Last night two big things happened in my house: 1. I got 5th in a 99 player MTT, and while the cash wasn't huge, it felt reaaaaal nice. 2. I got into an argument with my girlfriend and my closest male friend about muslims.
The MTT was fun, although as with all poker lately, it confirmed my suspicions that the game is a marionette dangling from the sadistic fingers of a puppetmaster named Luck. How else to explain the way all the key hands of the evening went down?
- I got pocket aces and some poor bastard with not much of a stack made a good-sized raise. I of course re-raised him all in, and he had AK suited. I'm sure he was thinking it was his meal ticket, his chance (finally! O happy day! ) to double up. Nope!
- I got A8 on the button and raised into the blinds. One of them went all in, and since we were short-handed and it cost me not much more to call, I called. He had jacks, and I hit an ace.
- I had AK of diamonds on the final table, and a loose/aggressive type opened for 3xBB. I went all in, he called with QQ. The flop was king high with two diamonds (I'm a lock! ). The turn was the one non-diamond queen (noooo! ). The river was some salt in the wound, a king that gave me two pair but not the winning hand (FUUUUUCK). I stared at that hand history for five minutes afterward trying to figure out what happened.
- Next hand, with only 3xBB left and my big blind approaching, I pushed with A4o. I got called by AJ, hit a 4 and doubled up to stay alive.
And so on. This has been all my poker playing lately: weird suckouts both by me and against me; coinflips that result in stunning reversals and leave one guy feeling like someone was pounding on his groin while the cards rolled out; etc. etc. I don't know what's going on the universe that my tournaments always seem to come down to these bizarre hands, but since I've cashed twice in my last four multi's, for at least four times my buy-in both times, I guess I can't complain.
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The muslim thing: I intended to talk about that here, but suddenly, I'm feeling like talking poker. For once. So that will have to wait for another day. It's fascinating though, really. I can feel you vibrating with excitement.
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I don't think I mentioned on here about the live tourney I played last weekend. $60 buy-in, 80 players, I came in 12th, top 8 got paid. Oh well. I was playing well all night until it got down to two tables, then things went haywire. Here are two key hands that I'm still pondering:
1. We had 7 players at my table when I found myself with KQ, second to act. A lady limped in from UTG. I had no read on her, having played at the table for only a few hands. I myself had only four or five times the big blind, and every player at the table except this lady had me outstacked badly (she only had another 2xBB behind her raise - which probably should have been a warning), so I figured it was worth a push. After I went all in, a loose and crazy player on the small blind called me, and the limper called me as well. It must be said, this was not too different from the result I was expecting - I was just hoping not to be dominated by either of them.
Well, she had AK and he had AT, so I was in bad shape. And when the flop was an ace and two low cards, I thought I was dead. I started to get up from the table when the turn came out a jack, and at the same time the loose guy was saying "come on! give me a ten!" And wouldn't you know it - the river was one of the three remaining tens, giving me Broadway. I stared in disbelief, the lady stared in disbelief, and the crazy guy started yelping with joy because he thought he had won the pot. Very funny. Eventually the dealer pushed me all my ill-gotten chips and I put together a good run for a while after that.
2. We had 6 players left, and the big blind was now occupied by a friend of mine who I know is very tight and pretty passive. He's folded to my bets more than any other player I know. In addition, I had been folding my chips away for a while, because the blinds were big and at least two of the players at the table were borderline-certifiable with the raises and calls they were making. They had chips to spare and didn't care, so I was working hard to establish that I ONLY PLAYED GOOD HANDS. So back to the hand in question - I was UTG with K8o. Clearly a terrible hand, but I had maybe 4xBB left and the blinds were right on my heels. So I figured I could work my table image for once, and I pushed. Sure enough, they all folded like good little dominoes... right around to my friend on the big blind. He stared at his cards and then looked at me, very hesitant, and said, "Oh man, I've got a real hand!" I knew this was trouble. I said (in my best Oscar-winning fake jovial voice), "Well so do I. Let's get this show on the road!" I was hoping the bravado would scare him off.
It didn't, and here's why: in his tortured little mind, it would be very weak/tight to fold his hand (pocket tens) given that he only had a few big blinds left himself. And he hates looking weak/tight in front of me, because I give him so much crap about it. Worse still, he is a good friend, and figured since we were both short-stacked, he may as well double me up if he has to get knocked out. So he called, thinking there was a strong chance I had him dominated or at least had two overcards, but figuring that if he dumped his scant few chips in my lap, it was a noble sacrifice. Sick, right? I of course had to turn over my K8 with much chagrin, and his tens held. And then after I left, a guy at the table started talking shit about me: "Man, that guy played so tight and then went all in with king eight? Whatthefuck was that about?" I wasn't even around to defend my honor, I had to hear about it from Mark later. Bleagh.
But overall I was happy with my performance and place in that tournament. Next time it's final table, no bust.
The MTT was fun, although as with all poker lately, it confirmed my suspicions that the game is a marionette dangling from the sadistic fingers of a puppetmaster named Luck. How else to explain the way all the key hands of the evening went down?
- I got pocket aces and some poor bastard with not much of a stack made a good-sized raise. I of course re-raised him all in, and he had AK suited. I'm sure he was thinking it was his meal ticket, his chance (finally! O happy day! ) to double up. Nope!
- I got A8 on the button and raised into the blinds. One of them went all in, and since we were short-handed and it cost me not much more to call, I called. He had jacks, and I hit an ace.
- I had AK of diamonds on the final table, and a loose/aggressive type opened for 3xBB. I went all in, he called with QQ. The flop was king high with two diamonds (I'm a lock! ). The turn was the one non-diamond queen (noooo! ). The river was some salt in the wound, a king that gave me two pair but not the winning hand (FUUUUUCK). I stared at that hand history for five minutes afterward trying to figure out what happened.
- Next hand, with only 3xBB left and my big blind approaching, I pushed with A4o. I got called by AJ, hit a 4 and doubled up to stay alive.
And so on. This has been all my poker playing lately: weird suckouts both by me and against me; coinflips that result in stunning reversals and leave one guy feeling like someone was pounding on his groin while the cards rolled out; etc. etc. I don't know what's going on the universe that my tournaments always seem to come down to these bizarre hands, but since I've cashed twice in my last four multi's, for at least four times my buy-in both times, I guess I can't complain.
---
The muslim thing: I intended to talk about that here, but suddenly, I'm feeling like talking poker. For once. So that will have to wait for another day. It's fascinating though, really. I can feel you vibrating with excitement.
---
I don't think I mentioned on here about the live tourney I played last weekend. $60 buy-in, 80 players, I came in 12th, top 8 got paid. Oh well. I was playing well all night until it got down to two tables, then things went haywire. Here are two key hands that I'm still pondering:
1. We had 7 players at my table when I found myself with KQ, second to act. A lady limped in from UTG. I had no read on her, having played at the table for only a few hands. I myself had only four or five times the big blind, and every player at the table except this lady had me outstacked badly (she only had another 2xBB behind her raise - which probably should have been a warning), so I figured it was worth a push. After I went all in, a loose and crazy player on the small blind called me, and the limper called me as well. It must be said, this was not too different from the result I was expecting - I was just hoping not to be dominated by either of them.
Well, she had AK and he had AT, so I was in bad shape. And when the flop was an ace and two low cards, I thought I was dead. I started to get up from the table when the turn came out a jack, and at the same time the loose guy was saying "come on! give me a ten!" And wouldn't you know it - the river was one of the three remaining tens, giving me Broadway. I stared in disbelief, the lady stared in disbelief, and the crazy guy started yelping with joy because he thought he had won the pot. Very funny. Eventually the dealer pushed me all my ill-gotten chips and I put together a good run for a while after that.
2. We had 6 players left, and the big blind was now occupied by a friend of mine who I know is very tight and pretty passive. He's folded to my bets more than any other player I know. In addition, I had been folding my chips away for a while, because the blinds were big and at least two of the players at the table were borderline-certifiable with the raises and calls they were making. They had chips to spare and didn't care, so I was working hard to establish that I ONLY PLAYED GOOD HANDS. So back to the hand in question - I was UTG with K8o. Clearly a terrible hand, but I had maybe 4xBB left and the blinds were right on my heels. So I figured I could work my table image for once, and I pushed. Sure enough, they all folded like good little dominoes... right around to my friend on the big blind. He stared at his cards and then looked at me, very hesitant, and said, "Oh man, I've got a real hand!" I knew this was trouble. I said (in my best Oscar-winning fake jovial voice), "Well so do I. Let's get this show on the road!" I was hoping the bravado would scare him off.
It didn't, and here's why: in his tortured little mind, it would be very weak/tight to fold his hand (pocket tens) given that he only had a few big blinds left himself. And he hates looking weak/tight in front of me, because I give him so much crap about it. Worse still, he is a good friend, and figured since we were both short-stacked, he may as well double me up if he has to get knocked out. So he called, thinking there was a strong chance I had him dominated or at least had two overcards, but figuring that if he dumped his scant few chips in my lap, it was a noble sacrifice. Sick, right? I of course had to turn over my K8 with much chagrin, and his tens held. And then after I left, a guy at the table started talking shit about me: "Man, that guy played so tight and then went all in with king eight? Whatthefuck was that about?" I wasn't even around to defend my honor, I had to hear about it from Mark later. Bleagh.
But overall I was happy with my performance and place in that tournament. Next time it's final table, no bust.
