Slowly crept to 14000 and then slid all the way to zero on four bloody knees.
All the best,
Minimalist Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, May 31, 2013
Event 5
First, a moment of reflection. Looking back on the last two years when I have literally tried to play every event that I could, even if that meant taking a hyper aggressive approach from the very first hand, it has been drawn to my attention that this approach has not yielded good results. That may not surprise anyone, and I believe I made similar statements at the end of each of the last two years. I am resigned, however, not to do so this year.
On to the tournament. It is too difficult to give hand by hand recounts of these games. So, you may want to simply delete all the emails that come regarding this event. We have just concluded round two, and we have moved up in chip stack from the 7500 starting point to just over 11,000. As this is a limit game, chip movements will be slow for the first four or five hours. So the increase of 50% puts us in a very good position, but it is so early that that is almost irrelevant. However, around round six the betting increments will be very large and if we do not have a sizable stack we will only have one hand worth of chips. We need to build now and be prepared for that.
No specific hands to report. I am hunting for that Zen space.
All the best,
Zen Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
On to the tournament. It is too difficult to give hand by hand recounts of these games. So, you may want to simply delete all the emails that come regarding this event. We have just concluded round two, and we have moved up in chip stack from the 7500 starting point to just over 11,000. As this is a limit game, chip movements will be slow for the first four or five hours. So the increase of 50% puts us in a very good position, but it is so early that that is almost irrelevant. However, around round six the betting increments will be very large and if we do not have a sizable stack we will only have one hand worth of chips. We need to build now and be prepared for that.
No specific hands to report. I am hunting for that Zen space.
All the best,
Zen Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Event 5 - Omaha/seven-card stud high-low eight-or-better
First, let me correct something I recall writing about yesterday's tournament. In the big hand I keep telling myself I should have won, where I played JJ all in pre-flop against TT and A2h only to see 2 deuces hit the board, I wrote that I had 17,000 in chips when I should have had 24,000 because the guy with the A2h got lucky and beat me out of 12,000 in chips (plus I didn't get to take his 12,000). I realized, only adding salt to the wound, that the real number is 36,000 because the A2h also took 12,000 of the TT's chips, which I would have taken had I won the pot, as of course I should have. Now, putting the past in the rear view mirror and then tearing that off of the car ceiling and throwing it out the window, on to today . . .
Today's tournament starts at 5pm and it's a mix of two games - Omaha/seven-card stud high-low eight-or-better.
As a reminder to those who don't play these varietals, Omaha is played just like Texas Hold'em except each player has four cards instead of two and must use two from his/her hand and three from the board to make the best hand possible AND the worst hand possible, called the "low" hand (players may use different cards for each hand). There is also a "qualification" requirement for the low hand; in order to even have a low hand, you must have five cards (no pairs) eight or lower (aces count low here). So, for example, if the Omaha board is 267TQ, then the person with the A3 has the best low hand playing the A3 along with the 267 from the board. However, if the board is a little different, 227TQ, then no one can even have a low hand; there is no way to use three cards from the board in constructing a hand of five cards 8 or lower! In that case, the high hand wins the entire pot.
Seven Card stud is a much more familiar game. Players get two face down and one face up card and bet. They then get three more face up cards, one at a time, with betting after each card. They then get a final face down card, resulting in four face up and three face down cards. From these seven cards, players construct their best hand and again a low hand, but again they must qualify to have a low hand. There is unfortunately no way for me to really write about these hands with any clarity because there are as many as two dozen cards showing face up on the table by the end of the hand.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Event 2 Rounds 11-12
Hyper-aggressive donkey in the house playing 500-1000 with antes of 100. Button raises to 3000 and SB folds. We are in BB with 34h. Not a food hand but we have been playing with thi guy for 2 hours and know he is stealing. We push all in for about 12500. He goes into the tank and calls with K4c. We were right that he was stealing and the call is surprising. Plus he has us dominated. We need a 3! Flop comes 267 with two hearts. Now we need a 5 for a straight or a heart for a flush. Turn comes 3!!! River comes another 7 and we double up making a dinkey push and getting out donkeyed by a guy calling with K4! This one went for us though. We are back to our small stack of 25000. Small but so much more comfy. Now we need to go back to that find (and this time win) a race strategy.
The overdonkey was furious, muttering to himself and anyone who would listen. The next hand dealt to him he hurled face up on the table - it was the 34d. He got a. Warning; the reat of us got comedy. He busted out a few hands later.
We lead out from button with JQ for 2200 and SB calls. Flop comes 5JK with 2 hearts. He checks and we bet 3300. He raises to 8000. He is either bluffing or has a K (possibly a semi bliff w 2 hearts). We can't risk all our chips to find out so we fold. That hurt.
In seat 6 we lead with 2200 with QK and sb calls. Flop comes 256 and he checks. We would like to see the free card and our table image is too loose to bluff well. We check an the tilurn comes T. He bets 3300 and we can either fold or push but we are likely behind. If he has a pair or paired the board or even a naked ace he has us beat. We fold.
Seat 3 leads out for 2300 and seat 6 calls. We are in the bb with 9Ts. We put 1300 in to call and the flop comes 88A. We check and fold at the earliest opportunity.
Our stack is widdling away quickly. We are back down to 15100.
Seat 7 leads with 2100 and we consider pushing from the button with TJd but instead call after some time in the tank. The blinds fol and the flop comes 249 rainbow. That didn't hit him. He bets 1500 and we push representing a small pair or something that would have had us thinking pre flop. He folds and we are back at 20800.
In seat 5 we leAd with 2200 with QQ. BB calls and flop comes AT7. Terrible. He checks and we bet 2200. He calls. Turn comes 4. He checks and we check. River comes 9 and he bets 5400. Does he have an A? Not sure but we are getting about 15000 if he doesn't and losing 5400 if he does so we call. He shows AJ and now we are short stacked again!
In seat 3 we push with A2d abd everyone folds. Great.
Next hand theres an earlier leader putting in 2200 and we push from the bb with 99. He folds. Great.
Next hand we are now playing 600-1200 with 200 antes and a mid field leader bets 2500. We push all in from the sb with 77 and he folds. Great!
If only it were always this easy. We are over 21,000 again.
Seat 4 pushes all in for 12000 and seat 5 calls. We are in seat 7 with JJ. As we have before we feel like this is "our hand". We push all in for 21000 and seat 5 calls. Seat 4 has A2h and seat 5 has TT. We are a good favorite. Flop comes 882. Good for us. Ow just no AT or duece and we are tripled almost. Turn comes K and river comes 2, giving the A2 a set of deuces to win. We pay him 12000 and collect 8400 from the TT, so it was bad but could have been worse. So frustrating to lose on the river. We should have 41000 right now instead of 17000!!!
Seat 4 we lead with 22 to 2800 and everyone folds. As there is 3400 in every starting pot this is a great result.
Seat 4 leads out with a min raise to 2400 and gets called by seat 7. We call in seat 8 with 9Jd. Its a good hand to play multi player in button position. Blinds fold and flop comes 468 with one diamond. Seat 4 bets 4400 and we fold.
Seat 5 bets 2800 and we push all in from seat 7 with TT. He counts our chips several times and then folds. Thats a good pick up of 6000 in chips! We are back at 20000 in chips.
Seat 4 leads out with 2400 and gets called by seat 6 we are in the bb with 69c and put 1200 more into the 8200 pot to see the flop. The flop comes 789 giving us top pair and an open ended straight draw. We want to push but seat 4 typically continuation bets so we check. True to form seat 4 bets 4400. Seat 6 folds and we push all in. After counting our bet and some tank time he calls and shows A9h. Not good. We need a 5,6 or T, of which there are only 9, making us a 35% dog. The turb is an 8 and the river a K. With just under 100 players left we are heading to the coral.
Thanks for coming. Tomorrow is another day. We start at 5 pm with omaha and stud.
All the best,
Raging Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
The overdonkey was furious, muttering to himself and anyone who would listen. The next hand dealt to him he hurled face up on the table - it was the 34d. He got a. Warning; the reat of us got comedy. He busted out a few hands later.
We lead out from button with JQ for 2200 and SB calls. Flop comes 5JK with 2 hearts. He checks and we bet 3300. He raises to 8000. He is either bluffing or has a K (possibly a semi bliff w 2 hearts). We can't risk all our chips to find out so we fold. That hurt.
In seat 6 we lead with 2200 with QK and sb calls. Flop comes 256 and he checks. We would like to see the free card and our table image is too loose to bluff well. We check an the tilurn comes T. He bets 3300 and we can either fold or push but we are likely behind. If he has a pair or paired the board or even a naked ace he has us beat. We fold.
Seat 3 leads out for 2300 and seat 6 calls. We are in the bb with 9Ts. We put 1300 in to call and the flop comes 88A. We check and fold at the earliest opportunity.
Our stack is widdling away quickly. We are back down to 15100.
Seat 7 leads with 2100 and we consider pushing from the button with TJd but instead call after some time in the tank. The blinds fol and the flop comes 249 rainbow. That didn't hit him. He bets 1500 and we push representing a small pair or something that would have had us thinking pre flop. He folds and we are back at 20800.
In seat 5 we leAd with 2200 with QQ. BB calls and flop comes AT7. Terrible. He checks and we bet 2200. He calls. Turn comes 4. He checks and we check. River comes 9 and he bets 5400. Does he have an A? Not sure but we are getting about 15000 if he doesn't and losing 5400 if he does so we call. He shows AJ and now we are short stacked again!
In seat 3 we push with A2d abd everyone folds. Great.
Next hand theres an earlier leader putting in 2200 and we push from the bb with 99. He folds. Great.
Next hand we are now playing 600-1200 with 200 antes and a mid field leader bets 2500. We push all in from the sb with 77 and he folds. Great!
If only it were always this easy. We are over 21,000 again.
Seat 4 pushes all in for 12000 and seat 5 calls. We are in seat 7 with JJ. As we have before we feel like this is "our hand". We push all in for 21000 and seat 5 calls. Seat 4 has A2h and seat 5 has TT. We are a good favorite. Flop comes 882. Good for us. Ow just no AT or duece and we are tripled almost. Turn comes K and river comes 2, giving the A2 a set of deuces to win. We pay him 12000 and collect 8400 from the TT, so it was bad but could have been worse. So frustrating to lose on the river. We should have 41000 right now instead of 17000!!!
Seat 4 we lead with 22 to 2800 and everyone folds. As there is 3400 in every starting pot this is a great result.
Seat 4 leads out with a min raise to 2400 and gets called by seat 7. We call in seat 8 with 9Jd. Its a good hand to play multi player in button position. Blinds fold and flop comes 468 with one diamond. Seat 4 bets 4400 and we fold.
Seat 5 bets 2800 and we push all in from seat 7 with TT. He counts our chips several times and then folds. Thats a good pick up of 6000 in chips! We are back at 20000 in chips.
Seat 4 leads out with 2400 and gets called by seat 6 we are in the bb with 69c and put 1200 more into the 8200 pot to see the flop. The flop comes 789 giving us top pair and an open ended straight draw. We want to push but seat 4 typically continuation bets so we check. True to form seat 4 bets 4400. Seat 6 folds and we push all in. After counting our bet and some tank time he calls and shows A9h. Not good. We need a 5,6 or T, of which there are only 9, making us a 35% dog. The turb is an 8 and the river a K. With just under 100 players left we are heading to the coral.
Thanks for coming. Tomorrow is another day. We start at 5 pm with omaha and stud.
All the best,
Raging Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Event 2 Rounds 9-10
With our smallish stack we have to be aggressive and fin the right time to race to double up. In we go!
seat 7 bets 1200 and we call in bb w 27d to do a version of the stop and gp. We will bet almost any flop as a sign that we hit something hoping he will fold as ge likely will not hit something - just standard odds. Flop comes 67t and we bet 1900; he folds.
We are in seat 7 w q9s and try to steal for 1600 but the sb calls and bb raises to 5800. That didn't go as planned. Fold. They play down and each have AQ.
Seat 3 bets 1400 and seat 4 raises to 3000. Would love to push but the re-raise could eflect a big and so we fold a8d in bb. Not a hard fold.
We are on the button with 9T and raise to 1600. Bb calls and flop comes A27 w 2 spades he checks and we bet 1900 representing an ace. He goes into the tank staring at us like he is filling some weird donkey spank bank. He stares so long it gets chilly and all efforts to control our breathing fail. What is he doibg in there? Finally he folds and looks away.
From Seat 6 we bet 1500 on KJs. Seat 7 calls and 8 (the donkephile) raises to 7000. Do we push and hope they fold or that we win? Our 18000 in chips is a lot to lose but not enough to push donkephile out as he will only have to call 11500 to fight for a pot with over 30000 in it at that point. We fold. Damn that hurt.
Seat 3 leads w 1500 and donkephile calls. We call from bb w 67c. Flop 256 we bet 3000 and 3 calls. Turn is A. We check and he bets 2600. Oddly small. We call. River comes 2 and we push all in hoping he is too weak to call. He tanks for a few minutes and folds. That was scary.
Seat 3 bets 1500 and we call from button w TT. Flop comes JQK for open ended straight draw and we bet 2000. He calls. Turn is 2. We both check. River pairs the J. No straight but hopefully he hit nothing or will fear the J. We Bet 2000 but he calls with AQ. He likely would have folded to a larger bet but we just didn't want to risk that much.
We are back around 23000 but playing 400 800 with antes of 100. So every time we fold around the table we lose 2000.
Seat 6 opens for 1800 and seat 7 raises to 4000. We are in the bb with AK. We are out of position so we hav to raise but its really all or nothing so we push. This is the race hand we were looking for, hopefully with 2 people paying us if we hit an A or K. Seat 7 calls w kK to take 18525 from us. Puch. We are about dead.
Same guy bets 1800 and we push all in from the sb with AJ with 4200. He has AT and out J holds up. Back to about 10000.
At this point all we can do is push and pray.
Same guy bets 1800 and we push from sb with A8. Bb and bettor fold. Yay!
With J5h we push from button. Blinds fold. Up to 12500.
We watch 8 hands pass.
Seat 7 raises to 2000 and we push from the button w ATs and everyone folds. Back to 14000.
We close round 10 with 144 players remaining (started with 481). Feeling good about that but not so good about our 13800 in chips!
Hopefully push and pray will work for the next 2 hours and you won't hear from me until then.
All the best,
Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
seat 7 bets 1200 and we call in bb w 27d to do a version of the stop and gp. We will bet almost any flop as a sign that we hit something hoping he will fold as ge likely will not hit something - just standard odds. Flop comes 67t and we bet 1900; he folds.
We are in seat 7 w q9s and try to steal for 1600 but the sb calls and bb raises to 5800. That didn't go as planned. Fold. They play down and each have AQ.
Seat 3 bets 1400 and seat 4 raises to 3000. Would love to push but the re-raise could eflect a big and so we fold a8d in bb. Not a hard fold.
We are on the button with 9T and raise to 1600. Bb calls and flop comes A27 w 2 spades he checks and we bet 1900 representing an ace. He goes into the tank staring at us like he is filling some weird donkey spank bank. He stares so long it gets chilly and all efforts to control our breathing fail. What is he doibg in there? Finally he folds and looks away.
From Seat 6 we bet 1500 on KJs. Seat 7 calls and 8 (the donkephile) raises to 7000. Do we push and hope they fold or that we win? Our 18000 in chips is a lot to lose but not enough to push donkephile out as he will only have to call 11500 to fight for a pot with over 30000 in it at that point. We fold. Damn that hurt.
Seat 3 leads w 1500 and donkephile calls. We call from bb w 67c. Flop 256 we bet 3000 and 3 calls. Turn is A. We check and he bets 2600. Oddly small. We call. River comes 2 and we push all in hoping he is too weak to call. He tanks for a few minutes and folds. That was scary.
Seat 3 bets 1500 and we call from button w TT. Flop comes JQK for open ended straight draw and we bet 2000. He calls. Turn is 2. We both check. River pairs the J. No straight but hopefully he hit nothing or will fear the J. We Bet 2000 but he calls with AQ. He likely would have folded to a larger bet but we just didn't want to risk that much.
We are back around 23000 but playing 400 800 with antes of 100. So every time we fold around the table we lose 2000.
Seat 6 opens for 1800 and seat 7 raises to 4000. We are in the bb with AK. We are out of position so we hav to raise but its really all or nothing so we push. This is the race hand we were looking for, hopefully with 2 people paying us if we hit an A or K. Seat 7 calls w kK to take 18525 from us. Puch. We are about dead.
Same guy bets 1800 and we push all in from the sb with AJ with 4200. He has AT and out J holds up. Back to about 10000.
At this point all we can do is push and pray.
Same guy bets 1800 and we push from sb with A8. Bb and bettor fold. Yay!
With J5h we push from button. Blinds fold. Up to 12500.
We watch 8 hands pass.
Seat 7 raises to 2000 and we push from the button w ATs and everyone folds. Back to 14000.
We close round 10 with 144 players remaining (started with 481). Feeling good about that but not so good about our 13800 in chips!
Hopefully push and pray will work for the next 2 hours and you won't hear from me until then.
All the best,
Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Event 2 Round 7-8
I will start by saying the great cards we had early in have now been evened out with bad ones. We folded over and over, which is particularly painful playing 250 500 with 50 antes, but the betting is now so severe that each hand is crucial. We only played a few.
Seat 5 raised to 900 and we called with AK in seat 6 hoping to get more action. Seats 7,8 and the bb cAll and see the 257 flop. Total garbage and everyone checks. The turn is an A. Giddey-up! bb bets 1800, seat 5 calls, we call, and 7 and 8 fold. River comes 9. Bb checks and seat 5 bets 4200. We call. Bb folds and seat 5 shows A2 for 2 pair. Well, thats what we get for slow playing pre flop. There is always great danger in letting people see some cards to try to create greater action when you start with the best hand; this is a textbook example.
Most bizarre hand of the night. Seat 3 raises to 800 (still playing 200 400 at this point) and gets calls from 67 and us. We have Q3 and shouldn't be in there but we are in the sb and have already paid 200 of the 800 with a big pot brewing. Bb also calls and five of us see the 388 flop. We have a pair of threes, but we are a scary player as we sit in the blind. Hoping no one has an 8 we bet 1600 into the 4000+ pot. Bb calls and everyone else folds. Turn comes J. At this point we should not bet, but we do - 4200, and he calls again! Not good. The river comes 9 and we check, confident they will bet and we will fold. They don't, they check and show 79. I don't get it. They called post flop when they shouldnt have, called a huge post turn bet when they shouldn't have and then made a pair on the river to beat our pair (and checked). They had nothing until the river. In light of their hand, our post flop terrible bet was actually the right move, but their terrible play negated out lucky mistake. We lost a rather large pot in what will confuse me for many many years.
Seat 6 raises to 1100 and we call from the button with 9Th. The bb raises to 2500. All call. The flop comes 245 w 1 heart. S6 bets 3000 and we fold. The remaining two players push all in and we watch 2 more hearts turn and river. We would have tripled our stack! They had flopped a straight (A3) and a set of deuces. The straight held up and the deuces went home.
We close round 8 and head to the coral with 20775 in chips, more than we started with but half of what we had four hours ago. With over half the field knocked out, the average stack is about 34000, so we will have to get very lucky to survive tomorrow, which starts at 2 pm. So hopefully you wont hear from me until 4 pm.
Query How can a donkey possibly survive if he makes glorious mistakes that turn out to be beautiful moves only to have a bigger donkey kick him in the head with even worse moves?
Thanks for cheering
Donkey
Sent from my coral
Seat 5 raised to 900 and we called with AK in seat 6 hoping to get more action. Seats 7,8 and the bb cAll and see the 257 flop. Total garbage and everyone checks. The turn is an A. Giddey-up! bb bets 1800, seat 5 calls, we call, and 7 and 8 fold. River comes 9. Bb checks and seat 5 bets 4200. We call. Bb folds and seat 5 shows A2 for 2 pair. Well, thats what we get for slow playing pre flop. There is always great danger in letting people see some cards to try to create greater action when you start with the best hand; this is a textbook example.
Most bizarre hand of the night. Seat 3 raises to 800 (still playing 200 400 at this point) and gets calls from 67 and us. We have Q3 and shouldn't be in there but we are in the sb and have already paid 200 of the 800 with a big pot brewing. Bb also calls and five of us see the 388 flop. We have a pair of threes, but we are a scary player as we sit in the blind. Hoping no one has an 8 we bet 1600 into the 4000+ pot. Bb calls and everyone else folds. Turn comes J. At this point we should not bet, but we do - 4200, and he calls again! Not good. The river comes 9 and we check, confident they will bet and we will fold. They don't, they check and show 79. I don't get it. They called post flop when they shouldnt have, called a huge post turn bet when they shouldn't have and then made a pair on the river to beat our pair (and checked). They had nothing until the river. In light of their hand, our post flop terrible bet was actually the right move, but their terrible play negated out lucky mistake. We lost a rather large pot in what will confuse me for many many years.
Seat 6 raises to 1100 and we call from the button with 9Th. The bb raises to 2500. All call. The flop comes 245 w 1 heart. S6 bets 3000 and we fold. The remaining two players push all in and we watch 2 more hearts turn and river. We would have tripled our stack! They had flopped a straight (A3) and a set of deuces. The straight held up and the deuces went home.
We close round 8 and head to the coral with 20775 in chips, more than we started with but half of what we had four hours ago. With over half the field knocked out, the average stack is about 34000, so we will have to get very lucky to survive tomorrow, which starts at 2 pm. So hopefully you wont hear from me until 4 pm.
Query How can a donkey possibly survive if he makes glorious mistakes that turn out to be beautiful moves only to have a bigger donkey kick him in the head with even worse moves?
Thanks for cheering
Donkey
Sent from my coral
Evebt 2 Rounds 5-6
Rounds five and six saw our worst cards so far. We did not play many hands and I only have four to report.
Seat 4 bet 450 and seat 6 raised to 1100 playing 100 200 with 25 antes -we called from seat 7 with 99 and seat 4 folded. We played heads up. The flop came 668 and he cheked. We bet 1300 and he called. The turn cam another 6 and he checked. Unless he has the case 6 or a pocket pair 8 or higher we are solid. We bet 2600 and he folded.
Seat 7 bets 600 and we smooth call from the ab with AQc. We play heads up and the flop comes K68 with 2 clubs. He checks and we bet 750 happy for a call or a fold. He calls and the turn comes 8c giving us the nut flush but. He could make a full house. He checks and we bet 1500. He calls and the ricer cones 5c. As we already have the flush this is not going to help us get value from him. He checks and we bet 4000 putting him all in. He calls and mucks when tlwe show the ace-high flush.
We raise from seat 4 to 700 with Aj. Seat 7 raises to 1750 and we call. Flop comes QQT and we check. He checks and turn comes 4. We both check and river comes another 4. We bet 1500 with 2 pair and an ace. He calls with TJ to take the pot down. AJ shouldnt lose to TJ but who is bitter?
Seat 5 bets 750 and we loose call from seat 6 with A4 clubs. Seat 7 raises to 2000 and we wind up watching the flop heads up come 2jq. We both check and the turn comes Kc giving us a gut shot straight draw and a flush draw. We both check. His pre flop raise and subsequent checks likely mean he has a pair under the jack and he is afraid we have paired the jqk on the board. River comes 9 of hearts. Only way to win is to bluff so we bet 4300. He calls and shows TT. He made a straight. I dont understand why he didnt raise but we would have folded.
We end round 6 with 33k in chips and some bad mojo building mixed with a little exhaustion. Time to pick the muzzle up!
All the best,
Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Seat 4 bet 450 and seat 6 raised to 1100 playing 100 200 with 25 antes -we called from seat 7 with 99 and seat 4 folded. We played heads up. The flop came 668 and he cheked. We bet 1300 and he called. The turn cam another 6 and he checked. Unless he has the case 6 or a pocket pair 8 or higher we are solid. We bet 2600 and he folded.
Seat 7 bets 600 and we smooth call from the ab with AQc. We play heads up and the flop comes K68 with 2 clubs. He checks and we bet 750 happy for a call or a fold. He calls and the turn comes 8c giving us the nut flush but. He could make a full house. He checks and we bet 1500. He calls and the ricer cones 5c. As we already have the flush this is not going to help us get value from him. He checks and we bet 4000 putting him all in. He calls and mucks when tlwe show the ace-high flush.
We raise from seat 4 to 700 with Aj. Seat 7 raises to 1750 and we call. Flop comes QQT and we check. He checks and turn comes 4. We both check and river comes another 4. We bet 1500 with 2 pair and an ace. He calls with TJ to take the pot down. AJ shouldnt lose to TJ but who is bitter?
Seat 5 bets 750 and we loose call from seat 6 with A4 clubs. Seat 7 raises to 2000 and we wind up watching the flop heads up come 2jq. We both check and the turn comes Kc giving us a gut shot straight draw and a flush draw. We both check. His pre flop raise and subsequent checks likely mean he has a pair under the jack and he is afraid we have paired the jqk on the board. River comes 9 of hearts. Only way to win is to bluff so we bet 4300. He calls and shows TT. He made a straight. I dont understand why he didnt raise but we would have folded.
We end round 6 with 33k in chips and some bad mojo building mixed with a little exhaustion. Time to pick the muzzle up!
All the best,
Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Event 2 Rounds 3-4
There has been 45 minutes of great activity, with little movement in our stack. Just small moves up and down. We have just stolen the blinds twice and have been dealt TJin Seat 4 We raise to 425 playing 75 150. The button calls and the flop comes 68K all clubs. We have the Jack of clubs in And bet 550 with our somewhat weak club flush draw and our paur if kings. He raises to 1350. We go into the tank and then call. We are afraid of another club if he has a high club, and also afraid that he has a K and a kicker that beats our jack. The turn pairs the board with another six. We check he bets 2155. The numbers are simply too big to play our hand, which likely is a winner, but we are not sure. Worse yet, he may bet as much as 5000 on the river, and that will be a very difficult time to call or fold. So we fold now.
Chair 3 raises to 375 and we call from the bb w AT. The flop comes TT3.with two clubs. Slow play and check. He bets 575 and we call. A 9 turns and we check again. He bets 1700 and we raise to 4700. He calls and the river comes queen of spades. There's a straight on the board, but there is no way he has kj. Also the flush is no longer a problem. We are only afraid of TQ or pocket queens. With the pot at about 10,000, we Push all in. As soon as he delays, we know we have the winner. Unfortunately, after going into the tank for a while, he folds. Our first big pot.
Chair four raises to 525 playing 100 200 in round four. Two players call Before we call from the button with 45 of spades. The flop comes King King 7 and everyone checks to us. We check and see the turn for free. It is a 4 of diamonds. Everyone checks to us again and we bet 1100 hoping that they will fold or that our Pair of fours may be a winner. We see one call and then another raise to 3200. We fold and the two remaining players push All in. They had King Queen and KA. The KA took the hand down.
S7 raises To 600 and we raise from the button to 1400 with KK. Flop comes 4KA with 2 hearts. He checks and we bet 1100 with out set. He didnt re-raise pre-flop so we are not afraid he has AA. He calls and the turn cones J. He checks. No way he has tq so we bet 2200 and he calls. River comes 5. Total rag. He checks and we bet 4000, which is just over half what he has left hoping he will push. He calls an shows 44. We flopped set over set to crush him.
I don't recall the play by play but we played TQs heads up and the board wound up 479t9 for a winner.
We also played JQ and bet at every stage of a board that looked like KK69A. It was a lot of bluffing go bad as we were called down by an A6.
In the SB we saw a minimum bet to 400 with 2 callers. We raised to 1600 with AJ and they all folded.
Last hand of the round we played TJ and flopped 4QK. I dont recall betting amounts but we were in position and we bet and one person called the turn was an 8 and we bet again an he called. The river came A giving us the nut straight AND he bet about 3000 into us. We went into the tank and raised 9000 and he folded so fast he was clearly bluffing.
A good couple rounds and lots of fun. I probably won't write much moving forward as it is getting a little intense and i need to ficus more but we ended round 4 with 43650 in chips. Giddey-up!
One random comment - one of the players at my table was on the final table of the main event last year.
Hopefully sone good news in a couple hours.
Your Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Chair 3 raises to 375 and we call from the bb w AT. The flop comes TT3.with two clubs. Slow play and check. He bets 575 and we call. A 9 turns and we check again. He bets 1700 and we raise to 4700. He calls and the river comes queen of spades. There's a straight on the board, but there is no way he has kj. Also the flush is no longer a problem. We are only afraid of TQ or pocket queens. With the pot at about 10,000, we Push all in. As soon as he delays, we know we have the winner. Unfortunately, after going into the tank for a while, he folds. Our first big pot.
Chair four raises to 525 playing 100 200 in round four. Two players call Before we call from the button with 45 of spades. The flop comes King King 7 and everyone checks to us. We check and see the turn for free. It is a 4 of diamonds. Everyone checks to us again and we bet 1100 hoping that they will fold or that our Pair of fours may be a winner. We see one call and then another raise to 3200. We fold and the two remaining players push All in. They had King Queen and KA. The KA took the hand down.
S7 raises To 600 and we raise from the button to 1400 with KK. Flop comes 4KA with 2 hearts. He checks and we bet 1100 with out set. He didnt re-raise pre-flop so we are not afraid he has AA. He calls and the turn cones J. He checks. No way he has tq so we bet 2200 and he calls. River comes 5. Total rag. He checks and we bet 4000, which is just over half what he has left hoping he will push. He calls an shows 44. We flopped set over set to crush him.
I don't recall the play by play but we played TQs heads up and the board wound up 479t9 for a winner.
We also played JQ and bet at every stage of a board that looked like KK69A. It was a lot of bluffing go bad as we were called down by an A6.
In the SB we saw a minimum bet to 400 with 2 callers. We raised to 1600 with AJ and they all folded.
Last hand of the round we played TJ and flopped 4QK. I dont recall betting amounts but we were in position and we bet and one person called the turn was an 8 and we bet again an he called. The river came A giving us the nut straight AND he bet about 3000 into us. We went into the tank and raised 9000 and he folded so fast he was clearly bluffing.
A good couple rounds and lots of fun. I probably won't write much moving forward as it is getting a little intense and i need to ficus more but we ended round 4 with 43650 in chips. Giddey-up!
One random comment - one of the players at my table was on the final table of the main event last year.
Hopefully sone good news in a couple hours.
Your Donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Rounds 1-2
We are on table 173 in the eighth seat.
In seat three we open for 225 playing 50-75 with qq. Seat four and the big blind call us and the flop comes two eight Jack rainbow. Excellent for us. Unfortunately, we are out of position and cannot let them see a free card. A king or an ace Can kill our hand. We bet 600 and they both fold. We have won the first hand we played!
We fold our blinds and half our winnings are gone!
Everyone folds to us On the button and we raise to 225 with K8 hoping to steal the blinds. Unfortunately the small one calls. The flop comes 4Q with two space. That is a scary board. He checks and we bet 275. If he has an ace he will call us and that will tell us we should be folding soon. If he does not, he will fold. He apparently did not have an ace and agreed with our thought process. He folded and we picked up another small pot.
Everyone folds to the sb who Limps. We are in the big blind with KTc. Strong hand heads-up and in the position. We raise to 325. He calls. Flop comes 44J and he checks. We bet 325 and he folds.
We are in Seat 3 with King 10 of clubs again and raise to 250. Three players call. The flop comes 589 with two clubs and we bet 450 hoping for action. We are not a favorite against most hands, but with three other players putting money in the pot this is a great chance to build a pot. If we beat one of them, we will likely beat all of them, with our flush. Seat 4 raises to 1500 and everyone folds to us. We call and a ten turns giving us a pair, the top hair on the board. We check and he bets 2000. With some fear that he has a set we call hoping for the flush. The river comes and it is another 10 giving us a set. Of course if he already had a set, now he has a full house. We check and he checks and turns over pocket kings. Our set of 10 wins. This is officially a bad beat, but we did have 11 outs between the tens and the clubs. More importantly, now, we have his chips
Seat 4 raises to 250 and we call from the button with a pair of Kings. Everyone else folds. The flop comes 479, an excellent flop. He bets 275 and we raise to 675. He calls. The turn comes a queen and he bets 750 into us. We can only hope that he has a queen, but if he does, the earlier call does not take much sense unless he either has two Queens or AQ. We simply call and the river card comes a four. He bets 1500 and we call, which is somewhat cowardly, but if we raise and he re-raises, we may have to fold. He shows Ace Queen and we take the pot.
We have been winning small pots, and not taking aggressive positions when we have a big hand. That may be a mistake, but luckily we have won every hand played.
Although these results are good, they're small wins and no one has yet to see any of our cards. Likely they think we are bluffing, and they would be correct except for the queens. This means we need to tighten up some.
Seat seven raises to 250 and we call from the small blind with ace five of diamonds. The flop comes to 89k rainbow and we fold as soon as we see chips fly. We have our first loss.
The button bets 250 and we call from the small blind with a A8 of clubs. The flop comes piece A98, excellent. We check and he bets 400. We slow play and simply call. Turn comes 5. We check and he checks. The river comes up 4 and we bet 1400, an amount about the size of the pot reflecting a desperate bluff. Hoping that he will think that I may be a bluffer, which is at this point my image at the table, we wait and hope he calls. He calls and mucks his hand when he sees our two pair.
There were a slew of hands that I was not able to recall the specifics, none of which went to a final showdown. The vast majority of these involve me calling and then leading out or otherwise intimidating and bullying our opponent into folding. I feel very good about being a bully. Two hours in and we close round one and two with 26550, Up over 40% from where we were two hours
Hopefully I will not communicate again for two hours. Until Then,
Your donkey
Sent from my iPhone
In seat three we open for 225 playing 50-75 with qq. Seat four and the big blind call us and the flop comes two eight Jack rainbow. Excellent for us. Unfortunately, we are out of position and cannot let them see a free card. A king or an ace Can kill our hand. We bet 600 and they both fold. We have won the first hand we played!
We fold our blinds and half our winnings are gone!
Everyone folds to us On the button and we raise to 225 with K8 hoping to steal the blinds. Unfortunately the small one calls. The flop comes 4Q with two space. That is a scary board. He checks and we bet 275. If he has an ace he will call us and that will tell us we should be folding soon. If he does not, he will fold. He apparently did not have an ace and agreed with our thought process. He folded and we picked up another small pot.
Everyone folds to the sb who Limps. We are in the big blind with KTc. Strong hand heads-up and in the position. We raise to 325. He calls. Flop comes 44J and he checks. We bet 325 and he folds.
We are in Seat 3 with King 10 of clubs again and raise to 250. Three players call. The flop comes 589 with two clubs and we bet 450 hoping for action. We are not a favorite against most hands, but with three other players putting money in the pot this is a great chance to build a pot. If we beat one of them, we will likely beat all of them, with our flush. Seat 4 raises to 1500 and everyone folds to us. We call and a ten turns giving us a pair, the top hair on the board. We check and he bets 2000. With some fear that he has a set we call hoping for the flush. The river comes and it is another 10 giving us a set. Of course if he already had a set, now he has a full house. We check and he checks and turns over pocket kings. Our set of 10 wins. This is officially a bad beat, but we did have 11 outs between the tens and the clubs. More importantly, now, we have his chips
Seat 4 raises to 250 and we call from the button with a pair of Kings. Everyone else folds. The flop comes 479, an excellent flop. He bets 275 and we raise to 675. He calls. The turn comes a queen and he bets 750 into us. We can only hope that he has a queen, but if he does, the earlier call does not take much sense unless he either has two Queens or AQ. We simply call and the river card comes a four. He bets 1500 and we call, which is somewhat cowardly, but if we raise and he re-raises, we may have to fold. He shows Ace Queen and we take the pot.
We have been winning small pots, and not taking aggressive positions when we have a big hand. That may be a mistake, but luckily we have won every hand played.
Although these results are good, they're small wins and no one has yet to see any of our cards. Likely they think we are bluffing, and they would be correct except for the queens. This means we need to tighten up some.
Seat seven raises to 250 and we call from the small blind with ace five of diamonds. The flop comes to 89k rainbow and we fold as soon as we see chips fly. We have our first loss.
The button bets 250 and we call from the small blind with a A8 of clubs. The flop comes piece A98, excellent. We check and he bets 400. We slow play and simply call. Turn comes 5. We check and he checks. The river comes up 4 and we bet 1400, an amount about the size of the pot reflecting a desperate bluff. Hoping that he will think that I may be a bluffer, which is at this point my image at the table, we wait and hope he calls. He calls and mucks his hand when he sees our two pair.
There were a slew of hands that I was not able to recall the specifics, none of which went to a final showdown. The vast majority of these involve me calling and then leading out or otherwise intimidating and bullying our opponent into folding. I feel very good about being a bully. Two hours in and we close round one and two with 26550, Up over 40% from where we were two hours
Hopefully I will not communicate again for two hours. Until Then,
Your donkey
Sent from my iPhone
Event 2 - NLH 8-handed
Dear herd,
It is with unmitigated excitement that we gallop into the 2013 World Series of Poker. Take a moment to inhale deeply, not only for relaxation, but as the last breath of fresh air we will have for many hours. We are diving into what can only be described as a cesspool of human vice and degeneracy. It is amazing to me that no one seems to have a sponsorship from any of the hand sanitizing companies.
Today's game is the old familiar game of no limit hold them. The only difference between today's game and the general game is that we will be playing eight- handed. This means that slightly weaker hands will play than in the 10-handed version.
More importantly, it is early in the tournament season, this is a mid-week game, this is a $5000 entry, and it is a 5 PM start. Each of these four elements will narrow the playing field resulting in a much higher level of play. The vast majority of the field will be professional poker players, so we will fit right in.
An interesting sidenote is that from my experience the professional poker players are far less likely to employ the masseuses in the room. There will be many masseuses walking around the room providing massages for two dollars a minute. However, again only in my limited experience, the professional poker players tend to be very expense focused. They do not have investors paying for their massages, so they do not make use of such services. I like to make use of the massage service for several reasons. First, it lets everyone know that I am not a professional. This means that they can take advantage of me, but also means that they cannot predict what I will do as much as I might be able to predict what they will do. Second, while getting a massage, the player is sitting in seat that is backward. Accordingly, the player's chest is leaning against what would normally be the back of the chair. The results of this is that the speed and depth of the player's breath is largely hidden from everyone else. On the same note, the massage creates body movement provided by an independent third-party and screws with all of the body tells that might otherwise be available. Third, and really the only point that matters, I really like to get a massage.
Today we start with 15,000 in chips playing 25 50 with no ante. Let the cards fly, and hopefully you will not hear from me for two hours.
All the best,
Eric Kurtzman
Sent from my iPhone
It is with unmitigated excitement that we gallop into the 2013 World Series of Poker. Take a moment to inhale deeply, not only for relaxation, but as the last breath of fresh air we will have for many hours. We are diving into what can only be described as a cesspool of human vice and degeneracy. It is amazing to me that no one seems to have a sponsorship from any of the hand sanitizing companies.
Today's game is the old familiar game of no limit hold them. The only difference between today's game and the general game is that we will be playing eight- handed. This means that slightly weaker hands will play than in the 10-handed version.
More importantly, it is early in the tournament season, this is a mid-week game, this is a $5000 entry, and it is a 5 PM start. Each of these four elements will narrow the playing field resulting in a much higher level of play. The vast majority of the field will be professional poker players, so we will fit right in.
An interesting sidenote is that from my experience the professional poker players are far less likely to employ the masseuses in the room. There will be many masseuses walking around the room providing massages for two dollars a minute. However, again only in my limited experience, the professional poker players tend to be very expense focused. They do not have investors paying for their massages, so they do not make use of such services. I like to make use of the massage service for several reasons. First, it lets everyone know that I am not a professional. This means that they can take advantage of me, but also means that they cannot predict what I will do as much as I might be able to predict what they will do. Second, while getting a massage, the player is sitting in seat that is backward. Accordingly, the player's chest is leaning against what would normally be the back of the chair. The results of this is that the speed and depth of the player's breath is largely hidden from everyone else. On the same note, the massage creates body movement provided by an independent third-party and screws with all of the body tells that might otherwise be available. Third, and really the only point that matters, I really like to get a massage.
Today we start with 15,000 in chips playing 25 50 with no ante. Let the cards fly, and hopefully you will not hear from me for two hours.
All the best,
Eric Kurtzman
Sent from my iPhone
Test
As we saddle up for this evening, we're testing the blog as well as the stirrups. Please confirm that you received this by responding to eric@kurtzmans.org .
Bray Soon,
Donkey
Bray Soon,
Donkey
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)