My So-Called Poker Career

Movin' on up

2008-04-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to make the transition over to no-limit, lately. I played NL my last session in Vegas and put in some sessions at the local casino the last couple of times I've been up visiting my folks. Overall, I feel like my NL game is decent, although there are a few adjustments I've been having to make. I'm still trying to put more emphasis on playing odds than trying to play by feel which means I'm doing a lot more math at the table than I had to do during the limit games. I think the steepest learning curve for me right now is learning what amounts to bet to achieve desired outcomes. During my last session, I found myself betting too heavy with strong hands, which probably cost me a few bets in the end. I haven't quite figured out which game I prefer, but it is nice to be trying something different. The ability to protect a hand is a big plus, however, risking my entire stack on a single hand can be a little unnerving.

Home game tonight, we'll see how things go.

The Homegame

2008-03-25T15:07:00.001-07:00

For those who don’t know, I started hosting an occasional poker game at my place in San Diego which quickly turned into a weekly affair. It also caused the transformation of my house into a true bachelor pad with the conversion of a spare bedroom into the ‘poker room,’ complete with cardroom themed décor, a [personally built] poker table, and beer fridge. The game went on regularly for over two years and is one of the things I still really miss about San Diego.

Being in town last week, I made the request to get the old gang together for a game and Dave willingly obliged. Pretty average session for me. Game went into pissing contest mode for a while so I just sat back and let a couple of the other guys duke it out. Bingo, anyone?

I did make one horrible play on what should have been an auto lay down hand. I’m in middle position and pick up pocket 10’s. Dale (who’d been making large raises on a lot of hands), on my right raised to $3. I bumped it up to $6 in hopes of closing out the rest of the table right there. Don, on the button, goes all-in for another $18 or so. Of course, my first instinct was AA or KK and that whoever was going to call this was going to be in a tough spot. And, I assumed that someone was going to call which would make it easier to lay down my hand. Imagine my surprise when everyone folded. In fact, I was so surprised that no one called that I talked myself into believing that Don was just making a move to pick up chips and completely ignored my original analysis that took into account him pushing all-in against a raise and re-raise (yeah, I was playing well at that point in the night). So, naturally I call and am shown what I already know.

Lesson: Always listen to that first instinct…

The Answer is, 'no'

2008-03-19T10:50:00.001-07:00

Well, that was short lived. The poker career has come to terms, unfortunately. I’m now at a point, financially, where I can’t risk the money needed to play cards. While I don’t doubt my abilities, I simply don’t have the needed cushion to absorb a bad run of cards, right now. It was good while it lasted, however, and I’m glad I took a shot. In the end, it didn’t cost me money to do and I feel like playing on a regular basis really helped to improve my game, especially my hand reading skills.

From here out, I’ll continue to play casually (looking forward to returning to the regular homegame in San Diego) and will keep updating this blog with tales from the felt.

How To Make $173 Disappear Over Four Hours

2008-02-24T23:36:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be an interesting exercise to record all of my played hands for a session and document and graph out the results. Naturally, I happened to do this for one of the worst runs I've had out here to date. This was on a $4/$8 table with half kill at Red Rock on 2/24/08. You'll note over the course of four hours I only played 20 hands out of the blinds. I know it's all pre-flop info, but if you have any feedback, I'd be happy to hear it.

Living and Dying by the Sword

2008-02-20T23:36:00.001-08:00

Finally had a decent session tonight where I was playing well and making solid hands. My hand reading has improved with all the time I’ve been putting in and I also managed to pick up on a solid tell, tonight. Again, I sat at a table with the regular who had his mucked hand returned to play in the Worst…Dealer…Ever entry. Every time we’d get to the river and he wanted to take a stab at the pot with no hand, he’d put his bet out farther than normal and then start to turn his hand up. I watched as he did this five or six times and whenever he was raised he’d instantly fold his hand. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to capitalize on it during this session, but I certainly will in the future.

In general, the poker career is suffering. Over the past couple of weeks, I fell victim to the double-edged sword of the grinder. I had a lot of people come through town during that time leading to a very limited number of poker sessions. That time away from the felt meant that I wasn’t making money playing and was instead spending money since there was a lot of ‘going out’ involved. Not that I would take playing over the amazing times I had during those weeks, but it does serve as a reminder as to the drawbacks of relying on a pastime for a paycheck.

I Play Good

2008-02-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

Had an interesting session while the guys were in town for Mark’s bachelor party. It was getting to be late in the night and Kurt, Aaron and a couple other guys were sitting at a $1/2 NL game over at Harrah’s. Tired but bored, I decided to kill some time and sit with them. On the fourth or fifth hand I was dealt, I looked down to find Q-Jd in middle position, so I bumped it up to $10 or so. Had 3-4 callers to the flop which came out: K-10-6 with one diamond and two spades. I think I bet out $20 and dropped two callers. Asian guy in late position called, leaving us head’s up. Turn put a 2nd diamond on board giving me another set of outs and so I bet out another $25 and was raised to $50 by the guy in late position. Given the number of outs, I went ahead and called. River came the ace of diamonds, so I went all-in with my last ~$40. Guy calls and I say, “I caught my flush” as I turn over my cards to find the Jack of diamonds and the queen of hearts. Oops. “Uh, I guess I have a straight.” Cards speak, hand is good and I’m doubled up.

About two or three orbits later, I look down to find Ad-Kh under the gun, so again I raise to $10. Three people come along for the ride, including the guy from the first hand. Flop comes out As-6h-8h. Figuring I have the best hand, with a draw to the 2nd nut flush, I lead out with a pot sized bet. First caller drops and the Asian guy calls. Turn comes the 9h and I lead out with $35. Other guy makes it $70, total. I make what is probably a –EV call and throw $35 into the pot. River comes out the 5h, putting four to a straight flush on board, but making my backdoor draw. I check and the other guy checks behind me. I turn over my cards, “I just have the King…” Curiously, when my cards are exposed, it turns out I have the ace of hearts. Heh. Fortunately, the guy didn’t have the seven of hearts and my 2nd misread hand of the session was good.

As the pot was being sent my way, the other guy looks over at me, “you very lucky!”

Better lucky than good!

How to Leave a Table

2008-02-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

Dave H. will like this one…

I’ve been grinding out the last five and a half hours on a $3/$6 table over at TI and look down to see the remaining three stacks of blue and some change before me. Fatigue has set in and I’m ready to wrap up my lackluster shift so I decide to throw caution to the wind and straddle my last hand to at least finish with some sense of entertainment value. Five callers limp in and, without looking at my cards, I bump it to 3 bets; “no point in straddling if you don’t raise!” Everyone calls and we’re 16 bets to the flop.

Curiosity gets the best of me and I peek down to see what I’m working with; 10h-4d, awesome. Flop comes out 10s-6d-4s and no one is more surprised than me, so I lead out laughing. Player to my right raises and a woman at the far end of the table calls. I make it three bets to go and he 4 bets it! The woman calls both raises and I just call the final raise, saying, “I’m on a draw.”

Turn is the King of spades, which makes me a little nervous, so I check. Guy next to me says, “oh no, I’m not betting your hand.” Checks all the way around. River is the deuce of diamonds and, given the turn action, I figure my hand is still good so I lead out again. I get called in two places. First guy had a pair of sixes and the woman didn’t show her cards. “See,” I said, “I was on a full house draw.” Two pair good!

Worst...Dealer...Ever

2008-02-02T03:06:00.000-08:00

Decided to change up venues tonight and play some cards out at the Red Rock Casino. Got seated quickly into a $4/$8 game and, with the exception of splitting the first pot, went totally card dead for the first hour and a half. Lucas was waiting out the endless Omaha board, so I talked him into sitting down for a little bit in the hope that he’d be able to cash in on the multiple donkeys at the table.

We were coming into the third hour and had the displeasure of experiencing the worst dealer I’ve ever seen in Vegas. I mean, Jennifer made the Soboba dealers look like Wynn material. In the half a down that I was willing to sit through, I saw the following:

Second or third hand dealt by this dealer, I am in the big blind with K-9h. We’re 6 handed to the flop, which comes out 2-3-6 with two hearts. I lead out and have 5 callers. Turn is a 4 of spades. Pot equity says to bet, so I throw another $8 into the pot. Lose a couple callers and we’re 3 to the river. River is a 5 of clubs, putting a straight on the board. I lead out in hopes of splitting the pot instead of taking a third. Both guys call and I say, “I’ve got the board.” Next guy folds his cards and the third guy turns over A-4o. Dealer, in reference to the guy with the ace says, “he’s got the ace for the straight.”

“That’s great, but I have a 6-high straight.”

“Everyone has a straight,” chimes in some guy at the end of the table.

The dealer then pulls the 2^nd guy's folded cards from the muck and begins splitting the pot 3-ways. “Excuse me, those cards touched the muck,” I say, trying to salvage my half of the pot.

“Oh, he didn’t mean to fold. Sorry Hank.” Three-way split it is.

Two hands later, the final board is 6-J-5-5-6. First hand is shown was J-4o and called out as “two pair, Jacks and fives.” Some other guy shows an Ace and folds. Third player turns up a six for the boat. “Looks like we have sixes and five for two pair.” Dealer starts to muck the third guy’s hand. No one else was speaking up, so I said, “uh, he’s got a full house.”

As the pot is getting pushed over to the correct person, I look over at Lucas, “ready to pick up?”

Running Out of Gas

2008-01-30T23:31:00.000-08:00

I’m sitting in late position in the $4/$8 game over at the Wynn with about $60 in front of me. Looking down, I find AKo. There are maybe 3-4 limpers ahead of me, so I make it two bets to go. We’re five-handed to the flop which comes out T-J-3, rainbow. Checks to me, so I make a continuation bet in hopes of dropping some players. End up with 3 callers. Turn comes a glorious Queen, but puts two spades on board. Guy in early position checks, woman next to him bets, I raise. Guy on the button thinks for a second and calls. The first guy to act drops out and the woman re-raises. I bump it to four bets and the guy on the button folds. She re-raises me again! I have to check the board to make sure I’m not missing anything and have to put her on a set or AK. I re-raise with my last $5, being sure to get everything in with the best hand. River is a blank and we flip our cards. Woman is holding K9o. Ship it!

Ozz-Fest

2008-01-29T10:36:00.001-08:00

I played poker with Ozzy Osbourne last night. Ok, not really, but I did play with a fat, drunk guy with an accent who kept slurring while yelling at his wife, Sharon, from across the table.

Got Katrina'd at the Orleans

2008-01-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

Went to a minor league hockey game tonight over at the Orleans and had about an hour to kill before the game so I decided to play some poker. Put my name up on the board for $2/$4 and $4/$8, both half kill and got called up for the $2/$4 game first. Sat down at the table and immediately noticed I was the youngest person there by at least 20 years; in fact, I was the youngest person in the room by 20 years. The tables there were crappy at best. There was no give to the felt which made it very annoying to try to look at hole cards and the edge of the felt dipped sharply before the rail, making it impossible to stack chips. Seriously, I’ve played on nicer pieces of cardboard.

Overall, the $2/$4 game made for a very frustrating session. Basic weak-loose play and no one bet their hands. After about 30 minutes I got called for the $4/$8 game and quickly gathered my chips.

The $4/$8 game wasn’t much better, but at least players were betting their hands making it possible to at least have an inclination as to what they were holding. I got up a quick $60 or so and then got tangled in this hand: Late position, pick up pocket 10’s. Raise to $8 and get 5-6 callers. Flop comes out 10-Q-4, rainbow. Guy to my immediate right bets, so I raise to make the rest of the table face two bets and take away their odds. Naturally, only one or two people fold. Turn comes a King. Checked to me, so I bet and it gets raised and reraised before coming back to me. I know I’m beat in at least one place, but I have the odds to call in hopes of pairing the board. River comes a blank and my stack is almost back where I started. Got paid off nicely on a flopped flush a few hands later and then it was time to leave for the hockey game.

A Slow Start

2008-01-25T23:49:00.001-08:00

Put in my first official shift today. Decided to play a few hours at the Wynn since it's my favorite poker room in Vegas. Pretty average session although I started too early in the day and sat down to a rock garden courtesy of a bunch of local players. Saw some nice suck-outs by one or two weak players including having my aces busted up by a rivered set of nines. Couldn’t really get much going and walked away with a pocket full of gas money.

Unbeatable Rake

2007-12-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

Put in a session at Pechanga the other day. Hadn't played there in over a year which is funny because it was my go-to casino for a while; just became too much of a drive to get out there, I guess.

Sat down at a $4/$8 game and played very sub-par for the first hour (thank you, Soboba). I managed to get my poker skills back in order and my play improved significantly. As the day progressed, the game actually got a lot better, too, and played very close to the $8/$16 game there (a consistently good game to play in), probably due to the influx of players from a broken $8/$16 table. The big negative on the day, however, was the rake. They're now dropping $5 every hand! That's a hard rake to beat long term - I wish California card rooms would adopt the Vegas 10% rule.

Instant Karma

2007-12-19T15:11:00.001-08:00

I was sitting in the $3/$6 game over at Soboba and just had my pocket aces busted up by a rivered flush (Ace of spades being the river card, natch). The guy who busted up my aces had about $250 in front of him at the end of the hand. He colored up two racks immediately. About 30 minutes later, I happen to notice that this same guy is buying in for another $20. A curious move, considering he was recently stacked so deeply just moments before. No mystery as to what was going on, but he should have been a little more covert about slipping those two black chips into his jacket; especially since he was about to get tangled in a hand with yours truly.

I get dealt pocket 10’s in late position on a kill pot and raise. I get a handful of callers, including Mr. Chip Camel. Get a decent looking flop (all unders and not too coordinated), so I bet it out. Lose one or two and get to the turn (over card). Continue to bet, getting check-raised by someone in early position and Mr. CC goes ‘all in’ with his five remaining chips. I loudly announce across the table, “that $200 that you just put in your pocket still plays, doesn’t it?”

The guy’s face turns the color of a $5 chip as he sheepishly pulls the black chips from his pocket. To add further insult, the dealer goes on to chastise him for pulling money off the table. To save what little face remained, he called the raise. I dropped out of the hand and the guy had to call another two big bets before ultimately losing the hand on a weak draw. Karma’s a bitch, buddy.

A Hard Way to Make an Easy Living

2007-12-16T20:55:00.001-08:00

Perhaps it comes after a particularly good session or while staring out over the cube farm, but there is one thought that crosses every poker player’s mind eventually: Could I play poker for a living? Of course, 99.9% of the time reality and common sense rear their benevolent heads and keep us from doing anything foolish. This blog is going to be about that other .1%.

I guess technically you could say I’m already a professional poker player as my only source of income over the past 9 months (with the exception of a short consulting gig) has been from playing cards, but I’m not really dedicated to the cause and I’ve only been playing for purposes of entertainment. However, come January I will be moving out to Las Vegas for the express purpose of living the 'dream' of being a professional poker player, if only for a month or two. These pages will serve to chronicle my experiences on the felt.