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New Club, New Results
Sunday, March 25, 2007

Since the WSOP Circuit, I've been intentionally and not so intentionally avoiding live poker. My successful Wednesday return to Roose's homegame saw me winning the first tournament outright, and falling short in the second. While it offered me a modicum of success, more importantly, it wet my appetite.

On Sunday, wifey Kim had plans to join future sister-in-law Jen for some bridal party dress shopping. Seizing the opportunity, I text messaged Chris, a player I met through SIF's homegame. Chris had gotten me into the Extra Big Bet card room, a more exclusive room to Salami. EBB required a membership card, and if you weren't a member, you'd have to find a member to get you in. Security was tighter also, but it was well worth it. Whereas Salami has three tables and only a 1/2 crazy deepstacked game, EBB had probably 12-18 tables, a variety of games, and equally bad players.

When I texted Chris, I was hoping for some company. If he couldn't make it, I would go solo, but if I'm heading down, I figure there is no reason not to invite some company. Frankly, when I'm playing, the first thing I do upon leaving is think of who I can tell about my success or failure. I guess it is the same reason why I blog, and probably one of the themes throughout my life. To me, if no one else knows about it, it may as well not have happened.

As it turned out, Chris was free, but he had an even better idea. Since I had last seen him, Chris had checked out NiceLook club and proclaimed it to be a huge step up from EBB. As long as they had poker, I was game, so we made loose plans to play sometime on Sunday.

Sunday morning, I met up with my brother Keith and headed for bagels before hitting the local movie theatre. We saw 300, and by way of a quick review, it was fucking awesome, but only because of the visuals and action sequences. Frankly, though, that was all that I was there for, so I left happy. Keith and I killed some time in his apartment and then I headed out about 3pm to meet Chris at 3:30. On my way to the subway, I passed by the folding tables where random immigrants sell their wares. One table in particular had an array of small statues, the location where I purchased my two identical buddha statue card caps. I looked at the selection and felt the gold and red buddha in my pocket. Buddha hadn't been holding up his end of the good luck bargain, so I decided it was time to start fresh. I grabbed a red elephant statue, sitting on its rear with one foot up and the trunk extended into the air. Word to the wise, if you are going to buy an elephant statue, make sure his trunk is up in the air. It's good luck, and anything else, frankly, is considered bad. With token in hand, I went to the immigrant and paid him his $3. I then hit the 2/3 subway and made my way to the club.

Here I'll point out that I was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a navy polo shirt, a white hooded sweatshirt, and a thin black jacket. I also had on a random baseball cap. The key was, I didn't wear my usual poker gear. The decision was semi-conscious. I have been trying to break free of the mental boobytrap that is lucky clothing, but I also wanted to try out a different look at the table. Overall, though, it was a semi-conscious move as I was glad to just leave on my semi-preppy wardrobe rather than suit up.

Part of me, I must admit, still decided to not wear the usual garb BECAUSE of luck. The logic went, I was starting fresh with this session, free of the stench of bad luck that occurred weeks ago at the Lost Weekend in AC. It was the same inspiration that caused me to buy the elephant card cap. But ultimately, it was the little piece of me that said, "Just go play some fucking poker and don't even think about what you are wearing," that won out. I'm sure a bunch of you are thinking that too, and you are right. Onto the poker.

I met Chris outside, and we entered the innocuous building lobby together. We exited on the third floor into a room with three black bouncers. They were lounging around and barely gave us a second glance as we walked into the club.

The NiceLook has probably the same amount of tables as EBB, but considerably more room. There were about 6-8 tables running, and we made our way to the front desk to get me a membership card and secure seats and chips. I noticed a familiar face, Joe, a poker dealer who was some form of management at Salami when I first started playing there. In fact, in the first Salami tournament I played, it was Joe, me and a luckbox in the top three spots, and only two spots paid. Joe wanted to make a deal, and I told him I rather play it out, because I'd beat him. As it turned out, I lost, but we had fun joking around at the table. I had heard rumors that he had gone busto and even that he was out of poker altogether, but at least the second one was false. He was now in some sort of management position at NiceLook, and while I recognized him, I never quite spoke to him. After all, I doubt he'd remember me, and I was too busy playing poker.

Chris and I were seated in a 1/2 NL game at Table 1. I took the 1 seat. Most people hate the 1s and the 10s because they are right next to the dealer. I guess this means that they have less room, since the dealer is always reaching around, but in my estimation, those are my two favorite spots. I don't have to worry about flashing my cards, since one side of me has no player, and I have a good view of everyone from the 2s to the 8s, and often the 9s. The biggest shortcoming to me is that it is hard to see the 10s or 1s (depending on which you are in), and therefore, you can't get tells as well from a player who you'll be playing the blinds against a lot. Also, the 1s is often where the dealers tip box is placed, so it can be hazardous to your knees if you are not careful. But alas, for all those shortcomings, I like the security of not worrying about flashing my cards, so I gladly took the 1s as Chris took the 5s.

In between hands, I quietly got up and took notes in my cell phone via the recorder option. Because of this I have details on every significant hand I played. For your enjoyment, here we go:

In my first hand, I was dealt K7c. I was in the CO, and there were a lot of limpers, so I limped as well. The flop was K-high with two hearts, and it checked around to me. I made a near pot-sized bet ($12), since the button was the only one left to act and everyone had seemingly given up on the hand. The button called, and I knew that I needed a miracle card to take the lead or at least be comfortable enough to fire a second bullet. If I checked the turn, the button raises almost automatically and I fold, looking weak. The turn was the 7h, giving me two pair, but completing the heart flush. I decided to keep pushing my hand. Two pair was decent, and as long as he didn't have the flush, I was likely ahead (or he'd fold to the bet, fearing I had the flush). I bet out $35, and he called. The river was a Ah, making a four-flush heart board. I figured I was done for. If I bet and he reraises me, I have to fold, so rather than waste any more money, I decided to check. He checked too, and showed K8, for top pair, shitty kicker with no heart. I took down the pot with my two pair and had a nice cushion. I also, hopefully, had built a loose image, and I made a mental note to try to take advantage of this later.

A little while later, I am dealt JJ in MP/LP. Someone bets 15 from EP/MP, and gets a few callers before it gets to me. I decide to raise it big, so I'm not facing a bunch of players out of position. I pop it to 50. I get two callers, including one of the early position limpers. This guy looked like a real lunkhead, like a construction worker who was beyond his years. The guy was probably only in his late 40s or early 50s, and looked worn out. Still he was cordial enough. He had a horrible habit of bitching about his bad luck, even when he won a hand. Lesson to my readers: complaining about your bad luck will only cause other players to go after you harder. It will also get them to call you more since you are "so unlucky." Meanwhile, in your self-pity, you are making worse plays AND getting called more, so you keep losing more money and then blaming it on bad luck. Whatever ths case, this foolish EP limper now calls $50 cold. I don't get it. The original raiser calls and everyone else folds. The flop is something like T92 with two spades. I decide to bet 150, a very high bet, but not so high considering it was less than pot. I didn't have anyone on an overpair, and my only concerns was a possible set or a flush draw. The raise would potentially push out the flush draw, induce a re-raise from a set, and cause everyone else to fold. I was happy with folds, since for all I know, one of these monkeys were playing KQ and was about to turn a Queen. Sure enough, my bet worked and they both folded.

On the very next hand, I decided to invest some of my newfound capital. I was still in late position with Jx when I decided to limp (there were more than a few limpers before me and I had position). There was a loose Asian player sitting two seats to my left. Usually, its preferable to have the loose players on your right, but I spent a lot of time watching the player out of the corner of my left eye, and saw ways that I could exploit him given my position. He was definitely a gambler, a calling station, and a maniac, all rolled into one, not to mention a tilter. At one point, he racked up a full rack ($500) and had at least another $150 left over. He was going to leave, but after angrily folding two hands (one of which was preflop!, so what was he angry for??), he unracked his chips and decided to stay. I'm pretty sure the table shared a collective sigh of relief. It's guys like this one that make a game. So the Crazy Asian, or lets just call him Crazian for now, hasn't gotten up to leave yet. He has been playing crap cards and sometimes getting lucky (raising preflop from the blinds with 23o to hit two pair on the flop), and I've decided that he's likely a fine mark.

So, preflop, action gets to me preflop and I limp in LP. Crazian decides to raise it up ($10 on top, I think), and since I just won $100+ easily in the JJ pot, I decide I can see the flop after two other players call, including the Construction Worker. The flop was AhKxQh, so I've got just an inside straight draw (need the 10) and there is a flush draw out there. In other words, I'm good as dead. It checks to me and I oblige. We see the turn, another blank card. It checks to me again, and I decide I may as well take a stab at the pot, given my position. I bet $35, which is fairly close to the pot. I figured that no one had anything decent. Construction calls and everyone else folds. The river is a blank, and Construction checks to me. I think for a moment but not too long before betting $75. I felt like a tool while doing it, but I had to at least try for the pot at this point. He folded and showed KTh, for the nut flush draw and an inside straight draw. I mucked and gladly took down the hand.

In hindsight, I guess I got into a lot of hands with the Crazian and Construction. A little while later, I was in late position, probably the CO or button, when I'm dealt ATo. There are a bunch of limpers (mind you, this wasn't a limping game) and I decided to just call. I was conisdering betting, but even in position, I didn't want to start something that I couldn't necessarily finish with my marginal hand. The flop was QJx, and when it checked to me, I decided to buy the pot. I bet out $10, expecting to either induce a re-raise (at which point I fold for relatively cheap) or induce a bunch of folds. I get two callers, not too surprisingly the Crazian and Construction. The turn is a blank and I decide to bet out $30 after they both check. Crazian slams his cards down and the chucks them across the table. Construction calls. The river is a blank. Construction checks to me and I decide to check. I've likely lost this hand, and if he isn't folding for $30, I am not taking any chances at a high bet bluff. I tabled my busted inside straight draw, and he tables his cards, 9To, for an open ended straight draw. If that King came, I would've felted him, but really, I guess I was just fortunate. He was playing so badly and I was reaping the benefit. I believe position had a lot to do with my success in this hand, and frankly, I was actually trying to focus on position for most of the session. Moving along...

Here is where the fun begins. Literally begins, because this next short hand really is just the on ramp to the insanity freeway that came next.

I've been bitching about being card dead for a while. Even though I won 4 Salami tournaments in a row (or was it 5?) I had been doing so with no premium hands. The card deadedness continued in AC. Yesterday at the club, though, I received pocket Jacks on three occassions within 2 1/2 hours. Notably, I never received any other pocket pair other than dueces on one occassion, and I didn't receive an Ace higher than ATo, so I'm still not sure if one would consider it card dead.

So I'm dealt JJ and I'm in the SB or something because by the time it gets to me, there are something like 8 limpers (including the BB) in the pot. I don't want to play JJ out of position against all of these players, so I raise to $22 total. It folds around to me and we get ready for the next hand.

On the very next hand I'm dealt JJ again. Great! Chris, in EP, raises to $12. Now, Chris is tight, and if you follow that link from the top about the last time I played with him, he took all of my profits and a lot of my chips the last time we played on one of the very last hands of that session. I hit a great hidden straight, and he hit the full house. Alas, I had already decided to leave at 6pm, and it was 5:45pm, so I wondered if I was going to see a replay of last week.

Chris has raised to $12 and I'm a tad nervous because he is a tight player. I guess no one else noticed because there were three callers before it got to me. Well shit, man, what's a JJ to do? I decided to thin the herd a bit with a raise to $50. I thought that would get me heads up, but I thought WAY wrong. Everyone and their sister called me, with the exception of Chris. At least I had that going for me. By the time it got around to the SoxLover lookalike (I'll call him SoxBrother) and the sole female at the table, a pretty attractive pretty aggressive Asian girl named Esther, they had odds to call with any two, I suppose. In total, there must have been at least 5 players to the turn, with at least $260+ in the pot.

The flop started with a K and I mentally gulped hard. The next two cards were a J and a Ten, for a flop of KJT, with two spades. I didn't have a spade in my hand, but I did have middle set. I figured it would hopefully check around, I'd bet big and take down some easy money.

Two or three early position players checked to SoxBrother, a smart-looking guy who had his poker wits about him. With complete calm, he grabs a stack and bets "$115." Okay, I think. Now what? Before I can act, Esther makes her move, pushing all-in for $305. SCREEEEECH! That's the sound of my mental car stopping short.

This was building into the biggest pot I've ever been in. There was $260 at least in the pot preflop, now with an extra $420 more. I really didn't think that over at the time. What I did think was this:

Should I fold this? What could have me beat? AQ and Q9 would give a straight. KK would be a higher set. Someone might be playing the flush draw hard. WTF!! They don't have KK or they would've raised preflop. Okay. They probably don't have AQ for the same reason. Fine. Q9!? People have been playing that crazy. Fuck, she has Q9. Shit, I have to fold. She is not pushing with crap cards facing a bigger bet than we are used to. Wait! GOD! I can't fold. I have middle set! I have redraws against the straight. This is the fourth best hand right now. I don't want to lose to a flush draw! Fuck, she is on Q9s or Axs!? Fuck! AW GOD! FUCK! Okay, okay. okay.

"I'm all in." I started to push my chips out front, but the dealer stopped me when I knocked a stack over. In total I had $460+ left behind me, and all players folded to SoxBrother. He paused for a moment and thought it out. In the interim, Esther called to me from behind the dealer and asked something about running business. As a rule, I used to abhor things like running business (I'll explain that later for those who don't know what it is) or chopping blinds, but I'm starting to see the benefits of both plays. In fact, in the very early goings, I chopped the blinds with SoxBrother in a hand. Chris noticeably perked up at this, probably because he has read about my no-chop stance, but I didn't want to be seen as an asshole, as I didn't think it would be advantageous to this table (yet).

So, Esther is asking me about business and I have to politely tell her, "There is still a player in the hand." She turned to SoxBrother in surprise and we went back to waiting. Somewhere in there, Crazian, now down from $650 to under $100, starts calling for time. Less than 2 minutes has passed and everyone including the dealer tell him to shut up.

Brother finally folds, and Esther stops the dealer from putting out the turn and river. "I'm okay with running business," I tell her. I've read her as having a flush draw and I figure that I could probaly take 2/3 or at least 1/3 of the pot. "No," she replies, "you have to show each other our cards first and then we decide." Now, I don't usually run business, but here's a quick explanation. Basically, it means that you run the rest of the cards (in this case, the turn and river) multiple times. Usually its done 2-3 times, and you split the pot up accordingly. So, if I win 2 out of 3 of the runs, I get 2/3 of the pot and she gets 1/3. I figured this is good for the flush draw, because she'll probably miss it at least once, and hopefully twice. This was a huge pot, so I could work with that. But now we have to show our cards first? Whatver, lady. We flip over our cards. I have JJ and she has...red King Ten. The crazy bitch has two pair, with no flush draw, and suddenly I'm doing some quick math. There are two cards that she needs to win, the remaining Kings. I decide in an instant that I'll give her two chances to hit it (turn and river) and not six (turn and river dealt three times for business).

"Okay, I will do business" she says. "No. No business. Run the cards." I was short and curt with my statement. She wanted to have it her way, and now she's going to have to live with it. I'd run business against a flush draw and a straight, but not against a two-outter. I liked them odds. The turn was a spade, the river was a spade, neither were Kings and I won a pot over $1000!

WOOHOO! The adrenaline was corsing through my body. I slowly started to stack my chips. Esther took it in good stride, and 15 minutes later, as I racked up, I had almost 4x my starting stack in front of me. When I stood up, a couple of other players followed suit. The table broke, but Chris decided to stick around, since the action was that good.

Me, I was fucking high on poker. I cashed out, without even a second thought as the cage handed me a bunch of unlucky 50s, and headed out the door.

What a fucking game! That session wiped out the WSOP Circuit loss and the cash game losses from that weekend. I wasn't down the entire session, and while that last hand was fortuitous, even if it didn't come, I was till up a nice sum. Poker is one hell of a game. It truly is a fickle bitch, one day treating you like you are her one and only, and the next ignoring your phone calls and shacking up with your archnemesis. But frankly, she can be as fickle as she wants, because no matter what the bitch does to me, I love her and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, and for the hell of it, SoxBrother had KQ, with no spade, so I was in even better shape than I thought.

Until next time, make mine poker!

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posted by Jordan @ 8:13 PM, ,




A Win of Sorts
Friday, March 02, 2007

After a recent post, I decided not to share any more information regarding the location of the underground clubs I frequent in New York City. However, when I mentioned that I was returning to Salami last night, I received an email from Lastman Chris, dubbed herein because he was the last man that I gave the underground club information to before I decided on my moratrium. I had told Lastman about Salami, but he had yet to go, largely because it is difficult to get into any of these clubs without someone who has already been there.

As per usual, I raced home after work and donned my poker uniform. I try not to be superstitious, and its not as though I think the Superman t-shirt is lucky, but I win consistently when I'm wearing it, and so, I fell into old patterns. I loaded up the poker backpack, hit the subway and made a stop at PeanutButter & Co. for the lunchbox special. I took it to go, as Lastman was already near the club.

I'm really not the most social person. I can, at times, be an extrovert, to the point where I may seem like the most extroverted person out there, but most of the time, I'm glad to be a loner. When I met Lastman, though, I could tell fairly quickly that we would get along. He looked a bit like Soxlover, no offense to Lastman. We chatted for a bit as I gave him the rundown on the game. (1) $50+10 buy in; (2) 15 minute blinds, but it usually doesn't feel like a fast structure, probably because of the slowly escalating blinds (25/50, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 150/300, etc.) and the insanely loose action, which helps build stacks on par with the blinds; (3) for the first two levels it is a re-register tournament, i.e., you can rebuy for $50+10 when you are felted, unless there is an alternate waiting, at which point you go to the back of the alternate list; (4) the game never gets off on time; and (5) the players are mostly maniacs. All good advice, as I am sure any Salami regulars will attest.

We entered the room after I gave the international sign for He's with Me, a pointing motion between myself and Lastman while looking up at the security camera. When I entered, they still asked, "He's with you." I guess the place isn't very international, regardless of the many accents.

We grabbed some seats at a table. There were maybe 6-7 players waiting around, but as per usual, the game was going to start late. I chatted lightly with Harris, a dentist who I had met previously at the game. It amazed me that the game never got started on time, but Harris' explanation was dead-on. Players knew they could buy in late, so they were in no rush to be early. Truthfully, I would bet that the other reason is a conundrum faced by many home games. As soon as a player arrives early and sees that the game doesn't kick off until 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, they decide (subconsciously or not) that they will show up 15 minutes late the next time. Why? Because no one wants to wait around, and people are slow and lazy. Of course, the natural problem is that the player shows up 15 minutes late, and suddenly the really slow players start arriving 30 minutes late. Suddenly, the 7:30 game is having trouble starting by 8pm (and in a home game setting that can even go later to 8:30, in my experiences).

I am a fairly timely person. In most instances, I arrive places early, largely because I believe that if you make a commitment to be somewhere, you should be there...on time. When it comes to poker, there is a second and third reason why I'm always on time or early. The second reason is my insane desire to play, leading me to leave early because I just can't friggin' wait to get my hands on some chips and cards. The third is the subtle (or not so subtle) tilt I feel when I buy-in late to a tournament. Even if I just missed two hands, I can't help but feel like I have to catch up.

The game kicked off around 7:45 with one full table of 10 players. An alternate showed up, and after a while two more appeared and we were split to two tables. At first, I stayed tight. The game was as loose as ever, with a player in the first hand raising 3x the BB preflop UTG with 45d. He was called by 5 or more people and then bet at the 567 flop. He had one callers. He slowed down on the turn, and then checked the river when the other player, a loose, long-haired S&M porn producer/director/actor who has passed his prime, seemed prime to re-raise or call any bets. The two showed down their cards. Of course, the loose UTG player had 45d for a pair of 5s. The Ghost of Hardcore Pornography Past had A6o. It was going to be one of those nights.

Another player, wearing one of those floppy safari-type hats (or is it more Gilligan) with the brim that goes all the way around, was playing super loose. He was and is a calling station, and I finally decided to make my play when I was in position with 25h. I decide to raise it and he is the only caller in the BB. The flop is 28J and I decide to bet out after he checks. He calls. On the turn, another J, I push all-in, hoping to utilize my tight image (trust me, at this table, I'm tight), and represent three of a kind, but he called with T8, for a higher single pair. I miss the river and feel like a fool when I have to show my cards. "RE-REGISTER!"

At that point, Lastman had been moved to the second table. We had enough alternates for two tables of 7 (or maybe 6 and 7), but soon, the rebuy period ended and I was moved, due to a bust-out, to the second table, in the 2s. I had about 1300-1500 left out of my 2000 rebuy. I was really donking it up at the other table, trying to take advantage of the looseness but failing miserably because I was card dead. My luck did not change in my new location. I continued to fold away until I was dealt JJ, my second-best hand of the night. I raised to 450, which was 3x the BB. I had about 2300 at this point, leaving me with 1950 behind. Nick, a very smart and selectively aggressive player on my left was the chip leader or close to it, and called my bet. Another player with a big stack called from one of the blinds. The flop came down an UGLY AK8. The blind checked, and I considered checking as well. I decided, however, to represent the Ace, since I knew that the blind didn't have it (from his check and demeanor) and Nick was playing against my small stack and is aggressive, so could have called with anything. I bet out 900, showing strength, but leaving me with some money behind. Nick pushed all-in. The blind folded. I thought for a minute, let out a sign through my nose and told Nick to keep my chips warm for me. I folded and he showed his Ace-8, two pair. I was desperately short.

The table was loose, but not as loose as the other table I was at. I folded for as long as I could, but found myself in the 150 BB with 850 or so chips. Nick limped in as did some other player in MP and the blind from the other hand, a young Israeli guy. The SB completed. I thought for a moment and decided to push all-in. A decent amount of my stack was already in the pot, there were a decent amount of money in the pot thanks to the limpers, and no one showed strength, so maybe they'd all fold. They didn't I was called by Nick and the Israeli. I needed to get lucky. My cards were 23o. (Notably, I'd prefer this play with 23o than with A6o, largely because if I'm called by a big ace, I still have two live cards.)

The flop was J52, and I thought for a moment that I had a chance. Both players checked. The turn was a Queen. At this point, the Israeli bet. Nick thought for a moment and folded. I thought I was screwed. We flipped out cards and sure enough, he had Q9o, for top pair. I made a not so silent prayer and the river pealed off: 2. I tripled up and was back in decent shape.

In another hand, I had about 1650, and I did something I usually condemn. I pushed all-in with 27o on a stone cold bluff preflop after a limper or two. I was called in two places by Nick and a shorter stack across the table who had limped UTG. The EP limper had KK and Nick had A8. The flop had a 2 and the rest were blanks. I thought I was done, but after the shortstack limper took his main pot, there was still almost 1150 in the side pot. I got lucky with the hammer and had only lost 500 on the hand.

In the next hand, I was dealt AJo. I don't remember the action too well, but when it got to me, it was not raised up. I pushed all-in with my stack. I believe it was Nick who called with an inferior hand (A9, maybe?). I doubled up again when we both failed to hit the board.

Suddenly, I had a healthy stack again. From there, the rest was a blur. We were at the final table and my seat and position relative to the aforementioned players really didn't change. We got down to 6 or so and Lastman Chris busted out after a decent run stuck as (from what I could see) a card-dead shortstack who doubled up when he needed it. Down to 5, I was actually in 3rd place, but the twin towers of Nick and the Israeli made my stack pale in comparison. I had about 7-8k, but since there were 23 buy-ins and 46k in chips, I had a lot of work to do. I should mention that I amassed those chips by well-timed all-ins on the high blinds and antes. I eventually lost a chunk due to some necessary caution against Nick, but I was still technically in 3rd place. 5th place busted after I lost a bit of my stack, and then it was just me, Nick, the Israeli, and Moishe, one of the managers of the club. Moishe and I first met at my 2nd visit to the club. It was his first. We made it to the final two and he offered me a deal where he would get slightly more than half because he had me outchipped. At that time, I strong armed him and told him I'd gladly play for it if it wasn't 50/50. He buckled. Since then, he had become a staple at the club and then part of the staff. He's a bit abrasive, and definitely a gambler at heart. He also has a decent head for the game.

I tried to wait him out, and eventually got my wish. He went out when his better pair was one-outtered on the river by pocket 7s (a 7 was folded preflop by another player). Down to three, we were all in the money. Third only paid $110, and I was in the game for $120, so I simply stated, "If you want to buy me out, I'll take $180. Otherwise, we'll play it." Truth be told, I was confident I could rebound, but the $180 would give me a buy-in-sized profit. The players scoffed and Moishe, who should have kept his mouth shut, seemed incredulous at the offer. "Why would we take that?" the Israeli said, following up Moishe's comments. "Hey man, I'm just telling you my price. If you two want to make a deal and buy me out, there it is. If not, let's do this." I then tripled up on the first hand. HAHAHA! Fools.

I warned them while we were discussing deals that I was dangerous on a short stack. I always make this comment tongue-in-cheek, but the truth is, I AM dangerous on a short stack. I don't fear pushing and my timing is often very good. Nick was getting into the folding groove. I actually wanted to induce more action, so when he folded his BB with KT face up, I showed my all-in push from the SB with K9. This set up led me to the hand of the night. But first...

Israeli and Nick were checking down most hands. Fine with me. I needed to double up some more to be a true force. I was in the BB with about 9k at this point and blinds/antes of 500/1000/100. Nick folded and Israeli called. I looked down at 94o and considered pushing to take the blinds and antes. I decided the timing wasn't right. Something about the Israeli's limp seemed odd, since my obvious move would then be to push. The flop didn't hit me, and Israeli led out for 1k. Very odd indeed. I considered raising him, but then folded. He showed AA, and I complimented him on a well-set trap. It wasn't actually too bad of a move, and had I had anything decent I may have been caught. It wasn't the best play either, though, but I wanted to encourage his predictable action.

On the very next hand, I was dealt my best hand of the night, QQ. The Israeli folded and I decided to raise to 3000. The logical play for Nick, then would be to push or fold. If he had crap, he'd likely fold, but he would push all-in if he had an Ace, a decent King, any pair, and perhaps even worse cards under the belief that my weaker bet was out of fear.

He pushed. I called. He had 77 vs. my QQ. And he flopped a 7. I was out in 3rd with $110, $10 less than I bought in for.

I shook the two remaining players' hands as they worked out their chop. I collected my money, made some small talk and then headed out into the cool night. There is always a moment when I leave Salami when I notice that I still have my sunglasses on, even though it is well past dark out. I removed them once outside, and chatted with Lastman Chris. He agreed that the action was silly loose, but he seemed to enjoy himself. Even if I never tell another person about Salami, I suppose I can rest well knowing that I helped some people out before the moratorium, and Salami will always have enough fishy players to make it worthwhile to keep it to myself.

Winning yet losing money is an odd thing. I still consider it the fourth cash in the Salami tournament in a row. I still consider it a win, of sorts, and blame the terrible payout structure more than anything. Really, 3rd place should have been $120, but it is what it is. I played very well at the end, and almost took 2nd place in chips if that QQ held up. I started off shakey, but used that early crappy play to actually improve my game instead of falling into tilt oblivion. I got lucky myself, with 23o and 27o, so losing with QQ v. 77 didn't hurt too bad.

I might be going back tonight. Back to back Salami, baby! Wifey Kim is meeting a friend for dinner and drinks to celebrate her birthday, so I might as well get my gamble on. Tomorrow is a bust. I will be attending a wake with wifey Kim for one of her friend's family members, so poker naturally takes a back seat. Then we are off to drinks with our friends to celebrate wifey Kim's birthday properly.

I love the smell of poker chips in the morning. It smells like...victory.

Until next time, make mine poker!

Once again, it was a relatively card dead game for me. While I did get JJ and QQ, then next highest pocket pair I received was 88, followed by 55. I was dealt ATo and AJ, but nothing higher. I did not get KQ. Yet, I still made the money. And for that, I am proud.

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posted by Jordan @ 9:36 AM, ,