Go 2 for 3 on your tournament All-In's & sit below your stacking stack of 5k with 1.3k; How does it feel? Not good. 1 of the 2 All-In wins; you chop. How does that feel? Urgggh. How about All-In on the flop with pocket Jacks vs A-6 off on a board of Q,Q,3,K. I know I'm ahead but this is Texas Hold'em; there is one more card to come. Before the last card is dealt; I'm prepared for the worst regardless of what I hold & the magical "King" appears. My Jacks are counterfeited & I lose to the A-6x. Needless to say; I didn't cash in this particular tournament but managed to survive with the shortest stack far longer than most players.
If you let it; your job/profession can negatively impact your life.
Showing posts with label Las Vegas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Las Vegas. Show all posts
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The 50K Conundrum
There are always choices & different paths to reach a final destination or end result. Did I make the right choice? Was I efficient? Could I have make it to the end faster? These are questions that I ask myself daily in life & in poker. You can't be in the game if you're out but you can't be out if you were never in. The past year has provided me much experience/resolve for my overall poker game. Playing in free-rolls, Invitationals based upon hourly play & playing more mixed-game/none Hold'em cash games has enabled me to stay in the game of poker & utilize one of my greatest skills: minimizing my risk & pushing the edge.
I have played Hold'em at The Mirage in Las Vegas to qualify for each of the last four 50K Quarterlys. Play at least
I have played Hold'em at The Mirage in Las Vegas to qualify for each of the last four 50K Quarterlys. Play at least
Monday, June 11, 2012
The Frenzy (Prelude to 2012 WSOP)
I sit there, folding hand after hand. Nursing my average stack. Boredom sets in; I'm dealt A,Jx & raise from late position. The small blind raises; the big blind goes All-In. Freaking Frak, what do I do? I mutter to myself & fold. Who wins the hand? It does not matter; I didn't pay to play. For the next level, I spew what little chips I have left. The money bubble approaches, such is the routine of a
Friday, August 26, 2011
Mr. ThreeSix Offsuit at Flamingo 75K Invitational (Part 1)
I did not see Eskimo Clark this trip, see my last post to get the complete story of the curse or charm of Clark. Coming into this August trip/invite, there was an air of confidence that I've not felt in awhile. A three week stretch of nothing but poker - tournament & cash games with no distractions. Read on for the details of my deep runs in the Flamingo 75K Invitational & Rio Summerfest Poker FreeRolls.
Las Vegas feels much like home away from home away from home to me. I go there to have a little fun but mostly to get work/poker done! This trip entailed (4) poker freeroll invitationals in a 8 day stretch plus cash (ring) games which I will cover in the next post. Historically, up to last year; The Flamingo (Flaming-O) was a unlucky place for me as I never posted winning / break even sessions (poker & non-poker). 2011 has been a different story for me at The Flamingo as I've posted winning sessions due to poker & freeroll invites (Feb. Harrahs Invite @Flamingo) & have avoided the slots at The Flamingo.
Day 1 -starting stack of 1,500 shoot-out style, top 2 out of 10 from each table advance to Day 2. The normal fast structure, blinds up every 15 mins, antes in Level 2. My table quickly loses 3 players in the first 10 minutes. the 2 chip leaders have 4k & 3.5k. I manage to win a few small pots & am the low stack with 1,600. My image thus far has actually been loose calls pre-flop, aggressive post-flop. Another 3 players are eliminated by level 3, blinds 100/200/50 ante (now down to 4). The Level 1 chip leaders played too aggressive & were both eliminated. New tighter, chip leaders emerged & I was once again the short-stack with 1,200. I'm dealt A,3 off in the cut-off position & raise to 500, the big blind flat calls. The flop is 3, 7, 2. Big Blind bets me all-in & I call. To my dismay, he turns over pocket Queens. The turn is an Ace, two pair for me & the river blanks. A much needed double up for me; increasing my stack to 3,200. I end Level 4 with 4k. It is now down to 3 players. Level 5 is a grind as neither of the other 2 players (5,000 ; 6,800) want to double me up & risk being eliminated. Level 6 blinds 500/1,000/200antes. I pick up the aggression & win 3 consecutive hands with pre-flop All-in bets. My chip stack is at 7,600. I pick up pocket 6s in the button & raise all-in, Big Blind calls All-in with K,10 & misses. I advance to Day 2.
Day 2 chips don't carry over from day 1. The real tournament now begins. Starting stack of 5,000 with 20 min levels, blinds start at 100/200. Antes kick in Level 2. A field of 900 is now down to roughly 170 with 100 being paid. There is an aggro player in Seat 10, I'm in Seat 8. Seat 10 quickly grows his stack to 15k within the first 10 mins by being very loose. I pick up pocket Aces on the button & raise to 700 & Seat 10 (Mr. Three-Six off) calls. The flop comes 9, 2, 5. Mr 3-6 bets 1,000; I re-raise & announce All-In. Mr 3-6 quickly folds. I manage to end level 1 with 6,500. Level 2 blinds 200/400/100ante, I fold every hand, no face cards, connectors, etc. Mr 3-6 continues to eliminate new players brought to the table & we hit the money bubble at the end of Level 2. My chipstack is now at the starting stack of 5,000. Level 3 sees my stack dwindling to 1,300 as the blinds are 300/600/200antes. Every orbit costs 2,900 just by folding & not calling any additional bets. Mr 3-6 has a stack of over 55,000. We are way inside the money with 85 players left. I dial up the aggression level after folding pocket 10s in late position after a raise , all-in & a re-raise. I would've lost with pocket 10s had I called. The next hand, I wake up with pocket Js & double up through Mr 3-6 off to 3,700.
Level 5 begins (600/1,200/400antes), I increase my stack through a series of aggressive pre-flop raises & end the level with 15,000. I find out from floor staff that we are going to be the final table & will not have to move. This is a big plus as the chips will be moving into our direction.
Level 6 begins (1,000/2,000/500antes) & my chip battles with Mr 3-6 off begins. Mr 3-6 has been berating the dealers, really! He has also managed to be all-in & suck-out 10 of 10 times on the river. I was looking to do the table & field a favor by siphoning his chip stack. I call from the button position with 3,4 hearts (19k chipstack) & he raises to 4,500. This is a small raise for Mr 3-6 (95k chipstack) as he normally raises 4-5xs the blind regardless of position. Immediately, I put him on a mid-high hand such as J,10 or Q,J. The flop brings 3,3,8. He bets out 3k into a pot of over 14k. I flat call, looking to get max value for my hand. The turn is a 7. He bets me All-In for my last 13.2K & I insta-call. To my shock, he turns over 10,9 open ended straight draw. The river misses his draw & I double up to to 42k. Only 50 players left & I'm thinking to myself I am a lock for the final table. Most of the remaining field; over half have less than 2-3 big blinds left. I'm gunning for the 30k, 50k, etc for 1st place.
Level 7 begins (2,000/4,000/500 antes) With 77K remaining in chips I'm dealt pocket 9s after posting the big blind. Mr 3-6 off (78k in chips) raises to 8K . This starts a cascade of calls, I decide to re-raise to 18K. It's now heads up with Mr. 3-6off. The flop is 3, 8, 2. I bet 20K & he calls. The flop is a 10. I go All-In for my last 39K & after much deliberation he calls & shows me 3-6off. If I win this hand, I will be up to over 160K & a lock for the final table. After a 5 minute chip count he has me covered by 1K. The stinking river is a 6 giving him 2 pair & sending me to the rail in 37th place. I ask for a recount of the chips to make sure. He celebrates with a loud shriek & much pompous celebration. It's one thing to lose but to get sucked out on & have someone in your face celebrating, come on man!
I leave the table, go collect my min-cash begrudgingly. I nearly decide to not collect the cash & go back to the table to tell Mr.3-6 off "nice hand". Some people have all the luck. I tell him, "I'm saving a seat for you down stairs at the tables Mr 3-6". Two hrs later, he busts out in 8th place & comes down to the poker room to tell me has (2) $500 Giftcards & would like to sell them to me. I get up from my chair & speak my mind "Sir , I'm not paying a dime for it; you should give those to me for your terrible call/actions". Floor staff come over to see if everything is okay & cooler heads (mine) prevail.
The next 3 hours of live poker are very good as I my manage to nearly quadruple my buy-in at 2/4 Limit. It is not enough to make me forget about the painful sting of 3,6 off. My next post will be on the Summerfest 2011 (Pt 2) & my next encounter with Mr 3-6 & how I've become a Vegas local.
Thanks Mr 3-6 literally,
Chewey / 247poker
Las Vegas feels much like home away from home away from home to me. I go there to have a little fun but mostly to get work/poker done! This trip entailed (4) poker freeroll invitationals in a 8 day stretch plus cash (ring) games which I will cover in the next post. Historically, up to last year; The Flamingo (Flaming-O) was a unlucky place for me as I never posted winning / break even sessions (poker & non-poker). 2011 has been a different story for me at The Flamingo as I've posted winning sessions due to poker & freeroll invites (Feb. Harrahs Invite @Flamingo) & have avoided the slots at The Flamingo.
Day 1 -starting stack of 1,500 shoot-out style, top 2 out of 10 from each table advance to Day 2. The normal fast structure, blinds up every 15 mins, antes in Level 2. My table quickly loses 3 players in the first 10 minutes. the 2 chip leaders have 4k & 3.5k. I manage to win a few small pots & am the low stack with 1,600. My image thus far has actually been loose calls pre-flop, aggressive post-flop. Another 3 players are eliminated by level 3, blinds 100/200/50 ante (now down to 4). The Level 1 chip leaders played too aggressive & were both eliminated. New tighter, chip leaders emerged & I was once again the short-stack with 1,200. I'm dealt A,3 off in the cut-off position & raise to 500, the big blind flat calls. The flop is 3, 7, 2. Big Blind bets me all-in & I call. To my dismay, he turns over pocket Queens. The turn is an Ace, two pair for me & the river blanks. A much needed double up for me; increasing my stack to 3,200. I end Level 4 with 4k. It is now down to 3 players. Level 5 is a grind as neither of the other 2 players (5,000 ; 6,800) want to double me up & risk being eliminated. Level 6 blinds 500/1,000/200antes. I pick up the aggression & win 3 consecutive hands with pre-flop All-in bets. My chip stack is at 7,600. I pick up pocket 6s in the button & raise all-in, Big Blind calls All-in with K,10 & misses. I advance to Day 2.
Day 2 chips don't carry over from day 1. The real tournament now begins. Starting stack of 5,000 with 20 min levels, blinds start at 100/200. Antes kick in Level 2. A field of 900 is now down to roughly 170 with 100 being paid. There is an aggro player in Seat 10, I'm in Seat 8. Seat 10 quickly grows his stack to 15k within the first 10 mins by being very loose. I pick up pocket Aces on the button & raise to 700 & Seat 10 (Mr. Three-Six off) calls. The flop comes 9, 2, 5. Mr 3-6 bets 1,000; I re-raise & announce All-In. Mr 3-6 quickly folds. I manage to end level 1 with 6,500. Level 2 blinds 200/400/100ante, I fold every hand, no face cards, connectors, etc. Mr 3-6 continues to eliminate new players brought to the table & we hit the money bubble at the end of Level 2. My chipstack is now at the starting stack of 5,000. Level 3 sees my stack dwindling to 1,300 as the blinds are 300/600/200antes. Every orbit costs 2,900 just by folding & not calling any additional bets. Mr 3-6 has a stack of over 55,000. We are way inside the money with 85 players left. I dial up the aggression level after folding pocket 10s in late position after a raise , all-in & a re-raise. I would've lost with pocket 10s had I called. The next hand, I wake up with pocket Js & double up through Mr 3-6 off to 3,700.
Level 5 begins (600/1,200/400antes), I increase my stack through a series of aggressive pre-flop raises & end the level with 15,000. I find out from floor staff that we are going to be the final table & will not have to move. This is a big plus as the chips will be moving into our direction.
Level 6 begins (1,000/2,000/500antes) & my chip battles with Mr 3-6 off begins. Mr 3-6 has been berating the dealers, really! He has also managed to be all-in & suck-out 10 of 10 times on the river. I was looking to do the table & field a favor by siphoning his chip stack. I call from the button position with 3,4 hearts (19k chipstack) & he raises to 4,500. This is a small raise for Mr 3-6 (95k chipstack) as he normally raises 4-5xs the blind regardless of position. Immediately, I put him on a mid-high hand such as J,10 or Q,J. The flop brings 3,3,8. He bets out 3k into a pot of over 14k. I flat call, looking to get max value for my hand. The turn is a 7. He bets me All-In for my last 13.2K & I insta-call. To my shock, he turns over 10,9 open ended straight draw. The river misses his draw & I double up to to 42k. Only 50 players left & I'm thinking to myself I am a lock for the final table. Most of the remaining field; over half have less than 2-3 big blinds left. I'm gunning for the 30k, 50k, etc for 1st place.
Level 7 begins (2,000/4,000/500 antes) With 77K remaining in chips I'm dealt pocket 9s after posting the big blind. Mr 3-6 off (78k in chips) raises to 8K . This starts a cascade of calls, I decide to re-raise to 18K. It's now heads up with Mr. 3-6off. The flop is 3, 8, 2. I bet 20K & he calls. The flop is a 10. I go All-In for my last 39K & after much deliberation he calls & shows me 3-6off. If I win this hand, I will be up to over 160K & a lock for the final table. After a 5 minute chip count he has me covered by 1K. The stinking river is a 6 giving him 2 pair & sending me to the rail in 37th place. I ask for a recount of the chips to make sure. He celebrates with a loud shriek & much pompous celebration. It's one thing to lose but to get sucked out on & have someone in your face celebrating, come on man!
I leave the table, go collect my min-cash begrudgingly. I nearly decide to not collect the cash & go back to the table to tell Mr.3-6 off "nice hand". Some people have all the luck. I tell him, "I'm saving a seat for you down stairs at the tables Mr 3-6". Two hrs later, he busts out in 8th place & comes down to the poker room to tell me has (2) $500 Giftcards & would like to sell them to me. I get up from my chair & speak my mind "Sir , I'm not paying a dime for it; you should give those to me for your terrible call/actions". Floor staff come over to see if everything is okay & cooler heads (mine) prevail.
The next 3 hours of live poker are very good as I my manage to nearly quadruple my buy-in at 2/4 Limit. It is not enough to make me forget about the painful sting of 3,6 off. My next post will be on the Summerfest 2011 (Pt 2) & my next encounter with Mr 3-6 & how I've become a Vegas local.
Thanks Mr 3-6 literally,
Chewey / 247poker
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Eskimo Clark - Good Luck Charm or Curse 4 Chewey at WSOP?
As you read this post, the question of "Is Eskimo Clark- a good luck charm or curse for Chewey?" has yet to be fully answered. Only one thing is for certain; whenever I run into or see Eskimo Clark, my trip is either real profitable or real bad. Who is Eskimo Clark you may ask? Clark is a poker player that looks a lot a grizzly bear (pardon the description); nearly passed out in an event (stroke)that I played at during a World Series of Poker Event (back when they had overflow play in an unconditioned outdoor tent) in 06/07. Here is a brief rundown of my history when I play or see Clark at an event. My first WSOP cash, was in an event Clark played in 2007, my final table bubble at an Tunica event happened with Clark; my worst WSOP Circuit Event trip was when I saw Clark in 2008 at Council Bluffs My largest cash game profit happened when Clark was walking by in 2009 at The Rio. It had been a while, since I had a Clark sighting.
Before we get to the Clark Sighting, let's recap my life since March. Did terrible at the 75K Ballys Invite (March); Moved back to Colorado for the most part, Black Friday for Poker occurred- byebye FullTilt Money; Bodog (site I play mostly on) announced they are pulling out of the US end of 2011. So lots of stones are being thrown against my poker avenues- I will save this rant on the US government stance toward online poker & Black Friday for a future blog!
Fast forward to June & The WSOP. I did not play the bracelet events but focused on the lower buy-in DeepStack events at the WSOP. Great structure, lots of chips & MASSIVE FIELDS-I like. I had a group of friends/players there to support & cheer for as well. The first 3 events I played in, did not cash but I lasted longer & longer with each passing tourney. Wham, then I saw Eskimo Clark during the latter part of my 3 week stay. Fortune or Curse? Now it all made sense, I had been sensing a disturbance in the poker force, lol. I told one of my friends, Jay- that the trip was about to be psycho. During a 10pm DeepStack Event, several weird situations occurred: I was moved to at least 16 different tables; I was down to 700 chips when Blinds were150/300/25ante; I witnessed a overused dealer that had been dealing for days almost make a mistake before making a BIG mistake during the money bubble.
During my 8th table change, something like that; this dealer nearly pushed a pot, began to muck the board as 3 players were still in a hand & I stopped him. 3 hours later, we were down to 33 players & only 32 would be paid. I had 14,000 in chips with 800/1,600blinds/200ante; the following hand occurred at an adjacent table:
(Seat 2) Chipleader- Pocket Aces
(Seat 5) Mid Stack-Pocket 7s
(Seat 7) mid stack Pocket Aces
(Seat 8) Pocket Ks
(Seat 10) KQ suited
Seat 2, 5, 7 all-in preflop. Flop is ??? who knows, I wasn;t there yet. This should be routine but the dealer from 3 hours ago scrambles the flop & readies for the next hand. Wtf? This hand is not over & a huge commotion ensues, this is where I notice the Tourney Director running over as we are on hand for hand, the next person out gets no money! The entire table can't agree on what the cards were on the flop. So, the ruling is all of the folded/dead cards were shuffled & the flop was re-dealt. Wait for it, wait for it- the second flop was a mis-deal as well, the burn card was exposed. So, a 3rd flop was dealt & of course the 7 hits! Wow, the turn & river are blanks, short stack quadruples up big time & Seat 7 is crippled, Seat 8 out, Seat 10 out, bubble is burst but the hand took 20 minutes. You can't write better drama than this WSOP drama. Meanwhile, at my table we are all joking about whipping out cells & getting video footage of this. A floor person cautions me & says penalty of 1 Level of play- I decide not to! I go on to finish 13th in this event, decent cash.
2 days later, I played in another WSOP DS Event, field of 700+ & finish in 9th place. Had decent amount of chips but ran my pocket Aces into a rivered flush, ugh but felt good about cashing in my last 2 WSOP tournys. Had to leave town, did I miss my heater run? Don't think so, I'm back at it 2 months later in full force, alter ego "247poker", style+all & will be playing the 75K Poker Invitational at The Flamingo, 3 Events at The Summerfest 2011-Rio in the next two weeks.
Until the next Eskimo Clark Sighting, not!
Chewey
Before we get to the Clark Sighting, let's recap my life since March. Did terrible at the 75K Ballys Invite (March); Moved back to Colorado for the most part, Black Friday for Poker occurred- byebye FullTilt Money; Bodog (site I play mostly on) announced they are pulling out of the US end of 2011. So lots of stones are being thrown against my poker avenues- I will save this rant on the US government stance toward online poker & Black Friday for a future blog!
Fast forward to June & The WSOP. I did not play the bracelet events but focused on the lower buy-in DeepStack events at the WSOP. Great structure, lots of chips & MASSIVE FIELDS-I like. I had a group of friends/players there to support & cheer for as well. The first 3 events I played in, did not cash but I lasted longer & longer with each passing tourney. Wham, then I saw Eskimo Clark during the latter part of my 3 week stay. Fortune or Curse? Now it all made sense, I had been sensing a disturbance in the poker force, lol. I told one of my friends, Jay- that the trip was about to be psycho. During a 10pm DeepStack Event, several weird situations occurred: I was moved to at least 16 different tables; I was down to 700 chips when Blinds were150/300/25ante; I witnessed a overused dealer that had been dealing for days almost make a mistake before making a BIG mistake during the money bubble.
During my 8th table change, something like that; this dealer nearly pushed a pot, began to muck the board as 3 players were still in a hand & I stopped him. 3 hours later, we were down to 33 players & only 32 would be paid. I had 14,000 in chips with 800/1,600blinds/200ante; the following hand occurred at an adjacent table:
(Seat 2) Chipleader- Pocket Aces
(Seat 5) Mid Stack-Pocket 7s
(Seat 7) mid stack Pocket Aces
(Seat 8) Pocket Ks
(Seat 10) KQ suited
Seat 2, 5, 7 all-in preflop. Flop is ??? who knows, I wasn;t there yet. This should be routine but the dealer from 3 hours ago scrambles the flop & readies for the next hand. Wtf? This hand is not over & a huge commotion ensues, this is where I notice the Tourney Director running over as we are on hand for hand, the next person out gets no money! The entire table can't agree on what the cards were on the flop. So, the ruling is all of the folded/dead cards were shuffled & the flop was re-dealt. Wait for it, wait for it- the second flop was a mis-deal as well, the burn card was exposed. So, a 3rd flop was dealt & of course the 7 hits! Wow, the turn & river are blanks, short stack quadruples up big time & Seat 7 is crippled, Seat 8 out, Seat 10 out, bubble is burst but the hand took 20 minutes. You can't write better drama than this WSOP drama. Meanwhile, at my table we are all joking about whipping out cells & getting video footage of this. A floor person cautions me & says penalty of 1 Level of play- I decide not to! I go on to finish 13th in this event, decent cash.
2 days later, I played in another WSOP DS Event, field of 700+ & finish in 9th place. Had decent amount of chips but ran my pocket Aces into a rivered flush, ugh but felt good about cashing in my last 2 WSOP tournys. Had to leave town, did I miss my heater run? Don't think so, I'm back at it 2 months later in full force, alter ego "247poker", style+all & will be playing the 75K Poker Invitational at The Flamingo, 3 Events at The Summerfest 2011-Rio in the next two weeks.
Until the next Eskimo Clark Sighting, not!
Chewey
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Flaming-O Streak Wrap-Up
It's been a month since I've cashed at The Harrah's $100,000 Invitational Poker Tournament. The tournament was actually held at The Flamingo or (The Flaming-O) as I like to call it. I never win or do good here. This tournament & trip marked an end to several bad streaks & the beginning of new ones.
On the start of Day 2, I am dealt pocket 10s in the button position with blinds at 25/50. I raise it to 175 & am called by both blinds. Uh oh, I think. The flop brings 10, 9, 8 with two suited hearts. The SB checks, BB bets 300 into a pots of 500. I go into the tank & wonder if the big blind has two overcards with a Jack open ended straight draw, flush draw or air. My first reaction is to lay it down, he has hit his straight already. Less than 2 minutes of Day 2, I'm put to the test already. It really doesn't help that you only start with 1,500 at the start of Day 2; but I don't make the rules. I do the unthinkable & fold. This hand has me curious, I just hope to see the turn & river cards. The SB goes all in & BB insta-calls with a straight & has a redraw to the straight flush. The SB has the sucker (low) end of the straight with 6, 7. BB ends up winning with his Q high straight. Wow, I think to myself, did I just avert disaster. I dislike pocket 10s, always have & always will.
I make it to Level 4 with the blinds 200/400/75antes & in a matter of minutes am dealt pocket Kings, A-K, A-Q, A-9. Don't worry, none of those hands held up & I'm busto around 100th place. I cash but am highly disappointed at what could have been. I played good for the most part but there were opportunities I feel that I could have padded my chip stack. Overall, the trip was blah. I was tired when I flew in & dug myself a hole in the first 5 hours by playing tired. Reflecting, it would help if I could play more live poker as work projects have filled my poker plate up lately.
For Jay-Z fans, I say it's on to the next one! I'm leaving the room for my next tournament "$75,000 Bally's Poker Tournament" in Las Vegas. March Madness is in the air & I'm looking to pull a Cinderella story of my own. Strap your laces boys & girls, this dance is about to begin.
Chewey
On the start of Day 2, I am dealt pocket 10s in the button position with blinds at 25/50. I raise it to 175 & am called by both blinds. Uh oh, I think. The flop brings 10, 9, 8 with two suited hearts. The SB checks, BB bets 300 into a pots of 500. I go into the tank & wonder if the big blind has two overcards with a Jack open ended straight draw, flush draw or air. My first reaction is to lay it down, he has hit his straight already. Less than 2 minutes of Day 2, I'm put to the test already. It really doesn't help that you only start with 1,500 at the start of Day 2; but I don't make the rules. I do the unthinkable & fold. This hand has me curious, I just hope to see the turn & river cards. The SB goes all in & BB insta-calls with a straight & has a redraw to the straight flush. The SB has the sucker (low) end of the straight with 6, 7. BB ends up winning with his Q high straight. Wow, I think to myself, did I just avert disaster. I dislike pocket 10s, always have & always will.
I make it to Level 4 with the blinds 200/400/75antes & in a matter of minutes am dealt pocket Kings, A-K, A-Q, A-9. Don't worry, none of those hands held up & I'm busto around 100th place. I cash but am highly disappointed at what could have been. I played good for the most part but there were opportunities I feel that I could have padded my chip stack. Overall, the trip was blah. I was tired when I flew in & dug myself a hole in the first 5 hours by playing tired. Reflecting, it would help if I could play more live poker as work projects have filled my poker plate up lately.
For Jay-Z fans, I say it's on to the next one! I'm leaving the room for my next tournament "$75,000 Bally's Poker Tournament" in Las Vegas. March Madness is in the air & I'm looking to pull a Cinderella story of my own. Strap your laces boys & girls, this dance is about to begin.
Chewey
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Flaming-O Streak ($100,000 Invitational) Day 1
The Harrahs $100,000 Invitational Poker Tournament in Las Vegas was a tournament full of excitement, twists & turns. I always love getting invitations in the mail to Poker Invitationals that are comped. For the most part, these allow me the opportunity to leave town & actually play poker. Normally, I am able to walk away from these invitationals with a deep finish & some cash. The skill levels at these invitationals range from complete newbies to everyday grinders.
First twist is upon registering, I find out that the tournament venue is The Flamingo & not Harrahs. Uh-oh, I've never ever won anything at The Flamingo or (Flaming-O) on slots, table games, poker, nada, zilch, period in all my travels to Vegas. It has been along time since I set foot in The Flamingo. To complicate matters, I played some Mississippi Stud at The Flamingo on my 1st day of the trip & didn't fare so well. I almost always do terrible on the 1st day of a trip & after I bust out of a tournament, hmmm.
My buddy Jay, who won the last invite by Harrah's is here for his vacation & to watch me play. Day 1 of tournament begins & I feel like Brett Favre in a Vikings Uniform walking onto Lambeau Field. The Flamingo is a casino that I just have not done well. Day 1 Starting chip stack of 1,500. Top 20% of field advances. Below are highlights from Day 1 play, 2,100 players:
Level 1 (25/50)-In hand 3 of the day, I call from small blind with 5,9x & big blind checks. Flop is 9,2,5 with 2 diamonds. I bet 125 on the flop & bb calls. The turn is a 3 & I bet 200. Once again, bb calls. River is a J, I check & bb bets 600. I go into the tank & fold. The bb goes on a tear & becomes the table leader early. I end the level with 1,075.
Level 2 (50/100/25ante) - No face cards during this level for me. Got pocket 3s, 4s a few times but the action was raised before me. At one point I was down to 325 & feel the walls closing in on me. Jay watches on & I go chat a few minutes to clear my head.
Level 3 (100/200/50ante)- Mid level I pick up A3 suited in button position & limp with 4 callers. I start the hand with 850 in chips. Flop is A,9,6x. Everyone checks including me. WTF am I thinking? I'm looking to accumulate chips with a dangerous move. The turn is a 2. I go all-in for 650 & am called by the chipleader that I tangled with in Level 1. She turns over pocket 4s & my stack grows to 1875. I end the level with 1,200.
Level 4 (200/400/75ante) More than 60% of totals field is gone, I can see the finish line to Day 2 nearing. The blinds & antes numb me down to 550 but I pick up 5,6 hearts in bb position & flop a full house with 3 players in the pot. I check the flop, turn & finally on the river I put my last 300 in & am called by button position & win a pot of 1,475.
Level 5 (300/600/200ante) Over 75 % of field eliminated, top 20% advance. My survival game plan is working as experience is kicking in. Most players shove with any face, but I hold on & wait for position. My table image is tight & I will be changing gears from tight to aggro. Players that were chip leaders early on have been eliminated. The aggressive blind structure, varied level of player skill sets makes for an interesting tournament pace. We are down to 4 players at my table, I eliminate a player with 3,5 suite in sb position & make this a tighter race. I end the Level with 2,250 & chip stack is growing. A crowd of 40 gathers around our table as the once short-stack (me) is looming large. Floor personnel now guard our table as spectators are inches from us. I love the crowd & pressure as I've never been chip leader at our table but the other two players have.
Level 6 (500/1,000/200ante) The chip leader (seat 5), me (seat 3) & loose player( seat 6) are in a shove battle for the blinds. At the start of the level, seat 6- 14,500; seat 5- 5,100; me 2,250. Now , Seat 5-11,000; Seat 6- 7,000; & me 6,500. I shove every 1.5 orbits to grow my stack but never from the same position & each time my bet is not called. Most of my stack is comprised of green chips (25) lol. Each time I shove, my stack appears larger than the amount seems. jay stands in the background & shoots me a glance "almost there!".
Level 7 (800/1600/300ante) I'm dealt K,10 suited in button position. I just won a huge pot on the last hand & am taking the time to stack my chips & watch the other 2 players from the corner of my eye at the same time. I notice seat 6 (bb) reaching for chips & seat 5 (sb) reaching for his & eyeballing seat 6. I check my stack of 8,800 & realize it's not worth the gamble as I'm certain I will advance to day 2 after this hand. I do the unthinkable & fold. Sb calls, bb min-raises & sb instacalls. The flop is 7,8,4x. The sb checks, bb goes all-in for 3,100 into a pot of over 9k. Sb calls with pocket 9s, bb rolls over open ended straight & flush draws. The river bricks & I advance to hard earned Day 2. I was down to 325 in level 2 & still made it. Chip stacks would be re-set for all players on Day 2. All players advancing to Day 2 are in the money! So, my losing streak for The Flaming-O is over for now. My experience & composure were key in me advancing to Day 2.
Next time see how far I advance at The Harrahs $100,000 Invitational Poker Tournament that's held at The Flamingo or to follow my Vegas/life escapades on twitter . You can also view all of my blog posts since 2007 on Poker Across America (Chewey's Corner).
Caption: Me sizing up the competition at my table!
Stay Cool & Get Paid!
Chewey
First twist is upon registering, I find out that the tournament venue is The Flamingo & not Harrahs. Uh-oh, I've never ever won anything at The Flamingo or (Flaming-O) on slots, table games, poker, nada, zilch, period in all my travels to Vegas. It has been along time since I set foot in The Flamingo. To complicate matters, I played some Mississippi Stud at The Flamingo on my 1st day of the trip & didn't fare so well. I almost always do terrible on the 1st day of a trip & after I bust out of a tournament, hmmm.
My buddy Jay, who won the last invite by Harrah's is here for his vacation & to watch me play. Day 1 of tournament begins & I feel like Brett Favre in a Vikings Uniform walking onto Lambeau Field. The Flamingo is a casino that I just have not done well. Day 1 Starting chip stack of 1,500. Top 20% of field advances. Below are highlights from Day 1 play, 2,100 players:
Level 1 (25/50)-In hand 3 of the day, I call from small blind with 5,9x & big blind checks. Flop is 9,2,5 with 2 diamonds. I bet 125 on the flop & bb calls. The turn is a 3 & I bet 200. Once again, bb calls. River is a J, I check & bb bets 600. I go into the tank & fold. The bb goes on a tear & becomes the table leader early. I end the level with 1,075.
Level 2 (50/100/25ante) - No face cards during this level for me. Got pocket 3s, 4s a few times but the action was raised before me. At one point I was down to 325 & feel the walls closing in on me. Jay watches on & I go chat a few minutes to clear my head.
Level 3 (100/200/50ante)- Mid level I pick up A3 suited in button position & limp with 4 callers. I start the hand with 850 in chips. Flop is A,9,6x. Everyone checks including me. WTF am I thinking? I'm looking to accumulate chips with a dangerous move. The turn is a 2. I go all-in for 650 & am called by the chipleader that I tangled with in Level 1. She turns over pocket 4s & my stack grows to 1875. I end the level with 1,200.
Level 4 (200/400/75ante) More than 60% of totals field is gone, I can see the finish line to Day 2 nearing. The blinds & antes numb me down to 550 but I pick up 5,6 hearts in bb position & flop a full house with 3 players in the pot. I check the flop, turn & finally on the river I put my last 300 in & am called by button position & win a pot of 1,475.
Level 5 (300/600/200ante) Over 75 % of field eliminated, top 20% advance. My survival game plan is working as experience is kicking in. Most players shove with any face, but I hold on & wait for position. My table image is tight & I will be changing gears from tight to aggro. Players that were chip leaders early on have been eliminated. The aggressive blind structure, varied level of player skill sets makes for an interesting tournament pace. We are down to 4 players at my table, I eliminate a player with 3,5 suite in sb position & make this a tighter race. I end the Level with 2,250 & chip stack is growing. A crowd of 40 gathers around our table as the once short-stack (me) is looming large. Floor personnel now guard our table as spectators are inches from us. I love the crowd & pressure as I've never been chip leader at our table but the other two players have.
Level 6 (500/1,000/200ante) The chip leader (seat 5), me (seat 3) & loose player( seat 6) are in a shove battle for the blinds. At the start of the level, seat 6- 14,500; seat 5- 5,100; me 2,250. Now , Seat 5-11,000; Seat 6- 7,000; & me 6,500. I shove every 1.5 orbits to grow my stack but never from the same position & each time my bet is not called. Most of my stack is comprised of green chips (25) lol. Each time I shove, my stack appears larger than the amount seems. jay stands in the background & shoots me a glance "almost there!".
Level 7 (800/1600/300ante) I'm dealt K,10 suited in button position. I just won a huge pot on the last hand & am taking the time to stack my chips & watch the other 2 players from the corner of my eye at the same time. I notice seat 6 (bb) reaching for chips & seat 5 (sb) reaching for his & eyeballing seat 6. I check my stack of 8,800 & realize it's not worth the gamble as I'm certain I will advance to day 2 after this hand. I do the unthinkable & fold. Sb calls, bb min-raises & sb instacalls. The flop is 7,8,4x. The sb checks, bb goes all-in for 3,100 into a pot of over 9k. Sb calls with pocket 9s, bb rolls over open ended straight & flush draws. The river bricks & I advance to hard earned Day 2. I was down to 325 in level 2 & still made it. Chip stacks would be re-set for all players on Day 2. All players advancing to Day 2 are in the money! So, my losing streak for The Flaming-O is over for now. My experience & composure were key in me advancing to Day 2.
Next time see how far I advance at The Harrahs $100,000 Invitational Poker Tournament that's held at The Flamingo or to follow my Vegas/life escapades on twitter . You can also view all of my blog posts since 2007 on Poker Across America (Chewey's Corner).
Caption: Me sizing up the competition at my table!Stay Cool & Get Paid!
Chewey
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Chewey Finishes 8th in 2010 WSOP Circuit Vegas Event 12
The 2010 Campaign is off to an exciting start for me. Thus far in 2010, I am 4 for 4 in making final tables at Limit Hold'em Events & 3 for 4 in finishing in the money. Event 12 of The 2010 WSOP Circuit- Las Vegas proved no different as I finished 8th (this was a Limit Event). It was not the 8th place finish that was memorable but the work & play required in order to get to 8th.
I would need every bit of the starting chip stack of 7,500 to eek out a 8th place finish. The 1st table of the tournament, I was seated with Pro Blair Rodman (B-Rod) & he was a monster the first two levels. He quickly accumulated over 25,000 in chip & was terrorizing the table; me included. I lost a few mid sized pots to him in Level 2 (Limits 100-200) that reduced my stack to 3,400. Mid way through Level 3 , Limits 150-300 from mid position I two-bet to 300 from mid position with pocket 2s & am called by B-Rod in the big blind for 300. Flop brings 9, 8d, 4d,. He bets 150 &I make it 2 bets to go & am called. The turn is 3d, he checks, I bet 300 & he 2bets to 600 & I 3 bet it to 900, he flat calls 900. The river is a 2, giving me bottom set. He bets 300, again I 2bet to 300 & he repops to 600 & I flat the 600. He wants to see my cards but I called his raise & am confident he's beat. He turns over pocket 10s, I turn over my set of 2s & the tyrade of censored bombs begin. I'm now up to 6,250. Rodman looks stunned with the rest of the table & says bets like this is no-limit. The next few hands my stack swells to 10k but this is short lived as my pocket Aces, Kings, Queens get cracked in the this level & my stack is down to 1,800.
In the last hand of the 3rd level right before 1st break, I'm in the big blind (1,800 chips) w/ pocket 5s 7 raised by mid-position player (4,800) who's been tight all day long. I call & see a flop of 10,6,2 & check. He checks as well. I'm thinking at this point he is on a range of a strong Ace such as A,K-A,J non suited based on his play thus far. The turn is a 3- this is where the hand gets interesting. I bet & he 2 bets it to 600, if I call-I'm committed to this hand for my tournament life as I only have 900 left. I call. On the river- the 2 appears, I check, he bets, I 2 bet & he repops & I call my last 300, he turns over- up I guessed it A,K, I turn over pocket 5s & off of tournament life support & have 6,250, whew that was probably the biggest hand for me in this tournament as my chips were on the line & I had to trust my read on the player attempting to steal a pot before the br8. Had I have folded this hand at any point, I would have been crippled beyond return.
The next 5 hours levels were pretty mundane for me as I won 1 hand every orbit & maintained just enough to stay in the field. Things were about to change after my self-imposed dinner break, even though I was short stacked when I took one, Level 6limits 400-800 & upon returning I was moved to a different table that had a player that never showed up to my right & players were taking advantage of that dead money(Mr. Phantom) in play all night long. The next few levels, I would manage to win a few pots & grow my stack to nearly 37,700 off of players attempts to steal the big blind when I was the small blind. The field thinned to 20 players & 9 spots payed.
Level 11 limits 2000-4000, down to 12 players & it was 1am, play was ending once the bubble reached but it was agreed to play on. This is where it got super interesting. Down to 10 players, officially on the bubble, lady in button position offers to table after looking at her cards to get paid $10 from each player for her to go away & for play to resume as play had stalled & it was nearly 4am the next morning. Nearly 20k was up for grabs 7 she was taking 90 dollars to go away after nearly 12 hours of play, really? So, I quickly initiated the process of getting everyone to give her $10 for her to disappear. It only took 10 minutes because of a couple of players thinking what if scenarios, I said 'get her away from the table & we can discuss other chops later" finally it was done but we were not out of the woods yet. Now there was a new problem, she was paid "hush" money to disappear but still had chips in play to the tune of 9,600; there were no antes & at this rate would take at least 2 orbits to blind her out. The chip leader to my immediate right gets into a raising war A,K with the short-stack pocket Qs & chipleader flops top pair. Oh snap! The tourney director suddenly declares Harrahs does not condone chops or deals & I knew this would happen. They said the next person out is the bubble & no money & that 9th place would go to the lady who took the "hush' money, hmmmmm., but the damn lady was gone - how was she to claim the money to give to this 9th place finisher , she was from out of town & no one knew her! I was about to look like the fool of all fools for initiating the hush money & the gravity of the situation was not lost on the entire final table. I calmly reassured the table there's still 1 card to come & thank goodness it's the Q, short stack saved & disaster averted for now.
Not sure if I would have done, had the short stack been eliminated but after the hand I deadpanned to the table, would you like some aspirin, insulin, any other medication that I may have to calm your nerves, let's play!
Finally 4:30am, the "hush" stack is blinded off, 9th place is awarded 4:40am & I am dealt pocket Jacks & run into the chipleader's rivered straight, busto for me in 8th. I'm mad because I realize I worked my tail off to get 8th place & probably one of my best Limit performances to date. It's 5am, time for me to go hit up a machine for 30 mins, then off to bed & get ready for the weekend 2009 Nationwide Poker Tour 100k National Championship (elite field of 170 ish). I'm looking for a deep run, like final table run; even though it's a No-Limit Tournament 1st place is 22k. Anything else for me is unacceptable, I'd give anything to make that final table. I'm lurking in the shadows, flying way under the radar, locked, perched & ready to go!
Until Next Time,
Chewey
I would need every bit of the starting chip stack of 7,500 to eek out a 8th place finish. The 1st table of the tournament, I was seated with Pro Blair Rodman (B-Rod) & he was a monster the first two levels. He quickly accumulated over 25,000 in chip & was terrorizing the table; me included. I lost a few mid sized pots to him in Level 2 (Limits 100-200) that reduced my stack to 3,400. Mid way through Level 3 , Limits 150-300 from mid position I two-bet to 300 from mid position with pocket 2s & am called by B-Rod in the big blind for 300. Flop brings 9, 8d, 4d,. He bets 150 &I make it 2 bets to go & am called. The turn is 3d, he checks, I bet 300 & he 2bets to 600 & I 3 bet it to 900, he flat calls 900. The river is a 2, giving me bottom set. He bets 300, again I 2bet to 300 & he repops to 600 & I flat the 600. He wants to see my cards but I called his raise & am confident he's beat. He turns over pocket 10s, I turn over my set of 2s & the tyrade of censored bombs begin. I'm now up to 6,250. Rodman looks stunned with the rest of the table & says bets like this is no-limit. The next few hands my stack swells to 10k but this is short lived as my pocket Aces, Kings, Queens get cracked in the this level & my stack is down to 1,800.
In the last hand of the 3rd level right before 1st break, I'm in the big blind (1,800 chips) w/ pocket 5s 7 raised by mid-position player (4,800) who's been tight all day long. I call & see a flop of 10,6,2 & check. He checks as well. I'm thinking at this point he is on a range of a strong Ace such as A,K-A,J non suited based on his play thus far. The turn is a 3- this is where the hand gets interesting. I bet & he 2 bets it to 600, if I call-I'm committed to this hand for my tournament life as I only have 900 left. I call. On the river- the 2 appears, I check, he bets, I 2 bet & he repops & I call my last 300, he turns over- up I guessed it A,K, I turn over pocket 5s & off of tournament life support & have 6,250, whew that was probably the biggest hand for me in this tournament as my chips were on the line & I had to trust my read on the player attempting to steal a pot before the br8. Had I have folded this hand at any point, I would have been crippled beyond return.
The next 5 hours levels were pretty mundane for me as I won 1 hand every orbit & maintained just enough to stay in the field. Things were about to change after my self-imposed dinner break, even though I was short stacked when I took one, Level 6limits 400-800 & upon returning I was moved to a different table that had a player that never showed up to my right & players were taking advantage of that dead money(Mr. Phantom) in play all night long. The next few levels, I would manage to win a few pots & grow my stack to nearly 37,700 off of players attempts to steal the big blind when I was the small blind. The field thinned to 20 players & 9 spots payed.
Level 11 limits 2000-4000, down to 12 players & it was 1am, play was ending once the bubble reached but it was agreed to play on. This is where it got super interesting. Down to 10 players, officially on the bubble, lady in button position offers to table after looking at her cards to get paid $10 from each player for her to go away & for play to resume as play had stalled & it was nearly 4am the next morning. Nearly 20k was up for grabs 7 she was taking 90 dollars to go away after nearly 12 hours of play, really? So, I quickly initiated the process of getting everyone to give her $10 for her to disappear. It only took 10 minutes because of a couple of players thinking what if scenarios, I said 'get her away from the table & we can discuss other chops later" finally it was done but we were not out of the woods yet. Now there was a new problem, she was paid "hush" money to disappear but still had chips in play to the tune of 9,600; there were no antes & at this rate would take at least 2 orbits to blind her out. The chip leader to my immediate right gets into a raising war A,K with the short-stack pocket Qs & chipleader flops top pair. Oh snap! The tourney director suddenly declares Harrahs does not condone chops or deals & I knew this would happen. They said the next person out is the bubble & no money & that 9th place would go to the lady who took the "hush' money, hmmmmm., but the damn lady was gone - how was she to claim the money to give to this 9th place finisher , she was from out of town & no one knew her! I was about to look like the fool of all fools for initiating the hush money & the gravity of the situation was not lost on the entire final table. I calmly reassured the table there's still 1 card to come & thank goodness it's the Q, short stack saved & disaster averted for now.
Not sure if I would have done, had the short stack been eliminated but after the hand I deadpanned to the table, would you like some aspirin, insulin, any other medication that I may have to calm your nerves, let's play!
Finally 4:30am, the "hush" stack is blinded off, 9th place is awarded 4:40am & I am dealt pocket Jacks & run into the chipleader's rivered straight, busto for me in 8th. I'm mad because I realize I worked my tail off to get 8th place & probably one of my best Limit performances to date. It's 5am, time for me to go hit up a machine for 30 mins, then off to bed & get ready for the weekend 2009 Nationwide Poker Tour 100k National Championship (elite field of 170 ish). I'm looking for a deep run, like final table run; even though it's a No-Limit Tournament 1st place is 22k. Anything else for me is unacceptable, I'd give anything to make that final table. I'm lurking in the shadows, flying way under the radar, locked, perched & ready to go!
Until Next Time,
Chewey
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