Vegas June 2019 (WSOP)

Day 10 - 8/b at Aria

Last Updated: 2019-06-15 15:26:42

Wrote the last BLOG at Starbucks as usual, showered, ran to the bank, got more Starbucks for Joann and myself outside the bank (those Trenta iced teas are helpful when you aren't drinking enough liquids), did something that might have possibly been slightly illegal to get out of Starbucks in the direction I wanted to go (if the cop didn't see it, I didn't do it), dropped most of the cash off in the room safe and headed down to register a little late for Omaha 8/b.

Omaha 8/b is pretty simple when it comes to starting hands. If you don't have an ace, fold. 95% of profitable hands contain an ace, the great Mike Caro did a lengthy explanation of this in a poker magazine that I'm not sure still exists. He took the time to examine literally every possible starting hand combination over a period of months.

Another rule of thumb is play like 5 through 9 don't exist. Middle cards inevitably split pots, your goal is to have hands that can win the whole pot. Middle cards are bad, fold if you don't have an ace. That's it! Simple game...

Took me over an hour to have a playable hand. A-2-4-6 with a suited ace. Raise out, get a few callers, flop comes T-Q-K. Of course it does...

Few minutes later tho I quartered two other players in a way I don't remember ever quartering people (but probably happened online and I just don't remember...).

I have A-2-3-8 again with a suited ace. Three handed, I'm betting and getting called on every street, the board runs out K-4-5-J-6 with no flush possible. I have nut low and the idiot end of the straight. One of the guys also has nut low, the other guy has same idiot straight. So I get half the pot, I split the high and split the low with two different people!

Remember what I said about middle cards? Well ... as in all poker sometimes bad hands work out...

In the big blind I have 6-8-J-K (I think it was a king...) and there are several limpers. Not a lot of betting, but some, as the board runs out 5-7-J-9-5. I did bet my straight on the turn and got a few callers, but didn't bet into the paired board on the end. My straight is good for a scoop! I had no business being in the hand, would have folded if not for being in a blind. But I'll take it...

A few minutes after that I look down at A-2-Q-J with three clubs. Don't like having one of my own flush cards, but still this is a pretty good starting hand. Board runs out 4-8-A-7-Q. Two flushes possible on turn, not clubs, but the Q didn't complete one and so I bet out my "top two and a live 2", got two callers and a scoop!!!

Poker life is actually good for a change! I have some chips, not grinding a short stack all day!

Stuck mostly in neutral for the next hour and a half or so, but then get two big A-2-X-X hands and raise out both times. Flop a 2 and a monotone board that is not the suit I have both times, give up. Argh.

Backing up a bit, a few things I've left out.

First, I changed tables twice in the first couple of hours to create new tables for new players. That used to irritate me, you have enough people buying in, make a new table with new players! But ... eventually I figured it out, if they just created new tables people would show up with their buddies and all late-reg and try to dominate a table. To prevent collusion it's a necessary evil.

The first move for me was fine. I got moved to a table full of reasonably competent 8/b players, although one of them was a seriously angry dude. Was constantly snapping at the dealer whenever the dealer the dealer would so much as start to make any kind of mistake.

Look, folks, even the best players misread boards from time to time. Dealers are going to misread boards now and then too. It happens. Give them a chance to figure it out, stop them when they start pushing chips the wrong way. But this dude had a millisecond long fuse.

That said, exactly the kind of table I would prefer to be at. Everyone around me would play in a predictable manner and most hands would only be 2-3 handed.

My next table move, unfortunately, wasn't so great. Every other flop came 6-handed. Pop quiz: How many aces are there in a deck of cards? What's the one card you shouldn't leave home without?

Now I'm at a high variance table. Pots will be bigger, and when you hit you get paid! BUT you're in a minefield. There are going to be big swings in all the stacks and you're going to run into all kinds of hands that never should have been played but are going to hit the lottery now and then. I go from what I consider the best case to about the worst case as far as a table goes. And there are two players sitting next to each other that are exactly what I'm talking about. Play about any four cards, chop a lot of pots, rarely scoop, but hit enough hands to keep going. One of them self-eliminated quickly, the other unfortunately (for me) did not...

A little while after the table was put together we were joined by Ari Engel who knows a thing or two about non-hold'em games. He was directly to my left.

Then there was "angry guy #2" who was out of his mind because of how a dealer split a pot. He was convinced the dealer screwed it up, but she didn't. And he did not want to hear from any of the three of us (including Mr Engel, who knows a thing or two...) that she did it absolutely correctly. Hours later he was still steaming about it and talking about it. The 100 chip he thought he should have gotten but didn't get.

He got quartered. He and another guy were in a big pot raising and reraising. When heads up in split pot games the dealers leave the chips in front of the players so that if the pot is split (and most of the time it will be) there are less chips for the dealer to divide up. Each player just pulls back what's in front of them and it makes the game goes faster. And if someone scoops, you just push them all that way.

And this matters. In these games you get a lot fewer hands per hour. Anything you can do to speed up the game helps! You really want things done this way!

In this case the about-to-be angry guy got quartered. He lost the high hand and they had the same low hand.

At this point they each have 15,600 in front of them and there are only 600 chips in the "pot" because the blinds had gotten bet out preflop and the dealer pulled those chips in.

In this situation, also a simple procedure. Forgetting the 600 in the middle for a second, if you pulled the 31,200 combined into the middle you would award 15,600, or half, to the high hand and split the other 15,600 into two piles of 7800 and give one to each. So the easy thing to do is take 7800 from the guy who gets 1/4 and hand it to the guy who gets 3/4. Can't get any easier.

But angry guy #2 literally did not understand this. He demanded the dealer pull all the chips in the middle and split it up. She didn't. She took half from him, then took the 600 in the middle, gave high hand 300, then with no 25 sized chips gave 100 to each player and the extra chip to the angry guy because he was in the worst position. That's how it works.

He went out of his mind. For hours went on and on about how he asked the dealer to pull it in the pot, he got shorted 100 (again, he actually got the extra chip!!!) and this dealer didn't do what he asked her to do and got it wrong.

She got it absolutely correct. It's really not that hard. But I just know for this guy unless he sees all the chips put together and stacked up instead of just taking 7800 from him he will never believe it was right.

Oh well...

And the last part of my aside, remember I said there were two people who were playing about any four cards, one self-eliminated and the other didn't? Well ... the one who remained was always paying me off on my big hands I hit. Great situation for me as long as my hands keep working out. But he also won just enough hands to stick around, his stack going up and down like a yo-yo.

Unfortunately had a stretch where nothing worked out for me including the couple of A-2 hands I talked about before my little aside and before I knew it I was down to only half a starting stack. Went into second break at exactly half a stack, 12,500.

In this game things can change quickly tho. Won a couple of pots and in a blink got back to starting stack.

I act as go-between for Dave and Joann, since it looks like I've got some chips again they're going to Javier's without me for Dave's last dinner in town.

Then I pick up A-3-4-J with a suited ace (love those suited aces!) and scoop a big 4-way pot on a board that runs out 2-3-J-7-8. Two pair and nut low are good!

Win a small pot with AAKQ single suited when I catch a straight (don't mind playing high-only hands when I can limp multi-way), then an A-3-4-8 hand I chop a big pot on a board of A-2-7-8-4, my nut low got counterfeited but was still the best low at the end with the "live three".

Just like that I'm up to 41k!

Soon after that I have an A368 hand, suited ace but not an awesome hand. Still enough to call a raise, I forget how many other callers but multiway. Flop 4-5-T two spades and a club, someone bets and I call. Turn is a 2 of clubs! On one hand a miracle card, nut low and nut straight! But two suits on the board. I bet, any 4 cards guy calls, two other callers. River is another 2 of spades. Any four guy bets, me and someone else call, he had nothing but a flush draw playing only for half and hit. Other guy also has A-3 and I get quartered but with all the dead money in the pot I about break even on the hand.

Literally any red card, half the deck(!!!) and I get 3/4 of the pot. My 6-high straight was best and nobody had any other outs to improve to beat me aside from that guy hitting his flush.

Into the next break at 39K.

Just after break (maybe first hand!) I look down at AA38 with a suit. Big hand. Raise out, 3-4 callers, flop comes 2-4-T. Cannot ask for a better flop. I bet, call, call. Turn a K, I bet, call, any 4 cards guy goes over top, I call. River is an ace. Any four cards guy immediately leads out, I have to make a crying call with my set of aces, he rolls over 3-4-5-K. He had turned two pair and rivered one of two cards that gave him a wheel. Any 5, 2 or 10 I scoop with better two pair, any 6, 7 or 8 we chop. 1/3 of my stack gone.

A few minutes later same guy, I had something like A-Q-2-X, flop two pair, he calls me down and rivers a T with K-J and no draw other than the gutshot. Another 1/3 of my stack gone, back below starting stack.

Raise out with an A245, flop comes KKQ. Can't make it up.

I get a run of cards, but can't get much for them. AA47 wins me a small pot. A255 chop a small pot. AA27 double suited, only get blinds. But I'm at least back up to 20K.

Then I get moved to a new table.

First two hands at the new table I look down at AA28 and A357, win a couple of small pots to get to 30k. Then blow that 10K when A3KJ doesn't work out.

Eventually get all in with a chance to triple up when I flop top pair, turn top two with a good low draw in a 3-way pot ... and another guy hits a gutshot to scoop. He had no other outs to scoop, the other guy was bad both ways.

Long, heavy sigh. What else can I do?

On to the 7pm and I'll keep it short. First I inhaled a burger from the burger joint right by the Aria poker room. Everyone talks about the place like it's the greatest burger on the planet. It was OK. But maybe I was eating too fast to appreciate it :-) I had like 5 minutes from the time I had food in my hand to get to my seat...

Hardly played a hand first three levels, got back to starting stack when I raised out with QJ off and actually hit a flop!

Not much else going on next three levels (20 minute levels) and into the first break at exactly 15K.

Dave apparently was out quickly in his final attempt of the trip.

Still can't get anything going after the break, drop down to 10K, half a starting stack.

Get all in with A-T, called by A-8, board runs out two pair and we chop. Argh.

All in 77, no callers.

All in A7 in the small blind, BB wakes up with 88 (of course) but finally a little luck as flop comes X-7-A and I get another 7 on the turn. Double to 20K, but still only 17 or 18 big blinds.

All in AQ, no callers.

All in AQ again, 88 guy from before doesn't believe me, calls me down with KJ for 1/2 to 2/3 of his stack.

Jack on the river, done. Grrr.

SO...

There will be no BLOG tomorrow. I have decided that I really could use a day off from poker. Instead of playing today I am going to jump into the $1100 HORSE tournament at Aria on Father's Day. In a way that's a Father's Day present to myself, if it's not going to be 8 games I'll gladly take 5! Joann and I are going to do some shopping and have dinner at a place we've been talking about going to for years (Italian place at NYNY) but keep not going to for our Saturday.