The Bat Cave

It’s a BLOG DAY.

4:04 PM: Happy to see 15/30 going bright and early today (well, at least since 3 PM)! Just missed the last open seat by seconds, but appears I might be getting in very shortly.

Current lineup: Chief Wiggum, Fleabag, Bill W, Part-Time… a new nickname Snack Pack… and an unknown.

Also, I’m pulling the trigger on this. The Gnat will be called TWO FACE from now on. It’s not a perfect fit but he qualifies in a lot of ways.

He’s probably been Bat enemy #1 for the last several weeks, so there’s that. However, unlikely attorney Harvey Dent, he’s never been a friend of Bruce Wayne. That ship had sailed long before he ever tried to say a nice word to me.

On the other hand, after playing the villain for the first several sessions with him, he did try to briefly extend an olive branch and while I was cordial, I was mostly standoffish because I already know – he’s not a nice dude; he’s a dick.

I’ve seen him berate dealers and cuss at players, but he’ll sing and whistle when he’s winning.

Congrats Gnat – you have been upgraded to a true Bat-villain. You are Big Bad Harv.

You are TWO FACE.

4:31 PM: So I sit down and post in cutoff, Flea opens, I 3-bet 66, the button calls and Bill W caps it from the small blind. Welp, I guess I’m gonna have to flop…

663

Checks to me, I bet (we are all in 25/50 Overs), button raises, Bill folds, Fleabag takes $50 to the dome, and I 3-bet. They both call. I lose Flea on the turn, but the other guy calls me down and I start my session off with not only a huge pot, but a $225 High Hand as well.

4:36 PM: Of course on the day I ordain Two Face a certified Bat-villain he’s slumming in 8/16 while we have an open 15/30 seat.

I guess his days of printing money at the Palace are in the rear view.

5:47 PM: I open under the gun with AA, Fleabag calls, Part-Time defends. Maybe one other player is in there. Flop is Q64 with two spades. Part-Time leads, I raise, Flea calls, PT 3-bets, and I cap.

Turn is ace of spades and PT still leads out. Hmmm. I don’t LOVE it, but I do think my hand is way too good to not raise here and if I wind up having to pay three big bets to see the river, it’s not the end of the world.

So I raise and Flea goes into the tank for… way too long. He finally calls, Part-Time 3-bets… sigh… I call, and Flea goes into the tank again. Are you kidding me? This dude is the biggest waste of everyone’s time I’ve ever seen in a limit game. Hilariously, he folds.

River is a blank and I pay off Part-Time’s Q3ss.

Naturally, Flea chimes in with “I knew you had it” and says something about me overplaying my hand. Oh my God. Please never change.

6:47 PM: Yaaaaaaaawn. There’s a call and raise in front of me, I 3-bet AK of clubs, Snack Pack caps it from the blinds. Everybody checks to me on K64 one club flop and two of them call. Turn is 9 of clubs and now Snack Pack check-raises me. So… I’m losing to like 99 only, yeah? Seems like a good time to take myself to value town, so I 3-bet and he goes ahead and caps it. I whiff river and pay off the 99.

Come.

On.

So much for the nice head start. I am now stuck.

6:53 PM: My friend Kung Fu Panda is in the game, but he’s getting a name change now also. I heard Snowflake call him Fan Boy last week and I guess it’s because he used to wear one of those tiny fans around his neck when he played poker. I like that name. Not exactly because of the reference but because it’s funny…. and there’s something derogatory about calling someone a Fan Boy.

Sigh. I limp along with A7 on the button and get two bets in four ways on A97 and in my head I’m thinking JT is the number one hand I’m looking to fade and BANG! There’s the 8 on the turn and they all check to me. How can I take a free card here? I can’t. I just CAN’T. So I bet and get check-raised by Snack Pack and then the original flop bettor leads out when the river is a 6, Snack calls, and I can’t even show my hand down.

Flop bettor has T9 and Snack Pack has 65.

Running hot all the sudden.

7:07 PM: I just flopped the nut flush in a raised pot.

The big blind defended pre and check-folded the flop.

SO I GUESS THINGS ARE TURNING AROUND.

7:37 PM: Snack Pack is straight murdering me. I have 99 vs his K8 on T96Q7. That is two 4-outers (granted he turned an 8-outer in this latest one) and one 2-outer he’s hit against me in less than an hour now – and every time I’ve been at the top of my range.

It has been quite painful.

7:49 PM: I open KJ suited under the gun, Bill W calls, big defends.

Flop is J74 with two diamonds. I bet, Bill W raises, the big cold calls, I 3-bet and they both call.

Turn is… 6 of diamonds. Of course it is. I check-fold and Bill W shows down KTdd.

And now I’m taking a patented steam walk around the building because things are starting to get absolutely silly.

8:10 PM: Here’s a picture of Snack Pack’s stack:

He bought in for zero green chips.

Actually, only one person bought green chips.

Spoiler alert.

It was me.

8:49 PM: Massacred Hit&Run when he opened and I 3-bet AA. Flop is AQQ with two hearts and he checks to me. It may seem like I have the deck crippled here, but it’s always worth betting the flop just in case he has a queen, plus most players are going to peel at least once with their gut shots and small pocket pairs here and he’s never folding a heart draw. So I go ahead and c-bet the flop and he does call.

Turn is the 3 of hearts and I expect to get check-raised here a lot. It’s why I bet the flop. People just don’t expect you to fast play AA here and they may give you unwarranted action. Whereas checking back the flop and raising a turn lead looks super strong.

I do get check-raised and he pays me $200 on the turn and river.

And then 20 minutes I get another $225 for the High Hand. That’s two top High Hands today already and FIVE High Hands in the last two days in 13 hours of play.

Okay, maybe I’m running decent.

9:18 PM: This place is cracking now. Second game looks on the verge. Snowflake, Jesus, Sandman, and The Leak all on the list and it looks about 9 deep from where I’m sitting.

Lots of Washington state LEGENDS up in here right now.

10:22 PM: Well that was crazy.

First, the Mariners staged an epic comeback in a game that they looked like they had already lost in the first inning.

Second, the homie Trevor253 was making multiple deep runs in the Rattlesnake Open PLO Low and Medium and I was trying to rail him. He ended up taking 2nd in the Medium for what was definitely a career high Global Poker score. Congrats bud! The pain of finishing runner-up will fade out by tomorrow.

Lastly, fools were just brawling in Palace. First time I’ve ever seen multiple blows connect and bodies moving so aggressively at each other. Kinda scary in this day and age. You really never know what people are capable of but you see it all the time on the news. Really not trying to catch a stray bullet because somebody rivered a gut shot against a set of aces.

10:29 PM: In other news, I got all those green chips back from Snack Pack.

10:30 PM: Because I bought them back from him before he left.

💪🏻

11:07PM: Here’s how you trap yourself for the max in a straddle pot. Button straddles, I defend A4 of spades, there’s a call, a 3-bet, button 4-bets, I call, someone 5-bets and suddenly there are twenty bets in the middle.

Flop is T53 with two hearts and one spade. Not the kind of flop I’m ever folding on in a pot of this size… even with Overs in play. I call two bets cold. We are all still fighting for this monster.

Turn is the king of spades and now we have some serious life. Fortunately, I only have to call one bet here and it’s from a new player…

…so when the board pairs with the five of spades on the river, I estimate my winning chances at 100%. I go the check-raise route and we have another new bettor, on my immediate left. There’s a call, I raise, and the river bettor pays me off with trip 5s.

11:25 PM: Hi baby.

11:34 PM: Two Face is playing 4/8 now. There are still two 8/16 games going and he has all his chips from 8/16 in front of him. Like $1000 worth. I think this is better for his ego. Lording over white chip players. Because his ego is definitely getting bruised in this game.

Good for him.

12:08 AM: The whole table is ROASTING Fleabag right now. I’m not participating but I am definitely enjoying.

Pretty epic hand that I wasn’t involved in. Flop is T96 with two clubs and there is a flurry of action. Turn is a blank and Flea bets, button calls and the third player check-raises. Flea says “I’ll get him out for you” referring to the third player and makes it three bets. The button is not phased and calls it all off. It gets capped.

River is a CLUB. I’m watching the button as the turn capper still leads and then Flea RAISES. Like wtf do you think the button has, fellas?

OH MY GOD. The button just 3-bet the river. I did not see that coming. First guy folds and Flea turns over his 87 of clubs to try to save some face before calling and losing to AK of clubs.

Then Flea starts berating the first player for leading the river… like that player somehow forced him to raise his inferior flush into someone that was quite obviously on a big flush draw.

So of course the rest of the table jumps all over him for trying to blame someone else for his stupid river raise… and it was quite hilarious.

12:56 AM: Here’s an odd one. I open cut off with A9 and Flea calls small blind and big blind defend. Flea donks out on my dreamy 942 two spade flop and the big blind raises. Well, I like my hand on this board so I 3-bet and the big caps it. Turn card is a blank and they both check to me. A little concerned but definitely have to bet here. They both call. River is another blank and they both check again. I bet, Flea folds, big says “I promise you’re good” and I know that’s true because how could I not be? I flip my hand and then he flips QQ. Haha. What?

1:21 AM: Sandman, Jesus, FanBoy, and Snowflake all in my game now.

And Tormund Swordsbane and Joker making special non-poker playing cameos. Joker is here with his fiancé… Harley Quinn. She’s a real person, folks. I’m guessing a lot of people lost money on the under on that one.

2:25 AM: A nice go home pot: Snowflake raises, Jesus and Flea cold call, I defend QTo. Flop is QT4 with two spades. Sno bets, Jesus calls, Flea raises, I check 3-bet and Jesus ends up back capping it.

No spade please.

Turn is a 3. I bet, Jesus is all in, Flea raises, I 3-bet, Flea calls.

River king of spades. Sigh. Just a nightmare card. I might even be losing to whatever Fleabag was overplaying now. I check-call him. He tables 43 of spades for the side and Jesus turns over A8 of spades for the main pot.

And it looks like I’ll be leaving stuck now.

3:07 PM: I ran JJ into Snowflake’s AA on a 8 high board on my last hand of the night.

Final Score: -$350