Posted by Dr Fro 4:28 PM
Let the word out I've got to get out
Oh I'm feeling better now
Break the news out I've got to get out
Oh I'm feeling better now

I wasn't super happy with my results in the tournament primarily because it was likely my final chance to end the year positive for poker tournaments. I started out the year losing the $1,060 Bellagio tournament (cost me $530) and have proceeded to gross just about nothing in tournaments all year (I netted around $5 in a rebuy in Shreveport). So while my poker stats for the year now look fine excluding tournament results, those tournaments are dragging me down.

I went into the IAG tournament on quite a roll. I was wondering if the loss would ruin my mojo. Thursday night answered my question.

I stopped by Jackie's which usually plays $2-$5 NL on Thursdays. This night the players voted to spread $1-$2 with a minimum $5 bring-in. It largely plays the same as $2-$5 except that each orbit costs you $3 rather than $7. Put another way, it favors the tighter player, and believe it or not, I was one of the two tightest at the table.

Have you ever had one of those nights that everytime you call a big bet you catch a bluffer and evertime you fold, you learn that he had you beat? One of those nights where everytime you bluff, they fold and evertime you bet for value, they call? That was Thursday. I was at a table full of guys that I have played with many times before and I had the playbook on all of them. Without ever really getting dealt a good hand, I managed to win just shy of $400 in 2 hours. I didn't lose a showdown all night.

The wierdest and biggest hand of the night for me was when I got AJ. Longhorn to my right raised to $15 pre-flop and I called to make it heads-up. Longhorn has a terrible habit of never releasing a hand once he is in a pot, so I figured there was a lot of value in my call.

Flop comes Axx. He checks and I bet $25 into a $37 pot. He called.

Turn is a blank and I bet $40 and he calls.

OK, so now I am thinking, what could he possibly have? Even Longhorn should understand that I have hit the ace, so why would he keep calling? Maybe he hit a set. Maybe he hit two pair with Ax. I just can't imagine that he could hold anything worth calling unless he had me beat. With no draw to a flush or straight, I would only have him beat if he had a pocket pair even Longhorn would call. So I determined that he had me beat and that nothing on the river would change that.

River is a Jack. He checks.

Again, if he has me beat then a bet here would be devestating to me. And if I have him beat, I can't imagine getting a call. So, after a bit of a pause, I just flip over my two-pair without betting.

Do you think I did the right thing? Answer before you scroll down....

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So, he sees my hand and breaks rule 14c by yelling out "Fuch". He had AK.

In summary, I was behind on the flop and the turn, yet I bet. And the only street on which I was ahead, the river, I didn't bet. Say what you will about how terribly he played that hand, but I completely misread the situation and therefore misplayed the hand - yet I won. And that is how the whole night went: no matter what I did, it worked out for me.

..and I know I'm dying for some action. Days like these, Sunday seems so far away...

So I take my lucky mojo with me to Joel's on Sunday and I feel ready to run over the table. This is for our poker league, which I haven't really discussed here before.

We have a group of about 10-12 guys in the league. We play every 3rd Sunday (a compromise between the wives' desire for it to be once/month and ours for every other week). League players pay a dollar into the kitty at the beggining of the night. We play a cash game. Points are awarded for various poker achievements (coming out positive, being the biggest cash winner) as well as for incentives for certain behaviors benefitting the league (you get a point for playing the whole night and yet another for hosting). At the end of the year there will be about $150 in the kitty and app $100 goes to 1st place and $50 to 2nd. I am out of the money right now due partially to my absence while abroad (it also paritally due to a terrible start!), but I am within striking distance.

It is funny how the kitty is so immaterial when compared to what one could win or lose cumulatively over the year in the cash game, but we are all gunning for it. I guess guys are just competitive that way. It would be a lot of fun to be able to tell your buddies that you are the Champion of the League. It has a much better ring to it than "I won more money, net, over the past 12 months than you did."

So if you have a regular home game, you might want to consider this format. It has been popular with the guys and, most importantly, it has made filling up the table much easier.

We are considering Year Two already. I think we will trick up the point system, juice up the kitty by raking huge pots and otherwise make it a bigger deal than it is now. But this year is plenty fun as-is.

Anybody want to bet on some basketball? I'll take Duke minus the points...

1 Comment(s):

Posted by  LAYGO, at 1:55 PM, December 14, 2005  

I'm sure Byron has told you about the Dead Money Poker Tour in Frisco, mere minutes from where we played cash that night (if you don't recall, I played cash w/you at Byron's ex w/you to my left).

Avgs about 25-30 players each WEEK for a $20 buy-in freezeout. Cash game follows w/the bust outs for $.25/$.50 (massive stakes, I'd play higher).

I'm sure you'd be welcome to play there, although I'm not sure where you live.

Game tonight. Hit Byron up for the info . . .

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