Staking My Claim: A Poker Dynasty

[QuikSand]

Staking My Claim – a poker dynasty

Like seemingly scores of people at FOFC lately, I’ve been playing poker. I have had a mostly social “home game” for about four or five years, and felt for some time that I wanted to develop my game and take this more seriously. The explosion of poker on television in the last year or so has really caused a boom in local poker games, and I’ve been able to find a lot of options. So, as I work on my game, I am working my way through various levels of competition, trying to find my comfort level. While I am playing a bit online as well, I don’t plan to discuss that in much detail – I intend to focus on my in-person play, which adds a more human dimension, I think.

We’ll see if this accomplishes my primary goal. When I play FOF and write a dynasty, I feel more of a sense of “accountability” for my decisions, knowing that people will (or at least might) read about them, and might develop some interest in what’s going on. I think that kind of accountability might actually help me with my game – help me think more clearly about what I’m doing. Plus, doing this (in addition to keeping scrupulous records, which I am doing very well with so far this year) will help me in better understanding where my game has been going.

This won’t be a hand by hand, dreadful detail issue – I’ll just try to give a quick snapshot of what I’m doing, and will try to talk about things that seemed interesting or important to me as I played. I will, of course, try to lay out the “deciding” hands as best I can recall them.

Nearly all of my play will be Texas Hold ‘em, which is just red hot right now. I do play other games, but I’m a creature of opportunity also – and there’s more money in hold ‘em than everything else put together right about now.

[QuikSand]

The state of my game

Overall, I am a pretty solid player. I don’t yet have a sense of where my current upper bounds are, but I feel confident when playing at fairly low levels that I am among the better players. I’ll explore the nuances a bit, but I think my biggest weaknesses right now are (1) getting a bit too predictably tight, and therefore earning too much respect when I do make a hand, and (2) handling semi-bluff opportunities effectively. I also don’t have a great read for pot odds sufficient to stay in potentially very big pots – I am a pretty rare participant in big, multi-way pots, and missing out on those jackpots probably cuts into my profits.

Right now, I believe (based on my own records) that I am a positive expectation player when playing online for limits of $2/$4, $3/$6, and $5/10. The 5/10 game on Party Poker has been trouble for me – I have had two bad sessions at that level in the last two weeks, and that has cooled off my play there of late. I still play sit-and-go tournaments, and have a positive result from the $50+5 level, at which I feel pretty comfortable. I don’t have as many hours at bricks-and-mortar locations yet, but I expect to win when playing either $3/$6 or $6/$12 at the Borgata in Atlantic City, and my intuition is that I’d come out ahead over the long haul at either of those levels. I have been playing mostly $10/$20 there recently, and my results are too spotty to reach any conclusions—but I sense generally that this is a “new game” for me, where I can’t expect to overcome the house rake simply by playing tight and watching other people make big mistakes. So, right now, that’s what I consider “my level” – at the casino, I am trying to work on my game at the $10/$20 tables.

Around home, there have been a variety of offerings, including both limit and tournament style. Tournaments are very popular, and a local game (less than ten minutes from home) has proven very reliable. Drawing from about 40 semi-regular participants, this Thursday Night game every two weeks features a $100 buy-in, usually 20-25 participants, and a $1,000 top prize. I have played in this game a total of 13 times, and have three wins, two seconds, and two other money finishes to my credit. I am comfortably the top earner from this game, and my reputation is boosted by the weekly flier, which details the rules and also the previous winners’ names (strangely enough, I am the only multiple winner in about 20 offerings). I seem to be doing well at this level, and am also having success at the “side games” that inevitably break out after the main tournament action concludes.

So, I’ll be sharing stories of the Thursday Night Tournaments, other local games that I have found, and perhaps an occasional trip up to AC. We’ll see where we can go with this… this record will be more detailed than my financial records, which largely focus on the cash flow and hourly rates.

[dixieflatline]

Definitely looking forward to this thread. Hopefully this can help tighten up not only your game but others as well. Have you found any difficultly moving from Limit to No Limit? Not a bad top prize for the Thursday games. Definitely seems profitable.

[Vegas Vic]

This should be a real treat -- a dynasty on poker written by one of our most eloquent writers. I'll definitely be following along.

[TLK]

Looking forward to this.....

[Barkeep49]

This will be interesting for me since I generally really like QS dynasties but have had trouble getting into other poker recapping despite my own playing of the game.

[QuikSand]

Thursday Night Tournament – 19 February

I arrive at the tournament, and am well received. I have established a pretty positive reputation at this game – most people know me pretty well (despite my being a stranger to them other than through cards – there’s nobody I knew here before I started playing). After winning the tournament my third time four weeks ago, I received a sarcastic pity party when I failed to make the final table last time.

My style of play is pretty tight early in an event. Here, we only have 18 players (a little short of our usual) and I’m at a pretty good table of six players, each of whom has won the event before. I win exactly one pot during our first 90 minutes of play, boosting my chip stack from my original stake of $10,000 (the rules are mirrors of the WSOP final event) to about $12,000, after accounting for my modest losses along the way. I get moved as we break down to two tables, and take a seat at the “prime” table, where the final round is always played.

I get a pretty good run for about an hour, and scoop maybe four or five pots in that stretch, pushing my stack to the overall lead. The host comments “can you believe we might be looking at a four time winner?” – he’s very good-spirited, and a decent tight player himself (who has yet to win his own event).

I get into a hand with a jolly fellow whom I really don’t know at all, named Rich. I am playing presto, a pocket pair of fives, and flop my set to make three of a kind. We are heads up after I modestly bet the flop, and he calls. The turn card is a blank, as nearly as I can tell, and I bet again – four thousand in chips. Rich calls. The river card finishes a possible flush draw, which I think is fairly likely to be his hand. I check, and he pushes in.

I have to think for a while about this. The downside of being a fairly conservative player is that opponents who know you gain confidence that they can bully you out of a pot. This is an ideal place for him to make such a move—an obvious flush, and my check sets up a bluff just as nicely as it sets up the actual hand. There are plenty of hands he might have been calling with… top two pair, and the like. But finally, I know it’s all about the flush. I think he has it. The bet is another ten thousand or so… and I call.

He turns over the nut flush, I show my set, and the table of watchers grumble with restrained delight.

This pushes me down a bit – I’m no longer chip leader, and I find myself unable to win a pot for another hour or so (when a lot of consolidation happens without me). When we get to the final table, I have a lower-than-average stack, and find myself in some trouble before too long. With six players left, I am the shortest stack, and am feeling pressure from the escalation blinds. After a modest raise to me, I decide to try to isolate with my pocket sevens, and go all in. To my surprise, the next two players call, and I’m in a three-way pot – not what I wanted. I fail to get a seven, and lose to a pair of pocket jacks – turns out the third player had the other two sevens, so we were both drawing completely dead. Our two departures drop the field from six to four, and everyone left makes the money.

OUT: $100
IN: $0

[primelord]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

...so we were both drawing completely dead.

Well atleast one of you, and possibly both of you, could have hit a flush the jacks wouldn't have hit. And both of you could have hit a straight to chop. So you were both drawing nearly dead, but not completely dead.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by primelord

Well atleast one of you, and possibly both of you, could have hit a flush the jacks wouldn't have hit. And both of you could have hit a straight to chop. So you were both drawing nearly dead, but not completely dead.

Techncially correct, of course. Practically, it would have taken so much as to be not worth worrying about.

Hope to get another round of "catching up" narrative done today - I have two more to write up that have already happened.

[dixieflatline]

Originally Posted by Quicksand

I modestly bet the flop, and he calls. The turn card is a blank, as nearly as I can tell, and I bet again – four thousand in chips. Rich calls. The river card finishes a possible flush draw, which I think is fairly likely to be his hand. I check, and he pushes in.

As long as you made him pay for the chance of seeing the river I don't think there is much else you could have done. Calling on the end was probably the best thing to do as well estimating the size of the pot at that point.

At least you made the final table. Did the tourney get it's second repeat winner? Looking forward to the next updates.

[primelord]

Originally Posted by dixieflatline

As long as you made him pay for the chance of seeing the river I don't think there is much else you could have done. Calling on the end was probably the best thing to do as well estimating the size of the pot at that point.

Hindsight being 20/20 if you are willing to call an all in bet on the river when the flush hits doesn't it make more sense to just push all in on the turn? It might cost you some chips if the flush hits, but it almost certainly doesn't give your opponent the correct odds to chase and seems like there was probably enough in the pot at the time to make it worth picking it up right there.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by primelord

Hindsight being 20/20 if you are willing to call an all in bet on the river when the flush hits doesn't it make more sense to just push all in on the turn?

Actually, that's a good phrasing of the "lesson" that I think I take from this little incident, after giving it some thought since then.

[mtaystl03]

When is the next tourney?!

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by mtaystl03

When is the next tourney?!

This Thursday night will be the next tournament at the same spot... but I have played a couple times since the last tourney, which I intend to detail also (when I get a chance to write things up).

[John Galt]

Enjoying it so far. Maybe (if this is a pretty consistent group of players) you could start giving us some familiarity with the big competitors (and their playing styles). That is something the other poker dynasties haven't been able to do, but I think adds a lot to the appreciation of the hands played.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by John Galt

Enjoying it so far. Maybe (if this is a pretty consistent group of players) you could start giving us some familiarity with the big competitors (and their playing styles). That is something the other poker dynasties haven't been able to do, but I think adds a lot to the appreciation of the hands played.

Good idea... I was on the fence about "naming names" but since there is a pretty regular group I face, it might add some texture to this.

[QuikSand]

Thursday Night Side Game – 19 February

After the Thursday night tournaments wind down (and there are people bounced who still want to play cards) there is a now-traditional “side game” that predictably erupts. Generally this game gets started around 11pm, and runs until maybe 3 or 4 in the morning. The game remains hold ‘em, and the stakes are a spread-limit style: blinds are $1/$2, minimum bet is $2/$4, but the betting can go to $10 at any time. There are about a dozen and a half players who have played in this game over the last few months – mostly the regulars from the tournament scene, and generally a more action-oriented bunch. From time to time, there is a motion to bump the bet limit to $20 or even table stakes (no limit), but the last few times I’ve played, the max has stayed at $10.

First, consider this game setup. Cheap to get in (unless there is a pre-flop raise) with potentially pretty large payouts… the pots can easily get over $100. This is a strong incentive to “go fishing,” and unless you’re aggressive pre-flop, you cannot rule out any hand in particular… really, it makes sense to stay in for $2 with a very wide range of hands, when the potential is there to get three or more callers on a future $10 bet if you happen to hit your hand well. Even a tight player like me gets caught in this – I find myself seeing more than half of the flops, a ratio that I wouldn’t even approach in a simple fixed limit game.

I’m not going to recall a lot of hands in detail, but I’ll use this side game to introduce a few familiar characters:

Rick (the host) – Rick is the host of the Thursday night game, has a wonderful house with a huge basement, tons of first rate chips, and money to burn (apparently). His game is an anomaly in this group of players, though – he is VERY tight, actually to a fault. Most other player have a read on him that if he shows strength, they take him very seriously. In my opinion, he doesn’t use this reputation to his advantage enough – he misses chances to bluff when a strong hand would complete the board nicely. (Nobody will believe that he stayed in with the 6-8 needed to fill a partial straight…. But when there are two queens and an ace on the board, a reraise from Rick would probably send people for cover) Rick has made the money a few times, but has yet to win his own tournament in more than a dozen tries.

Rob – Rick’s younger brother is his antithesis. Also has money to spend, and does so. He is actually a pretty good player, makes pretty good reads, but is very aggressive and a little bit loose. He does not check raise very frequently, but rather bets out with enough frequency to ensure that he’ll get callers when he does have cards. Has yet to win the tournament.

”Fast Eddie” – Of course. Anyone who fancies himself a gambler player and has the given name of Edward suddenly becomes “Fast.” This guy actually lives up to his name – a super-loose player, action junkie, and all-out gambler. Has a bet on every sporting event, and is always looking for side propositions around the room (“three to on he misses this field goal!”). He won his first tournament about six weeks ago – his opponents were furious.

Jeff – Solid player, whose personality is a mixed bag for me. He is a good deal looser than I am, and is a little bit of a “table talker,” and has some elements of his personality (outside of cards) that I could do without. But, we have had a history of big hands against one another (my biggest moment in this tournament’s history came against him) and seem to have bonded somehow. Go figure. He won the tournament once early on, has been in the hunt a few more times, but no second win yet.


Anyway – here’s the short version of the side game.

I sit down after lasing longer in the tournament than most, and the game is well underway. I take the seat right on Fast Eddie’s left – I will act right after the maniac. That’s a good seat for me – he will bet most of my good hands for me, and when he raises, I will be able to react to that rather than bet into him. He does give me a lot of respect, too – so I can chill the table with a quick reraise of his reckless bets when it suits me.
Eddie is sitting behind a huge stack of chips – a maniac who has been getting cards. The two players who leave are both shaking their heads in disgust after being victimized by this. I, personally, like to see a maniac who gets emboldened… as I usually can handle the emotional side of playing in this environment.

My first hand has me up against Eddie right away – he bets $10 on the flop, and I have top pair, good kicker. (I cannot recall specifically, something like QT with a ten on the table) I end up calling him all the way, and lose to a straight that he makes on the river – cards like 5-7 that filled in perfectly. The very next hand I’m in practically the same situation. I’m playing Axs, and an ace flops (with running cards needed for my flush, as I recall). Eddie bets $10, and I decide to call the bet – knowing that he will bet all sorts of things, not necessarily the ace. (I might have occasion to reconsider this strategy here – perhaps a reraise would have been wiser there) Regardless, I call him all the way, and the board ends up pretty ragged. Eddie actually apologizes to me as he turns over his 3-4, the two cards that came on the turn and river to give him two pair over my lonely aces.

My initial stack of $200 is suddenly down to around $130… and I have been playing for all of ten minutes. I don’t steam easily. I work hard to keep my straight face – but it is under my skin a bit. I don’t leave the table, but I basically sit out a few hands (even a few that I would have called ordinarily) to get my sense back. Eventually, I get back into the rhythm, and work my stack back up. I’m even part of the process that takes Eddie’s stack of $600 in chips down to less than $100 – we actually get him to pull out his cash roll as backup, which seemed impossible at midnight.


I have one interesting hand with Rick – the two tightest players in the group by far. There is no raise pre-flop, and nearly the whole table plays. There are two spades on the flop, one of them a queen. I bet out with $10 – a pretty bold bet. Rick calls, and two more players both call. Now there’s a pot to win. The turn brings another spade. I sigh and check, then Rick checks, there is a late small bet ($2 or $5, I can’t recall) which Rick and I both call – we are now down to three players. The action junkies are fascinated at this point…

The next card is a blank. I look over the board, and bet $10. Rick wastes no time in raising $10. The table is shocked… Rick has to have a giant hand, probably a flush.

The third player quickly folds, and it’s $10 to me. I reraise.

Gasps around the table. Both Rick and I are tight players, we both checked the turn, and now are jumping over one another. Unlikely scene. Rick calls, and turns over a weak flush with a grin. I turn my king-high flush, and scoop the healthy pot, amidst hoots and hollers from the rest of the table and the few people watching.



As we wrap up the game about 4:00, I have a couple bad hands that drop me right about back to my starting point. I had built my $200, immediately down to $130, up to about $350… but made a couple of “tired” calls down the stretch and ended up only slightly ahead on the night. Pretty good time, the game was pretty lively (as usual), and I think I survived a potentially damaging outcome from a couple early bad hands.

OUT: $200
IN: $223

[QuikSand]

Weekend Tournament – 21 February

One of the regular players at Rick’s Thursday Night tournament decided to try to mirror the event, and set up his own game on a Saturday afternoon. The game was described as “North of Baltimore” which turns out to be a sly euphemism for “Pennsylvania.” Alas, I was free that day, and interested in playing – so I made a fairly painless trek up to Nowheresville, PA to sit down at a $100 buy-in two-table event.

Milt, the host of the event, is a pretty solid player – prone to going on aggressive streaks, but otherwise pretty stable. He finally won Rick’s tournament for the first time several weeks ago. Milt openly boasts that he “doesn’t gamble” but only plays poker tournaments – he has no interest in cash side games or other gambling. Interesting place to draw a line, in my mind, but fine by me.

Also traveling up from near Annapolis were a few familiar players, led by a local poker impresario nicknamed “Bumper.” Bumper is an excellent card player, and is something of a local legend. To the best of my knowledge, he does not actually work for a living… but has a variety of ventures and interests, and a lot of card games. He hosts games from time to time, and runs a pretty nice show. I’ve known Bumper for a few years pretty casually, but only recently have we become better acquainted at the poker tables (as I have raised my game to respectability).


Anyway… the game starts up, and it’s the same format as Thursday Night. $10,000 is your starting stake, and the blinds take a while to escalate to any consequence. So, the first hour or two is mostly about taking risks if you want to – but not feeling pressure to (while blinds are $50/100 and $100/200, you don’t have much to lose by sitting tight). The biggest factor for me at this point is trying to get some read on the many players at my table who are new to me – I know Milt and two other players just to my left.

There is one player who altered his name card to read “poker retard” and soon it turns out to be perhaps an understatement. This player never knows when it is his turn to act. He always splashes the pot with his chips (making it tough to see how much he bet), and never says anything in the betting process (like “raise”). He’s either really forgetful, disrespectful, or deliberately undermining play – he has to be corrected time and time again on all these things, has several “strong bets” pulled back with a reprimand, and continues to do all the same things. I am very rarely bothered by such behavior, but this guy got to me a good deal.

And of course, he is betting wildly and catching cards. Fortunately, I wasn’t on the bad side of any serious hands, but one of the players I know was—and lost nearly half his stack when up against trips. So, our chip leader after 90 minutes was the P.R.

Interesting hand. I am dealt AJo, and raise the $200 blind to $1,000. Patrick, a super-tight player on my immediate left, who has barely played at all, calls my raise. Interesting. Ronnie, the other player I know, and who knows both Patrick and me very well, reraises it to $3,000. Folds around back to me, with $2,000 more to call.

Ace-jack is a nice hand. Sorry to let that one go, but knowing these two players pretty well, I had to be behind. Patrick also folds, and Ronnie picks up a decent pot.

A while later, Ronnie has been doing pretty well, and he and I are just about even at around $15,000 in chips. I am dealt pocket sevens, and I make a modest raise. Ronnie reraises me. Folds around to me, and I call his reraise (another $1,000, I think). Flop comes J-7-4 rainbow. Ronnie checks, and I push all in. He very quickly calls me.

As I am about to turn my cards, he says “do you have jacks or sevens?” He then sees my sevens and says “as soon as I let the word “call” come out, I realized I was done… it’s too early for you to make that move without having the set.” He turns over pocket aces, and we watch the draw… which misses him. He heads home, and I basically double up. This puts me near the chip lead for my table, in solid position.

We collapse to one table maybe an hour later – I’m still close to P.R. as the near chip leader. Bumper draws Ronnie’s seat (two to my left) but has almost nothing left in his stack. Milt is also in trouble – I’m mostly up against strangers here.

…time passes…

I have pocket queens and raise, Milt is my only caller. The flop comes T-J-Q, giving me the top set, but certainly causing concern about better possibilities. I know that big slick is among the fairly small set of hands that Milt would call me with, so he may well have the made nut straight. I’d still have outs to a boat, but I’d rather not be up against it.

Milt checks. By the time he does, I have decided to put him all in. He quickly calls, and turns over AK. I am unable to draw out, and lose the pot to him – putting a solid player back on his feet (bad thing). Bad play? I’m still not sure.

…time passes…

Interestingly enough, I flop a set of queens again, only about a half hour later. Here is am up against the P.R., and there is nothing to fear on the board. I bet $4,000 – he calls. On the turn I push all in, and he counts up his stacks of chips – he is slightly ahead of me at this point. The winner of this hand will have a towering chip lead.

He sets up his stacks for the call, the table is sitting in wait. Then he decides to fold. He turns over a gutshot straight draw… holding AT with QJ on the board, with four outs to the big straight. I don’t think he was acting… I think he really wanted to make that all. Fascinating. I don’t have to show my set this time, but get the pot.

. . .much time passes…

Patrick is out, Bumper is out, and the table is down to five players. Milt is healthy again, and is actually the able captain now. Milt manages to take down the P.R. finally (I confess that I don’t recall the detail of the hand, but it wasn’t too dramatic – P.R. made a reckless bet by him, and he got caught up against two pair, I think) and we are eventually down to the money, and I’m in.

Milt has played aggressively and has a modest chip lead. I have the short stack, but over $30,000 – so I’m not squeezed by the blinds just yet.

I get AdKd under the gun – they already have $9,000 in the pot with the blinds at this point, so I feel it’s worth pushing in and seeing if I can get a dominated hand to call. I push in my $34,000 in chips… and Milt calls.

We flip – and I have caught his ATo against my AKs – I am a huge favorite here, and I am now thinking through my strategy for playing the $74,000 stack that I will soon have. I’m convinced with that good a chip position I will be a solid favorite to win the event.

His ten lands on the turn, and I lose the hand – settling for third place. Milt wins his own tournament about three hands later.

OUT: $100
IN: $260

[robbgmaier]

I have pocket queens and raise, Milt is my only caller. The flop comes T-J-Q, giving me the top set, but certainly causing concern about better possibilities. I know that big slick is among the fairly small set of hands that Milt would call me with, so he may well have the made nut straight. I’d still have outs to a boat, but I’d rather not be up against it.

Milt checks. By the time he does, I have decided to put him all in. He quickly calls, and turns over AK. I am unable to draw out, and lose the pot to him – putting a solid player back on his feet (bad thing). Bad play? I’m still not sure.

Probably the time when you least enjoy poker, when you get good enough to accurately predict that your big hand is beat and play it anyway. How well can you predict Milt? If you check and a blank comes up on the turn, do you know what he's going to do with AK now? Can you make a smaller bet now and put him on AK if he reraises? Would he have just called your raise with AA and checked this flop?

Just wondering how much you think you know about this guy, and others even. I've been dying to play some RL tournies but I'm still tethered to my computer. Still, even over the net you can get something of read on these folks.

[Barkeep49]

This has been a great read, but I was wondering what does your out and in mean?

[RPI-Fan]

OUT is how much he cashed in for chips, or a tournament buy-in, at the beginning of the session.

IN is how much he cashed out, whether it be from the tournament prize or cashing out chips.

[QuikSand]

Yes, it's a convention I have used for a long time (tracking horse racing wagers) and it works for me. I tend to think in terms of "return on investment" a bit, which is a holdover from my racing days (even though it doesn't really apply well in poker, where return per hour is a more meaningful mark).

"Out" is money going out of my pocket. "In" is money coming back in.

[QuikSand]

By the way, here is the structure of the “Thursday Night Tournament” I have described. In my judgment, this works pretty well – there is a fair amount of time where the blinds are pretty insignificant, which gets people to play for a while and take the game fairly seriously. (Something missing from the on-line sit-and-go tourneys, where you frequently see people super-reckless early, in part because they have no investment of time)

INITIAL STAKE = $10,000

BLIND STRUCTURE
$50/$100 for 30 minutes
$100/200 for 30 minutes
$200/400 for 30 minutes
$500/1000 for 30 minutes
$1000/2000 for 30 minutes
$2000/4000 for 30 minutes
add $1000/2000 every 20 minutes, until only money positions remain
When down to money positions, blinds go up $1000/$2000 after each two turns around the table

BETTING STRUCTURE
Minimum bet or raise is the big blind at every bet (does not double in final two rounds)
Three raises maximum on betting round (unlimited when heads-up)
Raise must equal amount bet (e.g. cannot follow a $5,000 raise with a $500 reraise)
Partial reraise with an all-in does not enable additional reraises

PAYOUTS
The host has boosted attendance by advertising “guaranteed $1,000 top prize” if at least 18 players pay. He generally cuts about 15% of the take – which is a little steep, but is generous in providing free beer, drinks, and snacks to all comers. Prior to the $1,000 top prize, he usually set the top payout at close to half of the prize pool – if only 15 players pay to play, he would probably set up payouts like: $700, $350, $150, $125. Generally, with 20 or more players he pays 5 spots, with fewer I think he will pay only four spots. The tradition is also to include a gift box of Crown Royal to the winner – the purple bag and such makes for a nice ornament at the final table. (The second time I won I sold the booze back to him for a reduced entry fee the next time… but Mrs. Q made it clear that I wouldn’t be doing that again – she wanted the velvet bag, and was very pleased when I brought home the Crown Royal)

The host of this tournament has done a nice job of preparing a “rules” sheet for every event. I cannot capture them all here, but it is basically a series of statements about how things will be handled – prohibiting “string bets,” stating that a spoken bet is a confirmed bet, cards touching the muck are officially mucked, that sort of thing. If there’s more than a few hundred dollars at stake, I strongly recommend using something like this. His is pretty patchwork – he has added rules as unanticipated things have arisen from time to time… but generally, he protects himself by distributing a rule sheet in advance. We have yet (in more than 15 events) to have any meaningful disputes.

I’ll add that the “rule sheet” also allows for some sense of tradition in the game itself… each new sheet he distributes lists the past winners – and now it’s clear that some people crave to get onto the list of winners (in the same vein that people want to get their picture on the wall or wear the bracelet of the champion). Rick also owns one nice wooden chip box, which goes each week to the defending champion – nice touch, too.

Hope that answers questions about the setup itself – it’s a nice game.

[DukeRulesMAB]

Silly question I'm sure...

What are string bets?

[robbgmaier]

it's when you call a bet and made and raise that bet in two discrete steps. such as saying "call AND raise". Making that statement is a string bet, and the raise is disallowed. The idea being that you could say "call" and look for a reaction, adding the "AND raise" if you see something in that instant. It could also be nonverbal, you fling that amount of the bet into the pot, and if you like what you see for a reaction you reach back and grab some more and fling those in.

probably about 50 or so words more than you needed

[Radii]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

INITIAL STAKE = $10,000

BLIND STRUCTURE
$50/$100 for 30 minutes
$100/200 for 30 minutes
$200/400 for 30 minutes
$500/1000 for 30 minutes
$1000/2000 for 30 minutes
$2000/4000 for 30 minutes
add $1000/2000 every 20 minutes, until only money positions remain
When down to money positions, blinds go up $1000/$2000 after each two turns around the table

I'm curious as to your feelings about that last line... blinds go up $1000/$2000 after each two turns around the table. So lets say 18 people enter, and 4 make the money. So when you get into the money the average stack size is $45,000 in chips, and the blinds are, lets say, $3000/$6000.

After only 8 hands the rise to $4000/$8000, and lets say there's a short stack that busts out here.

3 people, avg chip count is $60,000, but the blinds go up every 6 hands now.

That seems extrodinarily agressive to me, but I have never played in a live tournament so I could be off base here... it seems like you get a ton of time to maneuver your way into the money, making it more likely that the better players will make the mony, but once you get there, the blinds go up so fast that the skill advantage is reduced. Am I right here?

How does this compare to the casino tournaments you've played in?

[QuikSand]

There is judgment necessary in how to manage blinds. When this event was in its infancy, I made it to the final two players, carrying only about 1/4 of the chips. The two of us played heads up for over an hour, with the blinds still only ticking up every 20 or 30 minutes. My opponent, a maniac player, seemed to turn conservative, while I got much more aggressive - and we deadlocked for a pretty long time. Something similar happened once or twice in fairly rapid succession, pushing in the new rule.

Escalating the blinds fairly rapidly does increase pressure, but proper play heads up ought to bring things to a close fairly quickly (our examples were extraordinary, I think). Since the new rule (twice around) we haven't had anyone express any particular frustration with it, myself included.

[QuikSand]

Sill hoping to get back to this... I've had three sessions since this last update, and hope to play again this weekend. Stay tuned.

[CubsFan915]

First off, it's a Quiksand diary. Second off, it's about poker.

Yeah, that's a must-read if there has ever been one over here. I'm awaiting your next update!!

[TRO]

Don't tease us by posting in this thread without more poker goodness

[QuikSand]

The Pink Game – 25 February

One of the players at Rick’s Thursday night game ha made mention of a regular game that he and a couple of friends host. Every Wednesday night, it’s hold ‘em starting at about 8pm, until sunrise. They apparently have been getting pretty nice turnout, sometimes two full tables. So – I decide to check it out… I have a light calendar for Thursday, and can afford to be a bit tired.

I arrive at the game – no more than ten minutes from my house, to find the setup a little bit more formal than I had thought. After walking around for about five minutes, it’s clear that this is not a simple “home game” – this is a business. The house’s basement is not elaborately decorated, but it is very utilitarian for its sole purpose – hosting poker games. They clearly made a raid on some sort of surplus casino supply outfit – they have not two but three full-size, ten-seat, oval poker tables all felt-topped and ready to use. Each one has a dealer station (complete with the tiered racks of chips) and one even had a full padded railing on the outside. When I buy in, I see that they have a full locked closet of chips, and one person acts as the “bank” for the night – it’s a pretty well-organized event.

The game on Wednesday nights is the so-called “pink game.” The name comes from, believe it or not, the chips. Apparently the idea here is to replicate the $7.50/$15 game at the Tropicana in Atlantic City – and they do a pretty good job. The pink chips are $2.50 denomination, and then there are white $1.00 chips used as well. The house rakes the pot (up to $4 each hand) and the dealers work for tips. It is, as I suggest, a pretty good representation of a casino game. Over the course of the evening, three different dealers rotate into the chair (two of them play when they are not dealing, the other guy apparently doesn’t play cards) and the quality of the dealing is very solid (one dealer here, also a co-owner of the house, is a better dealer mechanically than most of the AC dealers). So, it’s a solid, professional environment.

They also offer a high-hand bonus – which some players find intriguing. A top bonus for a royal flush, and an escalating bonus for four eights or better. In both cases, both of your cards must play to earn the bonus. I don’t mind this, largely because the bonus is paid from the house rake, rather than an extra rake (which I loathe). So – that keeps a few action players in the game, even if it is a mostly simple limit affair.


So, on with the game. This is, by my account, classic “middle limit” hold ‘em. The play is pretty solid – at my table there are only three out of ten whom I would consider “loose.” Another three players are clearly good players – I watch their hands closely, and am impressed with their raises in particular. I can tell that most everyone at the table knows one another – I and one other player are the “new blood” this evening.

I don’t have too many particularly remarkable hands – not a lot of fodder for the story here, really. I get dealt pocket aces, raise under the gun, and immediately get reraised by the next player (who seems pretty tight). We end up head up with four bets pre-flop. A king lands on the flop, and I have to worry about KK, but I raise his bet there anyway – and take control of the hand from there. He checks and calls my bets twice, and shows me his queens, which miss the board as my aces hold up for a pretty solid pot.

Down the line, I find myself playing a pretty predictable game, which is fine by me. I don’t make a lot of “moves” here – I’m very comfortable in building my image in my first session or two with this group. And my best situation, I believe, is for people to make me as a “tight” player who doesn’t take chances. Down the line, I expect that this reputation will serve me well as I bet into pots that I have no reason to win – expecting the players who know me to give my bets extra respect.

So, for this first night, no wild swings in my stack. I bought in for $300, and spend most of the night hovering between $250 and $300 or so. I’m getting a little tired at about 1:00 am, and am slightly ahead, and I’m starting to think about heading home. Anew player joins the table, on my immediate right. He cracks me twice in a row, and he’s a talker (also an amateur magician – this guy has a strange life, it seems). I decide to let “the Turtle” play on without me – I’ll grapple with him some other time.

OUT: $300
IN: $212

[QuikSand]

Thursday Night Tournament – 4 February

Back to Rick’s place. Great game, I am very comfortable. $100 buy-in, no-limit all the way, tournament usually lasts until about midnight or so. Side game ensues, and goes until 3 or 4.

We have 23 players, meaning three tables. I am seated at a table with two or three new players – but also the defending champion, Chris. Chris is a decent player, fairly tight, but a little weak in calculating proper calls. I don’t make him as a major threat overall… but he’s certainly good enough to have a shot. I talk to him in advance, jokingly telling him that he has to insist on getting the polished oak chip box – a tradition for the defending champion. “Get the respect that you deserve, Chris”

Also at my table is Chip, a player worth mentioning. Up in Baltimore, a restaurant/nightclub ran a couple of charity events back in the fall – offering a $25,000 prize and a seat in the main event of the World Series of Poker as the top prize. The buy-in was $500, and they were essentially cutting 2/3 of the entry fees to give to some charity… so it wasn’t my sort of thing. But I knew plenty of people who did play. In the two events they held, this player Chip finished first and third. Not bad.

Chip has played three or four times in Rick’s game, and it looks like he’s here for good. A few weeks ago, he sat next to me at the final table, and came to the money positions with a big chip lead. I turned a small run of good cards into a huge swing of fortune, and busted him in half once, and then busted him out very shortly thereafter. He’s a good sport, and I now think he considers me his best “friend” in the Thursday night game. Chip, as you might imagine, is a player to be taken very seriously – he is aggressive (more so than I am) but pretty sensible, not a maniac.


As we get underway in earnest, I have a couple of good hands to play with. When I get pocket aces, there is a raise to my right (just what I want) from a player I don’t know. I push all in, and the bet comes back around to the new player, who has something like $1,000 in the pot – having raised from $400. He agonizes, and then lays down his cards – there goes my chance to make a big move.

About 10:30, we have broken down to two tables, and I am in a decent position – maybe $22,000 in chips, probably a bit above average. Chip, who is just on my left, is in dire straits with maybe $8-10,000. I am dealt pocket tens… and decide to double the big blind with the minimum raise. Chip pushes all in, and the table folds to me. Pocket tens. The consideration is pretty obvious—I can be ahead of a smaller pair, I can be roughly fifty-fifty with two overcards, I can be a little bit better if he’s playing a suited ace with a lower card (unlikely, but possible with him). And, of course, I can be way behind a better pair.

I stew and simmer. My instinct tells me that he has a big pair, but I try to put this into context. This is one of the players I really fear here, and not only is this a chance to build my stack measurably, this is a chance to put him out. He certainly could have made this move (especially considering his modest chip count) with hands like AK or AQ… and even with a small pair. I have seen him make tough plays with small pairs before, so I know those are in the realm of possibility.

I call. He shows his queens. I lose.

My stack is depleted, and I have to limp for a while. I have a replay situation with the stranger on my right – I again get pocket aces, and he bets into me, and I again go all in. He hesitates again, and this time shows the cars that he folded – KQ. Good fold, but he was very, very close to calling the bet, and even said he would have had it been suited. So, I miss another chance to capitalize, and end up with a modest stack as we break to the final table. I am still around $10,000 – but the blinds have escalated to $2000/$4000 at this point, so $10K isn’t much.

An aggressive player raises fairly early, and I am playing a solid hand – KJs. I know that this player, Charlie, is prone to making semi-bluff pre-flop moves. He will raise with any ace, as nearly as I can tell. Not all the time, of course, but enough to recognize this as part of his arsenal. I decide that this is my chance… even if is isn’t a great one. His raise was from $4000 to $8000… I make it another $3000 and go all-in. Charlie calls, and turns over AT. He’s got the top card, so he is ahead—I need some help to catch him, and have six outs. This is basically the situation I had hoped for – not a great one, but small stacks have to take these risks.

The flop brings an ace, putting him way ahead, and I fail to connect anywhere – losing to his two pair in the end. I’m out, placing 8th out of 23.

Chip, incidentally, got healthy from my earlier call, and then won a big three-way pot just before getting to the final table. He ends up in a huge hand with the other big stack, and is all-in after seeing a flop of 4-4-5. His pocket eights lose to the other player’s pocket kings, and Chip is out in sixth place. The player who beat him there went on to win the tournament entirely – another new player who had not been there before.

There is a busy side game rolling by the time I am eliminated, with all eight seats filled. I decide to opt out, and hit the road rather than get started with another late night. So, no extracurricular activities for me this time.

OUT: $100
IN: $0

[QuikSand]

Incidentally, Rick is adjusting his schedule, and will be hosting his tournament again this week. So, I have a game tonight (Thursday), and will hope to make another good showing. I'm feeling pretty good - got a good night of sleep last evening, and will be ready to stick around tonight.

[QuikSand]

The Pink Game – 8 March

Actually, this isn’t the Pink Game. It’s just a Monday night game at the same place, with many of the same people. But the game is $5/$10 all night – casino-style. Still very solid.

I am a little more at home in my second visit to this place, and when a few of the familiar faces from Rick’s games show up (including Rick, his brother Rob, and “Fast Eddie”) I am feeling even more at home.

During my first couple of hours of play, I have three pretty big hands that turn against me. Generally, this is a pretty solid table, and I am adjusting my game to that level of play – understanding that most of my opponents are capable of laying down a hand in the face of a powerful opponent, and also capable of all the obvious little tricks of the trade. I make a nut straight playing AT, raise it on the turn, and watch my opponent catch the split with me when an ace falls on the river to match up with his 10. The same opponent, who seems to be calling way too many bets, manages to river me with a cheap flush to beat my top two pair, and takes down a very sizable pot. Later, I lose another pot to Rob, when he outkicks my AQ after a K lands on the river. The river treated me poorly, but I was still only down a little bit for the early going.

I got my act together, and managed to see some hands hold up as the evening progressed. I remained impressed with the operation these guys run – good dealers, decent refreshments (including a massive selection of non-alcoholic beverages in the fridge) and pretty good play overall. It’s now a goal of mine to build up my game to where I feel very confident playing against the better players here – most are pretty solid, and I want to feel like I can beat them at this level. I don’t think I’m too far away from that – but I do feel that I need to build my aggression in the middle stages of the hand. This night, I make a few good power moves and two solid semi-bluffs (I caught my gutshot straight once, even after a bully-raise without the proper backing for it—but fortunately I didn’t have to show that hand in the end). As the bell tolls about 1am, I cash out… and am up nearly a hundred bucks – putting me back to even (more or less) after two sessions at the House of the Pink Game. I’m satisfied so far, and these guys are in my sights now.

OUT: $200
IN: $290

[QuikSand]

Thursday Night Tournament – 11 March

I’m back to what has become my most familiar game – Rick’s Thursday Night tournament. Once again, it’s $100 to play, and there are around 20 players (I didn’t catch exactly, but my table started with seven).

At my initial table, there aren’t any players I really fear. Fast Eddie is there – he’s a near-maniac. Jeff is there, he’s solid but not intimidating. And a player I met last week, Jon, is there – I see he is pretty tight (he’s the guy who folded twice to my pre-flop all-ins with aces last week).

After about an hour, I am up a bit. My early strategy is to generally play tight, and occasionally take advantage when I am up against a player who respects me. I grab a few small pots with decent bets, but really don’t take many serious risks. The players who know me well and themselves have a good game can use this against me a bit, but at this table, Jeff is really the only person in that group.

As we break to two tables at about 9:30 (a few quick drops this time), I am dismayed to see two new players come to my table—Chip, the big winner from a local big-stakes charity tournament and a solid player, and Bumper, a local gaming icon and an excellent player. Bumper has taken to speaking out about me – saying things like “well, if he’s in the hand, I’d be pretty worried.” I’m not sure about whether I like this, or whether his intentions are noble or otherwise. I get along very well with both players but I’m disappointed that (a) our table just got tougher, and (b) neither one has very many chips – meaning it will be tough to build much of a stack at our table (the two big stacks from the broken table got randomly assigned to the other remaining table).

After playing for a half hour or so with the new table, I have a big hand to play. I am under the gun, and have pocket tens. The blinds have risen to $250/500 at this point… I decide to make a raise to $2,000. There is a caller to my left, then Bumper calls from the small blind, and Fast calls from the big blind. Now there is $8,000 in the pot – but three opponents, which isn’t great for a decent pair. I’d much rather be up against one rival here – but the fat pot does look worth making a play for. I started this hand about where I started the tourney – about $10K in chips – and I could really use an infusion. I’m not panicked yet, but winning another $8K or more would be very, very helpful.

Flop comes: 6d – 9d – Th

Okay, with some moderate exceptions, this is my flop. I am holding the top set – the only hand ahead of me is the 7-8, which is pretty unlikely to be residing among any of these players who called a 4-blind raise pre-flop. Not inconceivable, but a longshot. And unless they have the straight, I’ll be a favorite – a heavy favorite – against anyone. My goal here is to make a play for the pot, and hope to get a caller, since I will very likely dominate.

Bumper, to my surprise, opens the betting with $2,500. Fast Eddie calls the bet. Now there is $13,000 in the pot… and I don’t see any choice in the matter. I push all in.

The player on my left folds, and Bumper pretty quickly folds. That leaves Fast Eddie. The least predictable hand left (big blind, plus he’s a reckless player) and probably my best bet for a caller. He stack up his chips into the amount he’d need to call (he has maybe $5K more than I do at this point) and contemplates. I do my best acting job to represent my relative indifference – though inside I am screaming for him to call the bet.

He calls.

I turn over my tens, and he emits an epithet unsuitable for a family audience. He reveals Qh-9h.

So, against my set of tens… Eddie has a pair of nines. He also has a backdoor draw to the heart flush, and a backdoor draw to a straight – but needs runner-runner for either on. He has no single card outs at all. He is shaking his head… he purports to have put me on AT (where he would still be a significant underdog) but now finds himself all but beaten. (I figured on the spot that I was probably a 90% favorite – the odds calculators I used says 92.4%)

Turn card is a jack – he has missed his flush, but now can catch his straight with an eight or a king.

The river brings his king. I’m out.

It’s 10:30, I’m out of the tournament. Tough break. Mouths agape around the table… I do my best to casually walk away, but that was a very tough beat to take.

OUT: $100
IN: $0

Next up… the strangers at the side game…

[QuikSand]

By the way... I welcome input on this as I go. I'm really not sure how much detail is worth offering... do you want to hear the details (that I can recall) of specific hands that didn't really affect the outcome? I push in when the ace lands after I called with the middle pair, and I take down a $2,000 pot to take a slight chip lead - that sort of thing? I generally have a decent recollection of the significant hands that I played... if this would make the reading more interesting, I can offer more. My instinct is to just give a "flavor" and less of the actual hand-by-hand details unless there was something particularly noteworthy.

But feedback is more than welcome... and if you want to tell me that I botched a hand completely, I'm open to that as well.

[primelord]

I would like to see more of the hand-by-hand details. I am generally always looking on ways to improve my own game and reading some analysis on how other people play their hands and view certain sitautions is always beneficial. The specific hands you describe is what I have enjoyed most so far with this dynasty.

[TRO]

Hand by Hand like TredWel would be interesting/useful but as is, the stories are already compelling. You do a great job of capturing the drama of poker.

It would be nice to know how some of the key players go on to fare. Did Eddie use his gift from heaven to make a strong finish? Or did you even keep track?

[QuikSand]

Last night, Fast Eddie rolled to the final table, and then flamed out (as usual) with one or two ill-advised bets. Actually, the winner of the whole thing was Milt - who became the second player to win a second time. I like that idea - and will provide some more detail on "how things played out."

[Radii]

I am thoroughly enjoying reading as is. The alternative to the storytelling style you ahve taken would be to discuss more individual hands, but I think when talking about live games I like this style a lot better. Without a photgraphic memory of everyone's position and stack and cards, individual hand discussions lose a lot of their value in terms of poker theory discussion. Also, when discussing individual hands, it's usually the questionable calls that are more interesting to read, but with a story dynasty like this I am enjoying the big hand discussion and enjoying the flow and the discussion about the 'feel' of the game, and the reads you have on other players, and that sort of thing.

[robbgmaier]

I'd like to hear a lot less about the hands where some idiot calls your all-ins and runner-runners you out of the tournament. Those are painfull, and contribute to my collection of nightmares. So, please, stop letting that happen

[Radii]

Originally Posted by robbgmaier

I'd like to hear a lot less about the hands where some idiot calls your all-ins and runner-runners you out of the tournament. Those are painfull, and contribute to my collection of nightmares. So, please, stop letting that happen

After trying to bully some people out of a pot with pocket 4s yesterday, the flop was AKQ, then I caught runner-runner 4s to win a decent sized pot with my quads. Sometimes the good guys suckout too!

[Barkeep49]

I like flavor more than in depth detail. I think right now you have a great narrative flow. If you think adding something would give it more flavor, such as when you starting naming your oponnents, I would support and like that.

[QuikSand]

Thursday Side Game – 11 March

I am an early casualty from the tournament (grumble grumble) and head over to the side game at 10:30. The setup is familiar … blinds of $1/$2, minimum bets of $2/$4, and maximum bet of $10 any time. I’ve played this game before – but not these foes.

In fact, there are five players at the table, and I only know two of them. So, I sit down with a group of players, and need to learn them quickly. I know Jeff is solid and Kurt is pretty loose, and after a short while I get a sense that there isn’t anyone at the table to really fear. However, new players keep dropping in – Bumper and Chip among them, and soon we have ten people jammed into an eight-seat table. I have a tendency to play much better when I am physically comfortable… so the crowded conditions are a bother to me more than usual. In the course of an hour or so, my initial stake of $200 has dwindled to $85… no particular bad beats, no stories to tell, just a bad run and an uncomfortable situation.

Then, the tournament falls from two table to one – leaving another table available for play. Our ten people decide to split into two games – and the more serious gamblers decide to start a second table of “$20 any time” instead. Bumper, Chip, Jeff, and two others head for that table… leaving me with the less experienced players. Suddenly, I have a comfy seat, and a much more comfy table.

One again, there’s nothing spectacular. I’m not making crazy moves, and wild bluffs – I’m just playing solid, sensible poker. Over the course of the evening, it become painfully clear that the player on my left is a calling station, and the player on my right is a little too tight. Knowing that, I am in a good position to know when to play—and I start building my stack. Later into the evening/morning, I get even more aggressive, as I can see that the calling standards of my left-side neighbor are so low as to be embarrassing. This table worked out well for me, indeed – again, no particular stories to tell, no climactic hands, but the results are excellent… almost enough to get me completely over my suck-out sob story from the tournament.

OUT: $200
IN: $590

[QuikSand]

Another Side Tournament – 13 March

Yet another of Rick’s regular players has decided that this whole “run your own tournament” thing is worthwhile… and Jeff decides to offer up basically the same game. Saturday evening, 6pm – he claims to have about 20 people. As it turns out, he suffers some attrition from Maryland’s continued presence in the ACC Tournament, but he ends up with 12 people – including both me and, as a new addition to the playing journal, Mrs. Q.

Mrs. Q has been playing hold ‘em a bit for a couple of years, and has basically sworn off other forms of gambling at casinos. We have made three treks to Atlantic City this year already, including two just by ourselves – and the only game she plays is hold ‘em. She is finding her level – last time we went we played $6/$12 the whole day – and she appreciated the increased level of competition (she, like many good players, gets frustrated to watch idiots call raises with empty hands only to catch miracle cards – a fairly common occurrence in the lower levels). This is her first in-person tournament, and for a $100 buy-in it seems like a good place to start, in my eyes. She heads in with $300 in her pocket... armed to play any side game also, if she is inclined.

The tournament is just two tables, and I am seated with Bumper on my right (he’s starting to show up more frequently at these events – he’s had a very profitable high-low game break up after a multi-year run, and is looking for more games to play. He’s right to be tapping into this vein, I think. Among the dozen players here are a few players Jeff describes as “dead money” types who have been watching TV and want to start playing. Sounds fine. Bumper and Jeff are the two players at my table whom I know in advance.

Early on, I decide to make a move on the player on my right, an older guy named Doug. He is a friend of Bumper’s, and I want to get a sense of whether he’s a serious player. I decide it’s worth a few hundred chips to try to find out. We are in a hand together after being the blinds, and I make an empty bet on the flop. He calls. I bet again on the turn, and he calls. He checks the river, I do, too, and he reveals a slightly better high card than mine (my king, his ace, no pairs). I lose about $600 in chips… but I learn a lot about this player, I think.

We settle in, and through the first hour or so things are okay – I win a small pot to get back what I had lost, and I have my original $10,000 stake in hand – nobody is out yet, so it looks like I’m even. I am heads-up again against Doug when I’m the big blind – this time I have A6o. The flop brings A-7-6 and I look good. He bets the hand for me on the flop and turn, and I call both times. He checks the river, and I bet $1,000 – fully expecting him to call and get crushed. He calls, and is crushed. The early investment may have paid off in full there.

Mrs. Q has a quick turn of fortunes at the other table – she puts out the first player of the tournament, and makes a nice gain in doing so. But not long after, she gets trapped badly. She is playing AQ, and with an ace on the board is betting with two callers, and then one. She gets a queen on the river – and even though this makes Q-K-A all visible, she decides to push all-in with a solid pot to win. Her caller accepts the bet, and turns over AK. Mrs. Q is the second player out of the tournament – not a terrible play, but bad to run into that.

Meanwhile, I have some cards and a good feeling, and go on an “aggressive” streak for a while. Over about ten hands, I am betting four or five times – a little unlike me. Most are backed by real cards, but it’s very effective, I find. The best situation for me is to make a couple moves in a row (maybe one with real cards, followed by another with a more marginal holding) and then make another move when I have good cards again – the universe of people who believe in the “law of averages” seem to evidence themselves in poker – and I get a fair number of loose “he can’t have it again” calls. Anyway, I don’t put anyone out, but I pretty quickly build my stake from $12,000 or so to well over $20,000. I’m probably second in chips at our table when we break down to one table with seven remaining players.

I get my seat at the final table – Jeff and Bumper are still in also. Mrs. Q has started to sit down at the side game, so she is occupied… I’ll focus on the main action here. In a flash, there is an all-in, and a decent player gets eliminated – so we are six. Jeff has announced he is paying the top three spots, so we’re starting to get close to those considerations.

With blinds of $1,000/$2,000 my stack of about $20,000 looks okay, but not all that secure. I call a pot or two and get nothing to chase, and dwindle a bit. I get AK under the gun, and raise the blind to $5,000. Amidst talk of “he’s trying to buy the blinds” the whole table folds to me. One particular player, the already-annoying big stack, bemoans that he “just doesn’t have quite enough” to call that bet. I take the blinds, which is fine.

Once or twice more around the small table, I am sitting on about $16,000 in chips, and I am dealt pocket treys. It’s not a power hand, but I find myself getting too much respect for my moves – I decide that a pre-flop raise is worthwhile, even with this small pair. I get two callers, the asshole big stack and the big blind on his left. So, I’m a little weak for three-way play, waiting for the flop to come:

3s – 6d – 7h

Rainbow flop, no pattern, and I have my set. It’s admittedly the low set, but I made my own bed here. I love my situation. The two players check to me on that ragged flop, and I push all in. I really would be just fine taking down the pot right here – that would enhance my situation for a while, as a couple players are starting to get pretty short stacked. I could probably just tread water into fourth place with this pot.

The small blind, big stack, calls. Big blind folds. So, I am all in on the hand, and turn my threes. He shows Qd7d – he had top pair, decent kicker, and a backdoor flush draw. With my trips, he needs either one of the two remaining “outs” (the sevens) or two cards (queens or diamonds) to help him.

The turn is the Td. Just my luck – he now can get a diamond to flush me. He has 8 outs, as I calculate it – the eight remaining diamonds, excluding the three which would give me quads. I’m still a heavy favorite. (edited to reflect proper "out" count)

The river brings the Kd. He flushed. I’m out.

(After the fact, I consult CardPlayer magazine for odds on this hand. I am a 93.7% favorite to win the hand on the flop – with him holding only two outs with two cards to go. After getting a diamond on the turn, he still was way behind – I was still an 81.8% winner. This is getting to be agonizing.)

This makes three sessions in a row where I have been playing with Bumper and he watched me get sucked out in especially painful fashion. I end up in sixth place… and am starting to get more than a little bit peeved with the foul fates I’m seeing. (Writing this diary and re-living them all doesn’t make it a lot better)

OUT: $100
IN: $0

So, I wander over toward the side game… where I more than redeemed myself just a few nights before.

[Alf]

So, you are back in black now !

[QuikSand]

This has been a source of added frustration, actually... I have chuckled at myself a couple of times while at the tables, thinking "awww, this is going to go badly at FOFC."

I'm not too worried about my game, really -- I was poised to be in a strong position in each of my last three tournaments, and each time got into a showdown situation where I had the best of it by far. That's all I can ask for.

[Celeval]

QS - I am learning a good bit, I think, from your hands so far; and it's a good story as well. I'd like to hear a bit also about the hands that aren't necessarily the ones putting you in or out; even possibly those you're not involved in. Not every hand, but ones that might show an interesting progression of bets.

You da man, good luck in the upcoming tourneys.

Kevin

[Barkeep49]

If Ms. QS was at the side table with you I'd love to know her in/out as well.

[TRO]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

3s – 6d – 7h

He shows Qd7d – her had top pair, decent kicker, and a backdoor flush draw. With my trips, he needs either one of the two remaining “outs” (the sevens) or two cards (queens or diamonds) to help him.

The turn is the Td. Just my luck – he now can get a diamond to flush me. He has 10 outs, as I calculate it – the two remaining sevens, and eight remaining diamonds, excluding the three which would give me quads. I’m still a heavy favorite.

Am I missing something or wouldn't if one of the 7s hit, you'd still be up with FH 3/7? Any 7 would have to be accompanied by another 7, a 6 or a Q for him to beat you.

Semantics, I know.