Poker Game Diary

June 2004

June 26
I played in the No Limit game all week and it went great. I had my best day ever on Wednesday. I have been so busy this week, and since I didn't update my journal right away, I can't remember many of the hands.

I played in the Omaha tournament at the Bike last night and I made the biggest mistake I have ever made in a tournament. I am glad that it was only a $100 tournament. I had chips after the first two rounds, but on the third round, I lost two big hands and was left short stacked. I had $150 and my big blind ($50) was coming up in a few hands. I looked at my hand J883 and instead of throwing my cards into the muck, I threw my chips in the pot. Since the big blind was only $50, the chips I threw into the pot constituted a raise. The big blind called my raise and then led out on the flop. The flop didn't help my hand (not that anything could help that piece of cheese), but I was pot committed and had to call my last $50. He only had a pair of nines but that was good enough. I left feeling like a total idiot.

I decided to go out and play some live action and sat down in the No Limit game. I started winning immediately and then faced the following situation. There were two players in the hand for $15 when it was my turn to act. I had pocket jacks and wanted to make a nice raise. I made it $60 and the guy to my left moved in for $114. The guy who called the original $15 raise said, "I can only lose $100 bucks" and decided to call. I called behind him. The flop was K6x. I wasn't happy about the king flopping, but the guy next to me showed me that I didn't have to worry about the king. He had pocket sixes!!! I won the side pot because the guy who raised me had AT and there was no ace on the board. I couldn't believe that the guy called a huge raise and a reraise with pocket sixes. A little while later, I was about to leave the game and go home when I got dealt pocket jacks again. There were three players in the pot for $20 and I moved in for $130. The first guy thought and thought and folded his hand. The guy to my left (pocket sixes guy) said, "If they don't give you action, I will"). The second guy thought and thought and folded his hand too. "Pocket sixes guy" stuck to his word and called my all-in bet. The flop came KK6 and I said, "That looks familiar". The turn was a jack and I said, "but I caught the jack this time". I won the hand after he showed pocket sevens. The first guy who folded said he also had pocket sevens and the second folder said he had pocket nines. In hindsight, I wish they had all called, but when "pocket sixes guy" said he was going to give me action, I was thinking "just let me take down this $60 pot.

I finished 8th in a $50 multi-table No Limit tournament tonight. I was happy with the way I played and a little bummed about how I was eliminated. There was one raiser and I moved in with pocket jacks (my hand of the week). He thought about it for a long time and then decided to call with KQ. He flopped a gutshot straight draw and the only way he was making the straight was if he caught one of the two jacks left in the deck. The turn was the jack giving him the straight and me the set. Since I was eliminated on the hand, the board did not pair on the river.

June 22
I played in a No Limit Holdem game all day today. There were so many interesting hands, I can only list a few. There were two players that were playing extremely tight, abc-style and then there were a few who were running wild. I knew who I wanted to go to battle with and I did exactly that. I went to war with the two players who were easiest to read and easiest to give me their chips. There was one hand where I moved all-in with top pair (jack) and a nine kicker. I knew my hand was the best one and I knew the player would give me his chips. When I was scooping them up, the player to my right told me, "I don't know if I would have the guts to do that". I told him, "I knew I had the best hand" and he replied "I still don't think I could". That particular hand got me rolling and I thought I was in for a record day.

Another wild hand started with me limping in early position with pocket jacks. There were two players behind me that I could count on for a raise. The player to my left limped and the lady behind him raised to $10. She had been playing pretty tight and was not exactly the person I wanted a raise from. Two players called behind her and I couldn't resist making it $50. The guy to my left, who had originally limped, moved in, the lady called, and I called. I had both of them outchipped and it wasn't going to be particularly damaging to my stack. The flop came QJT. I thought it was a pretty good flop for my hand, unless one of them had AK. The turn was an ace and I thought "that sucks". I wanted the board to pair. so I could win this pot. I figured one of them was bound to have a king in their hand for the straight. The river brought a king making the board AKQJT. The guy had pocket eights and it kind of figured because he is the type of player who likes to intimidate and take pots down preflop. The lady had pocket aces. If the board had paired, I would have made more money because the sidepot, but the whole table got a kick out of how the hand went down.

About five hours into my shift, I was on a record pace, but before I left I was only a little ahead. I don't know why sometimes when I walk away from the table a winner, I am depressed. I have to drill it into my head, that I played correctly, took some beats, and won. That should be considered a great day at work. I lost my big profits on four key hands. The first was when I went against the player I had been waiting for all day. I limped with pocket tens (remember, he couldn't resist a raise). He raised to $40 and I called. The flop came all rags under ten. I made a $60 bet, he moved all-in for about $200, and I quickly called. I read the situation correctly and was happy when he showed me AQ. The turn was a queen and the river was another queen. I sat and thought about that hand and how it took a big chunk out of my stack. I was upset at first at how the hand played out, but I would do the same thing all day long. It was what I had been waiting for hours to do... let the aggressor overbet his hand. The next big hand I lost was against a player I don't like. I have mentioned him before in my journal as an arrogant player (and not the arrogant kind of personalities I like). I flopped top pair and there were two spades on the flop. The turn gave me three of a kind, but was a spade. I figured he had the flush, but I was willing to call a large bet so I could put him on tilt. The river did not pair the board or my hand, so I doubled him up too. The last two hands weren't as costly. I took top two pair against bottom set and pocket kings against pocket queens.

Despite the huge swing I took today, I had a great time at work. I absolutely love my job. One of the players asked me what a prop players job entails. He said, "Are you here to socialize and make the customers happy?" and I told him, "No. It is just a bonus they got when they hired me". The whole table laughed at that.

And congratulations to Ben Affleck for winning the Commerce Casino's California State Poker Championship. First prize was over $350,000. Ben has taken tutoring lessons from Amir Vahedi and Annie Duke. Personally, I'm still holding out for Matt Damon...

June 21
I played the No Limit game at work and did well. For the first time in awhile, I won immediately. I got dealt pocket aces on my first hand and doubled up. I continued to win hands and accumulated chips. A lot of times when I have money in front of me, most of it is my buy-ins. When I left the game today, I had $600 in front of me and only $100 of it was my original buy-in.

I left the game because there were a few guys that were going to The Hustler Casino to play in the $100 No Limit tournament with one optional rebuy. I decided to head over to the tournament and try my luck over there. I started with $1000 in chips and lost most of my stack when I was dealt AK. There were two limpers in front of me and I made a large raise. The guy on the button called my raise and the other guys folded. The flop came Q, rag, rag and I bet the pot. He moved all-in and I decided to call because I had two overcards and the nut flush draw (I had the ace of spades). I like to accumulate a lot of chips in the early stages of the tournaments and I am willing to gamble a little to achieve it. If I lost the hand, I could rebuy and play a more solid game of poker. The guy turned over KQ, so my outs were reduced to 12. I did not win the hand and had to rebuy. I then played a solid game and had average chips when we got down to half the field. I raised on one hand trying to steal the blinds and the small blind moved in. I folded my KT of clubs. I got a bad run of cards and was left short stacked. I had to make a move within the next two hands or I was going to be forced to play my big blind regardless of what I was dealt. I did not find a playable hand and I posted my $400 big blind plus $75 ante. I was left with only $525. One guy raised and it got folded around to me. I called my chips blind and held them up so Sirous B (across the table from me) could see them. I asked him, "Are they good?" and he told me "no". The raiser turned over pocket eights and I looked at my J2 and said, "at least I have a jack". The flop was 222. The whole table "oohed and aahed". I couldn't believe my luck and was happy to double up. The next hand, I got dealt pocket queens. Everybody folded around to the button and he raised to $1000. I moved over the top of him for an additional $675 and of course he called. He showed AK and flopped the ace. I did not improve and finished the tournament in about 34th place.

June 18
This week at work was definitely not one of my best. After my great day on Monday, I have been battling with horrible hands and my patience is not being rewarded. On Tuesday, I had to move from game to game and I did not win in any of them. I had a reporter from Los Angeles Magazine following me around from table to table to see what it is like to be a prop player. He didn't get to see the social aspect of my job because I was so busy being moved around. He is planning on doing an article on poker and might feature me and my job as a prop player.

On Wednesday, I was able to sit in a $6-12 Holdem game all day and I was dealt unplayable hands time and time again. There was one hand that taught me a lesson. I was dealt AJ of spades on the button and had a few limpers. I raised the hand because it looked like pocket aces after all of the garbage I was dealt. The flop came AAT and all players checked to me. I thought about the bad beat jackpot and how it would be nice to hit another ace. If somebody had a pocket pair and the ace hit, I would win over $8000. After all of that thought, I checked my hand. The turn was a queen. The first player bet, another one raised, and I reraised and the two of them called. The river was a blank and all of us checked. The first player turned up KJ for a straight. The second player had A8 giving him three of a kind and I had three of a kind with a better kicker. I thought about this hand for awhile and realized how bad I screwed it up. If any player had a pocket pair in their hands, they would call a bet. They would want to hit a jackpot as bad as I would. By not betting my hand, I let somebody get a free card with a dangerous flop. This mistake will not happen again. I am not sure if a bet on the flop would have made the person with the gutshot fold his hand, but I should have tried. I ended up winning a few pots, but I still took a loss for the day.

Yesterday I played in the No Limit game all day and I struggled in that too. The first hand that got me into trouble was when I flopped the nut straight against top set. The person bet, I raised and he moved all-in. There was not anything I could have done about the way the hand played out, but it did not start my day off. I got even by stealing any dead money I could and I won one key hand. I was dealt pocket nines. The first person made a small raise, I reraised and had two callers including the original better (he called all-in). The flop was Q9x. The other opponent had about $50 left so I wanted to milk what I could out of him. I bet $30 into a large pot and he called. On the turn, I bet moved in and he called the remaining of his chips. Before he called, he said "I didn't notice the nine". (I had been getting lucky with nines all day long). I told him, "you say that, but you still call?" and he said, "Do you have two of them?". He held AQ and flopped top pair and the other player had AK. It was a nice pot and I was now ready to finally start making some profit in the game. I left the game about an hour later and up $100. I was just frustrated that I got stuck in the early stages of the day, so my key hands just barely made me money. Hopefully next week will be better.

I played in a No Limit tournament when I got home and finished that pretty early. I made two huge mistakes that are eating me up. There are some days that I am so proud of the way I play and then there are days when I tell myself, "I have no grasp of this game whatsoever." Poker is all about learning from your mistakes, so I learned a few good lessons tonight.

June 14
Once again, it was nice to return to work. I had a winning day and was pleased with how I played in certain situations. The first game I got into was good and I won a small amount. I got bumped off of the game because there was another prop at the table. I joined another $6-12 Holdem game and won in that too. To be quite honest, I got hit with the deck. Players were amazed that I kept turning over monster hands. Many players believe in playing their rush, but I don't buy into that. I just kept getting great hands!! When I was in the big blind with garbage, all of the players limped and I ended up winning that hand too with my 64 offsuit.

I got moved to the Omaha game because they had two empty seats and I lost almost a whole rack in two hands. I bought in for another rack and was losing some of that too. I won two huge hands and got even. I couldn't believe the action in this game. In the main Omaha game at the Bike, there are often several tight players. Today they were running wild. I was happy when the game filled up so I could return to Holdem.

The last game I sat in was $6-12 Holdem. I have never had such a bad run of cards in any session. I sat and sat and sat and could not pick up a hand. I switched seats and was even thinking of asking for a new set up. I must have been desperate if that thought crossed my mind. Of course, I don't believe in that, so I sat even longer. I was down about $300 and finally caught a couple hands in between my horrible ones. I even managed to win a couple of pots on pure bluffs. I was very proud of a few of the moves I made. There was one guy across the table who was not involved in one of the hands I made a move at and he gave me a look like he knew I just bluffed the pot. I gave him a big smile letting him know he was correct. After making the bluffs, winning a couple of hands, AND having the patience of a saint, I left the game only losing $37.

June 13
I decided to go down to Commerce and play in the $300 No Limit shootout event. It was NOT worth the trip. I got knocked out within the first fifteen minutes of the tournament. We started with $800 in chips and I had $770 when I got involved in a hand that took almost all of my chips. I was paying attention to every detail I could absorb in this game. It is funny how I am working on my weakness of not paying attention and that is exactly what got me into trouble. I was watching the guy in seat ten play with four $25 chips when the dealer was pitching the cards. I noticed he had them in his hand before he got his last card. He looked at his cards and then threw the $100 into the pot. It looked like he was going to make a move for this pot regardless of what he had. I looked at pocket tens in the big blind. I decided to call and make a move for the pot later. The flop came 877 and I thought it was a perfect flop for my hand. I checked, he bet $100 and I raised to $500. He thought for a minute and then moved in for $650. I already had so much invested, it was a no-brainer call. He turned up pocket jacks and after no help on the turn or the river, I was left with only $20. I went out 4 hands later when I called with JT of hearts and faced AJ. Even worse than getting knocked out so fast, was the fact that I had to sit around and WAIT because my car was getting washed in valet!

I figured that I would give the weekly online Omaha tournament a try and I did no better in that. There was nothing particularly exciting about any of the hands. After playing all of the tournaments (live and online) this weekend, I am ready to go back to work and play live action.

June 11
I played two online tournaments tonight. The first was a $50 Omaha HiLo. I finished tenth. They paid nine. I probably made a mistake on my final hand. I had a gutshot straight draw, a backdoor flush draw, and a backdoor low draw. I decided to call one off and of course hit the low flush card to improve my draws. I called the rest of my chips, but the board paired giving me "nada".

I signed up for a $33 with rebuys No Limit tournament and I was doing pretty good until the following hand:
Seat 1: Vigger (30025 in chips)
Seat 2: Goosewit (20834 in chips)
Seat 3: Action Girl (16682 in chips)
Seat 4: ryanvick (32996 in chips)
Seat 5: McGee (19797 in chips)
Seat 6: Siren (25755 in chips)
Seat 7: GiantJay (62739 in chips)
Seat 8: Barny Rubul (5874 in chips)
Seat 9: one eye vie (29130 in chips)
<all players post $50 ante>
GiantJay: posts small blind 400
Barny Rubul: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Siren [Kc Tc]
one eye vie: folds
Vigger: folds
Goosewit: folds
Action Girl: folds
ryanvick: calls 800
McGee: calls 800
Siren: calls 800
GiantJay: calls 400
Barny Rubul: raises 5024 to 5824 and is all-in
ryanvick: folds
McGee: folds
Siren: calls 5024
GiantJay: folds
*** FLOP *** [3c Jh Th]
*** TURN *** [3c Jh Th] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [3c Jh Th Kd] [3d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Barny Rubul: shows [6h 3h] (three of a kind, Threes)
Siren: shows [Kc Tc] (two pair, Kings and Tens)
Barny Rubul collected 14498 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 14498 | rake 0
Board [3c Jh Th Kd 3d]
Seat 6: Siren (button) showed [Kc Tc] and lost with two pair, Kings and Tens
Seat 8: Barny Rubul (big blind) showed [6h 3h] and won (14498) with three of a kind, Threes

It was a very easy call for me because I figured he was stealing after all those limpers. I hated the flop because of the flush draw, since they've been killing me lately. I wasn't expecting the three. This didn't eliminate me but I ended up finishing in 21st place. They paid 18.

The Commerce Casino changed their $1500 Omaha tournament this Sunday to a No Limit event, so I am not exactly sure what I am going to do. I might head down there and take a stab at it.

June 10
I played in the No Limit game at work yesterday and I have never seen a game like it. Most of the players were there to PLAY!! There was one hand where six players limped for $3. I was in the small blind and had pocket queens. I raised it to $20 which is larger than I normally would, but it had to be in this game. I got one caller. The flop came 825 and I bet $25 dollars and the player called. The turn was a blank and I bet $25 and he called. The river was a three. I told him, "you called one other time with A4 for a gutshot, but I don't see you doing that here". I bet $50 and he just called. He turned over A4 for the straight. On a hand prior to that, he called an $80 all-in bet for a gutshot and the pot was only $30. There was another hand where there were a lot of limpers and I raised on the button for a total of $25 and I got THREE callers. I held AQ on that hand and I won a nice pot. The thing about games like this (especially in No Limit) is the swings are huge. It is very difficult to keep the right frame of mind in this situation. There were a couple of times that I got up to walk around so I could keep the right perspective. After I left the game, I wondered if playing this game is good for me. I was stuck a lot at one time and because I was able to keep the right frame of mind, I left only losing a small amount. But there are going to be times when I might not be able to stay focused and I could lose a lot of money. I am debating this still. I went home and looked at all my records for the last month in this game and I have won 12 of 14 sessions. So far the game has been good for me, but still not sure what I am going to do.

Today I only played in two games, the $8-16 Holdem and the $3-6 Omaha. I was sitting in a great Holdem game and the players were mostly congenial. There was one guy who was throwing his cards at the dealer when he got mad and I warned him twice about it. He finally stopped doing it and things were running smoothly (and I was winning over $400) until the floorman moved a player to our table. The guy started being a jerk and I decided it was time for me to take my profit and get up from the table. Many of the players decided to take my lead and there were four of us who got up when he took his first hand. I had already checked the board and knew there was a list so I wasn't going to break the game by exiting. There are so many things that I am consistently working on to improve my game, but I still haven't managed to keep my emotions in check when there is a jerk on the table. Sometimes I can overcome it and sometimes not. I knew today was not a day for me to play with this type of player.

I played in a $100 No Limit tournament tonight and came in 12th place. I have been getting close a lot lately and it is driving me crazy. I am going to be persistent and win one of these things.

June 6
I played the $1000 Omaha event at Commerce today. I made it through half the field but it was pretty uneventful. I sat next to my friend, Brett Jungblut, who won the $5000 World Series of Poker Omaha HiLo event last month, and actually placed in all three Omaha events.

The best hand of the night was when I held A357 double suited (nut clubs) and the flop came three high cards with two clubs. There were only two of us in the pot (the other guy was in the blind). He led out on the flop and I called. The turn was a club. He bet, I raised and he thought for a long, long time and then called. The river paired the board and he fired out. I could hear myself mumble "shit!" as I called his bet. He turned over T2 of clubs. He spent all that time thinking how he was going to outmaneuver me on the river if the board paired and it didn't work. He said he was trying to scare me and I told him it worked, but there was no way in hell I was going to lay my hand down. At the dinner break, four hours into the tournament, I had 1400 in chips (we started with 1500). I had enough chips to play one and a half hands. I could raise before the flop, bet, bet and bet and I would still have some chips left for another hand if I lost the first. About five minutes after the dinner break, I got dealt A2KQ and the flop came JJ9. It was about the worst flop for my hand, but both of us checked. I tried to make a move at the pot when a 7 came on the turn, but my opponent raised and I folded. The next hand I got dealt A2Q8 and I flopped two pair. I was short chipped and had to commit to the hand. My two pair lost to a flush. Next week is the $1500 event and I hope things come together better.

June 2
Work was great today. I spent almost all the time in the $8-16 Holdem game and I made a little bit of money. I was on a great table with a lot of players giving a lot of action. Normally this type of game brings high fluctuations and today was no different. I was stuck for awhile, but I was pretty positive that I was going to end up winning if I played my hands correctly. After playing for about two hours, I got even and from then on my stack grew. I am so glad that I am capable of patiently waiting for correct situations because it worked out well. I did not get sucked into playing their game.

When I got home, I played a No Limit tournament on Party Poker with 108 players and I finished in 11th place. I made the money, but the profit was not great. Toward the end, I got a big streak of horrible cards and the blinds kept making my stack smaller and smaller. I was in the big blind and one of the shortest stacks and knew I had to make my stand at this time if I wanted any chance of winning. I called an all-in bet by the small blind with Q9. The small blind turned over 65. The flop was K62 giving my opponent a pair. I did not improve my hand and exited the tourney. I told my cheering section, "cbeastes1" and "benhogan21" there wasn't much more I could ask for taking my hand against 65, but honestly I was frustrated. Those damn sixes and fives kill me.

June 1
My regular Sunday online Omaha tournament was uneventful. I managed to make it down to three tables without ever getting much. They only paid nine places, so I wasn't even close. I figured I was saving it for the $330 Omaha tournament at the Commerce Monday.

I showed up for the event and felt great. It has been so long since I have placed in an Omaha tournament (excluding online) and I thought this would be it. I ran into Miami John on the way in and told him "Congratulations on your win the other night. This tournament is mine tonight." He laughed and said we would talk when we got head up. When I sat down at my table, John he was sitting to my left. He is never a choice opponent to go against in this game, but the rest of the table seemed okay. There was one empty seat and it was soon filled with none other than Raymond Davis.

As far as my hands are concerned there isn't much to talk about, but there were two hands that were unbelievable. There were five players in the hand before the flop and betting was capped. I don't remember the exact flop, but I know it contained a deuce with no other wheel cards on board. Again the betting was capped. The turn was an ace and I turned to John and said, "How the hell did that get there?" and we both laughed. The river was a 3. Raymond led out and I knew he made the wheel with that card because of his banter. I was surprised when he turned over 4456 double suited. I was wondering what went through his head on the flop. "I should call four bets because if an ace AND a three hits, I will win a big pot!" There was another hand where a guy made it four bets preflop with 367K. I have to say it was double suited (always makes me think the garbage hand is worth four bets, haha). I was eliminated pretty early, but I felt okay about it. I will give it another shot this weekend when they have the $1000 event, with a $1500 one a week later.

I went home and played in a $100 No Limit tournament online. I ended up coming in 12th, so I only received $174. I got lucky on a few hands to help me make the money. My luck ran out on the last hand when I played for all of my chips with KQ. My opponent had pocket jacks and flopped another. I had a gutshot straight draw, but my ten never came.