Vegas December 2016

Day 4 - Aria, Aria part 3

Last Updated: 2016-12-15 15:05:53

Joann gave me a mission Monday morning to pick up something for Sophie for Xmas at the Fashion Show Mall. She was having a hard time finding a particular LEGO, and she said if I ever found myself with time to kill she would like me to try the LEGO store there.

Well when I told her did in fact have time to kill, she called ahead, found out they had what she was looking for and had them set it aside. So Jim and I met up and walked up to the mall, then walked back and split up.

For me, it wouldn't be a Vegas trip without one stop at the Bellagio Buffet. But Jim doesn't like to eat big meals right before playing poker, so after walking off some of the food we've already eaten we split back up.

Then it was on to the 1pm at Aria.

I assume Jim bought in on time, I was about 20 minutes late. At least 8 tables (over 70 players at the time) and yet I still managed to get seated at his table. Good news, we never clashed.

For most of the first four levels I was getting some cards, winning some small pots, nothing major. But I am a little annoyed with myself about one move I made.

Situational awareness is our lesson for the day.

Extremely splashy guy blows most of his stack and is down around 2k. He is now ready to shove any chance he gets. I know this, yet I momentarily lose track...

So I look down at K-9 suited in middle position and I decide to throw out a raise to try and steal blinds...short stack goes all in, and I'm clearly priced in and have to call. I didn't anticipate the all-in and at the time didn't really want to call off another 1500 and show I was raising with K-9.

DUH!!!!

Always keep track of all stack sizes ahead of you when you raise!!! If I didn't want to call off his full 2000 I should have never raised...

Thankfully he rolled over K-8, no 8 on the board, I take him out. And people now think I'm looser than I really am...so in hindsight I should have also been happy to show off a raise with K9 suited instead of not really wanting to.

But...folks...know stack sizes, and know if you're going to be priced in to call a shove before you make a raise. If you make it 500 and a huge stack makes it 2000 you can fold because of the "reverse implied odds" ...but for a 2K all in with no RIO you HAVE to call. Simple math..

Situational awareness!

It's something I preach, so believe me I'm annoyed with myself.

OTOH, sometimes you do everything right...well arguably anyway...and it still doesn't work out.

Got pocket 2s in BB I think, SB calls a raise as do I. Flop comes 2-A-K monotone in clubs. Blinds check, original raiser leads out for 1000 or so. SB calls, I'm torn but I'm a little worried SB might have a made flush if he's smooth calling so I just call. Never folding here, I'd accept an argument that I should have shoved but things worked out well on the turn...which was another ace.

Me and SB check again. Original raiser goes all-in, SB calls, I go over the top all in, SB calls again for less than I have but obviously more than other guy.

Hands are A-10 for raiser, Q-J with a club for SB so on a flush draw but drawing dead. Exactly the situation I hoped for when I got all in...

K on the river. Original raiser takes the main pot with a better full house, I win the side pot with my lesser boat and actually only lose at most 1/3 of my stack in the transaction. I'll take getting all in ahead against a 7-outer with one card to come pretty much any time, just didn't work out this time...

UPDATE: I worked out the odds. I was an 84/16 (better than 5-1) favorite on the turn. I will take those odds every single time...

Jim was having a good afternoon. He was building his stack, being patient and winning most of the pots he got involved in. Unfortunately it came to a screeching halt on him.

Jim raised out with pocket kings and got I think two other callers, maybe more, including my boat vs boat guy. Flop came all small and middle cards with two suited (diamonds?). Don't remember exactly but lets say something like 5-6-8.

Jim c-bets and B-V-B guy, now with a short-ish stack, min-raised him. The bets were something like 4000 from Jim, min-raise to 8000 from the other guy. In hindsight Jim felt he should have known a min-raise from a short stack should have raised a red flag...

Well, all the chips go in and the other guy had flopped a set of 5s. That crippled Jim, he did triple up on his first all-in but the next time he wasn't so lucky and he was done.

No special hands after that for me. Don't even remember the hand I busted out on except I'm sure I never won another big pot and I'm sure I got into all-in or fold territory and probably lost on a flip.

Pizza dinner and on to the 7pm.

What a start to this one...

In the first three hands J-T suited cost me about 1500 from my 10K starting stack. First time I was the aggressor c-betting, second time I was the caller with second best hand. A few hands later I raise out with A-Q, flop something like J-rag-rag, c-bet, dude calls, turn blank, check check, river 8, apparent blank, check check, he rolls over K-8 off. Seriously, can't make it up...

Then lose more when I raise out with A-K suited in clubs, short stack goes all in, I call. He has J-T suited...what else would he have at that moment?

Hand played itself, even if he had just called all the chips were going in on the J-X-X flop that had two clubs...no help for me on the turn or river.

Early in 2nd round I'm at 7K from the 10K start. Long, heavy sigh...

So I get a few chips back and I'm a little under 7500 chips when someone ahead of me makes it 750 to go. I reraise to 2000 with AK...not sure why I didn't go all in, did seem like 7500 was too much but 2000 is a lot of chips with then 5500 behind so I probably should push and make sure I see all 5 cards. Didn't matter because...

Monster stack 3 to my left goes all-in. Roughly 5500 stack decides he's getting awesome odds and puts all his chips in.

Original raiser goes all-in. Wow.

Well...I'm getting the right price against any hands other than AA. Take a deep breath, push 'em all in.

KK for monster stack. J-9 for shorter stack. QQ for original raiser.

A on the river. Quadruple up!!!

Just like that I'm somewhere around 27K and the chip leader at the table.

From that point everything is roses for a long time. I didn't have any notable hands, but with a very playable big stack I was able to just build, build, build for several hours. Did everything I do work? No, of course not. But on the whole I was winning almost every pot I played that went to showdown, I was applying pressure and getting people to fold. I don't think I ever actually showed a loser, every time it was a situation where I bet the turn and they bet the river so I could fold or they accepted a "you're good" and didn't make me show.

Poker is fun when you have a few chips and you don't get hands like J-3 off for 2 hours non-stop.

38K at the next break.

Our table breaks, I think we were down to three 10-handed tables when I got moved upstairs. There's a noisy cash game about 3 tables away...oh look! Esfandiari and Laak and 7-8 of their poker buddies. Yes, it's not just an act for TV, those guys genuinely have a lot of fun while playing very serious poker for very serious money...

Take out a decent sized stack when QQ holds up against TT as well as a couple of other shorter stacks. 93K at the next break. 22 left paying 8 places. Looks like I'm the second biggest stack in the tournament, couldn't ask for more! Until...

Not long after that break I get badly coolered. Set vs set. I lose half my stack. Dammit!

But...back up to 73K when KK holds up against 99. A little above average at that point as eliminations continue.

10 from money I build back up to 84K. Still just above average.

Lose a little, down to 70K 5 from money.

Someone calls a raise from me with a pocket pair (8's I think), calls c-bet on A-K-X board, calls turn bet after a blank, checks down river ten...he called flop and turn bets with a gutshot straight draw, Q-J, and hit. So called off probably 1/3 of his not-so-big stack when we were 5 from the money after playing for, what, 5.5 hours? Are you kidding me...

Long, heavy sigh...for the first time in HOURS I am below the average stack. We get to 4 from the money and go on break. I'm down around 50K.

Just after break I look down at TT. I go all-in, called by A-K. A on the flop, done.

DAMMIT!!!

This was a profitable trip, the one cash more than covered all my buyins. But this could have been a very profitable trip if not for one nasty cooler and one lost flip. I win that last hand I'm back up over 100k and in great shape to make another cash.

But...that's poker folks.

All in all a wonderful trip. Great to see Jim again after several years, extremely happy with my play, always happy to make a profit (tho frustrated it wasn't a bigger profit!). What more could I ask for?

Dunno of there will be a spring trip or not. Haven't had one in a while, and honestly with all the interest among friends of playing in the WSOP next summer I may have two summer trips again rather than a spring and a summer trip. But, that said, I did wish I had played more live ahead of going out last June as I felt a little rusty, and my fall and spring trips are almost always successful from a monetary standpoint. So we'll see...

As always, thanks for reading!!