Parkway Bar & Grill 2/25

Tonight was my regular Monday game at Parkway. This was the first game I played in on the DPT and remains my favorite. I have placed 3rd twice and can consistently make the final table which is usually my first goal. There are some pretty good players here which helps my game as you don't get better unless you play against superior competition.

I was feeling good about tonight's game after my profitable Saturday and my good game on Sunday. I did not finish in the "money" on Sunday but I was very happy with my play and felt like that I was getting my confidence back. I had been in the middle of a long run of dead cards and was beginning to wonder if I really knew how to play this game.

I had decided to play a bit more aggressive from now on. Even though I can usually make the final table I am usually the short stack or very close to the short stack when I get there. I figured that I needed to be more aggressive earlier in the tournament and build up my chip stack even if it meant making a mistake and busting out early I had to alter my style. I also figured that if I thought my play had become to predictable that surely everyone else at the table had me figured out.

I picked up a couple of small uncontested pots early with some timely raises then I got my hand of the night. I was in the big blind and I picked up AQ offsuit. A total of 3 players call and so limp in rather than raise when the action comes back to me. The flop comes out K J x. I check because I am on the nut straight draw with 2 cards to go and the players behind me will probably bet and that will help me define their hands. The first player to act bets $200 and the
other 2 players both call. Now I am getting great odds on my draw and it is an easy call. The turn card is a blank and I again check. The next player goes all in for the remainder of his chips which was about $550. The player next to him folds and the small blind next to me calls. Even though my pot odds is low I call because of my plan to be more aggressive. Unless one of the other two players has more than a pair of Kings I have multiple outs. If I hit the 10 I have the nuts and will crush everyone. I call and the river is a 10 giving me the straight. The small blind checks to me and I go all in, which makes the player already all in to lose his mind as he now knows he is beat. Unbelievably the small behind calls my all in. The first player had top 2 pair K J and the small blind had a pair of jacks with a weak kicker card. I was shocked that she would call my all in based on the cards and my betting pattern but I did not care. I just knocked out one player and crippled another and now was the dominant chip leader.

I feel this hand was the poker gods squaring up with me after my clash with the pair of 4's on Sunday. In that case the player who beat me had the correct odds to call me and then got just the card he needed. I can't be mad at that and I have to realize that as a 3 to 1 favorite if he wins then the next 2 times it happens I should win. I guess tonight was more of a suck out on my part but it has happened to me plenty of times and I was due. I had a legitimate hand and I was playing more aggressive so it was a good play. Not sure my opponent felt the same way but hey thats poker right?

Other hands of note was my A 10 vs a pair of 7's. There was an older lady who came in late to the tournament off the wait list. We run two tables and the first 20 who sign up play and everyone else is on the wait list. As people are eliminated folks on the wait list take their seats. She came in and promptly played the "this is my first time" and "how much to call and how much is this chip game". I didn't buy it for a second. If you know enough to say you don't know what you are doing then you know what you are doing. She really changed the face of the table though with her crazy erratic play. She played and showed total crap and came over the top several times with crazy raises. It was enough for her to quickly build up some chips although I remained the chip leader. I had to play cautiously since she was so aggressive and I knew she would almost always raise so I wanted to have a good hand and then try to crush her. My A 10 suited presented such an opportunity. It played out just like I figured, I call she raises and I call. Flop comes out Q 10 x. I bet my middle pair and she calls. Turn is a blank, I bet bigger and she calls again. She is doing a good job of not giving me any information. I am praying for an A on the river in case she has the Q. River card is a jack and I check. She bets and I reraise to put her all in. She calls and I figure she has the Q but she has pocket 7's. My pair of 10's take her out and everyone at the table is relieved. I almost felt bad because she looked at me like I just robbed her. I admit I had set my sights on her because her play was just bringing down the table which was playing really well.

My two mistakes hands were when I did not call a big raise with A 10. Everyone else folded to me and I folded. I later looked back at this hand as a mistake because I am sure I had the best hand preflop because his raise was so high in comparison to the blinds that I am sure he was saying "I am raising this much because I really don't want a call". I think he had KQ or KJ. I should have called him because if the flop hit an Ace I would have been well ahead. My second mistake was when I got pocket 8's. There had been a raise in front of me and instead of just calling I tried to push back and I reraised. What I was not paying attention to was the fact that the original raiser was low on chips and my reraise just made him go all in in response. I called as it was good odds and another player called which spooked me. The original raiser had Q J and hit a queen on the turn and won. This pot tripled him up and he was healthy again. I was still doing well but this mistake would further cost me as this player would move to the final table with me as the chip leader. The only consolation I take is that the flop
would have saw me bet since they were all low cards under my 8's. I am sure he would have moved all in at that point as well so the result would have been the same.

We moved to the final table and my cards dried up. The blinds picked away at me since I had nothing to play and folks were raising me off of them. I made two costly mistakes here again and they cost me the tournament I am sure. The first was a minimal mistake but I wish I would have played the hand differently. I was in the big blind with 7 2 of spades. The other 2 players fold and the small blind calls. I check and the flop comes out with 2 spades but no 2 or 7. The small blind checks and so do I. The turn is a J and again the small blind checks and so do I. The river is a Q of spades which gives me a flush but it is a low flush for me. The small blind this time bets out $500. I call and he shows Q J for 2 pair which my flush crushes. My mistake was that I should have reraised him all in on his $500 bet. I just figured that he had made a higher straight than me. I had vowed to be aggressive and here was a perfect example of not taking a chance. I would have gone out in 4th had I lost but if I won I would have been chip healthy again. 4th place turns out to be how I went out anyways.

My next mistake was with A 10 again. I raise and get a caller who has been playing pretty loosed and winning a lot of pots drawing out. Flop comes out and does not hit me. He checks and so do I. Turn and river both miss and we have checked it down. He bets $1000 and I fold. He had shown down hands like K 3 earlier and I did not want to risk losing to a pair of 3's or 4's. He showed an Ace to indicate that he missed and was just playing Ace high. Again had I reraised him all in he may have folded. At worst we probably would have chopped the pot or my 10 kicker may have been enough. What was worse was that if he had called my all in and I won he would have been out and I would have made the money. Also had I eliminated him the next hand would not have happened.

I get pocket 10's and go all in as I am seriously short stack at this point after being blinded off. The same loose player calls me and shows pocket Q's. No 10 on the flop, turn or river and I am gone in 4th place. If only I had knocked him out when I possibly had the chance.

Overall I am pleased with my more aggressive play but I made too many mistakes at the final table. At least I realize them which means I am learning and getting better. I just need to ensure I do not repeat them. I need to continue my aggressiveness and be more willing to gamble.

Spillway Bar and Grill 2/24

Today was a Denver Poker Tour event. This is becoming a regular game for me as it is on Sunday and in the afternoon. I have not had much success in this game and most of the players here are pretty good.

I was excited to play today after my success last night at the casino. I wanted to see if I had the ability to change my game from cash game back to tournament play.

Today started out slow for me. I was not getting any cards. The few hands I tried to limp in on were eventually raised and not worth me chasing. My blinds were being stolen as I was unwilling to call a raise and a re-raise with my weak hands. I finally started getting some cards and was able to take down several pots based on my table image which is tight and aggressive.

I had one memorable hand early where I got AK suited. I limped in with it only because I had just won two pots with big raises and I wanted to mix up my game. The player next to me raised and I called him. A king came out on the flop so I bet about half of my stack and he went all in. I called him since I had top pair with top kicker. Turns out he had AK as well. I guess that is one way not to lose with "Big Slick".

I made it to the final table which is generally my minimum goal each time I play. My stay there was short lived however. I raise 4 times the big blind with my pocket 9's and get two callers. Flop comes out 3 5 6 rainbow and I am first to act. I go all in and one of the two remaining players calls. He turns over pocket 4's which is good until the turn card is a 7 which gives him a straight. I need an 8 on the river for a higher straight but of course I do not get it.

Bad beat or a gutsy call? It's a bad beat by sheer definition as I got my money in with the best hand and had a dominate lead after the flop. I don't think I would have made the call he did with just pocket 4's but his style may be more aggressive than mine. Regardless I was not mad and wished him a good game and made my gracious exit.

Did I do anything wrong? I don't think so. I think all in was the move since the flop was all cars that were under my 9's. If anyone had 10's or higher I needed them to think I had hit the flop and now had trips. Any over cards on the flop and I probably would have thrown out a probe bet to see where I was at and what my hand might be worth. It was a dream flop for me except for the straight potential. I guess that this was just an example of poker and how sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

No fold em Hold em

I swore after my last trip to Vegas that I was done playing low stakes limit poker. I suffered so many bad beats and suck outs that I was going to stick to no limit and/or tournaments only. People tend to play poorly when the most they can lose is $20. You cannot use a raise to chase away poor hands and you end up losing to someone playing something like 4 6 offsuit. Unfortunately, living in Colorado there is not any no limit games available in the casinos aside from the tournaments. I was going to need to just learn how to play this type of game.

I always read of people who had huge amounts of success in these types of games. People would talk about how it was so easy to take the money off of the "fish". I researched, read up on and asked some questions on the various poker forums of how to play this type of game. What I found was my problem was that I was not being patient enough. The secret is to not allow yourself to get bored and then play a hand you wouldn't otherwise play. Basically pick your spots and crush people when you have the hand. The best part of this strategy is that you can use the time you are not playing to work on your reading and observation skills.

Grandma gave my wife and I a night off from our daughter and so we used the time to go up to the local casinos to have dinner and play a little. The casinos here only offer 2/5 limit or 5/5 limit. The 5/5 game has a lot of action and a lot of money changing hands all the time. I chose 2/5 since the 5/5 games were all full of people who had more money than good sense. The ups and downs of a game like this is more than I care for.

When I got crushed in this game in Vegas it was because I was constantly being outdrawn by people with inferior hands. I never could raise enough to chase someone out of a pot. I made a promise to myself to be patient and pick my spots. Just play smart even if it is boring.

The result was a lot of folding but at the end of the night I had over $100 in profit. I was not in a lot of pots but the ones I was in I won and they were big. Rather than trying to chase people away, I encouraged them to build the pot while they prayed for their miracle card. If it looked like they may have hit, I folded.

I was very happy with my overall play and of course my profitable results. I no longer hat limit hold em which is good since that is all I can play here in Colorado.