I never would have predicted my first experience with "bar poker" back in April, but as soon as I knew I was going to Denver in October, I knew another similar foray was on the menu. My co-worker Mike, who guided me around last time, runs a game twice a week at a bar a few miles from the office, and he had mentioned a while back that I'd have to come play next time I was in town.
"Next time" was last week, and as soon as we met up on Tuesday morning, we made plans - Thursday it was. The big surprise? Our boss decided to come along, originally even saying she wanted to play only to change her mind when we arrived. No matter, she still had a good time.
The game got started just after seven. The set up was very similar to Texas - a sign up sheet, and a cash payout to the winner, with late entries on a waiting list to get in as people were knocked out. This was a logistical concession rather than a tournament-setup one; there were only three dealers counting Mike, though there was at least one more table that could have been set up.
That right there was the biggest change from Texas, and a good one - no dealing ourselves, which meant I wouldn't have a chance to screw things up and embarrass myself. I only had to worry about my play and my mouth doing that. Fortunately, neither did, though the former didn't give the latter much of a chance.
I think I ended up seeing about 15 hands in total, making it only through the second blind level (they were pretty slow levels, now that I think about it). Like last time, two hands stick out, with the rest being either pre-flop folds or limps where I caught nothing and folded to subsequent raises.
The first saw me raise pre with A/10 diamonds, get two callers, and the flop come K/8/9 all hearts. I c-betted as a bluff, got a call, and the other guy came way over top. I tanked for a few seconds just for show but it was an easy fold. The other guy called and they ended up in a showdown; both hands had me beat including the nut flush.
The last had saw me raise pre again with Q/J off, get three callers, and catch two pair with a rag in the middle. This time I was second to act after a check, again c-betted, and two callers. The turn was an ace, I raised again, and was re-raised by the third player to act. I put him on a flush draw as there were now two diamonds, and went all-in. The second guy folded but the original raiser called and flipped K/10 for a straight. Damn it. I still had hope if I could spike a Q or J, but it was a 6 and that was it for my night.
Still, not a bad play, and as I explained it to Mike afterward, he agreed. Perhaps if I had bet higher after the flop he would have folded; that's the only way I can think of that I should have played it differently.
Though it was only half an hour, it was still a good experience, and it was good to get my hands on the cards again after such a long absence.
Tournament hours: 0.50 hours
Total Tournament hours: 8
Running Total: 275.5 hours
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Monday, May 22, 2017
A New Experience
My first foray into poker in months ended up being a completely new experience. In Dallas for a work trip, I accepted an invitation from a co-worker to head out for drinks and a game. In Texas, freeroll tournaments with cash prizes are legal, thus we ended up at a bar playing in a Hold Em tournament at 9:00 on a Wednesday night.
The structure of the tournament was at the least unannounced and at worst disorganized. I did figure out eventually that late entries were permitted up to the first break; whether rebuys were permitted I'm not sure and couldn't really tell. I should hope not - what else would stop people from shoving on every single hand up until that first break? I had hoped to track the number of entrants to see where I ended up, but between the late entries and action at my table, it proved impossible.
I ended up lasting for about three hours, only about 15 minutes less than my co-worker, which worked out well in terms of getting back to the hotel at a decent hour, and not having to sit around and wait. Overall, I feel I played pretty well. Two hands stand out (not including the deal I screwed up on my first button - way to make a good impression, Mike).
The first saw my hold A/K hearts, raise and get called all the way down, and miss the nut flush on the river (I had the draw after the flop). It took a good chunk of chips, but not too bad. But, it was enough where if I won, I would have been sitting pretty thanks to the total pot.
The other was my last hand. Short stacked and on the button, I got 2/4 spades and of course had to shove. I was called with K/K and J/J, and though a 2 came on the flop, the kings held. How great would that have been, to win with the Cuffe Hand?
However, more than the cards itself, it was the environment and culture I will remember. Needless to say, there was a decent amount of apprehension going in. Pretty much everything I got to experience that night was new, save for the cards themselves. Which, as I mentioned to my co-worker on the way back, is one of the things I love about poker - it can bring people together. Here we were, a white New Yorker and a Mexican Colorado native, playing poker in Texas with a racially and culturally diverse group of Texans and having a hell of a time doing it.
Everyone was welcoming, and not even in the "be nice to them and take their money" kind of way I have seen in cash games. It couldn't be that way - no one's money was up for grabs. We hadn't been at the table ten minutes when people were asking where we were from, how we liked Texas, what else we had planned, making suggestions for things to do, and the like.
After I got knocked out, I walked around a bit. The room with the card tables was in the back of the bar, and to get to the bar itself and the restrooms you had to walk to the front, and opposite side, of the space. The dichotomy between the "poker culture" and "bar culture" is striking. The latter still gives me the willies - slutty girls doing what they do, nasty "bros" and old men trying to be the objects of their "affection", at least for one night. After I used the restroom, I was tempted to play some of the video games to pass time, but no - I had to get back to the relative normalcy of the poker area.
On the ride back to the hotel, I thought about what a good experience it was, and I was happy I got out of my normal comfort zone. I also thought about the reminder I just got, of the good poker can do for people.
Tournament hours: 3
Total tournament hours: 7.5
Overall hours: 275
The structure of the tournament was at the least unannounced and at worst disorganized. I did figure out eventually that late entries were permitted up to the first break; whether rebuys were permitted I'm not sure and couldn't really tell. I should hope not - what else would stop people from shoving on every single hand up until that first break? I had hoped to track the number of entrants to see where I ended up, but between the late entries and action at my table, it proved impossible.
I ended up lasting for about three hours, only about 15 minutes less than my co-worker, which worked out well in terms of getting back to the hotel at a decent hour, and not having to sit around and wait. Overall, I feel I played pretty well. Two hands stand out (not including the deal I screwed up on my first button - way to make a good impression, Mike).
The first saw my hold A/K hearts, raise and get called all the way down, and miss the nut flush on the river (I had the draw after the flop). It took a good chunk of chips, but not too bad. But, it was enough where if I won, I would have been sitting pretty thanks to the total pot.
The other was my last hand. Short stacked and on the button, I got 2/4 spades and of course had to shove. I was called with K/K and J/J, and though a 2 came on the flop, the kings held. How great would that have been, to win with the Cuffe Hand?
However, more than the cards itself, it was the environment and culture I will remember. Needless to say, there was a decent amount of apprehension going in. Pretty much everything I got to experience that night was new, save for the cards themselves. Which, as I mentioned to my co-worker on the way back, is one of the things I love about poker - it can bring people together. Here we were, a white New Yorker and a Mexican Colorado native, playing poker in Texas with a racially and culturally diverse group of Texans and having a hell of a time doing it.
Everyone was welcoming, and not even in the "be nice to them and take their money" kind of way I have seen in cash games. It couldn't be that way - no one's money was up for grabs. We hadn't been at the table ten minutes when people were asking where we were from, how we liked Texas, what else we had planned, making suggestions for things to do, and the like.
After I got knocked out, I walked around a bit. The room with the card tables was in the back of the bar, and to get to the bar itself and the restrooms you had to walk to the front, and opposite side, of the space. The dichotomy between the "poker culture" and "bar culture" is striking. The latter still gives me the willies - slutty girls doing what they do, nasty "bros" and old men trying to be the objects of their "affection", at least for one night. After I used the restroom, I was tempted to play some of the video games to pass time, but no - I had to get back to the relative normalcy of the poker area.
On the ride back to the hotel, I thought about what a good experience it was, and I was happy I got out of my normal comfort zone. I also thought about the reminder I just got, of the good poker can do for people.
Tournament hours: 3
Total tournament hours: 7.5
Overall hours: 275
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
My Worst 45 Minutes of Poker
I made a very brief stop in the 1/2 NL game at Turning Stone on Monday night. Much briefer than I would have hoped, because I played like garbage. To be expected I suppose, but a series of bad decisions that shouldn't have been made regardless of the amount of "rust" on my game are what had (and still have) me upset.
Tina and I both bought in for $200, and while she ended up breaking even after a long session, my chips were gone practically before my seat was warm. I folded a bunch of times after calling an initial small raise ahead of me (stupid; love your cards or hate them, don't be lukewarm), and I lost a big chunk trying to push a guy out of a pot holding 4/4 when the flop came 5/6/8 and he re-raised my initial raise of 40. I folded that, which was probably good, but my issue is I never should have been in the hand to begin with.
The final hand of the night saw me shove my last 60 holding A/Q after a 10/rag/10 flop, get called, and see the woman have a ten in her hand. What irked me a bit was that she said "I'm sure you have me" as she called, and then flip A/10. In what world does she think she's beat holding trips and an ace kicker? Dumbass statement.
I got out of there after that (gracefully as possible, even saying "nice hand"), walked around for a while, and eventually went back to the room. I was DONE at that point. Only now, over 24 hours later, am I even entertaining the idea of playing poker again, in any form, ever.
It's too bad my night went so poorly on the felt, because the game around me was pretty entertaining up to that point. There were a ton of huge pots, most featuring the two older guys on to the right of the dealer. One of them lost a pot for over 300, had to re-buy for another 200, and lost all of that a few hands later. Didn't stop him from re-buying once again.
My only saving grace in my poor play was that Tina and I didn't make it known we were together when we sat down, and therefore she wasn't embarrassed in front of the rest of the table by my actions. Small victory, but an important one.
Race to 10K: 0.75 cash game hours, 18.25 total cash game hours, 272 total hours
(Note: I'm continuing to keep track of this because it will be interesting to see where it ends up by the time I die. I don't even have a prediction, and honestly even if I got to 10,000 hours I still don't feel like I'd be anything close to an expert.)
Tina and I both bought in for $200, and while she ended up breaking even after a long session, my chips were gone practically before my seat was warm. I folded a bunch of times after calling an initial small raise ahead of me (stupid; love your cards or hate them, don't be lukewarm), and I lost a big chunk trying to push a guy out of a pot holding 4/4 when the flop came 5/6/8 and he re-raised my initial raise of 40. I folded that, which was probably good, but my issue is I never should have been in the hand to begin with.
The final hand of the night saw me shove my last 60 holding A/Q after a 10/rag/10 flop, get called, and see the woman have a ten in her hand. What irked me a bit was that she said "I'm sure you have me" as she called, and then flip A/10. In what world does she think she's beat holding trips and an ace kicker? Dumbass statement.
I got out of there after that (gracefully as possible, even saying "nice hand"), walked around for a while, and eventually went back to the room. I was DONE at that point. Only now, over 24 hours later, am I even entertaining the idea of playing poker again, in any form, ever.
It's too bad my night went so poorly on the felt, because the game around me was pretty entertaining up to that point. There were a ton of huge pots, most featuring the two older guys on to the right of the dealer. One of them lost a pot for over 300, had to re-buy for another 200, and lost all of that a few hands later. Didn't stop him from re-buying once again.
My only saving grace in my poor play was that Tina and I didn't make it known we were together when we sat down, and therefore she wasn't embarrassed in front of the rest of the table by my actions. Small victory, but an important one.
Race to 10K: 0.75 cash game hours, 18.25 total cash game hours, 272 total hours
(Note: I'm continuing to keep track of this because it will be interesting to see where it ends up by the time I die. I don't even have a prediction, and honestly even if I got to 10,000 hours I still don't feel like I'd be anything close to an expert.)
Monday, May 2, 2016
SFPT: April 2016
I'm happy to report my fears were unfounded. We had a big crowd of ten people, including two new players, and it could have been two more if not for CJ (alternate plans) and Ray (had to work at the last minute) not making it.
Everyone seemed like they had a good time, and the new guys (Amanda's boyfriend and his friend) seamlessly integrated themselves into the proceedings, laughing and joking along with everyone. Always good to see.
And get this - I pretty much nailed the predictions! First time for everything. I had predicted a fourth place finished and actually finished fifth, pretty close there. Add-Ons was exactly $20, and not only was there a scratch-off winner, there were several, for a total of $60, an SFPT record. Furthermore, three of my season-long predictions made in the recap file already came to fruition: Amanda returned, her boyfriend and friend constituted the "new players", and to no one's surprise, Vinnie sent me a text a couple hours before the tournament saying he wouldn't be coming. Based on his previous comment of this being his "last chance", there's a good chance he's played his last SFPT tournament ever.
As for my play: I explained to Amanda after correctly reading a hand I played with Tina my theory that I know when I've played poorly because I can physically feel the anger (and conversely, the absence of same even when I lose, telling me I did the right thing). The lack of anger surfaced three times during this tournament.
The first was a heads-up hand with Tina, and play saw us alternately raise and call through the river, with the board showing jh/4h/8s/10s/ks. I knew there were a ton of ways she could have me beat, and thus checked back when she checked after the river. I was right - she missed the flush draws I had feared, but the king paired one in her hand and beat my queens under.
The details of the second are lost to time, but I do remember I folded a decent hand feeling I was beat by more than one person remaining in the hand, and I was correct.
The third example was my last hand of the night. In a rare smart move, I did a chip count and calculated my remaining big blinds. With only four, it was just about a no-brainer to shove UTG with K/J off suit. Corrye caught a straight on the flop but I still had a chance going to the river when a ten would have given me a higher straight, but I bricked and that was it.
Upon reflection, I realize there was one other factor aiding my lack of anger - prior to my knockout, I was all-in and at risk three times and stayed alive. Having won some, it's not fair to consider myself a loser.
So to recap, I played okay, though not great, but had a good time - recipe for success.
Race to 10k: 3 home game hours, 159.75 total home game hours, 271.25 total hours
Everyone seemed like they had a good time, and the new guys (Amanda's boyfriend and his friend) seamlessly integrated themselves into the proceedings, laughing and joking along with everyone. Always good to see.
And get this - I pretty much nailed the predictions! First time for everything. I had predicted a fourth place finished and actually finished fifth, pretty close there. Add-Ons was exactly $20, and not only was there a scratch-off winner, there were several, for a total of $60, an SFPT record. Furthermore, three of my season-long predictions made in the recap file already came to fruition: Amanda returned, her boyfriend and friend constituted the "new players", and to no one's surprise, Vinnie sent me a text a couple hours before the tournament saying he wouldn't be coming. Based on his previous comment of this being his "last chance", there's a good chance he's played his last SFPT tournament ever.
As for my play: I explained to Amanda after correctly reading a hand I played with Tina my theory that I know when I've played poorly because I can physically feel the anger (and conversely, the absence of same even when I lose, telling me I did the right thing). The lack of anger surfaced three times during this tournament.
The first was a heads-up hand with Tina, and play saw us alternately raise and call through the river, with the board showing jh/4h/8s/10s/ks. I knew there were a ton of ways she could have me beat, and thus checked back when she checked after the river. I was right - she missed the flush draws I had feared, but the king paired one in her hand and beat my queens under.
The details of the second are lost to time, but I do remember I folded a decent hand feeling I was beat by more than one person remaining in the hand, and I was correct.
The third example was my last hand of the night. In a rare smart move, I did a chip count and calculated my remaining big blinds. With only four, it was just about a no-brainer to shove UTG with K/J off suit. Corrye caught a straight on the flop but I still had a chance going to the river when a ten would have given me a higher straight, but I bricked and that was it.
Upon reflection, I realize there was one other factor aiding my lack of anger - prior to my knockout, I was all-in and at risk three times and stayed alive. Having won some, it's not fair to consider myself a loser.
So to recap, I played okay, though not great, but had a good time - recipe for success.
Race to 10k: 3 home game hours, 159.75 total home game hours, 271.25 total hours
Monday, April 25, 2016
Previewing, With Honesty
Coming this Saturday: the first and so far only poker
tournament of 2016. We have six
confirmed participants so far, probably seven as I'm pretty sure Matt is coming
but he never responds to the Facebook invite.
We even have a new player, Amanda's boyfriend Michael. What remains to be seen is if both Kim and
Vinnie will show – not only for babysitting reasons, but for strife ones. Vinnie is due to move out by the end of the
month (if he hasn’t already), completing their divorce that everyone agrees has
been both a long time coming and inevitable.
In chatting with Corrye via text regarding the upcoming
game, I found myself not only not really looking forward to it, but not really
wanting to do another and even regretting scheduling this one. It was odd – before, all of my hesitation and
regret had stemmed from the trouble and stress caused by the mass of
children. Now, with the adults-only
tournaments in full effect, why was I still feeling that way? Some thought led me to that very strife
between Kim and Vinnie, and to a slightly lesser extent, CJ and Vinnie. Simply put, it's not fun when they are
constantly making comments to one another that are clearly not in fun, but
intended to hurt. It makes the situation
very tense for everyone, and I don't think that's fair to the rest of the
group.
The easy solution here would be to not invite one of the two
any longer, but I'm not going to do that.
No matter if they are divorced, I will still consider them both
friends. I can only pray the situation
works itself out somehow, ideally through improved relations between the
parties.
That bit of drama aside, what can be expected of the game
itself? None of us have played since
last November, though I have been watching some TV coverage of late and I
noticed Tina doing the same the other day.
I have a feeling that simple, passive act will give us both a leg up
come game time. We will have to work
around possibly being blinded off a couple times, when one of us goes to take
Jules to a birthday party she's attending, and picks her up when it's
over. There's the possibility we won’t
be started until after the former, and one (or both) of us might be eliminated
before the latter, so that will be good.
Generally, I'm expecting (as usual) some rust from most
everyone re: the mechanics of the game, a few misread hands, a few misread
community cards, and things of that ilk.
Nothing out of the ordinary. Of course
I'm also expecting quite a few laughs as we jab at each other and make comments
fully intended to garner laughs and nothing more. At least, most of the comments will fall
under that umbrella (see above).
For my own play: I have a feeling I'll once again finish in
the middle of the pack (let's say fourth; that number just jumps to mind)
thanks to not taking chances when I should.
Maybe if I keep it in the forefront of my mind all night, I can avoid
the problem altogether.
Finally, I predict no less than $20 in Add-On's For Ally,
and at least one scratch-off winner (as always, a hope more than a
prediction).
Monday, November 9, 2015
SFPT 2015: A Good Night
The tournament went off as planned, and personally, I think it went great. The atmosphere was relaxed, everyone remembered how to play (even in a few split-pot situations), and we had fun. There was interest in doing it again before the night was even over, and that will happen, likely sometime in January at the earliest.
My play: pretty good, actually. I won the first pot of the year/night, folded quite a bit after that before taking down a couple more, and eventually got short-stacked (though not by much) with five remaining. In the small blind, a great hand - A/A - which was a no-brainer shove when action came back to me. Only Matt and Tina were still in the hand; the former folded despite "really wanting to call because I know you have ace-something". (As an aside: NO ONE, not even Tina, can read me like Matt can. He's not always right, but more often than not, he is. It's uncanny, and unsettling.)
Tina called, and we flipped. I was ahead, but not by much, over her pocket tens. Despite the long-standing belief that "aces never win", I was confident. After all, the math was on my side, right? Yeah, not so much - the flop contained a 10, the turn and river were duds, and that was it for me in fifth place out of 9.
So, a middle of the road finish, which isn't great, but we all had a good time which is even more important. Matt ended up winning the whole thing, outlasting CJ whose second place finish was easily the best of his life. The biggest surprise of the night, though? Not a single winner on the nine $5 lotto tickets. The big win is still elusive, and we will keep chasing.
10k progress: 2.5 home game hours, 156.75 total home game hours, 268.25 total hours
My play: pretty good, actually. I won the first pot of the year/night, folded quite a bit after that before taking down a couple more, and eventually got short-stacked (though not by much) with five remaining. In the small blind, a great hand - A/A - which was a no-brainer shove when action came back to me. Only Matt and Tina were still in the hand; the former folded despite "really wanting to call because I know you have ace-something". (As an aside: NO ONE, not even Tina, can read me like Matt can. He's not always right, but more often than not, he is. It's uncanny, and unsettling.)
Tina called, and we flipped. I was ahead, but not by much, over her pocket tens. Despite the long-standing belief that "aces never win", I was confident. After all, the math was on my side, right? Yeah, not so much - the flop contained a 10, the turn and river were duds, and that was it for me in fifth place out of 9.
So, a middle of the road finish, which isn't great, but we all had a good time which is even more important. Matt ended up winning the whole thing, outlasting CJ whose second place finish was easily the best of his life. The biggest surprise of the night, though? Not a single winner on the nine $5 lotto tickets. The big win is still elusive, and we will keep chasing.
10k progress: 2.5 home game hours, 156.75 total home game hours, 268.25 total hours
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
2015, Once
In the last post, I said it may be "many months" until the next time I play poker. "Many" turned out to be "12" - a year-long gap that was, I believe, easily the longest since the SFPT began.
What will, I'm 99% sure, be the only tournament of 2015 is coming up this weekend. So far, we have six players confirmed, with the likelihood of at least two more. It will be a first in SFPT history as well: the first time we've attempted an "adults-only" evening. It was no secret to anyone that the older the kids got, the crazier they got having to be cooped up in the house, and the more uncomfortable it was for everyone whether they were playing or simply hanging out. I'm hoping that with no kids, people will be more relaxed and everyone can have a good time, including some adult conversation.
As for my play: at this point, I have no expectations. I've joked with a couple people that it's been so long I've forgotten how to play. This may not be technically true (we'll see), but to say I'm rusty is an understatement. We all are, because no one I've talked to has played at all since last November, either. Tina, Matt, and I had a chance at Turning Stone over the summer, but declined - ironically, because it had been so long and we feared being rusty. Better to shake off that rust in a home game, it goes without saying.
Watch this space for an update come early next week. Should be interesting.
What will, I'm 99% sure, be the only tournament of 2015 is coming up this weekend. So far, we have six players confirmed, with the likelihood of at least two more. It will be a first in SFPT history as well: the first time we've attempted an "adults-only" evening. It was no secret to anyone that the older the kids got, the crazier they got having to be cooped up in the house, and the more uncomfortable it was for everyone whether they were playing or simply hanging out. I'm hoping that with no kids, people will be more relaxed and everyone can have a good time, including some adult conversation.
As for my play: at this point, I have no expectations. I've joked with a couple people that it's been so long I've forgotten how to play. This may not be technically true (we'll see), but to say I'm rusty is an understatement. We all are, because no one I've talked to has played at all since last November, either. Tina, Matt, and I had a chance at Turning Stone over the summer, but declined - ironically, because it had been so long and we feared being rusty. Better to shake off that rust in a home game, it goes without saying.
Watch this space for an update come early next week. Should be interesting.
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