Overload pt.1

Saul Bloom: I want the last check I write to bounce.

”Ocean’s 12”

I love that quote in the context of the movie, words to live by.

I had a massive poker time over our four-day weekend here in Sydney, so lets jump into it. This is a very long post, so read at your own risk.

THURSDAY NIGHT:
I had less than $10 left at Absolute Poker, and decided to stick to SNG to get it up over $11 and then into a $10 SNG to get enough to cash out. I was going well, and then suffered a horrific bad beat – can’t really blame the victim though.

I was third out of four, and got dealt the lovely pocket rockets. I raised from UTG+1 and get two callers, then a re-raise for half my stack. That’s a big enough sign to me, and I push. The re-raiser (second in chips) is the only caller and flips 88.

On the flop there is an eight, and I curse at the monitor and slam my fist on the desk.

Ah ha! Justice is alive and well, with the Ace on the turn. I am relieved and apologise to my desk.

The river is the case eight, and I beat my desk again.

So that was that, and I am done once again with Absolute.

FRIDAY:
Friday I had put aside to attempt to build my poker table. I made a massive mistake with the foam, which made work very difficult but besides that, it was a lot easier than I thought.
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My tips: For the corners, buy the foam in one piece then cut it to fit your rail. I tried to bend straight lengths of it around the curves, and it was far too hard to get them to stick and then to try to cut a piece to fit the gaps – just a nightmare. Also adding to this mess was the rail I had planned for was far too high at 100mm. The vinyl couldn’t stretch that far and we had to cut it down in half while it was stuck on the rail with a kitchen knife. So if the rail looks a little “uneven” in the photos it is because it is very uneven in real life. The table top however if beautiful. That could not have come out better and the 3mm foam underlay was a top idea. All up it is an imperfect table, but the imperfections can be described as “character” I guess, and we are more than happy with it.

It took us about 6 hours of actual work time to finish the table, but it could be done in a lot less now that we know what to do.

SATURDAY:
The second round of Scurvy’s Omaha 8 tournaments at Noble Poker. My last finish was in the 50’s, so I was hopeful to do better this time.

It didn’t look good from early on, as I kept hitting trips and then not completing to get to a boat – lost a lot to back door straights and flushes, but it was ok. At least when it came to showdown, the winners had decent draws and not just seeing every flop. Maybe I got lucky with table selection (although late in the tournament I was moved to a table with 6 absentees).

I was down to the felt when I was dealt a suited ace and a pair of fours. I raised for 95% of my chips, and on the re-raise I happily called all-in to see if I could get the cards to come to me. I was happy to see a four on the flop, and even more so to see one more on the turn. Woo hoo, that got me past 50th. In the end I finished 15th I think, just half a table out of the money but it was a much better playing experience this time around for me. I then tried a few ring games and made a profit, but no more than a few dollars. A good bit of time wasting. I was more excited looking over at the poker table behind me, waiting for the big game on Sunday night.

SUNDAY:
I missed a free-roll I was entered into at Noble Poker, very disappointed because I thought it was on Monday but not to be. I can’t remember much more of the play for the day, I think I tried a few more ring games, with small wins and losses here and there. But it would be the home game that was the feature attraction on this Easter Sunday.

We had five players, with a sixth supposed to come an hour or so into it, but he cancelled an hour after that. So at about 8pm, we got the poker madness going. The other four players are pretty good compared to myself, and one in particular plays a very good tight game, and has knocked me out every time we played together. My goal tonight is to not loose to him.

The big talker, funny guy at the table is knocked out by the solid player within an hour, and he promptly takes the dealing away from the rest of us. I have got lucky with a few strong bluffs getting respect, and decide that maybe my bluffs will be far less from now on.

Solid player to my right is the big stack by a long way. I spent some time as the small stack and am forced to do a lot of folding. With KK though, I have to raise and SP calls.

Flop comes AQx, and he bets out. I think about it and muck my hands face up, saying something about how big lay-downs make a great player (I was at about 6 beers at this stage). I also wanted to let them know that I wasn’t bluffing with my raise. Did he have an Ace? I don’t know. Maybe he made a great bluff, maybe he was disappointed I didn’t call. But I think this lay down, whether correct or not, made me more money as the night went on.

The blinds rose and rose, and nobody was getting knocked out. In the big blind, SP in the SB raised me about 5 times in a row, and I instantly pushed with any two picture cards, pocket pair or suited ace. He folded time and time again – sure, he may have just been raising to be the bully, but my earlier fold I feel helped contribute to my table image. That and I kept telling them that I only like betting with the nuts.

Eventually, SP bleeds his chips and spreads them across the table, and he is knocked out in fourth – mostly because of one all-in play that put him on mini-tilt. On the button, the player across from me goes all-in pre-flop. SP in the SB calls and I couldn’t fold my 73o fast enough. SP flips over AJo. The button looks disappointed, and flips over 23o for the stone cold bluff that got called. Flop comes KQT rainbow, and the button is ready to give all his chips up. The turn is a Ace completing the rainbow and the river is a jack. He mucks his cards and starts to push his chips across when the dealer stops him, and re-checks the board…A – K – Q – J – T. It’s a split pot! The both split my BB, and we talked about this hand for the rest of the night.

For about the fifth time I was dealt 66, and I go all in. The 23o perpetrator calls and shows Ax which hits and I am knocked out on the bubble (top two paid $50 and $25). It wasn’t all bad though, and then eventually the 23o perpetrator wins it with something I can’t remember. All up this game took nearly 6 hours. It was 2am, and the loud funny guy had been dealing for five of those. Now there is some respect I tell you. I felt sorry for the poor bastard, not that I would tell him that. I said if they are interested, we can start the customary second game and just have quicker blind levels and slightly less chips. It didn’t take them long to agree, and away we go.

I can’t remember much of the second game at all. I remember though that SP went out first followed by the loud funny guy, and then they left the three of us to fight over the money. It was nearing 5am when the 23o beat out the other player to put us heads up. After a few hands, he puts me all in and I have T9s, and really I don’t mind loosing because I am so far past tired that it would be a blessing. I called the all-in and lost against other suited cards, diamonds I think.

My mission though had been accomplished, and I played pretty well and avoided my nemesis. Being down $5 after a good 10 hour session was a good enough result. The 23o however was the only one in the black, up $70.

I was asleep mere milli-seconds after my head hit the pillow.

Part two to follow shortly...