August 8, 2004
Wednesday's game
OK, let's try this again. Erik's tournament on Wednesday had 13 people this time, as I tried to defend my title from the previous week. The big change this week was that we had $5000 in chips, as opposed to the $25 we had the past two weeks, and blinds raised every half hour.
Once again, I got put on the same table as Tom, who had no money and used mine, the bum. Jude also came with Tom, but he was on the other table. The first big hand occurred on the other table, as it usually does because I always get put on the tight table somehow. It involved Jude, this new kid Matt, and some little pink-faced kid that looked like he was about 11 years old. Everybody was all-in with a board of 6 8 9 queen 10 with three diamonds. The little kid, who had been the initial bettor, flipped over a 7 with total confidence for some reason, even though everyone else knew he was toast with what was out there. Jude flipped over a jack-high flush, and Matt flipped over a queen-high flush, taking a huge pot and knocking the other guys down to almost nothing. They were both done a little bit after that.
At our table, I didn't play many hands early on, as per my usual style. I picked up jack ten on the big blind, and saw a three-way flop with Tom and Dan. The flop came 7 9 2, giving me a couple overcards and an inside straight draw. Dan bet out, and I raised him. Tom called my raise, but Dan folded. The turn was an 8, giving me the nut straight. I bet out a decent amount, and Tom quickly called. I was pretty sure at this point that he had top pair, because he usually can't get away from top pair, unless there's just something really obvious out there. The last card was a blank again, and I bet out and Tom quickly called again. As expected, he had ace 9, and I showed the nut straight. He said, "You and your straights again," which is funny because I usually don't catch straights. I guess he remembered when I made a similar play last week, raising on the draw and sticking it. Anyway, that pot set me up pretty nice, at about $6500.
After that pot, I think Tom went on tilt a little, and he started throwing money all over, and you could tell he was frustrated. At one point he got pocket queens, and made a good raise with it preflop. Jay and Dan called it, and the flop was 4 5 8. Tom bet out 500, which was a pretty big bet at this stage, and Dan folded and Jay called. The turn was a 3. I was studying both of them, as I usually do when I'm not in the hand, and you could just see Jay's face light up. I knew he had caught a straight. He bet out like $200, and Tom raised him $2500. Jay called it, not raising all-in for some reason. The river was a 10 I think, and Jay checked and Tom checked. I don't get Jay checking because there's no way Tom had 6 7 here. Anyway, Jay flipped over the straight and Tom went ballistic, rightly so, because Jay is just retarded with his chasing. Tom dug his own grave, though, because his $2500 raise had to be the worst raise I've ever seen. If he was watching Jay, he would have known Jay had the straight, and his raise was just throwing away half his stack. Anyway, I don't mean to come down too hard on Tom because he's an awesome player, but I think to take the next step he has to learn when to throw good hands away. Just because a hand is good on the flop doesn't mean it's good later on. But I digress...
After that hand, Tom was pretty much done, and he got whacked a little while later, going in with king 7 against ace jack. I played really tight at this point, waiting for us to combine to the final table where I could do some damage. Nothing of note really happened, and we combined when we got down to 8 left. I was sitting on Erik's left, who strikes me as a good player, but who never gets any good cards on Wednesdays.
Early on at the final table, I picked up big slick suited, and I raised 600 to come in, a pretty big raise. Naturally, two doofuses called me. The flop was 4 5 6, and I bet out 600 again. One kid called, and one folded. The turn was another 6, and I was pretty sure he didn't have that, so I bet out 600 again. He called again, and I put him on a lousy ace, maybe ace 4 or ace 5. I hate people that play that "any ace" mentality preflop that they'll call anything with. The river was a king, and I was positive I had the best hand now. I bet out another 600 as a value bet, and got called again. The kings up took it, and the kid started complaining that I got lucky on the river, but he had no business crying because he should learn to raise and get me out. Instead, he plays tight-weak and loses his money. Works for me. That pot set me up very nicely, probably about third in chips and very comfortable. After another 45 minutes or so, I picked up queen jack suited and came in to see a 3 way pot with Alex and Jay. Alex came in raising, and we both called. The flop was 4 8 10. We checked, and Jay bet out 500, which at this point was a pretty small bet. Alex folded, and I called with my overcards and the gutshot straight draw. The turn was a 2, and Jay bet 500 again. Now it was an even weaker bet with what was in the pot. I was thinking of raising it, but I figured I'd just call and raise if needed on the river. The river was a 9, giving me the nut straight again, and I bet out 4000, figuring Jay would call anything. He did, of course, with a pair of 10s or something, he didn't even show. After that pot I was second in chips behind the kid Matt, who was still playing off that huge stack he took off Jude and the kid from the Sandlot before.
At one point Erik got picked off by the kid sitting next to me who had played the ace-rag earlier. Erik had queen jack, and he came in with a big raise. The kid called him. The flop was jack 4 6, and Erik went all-in after the kid checked. The kid then called immediately with ace king. How do you do that? Erik and I both let out a big "What the hell" sound as we witnessed another retarded amateur play. The turn was a blank, and the river was an ace, sending Erik packing. That's rough.
We got down to four-handed: Me, Matt, Alex, and Saied. Saied picked off Alex after he made a bluff when Saied slowplayed trip 7s. This made me very happy, because I figured Alex to be the toughest one at the table. Once we got to three-handed, I completely shifted gears and started raising the hell out of everything. The blinds wre high, so I just kept eating them up, and on the rare occasion when someone did call me, I would bet out on the flop and take it down. I increased my stack dramatically until I had the chip lead. Matt came in raising, which he very rarely did. Every time he did, he showed us an ace. I looked down to see ace queen of hearts. I figured him to have a worse ace, so I reraised him all-in. He called and flipped over ace 8 of clubs. I was a huge favorite, about 80 percent, and if I took this pot it was more or less over because Saied had hardly anything. The flop was jack 9 7 rainbow- so far so good. The turn was a 6 which gave him an open-ended straight, and 11 outs. Sure enough, the river was a ten, giving him his straight and punching me in the gut. The devil hand strikes again. After that, Matt had the chip lead on me, and he knocked Saied out a little later.
Heads up I stayed aggressive early on, but Matt kept coming over the top of me- all-in on the first three hands, taking a decent chunk out of me. I started looking to see more flops and outplay him there, which I did for a while. My big score came when I had queen jack. He came in raising and I flat-called it. The flop was ace jack ten, and he bet out again. I thought of raising, but decided just to call. The turn was a king, and he checked. I followed right behind him with a quick check, having made my straight. The river was a blank, and he bet out 5 grand. I thought about it for a while, even saying, "You slowplayed the straight on me, huh?" Reluctantly, I said, "OK, you're 50, and 100 more. Let's roll." He called me and flipped over kings and tens. I showed him the straight, at which point Matt and Erik, who was dealing, both went, "Holy shit. Wow." That was easily my best play of the night, if not the summer, and I doubled through.
I had Matt on the ropes, and he limped in one hand that I had king jack. I figured I had at worst a coin flip, if not a better hand, so I raised all-in and he called, saying he hoped I would do that. He had pocket 7s, so it was a coin flip. If I won, it was over, if he did, he would double up. I couldn't get any help, and he took it.
A little bit later I got king 7, and I came in raising, which was called by Matt. The flop was 3 4 7, and Matt checked to me, and I bet out with top pair. He waited a bit then called. The turn was a jack, and he checked quickly- a little to quickly, but I didn't listen to the voice in my head, and I bet out again. He thought, then called. The river was a blank, and he checked again. I bet out again, a big bet, way too much, and he went all-in immediately. I KNEW IT. That was dumb, and I knew he was slowplaying me. I folded it, and he showed the nut straight that he had flopped. Stupid stupid stupid. This crippled me, and a little while later I was down to about nothing. I went all-in with 9 2, which is total trash, but I was pretty much forced to. I figured my odds of getting lucky and doubling up were better than my odds of losing my blind and coming back from that, so I went for it. He had pocket 5s which didn't make me real happy, but I still had about a 30 percent shot at it. No help came though, and I ended up taking second, pocketing $100.
Overall, I was happy with how I played. I feel like most people at the table fear me when I get involved, and I may be the most respected player there. The one mistake was the hand that I could feel I was getting trapped on, but other than that I played pretty flawlessly for the second straight week. I had the tournament basically won with that ace queen and I got sucked out on, and I lost the coin flip with the king jack. Sometimes you get em, sometimes you don't. I can't complain because I won the coin flip to win it all last week. I'm getting a lot better at changing gears at the right times and picking my spots to make a move. My reading skills are as good as they have ever been, and I can almost always peg someone on their hand. Come to think of it, probably about 85% of showdowns I'm in, I win. So my poker career is going well.
Quote of the day: "How the hell do you call an all-in after the flop with just ace high?!"- Erik
Terrence's bankroll: $170+$75= $245
Once again, I got put on the same table as Tom, who had no money and used mine, the bum. Jude also came with Tom, but he was on the other table. The first big hand occurred on the other table, as it usually does because I always get put on the tight table somehow. It involved Jude, this new kid Matt, and some little pink-faced kid that looked like he was about 11 years old. Everybody was all-in with a board of 6 8 9 queen 10 with three diamonds. The little kid, who had been the initial bettor, flipped over a 7 with total confidence for some reason, even though everyone else knew he was toast with what was out there. Jude flipped over a jack-high flush, and Matt flipped over a queen-high flush, taking a huge pot and knocking the other guys down to almost nothing. They were both done a little bit after that.
At our table, I didn't play many hands early on, as per my usual style. I picked up jack ten on the big blind, and saw a three-way flop with Tom and Dan. The flop came 7 9 2, giving me a couple overcards and an inside straight draw. Dan bet out, and I raised him. Tom called my raise, but Dan folded. The turn was an 8, giving me the nut straight. I bet out a decent amount, and Tom quickly called. I was pretty sure at this point that he had top pair, because he usually can't get away from top pair, unless there's just something really obvious out there. The last card was a blank again, and I bet out and Tom quickly called again. As expected, he had ace 9, and I showed the nut straight. He said, "You and your straights again," which is funny because I usually don't catch straights. I guess he remembered when I made a similar play last week, raising on the draw and sticking it. Anyway, that pot set me up pretty nice, at about $6500.
After that pot, I think Tom went on tilt a little, and he started throwing money all over, and you could tell he was frustrated. At one point he got pocket queens, and made a good raise with it preflop. Jay and Dan called it, and the flop was 4 5 8. Tom bet out 500, which was a pretty big bet at this stage, and Dan folded and Jay called. The turn was a 3. I was studying both of them, as I usually do when I'm not in the hand, and you could just see Jay's face light up. I knew he had caught a straight. He bet out like $200, and Tom raised him $2500. Jay called it, not raising all-in for some reason. The river was a 10 I think, and Jay checked and Tom checked. I don't get Jay checking because there's no way Tom had 6 7 here. Anyway, Jay flipped over the straight and Tom went ballistic, rightly so, because Jay is just retarded with his chasing. Tom dug his own grave, though, because his $2500 raise had to be the worst raise I've ever seen. If he was watching Jay, he would have known Jay had the straight, and his raise was just throwing away half his stack. Anyway, I don't mean to come down too hard on Tom because he's an awesome player, but I think to take the next step he has to learn when to throw good hands away. Just because a hand is good on the flop doesn't mean it's good later on. But I digress...
After that hand, Tom was pretty much done, and he got whacked a little while later, going in with king 7 against ace jack. I played really tight at this point, waiting for us to combine to the final table where I could do some damage. Nothing of note really happened, and we combined when we got down to 8 left. I was sitting on Erik's left, who strikes me as a good player, but who never gets any good cards on Wednesdays.
Early on at the final table, I picked up big slick suited, and I raised 600 to come in, a pretty big raise. Naturally, two doofuses called me. The flop was 4 5 6, and I bet out 600 again. One kid called, and one folded. The turn was another 6, and I was pretty sure he didn't have that, so I bet out 600 again. He called again, and I put him on a lousy ace, maybe ace 4 or ace 5. I hate people that play that "any ace" mentality preflop that they'll call anything with. The river was a king, and I was positive I had the best hand now. I bet out another 600 as a value bet, and got called again. The kings up took it, and the kid started complaining that I got lucky on the river, but he had no business crying because he should learn to raise and get me out. Instead, he plays tight-weak and loses his money. Works for me. That pot set me up very nicely, probably about third in chips and very comfortable. After another 45 minutes or so, I picked up queen jack suited and came in to see a 3 way pot with Alex and Jay. Alex came in raising, and we both called. The flop was 4 8 10. We checked, and Jay bet out 500, which at this point was a pretty small bet. Alex folded, and I called with my overcards and the gutshot straight draw. The turn was a 2, and Jay bet 500 again. Now it was an even weaker bet with what was in the pot. I was thinking of raising it, but I figured I'd just call and raise if needed on the river. The river was a 9, giving me the nut straight again, and I bet out 4000, figuring Jay would call anything. He did, of course, with a pair of 10s or something, he didn't even show. After that pot I was second in chips behind the kid Matt, who was still playing off that huge stack he took off Jude and the kid from the Sandlot before.
At one point Erik got picked off by the kid sitting next to me who had played the ace-rag earlier. Erik had queen jack, and he came in with a big raise. The kid called him. The flop was jack 4 6, and Erik went all-in after the kid checked. The kid then called immediately with ace king. How do you do that? Erik and I both let out a big "What the hell" sound as we witnessed another retarded amateur play. The turn was a blank, and the river was an ace, sending Erik packing. That's rough.
We got down to four-handed: Me, Matt, Alex, and Saied. Saied picked off Alex after he made a bluff when Saied slowplayed trip 7s. This made me very happy, because I figured Alex to be the toughest one at the table. Once we got to three-handed, I completely shifted gears and started raising the hell out of everything. The blinds wre high, so I just kept eating them up, and on the rare occasion when someone did call me, I would bet out on the flop and take it down. I increased my stack dramatically until I had the chip lead. Matt came in raising, which he very rarely did. Every time he did, he showed us an ace. I looked down to see ace queen of hearts. I figured him to have a worse ace, so I reraised him all-in. He called and flipped over ace 8 of clubs. I was a huge favorite, about 80 percent, and if I took this pot it was more or less over because Saied had hardly anything. The flop was jack 9 7 rainbow- so far so good. The turn was a 6 which gave him an open-ended straight, and 11 outs. Sure enough, the river was a ten, giving him his straight and punching me in the gut. The devil hand strikes again. After that, Matt had the chip lead on me, and he knocked Saied out a little later.
Heads up I stayed aggressive early on, but Matt kept coming over the top of me- all-in on the first three hands, taking a decent chunk out of me. I started looking to see more flops and outplay him there, which I did for a while. My big score came when I had queen jack. He came in raising and I flat-called it. The flop was ace jack ten, and he bet out again. I thought of raising, but decided just to call. The turn was a king, and he checked. I followed right behind him with a quick check, having made my straight. The river was a blank, and he bet out 5 grand. I thought about it for a while, even saying, "You slowplayed the straight on me, huh?" Reluctantly, I said, "OK, you're 50, and 100 more. Let's roll." He called me and flipped over kings and tens. I showed him the straight, at which point Matt and Erik, who was dealing, both went, "Holy shit. Wow." That was easily my best play of the night, if not the summer, and I doubled through.
I had Matt on the ropes, and he limped in one hand that I had king jack. I figured I had at worst a coin flip, if not a better hand, so I raised all-in and he called, saying he hoped I would do that. He had pocket 7s, so it was a coin flip. If I won, it was over, if he did, he would double up. I couldn't get any help, and he took it.
A little bit later I got king 7, and I came in raising, which was called by Matt. The flop was 3 4 7, and Matt checked to me, and I bet out with top pair. He waited a bit then called. The turn was a jack, and he checked quickly- a little to quickly, but I didn't listen to the voice in my head, and I bet out again. He thought, then called. The river was a blank, and he checked again. I bet out again, a big bet, way too much, and he went all-in immediately. I KNEW IT. That was dumb, and I knew he was slowplaying me. I folded it, and he showed the nut straight that he had flopped. Stupid stupid stupid. This crippled me, and a little while later I was down to about nothing. I went all-in with 9 2, which is total trash, but I was pretty much forced to. I figured my odds of getting lucky and doubling up were better than my odds of losing my blind and coming back from that, so I went for it. He had pocket 5s which didn't make me real happy, but I still had about a 30 percent shot at it. No help came though, and I ended up taking second, pocketing $100.
Overall, I was happy with how I played. I feel like most people at the table fear me when I get involved, and I may be the most respected player there. The one mistake was the hand that I could feel I was getting trapped on, but other than that I played pretty flawlessly for the second straight week. I had the tournament basically won with that ace queen and I got sucked out on, and I lost the coin flip with the king jack. Sometimes you get em, sometimes you don't. I can't complain because I won the coin flip to win it all last week. I'm getting a lot better at changing gears at the right times and picking my spots to make a move. My reading skills are as good as they have ever been, and I can almost always peg someone on their hand. Come to think of it, probably about 85% of showdowns I'm in, I win. So my poker career is going well.
Quote of the day: "How the hell do you call an all-in after the flop with just ace high?!"- Erik
Terrence's bankroll: $170+$75= $245
Posted by Terrence on August 8, 2004 at 09:31 PM | Add a Comment