Monday, September 24, 2007

Attempting the MATH Three-Peat... and Live Play is Rigged

Another Monday evening, another MATH... moments away from the start of this week's 'Monday's at the Hoy' tournament! This will mark my attempt to three-peat as champ, after I somehow managed to luckbox my way to 1st place the last two week's in a row! I'd say wish me luck, but I know no one would mean it after the last two weeks. I'm sure it's someone else's turn this week to get all the luck anyway. My roommate has been sick of hearing me gloat over my recent success, and after he read Hoy giving me more credit, he even decided to join the MATH tonight with his only goal being to take chips from me! So fyi, look out for "joshuacarlsen" at your table, he's my roommate, and HE'S DEAD MONEY! ;-) Kidding Joshua! Good luck!

I did/do really want to post a long writeup about the weekend, as I got LOTS of poker in, and had the pleasure to hook up with a fellow blogger in person! But, I don't know if I've got the means to put all the details together as I spent most the weekend heavily inebriated, and Matt already posted a great writeup on our getting together at a local card room. But I would like to say, it was great to meet you Matt! And, live play is rigged!

A brief summary from what I remember from the weekend:
-Met up Friday evening just to argue with the pitboss about limiting the tourney to 30 entries, having fifteen players not be able make it by the end of the alternates period. Donked off some money at 4-card. Left angry.
-Went to the 12:30 DeepStack ($60 entry, rather than $30) tourney at the same place Saturday. Pushed my TPKK into bottom set and was out in the third hour. My roommate, Joshua, luckboxed his way into the cash though! Taking 5th place, out of 50 or so, for a nice $100+ profit. Good game Joshua!!! Got completely wasted while playing Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em waiting for Joshua to lose out. Actually made good money while getting hammered somehow. Table games rule!
-Went and got my haircut while liquored up, and offended my stylist. (Note to self, don't make appointments while intoxicated.)
-Came back to The Treasure with Joshua, and my other friend RedheadJenn, and met up with Matt for the 6:30 tourney. Still completely drunk! My friend RedheadJenn hit nut flush on turn holding the Ah, just to see villain's flopped straight flush. Myself, I ran AKo (ALL-IN PREFLOP) into crazy Asian guy's almighty 37 soooooooted. And none of the four of us cashed.
-Sunday was Sunday... per my routine, it was spent recovering and watching sports. GO SEAHAWKS!

I do notice I was just "tagged" by Mr. Bankwell (of Poker Tart fame) with this "10 Things No One Knows About Me" thingamajig... but I'll have to do some thinkin' about that one. Next post's topic I'm sure.

Good luck all!!! Off to the MATH... 'Til next time...

...I'm a talkin' donkey!
~RaisingCayne

Monday, September 17, 2007

MATH Repeat!!!

Repeated as champion of the MATH this week! Continued my really hot run in this tournament with my 3rd win, 2nd in a row! With one other 2nd place in just 7 attempts, with 6 final tables, this tournament has become my little cash cow. I've got an ROI over a 500%, with $1110 in winnings over my seven $26 buy-ins. I like the MATH!!!

I was pretty card hot throughout this bloggerment, getting big slick a zillion times, and a handful of timely pocket Tens, (althought I can't recalling being dealt a single QQ-AA.) Had one BRUTAL suckout go my way late in the tourney when I played a hand like a complete tool against emptyman. With just high card and a flush draw after the turn I just gave up my whole stack into a big pot before catching the miracle 2nd running suit on the river. It was an awful play, and I had no place in the hand. Really sick. It was garbage.

I was on a different sort of tilt after that, it was odd. I started doing really well right after, and was soon in great position to compete for the win. All the while knowing that I had just been allin after the turn with ~8 outs, in a hand I played like a complete fool. It was just odd feeling that I was only still in given the brutal suckout, and here I was gathering a nice stack late in the tourney. It was a different sort of tilt. ... But... I got over it! ;-) ... Played a great final table, (focused on not getting embarrassed again,) and went on to repeat as champ!

Fortunately, emptyman went on to take 2nd place, letting me feel a little less guilty. GG man! Again, sorry! I did/do feel awful about it. (Not like 'chop-1st-place-awful' about it... but pretty bad. :-) ... And a good game to IslandBum1 for cashing in 3rd, and wookin_pa_noob who lost out on the bubble. Thanks to Hoy for hosting... good times! And if my MATH math is right, this puts me in 4th place on the yearly leaderboard, and within just $65 from Bayne in 1st! I'll look forward to puttin' a little pressure on the top three next week. See you then!

Do notice that the blog posts recapping my recent MATH victories each detail brutal suckouts for big stacks! This isn't a coincidence. I'm a donkey! Don't go assuming too much from the numbers in this tournament... Even a broken clock is right two times a day!

I'm a talkin' donkey,
~RaisingCayne

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Friday Night Gambling

Went to a live tournament yesterday. The 6:30 pm $30 buy in at the Treasure Casino in Renton, that Matt turned me on to. Didn't get there 'til 6:15 though, so was #8 on the alternate list. Had a buddy of mine meet me there, and he took down $900 for a high hand jackpot with quad jacks playin $4-$8 waitin' for the tourney to start. And given his good fortune, he offered to cover my buy-in! I was freerollin'! Got into the tournament fairly quickly, before even the 3rd level started. Doubled-up early with 99 against some aggro-donk's 8d6d, with it all in preflop. But, didn't do much anything from there, fallin' out in 25th of the 52. Got knocked out bluffing at a big pot with an excessive continuation bet push, holding AhKh on a flop of 553... just to run into some donkey who flopped a set from the big blind. (The ball-wrinkle thought it appropriate to defend his blind to my 4x raise from mid position, with 58off.?)

It was a really cool tournament structure though, starting with 5,000 chips, 25/50 blinds and 20 minute levels. Thank you Matt for the recommendation, it was good times! My buddy even ended up 'quasi-cashing,' as right before the bubble burst it was agreed that the next out would get there buy-in returned... and he was the benefactor of the deal. I liked the little casino too, as by the time by buddy was out of the tourney I was up $150 playing $4-$8 against complete morons. Was a weird experience playing against such idiots, as on TWO occasions by two different people my river bet was called by a missed draw! Both times the opponent showed their NOTHING. It was mind-boggling,... not that I'm complaining. I could see myself back at that card room again in the future! And I didn't even mention their $1 well drinks!

So my buddy Andre and I had a couple girlfriends meet us up there after the tourney, and that was a bit of a bad idea. Our poker/gambling night on the town turned into an evening spent entertaining the opposite sex. We left the Treasure and went to the Muckleshoot in Auburn, so the girls could play their slot machines. I was actually up another $100 playing video poker there, but, that was before I went and lost all of the evening's winnings at the roullette wheel. And after falling down to even for the night, (and having some seafood fettuccinni at 2 am in the casino restaraunt,) I made my way home. It was a good night in all.

The night made for a tired Saturday though, and I'm lounging for the rest of the weekend. 'Til next time...
...I'm a talkin' donkey,
~RaisingCayne

Monday, September 10, 2007

Another MATH Win!!!

Just won the MATH tournament! Turned $26 into an even $300. Was a much needed bankroll boost after my especially-donkeyerrific play of late. Didn't even play all too grand, as I luckboxed my way to the win, more than anything else. Had an amazing run of cards all tourney long. FOUR pocket aces (including 1 at the Final Table)... 2 pocket Kings (including the LAST hand of the tournament)... LOTS of big slicks, and AQs. Everytime I looked down I seemed to find a hand to raise with preflop, and when pushed back on I was usually holding monsters. ... And that's just my good starting hands. My ultra suckouts were even greater! Hoy will attest to this, as the hand that made my tourney early was a huge suckout on him.

Holding the hammer on the button I tried to steal Hoy's 3x BB bet from UTG with a 3x re-raise. (Ignorant decision given the situation, my only rationale was my motivation to try to show Hoy the Hammer if he folds.) Hoy thinks, then calls... Flop comes 568... Hoy bets out a fairly small bet, under half the pot if I remember right. I try to steal again and push all in on my lame draw, (not even bothering to put villian on a hand, and in hindsight I can't think of many hands within his range that he would fold to the push.) He calls, flips over JJ. Sees my Hammer. Turn's a 2... River's a 7. I double up with 2 pair. This was just one of a couple suckouts I had in the tourney, but was the most significant to the victory. Sorry Hoy. I swear, I did feel real guilty for a good three or four seconds.

Feels good to take the MATH down again. I've had a lot of luck in this tournament, with 2-1sts and one 2nd place finish, in a short time. I look forward to it continuing. Congratulations to LJ for finishing 2nd. She too seemed to have a great run of cards, showing multiple pocket Aces that held up throughout the tourney. Good game! It was 'a104l9' taking 3rd, and RecessRampage fallin' out on the bubble. (I was thrilled to just hit the cash in this one after bubbling THREE bloggerments in the last month! It was a nice moral victory when 4th place fell. Everything above third place was gravy to me tonight.) 'Til next time...

I'm a talkin' donkey,
~RaisingCayne

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Losing Live, and RedheadJenn in the Mookie.

Took a shot at Live play last weekend, went to the Muckleshoot last Saturday for some $3-$5 No Limit. Sat down with the $300 and left with nothing four hours later. It was real humbling, and frustrating as I just played horribly! Made some DUMB errors that really cost me: calling with hands like Top pair no kicker, while making scared folds with big drawing hands... just real bad play altogether.

Made a real ignorant decision that tilted me late: holding 47o in the small blind with about $190 in front of me, I decided to try and see a flop after LOTS of limpers, and threw in $2 more. BB checks his option, and flop comes J74 paint. First to act, I bet out the pot for $30. Get one caller from mid position, and then the button goes into the tank before pushing all in for $400+. ... And, like a dumbass... I FOLD. Midposition caller goes into the tank before folding and showing KJ... And the pushin' donkey shows AJ. F@*#!!!

I suck! Hindsight blows too, as I should have KNOWN I was ahead. In my dumb rationale I made the fold 'cause the pusher on my right had not made a move like that yet, and I for some reason read him for a monster hand. But, thinking about it longer, there was no monster hands even remotely likely in that spot: Dude had limped along with the whole table, so there was NO way he had JJ. And how/why could I still put him on a set when I held a 4 and a 7 myself!? And lastly, I knew the player wasn't the type to enter a pot with J7 or J4, as he had folded at least 80% pre-flop thus far, regardless of the action. So again, hindsight is embarrassing, I should've KNOWN I was ahead and taken down a monster pot. Instead, I went on tilt and donked off my remaining stack within the next five hands and left empty handed. Tilted me for the whole holiday weekend. And, a my buddy nouvellechef joined me for the adventure, and he left UP an even $1,000 after the same four hours at the same limits! As happy as I was for him, my envy was unbearable! Live and learn from each mistake I suppose, but I imagine it's gonna be a little while before I make another run at the live NL cash tables. One can't play scared, like I believe I did, and expect to come out ahead! Being scurred is -EV.

Anyway... had a GREAT time playin' in the Mookie last night. Talked my friend RedheadJenn into joining me in the tournament, and we both ended in the cash! Me just taking 6th place, and her getting sucked out on heads up for a great 2nd place finish. Great game Jenn!!! Good times. Thanks again to Mookie for hosting, and BuddyDank radio for providing such awesome entertainment throughout! 'Til next time...

... I'm a talkin' donkey,
~RaisingCayne