Sunday, October 25, 2009

Grand prize

And what did I win this poker-filled weekend? A NEW DRYER!

Played a 20-person bounty tourney at Julie's on Friday and chopped it up, getting a premium for my chip lead (118K to 82K). The payout and the five kills (at $20 per) made for a nice night.

Was I a wimp to chop? Probably. I had the guy, who I didn't know, 1.4 to 1. Blinds were 2,000-4,000. But it had been a long week, I was hungry, and I was ready to go home.

Played into the wee hours at Dave's Poker Pit last night, crashing in the donkament about midway through the record-setting 47-person field. Sat down for some $1/1 NL action and won a few pots but then left when we got $2/$4 8-game going. What a hoot. We'd still be playing if Dave hadn't kicked us out at 4:30 a.m. -- a half hour past the normal deadline. Chips were flying, yet my $80 profit made me the big winner in the game.

One interesting hand in the PLO portion of the program, by far my worst of the eight games: I pot from LP after some limpers with A-A-3-3. Jack T-Way and Meats call. The flop is K-9-2 with two diamonds. One of my aces is a diamond. As best I can recall, Jack pots it and Meats and I (reluctantly) called. WTF did I think I would win the hand with at this point? The sad but truthful answer is, I don't know. The reality is that I suck at PLO.

The turn is the 3h. Is this a good card for me? Or a really bad one?

Jack pots again. Meats tanks, which screams that he's on at least the diamond draw -- but not the nut one, thanks to my ace. Meatsian pondering gives me a chance to not-so surreptitiously study Jack. The answer comes quickly. I have him smoked.

The problem is the Meats. I'm guessing at that point (but am not sure and haven't made up my mind) that I would need to bail if he calls. After much anguish, he finally folds. I push what I have left (just over $100). Jack's face confirms my suspicions, but he makes the crying call with ... dry aces. He's drawing dead. Meats's diamond arrives on the river and I haul in a nice pot.

Data asked in e-mail why I would bail to Meats if I thought I had the best hand? My reply: "Again, that's why I suck at PLO." There's talk of making 8-game a regular feature at Dave's. That would be cool.

Friday, October 09, 2009

I'm baaaaaack

Autumn has brought an end to my normal summer poker hiatus. My poker batteries recharged, I've been attending some CPMG events and have jumped back into the online fray. Results thus far have been okay. Finished 5th earlier this week in the 7 p.m. $10+1 tournament on Stars for a four-figure cash. Finished second in a smallish PLO8 tournament on Tilt a couple weeks ago. (Too bad I pissed all of those profits away playing PLO cash.)

I had a nice summer. Worked hard on my golf game and pushed my handicap back to a respectable single digit. Poker Jones Jr. had a productive summer of baseball, and I didn't mind being a spectator instead of a coach. I've been able to scratch my coaching itch managing a fall ball team, and I'll be doing a lot of hitting instruction this winter.

I'm not sure how much attention I'll be giving this neglected blog, but I'll try to check in on occasion.