Poker Games Journal

February 2005

February 27
I went to San Diego yesterday morning to play in the Ladies Tournament at Harrah's. I woke up early so I could get to the event with some time to spare. According to Cardplayer, the tournament was scheduled to start at Noon. I arrived at the registration desk at 11:30 and was shocked when they told me I couldn't register anymore. They said they stopped the registration about 5 minutes prior to my arrival. I asked them why they would stop it before the tournament even began and they informed me that it started at 11:00. I told them it said noon in Cardplayer and they decided to let me play as alternate number 6. I walked into the room and they immediately sat me at my table. I was a little flustered, but still ready to win.

I started with $1000 in chips and managed to lose about half my stack within the first half hour. I was surprised at how most of the women were playing. They would limp in a lot, but then wouldn't lay their hands down when I raised. There was one hand where all players folded to the small blind and she just called my big blind. We both checked the flop and I decided I would take the pot down on the turn. On the turn, she checked, I bet (ten high) and she called. I figured she would call on the river if I put a bet in, so I decided to just give up the pot. She won with Ace high. The funny thing is, I know she didn't call thinking her hand was good on the turn. She was calling to hit an ace on the river. I probably could have won the hand if I had put another bet out there.

I doubled up a couple times and had a decent amount of chips. I played a very aggressive game and ran over most of the women. When we got down to three tables, I was one of the chip leaders. I decided to use my chip lead to win some more chips. On one hand, all players folded to me on the button and I raised three and a half times the blind with K9. One of the blinds moved all-in and I sat there calculating the pot. I was getting 3 to 1 on my call and there were very few hands that she could have where I would be a 3-1 dog. I knew I had to call especially because I had so many chips. If I lost the hand, I would not be damaged in the slightest bit. My opponent turned over pocket tens. I caught the King on the turn and she left the table mumbling.

When we got down to two tables, I was in a groove. I won a lot of chips when both tables got shorthanded. I was picking up about 40% of the pots on my table. We finally got down to ten players and combined to one table. I liked playing shorthanded and I knew I had to slow down for awhile. I didn't pick up any hands in the beginning, but I had to call twice from the big blind with total garbage. One time, I had $1000 in the big blind and had to call $600 more when a player moved all-in. I had to do it again a short while later. I lost both hands, but still was about third in chips. I lost some more chips when one player went all-in for $1,500, another went in for $500 and I was on the button with pocket eights. We were down to 8 players at the time and I knew both players were desperate, so I moved all-in behind them to get rid of the blinds. Both blinds folded and the all-in players showed their hands. One player had AQ and the other had J2. I did not escape the three overcards and lost the pot. We took a short break and I told my cousin I needed at least one hand.

After the break, I sat down and was dealt AK suited on the first hand. I was only able to pick up the blinds with my raise. One lady went broke a couple hands after that and we were down to six players. I had a little more than $12,000 in chips and the blinds were $1,000-2,000 with $300 antes. I finally picked up a decent hand (A9) in the big blind. All players folded to the lady in the small blind and she moved all-in. I was not expecting the hand to be played out that way (I was looking to come over the top of a weaker player). The small blind was the only player at the table that was capable of making moves, but she also didn't get out of line very often. I thought for a moment. There was $5,800 in the pot when she completed the small blind and she had moved in about $12,000 more. I had $10,000 left in front of me. I ruled out the possibility of her having a higher Ace. I knew from the way she played that she would have only raised with a big ace (not moved in). I really thought she had a middle pocket pair or a weak ace. Based on my read, I felt I had to make the call. I was right she had a middle pocket pair. Unfortunately, she had pocket nines. I didn't catch the ace and finished the tournament in 6th place.

February 25
I did the Live at the Bike show for about an hour last night and it was an exciting game. I was amazed at some of the hands the players played. I just didn't expect that type of play in the $400-800 limit. The broadcast went much better than the night before. The game on the previous night was so tight and boring, it was difficult to talk about for four hours.

I have been busy with work, my website, and the local tournaments. I have fallen a little behind on my emails. I promise to get to them soon.

February 23
I went and watched the final table of the Commerce WPT event. I thought this was one of the most exciting final tables I have seen so far. It was difficult for me to choose one player to root for because I knew a few of them. I must admit, I was not disappointed with the outcome. I have often played with Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi (normally online) and think he is one of the few young players with a promising future in the game of poker. I actually played in a live tournament with him, the Hustler No Limit Shootout, last year where I finished first. He finished in eighth, but played a great game. It is not a surprise that he not only won this event, but placed in the last WPT event too. I asked The Grinder a few weeks ago if he'd answer some questions so I could do a profile of him and he said he'd be "honored". I am going to let him unwind a little and then I will talk with him and put a profile up of him. Congratulations "Grinder".

I did the Live at the Bike show tonight and this one was not as good as others. If tonight was your first night tuning in, I promise the game is not normally like that. I walked by the table before the program started and I knew the game wasn't going to be interesting. Most of the players at the table are weak tight, abc players and that kind of play doesn't make for interesting viewing. I will be doing the show for an hour tomorrow night (from 6-7) and it should be more fun because it is a $400-800 Limit Holdem game. There are usually some big names in poker that show up to play. Some of the players that are regulars are Hassan Habib, Dr. Jerry Buss, Ted Forrest, Toto ["The Ripper"] Leonidas and Captain Tom Franklin. I know Captain is not going to be there because he is heading down to the Harrah's WSOP event in San Diego, but the game should still be great.

February 21
I played two online tournaments today and finished at the final table in both. The first tournament was $22 with rebuys with 423 players. I finished in eighth place. The second tournament was a $150 No Limit tournament with 428 players and I finished in third.

I was extremely happy with the way I played both tournaments, but I am so disappointed that I could not finish better in the $150 one. I started that tournament off by winning some nice size pots. I was in the top twenty for the majority of the tournament. During the first hour, I called a small all-in bet with pocket sixes and the flop was QJ6. My opponent had AT, so he was drawing live. I ended up catching another six on the turn. Making quads is definitely a nice way to start the tournament and I did it again a short time later. I warned the players at my table, "be afraid, be very afraid".

I made it to the final table with the chip lead and I was confident that I could maintain it. However, the cards had another thing in store for me. I kept getting all of my chips into the pot with the best hand and I kept losing. I don't remember all of the hands, but I know one of them was AJ against AT and the ten came on the river. I also took pocket threes against A8 and the other player caught her eight on the river as well. Finally, I went in with the worst hand and I managed to win. I chatted, "I can win if I go in with the worst of it", but that didn't hold true. I lost consecutive hands holding two overcards to my opponents pair of deuces. How can I not beat a pair of deuces? To make matters worse, I couldn't beat a pair of deuces TWICE in a row.

There was some talk about a deal when we got short handed. I thought the talk was inappropriate because the player said, "when we knock out "so and so", then we will make a deal three handed. She was almost talking as if he wasn't there. I was even more frustrated that I was the only player going after the short stack. I would go in with the best of it and come out with the worst of it. I finally said, "no talk about deals". I didn't necessarily disagree with the idea when we got down to three players, but I didn't want to discuss it at the moment. We finally eliminated player "so and so", but I decided it wasn't in my best interest to make a deal. I honestly felt like I could outplay both players. I managed to make a few moves, but it just came down to a few races and I lost them all. I suppose I shouldn't be too disappointed with my $6,741 third place prize money and another $1,500 for the other tournament and some live action play, but if you guys know me at all then you know it is all about the win for me.

On a side note, I appreciate all of you who chatted with me and rooted me in from the sidelines. I was flattered with all of the compliments and for the faith you all had in me.

February 18
It has been a busy week. I played the No Limit Holdem shootout at Commerce on Monday, but didn't do well. I was really pleased when I sat down at my table because the "table draw" in a shootout is so important and I had nobody at my table that I recognized. I figured I could outplay most of the players on the table and they didn't prove me otherwise. I started the tournament out okay. I won a decent size pot and had my chips up to $2000 (we started with $1500). A short while later, I was involved in a pot with two other players and I flopped the open end straight draw. One player went all-in for about $400 and the other went all-in for about $500. I was getting about the right price on the draw and I knew if I won that pot, I'd probably be able to make it down to three players. If I made it to three players, I would have a legitimate shot at winning my table because I like shorthanded play. I called with my straight draw, but I was drawing dead when the turn gave one of the players a full house.

Most of the hands after that weren't even worth discussing. I ended up being short stacked during the third round and I decided that I had to take a stand or I would have no shot at getting back in the game. I told myself that I would most likely play the big blind if all players folded to the small blind. They did exactly that and the small blind limped. I was ready to commit all of my chips if I hit any piece of the flop. The flop was QJT and the small blind bet $150 and I moved in for $400. I only had a pair of jacks, but I had my opponent beat. He showed Kx for an open end straight draw. He hit the draw on the river and I finished my table in 5th place.

I did the Live at the Bike show again on Wednesday. The show was fun because we had a couple guest commentators in the booth with us for a short while. Mel Judah and Vince Burgio both stopped in for about a half hour. I do the show on Wednesday nights from 6-10pm. Make sure you let me know if you have any suggestions to make the show better.

Yesterday, I played in two events at the Commerce. The first event was at 11:00 in the morning. The tournament was for the media (I qualified as media because of my website) and the winner was going to win a seat into the WPT Invitational next week. I walked into the room and I KNEW the tournament was mine. Most of the players were totally new to the game. Unfortunately, the structure of the tournament was so fast, I didn't have a chance to accumulate chips or try and outplay my opponents. Although I didn't win, I had a great time playing in it. The best part about it was that Phil Unabomber Laak was sitting directly to my right and he was keeping my whole table entertained. Phil and Antonio Esfandiari were both playing in the tournament, but they couldn't win the prize. They were there to help the players make a decision if they needed help. All players had a "red card" that they held up in the air when they needed help and Antonio and Phil would come over and analyze the situation. Each player could use their "red card" only once. It was kind of fun watching the two of them run across the room and give their advice.

In the evening, there was a super satellite for the WPT event. The satellite didn't go very well. I was eliminated quickly and I was not happy with the way I played. I didn't make any horrible mistakes, but I know I could have done better. I saw Scotty Nguyen when I was leaving and he assured me there would be plenty of opportunities for me to play in one of the big events. I know he is right.

February 13
I played in a small tournament yesterday and had a great time. The tournament was a tag team event and it was part of the annual Valentine's Weekend Tournament at the Bicycle Casino. I played in the same event last year (with my same partner, Kyle) and we placed in the event. This year, it wasn't looking as promising. On the fourth round, I managed to lose most of our chips. I played my best, but things weren't going well for me. Part of the reason could have been that the event was Limit Holdem rather than No Limit. Part of the reason could have been that one of my opponents caught four flush cards and he was holding the ace (he was actually holding pocket Aces). I flopped two pair and the betting went crazy. After I lost that hand, it was time for us to switch and I told my partner that I was sorry. He said he had total faith in me and it was alright. He sat down and started accumulating chips and we never looked back. We got to the final table and we were about 5th in chips. It was suggested by one player that we all do an even chop. I told Kyle that I would only chop if it were even and if the chip leader wanted more money, I was going to decline the deal. We were going to play No Limit at the final table and I was confident that I could beat all of the players if the cards cooperated. I never did find out because all the players agreed to an even chop. Our big payday was $565 and we had to split that between the two of us. It was definitely not the biggest payday in my tournament career, but I had a lot of fun.

The week at work was not as fun. I had two winning days and then on the last day, I lost a fortune. I had one of those days where nothing would go right. It was kind of strange in a way because the first hand I played, I flopped a set and rivered quads. I doubled up and I thought my day was going to be profitable. I could not win a hand after that. A short while later, I held pocket Jacks again and lost all of my chips on a board of nine high. My opponent flopped a set and I didn't read him correctly. There was another hand where I got all of my chips in against Kings and AK. I had pocket Aces on that hand and I lost to a flush (the AK won the hand). I could go on and on, but I am sure you get the picture. It got so bad, that the players at the table were feeling sorry for me. I was supposed to do the commentating for Live at the Bike that night, so I had to get up from the table. It probably was good that I left. I still had my emotions in check, but those cards were brutal. I did about an hour of commentating and then I had to go home. It looks like my schedule for Live at the Bike is going to be Wednesday (the full show) and Thursday (only one hour). They want me to do more, but I don't have the time. If you want to tune in and hear me give some of the players I regularly play with a hard time, do it on Wednesday 6pm-10pm.

February 8
I had a great day at work today. The No Limit bad beat jackpot is at a record ($82,000) and it has brought customers out in full force. I started six games today and played a little in all of them. I managed to pull out wins in most of the games in and one of the wins was big.

Last night, I played in a $300 Sit n Go and had one of the most memorable hands ever. We were down to three players with the blinds at 100-200 and antes of 25. I was the short stack with $1,425 and the other two players had about $6,000. I was on the button with K7 of diamonds and I decided to make a move for the blinds. I figured if I raised the standard amount (3 or 4 times the amount of the big blind), I would be pot committed, so I just moved all of my chips into the pot. I was not pleased when the big blind called and showed pocket kings. The flop was AsKs8d and I didn't like my chances too much. I figured the only way I was going to win this hand was if I caught runner runner flush. The turn was an Ace of clubs and I was almost ready to log a third place finish in my excel worksheet. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw an ace on the river. I managed to get half the pot with Aces full of Kings. That hand was a turnaround for me and I started to win a few more hands. We got down to two players (the player with pocket Kings couldn't beat me and was eliminated) and I finished in second place. I got my money in with the best of it AJ vs. A8, but he caught four flush cards and beat me. I was still happy with my result.

I will work a little later than usual tomorrow because I am going to do the commentating for Live at the Bike. I am not sure where this is going to lead, but it is fun for now.

February 6
I played in the $500 No Limit Holdem event at the Commerce Casino yesterday, but I only lasted until a few minutes before the dinner break. There were only three key hands of my tournament and two of them were race situations.

I started the tournament out as I normally do. I was aggressive and I played a lot of hands. We started out with $1,000 in chips and I managed to build my stack to a whopping $1,200 before I started to lose. There were two hands where I raised and laid my hand down to a reraise. I don't remember the first hand I laid down, but I remember the second hand was AQ. The player to my right raised the $50 blind to $100, I reraised to $275 and one player called my raise. The blinds folded and the original raiser moved all-in. I sat there trying to figure out the odds on the pot, the possible hands he could have, etc.. and I finally decided that I could lay this hand down, but I would have to play the next one. About three hands later, I was dealt AK and I raised to $150 in early position. The players folded to the cutoff seat and he moved all-in. I had only seen him move in one time and that time he had aces. He wasn't the player I wanted to play against, but I already told myself that I was going to commit myself on the next hand (if I folded, I would only have about $500 left). I said, "If you have Aces this time, I am in a lot of trouble! I call" He turned over AK and I was pleased that I didn't fold my hand. I looked to see what suits our aces were and I called out for clubs (I had the Ace of clubs). I didn't think about my king of hearts making a flush until one of the players called out, "hearts". Sure enough, the flop was all hearts and I rivered another one. I almost felt bad for the guy, but he still had a decent size stack in front of him and I was more happy that I was able to double up. I never really played a big hand during the next round.

I moved to a new table and tried to get a feel for the players. I didn't have a chance to get information out of the players because I only lasted at the new table for about a half hour. The first hand a player moved all-in in early position and I moved in (I had more chips) behind him with pocket queens. He turned over the dreaded AK and he flopped an ace. About a round and a half later, I moved all-in with AK of hearts and the player in the big blind called my raise (I raised about 6 times the amount of the blind) with pocket sixes. The player flopped a six and there wasn't even one heart on the board. I could not win with a backdoor flush or a backdoor straight. I was drawing dead. The player apologized to me and I told him, "no problem". I have known this player for awhile and he is a very solid player. He had lost a big hand just a minute before and called (with his sixes) out of frustration. Hopefully, I gave him enough ammunition to make a comeback with. I will have to check it out tomorrow.

February 4
It has been awhile since I wrote something for my journal and I have a lot of catching up to do. Yesterday, I played in the Omaha event at the L.A. Poker Classic and finished in the money. The beginning of the tournament was absolutely torturous. I could not make a hand if I tried. I probably played a half dozen hands in the first three rounds and only won 1/2 of one pot. I kept a positive attitude and that made all the difference for me. The key hand was when I only had $125 in chips left and the blinds were $25-50. I raised in late position with A369 and I was three bet by a player with A2TT. There were only two of us in the pot and I was bummed that I was facing such a dominating hand. Luckily, there was an ace on the turn giving me a low draw with my 36 and I ended up getting there and winning half that pot.

I won most of the hands I entered after that. There was one hand that was pretty funny because I made a mistake and it worked out for me (it wasn't a huge pot). I held 257Q in the big blind and the player in first position called. All players folded to me and I thought for a second trying to decide what I was going to do. I wasn't thinking whether I should check my hand or raise. I was actually thinking if I should call or not. I don't know where my brain was at that moment, but for some reason I thought the player raised. I figured since we were heads up and he was almost all-in, I would make the call. So I threw in a bet (like a total clown) and then realized that I really just raised the hand. He reraised to $300 and I knew I had to finish the hand. I threw the $100 in plus an extra $25 putting him all in. I explained to the table that I thought I was calling a raise and they all just laughed when they saw my hand. I was lucky and ended up scooping the pot.

I had above average chips from that point until we got down to three tables. When we got down to three tables, I was moved to a new table and I couldn't win a hand. I actually thought I might go out on the bubble (I struggled from about 21 players to 18, but I ended up making it). We drew new seats and I did much better on the new table. I realized that it was two years ago since I finished second in this same event and Vince Burgio finished third. He was on my table and I thought if the two of us did well, we could have a rematch. I was one of the short stacks and I fought and fought and almost made it to the final table. The last hand I played was AQTT spades.

Mike Longo raised and I knew he likes low cards, so I thought a call would be in order. I was looking for a high flop so I could scoop, but the hand didn't work out that way. The flop was 744 and I checked knowing Mike was going to bet his low draw into my small stack. He bet and I called. If the turn card was a low card, I was going to give up on the hand because I knew I would only be going for half the pot. If the turn card was a high card, I was going to go all the way with the hand. The turn was a jack and I check called again. The river was a low card and I check called all-in. I was correct that my opponent had low cards, but I was extremely disappointed when I saw that he had a "4" with his A2. Although I wanted to win the event (who doesn't want to win), I was happy that I never gave up and worked my $125 in tournament chips to finishing in the money. Vince and I never got to have our rematch (he finished before I did) so we will have to wait until another event.

There have been a lot of opportunities opening up for me and I have neglected to let you in on them. The most recent was a commentator position for a poker show. The first show was a tournament played by some Hawaiian Tropic models. I accepted the job to co-host with Mark Seif and Michael Konik. I arrived at the studio and was introduced to Michael. One of the people from Absolute told Michael how they had decided to add me as a co-host at the last minute (it was really the last minute, they called me the night before). When Mark arrived, the three of us went into the sound booth and started our commentating. I think the show is going to be successful, but it is definitely not going to be because of their great poker playing ability. I sat there saying, "she should have raised" over and over again. We took a break and Mark asked if I could be a little more enthusiastic. I told him that it was not in my character to say, "wow, that was a great move" if I didn't really believe it in my heart. We talked for a little while longer and I agreed that I would try and say something positive. If I couldn't say, "great play", I would at least say, "It's not easy for them to look that pretty and try to play poker at the same time." Just as I agreed to give it another shot, Michael was unhappy, saying he only agreed to work with one other person. Supposedly, it was a lot more work for him to have to commentate with two people. I told Mark that I was going to bow out and everything would be solved. Mark was great about the whole thing and he thanked me. I wish Mark great success with the show. It just wasn't for me (at least not this particular episode).

The funny thing about the commentating job was that it was held on the same day as my new job at the Bike was supposed to start. Live at the Bike is now streaming a live game (with a five minute delay to protect the integrity of the game) through their Internet site and I am one of the commentators on it. The show is going to be aired four days a week for four hours a day. There are three permanent commentator (we rotate) with occasional guest commentators.

I left the Absolute job and headed straight over to the Bike. As soon as I walked up to the door, my bosses greeted me. I talked to them about the job I just left and they made sure I knew I was allowed to say anything I wanted to about any of the players on the Live at the Bike show. To be honest, they wanted to hear me be critical of a play if I thought it deserved it. They said their whole idea for the show is that it is going to be "raw". I worked with Denny Williams (the tournament director for the Bike) and we had a great time doing the show. Make sure you check out future shows Wednesday through Saturday, 6-10pm. I will normally only commentate on Wednesdays and Thursdays (my normal work days), but since I didn't work yesterday (Omaha tournament), I am probably going be in the booth tonight. Any feedback is welcome, but remember it's only my second night, so cut me a little slack.