Today was a $2500 NL event and I busted before the first break again. One interesting hand:

25/50 5K starting chips. I have a little under that CO covers. Folds to CO who is a youngish guy who seems to have some idea what hes doing who raises to 175. I call in the BB with ATo. Flop T82r. I lead 250. I've started leading a bit in situations like this and I think it's a really good way to play the hand against aggressive players. They don't expect a thinking player to lead this type of hand into them here and you will often get called down light or induce bluffs. Checkraising makes the pot too big and I'm just not getting called down by worse with my image, so leading allows me to try to get one bet in on all streets which I think is basically the ideal situation with my hand. It does lead to some really messy situations but I think it's worth the higher risk to go for extra value. He calls and the turn is an 8. I bet 525 and he raises to 1500. I think there's a pretty good chance hes just decided to make a move out of confusion, and I don't think he raises an overpair very often here so he basically has trips+ or a bluff most of the time. I call. River blank, I check/call some stupid tiny 1K bet when I probably would have called off my stack and lose to A8. Then I later fold for a bit and lose A9o vs T9s for my last 1300.

After busting I found Aaron and Steve and hung out at their place with Timex who came down when Aaron final tabled Event 2, and we got tickets to see Mystere in the evening, the cirque du soleil show at Treasure Island. It was really good, the best of the cirque shows I've seen (though I haven't seen "O" yet which I've heard is the best one). Playing online today, then back on the live grind Monday. Tom finished 2nd in the $2500 O8/S8 event for ~$150K. What a badass.

Mike

No luck in the $5K shootout. My table wasn't that bad though it was certainly tougher than most. I was the first eliminated. I got off to a good start but then lost every pot I played after that. I then played some 5/10 PLO with a $25 straddle on the button most hands but just never made much in the way of hands there either. It was around 2 hours before I won a single pot. I ended up losing another $2K there so that sucked. Today is a $2500 NL event which figures to be pretty huge being on a Saturday and all. Maybe I'll run good or something. Also, today is my housemate here Tom's birthday. To celebrate he has made the final table of the $2500 Stud 8/Omaha 8 mixed tournament. He's 4/8 coming in and play starts up again at 4pm so good luck to him! Good to see someone in our house not sucking at least, winning a bracelet on your birthday wouldn't be a bad feat.

Mike

12:45pm: Call cab since everyone else drove in for 12pm event. 10mins to an hour wait time. OK could potentially be cutting it close but no worries.

1:15pm: Call back cab company. No one in the area wait another 10-15.

1:30pm: Call again. No one making any attempt to get here still.

1:45pm: Call again. Lady says she's going to try to get me a cab gets on phone. 10 mins pass she has no luck. Tells me to keep waiting.

2:05pm: Bond comes through the door busto before the first break as usual. I run out into the street chasing his cab waving my arms. Sprint for a block but I'm not closing distance.

210pm: Call back cab company offer $100 tip for a ride.

2:30pm: Have basically given up since I can't think of anyone that can come get me and I will probably be blinded off.

2:35pm: Kicking empty router box around the house on life tilt.

2:40pm: Call from Deeb wondering where the fuck I am. Explain situation he says he can find me a ride.

2:45pm: PokerNews posts update saying I have 4K in chips.

3:05pm: Geoff (mini-Thayer) and Shaun still not here. I am certain I will have been blinded off by the time I get there so I tell them thanks for trying. Sorry guys for making u come this way but I appreciate it.

Anyways a similar thing happened to me in a $1K rebuy event last year but I was able to get a ride in and only miss a couple orbits and we were in the money by the time I got there. Las Vegas cabbies who won't leave the strip because it costs them money can all go fuck themselves. Ace cab company when I do finally win a bracelet I am going to celebrate by going to your head offices and burning you to the ground. If you see an Ace cab kick the door in for me.

Mike

Today was the $1K+rebuys. I ended up in for the "minimum" of $4K and never really had a ton of chips. I had one mini-rush where I picked up AK on back-to-back hands and reraised to win a nice pot on the first, and then basebaldy decided to shove 66 over my reraise on the next hand for some reason and I actually won the flip to get to around 35K. I quickly lost those chips raising good hands, continuation betting, and then getting checkraised out of my seat. I grinded the shortstack for the rest of the day and finished with 16.5k with blinds starting at 800/1600 a200 tomorrow. So I'm very short but hanging on. It looks like there are around 106 players left and 72 will get paid so I'll have some work to do right away tomorrow. Also, huge congratulations to Aaron "Pacmann" Coulthard for finishing 6th in Event #2, the $1500 NL event with almost 4000 runners. He won just over $200K for the finish. Aaron was stevepa's roommate in Waterloo, another sick player who sort of stays under the radar since he doesn't play a lot of volume at all but he still crushes.

Mike

So I skipped event 2 and played online this weekend with little success. The only thing I seem to be winning at online lately is PLO strangely enough. Today I decided to play the $1500 pot-limit holdem event at noon. Here's a report of how I lost that buy-in:

Hand 1: 25/50 3K starting chips. I've basically played exactly one pot in the first 45 mins or so. Folds to guy in MP who raises to 150, CO calls, I decide to squeeze it up to 600 with T7s in the BB. Raiser flat calls, damn. Flop 532r I check but he checks back. Turn 6d giving me a flush draw and gutshot. It turns out the raiser only has 1250 left. I should probably have shoved but I decided to check. He checks back again so I'm pretty sure he has AK. River T. I bet 600 and he calls and mucks.

Hand 2: This one was reported online but they butchered the details pretty bad. 75/150 4 limps I complete KJdd in SB. Flop Td9d5d, I check for some reason and it checks around (I normally just bet out here and I think that's better). Turn 6c I bet 625 BB calls one limper calls. River 7h I shove ~2300, BB calls with a lower flush and I'm up to ~7500.


Hand 3: I got as high as 9600 but my super soft tight/passive table got broken and I got moved to a new table. 150/300 I have ~8K now. Some guy limps, I complete the SB with KQo and the BB checks. Flop Q96r, checks to limper who bets 600. I usually just call here but this time I decide to raise to try get a little more value and make it 1600. The problem is I know nothing about this player and when he then makes it 3600 I throw up in my mouth a little before eventually deciding I guess I better just fold.

Hand 4: 300/600 I just moved in on my friend Leo's raise to get back to 7400 at yet a another new table and post the SB in this hand. Folds to me in the SB with 55 and I decide to limp. I had raised this guy's blind the last 2 times it folded to me and I thought he would defend against a raise a lot by calling which would make postflop kind of gross on my stack size. I can just reraise if he raises my limp but he checks. Flop K22 I min-bet and he calls. Turn 6 check/check. River Q. I'm pretty sure he has a deuce and there's a good chance he'll pay off a bet. I should have the best hand unless he happened to hit his kicker. I bet 1200 and he quickly calls and shows Q2. Dammit.

Hand 5: 300/600 I have 5K before posting. Folds to old guy in HJ who raises to 1700. He's not especially tight or anything and I find J9cc and decide to try the ol stop and go since i think he'll give my flop shove some credit. Flop Js8c5c. Ding! I abort the stop and go to let him bluff. I check he bets 1700 I shove 1600 more he calls with AdTc and I'm slightly ahead. Turn Ah river brick hyachachachach.

Tomorrow is the $1K rebuy NL event though which is always fun. I cashed both of them last year so hopefully that trend continues.

Mike