The Bat Cave

Cards are in the air! I’m committed to 12 hours today. First update coming soon.

Per usual, I took Tuesday and Wednesday off from the live pokers, but I did play a decent tournament slate on Global Poker Tuesday evening and I was having a miserable go of it, losing in spectacular fashion, before going deep in my last tournament standing for a possible day saver, and then this happened:

That’s my best cash on Global to date and gets me back a little closer to peak online bankroll position, which is nice because Global has their series coming up next month: THE RATTLESNAKE OPEN.

I’m not sure how many Rattlesnake events I’m going to play because we are going to be super busy next month, but I’m targeting the limit hold’em day, PLO days, and Main Event day for sure. I’d like to take a real shot at the tournament leaderboard but chances are I won’t be able to play enough.

12:44 PM: When playing loose goes wrong:

Everyone limps and I limp along on button with 76o and the small blind raises and all eight of us see the 764 rainbow flop. The first limper leads out, there are multiple callers, I raise, and then one of the original callers thinks it’s time to reveal his hand strength (or pump his straight draw), and we all call. Unfortunately, he fires the turn, which means I’m probably losing, so I call him down when the board runs out with a queen and a 9 and he shows me 44.

Next hand, the button straddles, four players call, and I feel like gambling with the K7ss and five of us get it capped on the T96 with two spades flop. The turn is a blank and the flop aggressor bets and everyone calls. River 3 of spades and now someone else leads and the aggressor says, “is that a spade?” before raising and my hand feels like a call only here. That player ends up showing A6 of spades and the genius that bet the river, in true backwards fashion, shows 87 for a flopped straight that he check-called the turn with when the whole field had one bet in and then leads river when his nightmare card falls. Well done, sir.

1:02 PM: I thought it would be busier in here since they are giving away $1500 per hour in High Hands, but there are currently three 8/16 games going (11 tables total) but a very weak list for 15/30. Still, I expect that game to start in the next hour or so.

Starting lineup in my 8/16 game features no notables, some 8/16 regs, one certified maniac (on my direct left 🤦🏻‍♂️), and a few players I don’t really know.

2:13 PM: Mostly just bleeding at the moment while my ATs and better keep whiffing and my pairs are topping out at 77.

One good connection: multiple limpers, I call with 66, one of blinds raises, we all call. Flop is T22 and the PFR bets, there’s two calls, and I think I have to peel here, not just mathematically, but also because I have the best hand some of the time. The turn is a 6 and the PFR checks, which is unfortunate because he once chastised me for making a standard preflop defend with A2o and basically said I’m no different than anyone else that plays here, so I would have really enjoyed seeing his reaction here if he had a big pocket pair. Alas, someone else bets and two players wind up calling my raise and river bet.

I am down about $200 at the moment and the 15/30 list is still weak and not that close to starting.

2:27 PM: A note about exercising: is there anything harder to start doing, yet so overwhelmingly gratifying? I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m dangerously close to getting into a groove. I woke up at 8:30 AM today and went to the gym before my session and put in my biggest workout yet and it felt AMAZING.

Also, how annoying are people that exercise regularly and go on and on about how beneficial and gratifying it is? Seriously, it’s obnoxious, but it’s worth the effort – and that’s something I know even when I’m idle.

I’m hoping I can continue this trend (and I’ve gone to 3 of the last 4 yoga sessions after falling off a cliff) because I think being in shape both mentally and physically can only help improve my chances of posting huge results at the WSOP.

3:34 PM: Playing short-handed before moving to the main game, I defend the KTo against a player that is unlikely expanding his raising range appropriately. But still, when I see the AJ7 with two spades (I have Ks), I think my hand plays better attacking than trying to get there, so I check-raise and he calls pretty quickly. The turn is a 9 and I continue my story but get snap called again. I’m planning to give up on river unimproved but one of the reasons I choose this hand to bluff with is because good cards like eights can river and we can bet for value. I bet and tell The Man sitting next to me propping the game, “he’s not going to like this one” and table my winning straight.

I’m in the main game now playing with The Leak, which I prefer to playing with The Queen because even though our pots go to the same household at least we play poker against each other.

Currently down about $150 and there are a sad-looking four names on the list for 15/30. That game isn’t starting until the working folk start rolling in – could be a few hours.

5:07 PM: Pretty uneventful last few hours. I just moved back to the third game and wish I had never moved. I thought it was breaking for sure and The Man helped keep it alive by propping 4-handed. Hopefully he lost less than $600!

15/30 now has 8 on the list, but two of them are call ins. I’m guessing it starts before 6, but much later than that and I’ll probably pass because I can only play until midnight.

5:29 PM: Here’s a fun one: limpers everywhere, I raise AK on button, calls everywhere. Flop is KJ6 with two spades and one of the limpers donks into me, I raise and two players cold call. Turn is kind of bad: 8 of spades. I don’t have any spades, so when it checks to me on the turn, I’m planning to bet-fold, but they all just call. River is a queen and they all check to me again but I think this is a pretty optimistic value bet, so I check behind expecting to win most of the time and immediately announce my hand. As basically always happens when I try to courtesy roll out of turn I wind up losing the pot. The second player tables 88… with no spade (obviously). Just takes two to the face on the flop and smacks it on the turn… and then plays the big bet streets to perfection.

👍🏻

6:27 PM: I don’t know what it is, but the hands I lose seem so much more interesting than the ones I win.

There’s a button straddle and a post in the cutoff. It folds to me in the hijack and I can’t resist putting the 3-bet out there with QTo and they both call. Flop is AJ9 with two clubs, I bet, the poster raises, and the button cold calls. I call also. Turn is the 8 of clubs. I check, poster bets, button calls, I raise, poster calls, and now the button 3-bets. Sigh. This is bad news but I do have a strong hand and the ten of clubs gives me an open-ended straight flush draw, so I have two outs if I need them. I call, river bricks and he shows me the nut flush.

I defended the 65o, flopped a pair and turned two pair against a likely big pair and won a decent pot. Yawn.

Somehow I am up a little bit even though I’m only posting hands I lose. That’s why I thought I should mention the 65 suck out.

6:52 PM: Two limps, I raise ATo, the big blind 3-bets, and we all call. Flop is T95, everybody checks to me, I bet, button calls, SB raises, BB calls all in, and one of the limpers cold calls, I reraise and everyone calls. Turn pairs the 5 and now the flop cold caller leads out. 🤦🏻‍♂️ It’s one of those reactionary leads where someone is so shocked to hit their magic card that they just bet without really thinking about what the best line is (I would obviously bet this card). With that in mind, I call down, expecting to lose and he winds up showing me… A5o. Groan.

Stuck now. And we are reaching the point where I’m not really willing to move up in limits this late inmy session.

8:14 PM: 15/30 finally getting off the ground and if the game was decent, I’d play – even this deep into my session – but it looks lame. I’m not saying the game is full of superstars, but so far I see zero players that I really want to play with. Everyone is closer to tight-solid than loose-anything.

I finally picked up the ole KK and got it capped in a multiway pot only to lose to 55 on a 98538 runout. It got capped on the flop by a rather passive player and I was reduced to calling down and accepting the fact that I was probably losing.

Down a little over $200 at the moment. I’m playing 3.5 more hours max, but I may not stick it out until midnight at this rate.

8:33 PM: Someone just asked me when the Seahawks next pick is.

My answer: I don’t know. Sometime after today’s Mariners game but before tomorrow’s Mariners game?

9:40 PM: So card dead. I asked my wife if she was willing to go see Avengers: Infinity War tonight but she was not with it, so I just took a lap around the building and considered stealing this:

I’m no bike guy, but I have to say I look better on one than The Riddler and I haven’t even seen him on one.

10:33 PM: It’s just one of those days. Find myself 3-betting AK and AJs+ a lot and flopping zero pieces in multiway pots and that’s how your stack stays in a state of constant decline. Those hand types have been murder on me today and I’ve been extremely card dead otherwise. Sitting at -400+ now, well past my normal reloading threshold, but I’m at the tail end of my session, so I’m far more likely to go home than to put more chips on the table.

I’m currently getting a massage and I might eat again, but I’ll probably be going home shortly after that if things don’t turn around soon.

10:42 PM: And here’s the nail in the coffin. I have Q6dd in small blind with four limpers, and I come along. Flop is 875 with one diamond and I’m planning to check-call but it gets bet and Bingo Man raises and honestly I should just fold here. The pot is small and I could be drawing to a lot of chops. Backdoor diamonds though. 🤤. I call the two cold and the jack of diamonds is a pretty good card but but the flop leader bets and Bingo Man gets to raise again. Now I definitely can’t fold. Whiff. And I can’t help but chuckle when I watch Bingo take himself to value town again with JT vs 85. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.

That pot left me with $80 and I was leaving as soon as my massage was done. Then four players limped in front of me and I had the 65ss and limped also, then the button raised and we all called. Then the flop came T3s2s and someone had the nerve to lead out. There were some calls and I was going to put the pedal to the metal and after the 4 of spades hit the river I had this many chips in front of me:

Amazingly, someone had J9 of spades, so this would have been my last hand for sure. Instead I chipped up and in all likelihood I will have another $300 in chips headed my way in three minutes for the high hand.

And I just rivered another flush in a big pot.

My stack now looks like this (pre-High Hand pay out):

12:07 AM: Well, I made it. Close call on the early quit, but that spectacular 4 of spades spared me from cashing out a $560 loser. Instead, I won that pot, the High Hand, and some other hands to finish at -$55.

Pretty lame.

We have another doctor appointment tomorrow and I may be seeing Avengers: Infinity War at 11 AM, depending how things go. I am planning to play poker, but my session won’t start until mid-afternoon and hopefully the 15/30 will get off the ground before 9 PM this time. 😐