Hello all, I hope everybody enjoyed their Columbus Day. I know I sure as hell didn't. At least, I didn't enjoy most of it. For those of you who don't know, and for some that do and forgot, Kurt hosted a "high stakes" game at Greg's house today. 13 people showed up, including yours truly, for a $50 buy in event. This wasn't really "high stakes", but it is as high as we're comfortable going in a friendly format. I felt like today was going to be a good day, at least somewhat of a good day. The sun was shining, kids were playing in the street, and the cards were ready to fly. In my opinion there was no better way to celebrate Columbus Day, than by playing poker with some buddies. Here is how it went...
My table was pretty well stocked with talent. On my right I had Jim, John P. was to my left aong with Moe. Kurt was in mid position and Greg and Elaine rounded out the table. From the first hand I knew the table was going to be aggressive. And sure enough, it was. The first hand Kurt and John P. got into a big pot, John P. took the pot down and Kurt was short stacked. The next hand I got dealt pocket A's. I was under the gun and I raised it to $80. I immediately thought I had overbet them for sure. As I saw the table fold around I couldn't help but think it was a missed opportunity. I was just about ready to rake in the blinds when Jim called from the big blind. I dodged a bullet there, thank god Jim called, at least I was going to get $80. It was just Jim and I going to the flop and it came 5h - 7c - As. Jim was first to act and he led out and bet $60. I postured for a few seconds and called. The turn came up 3d and Jim led out again, this time betting $160. I postured a little longer this time and wondered what he possibly could have. Ace with a crappy kicker? A - 5 maybe? Either way I had him crushed, it was just a matter of how much I was going to extract from him. I called his $160 bet and the river came up 8h. Good, I thought, no flush, there was an off chance of a straight but not likely. Jim checked as I pretty much thought he would. I bet $350 and he sat and thought for a bit. To my surprise, he called my bet. He showed a three from his hand and took one look at my trip aces and mucked. After that hand, I thought things were going to go well for me. A short time later I got dealt pocket 6's. The pot had been raised to $60 by Greg and both Jim and I had called. Well the flop came 7d - 6d - Qs. Greg led out and bet $60 and Jim immediately raised it to $180. I sat there for a second and asked myself who I'd rather play heads up against with a set. I knew I HAD to raise it, but how much and who had what. As far as Jim went, I put him on top pair with a decent kicker. Q - J or K - Q or maybe even A - Q, so I wasn't concerned with what he had. Greg on the other hand, had at least an ace to make that bet, but a flush draw was also a very strong possibilty. I raised it to $400 to go and was called by Greg very quickly. Now Jim was perplexed and not happy about being raised and called by two different people. I'm sure the thought of calling went through his mind more than once, but in the end he ended up folding. It was just Greg and I heading to the turn, which came up 8d. Greg went all in almost instantaneously, putting me in a very hard position. I actually thought he had a flush draw to begin with, probably the nut flush draw. So when the 8d came up, it could've completed his flush. Another possibility was that he was on a straight draw. But calling my $400 bet with 10 - 9 would have been very loose and certainly not in Greg's nature. I almost knew at this point Greg had hit his flush. So now, I looked at my outs if I were to call. First off, to win outright I had to have either the board to pair, (8, 7, or Q), or I needed to hit the case 6. Counting my outs I had about 9 or 10 depending on what Jim had folded, (I had found out later it was a Q he had folded). I know Greg and he is not the type of player to bluff at a pot with all of his chips. I looked at the pot to see if I was getting the right price to call. I was getting a little more than 2 to 1 on my money, which wasn't a good ratio to call. I ended up folding my set and I flipped them up to show Greg and the rest of the table what I had laid down. Greg in turn showed his hand to the table as well. I was right, he had Ad - 5d and had hit the nut flush on the turn. I asked Kurt who was dealing to flip the river card. He flipped over the last 6 in the deck which would've given me quad 6's and the win. If I had called, I would've been the chip leader and knocked out Greg at the same time. Needless to say, that put me on tilt for a little while. I ended up finishing 11th or something like that. I got knocked out trying to bluff Jim out of a substantial pot. Jim made a pretty sick call, a call I challenge anyone to make in that position. Whatever, who am I to judge, I've made some bad calls too.
So there you have it, the massive Columbus Day failure. I played well and did a lot of things right. It's just that most of what I did didn't go my way. I got caught making a move on Jim. I give him credit, I don't think anyone would've aside from him that would have called in his spot. Oh well, that's poker and I suck at it.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Sunday, October 08, 2006
5th, not to shabby...
It's blog time once again, peoples. I'm back and I've got some more juicy poker stuff for you to wrap your heads around. Pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, and hit the lights 'cause here we go...
Like I posted in a blog last week, I took last Friday off from Jim's. I needed to just get away from poker for at least a week. Anyways, I enjoyed not concerning myself with poker for one Friday. Playing every week was taxing my mind to the breaking point. So a break was much needed. Needless to say, I was ready and amped for Kurt's this past Friday.
The first game started out alright, not great, but alright. I was sitting at a decent table, a good mix of aggressive and laid back players. It was freezing outside and it didn't help that we were in the garage. Anyways, I was quiet for most of the first coulpe rounds, I won some pots and stole some as well. I had a big hand with Moe, where I ended up crippling him. Here's how it went...
I was in middle position and the blinds were $40 - $80. I got dealt pocket 7's. I just wanted to see a cheap flop and I just called. Moe who was directly to my left raised it to $300. Everybody folded back around to me. I thought for a little bit and called. The flop came up 10d - 5s - 7c. I hit my set and I knew Moe would bet at it at, so I checked with the intention of coming over the top if Moe bet. I was right, Moe lead out and bet $500. I went all in without really counting my chips. It ended up that I had about $340 more, and Moe was pretty much priced into calling. He had pocket J's. The turn came up 10h, giving me a full house, 7's over 10's. Moe could still win if a 10 or jack came up. The river was a 3c and I took a pretty big pot. After that I was up and down throughout the game. I got to the final table severly short stacked. The only saving grace was that I had a little more than 2 rounds of blinds left in my stack and the button was half way across the table, so I knew I had some time to catch at least some decent cards. It was going to be at least four hands before I had to think about acting and another two hands there after before I was blinded out. Lucky for me, it was an aggressive table and people started making moves early. I ended up finishing in 5th place, not bad considering I barely hung on for most of that game.
The second game was a different story. I lasted only one hand before hitting the rail. I had Qs - Jc. I was in middle position and I just limped in. Steve was the small blind and just called and Paul was the big blind and he checked. The flop came 4c - Qh - 4d. Steve checked, Paul checked, and then it was up to me. The pot had $60 in it, and I led out and bet $80. Steve raisedme to $150. Paul folded and it was back on me. I raised it to $300 and Steve went all in. I messed up and I really didn't think to hard about it and I called pretty quickly. He turned up pocket A's and I was pretty much toast. I was the first one out of the second game.
I know I should have taken some more time to think about what he had, but I don't think it was all that bad of a call. After all, I did have top pair with a pretty good kicker. He only had me beat if he had kings, aces, a four, or a queen with a higher kicker. All in all, it was still a good night, and I got some points to help my cause. At least I'm not dead last anymore. Tomorrow Kurt is hosting a "high stakes" game at his house. I ,of course, will be in attendance. Wish me luck. Until next time everybody, later!
X
Like I posted in a blog last week, I took last Friday off from Jim's. I needed to just get away from poker for at least a week. Anyways, I enjoyed not concerning myself with poker for one Friday. Playing every week was taxing my mind to the breaking point. So a break was much needed. Needless to say, I was ready and amped for Kurt's this past Friday.
The first game started out alright, not great, but alright. I was sitting at a decent table, a good mix of aggressive and laid back players. It was freezing outside and it didn't help that we were in the garage. Anyways, I was quiet for most of the first coulpe rounds, I won some pots and stole some as well. I had a big hand with Moe, where I ended up crippling him. Here's how it went...
I was in middle position and the blinds were $40 - $80. I got dealt pocket 7's. I just wanted to see a cheap flop and I just called. Moe who was directly to my left raised it to $300. Everybody folded back around to me. I thought for a little bit and called. The flop came up 10d - 5s - 7c. I hit my set and I knew Moe would bet at it at, so I checked with the intention of coming over the top if Moe bet. I was right, Moe lead out and bet $500. I went all in without really counting my chips. It ended up that I had about $340 more, and Moe was pretty much priced into calling. He had pocket J's. The turn came up 10h, giving me a full house, 7's over 10's. Moe could still win if a 10 or jack came up. The river was a 3c and I took a pretty big pot. After that I was up and down throughout the game. I got to the final table severly short stacked. The only saving grace was that I had a little more than 2 rounds of blinds left in my stack and the button was half way across the table, so I knew I had some time to catch at least some decent cards. It was going to be at least four hands before I had to think about acting and another two hands there after before I was blinded out. Lucky for me, it was an aggressive table and people started making moves early. I ended up finishing in 5th place, not bad considering I barely hung on for most of that game.
The second game was a different story. I lasted only one hand before hitting the rail. I had Qs - Jc. I was in middle position and I just limped in. Steve was the small blind and just called and Paul was the big blind and he checked. The flop came 4c - Qh - 4d. Steve checked, Paul checked, and then it was up to me. The pot had $60 in it, and I led out and bet $80. Steve raisedme to $150. Paul folded and it was back on me. I raised it to $300 and Steve went all in. I messed up and I really didn't think to hard about it and I called pretty quickly. He turned up pocket A's and I was pretty much toast. I was the first one out of the second game.
I know I should have taken some more time to think about what he had, but I don't think it was all that bad of a call. After all, I did have top pair with a pretty good kicker. He only had me beat if he had kings, aces, a four, or a queen with a higher kicker. All in all, it was still a good night, and I got some points to help my cause. At least I'm not dead last anymore. Tomorrow Kurt is hosting a "high stakes" game at his house. I ,of course, will be in attendance. Wish me luck. Until next time everybody, later!
X
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