Get there around 4 or so. The place is packed. It's always a great game there, but I think because of the big WPT thing at the Bicycle, it's even more insane. People seem to just finish their tournament there, and come here instead of playing at the Bike. There is a huge 50/100 game featuring Daniel Alehi, and maybe three 20/40 games as well. Anyway, sitting on the must move, I manage to win like $200 or so. Just a few little pots, playing pretty tight, kind of biding my time until the main game.
I wind up sitting with the dude who'd busted me with a set of 9's from my second session on this trip. He's a shorter fat middle aged dude, knows just about everyone there. He always sits down with at least $7k, looks around the table, and if anyone has him covered, he pulls another $5k brick out of his pocket. He stakes a few players in the room, said something the other day about how he's “not good enough to play in the big game, so I invest money with people who are.” Something like that. I think he puts money into this dude that I hate, for completely irrational reasons (he was the first hand during my AC disaster). I kind of hate The Staker for no rational reason either. This is the third table I've played with him, and each time he kind of stares at me when I'm in a hand. He's not a bad player, he has some problems with over betting, but besides this he has no hugely exploitable flaw that I've found, and for the most part he seems to be playing quality hands and I mostly stay away from him. Until this hand.. I'm in for $1500, and am up maybe $500 or so (so $2k in front of me). I limp with A4 of clubs. Flop = AXX one club. I'm first to act, and I bet $200, Staker nd another call. Turn = 6c. Runner runner draw! Wheee.. Staker raises to $1k (I think, it was some amount that was just slightly too big and dumb). Other dude thinks a second and folds. I know I'm folding, but I sit and think and think, and look up at him, and think, and think some more. I just want to make him either sweat that I'm going to call, or to be pissed that he bet too much when I fold. And I do fold. Anyway, my bet on the turn was horrible, because there was no way that I'd get both dudes to fold the hand, and if I'd just let one of them bet (preferably Staker, because that would put me in better position), and see if I could get the right money in the pot for me to call to river a club or 4. Anyway, whatever, bad bet, and now I'm down like $200 or so.
So, I lose a bit more after that hand above, nothing special, all reasonable calls, with little pairs, suited connectors, etc, but nothing hits, and I'm down $500 or so, with $1k or so on the table left. I get KQ. I limp in somewhat early position. Button, a young aggressive kid raises to $120. This Indian, who was a complete calling-station for absurd amounts, calls. I've been watching this kid raise most of his buttons in a limped pot, so I decide to pop him, I make it $400 total, to which he quickly folds. Indian thinks and thinks, and calls! Wow.. ok. Flop = AXX. Indian checks, and I insta-all in for maybe $600. Indian thinks and thinks, I lean back and drink the coffee behind me, which maybe I shouldn't have done, as I think people construe this as a tell for being weak, and so he calls. Turn = X, river = Q. I say “good call, ace is good.” He says “I don't have an Ace.” !!!!! So, I turn over the KQ and take the pot. As I'm stacking my chips I notice Staker is staring at me, and I look at him and shrug, to which he says something stupid that I can't quite remember.
When I'm moved to the main game a few hands later I have a little profit. The game is odd, it changes very quickly from being very tight and passive, to being very loose and passive. There are no real aggressive players at the table when I sit down. A few come in throughout the night, but for the most part this is a table of calling stations. It's a weird flaw, and one I seldom see in NY, people not raising with much of anything, but completely unable to fold anything remotely resembling a hand for anything upto $100 preflop. Anyway, this bearded dude from San Fran, who I was on the must move with, seems to be a pretty good player. He's been winning, and this is his first time at the Commerce, and he is in awe of how many games are playing, and is talking about taking a shot at the bigger games. Until.... he gets KJ which winds up being the nuts (broadway) on the turn. He makes a healthy bet at a dude, who thinks and thinks, and calls. The river is the third club, San Fran checks, dude goes all in for maybe $2k. SF insta calls, and is shown AK of clubs. And he goes on a very obvious, whiney tilt for the next half hour. “It'll take me 30 pots to win that back.” Any time the winner is in a hand he asks “Ace King of clubs?” He just can't let it go. He wins a few hands, by absurd over bets, and he's obviously frustrated and unable to fold anything. In a few previous sessions, I've actually said things to players when they were tilting, cracking jokes, talking to them about whatever, generally making them feel better. And while I actually like the dude, I think of these situations, and stupid it was of me to stopped the tilted players from throwing their money at the table. So, here, I say nothing, and just let his frustration grow into self-destruction. And I reap the benefits this time. I get 22, flop = 2J9. He bets, I raise, he calls. Turn = 7, and I'm wondering if he could have T8, his check, combined with knitted brow, leads me to know that he has either AJ or J9, I bet again. He calls. On the blanked river, I bet $600, to which he says “did you flop a set.” I say “Do I need one?” Which is just about perfect, he just needed a little bit of encouragement to make the call, and that did it. He calls and I say “yeah, I have a set.” He says he had J9, but didn't show.
Yay, nice hand now I'm up maybe $1500 or so. I start to feel good, but after raising to $100 with KQ and getting no less than four callers, I don't play too many hands after that. I pick up a nice pot though I get called down with aces up.
But, I'm finding I have a somewhat scary image, and whenever I raise, and then raise the flop, people are pretty reluctant to continue the hands with me. I exploit it the most on this hand, I think though. I have AQ diamonds. I call an $80 raise from the only active dude who's sitting on my right. Three others call. Flop = K3X, 2 diamonds. He bets, I'm the only caller. Turn = K. Check, I ask “how much do you have” he counts out $400 in bills and some change, I check. River = 3. Check. I pause for a little, and grab 5 $100 chips and throw them out. He thinks and thinks, and I'm pretty sure that we'd be chopping the pot if he calls, but who knows maybe he had 88 or something. He folds, and I win.
Near the end of my session, restaurateur sits down. His first hand he makes these insane call with A2 of hearts, into a pretty tight dude's AK (flop =AKX), and rivers a runner runner flush. He's very active and kind of spastic. On his 2nd hand, I limp in with KJ. He's the small blind, he's thinking, he's thinking. It's only fucking $10 more. I say “it's on you man.” He says that he knows, and he puts out the $10. Flop = JXX. Checks to me. I bet $100. He stares me down, weird sunburned long face, making these weird eyebrow movements, and calls, BB folds. Turn = X, check check. River = X. He bets $220. I'm just looking at him, looking at me, looking at him. And I think back to that 99 hand in my last session, what a pussy I was, and I'm pretty sure I have him, so I call. “If you're calling, I can't win.” Yay!
I quit after six hours. Which I'm starting to wonder if that should be my time limit rather than eight. I started to get a bit of headache, and so I knew it was time to go, and I did.
Ok, it's almost 7:00. I got up late this morning, which got me to the gym late, which got me to the cafe late, which got me to write this late. Hmm, I might be out until 2 tonight, kind of throws my schedule off a bit, but yeah, this is about the best time to be playing.
More tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment