Playing 150-300 with 25 antes.
Seat 3 raises to 1050 and seat 5 calls. We call from Seat 8 with 68d. The BB raises to 3300. Seat 3 calls and seat 5 folds. There's 9000 in the pot and it's 2250 to see the flop. 3 way action with a possible big pot is exactly what we need. We call and the three of us see the 39T flop with 2 diamonds. We need a 7 for a straight and a diamond for a flush. We likely have at least 12 outs, or about 44%, against anything. The BB bets 3000 and seat 3 folds. Oddly small bet into a pot over 10,000. We push all in hoping he will fold and he goes into the tank. The pot is now about 25000 and it's about 9000 for him to call. We would be thrilled with a fold, but he calls with KK. We have 12 outs. The turn comes As. The river comes 3s.
Donkey down. 6.5 hours into the main event. Can't say I'm not disappointed but it's been a fun season and next year is 10.75 months away. Until then,
Your Donkey
Saturday, July 5, 2014
The Big Dance - Round 3
Our table breaks and we move to the amazon room, purple 437 seat 6. When we sit down an argument ensues over how player 5 is seated - specifically whether he is truly in the middle of the table. Sitting next to him it appears that he is but i stay out of the discussion as it turns toward angles of vision. Back to poker.
Playing 150-300.
Seat 4 min raises to 600 and gets called by 6 and 7. We call from the button with 79d and the BB calls. Five players see the flop AQ2 with AQd. Everyone checks to seat 6 who bets 1100. Seat 7 folds and we raise to 3300. Everyone folds. Great!
We raise to 850 in seat 6 with JJ and get called by seat 8 and the BB. Flop comes 25Q rainbow. BB checks and we bet 1300. Seat 6 raises to 3100. BB folds. We have no experience with this table. If he had a Q, would he raise or slow play. Two more betting rounds coming so best to decide now what to do. We fold. He shows 33. It was a bluff or a semi-bluff and it worked.
Seat 7 raises to 900 and we call from the button with ATh. The BB calls and the flop comes A86 with one heart. They both check and we bet 1600. The BB folds but seat 7 raises to 4200. Oiy! 2600 more for a pot over 10k. We call looking for an A, a T or a heart, or at least hoping he checks the turn. Turn comes Jd. He bets some large amount and we fold. Ouch. We have just under 20,000.
Seat 3 limps for 300 and we limp from seat 8 with 77. The SB calls and the BB raises to 1350. Seat 3 calls. Do we call? We like 77 in a four way pot because if we flop a 7 we should get paid. However, the only strong hand is the BB so maybe we raise to 4900 and try to steal it? However, if the BB pushes we will never see the flop. We call and the SB folds. Flop comes 3TA. Not good. BB bets 1600. Seat 3 calls and we fold.
Seat 4 raises to 800 and we call from seat 5 with A9s. Seat 7 and the BB call. Flop comes 57K rainbow (no spades). Everyone checks to seat 7 who is short-stacked and bets 2500. Seat 4 calls. We fold. Seat 4 took it down eventually with AK. Seat 7 had 78s. Wish the spades had come . . .
Sensing a pattern here? We are getting slowly cut down. We have 16,500 now.
We raise to 800 from seat 3 with JQs and seat 4 raises to 1750. Oddly small raise. Everyone folds to us and we call. Flop comes red 57K and we fold to the first bet.
Play that last hand a couple more times with minor variations. This has been a brutal round filled with predominantly unplayable hands interrupted only by the hands that are playable until the flop hits. We are down to 13000 in chips.
Everyone folds to the SB who raises to 750. We are in the BB heads up with T2. These chips mean a lot to us. We've been folding everything because we cant get a hand. We raise to 2700 advertising our first big hand in 2 hours. He goes into the tank and folds. Good.
Seat six races to 700 and we call from seat seven with JQh. The button and the big blind both Call, making a pot of about 3000. The flop comes 27Q with one heart. The BB and seat 6 check to us. We bet 1500 and they all fold. Good result.
We close Round 3, after six hours of play, with 15,075 chips. That's half of what we started with, but in light of some of the horrible luck we have had and the litany of bad cards and flops for the last two hours, I'm frustrated but not upset with the final number.
Off to dinner break. Hopefully no commentary for 3.5 hours.
Donkey
Playing 150-300.
Seat 4 min raises to 600 and gets called by 6 and 7. We call from the button with 79d and the BB calls. Five players see the flop AQ2 with AQd. Everyone checks to seat 6 who bets 1100. Seat 7 folds and we raise to 3300. Everyone folds. Great!
We raise to 850 in seat 6 with JJ and get called by seat 8 and the BB. Flop comes 25Q rainbow. BB checks and we bet 1300. Seat 6 raises to 3100. BB folds. We have no experience with this table. If he had a Q, would he raise or slow play. Two more betting rounds coming so best to decide now what to do. We fold. He shows 33. It was a bluff or a semi-bluff and it worked.
Seat 7 raises to 900 and we call from the button with ATh. The BB calls and the flop comes A86 with one heart. They both check and we bet 1600. The BB folds but seat 7 raises to 4200. Oiy! 2600 more for a pot over 10k. We call looking for an A, a T or a heart, or at least hoping he checks the turn. Turn comes Jd. He bets some large amount and we fold. Ouch. We have just under 20,000.
Seat 3 limps for 300 and we limp from seat 8 with 77. The SB calls and the BB raises to 1350. Seat 3 calls. Do we call? We like 77 in a four way pot because if we flop a 7 we should get paid. However, the only strong hand is the BB so maybe we raise to 4900 and try to steal it? However, if the BB pushes we will never see the flop. We call and the SB folds. Flop comes 3TA. Not good. BB bets 1600. Seat 3 calls and we fold.
Seat 4 raises to 800 and we call from seat 5 with A9s. Seat 7 and the BB call. Flop comes 57K rainbow (no spades). Everyone checks to seat 7 who is short-stacked and bets 2500. Seat 4 calls. We fold. Seat 4 took it down eventually with AK. Seat 7 had 78s. Wish the spades had come . . .
Sensing a pattern here? We are getting slowly cut down. We have 16,500 now.
We raise to 800 from seat 3 with JQs and seat 4 raises to 1750. Oddly small raise. Everyone folds to us and we call. Flop comes red 57K and we fold to the first bet.
Play that last hand a couple more times with minor variations. This has been a brutal round filled with predominantly unplayable hands interrupted only by the hands that are playable until the flop hits. We are down to 13000 in chips.
Everyone folds to the SB who raises to 750. We are in the BB heads up with T2. These chips mean a lot to us. We've been folding everything because we cant get a hand. We raise to 2700 advertising our first big hand in 2 hours. He goes into the tank and folds. Good.
Seat six races to 700 and we call from seat seven with JQh. The button and the big blind both Call, making a pot of about 3000. The flop comes 27Q with one heart. The BB and seat 6 check to us. We bet 1500 and they all fold. Good result.
We close Round 3, after six hours of play, with 15,075 chips. That's half of what we started with, but in light of some of the horrible luck we have had and the litany of bad cards and flops for the last two hours, I'm frustrated but not upset with the final number.
Off to dinner break. Hopefully no commentary for 3.5 hours.
Donkey
Big Dance round 2
We are still playing 5-handed which is a little strange. They are slowly filling seats with late arrivals. In any case, for now it means weaker hands play stronger.
Playing 100-200:
We are now playing 8-handed. People are flooding in i guess.
new player in seat 8 raises to four hundred. Everyone folds to us in the big blind and we raise to 1200 with 9 10 of clubs. He folds. Good.
We also won our small blind with pocket eights and a flop of 247. Guy with K7 paid us about 1500. I don't remember the exact play because the next hand took all of my mind.
Everyone folds to us in seat 8 with KK and we raise to 625. New player on the button calls and flop comes 7KA with 2 diamonds. We bet 600 with our set and he calls. The turn comes 7. Amazing. We were just hoping to avoid a diamond but now we have a full house. We check and he bets 1200. We call hoping the river is a diamond for him or something good (just not an ace or seven). Jd hits. Hopefully he made a flush. We bet 2400, hoping for a call and he RAISES to 6900. We go in the tank and fiddle with our chips. We only lose to two hands - pocket aces, which probably would have pre-flop raised or raised on the flop to avoid Letting us see a diamond. We also lose to pocket 7s but we cant play afraid of quads. We have to know we have a winner here. We only have about 13000, so 6900 is over half. As if to say, why not?, we push all in. He calls and shows A7 for a smaller full house. WE DOUBLE UP!
That was a ferocious beat to deliver to someone. Donkey has gone from some blood on the lips to full on bathing in it.
Note that shortly after this we lost a hand with 2-pair to someone who also had sevens full of aces. Strange that our opponents had that twice in rapid succession. Still, at the end of it we had just over 34,000 in chips. Back in the saddle!
Seat 8 raises to 400 and we have AKh in the SB. We raise to 1050 and he calls. Flop comes 889 with one heart. We bet 1200 and he calls. Turn comes Tc. We bet 2400 and he calls. River comes 6. Unless he has a big ace, cant really see him folding now, so we check. He bets 5200. We cant beat anything but a bluff, so we fold our premium hand.
Very next hand we get AKs. Crazy. We call an early raise to 500 and see the flop with the raiser and the BB. 25Q all clubs. Oiy! They check and we semi-bluff 700. They fold. Good result.
Seat 6 raises to 400 and we call from seat 8 with 57d. BB calls and flop comes 3TJ with 2 diamonds. Seat 6 bets 700 and we call as does the BB. Turn comes 4d giving us a flush and a straight flush draw. They check. We can't let another diamond come (unless it's the 6), so we bet 1650. They fold. That's fine.
In seat 4 we raise to 625 with TKs and the BB re-raises to 1600. We call to see the flop, which comes 89K with one spade. Good flop. He bets 2800 and we call, afraid of AA or AK, or even KQ. The turn comes 7s giving us a straight draw and a flush draw. There are literally 20 river cards that give us a flush, straight, set or 2 pair. He checks and we bet 4200. He calls and the river comes 2h rag. He checks and we check. He shows AA to take it down. Ouch. Back down to about 23,000.
Seat 5 raises to 400 and we are on the button with KK. We have had crazy good starting hands today. That means a lot of betting but too many of them have gone sideways. We raise to 1250 and he flat calls. Okay, he probably doesn't have pocket aces. Flop comes 9TA. Terrible. He checks and we take a stab with 1300. He calls. Turn comes 8. He checks but he will likely continue to call so we check. River comes 7 putting 4 straight cards on the board. Bluff? He checks and we check. He shows AQ to take it down. We are being slowly cut up.
There are also some small hands we've won. We called a raise to 600 from the BB playing an absurd 69h to see a flop with seat 5 and the SB. Pot odds might justify the call in light of the deep stacks (Sensei?). The flop came A38 with 2 hearts. SB checked and we bet 800. They folded and we took it down. Nice 1200 profit.
We end the round with 22,075. Much better than we started the round with, but about 14,000 shy of our peak!
Head in the game -
Donkey
Playing 100-200:
We are now playing 8-handed. People are flooding in i guess.
new player in seat 8 raises to four hundred. Everyone folds to us in the big blind and we raise to 1200 with 9 10 of clubs. He folds. Good.
We also won our small blind with pocket eights and a flop of 247. Guy with K7 paid us about 1500. I don't remember the exact play because the next hand took all of my mind.
Everyone folds to us in seat 8 with KK and we raise to 625. New player on the button calls and flop comes 7KA with 2 diamonds. We bet 600 with our set and he calls. The turn comes 7. Amazing. We were just hoping to avoid a diamond but now we have a full house. We check and he bets 1200. We call hoping the river is a diamond for him or something good (just not an ace or seven). Jd hits. Hopefully he made a flush. We bet 2400, hoping for a call and he RAISES to 6900. We go in the tank and fiddle with our chips. We only lose to two hands - pocket aces, which probably would have pre-flop raised or raised on the flop to avoid Letting us see a diamond. We also lose to pocket 7s but we cant play afraid of quads. We have to know we have a winner here. We only have about 13000, so 6900 is over half. As if to say, why not?, we push all in. He calls and shows A7 for a smaller full house. WE DOUBLE UP!
That was a ferocious beat to deliver to someone. Donkey has gone from some blood on the lips to full on bathing in it.
Note that shortly after this we lost a hand with 2-pair to someone who also had sevens full of aces. Strange that our opponents had that twice in rapid succession. Still, at the end of it we had just over 34,000 in chips. Back in the saddle!
Seat 8 raises to 400 and we have AKh in the SB. We raise to 1050 and he calls. Flop comes 889 with one heart. We bet 1200 and he calls. Turn comes Tc. We bet 2400 and he calls. River comes 6. Unless he has a big ace, cant really see him folding now, so we check. He bets 5200. We cant beat anything but a bluff, so we fold our premium hand.
Very next hand we get AKs. Crazy. We call an early raise to 500 and see the flop with the raiser and the BB. 25Q all clubs. Oiy! They check and we semi-bluff 700. They fold. Good result.
Seat 6 raises to 400 and we call from seat 8 with 57d. BB calls and flop comes 3TJ with 2 diamonds. Seat 6 bets 700 and we call as does the BB. Turn comes 4d giving us a flush and a straight flush draw. They check. We can't let another diamond come (unless it's the 6), so we bet 1650. They fold. That's fine.
In seat 4 we raise to 625 with TKs and the BB re-raises to 1600. We call to see the flop, which comes 89K with one spade. Good flop. He bets 2800 and we call, afraid of AA or AK, or even KQ. The turn comes 7s giving us a straight draw and a flush draw. There are literally 20 river cards that give us a flush, straight, set or 2 pair. He checks and we bet 4200. He calls and the river comes 2h rag. He checks and we check. He shows AA to take it down. Ouch. Back down to about 23,000.
Seat 5 raises to 400 and we are on the button with KK. We have had crazy good starting hands today. That means a lot of betting but too many of them have gone sideways. We raise to 1250 and he flat calls. Okay, he probably doesn't have pocket aces. Flop comes 9TA. Terrible. He checks and we take a stab with 1300. He calls. Turn comes 8. He checks but he will likely continue to call so we check. River comes 7 putting 4 straight cards on the board. Bluff? He checks and we check. He shows AQ to take it down. We are being slowly cut up.
There are also some small hands we've won. We called a raise to 600 from the BB playing an absurd 69h to see a flop with seat 5 and the SB. Pot odds might justify the call in light of the deep stacks (Sensei?). The flop came A38 with 2 hearts. SB checked and we bet 800. They folded and we took it down. Nice 1200 profit.
We end the round with 22,075. Much better than we started the round with, but about 14,000 shy of our peak!
Head in the game -
Donkey
Big Dance Round 1
As we saddle up to our table in the Brasilia room, table 92, the dealer tells us that our table was already broken and we are moving to table 21. We were going to be in seat eight, which is a good starting seat. Now we are nine, which is slightly better. It is really a trivial difference, but it still feels good.
First hand of the tournament playing 50-100 seat 4 raises to 225. Small raise and no one is sitting in the SB seat so there's dead money. (There are 4 seats with chips but no players). We are a little jittery when we look Down and see QKd on the button. We raise to 625 and the BB and seat 4 fold. We won hand one!
In seat 4 we have AK and raise to 225. Seat 4 and 7 call and we see the TJQ flop. Amazing! We would slow play but there are 2 spades and we are a little too afraid to give a card away. Hmmmm, who are we to be afraid. We check. Seat 4 checks and seat 7 bets 500. Now it's time. We raise to 1400 and seat 4 folds but 7 calls. Hmmmm, a set? 2 pair? Spades? Small straight? KQ? Turn comes 2s. Not good. We certInly can't let another spade fall as we don't have one. We bet 1900 and he RAISES to 3600. We cant get better on the river so calling now means calling a river bet too. Even if another spade doesn't fall, it seems likely that he has it already. We fold. Ouch. Big loss ten minutes in.
They have removed the empty seats from play and we are now playing 5-handed.
Seat 4 raises to 300 and everyone folds to us in the BB where we wake up with AA. Giddey-up. No slow playing here. We raise to 800 and he calls. Great. Flop comes 48Qs. Hmmmm, we don't have a spade. Three on the board is trouble but it's unlikely he has 2. We bet 1100 and he raises to 2800. Not good. He could have a set, a big queen, two spades or anything with the As. We put 1700 in to call to see the turn and it's the best possible card, Ah. We have top set. Unless he has 2 spades, we have him beat. We bet 2800 and he raises to 5800. Hmmm, he could have 2 spades, AQ, A of spades with anything else, a set, 2-pair maybe but probably not? We call as the river is huge. A spade and we are out. If it pairs the board we are all in with a big boat or quads. If it's neither we will call down and hope he doesn't have 2 spades. It's neither. The 6h comes leaving us with top set. We check and he bets 8800 into the 19000 pot. We call and he shows 69s to take it down.
I took a photo of that. Not because i want to remember it. I pray i forget - although you are welcome to a copy if you'd like. Nope - i took the photo so i would have something to do to prevent myself from throwing my chair across the room or doing something really bad.
We are suddenly short stacked, sitting with 6000 in chips when the field average is 30000 and we are not even an hour in. We have had two premium hands, one that flopped a broadway and one that turned top set, both taken down by flushes. Want to scream.
80 minutes in we get our third premium hand. That's a lot in 80 minutes, hopefully this one won't turn into a third disaster.
We raise to 325 from seat 3 with AQc and get calls from seat 4 and the BB. Flop comes 88Q. Great flop unless someone has an 8. We bet 600 and seat 4 calls. The BB folds - good, that was the more likely place for an 8. Turn comes Q. Amazing. We bet 1000 hoping for a call. He folds. All good.
Seat 3 raises to 225 and we have AK in seat 4. Our 4th premium hand. We raise to 800 and everyone folds. Okay. We likely don't get any more from him unless he hits the flop, which would be bad. Okay result for what he likely had.
Seat 3 throws in a big chip and states his raise a little quietly. The dealer asks him to repeat and his voice croaks "three" in a "i am weak please don't raise me" way. Everyone folds to us in the BB and we raise to 1200. He folds. Our cards are irrelevant, but we had 48o.
We have rebuilt the stack to just over 15000. Huge recovery and Donkey likes the taste of blood. In seat 4 we raise to 325 with 99 and get called by the BB. Flop comes 45T. We bet 450 and he calls. Turn comes 3. We bet 800 and he calls. River comes 2. He checks. We check. If he has an A or T he wins and he likely calls with nothing else. He shows AK to take it down. Wow. He slow played the pre flop action and then got lost and wandered onto treasure. He probably shouldn't have called the flop, he shouldn't have called he turn. But he made runner runner for a straight on the river and then checked it hoping we would bet the river.
We see bad flop after bad flop and slide down to 12000.
In seat 3 we raise to 325 with JKh and get called by the BB. Flop comes 5TJ rainbow. He checks and we bet 400. He calls and the turn comes 7. He checks and we bet 900. He calls and the river comes 3. He checks. Hmmmm. Pretty confident we have a winner as the turn and river rags unlikely to have helped him so we want to bet as much as we can and hope for a call. We bet 2100 into the 3300 pot. He calls and mucks when he sees our hand. Great!
We finish round 1 with 17,300 in chips. That's pretty bad, but still a great recovery from 6,000.
Hopefully more to come in two hours - no sooner.
Pleasantries from
Blood-on-the-lips Donkey
First hand of the tournament playing 50-100 seat 4 raises to 225. Small raise and no one is sitting in the SB seat so there's dead money. (There are 4 seats with chips but no players). We are a little jittery when we look Down and see QKd on the button. We raise to 625 and the BB and seat 4 fold. We won hand one!
In seat 4 we have AK and raise to 225. Seat 4 and 7 call and we see the TJQ flop. Amazing! We would slow play but there are 2 spades and we are a little too afraid to give a card away. Hmmmm, who are we to be afraid. We check. Seat 4 checks and seat 7 bets 500. Now it's time. We raise to 1400 and seat 4 folds but 7 calls. Hmmmm, a set? 2 pair? Spades? Small straight? KQ? Turn comes 2s. Not good. We certInly can't let another spade fall as we don't have one. We bet 1900 and he RAISES to 3600. We cant get better on the river so calling now means calling a river bet too. Even if another spade doesn't fall, it seems likely that he has it already. We fold. Ouch. Big loss ten minutes in.
They have removed the empty seats from play and we are now playing 5-handed.
Seat 4 raises to 300 and everyone folds to us in the BB where we wake up with AA. Giddey-up. No slow playing here. We raise to 800 and he calls. Great. Flop comes 48Qs. Hmmmm, we don't have a spade. Three on the board is trouble but it's unlikely he has 2. We bet 1100 and he raises to 2800. Not good. He could have a set, a big queen, two spades or anything with the As. We put 1700 in to call to see the turn and it's the best possible card, Ah. We have top set. Unless he has 2 spades, we have him beat. We bet 2800 and he raises to 5800. Hmmm, he could have 2 spades, AQ, A of spades with anything else, a set, 2-pair maybe but probably not? We call as the river is huge. A spade and we are out. If it pairs the board we are all in with a big boat or quads. If it's neither we will call down and hope he doesn't have 2 spades. It's neither. The 6h comes leaving us with top set. We check and he bets 8800 into the 19000 pot. We call and he shows 69s to take it down.
I took a photo of that. Not because i want to remember it. I pray i forget - although you are welcome to a copy if you'd like. Nope - i took the photo so i would have something to do to prevent myself from throwing my chair across the room or doing something really bad.
We are suddenly short stacked, sitting with 6000 in chips when the field average is 30000 and we are not even an hour in. We have had two premium hands, one that flopped a broadway and one that turned top set, both taken down by flushes. Want to scream.
80 minutes in we get our third premium hand. That's a lot in 80 minutes, hopefully this one won't turn into a third disaster.
We raise to 325 from seat 3 with AQc and get calls from seat 4 and the BB. Flop comes 88Q. Great flop unless someone has an 8. We bet 600 and seat 4 calls. The BB folds - good, that was the more likely place for an 8. Turn comes Q. Amazing. We bet 1000 hoping for a call. He folds. All good.
Seat 3 raises to 225 and we have AK in seat 4. Our 4th premium hand. We raise to 800 and everyone folds. Okay. We likely don't get any more from him unless he hits the flop, which would be bad. Okay result for what he likely had.
Seat 3 throws in a big chip and states his raise a little quietly. The dealer asks him to repeat and his voice croaks "three" in a "i am weak please don't raise me" way. Everyone folds to us in the BB and we raise to 1200. He folds. Our cards are irrelevant, but we had 48o.
We have rebuilt the stack to just over 15000. Huge recovery and Donkey likes the taste of blood. In seat 4 we raise to 325 with 99 and get called by the BB. Flop comes 45T. We bet 450 and he calls. Turn comes 3. We bet 800 and he calls. River comes 2. He checks. We check. If he has an A or T he wins and he likely calls with nothing else. He shows AK to take it down. Wow. He slow played the pre flop action and then got lost and wandered onto treasure. He probably shouldn't have called the flop, he shouldn't have called he turn. But he made runner runner for a straight on the river and then checked it hoping we would bet the river.
We see bad flop after bad flop and slide down to 12000.
In seat 3 we raise to 325 with JKh and get called by the BB. Flop comes 5TJ rainbow. He checks and we bet 400. He calls and the turn comes 7. He checks and we bet 900. He calls and the river comes 3. He checks. Hmmmm. Pretty confident we have a winner as the turn and river rags unlikely to have helped him so we want to bet as much as we can and hope for a call. We bet 2100 into the 3300 pot. He calls and mucks when he sees our hand. Great!
We finish round 1 with 17,300 in chips. That's pretty bad, but still a great recovery from 6,000.
Hopefully more to come in two hours - no sooner.
Pleasantries from
Blood-on-the-lips Donkey
Friday, July 4, 2014
The Big Dance
Dear Herd,
On July 5 we will launch into the World Series of Poker championship, along with many thousand other players, from Pros to Wanna-Be Donkeys. I will do my best to discuss as many relevant hands as possible. If you want to add any commentary, you can email to everyone on the blog by using the address: esethk.pokerdonkey@blogger.com .
It's been a good series so far, only cashing twice this year, but playing fewer events than usual and getting to the final table once. Very executing for the Donkey, but didn't get the bracelet, so we'll have to pick it up this time. Just about 10,000 people in the way. Feel bad for them, but we have four hooves and not a single bracelet . . . it's stompin' time.
Your Donkey
On July 5 we will launch into the World Series of Poker championship, along with many thousand other players, from Pros to Wanna-Be Donkeys. I will do my best to discuss as many relevant hands as possible. If you want to add any commentary, you can email to everyone on the blog by using the address: esethk.pokerdonkey@blogger.com .
It's been a good series so far, only cashing twice this year, but playing fewer events than usual and getting to the final table once. Very executing for the Donkey, but didn't get the bracelet, so we'll have to pick it up this time. Just about 10,000 people in the way. Feel bad for them, but we have four hooves and not a single bracelet . . . it's stompin' time.
Your Donkey
Monday, June 16, 2014
NLH - Rounds 3-4
First hand back playing 75-150 seat 6 raises to 350 and we call from the SB with JQ. Flop comes 7QK. We check and he checks. Turn comes 6d putting 3 diamonds (inc king) on board. We bet 400 and he calls. River comes 4d giving us second best flush. We bet 800 and he calls. We show our Qd. He shows Jd and folds.
Next hand seat 5 limps and we limp from the button with 33. Flop comes 46Q. BB bets 350 and we call everyone else folds. Turn comes 9. He checks and we bet 750. He folds.
We bet 300 with A9s from seat 5 and the button raises to 1050. We call. Flop comes 236. We check and he checks. Turn comes A. We bet 900. He calls. River comes J. We bet 1600 and he calls with AK to take the pot.
We raise to 550 from seat 5 with 88 and get calls from the button and the BB. Flop comes 9JK. BB bets 800 and we fold.
Seat 7 bets 375 and the button calls and we call from the BB with JK. Flop comes 6TJ. We bet 850. Seat 7 calls. The turn comes 9. We bet 1700 and he calls. River comes 4. We bet 3400 and he raises to 8000. Hmmmm. We lose to an overpair, a set, JQ or JA, all of which are very possible. We fold and he shows JQ. Wow. Ouch.
Things were going so well. We have 14,300 now, just under the starting stack. That's fine.
Seat 3 raises to 350 and we call from the SB with TQ. BB calls and flop comes 468. Good flop for a bluffing blind. We bet 550. BB folds and seat 3 calls. Turn comes K. We check and he bets 1100. Hmmmm. His flat call post flop means he probably doesn't have a pocket pair so the question is whether he has a king, which is not at all impossible but seems less than 50%. Nothing to back that statement than my occasionally wrong gut. We raise to 2400. He goes into the tank and folds. I suspect he had Ax.
We raise to 350 from seat 7 with AQh - our first premium hand of the day. The button re-raises to 950. Hmmmm. We could re-raise but if he has a premium hand he will raise and we will have to fold. Let's see the flop. We call and the flop comes 8JK. Not what we were looking for. He could have JJ KK or AK. We check and he bets 1050. We just call. Turn is a miracle T giving us a straight. We check and he bets 2200. We can call and slow play but then we have to hope he bets the river. Or we can raise he and if he calls bet into him again on the river. We already did the slow play thing with this guy when we had the full house. We raise to 6200. He calls. That's great. Our only fear is that he has a set and rivers a full house. River comes J pairing the board. If he has a Set or a J with a 8T or K, he has a boat and we're dead. Of course he shouldn't pre-flop raise with any of those jack hands. We check and he pushes all in. Hmmmm. The pot is about 16500 before he bets and it's now about 8,000 to us to win almost 25,000.
Now it's a strange probability question. If there is less than a 75% chance he has a boat we should call. He is betting like he has one. But he is also the aggressive player at the table. That doesn't mean he doesn't have it, just that it's less compelling to look solely at his bet to make a prediction. He would also bet this way with JA or KA, which we beat, or QA, which we tie.
This is a toss up, maybe a little against us if he's not an aggressive player. We call and he shows KJh for the boat. I should have put more weight on a suited KJ as something he might pre-flop raise with.
Okay - that was fast. But tomorrow we are back in Stud8 again. So we wont be blogging tomorrow because it's too difficult to blog about stud.
All the best,
Donkey
Next hand seat 5 limps and we limp from the button with 33. Flop comes 46Q. BB bets 350 and we call everyone else folds. Turn comes 9. He checks and we bet 750. He folds.
We bet 300 with A9s from seat 5 and the button raises to 1050. We call. Flop comes 236. We check and he checks. Turn comes A. We bet 900. He calls. River comes J. We bet 1600 and he calls with AK to take the pot.
We raise to 550 from seat 5 with 88 and get calls from the button and the BB. Flop comes 9JK. BB bets 800 and we fold.
Seat 7 bets 375 and the button calls and we call from the BB with JK. Flop comes 6TJ. We bet 850. Seat 7 calls. The turn comes 9. We bet 1700 and he calls. River comes 4. We bet 3400 and he raises to 8000. Hmmmm. We lose to an overpair, a set, JQ or JA, all of which are very possible. We fold and he shows JQ. Wow. Ouch.
Things were going so well. We have 14,300 now, just under the starting stack. That's fine.
Seat 3 raises to 350 and we call from the SB with TQ. BB calls and flop comes 468. Good flop for a bluffing blind. We bet 550. BB folds and seat 3 calls. Turn comes K. We check and he bets 1100. Hmmmm. His flat call post flop means he probably doesn't have a pocket pair so the question is whether he has a king, which is not at all impossible but seems less than 50%. Nothing to back that statement than my occasionally wrong gut. We raise to 2400. He goes into the tank and folds. I suspect he had Ax.
We raise to 350 from seat 7 with AQh - our first premium hand of the day. The button re-raises to 950. Hmmmm. We could re-raise but if he has a premium hand he will raise and we will have to fold. Let's see the flop. We call and the flop comes 8JK. Not what we were looking for. He could have JJ KK or AK. We check and he bets 1050. We just call. Turn is a miracle T giving us a straight. We check and he bets 2200. We can call and slow play but then we have to hope he bets the river. Or we can raise he and if he calls bet into him again on the river. We already did the slow play thing with this guy when we had the full house. We raise to 6200. He calls. That's great. Our only fear is that he has a set and rivers a full house. River comes J pairing the board. If he has a Set or a J with a 8T or K, he has a boat and we're dead. Of course he shouldn't pre-flop raise with any of those jack hands. We check and he pushes all in. Hmmmm. The pot is about 16500 before he bets and it's now about 8,000 to us to win almost 25,000.
Now it's a strange probability question. If there is less than a 75% chance he has a boat we should call. He is betting like he has one. But he is also the aggressive player at the table. That doesn't mean he doesn't have it, just that it's less compelling to look solely at his bet to make a prediction. He would also bet this way with JA or KA, which we beat, or QA, which we tie.
This is a toss up, maybe a little against us if he's not an aggressive player. We call and he shows KJh for the boat. I should have put more weight on a suited KJ as something he might pre-flop raise with.
Okay - that was fast. But tomorrow we are back in Stud8 again. So we wont be blogging tomorrow because it's too difficult to blog about stud.
All the best,
Donkey
NLH - Rounds 1-2
Back in the saddle!!!! We start with 15,000 in chips. Today's game is 8-handed no limit hold'em.
First hand everyone folds to us on the button and we raise to 250 with Q7 hoping to buy the 50-75 blinds. SB calls and flop comes 46T. He checks. To press or check? We check. Turn comes Q. Perfect. He bets 350, probably with a pair from the flop. We smooth call. River comes 2. Wow. Couldn't have asked for a better river. He bets 525 and we min raise to 1050 hoping he will call. He folds.
In seat 5 we raise to 225 with QT and get called by seat 6 (playing 6 handed at the moment). Flop comes 6QK with 2 spades. Hmmmm, does he have a K? Bet 300 and he calls. Turn comes 8h. Bet 525 and he calls. River comes As. Worst possible card. If he is calling with TJ (open ended straight draw), two spades or an ace he has us beat. Oh, and lets not forget he could have a K! We check. He bets 1050 and we fold.
Odd note - the Chinese dealer just reminder two German players that it's English only at the table when there are cards out. Everyone started laughing because they were speaking English - the accent was so heavy the dealer couldn't understand them.
Seat 4 raises to 225 and we call with A9d. Bb calls and flop comes 69T with one diamond. Bb checks and seat 4 continuation bets 350. We are probably good with our 9 but let's check his pulse. We min raise to 700 and surprisingly the bb calls. Seat 4 folds - no pulse. Turn comes 4d giving us the but flush draw and likely doing nothing for the bb. He checks. We have a lot of big cards - an ace a 9 or any diamond - that's 14 cards. We don't want to have to see the river though. We bet 1600 and he folds.
Seat 3 raises to 200 and everyone folds to us in the BB with 56c. We call and the flop comes 67K with 1 club. We bet 200 as a prod. He raises to 800 as something more like a punch than a prod. We fold.
Now at a full table we raise to 225 from seat 7 with AT. The button and BB call and the flop comes 57J with 2 spades. The BB checks and we bet 350. They both call. Turn comes 2s. BB checks. Bluffing didnt look good before the third spade hit. We check and the button bets 775. We all fold.
From seat 5 we raise to 200 with 66 and get called by the blinds. Flop comes 799 and they check. We bet 400 and they both call. Turn comes 5 giving us a gut shot straight draw with our 2 pair. They check and we bet 600. They both call. River comes 3. They check. Unlikely they will both fold to a bet now and they have to have something better than we to call (ie if we bet now they will fold losers and call with winners, which is bad). We check and the BB takes it down with a T7.
Playing 50-100 now.
Seat 6 raises (a woman who oddly looks much like my cousin) to 275 and the SB calls. We call from the BB with JQ and the flop comes 8QK with 2 clubs. SB checks we check and seat 6 bets 400. SB folds and we cal. Turn comes 4c. We consider the bluff but check. She bets 1050. Easy board to bluff into. We call. River comes Td. Big card but not a club. We check. She checks. We show the Q and she mucks.
We raise from the button with A8s to 275 and get called by the BB. Flop comes 299 with 2 hearts. He checks and we bet 325. He raises to 975. Hmmm. Good bluff most likely but we cant call and then face another bluff on the turn. If we call and (even if we hit our ace) he bets 2200 on the turn, what will we do? Better to fold now.
We raise to 325 from seat 4 with JJ and get raised to 925 by seat 7. Hmmmm. He likely has pocket tens or higher or a big ace. We call hoping to get a J. 3 low cards would be good but in light of his hand options would leave us somewhat unsure of where to go. Flop comes 56K. We check. He bets 1025. We call mostly to see what he does on the turn. The turn comes 9. We check and he bets 2100. Well, there's our answer. We fold.
Next hand we limp with 33 from seat 3 and get raised to 325 by seat 4. We call and the flop comes 239 with 2 hearts. Giddey-up. He has been pretty aggressive so we check. He bets 525 and we call. The turn comes 2. Amazing - now we have a boat and no fear of the straight or flush draws. We check and he bets 850. We call and the river comes Qh. Hopefully he has a flush or a Q. We check and he bets 2650. Wow! Unless he has pocket queens or deuces we have the winner. We raise another 4000 and he starts asking us about our hand. We openly mock him explaining that it's irrelevant because he has no flush no 2 and no queen and no chance to win this his absurdly large river bet. He eventually folds.
Last hand of the round. People are folding and getting up from the table. The small blind races to 300. We are in the big blind with 78. Not a great hand heads up, but there is a good chance that he is bluffing from the small blind hoping that we want to get up and go on break. We raise to 900 and, unfortunately, he calls. The flop comes 38K. Good flop for us. He checks and we bet 900. He calls and the turn comes Jack. Not good. He checks and we bet 1625 hoping to convince him that we hit the king. Unfortunately, he calls. The river comes a 6. That is a pretty meaningless card. He checks. Not sure what he's been calling us with, but we cannot fire a huge river bet in hoping that he will fold now. We check and he shows ace queen. We take it down with our 8s.
Good couple of rounds for us. We were up a couple thousand before the last hand and finish round 2 with just over 20,000 in chips.
First hand everyone folds to us on the button and we raise to 250 with Q7 hoping to buy the 50-75 blinds. SB calls and flop comes 46T. He checks. To press or check? We check. Turn comes Q. Perfect. He bets 350, probably with a pair from the flop. We smooth call. River comes 2. Wow. Couldn't have asked for a better river. He bets 525 and we min raise to 1050 hoping he will call. He folds.
In seat 5 we raise to 225 with QT and get called by seat 6 (playing 6 handed at the moment). Flop comes 6QK with 2 spades. Hmmmm, does he have a K? Bet 300 and he calls. Turn comes 8h. Bet 525 and he calls. River comes As. Worst possible card. If he is calling with TJ (open ended straight draw), two spades or an ace he has us beat. Oh, and lets not forget he could have a K! We check. He bets 1050 and we fold.
Odd note - the Chinese dealer just reminder two German players that it's English only at the table when there are cards out. Everyone started laughing because they were speaking English - the accent was so heavy the dealer couldn't understand them.
Seat 4 raises to 225 and we call with A9d. Bb calls and flop comes 69T with one diamond. Bb checks and seat 4 continuation bets 350. We are probably good with our 9 but let's check his pulse. We min raise to 700 and surprisingly the bb calls. Seat 4 folds - no pulse. Turn comes 4d giving us the but flush draw and likely doing nothing for the bb. He checks. We have a lot of big cards - an ace a 9 or any diamond - that's 14 cards. We don't want to have to see the river though. We bet 1600 and he folds.
Seat 3 raises to 200 and everyone folds to us in the BB with 56c. We call and the flop comes 67K with 1 club. We bet 200 as a prod. He raises to 800 as something more like a punch than a prod. We fold.
Now at a full table we raise to 225 from seat 7 with AT. The button and BB call and the flop comes 57J with 2 spades. The BB checks and we bet 350. They both call. Turn comes 2s. BB checks. Bluffing didnt look good before the third spade hit. We check and the button bets 775. We all fold.
From seat 5 we raise to 200 with 66 and get called by the blinds. Flop comes 799 and they check. We bet 400 and they both call. Turn comes 5 giving us a gut shot straight draw with our 2 pair. They check and we bet 600. They both call. River comes 3. They check. Unlikely they will both fold to a bet now and they have to have something better than we to call (ie if we bet now they will fold losers and call with winners, which is bad). We check and the BB takes it down with a T7.
Playing 50-100 now.
Seat 6 raises (a woman who oddly looks much like my cousin) to 275 and the SB calls. We call from the BB with JQ and the flop comes 8QK with 2 clubs. SB checks we check and seat 6 bets 400. SB folds and we cal. Turn comes 4c. We consider the bluff but check. She bets 1050. Easy board to bluff into. We call. River comes Td. Big card but not a club. We check. She checks. We show the Q and she mucks.
We raise from the button with A8s to 275 and get called by the BB. Flop comes 299 with 2 hearts. He checks and we bet 325. He raises to 975. Hmmm. Good bluff most likely but we cant call and then face another bluff on the turn. If we call and (even if we hit our ace) he bets 2200 on the turn, what will we do? Better to fold now.
We raise to 325 from seat 4 with JJ and get raised to 925 by seat 7. Hmmmm. He likely has pocket tens or higher or a big ace. We call hoping to get a J. 3 low cards would be good but in light of his hand options would leave us somewhat unsure of where to go. Flop comes 56K. We check. He bets 1025. We call mostly to see what he does on the turn. The turn comes 9. We check and he bets 2100. Well, there's our answer. We fold.
Next hand we limp with 33 from seat 3 and get raised to 325 by seat 4. We call and the flop comes 239 with 2 hearts. Giddey-up. He has been pretty aggressive so we check. He bets 525 and we call. The turn comes 2. Amazing - now we have a boat and no fear of the straight or flush draws. We check and he bets 850. We call and the river comes Qh. Hopefully he has a flush or a Q. We check and he bets 2650. Wow! Unless he has pocket queens or deuces we have the winner. We raise another 4000 and he starts asking us about our hand. We openly mock him explaining that it's irrelevant because he has no flush no 2 and no queen and no chance to win this his absurdly large river bet. He eventually folds.
Last hand of the round. People are folding and getting up from the table. The small blind races to 300. We are in the big blind with 78. Not a great hand heads up, but there is a good chance that he is bluffing from the small blind hoping that we want to get up and go on break. We raise to 900 and, unfortunately, he calls. The flop comes 38K. Good flop for us. He checks and we bet 900. He calls and the turn comes Jack. Not good. He checks and we bet 1625 hoping to convince him that we hit the king. Unfortunately, he calls. The river comes a 6. That is a pretty meaningless card. He checks. Not sure what he's been calling us with, but we cannot fire a huge river bet in hoping that he will fold now. We check and he shows ace queen. We take it down with our 8s.
Good couple of rounds for us. We were up a couple thousand before the last hand and finish round 2 with just over 20,000 in chips.
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