The Bat Cave

I haven’t played much poker this past week leading up to the Spring Classic series.

On Sunday, we went hiking in Astoria, Oregon and that took up our entire day basically.

On Monday, I went to a home game and played $1/$2 no limit Hold’em and played some of the worst poker I’m capable of playing. I really can’t say otherwise. Everyone was there having a good time and drinking a ton and I was cold stone sober playing way too many hands, trying to win every pot, and bully my way through a lineup that wasn’t thinking much about folding. So I basically punted $600.

Marlo, one of the all-time maniacs, was in the game and we played a hand where I had raised preflop with QJ and he raised me on a J53 two spade flop and I called. The turn was a ten and I check-called again. The river was a spade and that got me a free showdown against… JT.

Then we played a 3-bet pot where I flopped top pair when he had AA and I lost all my chips because I’m just never folding top pair against this guy in a pot that is already bloated.

Those two pots accounted for over half my losses for the night, so there was some bad luck sprinkled in with what was mostly just bad play.

On Tuesday, I saw Jordan Peele’s Us for the second time and then had my final fantasy baseball draft of the year.

On Wednesday, I got most of our taxes done, we finished rewatching Game of Thrones and I stayed home to play poker online for one final tune up before this series.

It was another gruesome online session. I led off by stone bubbling the first tournament I played. With 28 left and 27 players cashing, it folded to the button who had been super active. He opened to 2.2x and I jammed with AT from the small blind and he snapped with AJ and held to bust me.

In the second tournament, with 38 players left and 27 cashing, it folds to the small blind and he ships 9.5 bigs and I call from the big with KTo. He shows J2o and that monster spikes a 2 on the turn to win the pot and leave me with 4.5 big blinds. I busted in 35th a short while later.

In my third tournament, with 18 players left and 9 cashing, a player opens to 2.5x and I jam 12bb with 99 and he calls with QQ and I bust again.

In the $5 rebuy, on the last hand of the rebuy period, I get about 11bb in with KK against two opponent I have barely covered and they have AK and A4 – for a combined two outs – and find an ace. That leaves me with 305 chips and one of the smallest stacks I can possibly add on to. Obviously, I’d rather bust and rebuy for a full stack before I add on, but nope.

The first hand after the break, I jam my 11bb stack in with 55 and get called by AQ. Pretty standard stuff, but considering the day I’m already having, watching the board come out 643-J-Q just seems crueler than usual.

I did make a run in one tournament, dominating when the stacks were deep, and I was 1st in chips with 23 left. By the time we were down to the bubble – 16 left with 15 cashing – I was 7th in chips.

I did make the final table in that one, but I called an 8bb shove with JJ and lost to A9 and jammed my remaining 7bb in with 66 and lost to AK to fizzle out in 7th place after starting the table 3rd in chips.

I did not meet my goal to play 100 tournaments before the Muck series started, but here’s how I did for the month:

47 tournaments
10 cashes (21%)
5 final tables (10.6%)
2 1st place finishes

Those numbers seem decent, but my total ROI was 2%. I felt like I ran insanely bad overall during this stretch, so I guess turning a profit – even if it was basically nothing – is a bright side? Most of my cashes were pretty meaningful, so that helped, but I only cashed in the smaller buy in tournaments.

Yesterday was the real Opening Day for Major League Baseball and my wife and I kept up tradition by attending the Mariners home opener for the 7th season in a row! And someone we played Home Run Derby against one of the best pitchers in baseball (Chris Sale).

10:39 AM: Sitting down about 6 minutes into Level 2 with blinds at 50-100. Starting stacks are 12k, levels are 30 minutes, and the board is claiming 205 people have entered so far.

I somehow don’t know anyone at my table by name. I do recognize a couple faces but I don’t know anything about their games.

Keep checking back here for stack updates and some hand histories.

11:48 AM: Blinds are 100/200, under the gun opens to 550, I call with 77, and a blind also calls.

Flop is 532 with two spades and the PFR leads 900. Not folding here obviously. I call and so does the blind.

Turn pairs the 5 and the PFR bets 2900. Pretty tough spot. That’s a pretty meaty 2/3 pot bet. I debate it quite a while and strongly considering folding but ultimately decide I can call here and re-evaluate on the river. The blind folds.

I watch him cut out a river bet that is like 75% of his stack before looking at the last card and seeing that I rivered a full house.

Well that makes things easy. I shove and can’t help but starting smiling when he tanks. When I see that he’s about to fold, I say, “wow you must have had a really big hand,” trying to maybe induce a very light call but he still folds.

So I’m up to over 20k when this next hand comes up. Let me preface this by saying that the opener in this hand is running insane hot. He kept raising the same player so much that the other guy eventually punted 60+ bigs pre with 52 suited and ran into AA. He’s just had it every time.

He min-raises in early position, someone calls, and I call with TT from the small blind. I’m not scared of the “run good” here, I’m just calling because I want to play a lower variance spot. The big also calls.

So four of us see the KT3 rainbow flop and it ends up checking around. Groan.

Turn pairs the 3, giving me a full house and opening up a club draw. I bet 800 and the PFR and first caller both come along.

We are rooting for a river club and there it is! 2 of clubs! I bet 1800 and now the PFR makes it 4000. Bingo. Other guy folds and I think for a while and make it 11.8k. He shoves. Wtf. I think I have like 6-7k behind and maybe I should at least think for two seconds before saying “call,” but I snapped it off and he showed me KK.

And I’m out.

I re-entered but I’m third alternate right now with the 100/200 and 200 big blind ante starting in about two minutes.

12:21 PM: Eek. First glance at my new table and it is substantially tougher than my first one.

12:29 PM: I open to 500 early with AK and get two callers.

Flop is QJ5 with two hearts. I decide not to c-bet this flop and the in position player bets 1100 into 1700 and the other guy folds. As played, I think I’m fine check-folding here against this bet size. But I have the king of hearts in my hand and decide to peel.

Hey, the turn is a ten! Let’s check it over to him so he can check behind. Done and done.

River is the 9 of hearts. I give some serious consideration to checking here. My opponent is quite the nit, so it’s hard to find hands I get value from. All the KQ, KJ, and KT combos, I guess? It is probably worth noting I am blocking those hands a bit. I don’t think he’s the kind of player that would hero call with two pair here.

I have the king of hearts so I’m blocking some flushes, but he can have all the ace high flush combos except AKhh, AJhh, A5hh, and A9hh. Interestingly, all the reasonable queen high flushes are blocked except AQhh and QThh and both of those hands would have had to make a pretty sick check back on the turn. Plus, he can probably show up with some other, smaller flushes here.

All in all, I think it’s a close spot and I’m not sure this player would bluff the river very often if I checked to him.

Ultimately, I decide to bet 1700 and he makes it 3700, which is basically a min-raise. I don’t think he’s trying to bluff me off straights and he’s never raising a straight on the river here, so I just go ahead and fold it even though it is quite painful.

12:59 PM: Insane. My table broke and I got moved back to my starting table just in time to see the dude that stacked me get heaps in the middle pre with AA again – this time against QQ – and stack another player. He now has well over 100k and looks to have about 10x the starting stack!

So sick.

I’m sitting on 24bb currently.

1:43 PM: Back over 40bb after stacking A3 with AQ when we both turned an ace in a raised pot and then I rivered a one card flush against TT when I opened QdT, c-bet A66dd, checked back 7d and called 1700 on 8d.

Scratch that… blinds went up and my stack is now 30bb.

2:27 PM: 8 levels down. 131 remaining of 274 runners. I have 20k coming back to 400/800 and average stack is 25k.

Top 40 cash.

2:49 PM: Middle position min-raises, small blind calls and I look down at QQ in the big. I make it 5000 to go. The opener folds but the small blind calls.

Flop is A87 rainbow and he donks out 3500. Pretty weird. I can’t really fold here but this bet is like 20% of my remaining stack. I call.

Turn is a jack and we both check.

River is a total blank and he leads out 4500. This is another pretty weak-looking bet, but it does represent over 40% of my stack. I think about it for a bit, but ultimately, I’ve faced two weak bets and one check, so… I have to put the call in, right? I call and he shows 55 and my hand is good.

Stack size is peaking and I’m back over 40 bigs.

3:20 PM: Player shoves 7.6bb and another player calls, leaving herself with like 20bb behind. I look down at 99 and I have her covered. I don’t think she’s calling with a huge hand, hoping to trap someone behind her so I go ahead and stuff it, expecting her to fold most of the time and leave around 11bb of dead blinds in the middle.

Everyone else folds and so does she.

Perfect. I’m heads up against A6dd playing for a 25bb pot, but the door card is an ace and there is no magic nine for me.

I have 25bb after that unfortunate hand.

3:44 PM: Blinds went up and then I had T6o on 654ccAcT in a blind vs blind hand that we checked until the river when he came out with a meaty 80% pot bet. Fold? No. I call and he has K5 of clubs.

15bb now.

4:09 PM: Open 2.5x under the gun with QQ, a player calls, and the big blind jams for a little over 10bb. I reshove and the other player folds.

It’s a race against AKdd. I flop a queen, but he flops a flush draw and rivers a diamond and the board didn’t pair.

That left me crippled after posting the big blind and the big blind ante and I got all in with K7 on that hand and busted out.

Heading to Palace now for some 15/30, but might have to fight through some brutal traffic to get there.

5:53 PM: Just now sitting down in 8/16 and I’m second up for 15/30 with a flake ahead of me.

6:24 PM: A classic 8/16 hand: I open AJo, a dealer here 3-bets me for the third time in less than half an hour, and the big blind caps it. We call.

Flop is A65 with two diamonds. We all check.

Turn is a jack. The big blind leads, I raise and he calls.

River is the 7 of diamonds and he donks. Huh? The ace of diamonds is on the board. The jack of diamonds is in my hand. So… I’m losing to KQdd and QTdd only? Or random big blind capping spazz?

I think my hand is too good to call here and the range of hands I’m losing to way too narrow, so I raise and he snap 3-bets me. I call and he shows…

98 offsuit.

😱👀🤯

6:39 PM: Sitting in 15/30 now.

Lineup: Radio Mike, Ducky, FBI Guy, and four randoms

7:50 PM: I open JJ, Mighty Mouse defends his post, and both blinds call.

Flop is 952 rainbow. I bet, Mighty Mouse raises, both blinds call, I 3-bet and everyone calls.

Turn is a 4 and this is one of those weird spots where I expect to get raised on the turn a lot. I’m not really sure why, but when both blinds cold call the flop and the turn card improves the texture of the flop board a little, I just think I’m losing now more often than usual.

Still, I don’t really see how I can check here, so I bet, Mighty Mouse calls, Ducky check-raises, and the big blind folds. I don’t have to be drawing dead here, so I call and so does MM.

River is a 6 and I fold to a bet, but Mighty Mouse pays it off and Ducky shows A3.

10:03 PM: There is a straddle, Ducky calls big blind and it folds to me in the hijack with The Invisible Man in the cutoff, so I 3-bet with the A8 of hearts. They both call.

Flop is AKJ rainbow but no heart. I bet and they both call in Overs.

Turn is a 6, putting a second club on board and Ducky check-raises me. I don’t love it, but it’s a bit weird so I’m not folding my hand. His range is notably weak when he just calls from the big blind with the straddle on and this board smacks my range, so he really shouldn’t be check-raising me very often. Even if he has a hand like K6 suited he won’t be doing that great against my range here. All that considered, I’m a bit taken aback to get check-raised here. I call.

The river is an offsuit 2 and he checks. Say what? I highly doubt he’s trying to check-raise me here, so what is going on? I think he turned a flush draw to go with a flopped pair. That’s what I think is going on and I’m not about to let him off the hook by checking behind. I think my read is on point and I want to punish him. He check/calls and my hand is good.

I open KQo a while later from the cut and Mighty Mouse 3-bets from the small blind. I call.

Flop is 876 with two hearts. I think it favors my range, so I go ahead and peel with the king of hearts in my hand as backup, but I’m seeing the turn with nefarious plans here.

It’s a ten. He bets, I raise, he folds.

Easy game.

I’m tired so I will be leaving after the Mariners game is over.

Check back for a final score and I will have a stack update thread for the $400 event tomorrow.

Final Scores

8/16: -$139

15/30: +$12

Crushing faces.