All right guys, so NBA has inspired me to do my own quest (on a much smaller scale) and so far so good. I played 1 $6 step and finished 5th, then replayed and finished 5th, and then replayed and finished 4th, and then replayed and took first. Just played step 2 and took it down on my first try. Here are some hands from both.
Here is the first win. I was major short stack heads up and still took it down.
#Game No : 4656853252
***** Hand History for Game 4656853252 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:45:02 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $16030 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $3970 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ 9s 5d ]
Stewman20 calls [300].
Antonkw: nice hands
Stewman20: thanks
Antonkw checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qc, Kd, 4s ]
Antonkw checks.
Stewman20 bets [600].
Antonkw folds.
Stewman20 does not show cards.
Stewman20 wins 1800 chips
Game #4656855873 starts.
#Game No : 4656855873
***** Hand History for Game 4656855873 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:45:27 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $15430 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $4570 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ Kc 7h ]
Antonkw raises [900].
Stewman20 calls [600].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ks, Ts, 3h ]
Stewman20 bets [1200].
Antonkw folds.
Stewman20 shows [ Kc, 7h ] a pair of kings.
Stewman20 wins 3600 chips from the main pot with a pair of kings.
Game #4656858434 starts.
#Game No : 4656858434
***** Hand History for Game 4656858434 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:45:52 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $14230 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $5770 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ 7c 5h ]
Stewman20 calls [300].
Antonkw checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9c, 6d, Kc ]
Antonkw checks.
Stewman20 checks.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ad ]
Antonkw checks.
Stewman20 checks.
** Dealing River ** [ 2s ]
Antonkw bets [600].
Stewman20 folds.
Antonkw does not show cards.
Antonkw wins 1800 chips
Game #4656861628 starts.
#Game No : 4656861628
***** Hand History for Game 4656861628 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:46:24 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $14830 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $5170 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ Ts Kc ]
Antonkw is all-In [14530]
Stewman20 is all-In [4570]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9c, 7s, 4c ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Th ]
** Dealing River ** [ 4d ]
Antonkw shows [ 5h, As ] a pair of fours.
Stewman20 shows [ Ts, Kc ] two pairs, tens and fours.
Antonkw wins 9660 chips from side pot #1 with a pair of fours.
Stewman20 wins 10340 chips from the main pot with two pairs, tens and fours.
Game #4656863959 starts.
#Game No : 4656863959
***** Hand History for Game 4656863959 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:46:48 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $9660 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $10340 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ 6h 2h ]
Stewman20 folds.
Antonkw does not show cards.
Antonkw wins 900 chips
Game #4656864775 starts.
#Game No : 4656864775
***** Hand History for Game 4656864775 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:46:56 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $9960 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $10040 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ Qh 4d ]
Antonkw is all-In [9660]
Stewman20 folds.
Antonkw does not show cards.
Antonkw wins 10560 chips
Game #4656865876 starts.
#Game No : 4656865876
***** Hand History for Game 4656865876 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:47:07 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $10560 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $9440 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ 3h 6c ]
Stewman20 folds.
Antonkw does not show cards.
Antonkw wins 900 chips
Game #4656866730 starts.
#Game No : 4656866730
***** Hand History for Game 4656866730 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:47:15 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $10860 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $9140 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ Ac Kd ]
Antonkw is all-In [10560]
Stewman20 is all-In [8540]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7d, 3c, As ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Qh ]
** Dealing River ** [ 6s ]
Antonkw shows [ Ah, 9s ] a pair of aces.
Stewman20 shows [ Ac, Kd ] a pair of aces.
Antonkw wins 1720 chips from side pot #1 with a pair of aces.
Stewman20 wins 18280 chips from the main pot with a pair of aces with king kicker.
Game #4656868002 starts.
#Game No : 4656868002
***** Hand History for Game 4656868002 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25591629 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Tuesday, July 04, 21:47:29 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Crossing Rocks (Real Money)
Seat 7 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 4: Antonkw ( $1720 )
Seat 7: Stewman20 ( $18280 )
Trny:25591629 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ Js 2s ]
Stewman20 raises [8762].
Antonkw is all-In [1120]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2c, 2h, 8c ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ac ]
** Dealing River ** [ As ]
Stewman20 shows [ Js, 2s ] a full house, Twos full of aces.
Antonkw shows [ 4h, 4d ] two pairs, aces and fours.
Stewman20 wins 7342 chips from side pot #1 with a full house, Twos full of aces.
Stewman20 wins 3440 chips from the main pot with a full house, Twos full of aces.
Antonkw finished in second and wins Entry to Mini Step 1
The 2nd tourney I started out great, then went down and then bounced back to victory.
#Game No : 4658071424
***** Hand History for Game 4658071424 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $22 Buy-in Trny:25600266 Level:1 Blinds(20/40) - Wednesday, July 05, 00:33:44 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 2 Ticket To Ride (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: coltun ( $2000 )
Seat 2: Zonin1 ( $2000 )
Seat 3: doggymommy ( $2060 )
Seat 5: sliiman ( $2000 )
Seat 6: jimmyponsone ( $2000 )
Seat 10: A_BigChicken ( $2000 )
Seat 4: azugaua ( $2000 )
Seat 9: Stewman20 ( $1960 )
Seat 8: CC_20 ( $1980 )
Seat 7: MagicLion ( $2000 )
Trny:25600266 Level:1
Blinds(20/40)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ Qd Kd ]
coltun folds.
Zonin1 folds.
doggymommy folds.
azugaua folds.
sliiman folds.
jimmyponsone folds.
MagicLion raises [125].
CC_20 folds.
Stewman20 calls [105].
A_BigChicken folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6c, Ks, 5d ]
Stewman20 checks.
MagicLion bets [175].
Stewman20 calls [175].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4c ]
Stewman20 checks.
MagicLion bets [408].
Stewman20 calls [408].
** Dealing River ** [ 6d ]
Stewman20 is all-In [1252]
MagicLion calls [1252].
Stewman20 shows [ Qd, Kd ] two pairs, kings and sixes.
MagicLion shows [ Js, Kc ] two pairs, kings and sixes.
Stewman20 wins 3960 chips from the main pot with two pairs, kings and sixes with queen kicker.
Game #4658079632 starts.
Heads up hands
#Game No : 4658373461
***** Hand History for Game 4658373461 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $22 Buy-in Trny:25600266 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Wednesday, July 05, 01:27:07 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 2 Ticket To Ride (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 9: Stewman20 ( $8050 )
Seat 8: CC_20 ( $11950 )
Trny:25600266 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ Kd 6s ]
Stewman20 calls [300].
CC_20 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 3d, 4s, 6h ]
CC_20 bets [600].
Stewman20 raises [2000].
CC_20 folds.
Stewman20 shows [ Kd, 6s ] a pair of sixes.
Stewman20 wins 3800 chips from the main pot with a pair of sixes.
Game #4658375435 starts.
#Game No : 4658375435
***** Hand History for Game 4658375435 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $22 Buy-in Trny:25600266 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Wednesday, July 05, 01:27:32 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 2 Ticket To Ride (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 9: Stewman20 ( $9250 )
Seat 8: CC_20 ( $10750 )
Trny:25600266 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ 5s 5d ]
CC_20 is all-In [10450]
Stewman20 is all-In [8650]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2c, 3c, 6c ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 2s ]
** Dealing River ** [ 9c ]
CC_20 shows [ Jh, Ah ] a pair of twos.
Stewman20 shows [ 5s, 5d ] two pairs, fives and twos.
CC_20 wins 1500 chips from side pot #1 with a pair of twos.
Stewman20 wins 18500 chips from the main pot with two pairs, fives and twos.
Game #4658376696 starts.
#Game No : 4658376696
***** Hand History for Game 4658376696 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $22 Buy-in Trny:25600266 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Wednesday, July 05, 01:27:49 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 2 Ticket To Ride (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 9: Stewman20 ( $18500 )
Seat 8: CC_20 ( $1500 )
Trny:25600266 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ 4c 6h ]
Stewman20 raises [10785].
CC_20 is all-In [900]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7c, Tc, 5s ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ As ]
** Dealing River ** [ 9d ]
Stewman20 shows [ 4c, 6h ] high card ace.
CC_20 shows [ 3h, Ks ] high card ace.
Stewman20 wins 9585 chips from side pot #1 with high card ace.
CC_20 wins 3000 chips from the main pot with high card ace with king kicker.
Game #4658377757 starts.
#Game No : 4658377757
***** Hand History for Game 4658377757 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $22 Buy-in Trny:25600266 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Wednesday, July 05, 01:28:03 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 2 Ticket To Ride (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 9: Stewman20 ( $17000 )
Seat 8: CC_20 ( $3000 )
Trny:25600266 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ 6h Jh ]
CC_20 is all-In [2700]
Stewman20 folds.
CC_20 does not show cards.
CC_20 wins 3600 chips
Game #4658378595 starts.
#Game No : 4658378595
***** Hand History for Game 4658378595 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $22 Buy-in Trny:25600266 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Wednesday, July 05, 01:28:14 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 2 Ticket To Ride (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 9: Stewman20 ( $16400 )
Seat 8: CC_20 ( $3600 )
Trny:25600266 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ 5c Ah ]
Stewman20 is all-In [16100]
CC_20 folds.
Stewman20 does not show cards.
Stewman20 wins 17000 chips
Game #4658379465 starts.
#Game No : 4658379465
***** Hand History for Game 4658379465 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $22 Buy-in Trny:25600266 Level:6 Blinds(300/600) - Wednesday, July 05, 01:28:25 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 2 Ticket To Ride (Real Money)
Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 9: Stewman20 ( $17000 )
Seat 8: CC_20 ( $3000 )
Trny:25600266 Level:6
Blinds(300/600)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stewman20 [ Qd 7h ]
CC_20 is all-In [2700]
Stewman20 calls [2400].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 2h, 4h, Ad ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 7c ]
CC_20 shows [ 3c, 3d ] a pair of threes.
Stewman20 shows [ Qd, 7h ] a pair of sevens.
Stewman20 wins 6000 chips from the main pot with a pair of sevens.
CC_20 finished in second and wins Entry to Mini Step 3
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
WSOP
So the WSOP was amazing. That amazon room is overwhelming and I saw all the top pro's. Sinatra was like a kid in the candy store. He got his picture taken with his girl Jen Harman and Phil Ivey which I think was probably the highlight for him since to my knowledge he didn't play at the Rio.
My only complaint I have with the WSOP is the fact they sold out on the $1500nl event#2. They shouldn't cap it. When we got into town it weas sold out except for alternates and who really wants that. They shouldn't cap these events especially when people fly in from all over the world to play in them. So no WSOP tourney for me this year but soemday I will play in one. I ended up selling my chip for the $500 value so I can't complain too much.
My only complaint I have with the WSOP is the fact they sold out on the $1500nl event#2. They shouldn't cap it. When we got into town it weas sold out except for alternates and who really wants that. They shouldn't cap these events especially when people fly in from all over the world to play in them. So no WSOP tourney for me this year but soemday I will play in one. I ended up selling my chip for the $500 value so I can't complain too much.
Saki, Trey-Deuce, and WSOP
So I survived a week in Vegas. I wish I could say my bankroll did also. As NBA wrote previously my trip started out great by taking down a $65 sng at the Rio for a nice $485 profit. I made a great call at the end when I just knew the guy was trying to jam and steal the pot. Sadly, that was about the highlight of my trip. The next day busted right on the bubble of the final table at the MGM tournament. I took 2 sick beats losing 2 pots to the same guy. He was on tilt and called me all in with J10 and said I'm only calling because I want to go home. I had KJ. Turn comes a 10 and now I'm short stack. Very next hand, I'm all in with AA, the same guy in the small blind now calls the $800 more to meet the big blind of $1600. Flop comes J63 and the sb moves all in, bb folds. He flips over 63. He called 25% of his chips with a 63. That was the donkey fest that was happening all over the MGM and I'm sure the rest of Vegas. At least he finished 8th, 2 out of the money.
I proceed to pretty much lose at everything else. I've determined that playing low-limit hold'em in vegas is a hugely negative EV game. People play every hand. One hand I will share.
I raise UTG with KK to $6. Seat 2 raises to $9. The guy on the button who plays every hand calls. I reraise to $12 and everyone calls. Flop comes Q high with 2 diamonds. I bet, call call. Turn is a rag. I bet 6, fold, call. River another diamond. I check and the button bets. I knew he got his flush but had to pay him off. He flips over 105 diamonds. That was my trip. Either card dead or losing to donkey's. At least Trey-Deuce (Roy Green) made it fun at the no limit tables. He busted me but then I got him back the next day for all my money back and more.
Nobu was awesome for my b-day dinner. Thanks NBA for buying...it wasn't cheap folks due to the greatest tasting saki either of us had ever tasted.
Sinatra rolled into town that night and we played pai gow for a while. Friday my two buddies Mateo G and Danito D got into Vegas. Hung out with them and then that night all the guys got together and we partied hard. Saturday was the same as my friend Tracy got into town for the weekend. Suffice to say I don't remember much of the last night.
Thanks to everyone who came. It was a blast.
I proceed to pretty much lose at everything else. I've determined that playing low-limit hold'em in vegas is a hugely negative EV game. People play every hand. One hand I will share.
I raise UTG with KK to $6. Seat 2 raises to $9. The guy on the button who plays every hand calls. I reraise to $12 and everyone calls. Flop comes Q high with 2 diamonds. I bet, call call. Turn is a rag. I bet 6, fold, call. River another diamond. I check and the button bets. I knew he got his flush but had to pay him off. He flips over 105 diamonds. That was my trip. Either card dead or losing to donkey's. At least Trey-Deuce (Roy Green) made it fun at the no limit tables. He busted me but then I got him back the next day for all my money back and more.
Nobu was awesome for my b-day dinner. Thanks NBA for buying...it wasn't cheap folks due to the greatest tasting saki either of us had ever tasted.
Sinatra rolled into town that night and we played pai gow for a while. Friday my two buddies Mateo G and Danito D got into Vegas. Hung out with them and then that night all the guys got together and we partied hard. Saturday was the same as my friend Tracy got into town for the weekend. Suffice to say I don't remember much of the last night.
Thanks to everyone who came. It was a blast.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Day 3
Day 3 was a looonnnng day...
Long but VERY profitable.
After expenses, for the day I am up almost $800.
It all started when we rolled out of bed and headed over to the Wynn for some breakfast and a tour of their card room. When we got there we were disappointed that they only had one 8-16 game going so we decided not to play there. We drove over to the new Venetian poker room and checked it out. It was okay... no 8-16 games as they only play with 1 and 3 dollar chips so they had a 3-6, 6-12 and 9-18 game going. Since the action was so loose and juicy at the MGM the night before, I suggested we head back over there. Stewman agreed and for that I thank him.
We got to the card room around 1:00pm and put our name on the list for 1-2 NL same as the day before. We were excited when they announced they would be starting a new game and we took our seats at the new table a few minutes later.
For the first hour it was up and down, but after about 3 hours I was up comfortably. The table donkey was sitting in seat 1 and he was an action guy. He was a slim, athletic black guy wearing a "Marcus Allen Celebrity Golf Tournament" hat and I immediately thought to myself that he was an ex professional athelete of some sort. Of course, I didn't want to come right out and ask him so casually over a few hours we talked about stuff like where we were from, what school we went to, etc.
Turns out the guy's name was Roy Green and he was an ex-professional football player who spent most of his career playing for the Arizona Cardinals. The guy obviously had money as over the course of the 16 hour session, he re-bought no less than 6 times for $200 apiece.
I made some very overly cautious folds early (folded QQ and JJ with only 1 overcard on the flop), showing my cards each time. I then made a HUGE bluff with 55 into a board of 8 high when an ace hit the turn and he bet out. I pushed in over $200 with just pocket 5s and got him to lay down his second pair. I showed the bluff and raked a huge pot. That put him on tilt and I then proceeded to pick up pot after pot. Before I knew it, I had $1,000 in front of me.
I did take a vicious beat when I picked up AA in a pot with 4 limpers ahead of me. I raised to $17 to go and the girl directly to my left pushed all-in for her last $100 or so. It folded around and I called. she showed JJ and told me, "I have a feeling I'm going to win!" Of course, the board brings K-Q-10 giving her an open ended straight draw on the flop and the magical river brought a 9 to give her the K high straight. Yay.
Stewman was not doing as well as I was and wanted to go get something to eat. I hated getting up from this game, but I knew I had to take a break and get some food.
In the same routine as the day before, I got my chip racks and begin to put them in the rack and I got dealt 99 in second position. I raise to $17 and get 1 caller. The flop comes Q-9-x with two clubs. He checks, I bet out $30 and the guy calls. The turn is an ace and I sigh and drop my head a bit doing my best to show my displeasure. He sees it and moves all-in and I almost beat him in the pot. My set of 9s holds up and now I have almost $1300 in front of me. The next hand (which was going to be my last) I get dealt QQ. I raise to $20 to go and the guy to my left calls (just like yesterday!!). It folds around and the flop comes K-J-10 giving me an open ended straight draw but one over. I have to check to see where he's at and he bets $60. I have to lay it down... not because I knew I was beat, but because I didn't want to take another horrific beat to end my day. I show the QQ and he mucks. He claims he had two pair on the flop but since he never showed, I think it was more like A-J or A-10. I walk to the cage and cash out for $1201 (minus my $300 buy in = $901 profit).
We ate dinner at this nice Itallian place at the NYNY and went back to the MGM to see if Roy was still there. He was, and I took a seat right next to him hoping to take the rest of his money (he had built his stack back up to about $600 in the time I was gone). I was absolutely card-dead though and over 4 hours I dropped my $200 buy-in.
We got back to the hotel around 5:00am and hit the sack. Sinatra is comming to town tomorrow. Gotta sleep.
~NBA~
Long but VERY profitable.
After expenses, for the day I am up almost $800.
It all started when we rolled out of bed and headed over to the Wynn for some breakfast and a tour of their card room. When we got there we were disappointed that they only had one 8-16 game going so we decided not to play there. We drove over to the new Venetian poker room and checked it out. It was okay... no 8-16 games as they only play with 1 and 3 dollar chips so they had a 3-6, 6-12 and 9-18 game going. Since the action was so loose and juicy at the MGM the night before, I suggested we head back over there. Stewman agreed and for that I thank him.
We got to the card room around 1:00pm and put our name on the list for 1-2 NL same as the day before. We were excited when they announced they would be starting a new game and we took our seats at the new table a few minutes later.
For the first hour it was up and down, but after about 3 hours I was up comfortably. The table donkey was sitting in seat 1 and he was an action guy. He was a slim, athletic black guy wearing a "Marcus Allen Celebrity Golf Tournament" hat and I immediately thought to myself that he was an ex professional athelete of some sort. Of course, I didn't want to come right out and ask him so casually over a few hours we talked about stuff like where we were from, what school we went to, etc.
Turns out the guy's name was Roy Green and he was an ex-professional football player who spent most of his career playing for the Arizona Cardinals. The guy obviously had money as over the course of the 16 hour session, he re-bought no less than 6 times for $200 apiece.
I made some very overly cautious folds early (folded QQ and JJ with only 1 overcard on the flop), showing my cards each time. I then made a HUGE bluff with 55 into a board of 8 high when an ace hit the turn and he bet out. I pushed in over $200 with just pocket 5s and got him to lay down his second pair. I showed the bluff and raked a huge pot. That put him on tilt and I then proceeded to pick up pot after pot. Before I knew it, I had $1,000 in front of me.
I did take a vicious beat when I picked up AA in a pot with 4 limpers ahead of me. I raised to $17 to go and the girl directly to my left pushed all-in for her last $100 or so. It folded around and I called. she showed JJ and told me, "I have a feeling I'm going to win!" Of course, the board brings K-Q-10 giving her an open ended straight draw on the flop and the magical river brought a 9 to give her the K high straight. Yay.
Stewman was not doing as well as I was and wanted to go get something to eat. I hated getting up from this game, but I knew I had to take a break and get some food.
In the same routine as the day before, I got my chip racks and begin to put them in the rack and I got dealt 99 in second position. I raise to $17 and get 1 caller. The flop comes Q-9-x with two clubs. He checks, I bet out $30 and the guy calls. The turn is an ace and I sigh and drop my head a bit doing my best to show my displeasure. He sees it and moves all-in and I almost beat him in the pot. My set of 9s holds up and now I have almost $1300 in front of me. The next hand (which was going to be my last) I get dealt QQ. I raise to $20 to go and the guy to my left calls (just like yesterday!!). It folds around and the flop comes K-J-10 giving me an open ended straight draw but one over. I have to check to see where he's at and he bets $60. I have to lay it down... not because I knew I was beat, but because I didn't want to take another horrific beat to end my day. I show the QQ and he mucks. He claims he had two pair on the flop but since he never showed, I think it was more like A-J or A-10. I walk to the cage and cash out for $1201 (minus my $300 buy in = $901 profit).
We ate dinner at this nice Itallian place at the NYNY and went back to the MGM to see if Roy was still there. He was, and I took a seat right next to him hoping to take the rest of his money (he had built his stack back up to about $600 in the time I was gone). I was absolutely card-dead though and over 4 hours I dropped my $200 buy-in.
We got back to the hotel around 5:00am and hit the sack. Sinatra is comming to town tomorrow. Gotta sleep.
~NBA~
WSOP 2006 Day 2
What a Day!!
Day 2 of our 2006 WSOP trip was another success! We started our day at 9:00am when we awoke and headed over to the MGM Grand to grab some breakfast and play in the 11:00am $65 NLHE tourney. We registered for the tournament and made hit up the Studio Café. Of course, I had my usual yogurt and granola with a sesame seed bagel (Sinatra and RiverRat can insert rude comment here). After breakfast we made our way back to the poker room for what would be a very unsuccessful tourney for both Stewman and I. I went out in about 30th place (no special hands to speak of… just went card dead when the blinds reached ridiculous levels) and Stewman went out 11th.
Yes, he lasted longer than me… AGAIN.
After busting out of the tournament I went and sat down in a 1-2 NL game that had was just being seated. I bought in for the max $200 and quickly went down to under $100. I bought in for another $100 and before I knew it, I was back below $100.
I didn’t get a great night’s sleep thanks to the very uncomfortable pull-out sofa that I slept on the night before. So I decided to do something that I have never done before… I got a massage at the table! They charge $25 for 15 minutes plus tip and let me tell you… it is money WELL SPENT. I bought in for another $100 and started to go on a tear. Before I knew it, I had $500 in front of me and the respect of the whole table.
And then… THE hand. I’m in LP and the guy to my right bumps it to $10 to go. I look down and see AK. I call as does another girl. The flop comes with 3 hearts and 10 high. I have the Ace of hearts and the guy to my right bets $30. I raise to $60 and the girl moves all-in. I know I am behind but I figure I have lots of outs (any heart, any A or any K gave me 14 outs). The guy to my right calls and the turn is a blank. He reaches for chips and bets $100 into the pot. Now, I know I should fold here but I just know that if I catch any of my cards I will win it. I think about it for about 2 minutes and call. The river is a blank, he moves all-in and I fold. He shows JJ and the girl had a set of 10s.
It took me a while but I got back up to about $500. I made some well-timed steals and bet aggressively when I had big hands and before I knew it, I had well over $700 in front of me. Steman was bugging me about leaving and getting something to eat (we had been playing poker for 11 hours straight without a break), and as much as I hated to walk away from a table that juicy, I announced I would play only 1 more hand. I went to the cashier’s cage and grabbed a few racks, got back to the table and began to pack up. UTG I pick up KK and I raise it to $14 to go. The guy on my left calls and everybody folds. The flop comes out Q-8-x rainbow. I lead out for $30 and the guy moves all-in for $190. I quickly call and show my hand. He shows Q-10 os for top pair. I’m feeling very good knowing that if I win this hand, I’m cashing out for $900. Then the turn brings him his miracle 3rd Queen and he doubles through me.
I felt absolutely sick. I was 5 outs away from walking away with $900 in my pocket and instead, I walk away with only $535.
We headed over to the RIO to get some dinner (its now 10:30pm) at the All American Grille with plans to eat and then play a satellite or two. The burgers were AWESOME and after stuffing ourselves, we waddled over to the Rio Pavilion for some more poker action. When we got there, we saw the final table was still going in the TOC. Mike Sexton and Daniel Negraneau were going heads up for $1M. We sweated them for a few minutes and then lined up for the satellites.
When we got over to the satellites line, we were surprised to hear that they were no longer running the $65 or $125 satellites for that night. The lowest buy-in tourney was $175 and as soon as they announced a table was forming I jumped up and ran to get my seat.
Loooooong story short, I played extremely well, won almost every pot I entered and ended up chopping when we got down to 3. I had half the chips in play when we got down to 3 but I didn’t want to risk getting unlucky and winning nothing so I made the deal. I took $800 (1 $500 tournament chip and $300 cash) and the other two guys split the remaining $800.
An interesting hand did come up during the satellite, however. I honestly never thought I would see the day I flop quads but had to sweat the river card. Here’s how it played out:
The short stack in EP moved all in for $375 (blinds were 50/100). I have JJ in the BB and call. We turn over the cards and I see he has A9. On the flop, the window card is an ace but I almost fall out of my chair when I see the other two cards are the last 2 jacks. The guy jokingly says, “Hey I got outs… runner runner quad aces and I win!” Everyone laughed and then the turn brought him another Ace. With one to card to come, he could actually beat me after I flopped quads. The river was kind to me this time and I lived to talk about the what would have been the worst beat EVER.
So after two days, I’m up about $600 and in good shape to make a run at playing in Saturday’s $2,000 buy-in NLHE tourney.
More updates tomorrow…
Day 2 of our 2006 WSOP trip was another success! We started our day at 9:00am when we awoke and headed over to the MGM Grand to grab some breakfast and play in the 11:00am $65 NLHE tourney. We registered for the tournament and made hit up the Studio Café. Of course, I had my usual yogurt and granola with a sesame seed bagel (Sinatra and RiverRat can insert rude comment here). After breakfast we made our way back to the poker room for what would be a very unsuccessful tourney for both Stewman and I. I went out in about 30th place (no special hands to speak of… just went card dead when the blinds reached ridiculous levels) and Stewman went out 11th.
Yes, he lasted longer than me… AGAIN.
After busting out of the tournament I went and sat down in a 1-2 NL game that had was just being seated. I bought in for the max $200 and quickly went down to under $100. I bought in for another $100 and before I knew it, I was back below $100.
I didn’t get a great night’s sleep thanks to the very uncomfortable pull-out sofa that I slept on the night before. So I decided to do something that I have never done before… I got a massage at the table! They charge $25 for 15 minutes plus tip and let me tell you… it is money WELL SPENT. I bought in for another $100 and started to go on a tear. Before I knew it, I had $500 in front of me and the respect of the whole table.
And then… THE hand. I’m in LP and the guy to my right bumps it to $10 to go. I look down and see AK. I call as does another girl. The flop comes with 3 hearts and 10 high. I have the Ace of hearts and the guy to my right bets $30. I raise to $60 and the girl moves all-in. I know I am behind but I figure I have lots of outs (any heart, any A or any K gave me 14 outs). The guy to my right calls and the turn is a blank. He reaches for chips and bets $100 into the pot. Now, I know I should fold here but I just know that if I catch any of my cards I will win it. I think about it for about 2 minutes and call. The river is a blank, he moves all-in and I fold. He shows JJ and the girl had a set of 10s.
It took me a while but I got back up to about $500. I made some well-timed steals and bet aggressively when I had big hands and before I knew it, I had well over $700 in front of me. Steman was bugging me about leaving and getting something to eat (we had been playing poker for 11 hours straight without a break), and as much as I hated to walk away from a table that juicy, I announced I would play only 1 more hand. I went to the cashier’s cage and grabbed a few racks, got back to the table and began to pack up. UTG I pick up KK and I raise it to $14 to go. The guy on my left calls and everybody folds. The flop comes out Q-8-x rainbow. I lead out for $30 and the guy moves all-in for $190. I quickly call and show my hand. He shows Q-10 os for top pair. I’m feeling very good knowing that if I win this hand, I’m cashing out for $900. Then the turn brings him his miracle 3rd Queen and he doubles through me.
I felt absolutely sick. I was 5 outs away from walking away with $900 in my pocket and instead, I walk away with only $535.
We headed over to the RIO to get some dinner (its now 10:30pm) at the All American Grille with plans to eat and then play a satellite or two. The burgers were AWESOME and after stuffing ourselves, we waddled over to the Rio Pavilion for some more poker action. When we got there, we saw the final table was still going in the TOC. Mike Sexton and Daniel Negraneau were going heads up for $1M. We sweated them for a few minutes and then lined up for the satellites.
When we got over to the satellites line, we were surprised to hear that they were no longer running the $65 or $125 satellites for that night. The lowest buy-in tourney was $175 and as soon as they announced a table was forming I jumped up and ran to get my seat.
Loooooong story short, I played extremely well, won almost every pot I entered and ended up chopping when we got down to 3. I had half the chips in play when we got down to 3 but I didn’t want to risk getting unlucky and winning nothing so I made the deal. I took $800 (1 $500 tournament chip and $300 cash) and the other two guys split the remaining $800.
An interesting hand did come up during the satellite, however. I honestly never thought I would see the day I flop quads but had to sweat the river card. Here’s how it played out:
The short stack in EP moved all in for $375 (blinds were 50/100). I have JJ in the BB and call. We turn over the cards and I see he has A9. On the flop, the window card is an ace but I almost fall out of my chair when I see the other two cards are the last 2 jacks. The guy jokingly says, “Hey I got outs… runner runner quad aces and I win!” Everyone laughed and then the turn brought him another Ace. With one to card to come, he could actually beat me after I flopped quads. The river was kind to me this time and I lived to talk about the what would have been the worst beat EVER.
So after two days, I’m up about $600 and in good shape to make a run at playing in Saturday’s $2,000 buy-in NLHE tourney.
More updates tomorrow…
We're in Vegas!
Off To A Good Start…
We arrived in Vegas around 8:00pm and immediately checked into our suite at the Grand View Resort. After dropping our stuff off, we got down to business and headed over to the Rio. I made good on my promise to buy dinner for Stewman since he outlasted me in the WPBT PokerStars tourney and we enjoyed our first 75 minutes in town at the world famous Rio Buffet. After filling our bellies we made our way to the Rio Pavilion where the 2006 World Series of Poker was being held. When we walked through the door, Stewman and I were in awe of the sight before us. There were over 200 tables and more than 500 people playing and watching the greatest poker event in the world. After sweating the final two tables of the 2006 Tournament of Champions, we got in the satellite line and eagerly awaited our opportunity to make our poker playing dream come true. I got called for my $65 satellite first and took my seat at table 76. Stewman got called about 15 minutes later and took his seat at table 89.
I took a hit early when during the second orbit I picked up AQ in second position and bumped it to 150 (blinds 25/25). It folded around to the SB and he smooth called. We saw the flop of J-10-x heads up. He checked, and I made a continuation bet of 250. He thought about it for 10 seconds or so and then asked for a chip count. He had me covered, but just called. The turn brought a 7 and the guy immediately led out for half my stack. With nothing but a gutshot straight draw and two overs with one card to come, I couldn’t risk calling off half my stack knowing that if I didn’t hit it on the river, I wouldn’t be able to bluff him out of the pot. I mucked and he said “nice fold”. I’m sure he had nothing.
A few hands later I was down to 475 chips (starting stack was 1000) and picked up AA in mid position. The player under the gun raised the standard 3 times the BB and the guy to his left called. I only had 325 more in chips and I pushed. It folded around to the original raiser and to my surprise, he folded! The original caller however did call and showed 33. Immediately, I sighed and turned over my hand. Everybody looked at me like I was crazy and the guy with 33 was already congratulating me. I wasn’t so sure though and felt sick when the dealer began to deal the flop. My hand did hold up and I tripled up to over 1400. The very next hand I got dealt KK in early position and jammed it for 350. No callers.
I didn’t play another hand until we got down to 6. I was being blinded down and sitting on the button when the short stack UTG made a bet for all his chips. It folded around to the player on my right who smooth called. I looked down and was pleasantly surprised when I saw two queens staring back at me. I announced that I too was all-in and the action was back on the caller to my right. He called and showed A9. The original raiser showed KJ and now I was worried. With 2 overcards in play, I had to dodge both an ace and a king. The flop brought a 3rd queen for me and A9 was drawing dead but KJ had a chance to go runner-runner for the straight. The turn was a blank and the river brought my 4th queen! I tripled up again and was sitting comfortably as the overwhelming chipleader 5 handed.
When we got down to 3, we were all about even in chips. I knew that if the two players got involved in a big pot, I would be about a 3-1 dog in chips. Of course, on the second hand of 3-way play, the other two players got all their money in the middle and just like that we were down to 2.
As soon as the hand was over, I offered a chop to the guy who had me 3-1. I offered him $325 and I would take $225 (for a total payout of $550). He correctly declined, and offered me a less favorable chop of $175 to me and $375 for him. I politely declined and we began heads-up play. For 4 hands, I went absolutely card dead and had to fold my SB twice and fold my BB to 2 raises. Before I knew it, I was dominated 8-1 and for some reason the guy says to me, “if you change your mind, the offer is still on the table”. I immediately take the deal and get paid out $170 (neither of us had change for $10). I tip the dealer $20 and walk away with a profit of $85.
I walked back to the satellite line and scanned the room for any sign of Stewman. I spot him at a table right in front of me and notice he’s playing 3 handed. After a few minutes, it was down to heads-up. I walked by the table trying not to disturb him and did a quick count of chips. They were almost exactly even in chips with blinds at only 150/300. I later found out that the his opponent offered a 50/50 chop but Stewman turned it down.
They played for about 10 minutes and didn’t see many flops. Stewman was playing very aggressive, raising every time he came into a pot. And then it happened.
Stewman was on the button and was in the SB for 200. He raised it to 1200 preflop and the BB called. The flop came out 6-2-2 rainbow. His opponent counts his chips and then pushes all-in. At the time, I didn’t know what Stewman had and just prayed he would fold. Stewman capped his cards and thought for about 90 seconds. He seemed to go through the motions in his head trying to figure out what hand his opponent had. A couple of times I thought he was going to throw his hand in the muck, but he shocked me when he eventually announced, “Okay… I call”. His opponent congratulated him on a good call and showed the bluff of Q4. Stewman flipped over A9! I wanted to jump for joy and pump my fist wildly in the air, but I kept my composure and watched the next two cards. His A high held up and he took the tourney down for a $550 win.
That is not a typo… Stewman won… AGAIN… in the first satellite he played on this trip!
Congrats to Stewman for making a great call and earning that win.
More updates to follow tomorrow.
~NBA~
We arrived in Vegas around 8:00pm and immediately checked into our suite at the Grand View Resort. After dropping our stuff off, we got down to business and headed over to the Rio. I made good on my promise to buy dinner for Stewman since he outlasted me in the WPBT PokerStars tourney and we enjoyed our first 75 minutes in town at the world famous Rio Buffet. After filling our bellies we made our way to the Rio Pavilion where the 2006 World Series of Poker was being held. When we walked through the door, Stewman and I were in awe of the sight before us. There were over 200 tables and more than 500 people playing and watching the greatest poker event in the world. After sweating the final two tables of the 2006 Tournament of Champions, we got in the satellite line and eagerly awaited our opportunity to make our poker playing dream come true. I got called for my $65 satellite first and took my seat at table 76. Stewman got called about 15 minutes later and took his seat at table 89.
I took a hit early when during the second orbit I picked up AQ in second position and bumped it to 150 (blinds 25/25). It folded around to the SB and he smooth called. We saw the flop of J-10-x heads up. He checked, and I made a continuation bet of 250. He thought about it for 10 seconds or so and then asked for a chip count. He had me covered, but just called. The turn brought a 7 and the guy immediately led out for half my stack. With nothing but a gutshot straight draw and two overs with one card to come, I couldn’t risk calling off half my stack knowing that if I didn’t hit it on the river, I wouldn’t be able to bluff him out of the pot. I mucked and he said “nice fold”. I’m sure he had nothing.
A few hands later I was down to 475 chips (starting stack was 1000) and picked up AA in mid position. The player under the gun raised the standard 3 times the BB and the guy to his left called. I only had 325 more in chips and I pushed. It folded around to the original raiser and to my surprise, he folded! The original caller however did call and showed 33. Immediately, I sighed and turned over my hand. Everybody looked at me like I was crazy and the guy with 33 was already congratulating me. I wasn’t so sure though and felt sick when the dealer began to deal the flop. My hand did hold up and I tripled up to over 1400. The very next hand I got dealt KK in early position and jammed it for 350. No callers.
I didn’t play another hand until we got down to 6. I was being blinded down and sitting on the button when the short stack UTG made a bet for all his chips. It folded around to the player on my right who smooth called. I looked down and was pleasantly surprised when I saw two queens staring back at me. I announced that I too was all-in and the action was back on the caller to my right. He called and showed A9. The original raiser showed KJ and now I was worried. With 2 overcards in play, I had to dodge both an ace and a king. The flop brought a 3rd queen for me and A9 was drawing dead but KJ had a chance to go runner-runner for the straight. The turn was a blank and the river brought my 4th queen! I tripled up again and was sitting comfortably as the overwhelming chipleader 5 handed.
When we got down to 3, we were all about even in chips. I knew that if the two players got involved in a big pot, I would be about a 3-1 dog in chips. Of course, on the second hand of 3-way play, the other two players got all their money in the middle and just like that we were down to 2.
As soon as the hand was over, I offered a chop to the guy who had me 3-1. I offered him $325 and I would take $225 (for a total payout of $550). He correctly declined, and offered me a less favorable chop of $175 to me and $375 for him. I politely declined and we began heads-up play. For 4 hands, I went absolutely card dead and had to fold my SB twice and fold my BB to 2 raises. Before I knew it, I was dominated 8-1 and for some reason the guy says to me, “if you change your mind, the offer is still on the table”. I immediately take the deal and get paid out $170 (neither of us had change for $10). I tip the dealer $20 and walk away with a profit of $85.
I walked back to the satellite line and scanned the room for any sign of Stewman. I spot him at a table right in front of me and notice he’s playing 3 handed. After a few minutes, it was down to heads-up. I walked by the table trying not to disturb him and did a quick count of chips. They were almost exactly even in chips with blinds at only 150/300. I later found out that the his opponent offered a 50/50 chop but Stewman turned it down.
They played for about 10 minutes and didn’t see many flops. Stewman was playing very aggressive, raising every time he came into a pot. And then it happened.
Stewman was on the button and was in the SB for 200. He raised it to 1200 preflop and the BB called. The flop came out 6-2-2 rainbow. His opponent counts his chips and then pushes all-in. At the time, I didn’t know what Stewman had and just prayed he would fold. Stewman capped his cards and thought for about 90 seconds. He seemed to go through the motions in his head trying to figure out what hand his opponent had. A couple of times I thought he was going to throw his hand in the muck, but he shocked me when he eventually announced, “Okay… I call”. His opponent congratulated him on a good call and showed the bluff of Q4. Stewman flipped over A9! I wanted to jump for joy and pump my fist wildly in the air, but I kept my composure and watched the next two cards. His A high held up and he took the tourney down for a $550 win.
That is not a typo… Stewman won… AGAIN… in the first satellite he played on this trip!
Congrats to Stewman for making a great call and earning that win.
More updates to follow tomorrow.
~NBA~
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Now That's What I Call A Roll
So I am running hot right now...
I've placed 5th or higher (earning at least a replay into step 1) in the last 14 tournament.
I have finished in the top 2 each of the last 5 tournaments.
I have won 3 of the last 5 tournaments including 2 in a row to finish off day 4 of my quest.
My average finish is now an impressive 3.2. I have accumulated 5 step 2s in 22 tournaments played for a win % of 22.7%.
... No better time to be hot then right before I leave for the WSOP. As I have said many times in my best Phil Helmuth impersonation: I am playing the best poker of my life right now.
The first table I sat down to tonight was rediculous. Starting on hand #4 and ending on hand #11, we lost 10th through 5th place. That's right! In a span of 8 hands we lost 6 players! When it was down to 3 handed, the average chip stack was T6,666 and the blinds were 30/60!!
Of course, I took it down. I got lucky... but I had to. You know how 6 players got knocked out in 8 hands? Well it was one player who knocked each of those guys out. I got involved in two hands with him right after that when he made stupid raises PF of like 50 x and 60 x the BB (remember he had 14,000 in chips and blinds were 30/60). I called two of his raises - the first time with 77 against his 1010 and I caught a river 7 to scoop it. The second I called his raise with JJ against QQ and caught a J on the turn to scoop that one. Even after sucking out on him twice in 10 hands, I still had half his stack. But I battled back and beat him.
I've officially decided to cut my quest buy-ins down from 50 to 30. It just doesn't make much sense to keep playing these aweful step 1s where only 1st place moves on. I want to get done with this step as soon as possible and move on to the bigger ones. As it stands now, I have 5 buy-ins into the step 2, 13 replays into step 1 plus 8 more buy-ins.
To make playing step 1 +EV, I need to accumulate at least 9 step 2 entries (step 2 entry = $22 x 9 entries = $198 in entries > original buy-in of $180. If I only win 8 or less, I have essentially wasted a bunch of my time and whatever lost buy-ins playing the step 1s. After 22 played, I have won 5 step 2s (22.7% winning) so I am on pace to win 9 step 2 entries if I can play 41 tournaments (and with 13 replays and 8 more buy-ins to step 1 I'm guaranteed to play at least 46 and on pace to play over 50).
All is well... so far.
I've placed 5th or higher (earning at least a replay into step 1) in the last 14 tournament.
I have finished in the top 2 each of the last 5 tournaments.
I have won 3 of the last 5 tournaments including 2 in a row to finish off day 4 of my quest.
My average finish is now an impressive 3.2. I have accumulated 5 step 2s in 22 tournaments played for a win % of 22.7%.
... No better time to be hot then right before I leave for the WSOP. As I have said many times in my best Phil Helmuth impersonation: I am playing the best poker of my life right now.
The first table I sat down to tonight was rediculous. Starting on hand #4 and ending on hand #11, we lost 10th through 5th place. That's right! In a span of 8 hands we lost 6 players! When it was down to 3 handed, the average chip stack was T6,666 and the blinds were 30/60!!
Of course, I took it down. I got lucky... but I had to. You know how 6 players got knocked out in 8 hands? Well it was one player who knocked each of those guys out. I got involved in two hands with him right after that when he made stupid raises PF of like 50 x and 60 x the BB (remember he had 14,000 in chips and blinds were 30/60). I called two of his raises - the first time with 77 against his 1010 and I caught a river 7 to scoop it. The second I called his raise with JJ against QQ and caught a J on the turn to scoop that one. Even after sucking out on him twice in 10 hands, I still had half his stack. But I battled back and beat him.
I've officially decided to cut my quest buy-ins down from 50 to 30. It just doesn't make much sense to keep playing these aweful step 1s where only 1st place moves on. I want to get done with this step as soon as possible and move on to the bigger ones. As it stands now, I have 5 buy-ins into the step 2, 13 replays into step 1 plus 8 more buy-ins.
To make playing step 1 +EV, I need to accumulate at least 9 step 2 entries (step 2 entry = $22 x 9 entries = $198 in entries > original buy-in of $180. If I only win 8 or less, I have essentially wasted a bunch of my time and whatever lost buy-ins playing the step 1s. After 22 played, I have won 5 step 2s (22.7% winning) so I am on pace to win 9 step 2 entries if I can play 41 tournaments (and with 13 replays and 8 more buy-ins to step 1 I'm guaranteed to play at least 46 and on pace to play over 50).
All is well... so far.
Friday, June 23, 2006
No More 3 Tabling For Me
So I completed Day 3 of my Mini-Steps Quest and the last 3 games were CRAZY!!
I bought in to each tournament about 6-8 minutes apart from each other.
Of course, I make it to the final 2 in each one AT THE SAME TIME. Ever tried to multi-table 3 games heads up? It made my head spin!!! The result: On two of the tables, I went into heads-up as the chip leader, then proceeded to finish 2nd... IN BOTH.
The one table where I had 1/2 the stack of the chipleader, I won. Because that was the table that I could concentrate after I lost all my chips on the other two tables.
oh well... such is life.
On to the stats:
20 Step 1s played
3 Step 2s won
13 Step 1 replays earned
4 completely dropped out
I mentioned yesterday that I felt like I was hitting my stride... Well today just reinforced that feeling. 5 tournaments and not a finish lower than 3rd (one 3rd, three 2nds and one 1st). After placing 7th or lower in 4 of the first 8 tournaments I played, I haven't placed lower than 5th in the last 12 tournaments.
Looking at this statistic, I am placing in 5th or better a lot more than I originally thought. I gave myself a 67% probability to finish 5th or higher and now I have done it 16 out of 20 times (80%). Because of this, I have started to re-think my original idea of spending $300 on buy-ins (50 first step SNGs). I am thinking about cutting it down to 30 buy-ins and then playing the rest of my 1st step replays until they are all gone. After a few days of stats, I figure I will still end up playing in close to 65 1st steps by buying into just 30. At my current rate of (15% wins), that will get me 10 step 2 chances. I hope over the next few days to get that number up to more like 20%, earning me 13 chances at step 2.
I feel extremely confident in my ability to place in the top 2 consistently. Where I do lack confidence is in closing the deal and winning the damn thing. After tonight's play, I now have 7 second place finishes and only 3 first place finishes (a combined 50% of all tourneys played). At steps 2 through 4, top 2 move on so this will definately be a worthy statistic.
I haven't decided for sure to call it at 30... but I am definately leaning towards that number. This limits my buy-in expense to $180 meaning a 5th place finish in step 5 will = $20 profit rather than a 4th place finish = breaking even.
Either way, this will not be my last quest. I will take on the "Regular Steps" ($12 step 1s) next and hopefully the "Step Higher" tourneys ($33 step 1s) before the end of the year.
I bought in to each tournament about 6-8 minutes apart from each other.
Of course, I make it to the final 2 in each one AT THE SAME TIME. Ever tried to multi-table 3 games heads up? It made my head spin!!! The result: On two of the tables, I went into heads-up as the chip leader, then proceeded to finish 2nd... IN BOTH.
The one table where I had 1/2 the stack of the chipleader, I won. Because that was the table that I could concentrate after I lost all my chips on the other two tables.
On to the stats:
20 Step 1s played
3 Step 2s won
13 Step 1 replays earned
4 completely dropped out
I mentioned yesterday that I felt like I was hitting my stride... Well today just reinforced that feeling. 5 tournaments and not a finish lower than 3rd (one 3rd, three 2nds and one 1st). After placing 7th or lower in 4 of the first 8 tournaments I played, I haven't placed lower than 5th in the last 12 tournaments.
Looking at this statistic, I am placing in 5th or better a lot more than I originally thought. I gave myself a 67% probability to finish 5th or higher and now I have done it 16 out of 20 times (80%). Because of this, I have started to re-think my original idea of spending $300 on buy-ins (50 first step SNGs). I am thinking about cutting it down to 30 buy-ins and then playing the rest of my 1st step replays until they are all gone. After a few days of stats, I figure I will still end up playing in close to 65 1st steps by buying into just 30. At my current rate of (15% wins), that will get me 10 step 2 chances. I hope over the next few days to get that number up to more like 20%, earning me 13 chances at step 2.
I feel extremely confident in my ability to place in the top 2 consistently. Where I do lack confidence is in closing the deal and winning the damn thing. After tonight's play, I now have 7 second place finishes and only 3 first place finishes (a combined 50% of all tourneys played). At steps 2 through 4, top 2 move on so this will definately be a worthy statistic.
I haven't decided for sure to call it at 30... but I am definately leaning towards that number. This limits my buy-in expense to $180 meaning a 5th place finish in step 5 will = $20 profit rather than a 4th place finish = breaking even.
Either way, this will not be my last quest. I will take on the "Regular Steps" ($12 step 1s) next and hopefully the "Step Higher" tourneys ($33 step 1s) before the end of the year.
What A Read!!
***** Hand History for Game 4575353970 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25127369 Level:1 Blinds(20/40) - Friday, June 23, 03:28:35 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Wooden Pillars (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: NoBlackAces ( $1670 )
Seat 6: htfdik ( $1900 )
Seat 5: AceonthRiver ( $1940 )
Seat 4: Capt_Jack1 ( $1900 )
Seat 8: dierdra44 ( $3077 )
Seat 7: peter_plague ( $1550 )
Seat 2: Thanatos11 ( $1660 )
Seat 10: MrThomThom ( $1680 )
Seat 9: Mrnolimit86 ( $2060 )
Seat 3: BERINS1 ( $2563 )
Trny:25127369 Level:1
Blinds(20/40)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to NoBlackAces [ Jc Js ]
Mrnolimit86 calls [40].
MrThomThom folds.
NoBlackAces calls [40].
Thanatos11 folds.
BERINS1 folds.
Capt_Jack1 calls [40].
AceonthRiver folds.
htfdik folds.
peter_plague calls [20].
dierdra44 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4s, 9h, 8c ]
peter_plague checks.
Thanatos11: shes got twice the chips we do...
Thanatos11: lol
dierdra44 checks.
Mrnolimit86 checks.
NoBlackAces: not for long
NoBlackAces: lol
NoBlackAces bets [235].
Capt_Jack1 is all-In [1860]
peter_plague folds.
dierdra44 folds.
Mrnolimit86 folds.
NoBlackAces: uh oh
NoBlackAces: my overpair no good?
>You have options at Mini Step 1 Earn Red Wings Table!.
Your time bank will be activated in 5 secs. If you do not want it to be used, please act now.
NoBlackAces will be using his time bank for this hand.
NoBlackAces: you wouldn't bet that much if you flopped a set...
NoBlackAces: u got a-9?
NoBlackAces: u bet too much
NoBlackAces: cant have it
NoBlackAces is all-In [1395]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3c ]
>You have options at Mini Step 1 Earn Red Wings Table!.
** Dealing River ** [ Kh ]
NoBlackAces shows [ Jc, Js ] a pair of jacks.
Capt_Jack1 shows [ Ah, 9d ] a pair of nines.
Capt_Jack1 wins 230 chips from side pot #1 with a pair of nines.
NoBlackAces wins 3460 chips from the main pot
NL Texas Hold'em $6 Buy-in Trny:25127369 Level:1 Blinds(20/40) - Friday, June 23, 03:28:35 ET 2006
Table Mini Step 1 Wooden Pillars (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: NoBlackAces ( $1670 )
Seat 6: htfdik ( $1900 )
Seat 5: AceonthRiver ( $1940 )
Seat 4: Capt_Jack1 ( $1900 )
Seat 8: dierdra44 ( $3077 )
Seat 7: peter_plague ( $1550 )
Seat 2: Thanatos11 ( $1660 )
Seat 10: MrThomThom ( $1680 )
Seat 9: Mrnolimit86 ( $2060 )
Seat 3: BERINS1 ( $2563 )
Trny:25127369 Level:1
Blinds(20/40)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to NoBlackAces [ Jc Js ]
Mrnolimit86 calls [40].
MrThomThom folds.
NoBlackAces calls [40].
Thanatos11 folds.
BERINS1 folds.
Capt_Jack1 calls [40].
AceonthRiver folds.
htfdik folds.
peter_plague calls [20].
dierdra44 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4s, 9h, 8c ]
peter_plague checks.
Thanatos11: shes got twice the chips we do...
Thanatos11: lol
dierdra44 checks.
Mrnolimit86 checks.
NoBlackAces: not for long
NoBlackAces: lol
NoBlackAces bets [235].
Capt_Jack1 is all-In [1860]
peter_plague folds.
dierdra44 folds.
Mrnolimit86 folds.
NoBlackAces: uh oh
NoBlackAces: my overpair no good?
>You have options at Mini Step 1 Earn Red Wings Table!.
Your time bank will be activated in 5 secs. If you do not want it to be used, please act now.
NoBlackAces will be using his time bank for this hand.
NoBlackAces: you wouldn't bet that much if you flopped a set...
NoBlackAces: u got a-9?
NoBlackAces: u bet too much
NoBlackAces: cant have it
NoBlackAces is all-In [1395]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3c ]
>You have options at Mini Step 1 Earn Red Wings Table!.
** Dealing River ** [ Kh ]
NoBlackAces shows [ Jc, Js ] a pair of jacks.
Capt_Jack1 shows [ Ah, 9d ] a pair of nines.
Capt_Jack1 wins 230 chips from side pot #1 with a pair of nines.
NoBlackAces wins 3460 chips from the main pot
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