The Bat Cave

11:20 AM: I’m starting to wonder about the viability of a daily $15/$30 game at Palace. If the game can’t start on a Saturday with $500 High Hands every 20 minutes and five $8/$16 games running at one point, things don’t bode very well.

I think the biggest problem is getting the game off the ground. It’s a Palace mentality that short-handed games are “bad.” The players that embrace the short game are few and far between, so when there are 5-6 names on the list it’s like pulling teeth to get a game started unless the right people are on the list. But if you get the game going, other people will join – people that weren’t on the list – and it will fill up. I don’t know why people don’t get this concept.

Bravo showed 11 names on the $15/$30 list for today, but when I showed up I quickly realized that most of the names were carryovers from the Saturday game that never started. That left a total of four names and one of them quickly removed themselves from the list.

So I’m playing $8/$16 instead now and there is a list of four for $15/$30.

In my $8/$16 game are Elmer, Radio Mike, and Game Genie – the same names on the $15/$30 list.

11:52AM: With that said, one player walked in for $15/$30 and we immediately fired it up. Hopefully others will join.

Starting lineup: myself, Radio Mike, Elmer, Game Genie and… a new blog nickname: Marlo… named after the character from The Wire because the resemblance is uncanny. Marlo is sitting with the minimum buy in of $150 but he can fire off for much more and he’s never hurt a poker game he’s sat in.

12:05 PM: Marlo torched his stack and gave me all the bets on JT952 when I had JT and he had J2 (he was all in for two bets on the turn). As an added bonus, Elmer called all the way down. Just as I promised Marlo reloaded for $700.

12:16 PM: We are 7-handed now, joined by a $15/$30 reg and a newer Palace reg that I played with for the first time last week and he immediately established himself as one of the few players I genuinely dislike. He played super slow, which was annoying enough, but he was also verbally aggressive and basically attacked Peaceful Pete and myself, insinuating that we are each other’s “girlfriends.” Eh. I don’t care what anyone says about me or how they act – please just let them keep playing – but unlike Peter, who laughed at everything this idiot said and really kept him in his “happy zone,” I don’t pretend to like people I can’t stand. I’ve only played with this guy twice now, so I’m not gonna drop a name on him yet, but my genuine enemies need to be easily identifiable.

Game Genie opens button, I 3-bet A3hh from the SB, and we are heads up to A86 two clubs one heart. We both check. Non-standard line from me but Game Genie is bluffy. Turn is a jack and it goes bet and call. River is a ten and I go passive again, check-calling, and lose to Q9cc.

I open AK and my new enemy defends and beats me with Q6 on 764AQ.

I open KTdd and Marlo eventually gets all in against me on T84c4c and his J9cc rivers a straight.

My good start has quickly become a mediocre one.

1:08 PM: Sick, lucky connection: Game Genie raises two limpers on the button, I 3-bet KK from SB, one limper stays and three of us see K55 flop. I get three bets in on flop against Game Genie, one bet on 9 turn, and three big bets on 8 river. He has 85hh.

1:16 PM: That last hand gives me a rare big start. I want to rededicate myself to taking breaks and really focusing at the table today. As fun as it is to play with Radio Mike, Elmer, and Prattling Pete it really creates a home game vibe sometimes and takes me out of my element. I’m here to kill and pay our bills, not have a good time with friends. And it also makes it really hard to listen to all the new music that is always coming out and I really enjoy doing that and there’s no better place to do so than at a poker table.

We are full now, picking up a Fortune $20/$40 reg I will call Grawp (that’s a Harry Potter reference and a pretty obscure relation to this player, but I get it and that’s all that matters!) and a Palace reg.

1:42 PM: Game Genie vowed to get his chips back from me and that’s something worth keeping in mind. For instance: four limps in front of me, I limp along with 97o on the button. Flop is 653 with two hearts and it checks to me. I bet and one blind and Game Genie check-call. Turn is a black king and Game Genie leads out. This is definitely a spot I should consider raising. He doesn’t have to have a hand here and I have decent equity even when he calls. I call though, brick river and let him have the pleasure of showing me the ten high he “bluffed” me out with.

1:59 PM: Phone-In Pete is up as a call in for $8/$16 and $6/$12 Omaha, but not for $15/$30. Seems like an oversight on the floors’ part, so I asked Radio Mike if we should mention something to them and we both agreed we can’t assume that Peter wants to play $15/$30. He might have had a terrible weekend or maybe he thinks the lineup is too tough today? We will let him sort it out when he gets here.

2:41 PM: FALSE ALARM: Perfidious Pete is not here. I repeat: PETER IS NOT HERE. Must have been a different Peter. It all makes sense now.

2:46 PM: Radio Mike opens and I defend with 98o. Flop is K65 all diamonds and I check-raise (one of my cards is a diamond). He calls. Turn pairs the king and I bet and he folds. About a minute goes by and he gives me a look and I give him a wink, knowing he’s going to read this in the next ten minutes or so.

Maybe I had a king, Mike. Maybe I had what I said I had.

3:31 PM: a limp or two in front of me, I raise TT, Grawp calls from SB, five of us to 853ss flop. Elmer donks, I raise, Grawp cold calls, Elmer calls. Turn K. Grawp check-raises. I’m calling down here out of curiosity. Ace of spades on the river gets me a free showdown and he shows KQo. Okay.

3:52 PM: Can’t say I’m running bad though. Game Genie limps UTG, I raise KTdd, button 3-bets, Elmer caps, Genie folds and it’s three of us to T33, two hearts one diamond. Elmer leads and he basically always has overpair here so no point in raising. I call and we are heads up. 4d on turn and I still just call. Elmer is the type that will call a raise here and still bet the river so no guarantee I get a free showdown when I miss and there is literally zero chance I have the best hand. River solves all problems by giving me a flush and I outdraw his KK.

And then I win a big pot with KK three hands later. 🤷🏻‍♂️

4:18 PM: I open QQ and Radio Mike 3-bets. I call and check-call down on KJ965 and lose to his AK.

One player limps and it folds to my big blind. I check with Q4o and check again on QT6. Turn is a 4 and I get my patented big bet check-raise in in a micropot. He calls and the river is a 3 and now he’s raising me? I call and he has the 75 somehow.

Same player cold calls a raise on Q82 and beats my AA with Q4.

Maybe I’m not running so hot?

4:34 PM: I’m changing Grawp’s nickname because I just remembered something: Sgt. Rock has a blog (link later: Sgt Rock’s Blog) he updates occasionally and already has a great nickname for this player. He calls him Atlanta Braves leadoff hitter and shortstop and I always laugh when I read that. I don’t want to type all that out though every time I mention him so I will call him by current Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson’s name.

4:44 PM: I just opened button with K7o and called down on TT596 vs J8 because I’m a total sicko. Not the greatest bluff catcher but this was more of an informational call down because he took a strange line (check-call flop, bet turn and river).

5:00 PM: Punctual Pete just walked in the door at 5 PM sharp and not ONE SECOND earlier and this bastard immediately gets a seat in the game.

5:48 PM: My enemy in MP opens, Elmer calls, I 3-bet JJ from SB, enemy caps. Flop J74 two spades and I lead out expecting to get good action. Enemy calls and Elmer folds. 2 on turn and I’m fully expecting to get raised, so why not bet? He does raise, I 3-bet and he calls down with whatever overpair he had. He did the whole dramatic “look how unlucky I got” slow fold thing and showed his hand but I lost interest in the situation after about ten seconds and never saw it.

7:48 PM: I was just taking a break to eat some Banh Xeo and it was amazing! While doing so, Radio Mike walked up to me and said “nice live blog – it’s been two hours!”

I guess I haven’t played any exciting pots in a while. So here’s a recent one: I open cutoff with KQcc, button calls, Blackjack calls, and Game Genie goes all in for 3-bets, and I cap. Flop is A4A one club and I c-bet and both live players call. Turn is 3c and I barrel and I shake the button but Blackjack is hanging in there. I whiff river and give up and Blackjack gets it all with 99.

7:50 PM: Here’s a better hand: two limps, Peter completes, I check 43o. Flop is 665, I bet and everyone calls. Turn 7, I bet and my enemy raises me from UTG, fold fold, I 3-bet, and he caps. River 8, I check-call and he shows… 44. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Nope. Didn’t want to catch that punt attempt.

8:01 PM: Open 99 UTG, Blackjack and Dansby Swanson cold call. Three of us to KT9 flop. I bet, Blackjack raises, Dansby does some more cold calling, I 3-bet and they both call. Turn 3, I bet and only BJ calls. River jack and I go thin and get raised. He shows QThh. Blah.

I open button with 33 and only Blackjack defends. He check-calls on 964. We both check on 4 turn. His run good against me continues with a 6 on the river, but he miraculously check-folds, even though my line is laughably unbelievable.

8:23 PM: More pain: I open JJ, my enemy cold calls, big blind defends. Flop is KJ3 two hearts. I bet and the big blind check-raises, I 3-bet, my enemy is still in and big blind calls. Turn is an 8 and now this torcher raises me, the big blind folds, and I punish him with a 3-bet. He calls and raises me on the 2h river. I call and he has 87hh for a flush. Raises me on the turn against a super strong line because he hasn’t paid enough for this draw already, I guess.

This is the kind of torching he was doing on Friday and giving all his chips to Peter, but when I played against him he had a hand. Tonight he’s trying to give me money and the river won’t let him. 🤢

8:47 PM: I hate him. I can’t stand this dude. I can’t explain it all and I don’t want to type out all the offensive things he does, but he needs a nickname. I wanted to use this on someone else earlier but it’s more fitting here. He’s big, he might have roid rage, he’s kind of an idiot, and he annoys the shit out of me. He’s The Tick.

Here’s a crazy, weird hand: multiple limpers, I limp along with 64ss on the button, and 6 of us see a Q97 flop. Everybody checks. Turn is a 6 and a middle player bets, I call, although folding here is perfectly reasonable. We are heads up to king on river and he bets again. He’s a new player to this limit and I know he has a lot of respect for my game so I think a raise here works a large percentage of the time. I pop it and… he calls. I table my hand and he promptly turns up… T5 of diamonds… which is ten high. And then he’s wondering why the pot is being pushed to me. Solid soul read, Dark Knight.

10:06 PM: Multiple limps in front of me, I raise ATss, five or six of us to 952 and it checks around. Turn is a ten and it checks to me, I bet, The Tick raises (after checking back button on flop), Blackjack cold calls, Persistent Peter cold calls, huh? There is a heart draw available, but what the heck? I 3-bet it because none of these clowns have me beat and everyone calls. River is a 7 and I check because this might be a little thin for value as it seemed everyone was drawing, but The Tick bets and Blackjack check-raises. Sigh. Peter mucks, I muck, and The Tick pays it off with ATcc. Blackjack has J8 for the nuts.

10:20 PM: Radio Mike gave me unlimited action on T22Q6 when I had KK and he had whatever crap hand he can cap the flop and call down with. That sent him outside with a tear coming down his eye and when he came back in, he tripped over the front rug, and I guess that made up his mind that he was incapable of continuing a poker session and he came back to the table with wet tissue and some empty racks.

11:10 PM: I open KQ and only Peter defends. Somehow I lose to A6dd on QJ5d flop. 🤷🏻‍♂️

11:26 PM: The Tick has reached the boiling point. He’s had enough alcohol now that he has elevated to Mega-Douche levels and anything anyone says from now on could cause a confrontation.

12:51 AM: Well I’m not leaving anytime soon. We are 8-handed and everyone has Overs buttons now. My A6 just lost to The Tick’s 64 on 76578, which is whatever, but it would be nice to have the best hand on the river against this tool once in a while.

12:54 AM: Peeved Pete just dropped the “F-Bomb” on the table for acting out of turn on the river.

1:01 AM: Jesus. Tick limps utg, SB calls, I check K8. Flop KT8, it checks around. Turn ace, I check-raise The Tick. He calls. Jack on river. I check-call. He has AQ. Every time? Really?

1:29 AM: Everyone gets to river me. A girl that’s been playing really snug all night opens from MP, button calls, I defend TT. I donk 876 flop and she raises me. I call and we are heads up. We both check on ace turn, which I was planning to check-raise if she bet. River is a ten. I bet, she raises… I really think she would bet 99 on the turn, so I’m perplexed. Whatever. I call. She has Q9 suited.

Groan. My Palace red chip curse continues. I haven’t been stuck ALL day and it’s getting close now. I could be up over $2k right now so easy. If I was just running decent.

1:52 AM: Capped pre with AQss 4-ways. Flop KTx with two spades. Capped again. T on turn. Peter has TT. Somehow I don’t get there on the river.

I am stuck now. I am fucking stuck.

Unreal.

2:01 AM: I am 15 hours deep and I’m stuck for the first time all day. It seems like I’ve been getting rivered for about four hours straight now. I’m fed up. But everyone has Overs and The Tick has almost $1500.It’s a toss up.

2:14 AM: Peter just played a 10 minute heads up hand against The Tick (probably only a slight exaggeration) and got like five extra bets with QQ, a hand that should never be good considering the board and the action, but of course he’s good. The snail-pace of the game honestly might drive me out of here.

3:00 AM: Folds to The Tick on the button and the big blind is begging for a chop. He gets it. I have AQ in the small blind. Thanks man.

Another whiffed nut flush draw.

Everyone is punting to Peter.

Maybe I did go home. Maybe I’m asleep and this is a nightmare I’m having.

3:11 AM: 6-handed no chopping now. The chances this game lasts long enough for me to gut this clown is probably somewhere around zero.

3:22 AM: Zero fucking percent. Game over. What a catastrophe. Finish -$535 after being up at least $1400 at my peak. These $15/$30 sessions have been criminal. This is the second straight session The Tick has sprayed chips to everybody at the table and still managed to cash out multiple racks because he can’t lose to me no matter how hard he tries to.