Back in Baltimore

As of Friday I am back here in Baltimore. Good to get away from all that craziness for the next week before the ME.

I did play the $1500 NLHE on Wednesday. It really is pretty short stacked event with only 4500 in chips. One of the first hands I played I had TT and raised to 300. Got reraised on the button by a Euro to 800. I called and the flop came K22. I checked and the Euro checked behind which was really weird. So he either has QQ or KK and flopped Kings full pretty much every time. Anyway I check folded some random turn card and was quickly down to ~3600. This type of spot popped up a few more times in the early levels with me unable to make a hand really and having to basically give up post flop. But I grinded my stack for several hours until finally at 150/300/25a I got them in. Pretty active player opened to 800 in late position directly on my right and I woke up with KQdd. With a stack of ~4k I can't really flat call and since I have been pretty quiet and he hasn't I figure this was as good a spot as any and jammed. He tank called with 77 and I missed all the way and was out in the 5th or 6th hour.

Thursday I went over to the Venetian for their $560 Deep Stack. With a great structure and lots of chips these are a great value. Anyway first hand I played it happened again. I raised to 300 at 50/100 with A8hh on the button. Got reraised 800 by the BB. Since we are so deep here I call and see a flop of Axx with 2 hearts. Here we go again. He leads for 1k and I call. Turn is a blank and I call a bet of 1500. River is another blank and he bets 3500. I can't imagine that A8 is good here very often. I guess with some super read I could jam and possibly fold out AJ or AQ like I am representing a flopped set. But first hand I have no reads like that. Anyway I was all the way down to 8k and thinking this is getting really old day after day having to grind my ass off. But I did just that and got the stack up to 17kish when I finally got my stack in as a big favorite. Aggressive internety kid made it 550 at 100/200. I wake up with AA on the button and reraise to 1600. He tanks for a bit and makes it 5k to go. I obviously jam and he calls with AK. I am 90/10 for a change and hold up to over 35k. Grind that stack to like 50k winning smallish pots when I just go so card dead I can't stand it. The table is rather aggressive and the only way to combat that is to become more aggressive or tighten up and punish them with big hands. I chose the latter. ANyway it really got goofy as my cards were just hideous. FInally the money bubble burst and with 45k at 2000/4000/500 I am looking for a spot to pick up some chips for a chance to go deep. Well that seems to happen when guy to my right opens for 10k. I jam with A9ss. He calls rather quickly with.....22...sigh I don't win many coinflips so this will not end well. Obv I miss and am out for yet another min-cash of ~1100.

Oh well maybe I saving my coinflip wins for the ME. I head back on July 6th to try and win my seat. There are satellites running basically around the clock so I shouldn't have too much trouble getting into a bunch of them.

Out of PLO8 pretty early

Busted out of PLO8 yesterday like halfway through the field. I don't love the way I played but actually the key hands I think were fine. Basically i played 3 big pots and lost the last 2.

Hand 1

We start with 4500 in chips and my first big one came at 25/50. I was in SB. Few callers and LP guy pots to 325. I repot AA25 single suited to 1075 or whatever it was. He 4 bet repots all in for like 3200 with A2KT. Flop is QJ4 and I am like here we go. he is probably ahead on that flop actually. Turn 6, river 6 and I scoop.

Hand 2

Brandon Cantu is on my direct right. He won this event last year and has the reputation of being overly aggressive but he has a WSOP bracelet and WPT title so he can obv play. Anyway he is raising a lot of pots. He raises and I call with A2JJ (could have 3 bet him pre-flop I guess). Flop comes 58T with 2 clubs. I have J2 of clubs. He leads for like 650 into 800 pot. I probably could have called but elected to put some chips in now with all of my draws and an overpair. So I pot. He repots and shows 6889 for a flopped bare set. Turn and river brick off and am down around 2k.

Hand 3

So I nursed that 2k stack down to 1200 then got back up over 3k until my final big pot. I am in BB with KQ97 and 3 limpers to me at 100/200. I check. Flop comes Q62. I check. UTG bets 300 and gets 1 caller so I call to see a turn. Turn is a Q and I jam my last ~1500. UTG calls with A45x with 2 diamonds. River 5 diamonds and he scoops and I am out.

Nightly $340

Jump in nightly 340 a bit late. 2nd hand I play is first hand at 50/100. EP player opens for 300 and I call in LP with 99. Flop 923. He bets 600 and I just call. Turn 3. He bets 1200 and I put the remaining 4kish all in. He snap calls with QQ and says oh wow I am behind. Wow really sir you thought you were going to be ahead I think. River is...wait for it....Q. NH sir and I am out.

On my way down now to play the WSOP $1500 now.

Min-Cash in $1k and On to PLO8

I min-cashed the $1k when I shoved over an opening raise with AQ. He held TT and we were off to the races. Flop came 3 diamonds (I held A diamonds) giving me a million outs. Turn was a K giving me a gutshot str8 draw as well meaning I win with a T, diamond, A, or Q. But no go and I am out for ~1.8k min cash.

Today is the $1.5k Pot Limit Omaha 8 or better (Hi-Lo) event. i am excited to play this as I have never played live PLO8 and I suspect the field will be really bad. A lot of hold-em players who have no idea how to play PLO8 will likely be in the field. Hopefully I will be the recipients of their stacks.

I did watch the man (ie Phil Ivey) win his 8th bracelet early this morning. He is pretty good.

On to Day 2 of the $1k

Today at 2:30 Vegas time the day 2 of the $1k WSOP begins. I have ~14k in chips with blinds at 300/600/50a. Not great but not the end of the world either. I had been up around 30k and then got in some pretty brutal spots later.

Up through dinner break was really not super interesting as I made good hands and slowly chipped up to the 30k stack. I had AA KK QQ and couple other premiums as well as flopping sets a few times. Also got it all in with AK vs. AQ once for a decent sized pot.

Actually one interesting hand was at 100/200. Guy opened to 550 and I called the button with QTo. I actually thought I had QThh but had 1 heart one diamond. Anyway we take flop of perfect 89J with 2 hearts. He checks, i bet 750 and he raises to 2.5k. I decide to try and look weak like I am on a flush draw and jam for 10k. He snap calls for 8k total and tables 88 for a flopped set. I hold and am up over 18k.

After dinner I started with a bit under 30k and just got into some dreadful spot. Raised TT got 2 callers. C-bet 2/3 of the pot on a 9 hi flop and got raised by the only player at the table who has near my stack. I have to fold as I am good here like virtually never.

Raise JJ UTG and get one caller. Flop comes AK9 and action goes check check. Turn Q. Sigh...great board for JJ. He bets I fold and he shows 99..ok glad that was the board now! Easy fold.

Raise QQ in EP and get called in 2 spots. Frenchie raises me and only I call. Put him on AA, KK, AK, or JJ (though JJ raise here is pretty spew IMO). Flop comes J95. He bets 1/2 pot I call. Turn 8..he shoves and I tank for like 6 mins and fold. If my range is accurate I am only ahead of 1 of the 4 hands I put him on.

So that had me down to under 8k. Shoved over weak raises a few times before the end of the day and got back to 14kish. And that is what I tagged and bagged up at the end of the session.

WSOP Day 1

Before I get to that, after my last post I was scheduled to play the MD Am at Congressional. However it took me 2.5 hours to get to the course on that Thursday and I missed my tee time for the first time in 20+ years of competitive golf. Pretty disappointing but not much I can do about it.

Trip to No Cal was great and very relaxing. Pebble was especially good though I can't stand the horseshit associated with getting to events like this (shuttle buses, security lines, etc.) Basically most people are shitheads particularly when the are forced to line up like cattle to get on a fucking bus for a 20 min ride. Oh well.

Got here in LV yesterday (Saturday) a little late as my plane was delayed. But played a bunch of cash for about a $500 profit. I played a $15-30 mixed game of BOTE (Badugi-Omaha Hi Low-Duece to Seven Triple Draw-Stud Hi Low) that was a lot of fun. Don't get to play those two draw games much live so I will probably play that game a lot this week. I also chopped a $325 single table sit and go for $1,500. Got heads-up with a guy who had ~8k in chips to my ~7k and he offered me an even chop which I gladly took.

Did play in the $325 nightly tournament which starts with only 5k in chips and quickly turns into a turbo. But paid ~12k to first last night so if you can get some chips early there is some money to be made. Anyway as usual I lost a flip for a ton of chips. Blinds were 400/800/100a. UTG limped, Button then raised to 2k, I shoved 12.5k with JJ from the BB and Button thought for a bit and called with AQ and obviously flopped and rivered a Q.

First "official" WSOP event for me starts at Noon the $1k NLHE. Hopefully will have something good to report.

Gear up for WSOP

Getting closer to heading out west. My schedule for the next 5 weeks is pretty good. Here is the gist of it:

June 10th-13th MD Am at Congressional CC
June 14th-19th Wife and I head to Northern California for our 10th Anniversary. Includes a round at the US Open at Pebble Beach
June 19th-?? I fly to Vegas
About June 25th Back In MD to at least do a little work :) and go to beach for 4th of July
July 6th Back on a plane to LV for the WSOP ME
July 12th-14th MD Open (If I am out of the ME)

Pretty good stretch IMO.

I think I have finalized my schedule for the WSOP as follows:

June 20 $1k NLHE
June 21 $550 Venetian Deep Stack
June 22 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo (8 or better)
June 23 $1,500 NLHE
June 24 $550 Venetian Deep Stack

My plan is to play the Main Event on day 1c or 1d. There is a possibility that I won't play the Main. If I go out next week and just get thrashed with no tournament cashes and get my clock cleaned in cash games AND then am unable to satellite in once I get back out there in July I will likely not play. But I would say I am like 90% to play at this point.

I have been playing a lot of poker on-line of late. Made a few final tables over the last 2 weeks but alas, no wins. I think 2 3rd places, a 4th and several other bottom of the final table finishes.

When my wife and I are in San Francisco, U2 was supposed to be in Oakland. Now we have seen them probably 3 times together and I have seen them maybe 6 times in my life. Even if you are not a huge fan, I highly recommend going. Their shows are second to none. Because I was excited to see them I have been listening to them a lot while playing. I always come back to this song and when played live it is just insanely good (please crank it up):



Greatest song of my lifetime? Probably. Then end when Bono is reading the names these are the people killed in a bombing in Omagh, Northern Ireland . Obviously the "Troubles" are what this song is all about when it was written 30 or so years ago. Probably the best live song that U2 plays is this:



Watch the crowd reaction when it gets going. Pretty awesome.

Amazing thing is I was about to buy tickets for this show on-line from an auction when they announced that the tour would be postponed due to Bono's back surgery. So I guess I am already running good because I was going to pay $250/ticket for $80 seats. I would have only been refunded the $80 face and would have been out the extra $300+.

One more good one for the road:




While I am on a roll with great Irish bands live, here are a few from Snow Patrol:





Crowds in both of these shows are insane so maybe the key is to see them in their native Ireland?

I'll definitely be listening to a lot of both of these bands at the tables in Vegas!