A Clear Indication
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Last night, I signed on to see that GCox and Kipper were hanging around online. We chatted for a bit, and suddenly DNasty signed on. So the four of us are chatting, and SteelerJosh signs on. The five of us are discussing entering a 10-person SNG, when GCox notices that Trip was in a UB Heads-Up SNG. Well, shit, we go and railbird. His opponent, verse (with some #s thereafter), seemed to get a real hoot out of the fact that Trip had railbirds. I played the role of bitter guy who lost his whole bankroll to Trip. Long story short, Trip whooped some tail. When we entered the room, he was behind. Made us proud!
We all decided to enter a $10, 10-person SNG. Everything was all set...but where was Kipper? In the $5, 10 person, of course. Consequently, he missed the bus, and the five remaining SNG Challengers got ready for combat. I took notes on blogger, but lost my connection and my post. I dropped the hammer in the first hand, after a preflop re-raise that pushed out Trip and GCox (who raised first). Of course, I showed: HAMMER! The next hand I won with two pair, Ks and Js. The flop was AK8, all diamonds, and I held KJ. All checked. The turn was an offsuit J, and Trip bet the small pot. I called and one other player called. The river was a blank, and Trip checked. I bet the pot and got one caller. Trip folded. Payday. Dude had K3. What's wrong with this picture?
Not surprisingly, even with the early success, I was the first one out. I held QQ on the button, but everyone folded to my relatively small raise. I then held JJ in the next hand and DNasty raise preflop. I reraised the pot and him and I were heads up. The flop was QQ9, and I bet. He pushed and I ignorantly called, knowing I had him covered. Sure enough, his KK beat my JJ, and I was crippled. My last hand was a mess. I held A9o UTG, with about 250, and 30/60 or higher blinds. I pushed, as part of the Rule of 10 (if you have less than 10x the big blind, you either fold or push). The guy next to me isolated with KK, and I was done. My error was pushing UTG. I had no information as to what was behind me. At best, I might get called by an underpair, but more likely an AJ or higher would have me dominated. If I was in late position and all folded before me, it would be different. That wasn't the case though. Chalk it up to a brain fart.
The order of SNGers out was: Me, Steeler, Trip, DNasty, and GCox (who placed 2nd, the only SNGer to place). What does this show? That the SNG Challenge results were pretty indicative to our relative skill. Or so I like to think.
After Steeler and I were out, we decided to play a practice Heads-Up SNG. On UB, you can challenge a player, which is like setting up a private Heads-UP SNG room. For this reason, the Heads Up Challenge is being moved to UB. It just makes sense. This is not written in stone, and if players deposited in Noble, I'm sure we can play on both sites. HU Challengers, please let me know if this is a problem. And any would-be challengers should contact me ASAP. We have one spot open...
Unfortunately, Steeler and I are E-tards. When Steeler challenged me, there wasn't a pop up. Rather, I had to find which HU SNG he was in, via AIM chat. Once I got there, I clicked Register, but it put me in the regular SNG pool, and I ended up playing some fool. I took his $10 quick and challenged Steeler. Steeler, not knowing what I've learned, did the same thing and ended up playing against another prag. I don't know how that went, but I wished him the best of luck.
Trip was out of the 10-person SNG, so him and I decided to figure the Challenge thing up. We worked out the kinks. After I challenged him, he challenged me and the SNG began. DNasty railbirded once he bubbled out of the 10-person SNG. Trip played well. I hammered him with pot-sized bets, a favorite move. As long as you bet the pot each time, the opponent has no idea what he is facing. This is especially true after showing a bluff or two. Keep em guessing. Sure enough, I sent him packing for a $5 payday.
So, I'm actually up $5 on UB, which is a change. I'm a looser on that site, due to the SNG Challenge, but I think I'll stick around a bit. Maybe I'll play some Pineapple. Mmmm....pineapple. My withdrawals still haven't cleared from Noble, so I'm putting Absolute on hold until I can throw a bunch of money in there to get a high bonus.
Look for the 5-Diamond Invitational Bounty Tournament. On Sunday, I am hosting a game at my new apartment, 5-D (hence, 5-Diamond). I wanted something big, so I announced it over a week ago, and currently have 9-10 attending. If all goes well, we'll hit 14, my max. The buy-in is $30, with $20 going to the prize pool and $10 bounties on everyone. The bounties are high compared to the prize pool, which should encourage aggressiveness. Nothing like shaking things up. With 14 participants, 3 spots will pay. 1st = 140 (+20, for his and 2nd place's bounties), 2nd = 100, 3rd = 40. Not too shabby. Participants include me, Dave Roose, Betsy the female poker impresario, Dan Mock he of the stoned-face, Mikey Aps aka Deusche Boyd, Mark the Shark, Big Al, Dave Ruff, and others.
Poker, baby! Poker!
posted by Jordan @ 10:05 AM,
2 Comments:
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At 10:46 AM,
GaryC said...
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Damnit! I want to play in the 5 diamond invitational. I'm checking flights as we speak.
As usual, great write-up, J.
G -
At 11:31 AM,
TripJax said...
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The pot sized bets worked. It priced me out of any pot I shouldn't have been in. But beware, fellow HU Challenger, I will be prepared on our next battle.
Please use your braille keyboard next time we play. I'm at a clear advantage at that point...
And you weren't the fist to go out...just first of bloggers...
