The Bat Cave

I played 8.5 hours of $15/$30 yesterday and stayed on my extended hot streak with a +$1906 day.

Didn’t have to wait too long to get in the game today (thank goodness).

Not sure how The Joker beat me to the game today, but here he is. I thought the whole day job thing was supposed to prevent me from having to look at his stupid face and listen to his annoying laugh until at least 5 PM.

Rest of starting lineup: Part-Time (back from overseas), Cobra, FBI Guy, an $8/$16 reg playing his first $15/$30 session that I’ve seen, a Muck reg, and a few non-regs.

I got to show The Joker the nut flush on 6th street before I even published this post so that’s a decent start already.

There are rumblings that Palace will be starting a $5/$5 no limit/spread game in the upcoming weeks and I have confirmed that this nasty rumor is actually true. The idea is that it will bring in different players and help fill the room, but hearing multiple players in this game saying they will play it are what my nightmares are made of. Anything that hurts the $15/$30 game is not good for me. I have no plans to play a spread game and greatly prefer limit structure. I will basically never play the spread game if $15/$30 is running. It’s a selfish response but this news makes me slightly nauseous.

3:04 PM: Well, FBI Guy played one orbit and moved to $8/$16, but he was replaced by a major producer. This guy isn’t much of a regular but I played with him last week and it was special.

In fact, we tangled as I was writing this. I open AJdd and both blinds call. He check-calls ATTcc and then donks into me (in Overs) on 3 turn. I call down and he shows me a busted flush draw with Q6cc.

3:24 PM: And the producer takes the lead in today’s war. I open AA under the gun, he calls, Cobra 3-bets, and I cap with six of us seeing the flop. My multiway concerns are diminished when it comes AQ4 rainbow. Only broadway cards are a real threat. I bet flop and get at least three callers. Turn is a 3, I bet and two call. River is one of those dreaded Broadway cards, a king. I bet, the producer raises, the other player folds and I go into the tank. This seems like JT a lot, but this guy would definitely raise me with worse so I just have to pull the trigger on a 3-bet. He snap-caps and shows me the straight. Ughhhh.

He was just complaining about how he can never beat me so, you know, good for him.

5:15 PM: Sorry long time between updates while I ate and let The Joker borrow my phone for a bit to listen to something… something EPIC.

I won a big pot with QQ and felted the producer when he decided to commit his whole $175 stack on 644 in a raised pot. We were in Overs and I had 99 so I was willing to help him get all his chips in the middle. The board ran out 644Q9, relieving any concerns I had about possibly losing the hand.

The Joker is pretty much walking on water so far. He 3-bets the button straddle from the big blind with A2o and outflops KK, my JJ, and A8. Pretty incredible. I’m sure he would want me to note that he was counterfeited on the river but the A2933 board still got him half the pot. Then he 3-bets me with 44 and gets the 442ss3 board when I flop the nut flush draw and two overs. Fortunately, I whiffed but not before we put in multiple bets on flop and turn.

Even though it’s been a little bit of a roller coaster so far, I am up around $500.

5:49 PM: I have no words. The Joker opens UTG+2, I 3-bet AK and two others call. Flop is 866dd and Joker donks. I decide to raise because he is capable of folding weak pairs to continued aggression. We are heads up to 5 turn and I bet in Overs, but I don’t expect him to fold much of his range on that card, so I’m not surprised to see him call. River is the 9d and, well, I can’t really bet that card. It’s obviously way better for his range and if I actually had a big pair here I’m not exactly sure how often I would be betting. I check back and this guy tables 84o.

84o. At a full table. With two folds in front of him. And six players yet to act. I mean… I can’t even comprehend the thought process that goes behind that one.

Edit: My mistake. There was apparently a key element to this hand that I overlooked. The producer had already limped in. There was one committed player and one fold in front of The Joker and then six (SIX!) players yet to act. To recap, one player already put money in the pot. The player least likely to make reasonable folds after the flop. Lol. Yes, Joker, that gives the play so much more merit! 😂😂

Also, I was just in the bathroom and the player to my left was using the stall and walked out without washing his hands. I mean come the fuck on. I’m supposed to sit next to this guy without vomiting? It’s almost as gross as that 84o play.

6:45 PM: Pretty strange hand here: I open KK and it’s 6-way action. Flop is T76, I bet and there’s a raise and reraise behind me. I have a bad feeling already so I just go into showdown mode and call, and it gets capped. s9 bets turn and river on T765T runout and I get a glimmer of hope when he tables JJ, but s2 tables a ridiculously passive 77 (and actually probably accidentally maximizes).

7:04 PM: Kind of struggling vs random variance today. Open KJss and the big blind defends 42o in a 3-handed pot and gets the K644x board.

7:25 PM: OMG. Horrible development. You may recall my description of The Queen and how she is the only person in the world I don’t bet against. Well, that situation resolved itself because the day after I posted that she decided she wasn’t going to play $15/$30 anymore. Well, she starts the second game tonight and then she’s the first player to move into my game. Goddammit. We never had the talk so the current expectation is we still don’t bet each other. So obnoxious.

In other news, the huge producer has won all the chips today. He has almost $3k in front of him now and his chips are more live than anyone and he seems to have zero ability to leave the casino. I would guess he’s an overwhelming favorite to felt all of it.

7:50 PM: Sigh. More turbulence. Multiple limpers, Joker raises SB, I defend J9o, someone back-raises, and 5 or 6 of us see the T7x rainbow flop. Joker checks, I check, someone bets, call, Joker check-raises, I call and five of us see the turn for two bets. Bink. It’s an 8. Joker still leads, I decide to take a high variance line and just call because I think I make more money that way. 3 or 4 players do call and the river pairs the 8. Joker still leads and I call again. Two overcalls and I tell him “I’m pretty sure I have you beat here.” And he says, “oh really? Good read” and tables quads.

Walking on water.

I feel like I’m running like crap today but I’m still up a little bit somehow.

8:51 PM: Hard to complain about this though. Back-to-back hands against the producer: I open KTdd utg, he 3-bets, I call. I check-raise T55 flop and he calls down on T556T. Next hand I check QJo in a multiway pot, bet the J98 flop, he raises and I end up outdrawing his T7 when a ten hits the river, giving me a bigger straight.

And then I just won AA and KK in back-to-back hands as I was typing this. The second one is worth talking about a bit more. I open KK utg, s3 cold calls and Joker defends. Flop is AJ5 and I check because s3 has an itchy trigger finger. He’s about to bet and then the dealer says “Overs” and he suddenly decides not to bet. Since he was coming out with chips, she makes him put the bet out and now Joker is check-raising. I think I’m actually good here so I 3-bet and they both call. There is no more betting and I’m good vs 33 and Joker’s J6. I should probably be betting the turn here since I don’t expect to get raised very often and I want to protect my hand, but all in all, I was pretty happy to get 3-bets in 3-ways on an ace high flop with KK and win the pot.

My session is back in good shape.

9:17 PM: Joker opens, I 3-bet 87cc, button calls it all, one of the blinds defends and Joker calls. Flop is 922 with one club. I bet and button and Joker call. I’m not like this so far, but the 2 on the turn is really good for my story. I bet, button folds and Joker says, “there’s no way you have a pair here” and then makes the expert lay down.

Oh oh. Joker is running bad now. So bad he’s tearing up a little and smearing his clown makeup.

I do have some other regulars at my table now: The Queen, Hit&Run, Joker, and a drunk Taz.

9:39 PM: Just had AA for the third time in two orbits:

#1: stole the blinds

#2: c-bet top set and both players fold

#3: get check-raised on 8542 and they have A3 somehow.

Solid!

10:12 PM: 42o blind defense in a small pot strikes again. I open KK and it’s 3-handed to 552. The producer waits until we are heads up in Overs to donk the 6 turn. He’s so wide, I have to raise. He calls. River 3. He checks and I bet because I don’t expect straights to check and I get popped. So gross.

10:59 PM: This would be an amazing session if most of my big pairs weren’t getting smashed. Joker opens, I 3-bet QQ, and it’s 4 or 5 of us to the flop. It comes down medium-gross. There’s an ace, there’s a king, but there are three clubs and I have the nut flush draw. Hit&Run donks, Joker raises and I decide to 3-bet, hoping I might be able to check back turn if I miss. This plan backfires horribly as Joker caps it and then we both get check-raised on a blank turn. I whiff the river and Joker pays off Hit&Run’s flopped flush with 42cc. 42! That hand is owning me tonight.

I have dropped from a peak of +$1100 to +$500 as the variance eats me alive. This game is crazy now. It’s like 5+ players for a raise every pot now. Absurd amounts of gambling going on.

Running terrible now. I have T9dd on Q87d4d vs KQ and Q6. Any guesses on which hand wins? Yes, folks. It’s the magic 5 on the river.

Meanwhile, as I’m getting crushed, the producer has somehow lost back $1000.

11:38 PM: Just won a big one with TT. Joker raises and I 3-bet. A third player in the pot takes the maximum torch line: check-3-betting the flop, check-calling turn, and donk-bluffing the river on 93358. It’s hard to imagine what hand can check-3-bet that dry of a flop and bet into two players on the river and not have any showdown value. If someone tells me “you got it” at showdown, I will table if I have a reasonably good hand (i.e. not ace high or bottom pair) until they burn me one time with this move. After that, they table first forever. This guy is not in the club yet, so I didn’t make him show, but I kind of wish I had.

12:01 AM: I mentioned the game conditions, right? Well, I don’t typically limp 55 under the gun, but this game is primed for this kind of play. Multiple limpers behind me and a player that only raises big pairs pops it from the small blind. She leads the 762 rainbow flop and I make the call, expecting others to come along behind me. The price is pretty borderline here but I’m calling because I turn a lot of good cards: 3s, 4s, 5s, and, to a lesser degree, 8s and 9s all improve my winning chances against an overpair. Some players call behind and I catch the second best turn card: a 4. I call again and so does another player. The river is an 8 and I’m pretty shocked to see the small blind bet into two players calling down on this board texture, but she fires, I raise, the other player calls $60 cold, she folds, and I’m good for all of it.

12:58 AM: Playing my last orbit. Since I sold action to all the upcoming tournaments I will painfully leave this amazing game so that I can be well rested when I play the Little Creek Main Event tomorrow. It hurts though. The producer has gotten hot again and has close to $3k and I really don’t think he will leave until he loses all of it. Plus Curious George and The King of Pop are in the feeder game and will probably eventually come over. Ugh.

I also got hot again and unless multiple crazy things happen in the next few hands, I will be booking a decent win. With how many big pairs I lost today a win seems pretty fortunate.

Final Score: +$985