The Bat Cave

Nope. Not a WSOP event. This is the loser’s bracket.

Joker, Ducky, and Sandman all moved on to Day 2 of the $1500 HORSE and I’m pretty jealous about it, but I’ll be cheering them on from afar and I’ll post updates here if they give me any. They are still 150 spots off the money and all three of them are barely average, or worse.

This tournament I’m playing is half Omaha 8 and half Stud 8. 25k starting stacks with 30 minute levels, so quite a bit of play, but it is a one day tournament.

Someone from Muckleshoot is on my immediate right and I saw the player from Palace that was at my HORSE table yesterday in the field also. Billy Dubz (and Mrs. Dubz) is in here too. So far there are 106 entrants.

Stud 8 hand, my board runs out A3-2sAs7s5-8 and have to chop with 9s and 7s when he has no open pair. Kinda sucks because it seems like I should be scooping that pot at a very high frequency.

Stack updates here on breaks and maybe some hands throughout this one.

Break #1: 30,500

One limper and I defend a raise with A872hhh. The flop is A65 rainbow and I check-call when the limper donks the flop and the other player calls. My hand is not great here; I have good high potential and a very weak low, but it’s enough to see turns and rivers.

The turn is a king that doesn’t open up a flush draw, so I check-overcall again and the river is gin: a 4! I’m looking to check-raise both players here but the preflop raiser folds when the other one bets. I check-raise and wind up scooping the pot with the nut high and a live deuce. I didn’t get a good look at her hand.

Here’s how you know your table is good: I have two pair and a flush draw on 6th street in Stud 8. One of my opponents has two kings showing and bets dark after we both call. The third player looks like he has a low draw and winds up raising on 7th street. I brick everything and the player that raised on 7th scoops the pot with a ten high straight and no low. Pretty sick that it can be bet and raised to me on 7th when I have up to 13 outs to scoop both of them.

Quarter a player with AAK2ss vs AQT2hh on 876h8h9x and then scoop the same player on the next hand with AQT9 on J93A5.

Cards are back in the air for HORSE Day 2.

Break #2: 34,500

Joker has busted the HORSE, short of the money.

Same with Ducky.

Not sure what Sandman is doing but he had the shortest stack of the three so he’s probably on his way to the final table.

Open AAT9ss and three players call, including both blinds. I c-bet KJ6ssd flop and two players call. The turn is the ten of diamonds. I wind up checking, but I should probably bet since I have two aces blocking the nuts, plus I have the nut flush draw. It checks around though and then it checks around again on the 3c river and the big blind scoops with AK3x. He turned a diamond draw so my turn check did not cost me the pot, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have bet.

7 up opens in Stud 8, I call with 75-8 with two hearts. There were no sixes or hearts dead, plus all the low cards are super live. The bring in 3-bets with the 7 of clubs and we both call. The three sevens in play are the only low cards that were out.

On 4th, the bring in has 7c2s, the other player bricks, and I catch a 3. We both call a bet from the bring in.

On 5th, the bring in pairs the 2, the other guy bricks and I catch a 9. She bets and we both call again.

On 6th, she has 7228, the other guy catches a low card and I get a 4 to make an 87543 low. She bets, he calls, and I call also. It’s not too hard for my low to be beat here.

On 7th, I catch a 6 to make a straight and a 76 low. I has monster! They check to me and the bring in calls and I scoop a big one.

I had a little rush right before the break but otherwise I was mostly card dead these last four levels.

Sandman is still in the $1500 HORSE. He has 30k with 168 players left. 113 cash and average stack is 45k.

Break #3: 16,500

Registration is closed. 165 runners with 23 of us getting paid and nearly $17k up top for 1st.

Every pot is pretty critical right now. I just defended in o8 and flopped the nuts with 753x on 864hh with no backup in a 3-way pot. I check-called flop and turn but the river was another heart and when it went bet and call in front of me, I decided to fold and the bettor had A73x with hearts.

And just like that I’m down to 28.6k and 1/6 of my stack is gone.

And Sandman just busted the HORSE shy of the money.

Just dipped below starting stack for the first time since the first level. My third nut flush loses to second nut flush and lows brick out.

I’m so card dead. Finally get the 8s7s-2s and bring it in. Someone completes and there are five of us in and no spades dead. I call and get the 9h on 4th and it’s bet and raised to me and that’s the end of this hand.

I’ve had a couple good starters in o8 but I’ve chopped with both of them and I was lucky to do that as I caught a “fuck you” card on the turn both times.

Just got moved off a pretty good table and my new table looks way more competent.

I’ll be coming back from break with 8.5 bigs.

4th Break

Got it all in by river with AAT2hh on KT2h3h7h and had to chop with AK96.

Seems unlucky. I haven’t won anything resembling a pot in over two hours now.

3-bet an all in with split tens and get two hitchhikers with low cards.

They both catch big cards on 4th. Yay! I bet and they both call. Come on.

I bet 5th and only one of them calls and I’m all in against him on 6th. The all in player has open jacks and I have improved at all so I’m losing to him but the side pot is way bigger.

I’m up against 23-5K49 and he catches… a 9! I’m almost double but still pretty damn short.

7c6c-8c goes brick brick and I’m back to 15k.

Three more suited babies brick and down to 7.5k.

Triple up with split queens when I make a boat and neither of my opponents make a low. 25k.

Defend 6543 in a 3-way pot with bets going in on every street on an AQ725 board. Holy shit, I have 59k! Peaking for the first time in about six levels and that puts me right around average stack.

Crazy!

4th Break: 59k

Every pot is hypercritical. I went from roughly two big blinds to 3rd of 8 at my table in about an orbit.

And players are dropping pretty fast since we restarted. We’ve lost almost a player a minute so far. There are 58 left and 23 cash.

I’m peaking around 75k right now in Level 15, which is the first time I’ve been above average since Level 8.

Blind vs blind, complete A743 badugi and he checks. I bet AJ3 rainbow and he calls. Turn pairs the jack and I bet again. He calls. Not a fan of that development but he could have a low draw. River is a 9 and I check. He bets. This is a critical pot and my hand doesn’t seem strong but it would be brutal to get bluffed here and can have a busted low, so I put the call out and scoop the pot vs the bluff.

Then I scooped Barbara Enright in a 3-bet pot and suddenly I have 113k. Average stack is 76k and there are now 54 left.

Limped pot and my AJ52ss from small blind gets scooped by limper’s KQJJ on JT2s4sK. At least I got a free showdown.

Down to 73k and back to below average.

Start with 42-3 and it gets completed and 3-bet and I get the 42-323Q-7 run out but somehow find a way to scoop

Peaking at 123k.

5th Break: 93k

39 players left. I’m 0-4 in Aria tournaments (since 2014) so it would be cool to get on the board here. Also, Aria is my third worst location (since 2014) and a whiff here will make it my 2nd worst (Commerce is #1), so, uh, how about we clutch up and get a cash one time?

Billy Dubz has been at my table for a little bit and he just got crippled when his K9xx lost to Barbara Enright’s AAT8 on K922x.

Billy Dubz busts and I lose half my stack in the same hand. Down to 43k ten spots of the money.

Don’t do it to me, please.

Sigh. Complete bring in with 8s5s-2s and shorter stack gets all in with split jacks and I catch a 3d on 4th but can’t make a low or anything else and I have crumbs now.

I think that makes me 0 for 5 today with three suited babies, although I do think I had an 8 in my hand every time.

And I bust in 31st place.

Goddammit. There is literally nothing worse than wasting an entire day to fucking bubble a tournament. It’s 9 PM and I have NO mental energy left to try to jump in a cash game.