The Bat Cave

Stack updates here for today’s action.

Yesterday I played a full 40/80 session after busting the Stud 8 tourney and it was a little bit of a roller coaster.

First, I lost $415 in about an hour of 20/40.

I got off to a pretty mediocre start in 40/80 before going on a stretch of good starting hands that got annihilated in quick fashion.

Most notably, it folds to the small blind and he calls. I raise it up with KK and he calls. Flop is 722 and he check-raises me. I call so I can raise the turn but he responds there with a 3-bet. I think in our short history together we should view each other as solid players so I think this is bad news. He should know this is a typical big pair line from me and he’s like, “I don’t care.” Still, not about to fold kings here, blind vs blind, so I call down and he has A2hh. He had been playing very aggro, so I was surprised to see that hand in his preflop calling range and he’s folding a lot of 2x hands preflop, so it’s really hard to run into a better hand here.

I lost another sick one when I 3-bet TT on the button, a very loose player defended the big and the other player also called. The loose player and I capped the flop after he check-raised me on a board of 964 with two clubs.

I’m thinking a flush draw is a very big part of his range so when he checks to me on a 2x turn, I bet and he pops me again. I call.

The river is the jack of clubs and he bets. Pretty sick. Despite being raised on the turn, I still didn’t hate my hand, but now that the clubs got there, I feel like I’m beating nothing but spazz. Of course, this guy has spazz in his range, so I call, and he shows me A4 of clubs and I feel a little sick about it.

I lost a couple of other gross ones and just like that $1200 was gone in a matter of a few hands.

I was down about $1500 pretty early in my session and was already wondering if I was going to challenge my all-time worst session, but I reloaded and rebounded, going on a hot stretch for about an hour and fully recovering.

By the end of the night, I was in for $4500 and out with $5530 for a +$1030 cash game day.

I must take some time to talk about the absurdity of FanBoy. I’m staying with him at the Commerce during this trip and he started a 60/120 session around 3pm on Monday.

Here he is at noon on Tuesday, still playing from the day before with chips still on the table downstairs:

And here he is after about a 30 minute power nap heading back down for more action, almost 24 hours deep into his session:

When I quit playing last night around 2am, he was still going.

I think he popped into the room for good around 4am, which means he put in b something like a 37 hour session.

To recap, this is what I did during his session: played an 80+ tournament and final tabled it, got a full night of sleep, played and busted a second tournament, played a full cash game session, and went back to sleep for a second night.

What a sicko. What a psycho.

WHAT A FUCKING LEGEND.

Edit: Fanboy wants me to let everyone know he booked a +$7k session and wasn’t chasing a loss for 1.5 days.

Same tourney details as the other days.

Other notes:

-64 entrants in this event last year.

-Frankie O’Dell won it last year and he is on my immediate right. Cards have been in the air 15 minutes and he has already called himself a “world champ” once. Never fails.

-With yesterday’s tourney loss and cash game win, Commerce is still my worst casino since summer of 2014. But it’s getting close! With a decent day, I can make Aria my worst location. That’s the goal!

First Break

My best start yet! I have 18k after three levels, coming back to betting limits of 300/600.

BREAKING NEWS!

FanBoy is in the field!

Second Break

PokerSasha is at my table and is playing like a total psychopath. I’ve heard of her due to her connections to Barry Greenstein and/or Joey Ingram. I have lots of hands I could share that have blown my mind, but this is probably the best one:

It’s a 5-way limped pot in O8 and I have AT93 with nut clubs on a flop of K87 with two clubs. It checks to me in the cutoff, so I bet, Sasha raises on the button, both blinds cold call and so does the other limper. It seems like I should have an equity edge here, so I 3-bet and Sasha caps it! Everyone calls.

The turn is a 5 and everyone checks.

The river is a 4 and Sasha bets when it checks to her. One other player calls and I very reluctantly call with my second nut low, expecting to get scooped. Sasha shows T765 (with no clubs) and the other player has A2 for the low.

I can’t even comprehend her flop action in that hand.

It was not a good three levels for me and I am now sitting with 11.3k after six levels, coming back to betting limits of 600/1200.

FanBoy has 23k.

Third Break

Just kidding. We are busted. I lost most of my remaining chips in a 3-way Stud Hi pot where I have AA-Q against what looks like split 8s (or a bigger buried pair) and a drawing hand. I 3-bet on 3rd and keep the lead on 4th, but the 8 up makes open kings on 5th and takes the betting lead. I fail to improve on 6th or 7th and check back when it checks to me, and the 8 up has buried tens for kings and tens and a winner.

Basically dwindled from there until I got in for my last 1400 in Stud 8 with 86-4 and got isolated by PokerSasha’s 75-7.

My board ran out 86-4TK9-3 and she made two pair on 6th so I was dead to two outs on 7th.

Pretty cool.

I’m going to take a little break and then check out the cash games and will most likely play some 40/80 again tonight.

I guess I’ll just keep this blog going today with updates from my cash session. Check back every 90 minutes or so.

Update (6:38 PM)

Just now sitting down in the third 20/40 game. I think I’m 5th up for 40/80 right now.

Update (7:55 PM)

Won a decent pot with AQ and lost decent pots with AJ and QJ and finished 20/40 at -$189. Just now sitting in 40/80.

Update (9:07 PM)

Really slow start in 40/80. I flopped a jack with QJdd in a raised multi-way pot and backdoored a flush and then opened A8o when we were short and got action on a AJ58T runout.

Other than that, I have been folding and whiffing the other couple times I put money in the pot.

Currently sitting at +300 or so in the 40.

But look at this guy go:

He looks like he has over 200k with 17 left in the HORSE and average stack at 81k. 12 players cash and he’s looking in great shape to makes deep final table run.

Update (11 PM)

I rivered a straight with KT on QJ34A after defending my blind in a 3-way pot and got a check-raise in on the river and I 3-bet QThh in a heads up pot and flopped top pair and a flush draw and my pair held up.

That’s pretty much all that’s happened in the last two hours but it’s good for about +$1200 so far.

Checking in on FanBoy…

10 left. Wow. He has over 300k and next closest person has maaaaybe 200k. Average stack is 138k. Everyone is guaranteed at least $920 and there is $8860 up top for 1st.

Update (12:40 AM)

I am done playing poker for the day. I won exactly $1189 in 40/80 after losing $189 in 20/40 for a total cash game profit of +$1000.

That was a good enough overall week that Commerce inched past Aria and is no longer my worst location of all-time. Hoorah!

I am currently sweating Fanboy in the HORSE tourney. There are five players left and they are currently doing a chip count for a possible chop. Fanboy is currently in line to take 1st place in a chop.

I’ll update his finish if it doesn’t take forever. Otherwise I am going to sleep and flying back to Seattle early in the AM.

It’s official! Fanboy is the winner.

Good job buddy!