top two with an all-in lead-out on the turn. About ten minutes later, I had all his chips. The first time, I called his flop bet, turned two pair, and shoved to his turn bet. He had nothing more than an up-and-down straight draw, which he called with and lost. Soon after, I limped with A-A and he put in his usual button raise, which was followed by a call from the small blind. I reraised and he repopped it, committing himself to the hand with little more than a suited ace. The blind went away and my aces held up. That's the thing with PLO - you can win a lot of pots by being aggressive, but it doesn't take much to get you broke if you tangle with a better hand in the wrong spot. I was pleased as punch to be nearly even on the session and called it a day.

BACK IN ACTION

I went through one of my periodic hemorrhage periods, during which I was simply throwing money away at the cash tables. After a series of stupid plays that cost me over $300 in public, a railbird called me out and told me that I was nothing but a stupid fish. I realized that he was right so I closed shop and took the next two days off to get my head straight. I came back today, refreshed and focused. I got into a $2/4 NLHE game and although I dropped $200 at first, I kept plugging and turned a $900 profit on the day.

This was the key hand of the session: I'm at a six-handed table and I'm dealt 7s-7h. I raise preflop to $12 and the button makes it $36. When I'm hemorrhaging, I call automatically because I'm merely gambling, but when I'm actually using my brain to make winning decisions, I use the size of my opponent's stack to determine whether the implied odds of winning his entire stack make it worth my while to chase the 7:1 odds against hitting my set. In this case, I need to call an additional $24, so I want to see at least $240 in his stack. I like to see a potential 10:1 return on investment to make up for all the times I hit my set but fail to win his entire stack. He's got well over $600 so I make the call.

The flop is 3d-9h-9d and I decide to take a stab at the $78 pot with a $55 bet. I'm in good shape against any unpaired hand and I don't fancy check/calling in this spot, so I want to announce that I've got a decent pair and attempt to win the pot right here. He makes the call, so my strategy immediately shifts to check-it-down mode. That is, until the gin card - 7d - arrives on the turn.

The pot is $188 and now I have a full house, which is the nuts in every instance except the one in which he flopped quad nines. It was such a deceptively good card for me that I quickly determined that the proper way to play it was to check/raise. If I bet out, then I'm representing a diamond flush, and he would likely just call with an overpair to the board, and he may even fold black tens or jacks. I figured my better play was to check and try to get him pot-committed, assuming my show of weakness would encourage him to bet to protect his hand. He indeed bet out $130, after which, I raised it up to $300 (with $245 behind). He had just the hand I needed him to have to shove all in - Ad-Kd. He's drawing dead for the $1299 pot.

I locked down that win and was content to play small pots for the next hour, before quitting. There was one hand in which the above scenario nearly played out again, but with an evil spin. I could have lost a lot more than the $84 I wound up losing on the hand. I called a small blind raise from the big blind, holding 3c-3h. The flop came Jc-Jh-5h and he made the continuation bet. It took him a long time to bet, leading me to believe it was more than a routine c-bet. I thought he might actually have the jack and had to talk himself into playing it fast, but still, I made the call with my small pair to see what would transpire on the turn. Fourth street brought my 3s, once again the gin card. He bet strongly into me and I was fairly certain he had the jack at this point, but I just flat called because I was looking ahead to the third bullet. The river was the 5s which completely counterfeited my full house. He made a strong value bet and I folded.

THE PENDULUM SWINGS BACK

I took a drubbing yesterday, but kept my positive mental state. I played really well and just got super unlucky. I was ready today with three hours of free time to try to win it back. Well, I got $800 of it back and here are the two hands that mattered:

The first key hand was a continuation of yesterday's luck. I had As-Ac and called a raise preflop. It is important to note that in the previous hand, I had lead into an ace-high flop only to fold to a reraise. So the same situation came up here - the flop was Ad-6c-5d and I lead right out into it. I figured he had some sort of pair between sixes and aces and I needed to convince him that I didn't have an ace, because if I had an ace, why on earth would I be leading out rather than check/raising. He fell for it and tried to raise me off my hand. Out of position, I didn't wish to get tricky and see the action freeze when another diamond falls, so I just shoved right then. He gave it a think and called with 9h-9d. Running diamonds fell and I lost the $700 pot.

I was pissed, but I didn't let it tilt me. He apologized profusely and rationalized "I knew you had an ace but I had so much money in by then that I figured I could try to catch a third nine." He was still apologetic a few hands later and said, "I'm sorry man, that must have been a 2% shot." I told him, no worries, I'm used to it. And besides, I want that call every time. I plugged the situation into the online calculator and discovered he was 5.25%. It's not often I can get $350 in as a 95% favorite, so I felt a zen-like serenity about the outcome. After all, it wasn't 100% and there will be that one time in twenty that it goes the other way. I'm just glad it was only $350 and not my mortgage on the line because I would have bet all I had and all I could borrow on those three aces in that spot.

I bought back in and plugged away, getting even, and then was rewarded with this beauty:

What I love most about this hand is who it came against. I won't say his name, but I referenced him some weeks back as the guy who could not lose - he hit every river on me time and again and fleeced me for a large amount. Ever since that day, he's been popping into games as if he's got software designed to seek me out. He's a solid player, so I haven't been able to put the hurt on him like he did to me, until today.

I respect his raises, because he plays strong hands and he plays his hands strong. He puts out a continuation bet every time, but he will slow down on the turn if his opponent shows interest. If he has a hand, he is not afraid to play a big pot. I've been waiting forever to get into the situation against him when I could check into him twice, because I know that if he fires the turn, then he's basically committed to the hand. So, in this instance, he raised my big blind and I defended with Jc-9c.

POT: $39
FLOP: Qh-Tc-5d
ACTION: * / B $30 / C
ANALYSIS: I hit just the right kind of flop. I've got a draw to a big hand. His bet seems like more than a continuation bet. He's either trying to protect against a draw or he's trying to build a pot, hoping I've got a piece of it. I make the call and pray for an eight or king.

POT: $99
TURN: Qh-Tc-5d / Ks
ACTION: * / B $84 / C
ANALYSIS: I hit my gin card, giving me the second nuts. I have to check to see if he's going to fire the second bullet. He bets strong and for a moment, I begin to fear the A-J, but then I remember the big bet on the flop and completely discount that possibility. He's either got a set or K-Q. Whatever he's got, he loves it, and with no flushes possible, thus very few cooler cards, I decide that we're taking this to the river so I can try to get him pot-committed.

POT: $267
RIVER: Qh-Tc-5d / Ks / 6c
ACTION: * / B $174 / AI $568 / C
ANALYSIS: A perfect blank. I've got the nuts and he loves his hand. I could bet and he'd pay me off, but I have a grander plan. I check and let him stick out a value bet. It turns out he's got a set of queens and he instacalls my shove for a $1538 pot and the best result I've gotten in ages.

I haven't been able to play any tournaments in awhile as we just wrapped up two solid weeks of house guests. First, my wife's mother was in town for a week, and just as she left, we got an aunt and uncle for the week. All this while we're having our bathroom redone, as bad timing would have it. So, we were a family of six this week, all sharing the kids' bathroom. I had to stay at home all day with the workers and was able to squeeze in some poker while our guests were out exploring Hollywood and Malibu.

The past week was a blast with the random relatives around. Aunt Sally is my father-in-law's older sister and she's been married to Uncle Tom since 1964. He is quite a storyteller and I haven't laughed so much in a long time. I call him Uncle Jody (Joe D) because he's the spitting image of Joe DiMaggio. He grew up in Brooklyn and used to go to 50 games a year at Ebbets field before the Dodgers moved west. He told me about how his social circle revolved around the basketball court at the public playground. He was very athletic and good at ball so he had some social standing. The kids who couldn't play wound up buying heroin from the thugs and were ostracized from the courts. When he moved to Delaware, he went to see the all-state team play and was amused at what passed for all-state in Delaware. They couldn't even dribble with both hands.

Aunt Sally is pushing 70 but petite and spry. She went to the hospital ten years ago with some sort of minor ailment and wound up having one of those hospital-induced strokes. She's healthy now but still has enough aphasia that holding a conversation with her is an adventure in patience. Her mind works perfectly but she can't always get the correct words out which frustrates her, so a lot of times she just gives up. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to decipher what she was really trying to say and I was never sure whether or not I should try to finish her sentences for her. Tom is so laid-back, he doesn't get frustrated at all and waits her out, helping her when she looks to him for assistance. They've both had health debacles and it's obvious that they still dig one another.

Tom was always a runner, even way back before it was cool. In fact, his son, Tom, runs a cross-country training program up north of San Francisco. So all that running finally gave him a sore foot, which he took to a doctor several years ago, only to find that the real problem was with his heart. So he wound up with a pacemaker, but the model he had implanted was soon recalled, so they had to open him up to get it out. This of course lead to an infection in one of his heart valves which put him in the hospital for some time. During his stay, his kidneys failed so he's put on dialysis, which he describes as by far the worst thing ever. After months of rehab to get healthy enough to walk again and go home, that's when Sally had her episode. Talk about your rough patches.

I was at their house in Old Saybrook, CT one time when I was freshly married into the family and before we had kids. Their daughter, my wife's cousin, was getting married, and it must have been October '95 because I remember watching Tom Glavine throw a one-hitter in the World Series at their house. There was an old guy, whom everyone referred to simply as Ghecas, watching the game with us, and I was honored when Ghecas told me in front of everyone that I know more about baseball than anyone he's ever met, based on my in-game analysis.

Ghecas, it turns out, was a college football hero for Georgetown back in the late '30s. He played pro football with the Eagles for one game back in 1941, returning kicks. When football didn't work out, he switched to baseball, but never made it to the bigs because, as the story goes, he was a minor-league centerfielder for the Yankees behind Joe DiMaggio. So, Ghecas traded in his cleats for a sidearm and became a special agent for the FBI. My wife's grandfather - father of Aunt Sally - and Ghecas served together as g-men for decades.

So there you go, you're up to date.