The Bat Cave

3:42 PM: Just got to Palace and didn’t have to wait long to get in the $15/$30 game.

Unfortunately I hit snooze on my alarm at 10 AM this morning and next thing I know I’m waking up at 1:15 PM. Ugh.

$15/$30 had already started at that point and I took my sweet time getting there since I was 9th on the list.

When I arrived at 3:30 there were two games going and I was third up for the second game.

I helped them restart the second $8/$16 game and picked up AA under the gun on the first hand and had a $15/$30 seat by the time I was on the button. Starting my day off with $33 sugar!

Starting lineup in $15/$30 feeder: Taz, Part-Time, Elmer and Cobra; a tight-passive lady, a weaker semi-reg, a former reg that hasn’t been coming in much, and a Shelton area player that’s been coming in recently and playing drunk and high.

4:01 PM: Tilting people already. Open QJdd, one cold call, one blind defender. Flop is 982 rainbow with one diamond. I lead, the cold caller raises, blind calls, I 3-bet, he caps, and the SB folds now. I think my hand plays fine as a 3-bet here, even though I’m out of position with queen high. I have multiple weak draws that actually combine to a pretty robust holding that does well against 9x hands or straight draws. Turn pairs the 2 and I check-call. This is actually a great card if he has 98 as queens and jacks make me a winner. So I plan to donk those cards on the river and that’s what I do when I river a queen. He calls and I’m good vs A9.

4:37 PM: Open AQo early, get 3-bet, loose button calls, I call. Flop is AJ7 with two spades. I check-raise flop and get 3-bet, other player is still in. I feel like this is a call down spot, even when the ace pairs on the turn. River is a ten and I check-call and lose to AK.

Open button with KK and only Elmer defends. He donks 873 flop and I call. Turn is a 2, I raise, he calls. River king and he check-calls with JJ. Ugh. Definitely not my optimal line, especially against Elmer since he’s so likely to bet-call flop and still lead turn.

4:58 PM: Lots of movement in the $15/$30 games. I didn’t particularly want to move to the main game but here I am.

New lineup: nitty reg, tight-passive lady from feeder, unknown player, the King of fucking Pop, loud reg with halitosis (obv sitting next to me and obv talks all day long), BVR (!), and the former reg from last table.

Wow. I don’t think I’ll be here long. They keep sitting people I don’t know in the feeder game and people I don’t know are people I want to play with.

Or maybe not. One of those unknowns just got moved to my right and I also have position on the MJ impersonator so probably have to ride this out now.

5:18 PM: One limper, I raise AA on button, both blinds call. Flop is 873 and two players check-call. Dragon Breath donks on queen turn, other player calls, and I’m so confident he’s betting a naked queen that I feel very comfortable raising turn and then betting the 6 river for value when they both check. Both fold river though.

5:50 PM: OMG. Dragon Breath just breathed directly into my face. I don’t mean in my general direction, I mean 12 mph winds straight into my nostrils.

6:00 PM: Feeder game broke so pretty happy with my decision to move. I’ve been winning lots of smaller, uninteresting pots, with some unnecessary assistance from The King of Pop. I’m up a little over $900 already and it feels like I’ve barely done anything. The good life!

6:22 PM: Bad player limps, I raise Q5cc, button calls, four of us to JJ2 one club flop. I bet and two call. Turn is 3c and I barrel. Button calls and other player folds. River ten of clubs and I make my flush. I bet and he raises. Seems like a slowplayed jack to me and I only lose to JT, so I 3-bet, he caps and shows me J3ss. What. Pretty unfortunate because this runout was primed to tilt his shit into oblivion.

Woah. There’s a Joker here. He snuck in very quietly. He’s third up for $15/$30. Hopefully that means ~9 PM.

6:36 PM: Did I say it was smooth sailing? Well, I jinxed it. Open hijack with A5dd and only BVR calls on button. Flop is 654 one diamond. Perfect to check-call and let him bluff off. Unfortunately I don’t improve and he has the 87o for the nuts.

7:04 PM: The bad news is The King of Pop is busted, the good news is he punted his remaining stack to me. I have 87 in the blinds and peel T8x flop. Four of us to turn and I check-raise him when I make trips, he 3-bets and has like 1.5 big bets behind so I help him get the rest of it in, then I make a full house on the river and we’ll never know what he had.

Joker coming into the game now, two hours ahead of schedule, but on my direct right. This dude is carrying six racks of blue to the counter right now. Not even sure if he was in that game for an hour. Jesus.

7:17 PM: Unexpected surprise: haven’t really been paying attention to the list but someone just left and one of the bigger maniacs just sat down. Haven’t played much with him at $15/$30 so no name for him. I have him and Joker on my direct right so…. Jesus Seat.

Maniac wins battle #1: he limps, I raise TT and double barrel A326 and get check-raised. It would be a catastrophe to check back this turn against him, but I also don’t feel like I can call down on this board texture. I suppose I’m ahead of hands like 65, 64, 43, etc. but I’m sure he will provide me with plenty of better spots to take his chips. I fold and I don’t feel that bad about it.

8:02 PM: I went running one card flush with AJo in a 3-bet pot when BVR had AQ and turned a queen.

Maniac started with $1200 and is already down to $300 or so. I just got pretty lucky against him as I was typing this. Turning a straight with K9cc when he had QThh on 875hh board and dodging his redraws.

8:22 PM: The maniac torched off his $1200 stack in just over an hour. Of course, he got a lot of assistance from Joker and myself on his left constantly 3-betting him light (but way stronger than he’s opening) and punishing him.

9:07 PM: Tight-passive lady picks a great time to lose her mind. Maniac limps, I raise AA, she calls SB, big blind defends. Flop is T73, one spade and she’s my only caller. Turn is a 4 and she check-calls. River pairs the 4 and she check-raises. Last thing I ever expected after that amazing runout. I’m never good against this player, but wtf? I also can’t fold. She shows me 42 of spades. WOW! And whyyyyyy?

9:44 PM: Took a really non-standard and potentially dangerous line with AA. 15 players limp in and I raise SB. Flop is 972 or something like that and since I would raise a lot of hands from the SB that can’t c-bet this flop, I go ahead and check one that’s near the top of my range, hoping I can check-raise a bet from late position. That doesn’t happen. In fact, it checks around. Ouch. Turn is a jack. Screw it, let’s try that again. I check, Taz bets, three players call, and I check-raise all of them. No one folds. River is a king. I guess I could bet here? But I’m not folding to a raise and the king improves a lot of hands people are willing to put two bets in on the turn with. It checks around and I’m good.

No, I do not recommend this line. Keep it simple, stupid.

10:23 PM: Wow. No list already. We are 8-handed now. Action Bronson and Joker played an incredibly entertaining hand where Joker button straddles and Action Bronson has declared it will be his last hand prior to action. Board is A42K and when Action Bronson 3-bets it the entire table is laughing at Joker, obviously rooting against him. I’m yelling, “come on, take this pot out of the room, buddy.” But then Joker caps it. Action still leads river and Joker calls, but Action turns up K4 and obviously that’s never winning. Joker has AA. Solid bluff catcher if I’ve ever seen one. Then Action emasculates Joker on his way out the door for just calling on the river and I chime in with “if you’re ever going to slow down with top set it should be because someone might have 53.” Good times! Wish I could have got that hand on video. Not too often you see an entire table laughing hysterically.

Shortly after that, I raise a limper with AK on button, very aggro SB 3-bets and the limper caps it (thanks bud!). Flop is A74 and I raise the small blind and call when he 3-bets. Very unconcerned about being beat here so I’m planning to jack the turn in Overs. He bet-calls and then check-calls river and I’m good.

I am up about $1600 now.

11:35 PM: I don’t know if I’m just card dead or if the game has gotten slow/bad, or maybe it’s a combination of both, but I’m kind of checked out and wondering if I want to go home instead. Pretty rare for me to be thinking like that with a full game before midnight.

I’m getting my taxes done tomorrow, which should be interesting. I already sent the IRS thousands of dollars throughout the year and I’ve been saving all my expense receipts so I’m very curious what kind of damage will be leftover. None? 🤞🏻

Crazy hand against Puss-In-Boots, making a rare $15/$30 appearance. He opens and I defend 55. Flop is T65 and he checks back. Ugh. Turn is an ace and I consider check-raising but he is overly aggressive and very capable of raising a bet. He just calls though. I guess I’ll have to get three big bets the hard way. I check-raise the 4 river and he tanks for over a minute and finally calls. And then the last I ever expect to happen, happens. I lose. He rolls 66. Holy shit! I guess I can take solace in the fact that I lost minimal bets in this mega-cooler, but what a nit/slow roll. My god.

12:24 AM: Was thinking about how cold I’m running after I 3-bet a late position open with K9cc on the button and get the 653K9 runout against 66 that is playing like they have Kx but then I flop a set of 7s in a 3-handed capped pot and get paid off on all streets, so… 🤷🏻‍♂️

1:12 AM: Just took a two orbit break and as soon as I sat back down, two players left, which leaves us 6-handed. Probably not planning to play too much longer.

The Riddler just sat down with $300 so I’m definitely not leaving now.

1:41 AM: One limper, Joker raises, I 3-bet 76dd, and, surprisingly, we go heads up to the flop. It is K65 and Joker check-calls. He usually check-raises or donks his pairs so I feel really good barreling the 2 turn and I’m pretty surprised to get check-raised. This is kind of atypical from him so I’m skeptical and peel river. Hey, it’s a 6! He bets, I raise, and he snaps so… maybe the poor bastard actually had something?

I was debating how I could write this to make myself look like a genius and make Joker look like an idiot. He predicted I would just leave it out… but there it is… in all its wonderful glory.

Riddler lost half his stack on his post hand with AK vs 55 on K5x board and now he is gone without even tangling with me once.

2:21 AM: Just played a capped pot with Joker and his AQ outflopped my JJ and I ended up paying it off after we both checked flop and if I can’t river three of a kind against this guy every time then I don’t even see any point in playing anymore.

Final Score: +$1600