RE: My 15 hour weekend long bender. Original email 1/29/08

Unfortunately, I do not have the original email where I talked about the 1st half of my weekend session. This is after her reply and my response.


My session the other night really sucked. Not a whole lot happened and I lost the bare minimum. I expected the cash games to be crazy but they were nothing out of the ordinary. My assumption is that most of the players that played in the tournament don't play as small as I do and the games were lacking as a result. I played in the tournament held yesterday twice last year. It's the $335+ rebuys which is insane because a lot of people will go in and spend $3K on the tournament. Hence, why not a lot of players in that tournament came down and played in my game.

There were 3 noteworthy hands last night.

I played on 2 tables last night and on the first table I was on I picked up AQ in the SB and I had a stack of about $165. There were several limpers and I just completed in the SB. I really hate those Ace big kicker hands. As you have probably noticed, I love to play trash hands and I have gotten really good with them. I don't like raising in the SB with what I consider a marginal hand, because if you miss, you are forced to bluff out of position. When I do raise in the SB I am coming with a really big hand. Another thing I do when I do raise in the small blind is I like to check in the dark when there are a lot of callers. It gives me position and might even let me see a free card. I learned that from our friend Phil Hellmuth.

So the flop came A high with 2 clubs. I bet out $25 and was quickly raised to $50. At first I thought I was against a flush draw.

The turn completed the flush and I hit my Q for two pair.

I checked and the raiser bet out $50. At this point, I figured he had the flush but I wasn't too convinced.

I hit my gin card on the river as the Ace came out filling me up. I open-shoved it for my last $80 or so and I got called by AJ.

It feels good too cooler someone every once in a while since it happens to me so often.

My table ended up breaking and I took my $111 profit and pocketed it and went to the next table.

My next table I came up right away when I 3 bet with QQ and took it down on the flop.

Then things got stupid.

I found K 8 clubs in the SB and completed for the almost family pot.

Flop 8 5 3 two diamonds

I bet out $20 and got 4 callers. That scared the crap out of me.

The turn was an offsuit 6 and I checked since I didn't like that card much.

The button bets out $25 and I just called. Everyone else folded.

River Q diamonds.

I check and the button bets out $50. I thought about it for a while and put him on an 8 with a weaker kicker then mine. I concluded that he didn't have the flush because if the button had a flush draw he would have taken a free river.

I call and he flips over Q 8. Standard.

I get no cards and start to dwindle away.

With a stack of $110 I found 9 7 suited in late position and there was one limper. I raised to $25 and it was the first raise I had made at the table since the QQ hand over an hour ago. I end up running into AQ and AA and didn't even get to see the flop. Damn.

With a stack of $59 I limped in with 4 4.

The BB popped it to $35.

The next player to act was this old man who was calling every raise. I knew he was going to call and I new what I was in for. He calls, and the guy next to him is this crazy Asian guy who I have already seen dump $1000. He obviously calls. I figure if I call the old man sitting next to me is going to call as well. So I call. I think that was my mistake but I will never know. Had I just pushed there, I don't think the old man next to me would have called but we'll never know.

Flop: 3 5 6 all clubs, I have no club.

Obviously thats the best flop I could have seen that doesn't have a 4.

The BB fires out $120 which I loved because it was going to allow me protection. Plus I liked my draw and figured that my made hand was better then his hand and I figured that he was drawing to the flush. I put in my last $20 or so and the old man calls the $120 bet.

Turn: 7 offsuit.

Wow, I just sucked out. What a great feeling. This is something that I don't get to do very often.

BB goes all in for $200 and the old man calls again. What the hell?

River 9 offsuit. I know I am good and I am just waiting to scoop my main pot.

BB flips over QQ with a club and missed his flush.

Old man flips over 7 8 offsuit. Once again I get screwed out of a pot. That was my last hand of the night and I up ended taking an $89 loss which isn't that bad considering some other losses I've taken in the past.

I am just wondering when this crap is going to stop if ever. I have only had one session in the last 2 months where I haven't taken at least one bad beat. In that session I had a record setting day. That was day 1 of the LAPC just a few days ago. I could only imagine how much better off financially I would be if I didn't get sucked out on a regular basis.

Stayed tuned for those graphs. Lots of crazy variance.

Take care.

-Gary