Compared to Day 1 where I never had more than 20% of my stack at risk in any individual hand, Day 2 was very, very swingy.
In the very first hand I managed to get it all with AK vs AQ against Emma Fullarton on an Ace-rag-rag board. Despite Emma being my ex-girlfriend, I took no pleasure in knocking her out, especially since I had 10% of her action. However, I couldn't give a toss about 10% because I really wanted to win the trophy and bracelet. It's obviously nice to win some money, but I was really looking for a win and I don't think I even glanced at the payout structure. This pot took me to about 155K - double final table average with 19 people left.
I carried on with Day 2 the same way I played on Day 1 - lots of aggression, lots of uncontested pots and kept my stack between 150k and 170 for the first level or two of the day. My first really big decision came from Titch - a guy I've never played before. He had me scratching my head after I flat his 3bet in position with QQ. There was a TJ7ccc flop and Titch checks. I bet 5k (slightly less than his 3bet amount, so around a third of the pot) and he snap-jams on me for 70k. I didn't have a club in my hand, but I couldn't think of a range to put him on. I don't know if he is capable of putting in such an overbet with AcKx or AcQx, but I'm not a huge favourite against those hands anyway and I mucked after taking a fair amount of time (FU Farmer Dave for shouting clock when I'm thinking about a call for more than chip average! HB2U as well). Titch later told the table that he had AA with the club. Not sure if I believe him, but if that's what he had then he played it terribly.
I started the levelling war with Craig Mac very early. I think I 4bet his first two attempts at 3bets and took it down. I 4bet again later in the same level. Didn't stop him from consistently 3betting me! Some balls on that kid, I tell ya ;)
I managed to maintain the chip lead until we were down to 6-handed play on two tables and then I got involved in a massive pot. Lydia opens UTG, I 3bet button with KK and Lydia calls. It's checked to me on a QJxhh board, I bet and get c/raised. Obviously, I have a couple of options and I decide to stick it all in with a very, very big bet. My intention was to make it look like I had some sort of draw and get called by the sort of hand Lydia was holding - AQ. Buzz manages to pull out a Queen on the turn and I didn't improve. I was slightly gutted because I knew if I win that hand I would have over 260K - about a third of the chips in play on the FT bubble. There's no doubt in my mind that I would have won the tourney if I win that hand, but I still had over 80K and I soldiered on.
By the time we got to final table, I grinded back up to around 100K. Rosi put me to the test and I made a very, very big call. Looking back, I think it was a bad call, but I don't like folding. She was playing very tight and she raised it up UTG. Alarm bells were ringing in my head. I pick up AK and decide the only option is to 3bet cos I won't get a penny out of her postflop if there's an Ace or a King on the board and she has TT/JJ/QQ. The board ran out AT9r and she open shoves for over 3 times the pot - 70k IIRC. It was one of those spots where I couldn't put her on a hand at all, despite the super narrow opening range. Nothing made sense, so I called and found out I was up against another AK. Fuck knows why I called there, I think she would want some sort of value out of a set and AT/A9 just weren't in her range to call a 3bet, but I should have just put it in the muck and moved on. Dom accused me of nit-rolling, but I know it was in jest lol.
I played another fun hand with Craig when I picked up A9 in the CO, Craig flats the button and we see a 983r board. At this point my hand is pretty much the nuts and I bet knowing I won't like any turn card. As it happens, the turn was pretty wank - a Jack which put a flush draw on the board, but I knew that a check would mean giving up on the pot so I bet again. Deuce on the river. I check with the river with the intention of snapping any bet and sure enough I get a bet and a big one at that. Unfortunately for me, Craig was floating with a pair of deuces and he rivered a set. I think he knew about my plan to check/snap and that's why the bet was so big. FML.
I'm now down to 20BB and I've lost my ability to open without having some sort of hand. I play a few orbits with very little activity, 3bet shoving a couple of times in good spots and getting it through. I won a small pot to take my stack back to 35bb before patch open shoves 15bb. I call from the BB with a pair of 4s and lose to AK. I later found myself in the same spot with the same hand and call again to find myself up against A8. The 4s held up that time and I knocked Patch out.
A bit more yoyo-ing up and down and I found myself in another spot against Dom. I opened EP with 55, Dom 3bets small and I snap 4bet for about 25bb. I think this is pretty standard against an aggressive player with a decent stack. Dom was holding JJ. A sexy 5 in the window kept me alive. I then donked a chunk of chips straight back to McDowell where I snapped a river bet with ace high in one of those hands where he was polarised to nuts-or-nothing. He had nuts...
I took a bit back from Craig soon afterwards though. I shoved the button with a pair of 8s and he calls with Aces. FML or so I thought... 8 in the window. Papa Walker's hand always gets there and I refused to die, despite repeated requests from Dom. I managed to ladder my way into fourth, but the level increases were getting brutal and I only had about 15bb again.
My exit hand was a bit horrible. Hazel limps the button, Rosi completes the SB and I contemplate shipping with J7o. I think better of it for some reason and we see a A75ss board. Rosi checks and I obviously like my hand a lot and bet. Hazel minraises and I don't see hows she could have anything other than a draw. If she has 75, the GGWPUL me, but how could she have an Ace after limping the button? Well, she did and she snapped my 3bet shove and held. I'm not sure if I can get away with saying that was terrible play without sounding bitter, but she should have made it 2.1x pre and snapped a shove from me. I'm literally never flatting out of that stack and A2o doesn't really play well in a 3way limped pot.
Anyway, I'm really pleased Craig won in the end. A worthy winner, a very tricky opponent and I always enjoy playing with him (despite it being -ev!). I've gotta give a big shoutout to Dom too, he was on my table all the way from late day 1 and he nursed a short stack into something playable only to get very unlucky in several spots. No offence to anybody else on the FT, but I would have been stunned if the winner wasn't either me, Dom or Craig. Earlier today I got a text off Craig saying he was routing for me and Dom to go out despite us being mates, I think Dom was also thinking the same!
Also, a big thanks to s2c who goes so unnoticed at events like this, CGK for his constant banter and Dave for not knocking me out this year :)
Monday, 10 October 2011
NPF Championship 2011 - Day 1
Firstly, I think I must point out how shit I am at blogging. If you read the post below, you'll see that I promised a third chapter detailing my trip to the USA in the summer - obviously this didn't happen because I am very lazy...
Due to a conscious decision to stop playing poker throughout the week and my weekends being taken up by other activities, I haven't played so much poker recently. The NPF Championship is only the third live tournament I've played in the past couple of months. The other two being the Circus £50 Friday game and the Aspers £50 Sunday game where I finished 5th and 3rd respectively. I lost a couple of flips in the Circus game to cripple me and I got it all in with a Royal Flush draw after 3betting pre in the Aspers game, so I was a bit disappointed not to have won at least one of those, especially since I held the chip lead on both FTs.
My starting table in the NPF Championship was a bit of a weird one with a couple of unfamiliar faces. It featured PJB Aces, Smoggie, Ponca, George Trett, Jim Ward and an empty seat which Gary Robinson eventually occupied. I remember thinking it was a decent starting table, but I didn't know where I was gonna be able to accumulate chips as it was very passive. I decided to adjust to the table by opening much wider than I normally would (and some would say that's pretty wide to start with) knowing that I was unlikely to be put in too many awkward spots as everyone else was playing ABC and it almost felt like their hands were face up at times.
I won about 2k without showing down a hand and then Gary Robinson sat down to my immediate left. I didn't like this because I knew I would have to slow down a bit, but thankfully I took a decent pot off Gary very quickly. I opened the BTN with J9cc, both Gary and George Trett call from the blinds. I can't actually remember the flop, but I know I flopped a gutshot and decided to check it back because the board smashed both George and Gary's calling ranges in the face. Gary bets 300 into 750 on the turn and I call because I picked up a double gutter and I felt I could win a big pot if I hit any of my 8 outs. I don't mind raising here against some opponents, but myself and Gary have played a lot of cash together and I know from experience that he just won't believe I have a hand. Gary bets 1.1k on the river, I had second nut straight which was the effective nuts in my head. I quickly make it 4k and get snapped. I really enjoyed being berated about how bad my call on the turn was, if you're reading this Gary, please berate me more as I use this as a measure for knowing I played the hand well. Oh, and nice work calling off a 4bet shove with 9high in the first level ;)
I opened a few JT and K9 type hands and Sensh kept on giving me good flops to barrel so I continued to pick up chips with very little resistance until one hand where I opened QQ UTG. George Trett calls, everyone else folds. Sensh finds me another good flop, T63ss, I bet, George calls. Another ten on the turn, I bet, George raises. I sigh-fold, unsure if I just got bluffed by a flush draw, but after a few discussions with other players I think it seemed like a good fold.
It was business as usual soon after that and I got smashed in the face by another dream flop, courtesy of Sensh when I opened 78dd UTG. 5 callers and the board ran out 863dd. I bet straight into it and Jim Ward calls. Another 8 on the turn (thanks again Sensh!), obviously no reason to stop betting so I fire again and Jim minraises. I wasn't sure what to think of this raise as I've played a decent amount of times with Jim now and I'm sure he's noticed that I'm very aggressive at times. I'm folding precisely zero rivers, so I had to work out if I wanted to put it all in now or if I wanted to try and induce another bet on the river. I decided to put it all in praying that he had something like 99 and could put me on a bare flush draw and if he does have a better 8 I am far from dead. Unfortunately, he folds - perhaps he had NFD or 77/55, guess I'll never find out.
I won another large pot when I stacked Ponca. I 3bet a Q73 flop with Q7 and got called by Q2. The benefits of having a super laggy image were again reaped when I stacked Jim with what I think was the only hand I slow played all tournament. I 3bet Jim's raise with AQ, Smoggie says he "was going to raise", (TY for the extra info!) before peeling and Jim is priced in with his entire UTG range and makes the call. We see a nice Q23r flop, Smoggie gives me a suspicious look and checks, Jim checks. Another blank on the turn and it checks to me again, I make the obvious bet and Jim raises. I'm not sure if he was all in at this point or if I set him all in with a turn 3bet, but either way the chips go in and I win against 77.
Patch joined my table with a fairly large stack and the chipleader hoodie. I actually had the chiplead in the first level but I wanted to let Simmy have a few minutes of glory... In the second level, I again should have been wearing that horrible pink garment, but I couldn't count my stack quick enough thanks to getting back to back Aces, then a pair of Jacks (cardrack alert). Steve Wills was shouting down the mic at me to hurry up, but it's difficult to count your stack when you're winning four hands on the bounce. Thanks for totally killing my action with those Aces btw CGK - it was a bit obvious I had a monster! I would have been wearing the hoodie after the third level too, but I got involved in a sick hand against Patch where I floated two streets with a raggy Ace and spiked an Ace on the river. I made a really thin value raise after Patch fired the 3rd barrel. The Ace actually put three flush cards and four wheel cards out there, but I was hoping to get looked up by a top pair/overpair hand that turned into second pair as Patch's bet seemed so much like a blocker bet. I think it turns out that I was right with my reasoning on his betsizing, but he was actually putting a small bet out with a rivered wheel and he was worried about the flush... Nevermind!
I was a bit gutted when my table got broken up as I was reading the flow of the game well and winning a lot of uncontested pots. I stack a couple of people at my next table, but I actually can't remember anything too exciting happening other than Mr Daz constantly screeching and making up weird songs about me (stay sober dude!) and I move tables again before finishing the level. After escaping Mr. Daz, I have to endure Koyte's retarded table talk. I think I did so well not to tilt away my entire stack!
I was dominating this particular table and I could actually see the rage building up inside Dom as he was just looking for Jack high or better to shove on me with, but he was very obviously card-dead. I remember being a millisecond from 5betting over Craig McDowell's cold 4bet with absolute rags. I opened from EP, Mr Daz raised and I could sense he was at it. I think Craig also picked up on this and knew I was opening close to 100% of unopened pots. I just had to tell myself that I only had 2.2x invested and there was no need to go to war... Just the start of a recurring theme between me and Mac.
The next big hand that I can remember came against NRH. We used to play lots of $1 HUSNGs against each other just for the crack and to see how much we could level each other, so I know his game very well and vice versa. I 3bet AJ out of the BB which is fairly standard and Nathan 4bets small. I didn't have to think long before sticking it all over the line. Interestingly, Nath called a huge 5bet shove with just A7, I honestly believe that he thought that he had me outkicked because he knows I love to 4 and 5bet bluff raggy Aces cos I have an obsession with blockers. Thankfully I held and I added a big pot to what was already the chip lead.
I don't really remember much else about that table, I was just relentlessly stealing blinds and antes, taking down pots with a cbet etc. and I was baffled that nobody wanted to 3bet me or play back. Easy game. Looking back, I think I ran very well on the first day, but I also played very well as soon as I got a stack. I counted up 97k in chips at the end of day 1 and then went to Legends for a few drinks with an old friend who was visiting Newcastle for the first time in an age. I ended up getting minimal sleep which wasn't particularly clever knowing I had a long day ahead of me, but meh, you're only (sorta) young once!
Due to a conscious decision to stop playing poker throughout the week and my weekends being taken up by other activities, I haven't played so much poker recently. The NPF Championship is only the third live tournament I've played in the past couple of months. The other two being the Circus £50 Friday game and the Aspers £50 Sunday game where I finished 5th and 3rd respectively. I lost a couple of flips in the Circus game to cripple me and I got it all in with a Royal Flush draw after 3betting pre in the Aspers game, so I was a bit disappointed not to have won at least one of those, especially since I held the chip lead on both FTs.
My starting table in the NPF Championship was a bit of a weird one with a couple of unfamiliar faces. It featured PJB Aces, Smoggie, Ponca, George Trett, Jim Ward and an empty seat which Gary Robinson eventually occupied. I remember thinking it was a decent starting table, but I didn't know where I was gonna be able to accumulate chips as it was very passive. I decided to adjust to the table by opening much wider than I normally would (and some would say that's pretty wide to start with) knowing that I was unlikely to be put in too many awkward spots as everyone else was playing ABC and it almost felt like their hands were face up at times.
I won about 2k without showing down a hand and then Gary Robinson sat down to my immediate left. I didn't like this because I knew I would have to slow down a bit, but thankfully I took a decent pot off Gary very quickly. I opened the BTN with J9cc, both Gary and George Trett call from the blinds. I can't actually remember the flop, but I know I flopped a gutshot and decided to check it back because the board smashed both George and Gary's calling ranges in the face. Gary bets 300 into 750 on the turn and I call because I picked up a double gutter and I felt I could win a big pot if I hit any of my 8 outs. I don't mind raising here against some opponents, but myself and Gary have played a lot of cash together and I know from experience that he just won't believe I have a hand. Gary bets 1.1k on the river, I had second nut straight which was the effective nuts in my head. I quickly make it 4k and get snapped. I really enjoyed being berated about how bad my call on the turn was, if you're reading this Gary, please berate me more as I use this as a measure for knowing I played the hand well. Oh, and nice work calling off a 4bet shove with 9high in the first level ;)
I opened a few JT and K9 type hands and Sensh kept on giving me good flops to barrel so I continued to pick up chips with very little resistance until one hand where I opened QQ UTG. George Trett calls, everyone else folds. Sensh finds me another good flop, T63ss, I bet, George calls. Another ten on the turn, I bet, George raises. I sigh-fold, unsure if I just got bluffed by a flush draw, but after a few discussions with other players I think it seemed like a good fold.
It was business as usual soon after that and I got smashed in the face by another dream flop, courtesy of Sensh when I opened 78dd UTG. 5 callers and the board ran out 863dd. I bet straight into it and Jim Ward calls. Another 8 on the turn (thanks again Sensh!), obviously no reason to stop betting so I fire again and Jim minraises. I wasn't sure what to think of this raise as I've played a decent amount of times with Jim now and I'm sure he's noticed that I'm very aggressive at times. I'm folding precisely zero rivers, so I had to work out if I wanted to put it all in now or if I wanted to try and induce another bet on the river. I decided to put it all in praying that he had something like 99 and could put me on a bare flush draw and if he does have a better 8 I am far from dead. Unfortunately, he folds - perhaps he had NFD or 77/55, guess I'll never find out.
I won another large pot when I stacked Ponca. I 3bet a Q73 flop with Q7 and got called by Q2. The benefits of having a super laggy image were again reaped when I stacked Jim with what I think was the only hand I slow played all tournament. I 3bet Jim's raise with AQ, Smoggie says he "was going to raise", (TY for the extra info!) before peeling and Jim is priced in with his entire UTG range and makes the call. We see a nice Q23r flop, Smoggie gives me a suspicious look and checks, Jim checks. Another blank on the turn and it checks to me again, I make the obvious bet and Jim raises. I'm not sure if he was all in at this point or if I set him all in with a turn 3bet, but either way the chips go in and I win against 77.
Patch joined my table with a fairly large stack and the chipleader hoodie. I actually had the chiplead in the first level but I wanted to let Simmy have a few minutes of glory... In the second level, I again should have been wearing that horrible pink garment, but I couldn't count my stack quick enough thanks to getting back to back Aces, then a pair of Jacks (cardrack alert). Steve Wills was shouting down the mic at me to hurry up, but it's difficult to count your stack when you're winning four hands on the bounce. Thanks for totally killing my action with those Aces btw CGK - it was a bit obvious I had a monster! I would have been wearing the hoodie after the third level too, but I got involved in a sick hand against Patch where I floated two streets with a raggy Ace and spiked an Ace on the river. I made a really thin value raise after Patch fired the 3rd barrel. The Ace actually put three flush cards and four wheel cards out there, but I was hoping to get looked up by a top pair/overpair hand that turned into second pair as Patch's bet seemed so much like a blocker bet. I think it turns out that I was right with my reasoning on his betsizing, but he was actually putting a small bet out with a rivered wheel and he was worried about the flush... Nevermind!
I was a bit gutted when my table got broken up as I was reading the flow of the game well and winning a lot of uncontested pots. I stack a couple of people at my next table, but I actually can't remember anything too exciting happening other than Mr Daz constantly screeching and making up weird songs about me (stay sober dude!) and I move tables again before finishing the level. After escaping Mr. Daz, I have to endure Koyte's retarded table talk. I think I did so well not to tilt away my entire stack!
I was dominating this particular table and I could actually see the rage building up inside Dom as he was just looking for Jack high or better to shove on me with, but he was very obviously card-dead. I remember being a millisecond from 5betting over Craig McDowell's cold 4bet with absolute rags. I opened from EP, Mr Daz raised and I could sense he was at it. I think Craig also picked up on this and knew I was opening close to 100% of unopened pots. I just had to tell myself that I only had 2.2x invested and there was no need to go to war... Just the start of a recurring theme between me and Mac.
The next big hand that I can remember came against NRH. We used to play lots of $1 HUSNGs against each other just for the crack and to see how much we could level each other, so I know his game very well and vice versa. I 3bet AJ out of the BB which is fairly standard and Nathan 4bets small. I didn't have to think long before sticking it all over the line. Interestingly, Nath called a huge 5bet shove with just A7, I honestly believe that he thought that he had me outkicked because he knows I love to 4 and 5bet bluff raggy Aces cos I have an obsession with blockers. Thankfully I held and I added a big pot to what was already the chip lead.
I don't really remember much else about that table, I was just relentlessly stealing blinds and antes, taking down pots with a cbet etc. and I was baffled that nobody wanted to 3bet me or play back. Easy game. Looking back, I think I ran very well on the first day, but I also played very well as soon as I got a stack. I counted up 97k in chips at the end of day 1 and then went to Legends for a few drinks with an old friend who was visiting Newcastle for the first time in an age. I ended up getting minimal sleep which wasn't particularly clever knowing I had a long day ahead of me, but meh, you're only (sorta) young once!
Friday, 17 June 2011
The Road To Vegas (part 2)
OK, so after a nice relaxing stay in California I was feeling refreshed and ready to tackle Vegas properly. I chose to stay at the Aria because I figured the hotel part is still very new and I heard good things about the casino/cardroom. I don't usually play table games, but I felt obliged to entertain my friend and I slammed a bit of money down on the roulette table. After a few drinks, more roulette and a bit of Blackjack/3card poker/Slots I found that I was about $500 up. Nice start :)
The Aria is absolutely enormous and I got drunkenly lost at least three or four times. There are some excellent restaurants there and I found the buffet to be cracking value. If you are going to be frequenting any of the MGM resorts (MGM, Aria, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, Mirage etc.) then it is well worth getting yourself an M Life card. If you spend some decent money on the tables you get your food comped and it works across all of their casinos. The exception to that is poker comps, you have to use those at the casino where you earned them.
I spent a lot of the day time lounging around by the pool and found there are many attractive young girls that are happy to serve you drinks in the massive hot tubs despite the "No Alcohol" signs. Be warned that it is easy to rack up a big bill - my room bill was 4 figures!
As this is a poker blog, I should probably discuss some poker. My very first hand in the Aria taught me that when people 4bet at 300nl they have one of two hands. Obviously I run amazing and managed to crush KK with my AQs. Nice life. I spent a good few hours of my first night playing 300nl to get myself accustomed to how the cardroom operated and suss out any silly house rules (there weren't any). I don't remember too much of that session, but I got my LAG on good and proper, which landed me in an interesting spot against Hal Lubarsky.
For those who are unfamiliar with Hal, he is blind and uses a helper to read out the board and describe the action to him. In this hand, Hal limps under the gun prompting two other limpers. I was dealt 43o and I think I squeezed every button in the history of ever, but for some reason I decide to play a cheap pot in position. The flop brings T43cc and I fire out $12 when it checks to me. Hal makes it $30 and I 3bet it to $85. Hal tanks for a while, whispers to his helper (determining my stack size I think) and then shoves for about $900 effective. I considered calling for longer than Nemesis, but I couldn't imagine him doing this with a draw and I felt it was more likely that I was getting taken to value town by either 44 or 33 even though I had blockers. I eventually folded and Hal didn't show, guess it's a hand that I'll just have to wonder about but I think it was the correct fold. FWIW, I snap any young hoodie wearing internet kid, but I couldn't imagine this guy playing a combo draw so hard even though I must have had a crazy bad image. I eventually left after a good few hours with over $1k profit which isn't bad for a game with a max sitdown of $300.
The next night I started off on the 1-3 PLO table. I really like how this game is structured and it's perfect for getting NLHE fish interested in the game. It has a max sitdown of $500 (I think minimum is $200, certainly didn't see anyone buying in shorter) and there is a no straddle policy. Also, the pot size is rounded up to the nearest $5 postflop and you can only bet in $5 increments which helps speed the game up a lot instead of having tools count out $49 bets in singles. There are some very competent players in this game, but the tards more than counter this. I saw one drunk yank get it all in pre with 2222... I ran up a decent profit and decided to move up to the 2-5 PLO game. On this evening, I found that this game was a lot tougher and every hand was straddled. There were only 5 players when I sat down and people were 3betting the CO and BTN a lot leading to some big pots. After an hour or so, nobody sat down and nobody left. I was about $50 up, but I didn't feel I had much of an edge so I left the cardroom and convinced my mate that we should go party. I spent a small fortune in some random nightclub, not sure which one as I was hammered and just followed some people that we got talking to.
The next night I started off playing 500nl, not sure why I didn't choose PLO, probs a big waiting list. I lose a hand with set vs straight and reload, then it's straight back onto crushing time. I win a few buyins, running good in one particular spot where I get it all in on the flop with TPTK against overpair and river an ace. I decide to take a shot at 1000nl and find myself sitting next to Teddy "Iceman" Monroe. I know he has been on TV, but I can't remember seeing him play a single hand and I'm not entirely sure why he is "famous". Anyhoo, he tried to bully me a couple of times with his big stack and some supposedly intimidating staredowns. I obv didn't put up with that and jammed over him a couple of times and then snapped him off with bottom pair in one hand where he gave me a speech. I ended up making a small loss in this game after I made a poor call against the nittiest player in the world. AT was never gonna be any good on a T98x8 board, but nevermind. I took a break at this point and caught up with Frenchy. He was knackered after a few heavy days and went to bed.
A decent amount of people are aware of one particular session I had in the Aria... I took a shot at 2000nl in the early hours of the morning. I bought in for $2K and managed to stack somebody in my very first hand. Life was easy and I ran pretty hot for a while, but I found myself on the losing side of the biggest pot I've ever played. I was sitting with over $9k in front of me, there was a straddle like in most hands and I find AA UTG. I make it $140 picking up a caller in mid position and the BTN 3bets it to $600. This guy was was very much a tourist and it was the first 3bet he made in a few hours of play. I'm confident enough to play AA out of position in spots like this and sometimes it can be easier to stack people who also flop overpairs. I decide to 4bet it to give him the chance to go wild. I make it $1400 and he insta calls without a seconds hesitation. When this sort of player snaps so fast it makes me think he has a hand like JJ+/AK but probably not AA or KK.
The flop runs out AT6dd. It's one of those situations where you've 4bet pre and flopped the nuts... How do you get paid? The only way that happens is by betting imo and I put out a small bet (which I would do with my whole range on that flop). I get shoved on and snap. Big pots in this game tend to be ran twice a lot and my opponent asks if I want to run it twice. I ask to run it three times but apparently this is too complicated for his liking and he says no and we agree to run it just once. I expected him to show up with a flush draw tbh, but he has TT and gets there... FML! It would have been about $16k or so and to rub it in this dude jumps up a celebrates. I wasn't a happy bunny and insta-quit the game. Didn't even bother cashing out the remainder of my chips, just went straight back up to the hotel room. Of course, got another rubdown from Frenchy when he asks how much did I win? Doh!
I do have a few more American Adventure stories to tell, but they can wait for part 3 of this trip report.
The Aria is absolutely enormous and I got drunkenly lost at least three or four times. There are some excellent restaurants there and I found the buffet to be cracking value. If you are going to be frequenting any of the MGM resorts (MGM, Aria, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, Mirage etc.) then it is well worth getting yourself an M Life card. If you spend some decent money on the tables you get your food comped and it works across all of their casinos. The exception to that is poker comps, you have to use those at the casino where you earned them.
I spent a lot of the day time lounging around by the pool and found there are many attractive young girls that are happy to serve you drinks in the massive hot tubs despite the "No Alcohol" signs. Be warned that it is easy to rack up a big bill - my room bill was 4 figures!
As this is a poker blog, I should probably discuss some poker. My very first hand in the Aria taught me that when people 4bet at 300nl they have one of two hands. Obviously I run amazing and managed to crush KK with my AQs. Nice life. I spent a good few hours of my first night playing 300nl to get myself accustomed to how the cardroom operated and suss out any silly house rules (there weren't any). I don't remember too much of that session, but I got my LAG on good and proper, which landed me in an interesting spot against Hal Lubarsky.
For those who are unfamiliar with Hal, he is blind and uses a helper to read out the board and describe the action to him. In this hand, Hal limps under the gun prompting two other limpers. I was dealt 43o and I think I squeezed every button in the history of ever, but for some reason I decide to play a cheap pot in position. The flop brings T43cc and I fire out $12 when it checks to me. Hal makes it $30 and I 3bet it to $85. Hal tanks for a while, whispers to his helper (determining my stack size I think) and then shoves for about $900 effective. I considered calling for longer than Nemesis, but I couldn't imagine him doing this with a draw and I felt it was more likely that I was getting taken to value town by either 44 or 33 even though I had blockers. I eventually folded and Hal didn't show, guess it's a hand that I'll just have to wonder about but I think it was the correct fold. FWIW, I snap any young hoodie wearing internet kid, but I couldn't imagine this guy playing a combo draw so hard even though I must have had a crazy bad image. I eventually left after a good few hours with over $1k profit which isn't bad for a game with a max sitdown of $300.
The next night I started off on the 1-3 PLO table. I really like how this game is structured and it's perfect for getting NLHE fish interested in the game. It has a max sitdown of $500 (I think minimum is $200, certainly didn't see anyone buying in shorter) and there is a no straddle policy. Also, the pot size is rounded up to the nearest $5 postflop and you can only bet in $5 increments which helps speed the game up a lot instead of having tools count out $49 bets in singles. There are some very competent players in this game, but the tards more than counter this. I saw one drunk yank get it all in pre with 2222... I ran up a decent profit and decided to move up to the 2-5 PLO game. On this evening, I found that this game was a lot tougher and every hand was straddled. There were only 5 players when I sat down and people were 3betting the CO and BTN a lot leading to some big pots. After an hour or so, nobody sat down and nobody left. I was about $50 up, but I didn't feel I had much of an edge so I left the cardroom and convinced my mate that we should go party. I spent a small fortune in some random nightclub, not sure which one as I was hammered and just followed some people that we got talking to.
The next night I started off playing 500nl, not sure why I didn't choose PLO, probs a big waiting list. I lose a hand with set vs straight and reload, then it's straight back onto crushing time. I win a few buyins, running good in one particular spot where I get it all in on the flop with TPTK against overpair and river an ace. I decide to take a shot at 1000nl and find myself sitting next to Teddy "Iceman" Monroe. I know he has been on TV, but I can't remember seeing him play a single hand and I'm not entirely sure why he is "famous". Anyhoo, he tried to bully me a couple of times with his big stack and some supposedly intimidating staredowns. I obv didn't put up with that and jammed over him a couple of times and then snapped him off with bottom pair in one hand where he gave me a speech. I ended up making a small loss in this game after I made a poor call against the nittiest player in the world. AT was never gonna be any good on a T98x8 board, but nevermind. I took a break at this point and caught up with Frenchy. He was knackered after a few heavy days and went to bed.
A decent amount of people are aware of one particular session I had in the Aria... I took a shot at 2000nl in the early hours of the morning. I bought in for $2K and managed to stack somebody in my very first hand. Life was easy and I ran pretty hot for a while, but I found myself on the losing side of the biggest pot I've ever played. I was sitting with over $9k in front of me, there was a straddle like in most hands and I find AA UTG. I make it $140 picking up a caller in mid position and the BTN 3bets it to $600. This guy was was very much a tourist and it was the first 3bet he made in a few hours of play. I'm confident enough to play AA out of position in spots like this and sometimes it can be easier to stack people who also flop overpairs. I decide to 4bet it to give him the chance to go wild. I make it $1400 and he insta calls without a seconds hesitation. When this sort of player snaps so fast it makes me think he has a hand like JJ+/AK but probably not AA or KK.
The flop runs out AT6dd. It's one of those situations where you've 4bet pre and flopped the nuts... How do you get paid? The only way that happens is by betting imo and I put out a small bet (which I would do with my whole range on that flop). I get shoved on and snap. Big pots in this game tend to be ran twice a lot and my opponent asks if I want to run it twice. I ask to run it three times but apparently this is too complicated for his liking and he says no and we agree to run it just once. I expected him to show up with a flush draw tbh, but he has TT and gets there... FML! It would have been about $16k or so and to rub it in this dude jumps up a celebrates. I wasn't a happy bunny and insta-quit the game. Didn't even bother cashing out the remainder of my chips, just went straight back up to the hotel room. Of course, got another rubdown from Frenchy when he asks how much did I win? Doh!
I do have a few more American Adventure stories to tell, but they can wait for part 3 of this trip report.
The Road To Vegas (part 1)
It has been a good few months since I last blogged and it is becoming apparent that I am very lazy in the blogging department. Since my last update, I've played all sorts of poker in many different casinos, but I'm gonna focus this update on my trip to LA/Vegas last month.
I started this adventure at Newcastle Airport, the sun was just starting to rise and it was about 5am. Myself and one of my best mates, Anthony French, waste no time getting straight on the lash in the airport bar downing a few Peroni's each. Our flight to Heathrow arrives on time and we start the first of many plane beverages. The businessman sat next to us could barely contain his disgust at our rowdy behaviour on a BA flight which was clearly aimed towards the business market. We were both wearing shorts and tshirts whilst everybody else suited up and I don't think we fitted in very well - a theme throughout the holiday. Anyway, he only had to put up with us for about an hour and I got some good views of London before we landed.
Carrying on with the Geordie holiday tradition, we got in a few more pints at Terminal 5 and then catch our flight at about 9am. My mate Frenchy used to work in the aviation industry and he has a shit load of airmiles and many friends at BA. This came in rather handy as we abused the complimentary drinks on offer, Frenchy even knows where they store it and we just helped ourselves. We actually drank the whole plane out of Grolsch and we were forced to move onto Heineken... Despite being very inebriated, we managed to get past US customs without any major grief and we headed to the first of four hotels that we were gonna be staying in - Hilton LAX. We chose this hotel because it was only 5 minutes from the airport and there was a free shuttle to take us there. No need to worry about driving a hire car.
After dumping our bags, we immediately went for a dip in the pool. The weather was perfect and I ordered us a couple of Yank drinks (Bud) for us to sup in the hot tub. At this point it was getting near tea time, so I decided to jump in the shower and head out in search of food. We ended up at a bar/restaurant called the Proud Bird, there was loads of old classic planes outside and there was a good view of the LAX runway which kept my mate happy cos he's a plane geek. We downed many cocktails and other assorted drinks before moving on to Jagerbombs. The Mexican dude behind the bar had no clue what a Jagerbomb was, so obv we taught him to make it... Only issue was that the Jager was housed inside of a normal whisky glass and was full to the brim. Interesting trying to down that in one!
Anyway, it's safe to say that we were a bit mortal after a 27hour drinking session and we staggered back to the hotel. Of course, I'm a bit retarded and I only narrowly managed to avoid getting arrested by the fuzz. This LAPD cop frowned upon my road awareness; apparently it's illegal to try and cross seven lanes of traffic when the Walk sign is not illuminated. Luckily our hotel was only a hundred yards away and I suspect he couldn't be arsed with the necessary paperwork, so we got away with a stern warning.
The next day I woke up with no hangover. Score! A quick morning dip in the pool to wake me up, brunch at Denny's and then it was time to get our hire car. I booked a Corvette, but upon arrival at Hertz it was obvious that the pair of us and our massive suitcases could not fit in this car. We "upgraded" to a Dodge Challenger instead, a typical classless American muscle car. It only had 1000 miles on the clock and the 5.7l V8 engine meant there wasn't much on the road that could keep up when I put my foot down. Picture below:
Our next stop in this adventure was at Westlake Village Four Seasons. This is easily the best hotel I have ever been to in my life. The level of service was phenomenal and although I expected it to be very good, every part of the hotel exceeded my expectations. I mentioned earlier in this blog that I felt a bit out of place, this was very much the case here again. Myself and Frenchy recognised that this was a super classy hotel when we booked it and we packed suits to wear to dinner - yeah that was a good move cos literally everybody else was wearing formal gear. The food was amazing and the bar staff had great banter, I like being asked to say "when" as the bar tender pours vodka into my drink :D
I should have guessed the level of poshness when I realised that it had an art gallery, but it really hit home when I saw three Ferraris, a Ford GT, Lamborghini Gallardo and several other epic cars parked outside. I've got a million photos of the Four Seasons on Facebook, so I'm not gonna post loads on here, but I will post a picture of their beautiful waterfall feature:
Whilst we were staying at Westlake Village, we took the opportunity to visit the Ronald Reagan museum. I was forced to endure a bit of Republican propaganda bullshit, but it was worth it because I got to walk through the plane which was previously Air Force One in the 70s and 80s. There was also a replica Oval Office too and part of the Berlin Wall. On the way out, I noticed a sign stating this area was a natural habitat for rattlesnakes - didn't waste much time finding the car in the carpark! Onwards towards the coast and we stopped off at Malibu. What a beautiful place, perfect sands and pretty blue sea. Some random driving took us down a narrow street and into a carpark with a minimum $25 charge. I thought that was a bit on the pricey side for parking, but it turns out this place was called Paradise Cove and it lived up to the name. Also, we found out that if you spent $25 in the bar, the parking was free, so I enjoyed the beach with a nice cold beverage in my hand and views of hot girls wearing very little. Good times!
Although I had a fantastic time at Four Seasons, I was really excited for Vegas and this may or may not have led to some speeding down Interstate 15. It's an awesome road, long straight and nowt around for miles. A warning to anybody else that is stupid enough to drive a car that peaks at 13 miles per gallon: fill up your tank at every opportunity. You seriously don't want to break down in the middle of a desert!!
Well, this concludes part one of my trip report. The next bit is gonna be all Vegas so possibly more interesting to poker players...
I started this adventure at Newcastle Airport, the sun was just starting to rise and it was about 5am. Myself and one of my best mates, Anthony French, waste no time getting straight on the lash in the airport bar downing a few Peroni's each. Our flight to Heathrow arrives on time and we start the first of many plane beverages. The businessman sat next to us could barely contain his disgust at our rowdy behaviour on a BA flight which was clearly aimed towards the business market. We were both wearing shorts and tshirts whilst everybody else suited up and I don't think we fitted in very well - a theme throughout the holiday. Anyway, he only had to put up with us for about an hour and I got some good views of London before we landed.
Carrying on with the Geordie holiday tradition, we got in a few more pints at Terminal 5 and then catch our flight at about 9am. My mate Frenchy used to work in the aviation industry and he has a shit load of airmiles and many friends at BA. This came in rather handy as we abused the complimentary drinks on offer, Frenchy even knows where they store it and we just helped ourselves. We actually drank the whole plane out of Grolsch and we were forced to move onto Heineken... Despite being very inebriated, we managed to get past US customs without any major grief and we headed to the first of four hotels that we were gonna be staying in - Hilton LAX. We chose this hotel because it was only 5 minutes from the airport and there was a free shuttle to take us there. No need to worry about driving a hire car.
After dumping our bags, we immediately went for a dip in the pool. The weather was perfect and I ordered us a couple of Yank drinks (Bud) for us to sup in the hot tub. At this point it was getting near tea time, so I decided to jump in the shower and head out in search of food. We ended up at a bar/restaurant called the Proud Bird, there was loads of old classic planes outside and there was a good view of the LAX runway which kept my mate happy cos he's a plane geek. We downed many cocktails and other assorted drinks before moving on to Jagerbombs. The Mexican dude behind the bar had no clue what a Jagerbomb was, so obv we taught him to make it... Only issue was that the Jager was housed inside of a normal whisky glass and was full to the brim. Interesting trying to down that in one!
Anyway, it's safe to say that we were a bit mortal after a 27hour drinking session and we staggered back to the hotel. Of course, I'm a bit retarded and I only narrowly managed to avoid getting arrested by the fuzz. This LAPD cop frowned upon my road awareness; apparently it's illegal to try and cross seven lanes of traffic when the Walk sign is not illuminated. Luckily our hotel was only a hundred yards away and I suspect he couldn't be arsed with the necessary paperwork, so we got away with a stern warning.
The next day I woke up with no hangover. Score! A quick morning dip in the pool to wake me up, brunch at Denny's and then it was time to get our hire car. I booked a Corvette, but upon arrival at Hertz it was obvious that the pair of us and our massive suitcases could not fit in this car. We "upgraded" to a Dodge Challenger instead, a typical classless American muscle car. It only had 1000 miles on the clock and the 5.7l V8 engine meant there wasn't much on the road that could keep up when I put my foot down. Picture below:
Our next stop in this adventure was at Westlake Village Four Seasons. This is easily the best hotel I have ever been to in my life. The level of service was phenomenal and although I expected it to be very good, every part of the hotel exceeded my expectations. I mentioned earlier in this blog that I felt a bit out of place, this was very much the case here again. Myself and Frenchy recognised that this was a super classy hotel when we booked it and we packed suits to wear to dinner - yeah that was a good move cos literally everybody else was wearing formal gear. The food was amazing and the bar staff had great banter, I like being asked to say "when" as the bar tender pours vodka into my drink :D
I should have guessed the level of poshness when I realised that it had an art gallery, but it really hit home when I saw three Ferraris, a Ford GT, Lamborghini Gallardo and several other epic cars parked outside. I've got a million photos of the Four Seasons on Facebook, so I'm not gonna post loads on here, but I will post a picture of their beautiful waterfall feature:
Whilst we were staying at Westlake Village, we took the opportunity to visit the Ronald Reagan museum. I was forced to endure a bit of Republican propaganda bullshit, but it was worth it because I got to walk through the plane which was previously Air Force One in the 70s and 80s. There was also a replica Oval Office too and part of the Berlin Wall. On the way out, I noticed a sign stating this area was a natural habitat for rattlesnakes - didn't waste much time finding the car in the carpark! Onwards towards the coast and we stopped off at Malibu. What a beautiful place, perfect sands and pretty blue sea. Some random driving took us down a narrow street and into a carpark with a minimum $25 charge. I thought that was a bit on the pricey side for parking, but it turns out this place was called Paradise Cove and it lived up to the name. Also, we found out that if you spent $25 in the bar, the parking was free, so I enjoyed the beach with a nice cold beverage in my hand and views of hot girls wearing very little. Good times!
Although I had a fantastic time at Four Seasons, I was really excited for Vegas and this may or may not have led to some speeding down Interstate 15. It's an awesome road, long straight and nowt around for miles. A warning to anybody else that is stupid enough to drive a car that peaks at 13 miles per gallon: fill up your tank at every opportunity. You seriously don't want to break down in the middle of a desert!!
Well, this concludes part one of my trip report. The next bit is gonna be all Vegas so possibly more interesting to poker players...
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