Vegas TR - Nov 2-6th @ TI - Part 3 (the final chapter)

[mpitts]

This is the last part of my three part Vegas/TI trip report. You can read the first two parts here and here .

Monday
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I was actually supposed to leave on Monday, but I wound up having to stay in town for an extra day for work (darn!). I worked all day and found myself back in the TI poker room that night. I find myself at a table with Steve again. I like Steve and he and I had started to be somewhat friendly. Considering the fact that I have already felted him two or three times during this trip, I am surprised that he wants to talk to me at all. To my right is a guy named John (not MD's friend John) who I had played with at on Saturday with Tim and Clem2754. He was an open and generally aggressive player sitting directly to my left in the five seat (boo!). I am in the four seat and Steve is in the three. This table was only running for about 90 minutes. There is also a very loose player from England (LPFE) in the 8 seat. He and I had played together the first day I was in town and he showed down MANY poor hands.

First notable hand:

I straddle UTG for $10 (TI lets you straddle for any amount). Three people, including John and LPFE call. I look down at two black queens. Now, even though I am not nearly as loose of a player as the people at the table think I am, I have that image. I am praying that if i raise here that I will get re-raised by someone who thinks I am making a play at the pot. I raise to $50. Only LPFE calls. Damn.

The flop is:

J 9 2 rainbow

It is to me. LPFE only has about $120 left. I push all-in. He is eyeballing me. He thinks I am making a move at the pot and know that this guy is capable of calling me with a 9 or 2 here. I think he thinks I am making a move but he can't bring himself to call off the rest of his chips and folds. I muck my QQ face up just to show him that even an idiot like me can have a hand once in a while. I also did it because I know that he could call me with just about anything and I want to represent to him that I am not moving on pots that he is in. I was hoping it would buy me an opportunity to steal one from him in the future but I never got a chance.

Next hand:

I have AcKs UTG and raise. John calls and we are heads up. The flop is very dry, something like:

8 9 2

I make a continuation bet of about $40 into a $50 pot. John calls me instantly. I am putting him on a hand like JT or J9. I am also considering the possibility that he may have even less than that and might be setting me up for a bluff on the turn if I miss.

Turn 5 hearts

There are now two hearts on the board. There's about $130 in the pot and I have zip. The flush draw and the fact that I have completely missed causes me to shut down. I check. John checks behind. Hmm.. I start to think about this hand. Now I firmly have him on either JT or two hearts. John is more than capable of floating on the flop to see if he hits a heart on the turn. I figure checking behind would be the type of play that I would make if I hit a flush draw on the turn. No need to charge yourself to draw. John knows that if I have a real hand and was setting up for a check-raise on the turn, by betting his flush draw he could be blown out of the pot if I make a substantial check-raise.

River is a 3 of clubs

I check with the full intention of calling just about anything reasonable that John bets. While I have not paired, based on the action I think my AK is the best hand a majority of the time. John bets $50 and I almost beat him into the pot. He shows me a K of hearts and says thats all he has. I show AK and drag the pot.

Last hand of note from this table:

I have KhKs in the BB. It is folded to Steve, who raises out of the small blind. Normally I would repop it with KK here, but I am going to be heads up and in position for the entire hand. I smooth call and see a flop. Steve says "I have a nice hand". I don't know what that means to him but I think we are about to find out:

Jc Th 9h

This looks like a good flop for my hand but it can be deceptive. I have the overpair, an inside straight draw and a backdoor flush draw with my hand. Steve leads out for $50 into a $50 pot. He definitely has a hand here but now I have to figure out what it is. It's hard to put him on a range of hands but I try. AA-88, AK-AJ and maybe KJ. I start to think about how many of those hands that I beat and it isn't that many. He has to have QQ, 88, AK, AQ, AJ, or KJ. Well that sucks. I figure the best way to find out where I am at is to raise. I raise to $150. I think this was a mistake because if Steve is actually very strong here I am not going to be able to get away from the hand because he only has $250 behind his $50 bet. He raises all in instantly. Ugh. Now I am stuck calling the last $150. Oh well. If he has AA or a set then so be it. I have rolled him up enough this weekend and he was probably due. I call.

Steve shows AJ! WOO! I'm ahead! The turn and river brick off and I take it down. I was very reluctant to put money in this pot because I really felt Steve was strong. Looking back on the hand, I had disguised the strength of my hand by flat-calling and it would be very difficult for Steve to put me on an overpair.

Steve is busted. I have felted him a number of times over the weekend and now he is out of money. He asks me to borrow $100 and I happily oblige. Steve seems like a good guy and has been playing all weekend. I certainly don't want him out of the game, so I peel off a Benjamin and hand it to him. He says he is going to pay me back but I am honestly not that worried about it. He buys back in for $100. The table breaks a little while later. There were four of us and only two seats at the other table. I drew the lowest card and did not get a seat. No biggie. I cash out up around $325. Steve winds up drawing one of the seats and asks to borrow another $100. What am I supposed to tell him? No? I have enough of his money on me that lending him $200 total is no big deal. I am confident that he is going to pay me back and, again, it's good that he's in the game.

A seat comes available not too much later. I get the two seat. Nam is in seat one, Pokerflip is in the three, MD's friend John is in the four, The Other Dave (TOD) is in the six, a girl named Ree is in the seven, MD is in the eight and a big hispanic gentleman (BHG) is in the ten.

I am at the table for about thirty minutes when Nam vacates. Not too long after the seat opens a squirrelly looking hispanic guy, who I found out later is a local named Jose, sits. When I am at the table I tend to be a bit of a gregarious and outgoing individual. I tend to talk a lot. I know this. So after no more than five minutes, Jose yells "I need a seat change!" and is generally upset. They explain to him that there aren't any seats available. He starts into ME! "This guy won't shut up, etc etc.. " I'm looking at him like he is crazy and say "I'm sorry, but this is the poker table. Tough.." I'm paraphrasing here because I don't remember the exact words, but he bitches about how I am talking to much to anyone at the table that will listen. Then I start into him.. "Maybe I will only start stating facts, like 'You can't beat me in a pot' and 'I'm going to felt you.'" He doesn't say anything and I don't say a word at the table for the next five minutes. Then this hand comes up:

I am the BB. MD raises from the CO to $15. Button calls, Jose calls. I look down at 6c7c and call. ~$60 in the pot and the flop is:

Jc 5c 5s

On the flush draw. I hate being on the flush draw, especially on a paired board. Jose checks and I check. MD bets $50. BHG folds. Jose calls. With Jose calling I have to call getting more than 3 to 1 on my call.

Turn 3c

Well, I have hit my flush. Jose bets $50 again. I raise to $150, knowing that Jose only had $200 before the turn was dealt. I figure a raise to $150 is going to commit him to the hand and he is either going to raise all in or fold. MD folds. Jose just flat calls the extra $100. Confusing to say the least. I am trying to put him on a hand here. Trip fives? A better flush? Full house? Hard to say. Considering what happened between us just a few minutes ago he could have anything.

River Ks

Well, if I had the best hand I still have it. Unless Jose has KK, JJ, 55, K5, J5 or 35 then I am ahead. The only hands from that list that I think he would call out of the small blind with would be 55, 35 or possibly JJ. I think he would raise with JJ on the turn. I could see him smooth calling my raise with 55 (quads) or 35 (hitting his boat on the turn). I am not thinking he has a higher flush because, again, he just flat called me on the turn. Maybe that is poor reasoning, but I would think with the board already paired that he would not want to see it pair again on the river if I am holding AJ or something like that.

Jose leads out for this last $50 and I have to call him. He shows 45o for trips and I take down the pot. I stacked him just like I told him three hands ago that I would. I didn't say a word. I just raked the chips in and tipped the dealer. He didn't complain about me for the rest of the night. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] After the hand, MD said that he laid down two red kings and would have nailed the river. Good turn fold, MD!

The only other hand of note at this table was when I bluffed MD's friend John off of a hand when I check raised the flop and led the turn for $100. The board was 248 and the turn was a 6. He folded and everyone was sure that I had a set of fours. Nice!

Not too long after this, the omaha table is starting back up. I am all over that! I rack up (haw haw Jose!) and head right over to the omaha table. I take the one seat, TOD is in the two, a good young player who played with us yesterday is in the three, MD's friend John is in the four, and there are three others. I think Steve might have moved to this table and was in the seven seat.

Omaha was uneventful. I was fairly card-dead and when I did have a hand it missed the flop. I was handcuffed because the two best players were on my left in TOD and the young, aggressive guy from Purdue to his left. If I flopped a set, the turn always brought the straight or flush. If I hit a wrap or any kind of straight/flush draw, the board would pair on the turn. I lost a couple of hundred of bucks like this over a few hours. Oh well..

The omaha table breaks and I wind up on the outside looking in after we draw to sit at the $1/3NL game that I had left in the first place. MD's friend John and Steve wind up back over there. Someone eventually leaves and I find myself in the four seat. The seating is similar to when I left:

One - unknown
Two - Steve
Three - Pokerflip
Four - Me
Five - MD's friend John
Six - Jose
Seven - Ree
Eight - MD
Ten - (BHG - Big Hispanic Guy)

I would have sat in the five, but as soon as I came to the table MD's friend John moves to the five. That's OK. He is fairly predictable. It's better than having MD directly to my left.

I buy in for $500. This is the first hand that I play at the table:

I am in late position with 55. It is a limped pot and I call. There are at least four players to the flop.

Flop: Ad 8d 5s

Nice. First hand in and I flop a set. With two diamonds, two straight cards and an Ace, I figure it is best to fire right out at the pot. It is checked to me and I bet $15. I am called by MD and BHG. The pot is now ~$60

Turn 9c

Hmm.. Interesting card. 67 just got there and that's about it. It is checked to me again and I bet $50. MD check-raises me to $150. BHG folds. Now I have played with MD for two and a half days. I know he is a very creative player who is capable of running a bluff just like this. The only hands I can put him on here is A9 or 67. Maybe 89 for a worse two pair. He could also have 100% air, like a missed flush draw. I need to either call and hope for him to lead with a river bluff or raise him all in right now. I know if he misses and a safe card lands on the river (assuming he is drawing) that he is going to fire at it and I am going to be sitting there with a hand that can pick him off.

River Th

MD leads out for $120 instantly. I insta-call. MD has QJd for the nut straight. Ouch! That stings. He had plenty of outs on the turn. A diamond and I can get away from it. This river perfectly disguised his hand and did not give me an opportunity to fold. He later said that had he missed he would have bet more. I was pretty much calling anything he bet on the river as long as it wasn't a diamond. Oh well.. Looks like I should have pushed the turn. At any rate, I am -$300 already at this table. Yuck.

Next hand of note. I am in the CO with 88. It is raised from early position by Ree, who is in the seven seat. She had been relatively tight and has played very few pots. There is one caller between us and I call. She has me covered so if I hit a set it I can get paid off if she holds an overpair.

Flop Kd 3d 2s

Ree immediately leads out for $20. The player between us folds and we are now heads up. I start to think about what she holds. As I said, she has been tight. Considering her tight play and the fact that she raised from early position, I put her on a range of AA-99, AK and AQ suited. I think that even if I don't have the best hand right now I might be able to push her off of the hand right here. If she doesn't have AA, KK or AK, she is probably going to fold to a raise. I raise to $75. Ree thinks for a minute and calls. Crap.

Turn 7

If I am correct on the range of hands that I put Ree on then this hasn't changed anything. If she leads here then I am folding. If she checks then I need to bet and hope that she folds. If I get check-raised then I can just throw it away because I can be sure that I am drawing to two outs on the turn. Ree checks. I wait for a minute so as not to represent too much strength and bet $120, which is about 3/4 of the pot. She thinks for a while and decides that she believes me. She folds. OK, I can exhale now. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Over the next couple of hours, I proceed to get stuck another $200 in two hands where I had flopped an open-ended straight draw and missed. I don't usually chase, but there were so many callers that I was getting more than correct odds to call on my draws. It didn't help that I also bluffed off about $80 on the river of a hand where I completely missed and was picked off by a gentleman named Lloyd that had been playing with us all weekend.

So now I am stuck $500 at this table. I am sitting on $300 and decide that I am either going to double up or go home. Not the greatest attitude and, looking back, I should have just gotten up from the table and been stuck $500. I wasn't exactly chasing loses but I also wasn't in the right mindset to be playing. It also doesn't help that I am worn out and half asleep at the table. I am NEVER tired at the table but for some reason I was. I tell myself that I will play two more orbits and head to bed. Then this hand comes up:

I am on the button with 67o. Five people limp in front of me. Of course, 67o a pretty rough starting hand but it's late, I am sleep-tilting and stuck. Not a good combination. MD's friend John completes from the SB and the BB checks. Flop:

4s 6s 7h

Nice! Top two pair. MD's friend John leads out for $15. It folds to Steve, who is in the two seat now. He raises to $58 and is all in. Well, I am not worried about Steve and am sure that I am ahead of him. I put MD's friend John on a flush draw, bottom two, or top two like me. I decide that I need to raise. I am a little hazy on the numbers, but I am thinking that I raised to $150 total. This raise is enough to commit me to the hand as I only have about $150 behind. MD's friend John instantly goes all in. Crap. I am closing the action as everyone else has folded. I start doing some math. $15 in the pot, plus Steve's $58, plus my $150, plus John's $150; $373. Add John's money that puts me all in and the pot becomes $523. It's an all-in call to me and, as I had said, I have $150 left. I am getting 3 1/2 to 1 on the call. Best case is that John has a flush draw with two overs, A7, 46 or a hand like A5s for a combo draw. Worst case scenario is that he holds 77, 66, 44, 58 or 35. If he has 77 or 66 I am in DEEP trouble. If he has 44, 35, or 58 (more likely considering I hold 76o) I am about a 3 1/2 to 1 dog. So I am ahead of four of the hands I put him on, a 3 1/2 to 1 dog to three, and nearly drawing dead against the two least likely holdings.

Considering all of this, I also think about how I am already stuck for the night and am really not happy about the possibility of being stuck $800 at this table. Unfortunately I think I have to call. I call. John shows 35o. Crap. It could have been worse but it definitely could have been better.

Turn 2c

River 7s

Ouch. I sucked out. Big time. This was the first time all weekend that I put my money in badly and it was the first time I sucked out. John immediately racks up and leaves. I feel terrible. I put my money in bad and did not deserve to win the hand. Oh well. That's poker. I talk to MD a little and express my regret. He just shrugs it off and says that John is relatively new to poker and is very competitive. I understand that. I use to steam from a bad beat but now I just let it roll off of me and hope that the player makes another poor decision against me in the future.

Well that hand really woke me up. In fact, someone at the table even said that. I am now sitting on around $650. Cool. It still sucks that I had to suck out but again, it happens. This brings us to the last hand of my trip.

I am sitting on roughly $600 when the hand starts. The lineup is the same as before. Pokerflip is in the two seat. Seat three is a dealer from TI who's name escapes me. MD's friend John is still gone. I am UTG+1 with 66. I limp and two people limp after me. BHG (Big Hispanic Guy) raises from the SB. Now BHG has been raising rags and betting the flop constantly. Steve calls from the BB and I call from UTG+1. Flop:

6 3 3

Wow. OK. I have just flopped 6's full. The flop I was dreaming of has just been spread across the middle of the table and I am doing everything I can not to jump out of my seat and kiss the dealer. Pokerflip checks and I check behind. BHG leads out for $25. Pokerflip calls and I call. I am praying for a 2 or a 7 to peel off to make someone a straight. The pot is now about $125.

Turn 2

Nice. No only does this not make someone a better full house but, like I said before, someone could now have a straight. BHG checks and Pokerflip moves all in for ~$125. Wow! It's a dream come true. My only problem now is how to get BHG's money in this pot. He is not a very good player and doesn't understand that if someone just calls an all-in bet with someone behind them that it generally represents a great deal of strength. If the player in the middle (me) has anything less than an unbeatable hand, he should be raising to isolate the all-in player instead of pricing in the player behind him. I flat call. I figure if BHG has an over pair, a three or the straight that he can call here. If he holds anything else I am not going to get any more money from him anyway. He is hemming and hawing over this call. He has his cards in his hand in a manner that he can only see one of them. He is flicking at it and it is easily viewable to the people in the seven and eight seat. It dawns on me that he MUST have a three. Why would he hold his cards the way that he's holding them if he has anything else? So, knowing that he is generally a weak player, I say to him "If you have a three, you should call." I'm not sure if this was a good idea, but it worked! He calls. Now I FIRMLY have him on a three and as long as a three doesn't roll off on the river then he is in big trouble. He has about $300 behind and I cover.

River 8

That doesn't change anything at all. I am trying to figure out the best way to get all of BHG's money in this pot. Again, he is not the best player in the world and I have him squarely on a three. Considering his call on the turn, I don't think he is folding to any bet. I push all in. BHG thinks for about thirty seconds and pushes his chips in the pot. I roll over my 66. Pokerflip folds and BHG folds! Wow. What a hand. I have just raked a pot of close to $1100. Wow.. wowowowowowowow..

Pokerflip tells me that he folded 77 and MD tells me that BHG showed A3 before he mucked. One more time; wow.

So I go from being stuck $500 to almost being stuck $800 to being up almost $300! The table breaks two hands later. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my trip to TI.

I want to thank everyone associated with the TI poker room. Danette, Chris, Michelle, Perry, Mariksa, John and Jessica and all of the dealers.. Steve, TJ, Pedro, Troy, Jon, John, Terrence, Hank, Kristi, Fitsum, Vance, Boofer, and everyone else. If I forgot you then just get a hold of me and complain! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Also I want to thank TOD, Yappy, LVM, Cindy, Sabs, Tim and all of the other locals (including the room managers and dealers) who I have become good friends with over the past few months. You guys are the best and I appreciate the fact that you have taken me in as a regular and Las Vegas local. I can't wait to see you all again!

[Huggs]

Thanks for the read. I enjoyed all three parts of your trip report.