The Bat Cave

Whoops. My late start today seems to have cost me. I just checked Bravo and Palace already started the $15/$30 game and there are six people on the wait list. Ouch. On the bright side, that might mean there’s a chance for an early start to a second game. The Leak and I will be heading there shortly, but looks like I might have to play a little $8/$16 today.

I finished February off with a scorching two weeks, going +$12,000 over the last 14 days of the month, despite punting almost $900 in Lincoln City. Safe to say my 2018 is back on track and I’m right where I’d want to be at this point of the year.

Yesterday continued my hot streak as I booked a +$2080 day to kick off March, most of it in $15/$30. I can’t think of too many interesting hands off the top of my head, but one thing I can say for sure is that The Tick won basically zero pots against me and, even though he plays reasonably tight overall, he seems to be one of those people that just has to play whenever I raise preflop. I’ve mentioned before that he’s run well above average against me previously, but the tide turned full circle yesterday. I either had him crushed in every pot we played or made the winner on the river. He was a pretty big nuisance to me in the first half of last month, so I enjoyed squashing this bug multiple times yesterday.

We have a lunch planned in Federal Way tomorrow and I think we’ve agreed to finally play our first session of 2018 at Fortune. I might be taking Sunday off in honor of the 2018 Academy Awards and I’ll try to pump out some quick reviews for Lady Birdy, The Post, Phantom Thread, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and The Florida Project before the Oscars air.

Heading to Palace now.

2:06 PM: A little locked out at the moment. I’m #5 for $8/$16 and #6 for $15/$30. So I’m going to play $4/$8 for a bit and rank shortstops for fantasy baseball.

Obviously not planning to post $4/$8 hands but some things need to be done: I’m sitting with my boy Shonn’s fam (T and C) and I ask for a table change because I’m not sure they know I sit down to crush and crush only. Well, before I can even start my session in my phone, C limps, I raise AA, T 3-bets me and C back-caps it. Flop is AKQ and they both call. But things get crazy on the turn and we get it capped there. River is a non-pairing blank and any concern that C has JT is relieved when he checks river; I bet, T calls all in, and C folds AT face up and I cooler T’s set of queens.

2:56 PM: Finished my $4/$8 warm-up at exactly +$200. As I was about to take my $8/$16 seat there was a flurry of movement in the $15/$30 game and I suspected my wait would not be long, so I passed on $8/$16 and seconds later I was in the $15/$30.

Starting lineup: The Tick, $8/$16 reg, super loose $8/$16 reg, some guy I’ve never seen with about $2500 in chips, another loose player, myself, Elmer, a decent $8/$16 reg, and Game Genie.

3:27 PM: Slimer has replaced one of the $8/$16 regs.

3:37 PM: Slimer just felted Game Genie’s AA with JJ in a massive multiway pot, which is pretty annoying. I probably root for him even less than The Tick.

3:45 PM: New nickname alert: we have been joined by The Invisible Man, a name earned from being by far the tightest player in the greater Tacoma area. In fact, it’s probably a waste of a name because he never plays a pot and will basically never be mentioned on the blog.

I’ve won good pots with AK and a set of jacks so far to get off to a decent start.

Game Genie has been replaced by someone I don’t have much experience with.

3:52 PM: It’s a tarp! Elmer buys the button and it folds to the cutoff who limps in. I raise KK on the button, Elmer folds, and the cutoff calls. Flop is Q8x and he check-calls. Turn is a king and now I get check-raised. Yum yum! I 3-bet and he calls down with… AA! A nice little cooler reversal that I would have won more on if not for the expert slow play.

4:41 PM: Triple donk alert! It’s Elmer vs The Tick: Elmer raises pre, Tick 3-bets, and four other people see the flop with them. King high board and Elmer donks, Tick raises, some others call, Elmer calls. Turn pairs the king and Elmer donks, there’s a call, Tick raises, Elmer calls, and they are heads up. River brings in the running spade flush and… Elmer donks! Tick just calls now and Elmer’s AK > Tick’s KQ. And we are happy because we like Elmer and the ole Tickster lost a big one.

4:50 PM: Taz and his friend have joined the game and it’s about to get a little better, but there are three legit nits in the game right now.

Two players limp and I check 64cc. I bet all three streets on 86648 and The Invisible Man calls me down – the last two streets for $50 each – with what was probably QQ.

Blog LEGEND Radio Mike just replaced Elmer.

5:09 PM: Back-to-back sexy hands against Taz:

Hand 1 – I raise 88 under the gun and he calls from SB. There are other people in the pot but they fold on 762cc flop. Taz check-calls. Turn pairs the 6 and he check-calls again. River Kc and when he doesn’t donk, I think I can safely narrow him down to a 7 and I go for the value. He check-calls and I’m good.

Hand 2 – Very next hand, Radio Mike posts in the big so I’m under the gun again and greet Mike to the table with a splashy KTo raise. Taz calls button and Mike defends. Flop is T83 with two hearts, I bet and Taz raises. He can’t have many better made hands than KT so I expect to be ahead here almost all the time, however, he could have draws that aren’t far behind. So I plan to donk the turn if it doesn’t improve QJ or a flush draw. Turn bricks, I donk and he calls. Great success. River 7h, I check-call and he was bluffing with QJ. Got em!

5:33 PM: Here’s a good hand from Slimer, showing he really understands hand ranges and the player pool: Taz limps, Slimer raises, Radio Mike cold calls, another caller. Flop K22 with two diamonds, Slimer bets, Mike raises and they are heads up. Slimer check-raises a blank turn and Mike calls. River is 8d and they both check. Slimer tries to hesitate long enough for Mike to table first but winds up showing down 44 and Mike wins with KQ. Nice hand, SLIME!

6:00 PM: Pretty good run out where I have 84dd in the big blind in a limped pot and lose to QJ on 842 flop. Of course, I get popped on the turn while I’m still ahead before losing on the river.

6:35 PM: Slimer has left (good riddance) and has been replaced by The King of Pop himself, complete with vintage MJ glitter fedora. This is good. Very good. A nitty player leaves and is replaced by a borderline maniac! And the game has been needing the boost. It’s been about as bad as I’ve seen the $15/$30 here.

6:49 PM: The King of Pop finds lots of joy in beating me in hands, making sure to let the table know “only him.” He calls me “young tiger” and insists on fist-bumping people after he sucks out on them in massive pots and, unfortunately, I am within arm’s reach at the moment.

7:19 PM: The Invisible Man just raised back-to-back hands which is something I feel confident in saying I’ve never seen before.

7:30 PM: A little high variance poker here. One player limps and I raise 97dd on the button, the big blind 3-bets and limper folds. I call. Big blind has been playing quite LAG, so when I see the JcTc3d flop I’m already thinking I might have to take a more aggressive approach here against someone that could be super wide. I decide on just calling the flop but when the turn is the 6d, I spring into action with a raise. We are in Overs and I’m immediately punished by a snap 3-bet. Okay, I guess I have to make something now. River Jd. Well, that’s something. He still leads but that doesn’t matter much, so I raise and he pays it off with… AQcc.

7:44 PM: I open AJo and Taz is one of the callers from the blinds. Flop is JTT and Taz donks. I call. Turn J, he bets, I call. River blank, he bets, I raise and he calls with T9 and then throws his cards off the table and leaves the game. Lol.

Cobra takes Taz’s seat.

Also, The Riddler is in the building. Playing poker. Not even on the list for my game. Some villain.

7:59 PM: Cobra introduces himself to the table by trying to steal my big blind from the cutoff. I look at the ace of spades and call. We are heads up to 643 two spade flop and I check-raise without looking at my second card. This flop just seems better for my range than it does for his. He 3-bets though. I peak down at the 2 of clubs. Well that’s disappointing, but it is something. I call. Turn is Ts which gives me the nut flush draw and I check-call. River is a jack and he bets again. I made it this far and I know he’s capable of leveling so I call and he shows Q9 high. 💪🏻

8:27 PM: I love when they punt to me. Under the gun opens, wild player calls, another call, I 3-bet AKo from the small blind, and everyone calls. Flop A64, I bet and only the crazy dude calls. Turn pairs the 4 and I bet-call in Overs. Check-call 9 river and he shows KQo. Oh, thank you Santa.

The King of Pop’s magical fedora in temporary time out:

8:50 PM: King of Pop limps UTG and I raise KQo from MP and he check-calls me down on QJ86A board with… A2o. 😂🤦🏻‍♂️

9:20 PM: Another sick run out: Radio Mike opens from MP, I 3-bet 98ss (no respect), and the loose, wild player sticks around in the big blind. I bet all the way down on Q9428 and get check-raised by the wild player and he shows me… 88. Really?

9:57 PM: I open A6o and only the wild player in the small blind and the big blind call. Flop is 954 and I get check-called by the maniac – a good result. Turn is a 2 and since I’m never folding on this card and I want to showdown, I check behind. River is a king and he leads. I’m thinking about calling but I don’t want to lose to a 4 or a 2 so I pop it and he folds.

10:31 PM: Heater is on: Cobra opens button, a good player 3-bets small blind, and I defend KQo. Flop is K76 with two spades. SB bets, I raise and he 3-bets. Cobra folds and I just call. Turn is Ks, which seems like a great card for my range so when he still bets I just call not really sure if I have the best hand or not. King on river makes me a little more confident though and I get two big bets from his TT on the river. Kind of surprised by his line here.

Very next hand, Tick opens, multiple cold callers, I cal J9dd. Board runs out 996Q2 and the wild player gives me multiple bets on the turn.

I appear to be up about $1300 after treading around even all day.

11:42 PM: Speaking of treading water… I’ve played zero pots of note in the past hour plus. I did get the top High Hand for quad kings and added $230 to my stack. Cobra took one of the players outside to smoke weed or something and that player is now basically dysfunctional, slowing down the game tremendously.

12:08 AM: I haven’t won a pot in almost two hours and a slow drip has become a bit more steady. After peaking around +$1500 I am now up about $650.

12:24 AM: The Tick saves the day! I open AQ, 5-ways to Q94hh, I bet, Tick raises, field clears, I 3-bet, he calls. Turn 6, I bet, he raises. Okay, I guess I’m paying off. Check-call river and we have a KQ overplay!

12:42 AM: Call me The Exterminator! Tick opens, button calls, I defend KQo. Flop is KQT and I check-raise, Tick 3-bets and I cap. I lead turn and he raises. This is where I, once again, have to believe he’s saying he has me beat. I just call. River king! I check-raise and I show some faux pity when he tables AJ.

Folds to small blind and he tells Radio Mike he wants to run it… for a $250 High Hand… that will put $6 into the rake. You may recall me saying no to someone when they asked me to run it before and this is why: they run it, the small blind “wins” the pot and then gives Mike back $12. I say “got him” and laugh in Mike’s face.

2:33 AM: That’s a wrap. I’m home now and it was a decent run to the finish line. The heater is real: I finished +$1580 for the day between $4/$8 and $15/$30.