Mr Billy Bizzle

10:38 pm: TS 1k
Have been excited to play the TS 1k for a while now, due to the fact that the structure is excellent and that I haven't played live in quite a while. Ran into Matt as the tourney started, he would end up at my table for the last 4 hours of the tourney so that was fun. 10k starting, 60 minute levels, with all of the intermediates, so that's a good time. On to the hands-
25/50-
I win a couple of tiny pots, and then one of the key ones. I raise 99 to 300 from the BB after 3 limpers, two limpers call. Flop J65dd, I lead for 450, one limper calls. Turn 6 check check river Kd check check his JTo is good. I lose another small pot or two and end the level with 9075.

50/100-
I hump up to 10800 or so when the following happens. One limper, same guy from before makes it 300 behind a limper from the cutoff (he has done this 2x before already), button flats, I make it 1200 with JJ from the BB. First limper folds, raiser calls, other guy folds. Flop A76 I bet 1600 he calls. Turn 3 check check. River T I think about it for a bit and bet 3k, he thinks for a while and calls with KK. I'm down to 5k.
Super tight passive player opens from EP to 350, SB asks how much the raise is while action is on the cutoff. I flat the button with 54ss, SB flats. Flop Td 5d 3c, SB checks, raiser bets 400, I flat, SB looks at me and flats. Turn 6c and SB looks at my stack and leads for 1600. Original raiser folds and I tank for a while, and then stick in my 4200 and hold versus his 87dd. I end the level with 10850.

75-150-
UTG limps, I limp button with 75cc, SB limps, BB checks. Flop 963 checks to me, I bet 400, SB makes it 1500, folds to me and I call. Turn 8 he bets 2500 and I call. River 5 he bets 5000 and I stick in my last 1400 and he makes the crying call with 33.
I hump a little more to 22k when I raise UTG with KK. Button flats and flop comes 883r. I lead for 700 and he calls. Turn 7h and I check, he bets 1000, I make it 3500, and he calls with 4500 behind. River Qh and I think and set him in, he calls with JThh for the runner runner flush.
I make it 450 with AA UTG+1, get 4 callers. Flop A32r I bet 1200 and get one caller. Turn 5 I check he checks. River 3 I bet 2700 and he calls with the case ace.
UTG is real tight, makes it 550, folds to me in SB and I have AA, I make it 1500. BB folds and raiser calls with 5k behind. Flop Q76, I bet 2k and he calls. Turn 8 and I set him in for his last 3125 and he calls with 99, river 5 and I've gotten runner runner'ed again for a 15k+ pot.
End the level with 11225.

100-200-
Only one interesting hand. I raise to 600 in cutoff with AKo, tilty BB calls. Flop QJJ check check turn Q check check river T he leads for 1k and obv has J9. I end the level with 9025 after playing no more big pots. I get moved to Grinder's table, yay!

100-200-25-
I don't remember any pots from this level. I ended it with 10350.

150-300-25-
I limp behind a limper with 44, flop of J98 checks through, turn 4 and river J and I get 700 and 1800 out of I AM HIV.
I accidentally minraise from cutoff to 600 with 99, button looks at me funny and flats, Grinder rolls his eyes from the BB and folds. Flop 842 and I lead for 1100, button flats. Turn A and I check-call 2100. River rag and I check and he checks back, 99 good.
Villain from the JThh hand earlier raises UTG to 600, I make it 2400 behind him, he calls. Flop QT6 and he check-folds to my 3500 bet.
Same villain raises button and I make it 2400 from the BB with 98o. He calls with 8500 back. Flop AQQ and I bet 3500 and he calls. Turn 2 and I set him in and he angrily folds. I end the level with 25125.

200-400-50-
I lose a lot of small pots and end the level with 17075.

250-500-50-
Repop to 4500 when I AM HIV makes it 1250 and gets a caller with KK, everyone folds. End the level with 17450.

300-600-75-
Fourth hand or so back from dinner, EP makes it 1700, I make it 5500 from the cutoff with TT, folds back to him and he asks me how much I have and then says all in. I call off my last 10600 to see his A4ss. Flop T65 no spades, turn 7 and river 8. GG 36k pot.

I played one other super interesting hand but I need to get some details from Grinder and post it in HSMTT before I post results for it.

EDIT: Thread is here.

11:48 am: Blog tourney thingy from Andrizzle

06:54 am: Final Post
I’m not really sure of where to start here. I know I haven’t written any posts in the last week or so, and this hasn’t been due to a lack of content, but more to a general feeling of malaise that has been over me for the last two weeks or so. I’ll just cut straight to the chase: I came out here in order to play a lot of cards and have a lot of fun, and I really have zero desire to play cards, and I haven’t been having much fun here (due completely to my own self), so I’ve decided to head home.

One thing that happened last summer when I was out here was that I became a drastically better player in a very short period of time. I was truly enjoying living with guys who approached the game in a way that I previously could only dream of, with a level of focus and dedication that just truly impressed me. Unfortunately, seeing people who approach the game like that also has the adverse effect of showing you your own shortcomings, and even someone who isn’t all that observant will notice ways that they don’t measure up. It never really sank into me until this summer how the drive and determination that those guys showed, even during downswings, was so impressive. The traits that these guys showed to me have also lead me to question myself and wonder if I am ever going to get into a state in which I approach the game in a way that would give me the potential to be as successful as these guys have been and will continue to be.

One thing I worried about prior to coming out here was not “being in shape” to play poker, and as such I worked really hard during April and May to get in as much play as I could. I did this to ensure that I was thinking about the game to the point where I could feel like I was properly prepared to come out here and put myself in positions to succeed. Unfortunately, during this time period I experienced probably my worst downswing ever-other than a 3 day period where I had some decent results, the two months were a combination of terrible running and play. This lead to a situation where I came out here with a very low level of confidence, which helps contributes to a much lower chance of being successful. This lack of confidence has continued through this trip, as I’ve posted before, and lately this has resulted in me having zero desire to play.

I’ve always said that my ideal path in life isn’t to be a professional poker player, and that a big score wouldn’t change that, and I’ve become even more convinced that this is true. I do really enjoy the game, enjoy the competitive challenge that it gives me, but it doesn’t feel like fun when it is something that I have to force myself to do. The past few days every time I have decided to go play, I’ve had to force myself to go, with reasons like “well, I can’t skip out on the value of this tournament” or “well, I won’t be able to play much this week” (more on this part later). These aren’t really good reasons for playing, they are more reasons to play poker instead of doing nothing. These thought processes aren’t conducive to focused and quality poker playing, which obviously isn’t helping matters.

All of these things combined together lead into the secondary cause of me heading out of here, which is that I haven’t been having much fun. I can’t blame this on anyone else but myself-Mike and Chris might not be proactively helping me have fun, but they aren’t preventing me from having fun, either. Everyone who knows me knows that for the most part, I’m not exactly the life of the party. I’m rarely the one who goes out to be the catalyst for a good time for being had, but rather I’m the one who latches onto a group of people and the fun that they are having, and generally just enjoys riding alongside. It’s always something I’ve been trying to improve about myself, but generally it’s difficult to go from being an introverted, reserved, private person to someone who is more outgoing and desiring to do new things. My parents have always harped on me the necessity of doing this, and sometimes I have chafed at the suggestion, but I do recognize that it is my problem and that I’m making conscious choices that are causing these things to happen.

While it wasn’t a deal breaker for me (I had already been debating how long I really wanted to stay out here before I knew it was going to happen), I had someone who was going to come out and stay with us for a week, wasn’t going to let me play poker, and generally was going to be a lot of fun (I’ve never *not* had a blast when hanging out with this person). Unfortunately, due to several reasons, they weren’t able to come out here, and as such I was left feeling very disappointed and without hope for how things were going to change. I was left looking at a scenario where I was going to have to do a significant amount of work to change my general attitude, and was going to have to place myself in situations where I wasn’t comfortable to do so, and at that point I definitely gave up a little bit. I’m probably going to be disappointed in myself when I look back at this someday, that I didn’t stick it out to see what would happen, but hopefully the lessons I have learned throughout this whole situation will offset those feelings.

Much has been written about the “mirage” that is Vegas, the way that the city rises out of the desert, a set of large casinos that are backed by a group of mountains, that just get the blood boiling. I felt this exact way when I was driving into Vegas; seeing the city rise out of the desert was definitely exciting and I couldn’t wait to be here. This feeling is very intoxicating, and definitely stays with you for a while when you are out here. However, after a few weeks, you begin to realize that this town, while having more to do than other places, isn’t a whole lot different than other cities in terms of how to go about having fun. When that glow wore off it definitely hit me fairly hard that I clearly wasn’t pleased with what I was doing and what was going on.

All of this leaves my future, especially pertaining to poker, in a fairly perplexing state. I don’t have the answers yet, but hopefully the long drive home by myself will help me find a lot of the answers I am looking for.

05:28 pm: Queens
Played the Venetian 550 today, it had 500some odd entrants, which is real solid considering there is a 1500 WSOP event today. I got there kind of late and drew probably the worst table draw possible, table 48 seat 10 (43-48 are out in the casino, which is kind of a little smoggy, and seat 10 sucks for the obvious reasons). My stomach was upset and I developed a headache about an hour into the tourney, so physically it wasn't a pleasant experience.

25/50
I raise UTG to 200 with AKo, guy behind makes it 700, folds back to me and I call. Flop is AT5, check check, turn is some rag, check 700 call, river some other rag check check.

50/100
I raise from UTG+1 with QQ to 350, woman calls from MP, everyone else folds. I bet 500 on the J53r flop and she calls, turn is a king and I bet 800, she makes it 1900 and I fold. Still not sure about this one.

100/200
One of the worst players I have ever seen (stuck 7k in the middle with K9 on a KQ4 board at 25/50, and stuck 7k again in the middle with J2h on a Q94hh board, and somehow won both pots) opens from UTG to 400 with supershaking hands. I call 2 behind with 97d, there is one other caller. Flop comes A65dd and he bets 600. I call and the other player folds. Turn is a 4d, which of my 12 outs isn't ideal but obviously I'll take it. He leads for 1100 and I make it 2500 and he calls. River is some rag and he check-calls 3500 with AKo, which he angrily shows to his neighbor, and proceeds to glare at me for (I kid you not) the next 5 or 6 minutes.

Guy limps UTG, guy limps UTG+2, same moron makes it 500 from LP, I call from the BB with AKc, first limper calls, second limper makes it 2500. I'm totally lost here, but once the moron calls the 2500 I know he doesn't have AA/KK and with his overlay now in the pot it becomes a shove. First limper folds, the limp-raiser stares me down and then calls, and the moron starts bitching about how he didn't think I had a hand. Eventually he folds, the limp-raiser tables AQo, obv flop is Q22, turn is 6c giving me the flush draw, and I bink the K on the river. The moron goes on and on about how "he would have beaten me" for another good 5 minutes. Thank god I had the ipod with me. I head into break with 31300.

100/200-25
I don't think I played a single significant hand this level.

200/400-25
Girl limps UTG, folds to the moron on the button who makes it 800, I call from the BB with T2o, girl calls UTG. Flop comes 533dd and it checks around, turn is a 2 and it checks to the moron on the button who bets 3500. I call and the river is a 4. I think for a minute and he proceeds to check out of turn, so I check and he checks and I table my superduperawesome deuce for the win. He proceeds to go off on me, first asking me my name, and then lecturing me, saying how if I keep playing sneaky "he's going to take all my chips" and (I kid you not) "I'm playing fair, you're not playing fair."

Guy gets moved to the table with about 50k in chips (everyone they moved to our table from another table had 30k+, which is super annoying). He raises from UTG+1 (he had been active) to 1500, and I make it 5k with AKo from MP. Everyone else goes away and he calls, flop is 743dd and he check-folds to my 8k bet.

300/600-50
I stay quiet for the early part of the level, and then make it 2k from UTG+2 with AQd. Folds to the superactive button who asks me how many chips I have then calls, flop is A73r. I lead for 3k and he makes it 9k behind me. I tank for approximately 3 minutes trying to get anything I can from him (he has approx 17k behind) and then muster all my courage and shove and he instamucks. Such a gross spot, his flop bet was really sick. I go into the second break with 50825.

400/800-75
I raise from MP to 2500 with KTo, same superactive guy makes it 10k from the SB, the BB proceeds to hollywood for about 3 minutes and then shoves about 30k into the middle. I fold and the SB folds, and the BB (with supershaking hands) mucks what had to be AA or KK.

The BB from the previous hand makes it 2100 from MP and I fold AJo from the SB. The BB calls and check-folds on a AQ4cc flop. The following hand, it folds to the same guy, who makes it 3k, folds to me on the button and I make it 10k with QQ, I lean over to see the blinds fold and by the time they both have he has already splayed out all of his red chips (5k) which was about 40k. I bank for about a minute while he stares me down intently. Based on his prior hollywood and the fact that he raised to 2100 the previous hand and 3k this hand, it just didn't feel like an overpair, but more like AK. I feel like avoiding flips with super overlay is a problem, so I shove, he instacalls with KK and I brick out 5 times. I hated calling off 50 BBs with QQ, but this was a time where I felt I couldn't fold.

02:21 am: Easy game
Put together a long session, 10 hours. +945. Got one of the most ridiculous gifts I have ever received in my entire life.

Set up hand: Guy limps UTG+1 to my right, he seems fairly solid. I make it 12 with QQ, one caller in the blinds, he calls. Flop K85, check, he bets 15, I call, other guy folds. Turn A and he checks, I bet 30 and he calls. River 5 and he checks, I almost make a bet here but can't pull the trigger and check, and he shows K7o.

So the following round he limps and I make it 12 UTG+1 with 99. SB calls and he calls, flop is Tc9c3h, SB checks, he bets 25, I call, SB calls (crap). Turn is a 3 (yay!) SB checks he bets 35 I make it 105 SB folds and he calls. River is an 8 and he check-calls 150. He has....JTo.

I got a bunch of other ridiculous gifts where I stick it in with big hands and hold. Unfortunately early in the session I ate a buyin, but it had the added plus of getting a ridiculous lack of respect from people when they sit down and see I have 1300 chips in front of me.

Overall it was a pretty effortless session. I'd post more hands but other than one or two from early in the session I either have very little memory or they were so incredibly standard that they don't even need to be talked about.

Might go play the Venetian tomorrow, haven't decided. Oh and I made a final table on Stars yesterday (weeee) but I went from 1/12 to 9th by the structure becoming crapshooty and losing with AKo to JJ.

03:08 am: Meh
More meh-ness going on. Played cash the last 2 days, basically broke even (+323 the first, -400 the second). Made a ridiculous call with 22 on a T87 board for a bunch of money to get the positive session the first day. Ran into it the second day a ton of times. Only one hand was of note, Chris and Mike both hate how I played it.

I sit down at the table, 1 or 2 hands in, guy raises PF from EP to 12, BB calls, flop JT3r, BB checks, guy bets 20, BB calls, turn 3, BB checks, guy bets 45, BB calls, turn K, BB checks, guy bets 50, BB calls, guy shows AQo, BB shows AKo.

So another hand or two later it's a limped pot 6 ways, I check in the BB with AJd. Flop comes AKd9d. I check, it checks to guy from previous hand on the button, who bets 7. I call and everyone else folds. Turn is a Q and I check call 20, river is an 8 and I check call 45.

They disagreed with my flatcall on the flop. I'll let some comments happen before I give my full thoughts on the hand.

Mike won the 109 Monday night on Stars for 9300, which was pretty sick. I was sitting behind him the whole time and proffering the occasional thought, which made the tourney (I hope) fairly fun for both of us. Tonight we were both playing it and about 2 hours in both had above average stacks and swapped 10%. I proceeded to double up quickly to be 2/66 and he bluffed off a bunch of chips to be about half average. I get moved to his table in the seat behind him, he thinks we can't sit next to each other during this (I disagree, but that's because I have a massive advantage at this point) so I move over to the other couch. I lose about 10k of my 32k stack in a spot where I should have either won the pot or lost a lot less, but a guy found a flatcall of a 1/2 pot bet on a T84 flop with AQo, so I had about 20k when a superactive guy opens from UTG+1 and Mike shoves UTG+3 for 11k. I had AKo and looked over at him and said "sorry but I don't think I can fold here (his range for snapping this guy was probably AQ+, 99+, with maybe another hand or two thrown in). It folds back to the guy who instacalls with AA, Mike flops the T, I have ~9bbs and don't cash. By the time I go out Mike gets to 78k, and goes on to take third, and I take a very bittersweet 350 from the swap.

Those guys are headed to play the Venetian tomorrow, I don't plan on going myself. I promised myself that I wouldn't play another 550 at the Venetian until I am freerolling it, and since I ran into it over and over today I am not. Tourneys are pissing me off lately (and I'm hovering precipitously close to a red number for the year that seems semi unimaginable to me) and I have zero desire to come home from this trip -15 or 20k because I decided that I wanted to play literally every tourney. I might play some cash tomorrow or I might just hang out at the house and watch TV. Haven't decided yet.

04:17 pm: Table Image
I played a little bit online this weekend, bubbling a satty to the 535 on Tilt this Sunday and winning into the 216 on Tilt where I promptly lost a flip with A4d against KQo on a K53dd board. Jon (Ouch on FCP) came into town this weekend and was playing at MGM last night so I went down to meet him, and he roped me into playing a little. I played for an hour and change, won slightly under 400 thanks to running flawless, and we went over to the Rio to watch the ridiculousness that Hellmuth was spewing during the end of the 1500 event as they approached the final table. Afterwards we went to In-n-out and grabbed some food (good, but not as great as everyone says) and headed home to sleep for the Venetian.

My table at the Venetian today was particularly bad for the most part-lotsa gifts were being given in spots that I couldn't take advantage of. I had 2 limps on my SB 3 hands in and I make it 250 with AA. One caller from EP and the flop is AQJcc. I bet 350 and he calls and the turn is a T, putting 2 spades out there. I check, he bets 1000, and I call. River is a red 7 and it goes check check and he has ATo.

I whiff a couple of flops (one in a pot that I should have won with AK) and am back down to 6300 or so when the following happens. 3 limps in front of me, I limp CO with A3c, flop comes 632r and it checks to me. I bet 350 and it folds back to the guy next to me who calls. Turn is an A and he bets 500. I know he has a set here. I call. River is a K and he bets 500 again. I know he has a set here. I call. He shows 33. Would have been a sick read but I couldn't pull the trigger.

A tight player opens for 300 in the hijack and I make it 1100 from the BB with QQ. He calls and I see a wonderful flop of AKT. I bet 1200 and he calls, turn is a 9 and I check fold to what I am guessing was AQ.

This leaves me with 3k or so. I limp once and am in the BB with 2800 chips. There are 5 limps on my BB and I have K8o. No one at the table has limped strong yet and with 1200 in the middle I shove my 2600 behind. What I don't realize is that one of the late position limpers has about 700 behind and he calls off, showing A7o. Flop comes 863, and I hold to get back above 4k.

The guy UTG+1 who limped started complaining about my shove, most of which I couldn't hear because I had headphones on, but I knew if I got a hand I was doubling through. The next round I am BB and UTG limps, UTG+1 makes it 1000, it folds to me in the BB and I shove AKd, UTG folds and UTG+1 practically rushes his chips into the middle with AQo. I hold and go into the break at 8400.

After the break I eat hands for a while until a super wild player limps UTG+1. I find AA in the cutoff and make it 800. Everyone turbofolds. What? I was under the belief that my table image sucked, apparently I was wrong. I fold for another round or so, and I hear the TD say that they are going to break table 5 (my table) as the dealer is dealing a hand. I find 75o in the hijack and since I have raised once in 40 minutes, this is a decent spot. I make it 600 and it turbofolds to the BB who calls. Flop comes 972dd and he checks, I bet 1200 and he grabs his stack of yellows and purples and forcefully (but not slamming) puts them down in the middle of the table. I do a little math in my head and try to eliminate hands from his range (overpairs are the main ones that are gone, as well as sets) and feel like I am flipping a way too high percentage of the time there to fold. I find a call and table my 75o, he tables KQd and the dealer promptly runs out the 2d and Td.

Not quite sure what I am going to do this week, probably some more 1-2 action (mostly at night-nights are appearing to be quite profitable). I probably won't play any significant tourneys other than sattys to the Sundays this week, and then the 330 next Monday will be my next live one.

10:22 pm: Better?
Apparently the thinking about losing improved my karma, or whatever you want to call it. Headed over to MGM and played probably the best poker I have played this entire trip so far. Got it in with J9 on a QQ94 flop...and was right. Folded KK on a 972r flop with 45 invested and got showed aces. Worked up to a 525 stack or so and then got Q2 in a 700 pot versus AA on a 922 board, turn rag river ace. Ended the session -40.

Went over to Venetian to meet up with LeftyGolfer and Huskers from FCP. Chris and Mike met me over there and kind of talked me into playing the 175+25. I putter around until the 100-200 level where I have 2200. Limp in front of me and I shove 99 and get folds. Limp UTG and I make it 700 with KQo UTG+1 and get folds. Two hands later it folds to the cutoff who makes it 700, button flatcalls, I find JJ in the BB and shove, cutoff calls, button overshoves for 100 more, cutoff calls and tables KQo, button has AKo. Let's not kid ourselves here, we all know who wins.

I'm going to take the next two days and do literally nothing, probably watch a bunch of Scrubs episodes and that's about it.

10:34 pm: Thinking about losing
I've always been told by pretty much everyone I've met that I am, in fact, a poor loser. My dislike for losing is probably larger than my like of winning, and that has always been a fairly motivating factor in pretty much every competitive effort I've ever undertaken. Poker is fairly different in regards to other pursuits I've been a part of because of the fact that you are on a bit of an island when it comes to losing or winning-you're not playing with anyone, and you aren't really playing against anyone in particular, with exception given to playing heads up. All you can do is attempt to continue to make good decisions and allow variance to even out over time.

One of the difficult things about handling losing in poker is the variance that is inherent in the game. This variance is what makes the game profitable-without the so called luck factor added in, the number of players that would be willing to play the game for money would be decreased greatly (see: chess). In swimming, the ability to transform hard work into a proper level of performance was one of the best features to me-even if I lost odds are I would see something that could be improved, or an area that I specifically got beat in, which I would return to practice and focus on. I improved pretty much every year I swam due to the fact that I would think long and hard about this process. Poker is much different in this regard due to the fact that you can do something perfectly and still get beat, and due to the fact that there are so many marginal situations in which the proper action is highly debatable.

All of this leads into the crappy year I have been having. I won't moan about running bad (mainly because anyone who had the year I did last year shouldn't be allowed to complain about running good or bad, at any point in time). But ever since day 2 of the PCA this past January, I have been surprisingly unprofitable when it comes to the game of poker. Due to my nature this will result in me attempting to take a step back and examine my game more objectively in order to attempt to find either something that is significantly wrong or a bunch of little things that need to be changed in order to improve what is happening. Unfortunately for me, some of the more objective data that I am looking at (such as cashing percentage, average finish, etc) my numbers this year are actually better (and in a few spots, significantly better) than my stats from last year. This leaves me attempting to figure out if I am doing something wrong in the more important spots of tournaments and doing just enough to cash but not doing the things I need to do in order to make the deep push.

One of the major things I have noticed that has happened during this crappy year has been a distinct lack of confidence in how I am playing and even more so how I am running and how that relates to how I will run in the future. One prime example of this is the fact that I am still playing 1-2 at MGM (a game monkeys flinging poo covered chips could beat handily) and booking as many losing sessions (including today again) as winning ones (thank god for that one ridiculous session, or else I would be down for the trip). I am probably overrolled for the game, and the skills the game requires makes it less of a poker game than a "who can value bet the most and turn over a winner" game. This becomes conducive to negative thoughts having a distinct effect on how I am playing-for example, I asked Chris yesterday if during our hand if he ever doubted that a heart wouldn't peel off and he said no, he expected that he would hit the flush. I wish I could say differently but I felt exactly the same way. Expectations of negative outcomes don't ensure whether or not they will happen but they will prevail in a negative attitude being mentally spread.

The logical outcome of all of this is tilt, and unfortunately in a few instances this has indeed been the outcome of this attitude (the FTOPS being the prime example of this occurring). One thing I have prided myself on during my poker career has been being able to stay away from going nuts and blowing away chips needlessly-I typically attempt to tighten up and stay away from marginal situations, which might result in less value in whatever I am doing but is definitely safer than the other option.

Where this all leads me, I am unsure. I do know for a fact due to my current level of confidence certain things I would have liked to do during this trip will be either postponed or avoided entirely in order to keep comfortable and sane. Whether or not this leads into some sort of significant change, either in how I play the game or how I approach the game, remains to be seen.

07:33 pm: Bizzle solicits advice
You have 30k. Blinds are 600-1200-100. There is no SB. UTG+1 limps, it folds to you on the button with A8c. You limp. The BB, stacking up the last big pot he won, checks. Flop is Ks Qs 9h. It checks to you and you bet 3k. BB folds and UTG+1 calls. Turn is 9s. Villain checks, you check. River is 8d. Villain checks and looks very weak. He has 11k behind. You....

07:19 pm: Table Draw 101
One of the things that (still) isn't talked about nearly enough when it comes to poker is table draw. Many people will talk about table draw as being something that is important when it comes to poker, but it is still underemphasized. Today I drew two of my least favorite things when it comes to table draw-I drew a new table, meaning the table will play tighter than normal, and Chris decided to play at MGM and when we went to the table I knew he was going to sit directly to my left. I should have taken the 9 seat to make him eat the 10 if he really wanted to do that, but I decided to go for comfort and take the 3. Having him sitting behind me probably cut my expectation at the table in half, as his way of playing is almost precisely opposite from the way that I play. There were numerous pots in which I would limp, either behind limpers, or openlimp and he would raise behind. I drag a lot of value from this game by widening my limping range and narrowing my raising range, especially out of position, and this gets messed up when you have someone behind you raising to pick up dead chips in the pot preflop with a very wide range of hands.

The big pot of the day, naturally, involved me and Chris. It was raised to 10 preflop and we saw a flop 6 ways (me in the SB with 43d). The flop comes 943 with 2 hearts, I check, Chris checks, first person bets 25, gets 2 callers, and then the last person to act shoves for 160. I think for a bit and stick my 200 chips into the middle, Chris says "wow I'm getting a good price" and sticks his chips into the middle. All of the people who were in for 25 fold and I show my 43d, Chris shows AJh, and the other player shows Q9o. Two of the callers claim to have folded hearts, and the other one claims a 9, so I'm about 60% to win the pot, Chris is about 25, and Q9 is about 15%. Naturally Chris gets there on the turn and the river and the 700 pot is shipped his way.

I played kinda bad overall today, seeing too many flops and getting pretty much zero value out of my hands. I eventually worked back from my 300+ deficit to about 150 down, but then lost a 300 pot with K9 versus A6 on a K96A board (I bet the pot on the flop). Cashed out down 355.

06:21 pm: Freakin Mike Sica
Played the Venetian 340 today, lotsa runners (589) but basically zero hands of note. I ran my 6k starting stack up to 16k or so (high point was 19k I think) and then I get into a wicked weird hand with Mike Sica. He limps UTG+2, button limps, sb limps, I check in the BB with 73o. The flop is AK7 and it goes check check and Sica bets 1500 into a 4k pot. Both the other players fold and I think for a little bit while I try to define his range and decide it's either super weak (small pair) or super strong (set) and since there are more weak hands than strong ones, I make it 5k. He thinks for a little bit and shoves and looks way too comfortable. I have to fold and am left with 13500 at the move up to 600-1200. I eat the blinds once and then it folds to the cutoff who makes it 4k. I look down at 22 on the button and decide to take the flip with the 2800 overlay in the middle, he calls with A8c, Flop is J3c3, turn is 7c, and there's basically no chance that I dodge the 8000000 outs he has on the river.

07:08 pm: Zero hands
I had zero hands of interest today in a session at MGM, had 3 ridiculously bad players at the table majorly spewing and I'd just police with solid hands and get good value. I ended up +450 and that was playing the most variance reducing style ever over 4.5 hours.

I would say that generally, the worse the player, the more annoying they are. Today I had 2 major annoyances at my table, and as such the ipod was pretty much required whenever they were around. This annoyed them to no end, because clearly I have nothing better to do than listen to their drivel, and this often results in them taking shots at pots versus me. Um....thanks? My favorite today was the guy who originally (apparently, I wasn't there when he got there) was buying into the table with 100s and the denominations went steadily downwards as he got deeper and deeper. I got there as he was polishing off his 20s, and watched through his final death knell as he finished off his last buyin with 75 in 5s. He slowrolled people at the table literally 5 times, so it was a pleasure to watch him go bust. My second major annoyance today was the guy who literally would not shut up during the entire session he was there. Every convo was about "favorite hands" or "my buddy does this" and whatnot. By far the highlight of the day for me was the aforementioned guy who was down to his last 7 on one buyin shoving in MP, McTalkyTalk calls in the cutoff, and I call from the BB with 87h. It goes check check on the K74 flop and I bet 10 on the J turn and he starts asking me questions. I had the headphones on and he asked like 3 or 4 times so I took them off one ear and he said "Did you hit the flop?" and I said yes and he folded 88 faceup. Getting to table the 7 and hearing him go off on me about how "when someone is all in you should check it down" and "have you ever played a tourney before" was pretty much priceless.

Them allowing drinking at the table definitely adds a different dynamic than the one I'm used to at TS where no alcohol is served. I would say that generally the game plays a lot looser due to people imbibing various beverages, which for me is basically perfect as I can play really tight and not have to make many, if any, significant decisions that require difficult thought. It's not the prettiest style of play, nor is it anywhere near the most fun, but it is turning in decent results, so I'm definitely not complaining.

I erased yesterday's small loss and am basically freerolling the 340 at the Venetian tomorrow. I plan on playing both 340s at the Venetian this week (Monday and Wednesday) and everything else will be up in the air, for now at least.

01:46 am: What a weird night
Went back to MGM around 6 to play some more, put in a 7 hour session, ended up down exactly $100. Only 3 hands of any significance.

2 limpers in front of me and I make it 15 with KK. Crazy old asian dude calls in the SB, everyone else folds. Flop 864 with 2 clubs, he checks, I bet 25 and he shoves for 100 straight. Based on how wild he was it was a pretty easy call but naturally he has 75 and I'm drawing basically dead.

6 way limped pot preflop and I'm in latish position with KJs. Flop comes down KJT with 2 diamonds. It checks to the guy 2 in front of me who bets 5, the guy to my right calls, I make it 20, the SB calls, crazy old asian calls, the original bettor shoves for 69 more, the guy to my right calls with approx 40 behind. Weirdest/sickest spot ever, I just don't see how Q9 isn't out there and muck. Crazy old asian puts all of his chips in on the T turn and the guy to my right calls. River is the 6h, crazy asian shows Q7o, two to my right has A3d and one to my right has K8d. Whoops.

Folds to the cutoff who limps, I'm on the button with As 5h and I make it 12 and get calls from all other 3 active players. I've been super tight and haven't shown down anything vaguely resembling weak, so when it checks to me I bet 25 on the Q76 2 spade flop. The SB calls and everyone else folds. The turn is a Q and he checks again, I know from how he played some hands earlier that he either has a weak 7 or 6, or a draw. I bet 40 in order to figure out for sure, he calls and checks the 3s river. It has to be a draw at this point, which obviously got there, I check and he shows T9s. Blah stupid river 3s.

On the way home I pass a cab on 215 with no passengers in it that proceeds to get off at the same exit as me, hang a ways back but take all the same turns as me and end up going past the garage as I close it. Very very very strange and I'm a little wired right now because of it.

08:10 pm: Grinder leaves
And takes his luckbox with him. On the plus side, I acquired the couch. On the minus side, I'm on the couch and not still at the Venetian.

Drake and I went to play the Venetian deepstack 500+50 today. It was ran alright and had a sick sick structure (basically the same as a weak 10k tourney) so I will definitely be playing a bunch of the deepstack tourneys while we are out here. Start with 10k chips, 25-50 blinds, and 40 minute levels. It drew 319 players and will most likely draw more as the series continues onwards.

I don't play any real hands during the first level, but during the second level the following hand happens. Guy two to my left limps UTG+1, folds to a superactive button who makes it 325. I call from the BB with 53c and the limper calls. Flop comes A74 with 2 hearts and it checks to the button who bets 700. I call and the limper folds. The turn is the Th and I check, and he checks behind. The river is the 7c and I bet 1800 and he shows A4 and folds.

This sets up the following hand. It folds to him and he raises to 625 in the cutoff. I call from the SB with KJo. Flop comes A32 and I check, he bets 600 and I make it 2100 which he calls. Turn is a Q and I bet 2500 and he calls again. Knowing that he can't call off with a weakish ace here on the river if I shove my 7k into the middle, I'm totally prepped to shove the river...until it comes a 3. Now he can call with pretty much any ace expecting a chop. I think for quite a while if there is any way I can win this pot, decide not, he checks and shows me the ace as I muck. So lame. Go into the first break with around 5k.

At 100-200-25, the same guy limps from EP, I make it 800 behind with AA. He calls and checks the Qh3h3 flop, I bet 1200 and he calls. Turn is 5h and he leads 800? If he has the hearts here, whatever, I beat literally every other non QQ hand, so I shove for 3125 more and he folds and I get back to 8k.

A guy limps UTG+1 and I limp UTG+2 with AJc. There's another limper behind me and a tard makes it 600. Pretty much everyone calls and the flop comes A65 with 2 hearts. It checks through and the turn comes the Ad putting a second flushdraw out there. The UTG+1 limper bets 1500 and I call, folds to the tard who makes it 3k. The UTG limper thinks for about 30 seconds and shoves for 8k total. I'm in the sickest spot every, the tard obviously has a pair here (only a complete and utter moron wouldn't bet AK/AQ on the flop) so it comes down to the UTG limper's range. After a lot of thinking I decide to stick it in, the tard folds and the limper has 66. Naturally I river the jack to get to 22k.

A guy raises two hands in a row from mid-latish position and on the second I call from the SB with KQs. The flop comes KQ4 and I check, he bets 800 and I make it 2500. He calls and the turn is a very ugly 4. I bet 4k and he gets very very excited and shoves in his last 3400. I'm killing myself in this spot (his range is QQ+, AK) and think for a while again. I get the clock called on me by someone else, I count myself down and see that I'll have over 10k still if I lose at 100-200, so I gamble against his range and call. He tables the bottom end AKo and I fade the river to get to 30k.

At 200-400-25, uberactive guy limps, shortie shoves CO-1 for 1800, I make it 4k in the cutoff with AQd, button flatcalls, the SB thinks for a bit and then shoves for 20k or so. We obviously all fold and he shows JJ. He shoved because he thought noone had raised...good times.

I putter around between 24 and 27k until the last hand of the 300-600-50 level. I make it 1800 CO-1 with Ad7h, and the cutoff says raise and puts 2500 out there. He's forced to make it 3000, folds back to me and I call. Flop comes 9d 7d 4d, I check and he checks behind. Turn is the 3d, and we check through again. River is the Jd and I bet 6500 and he folds. Thanks for the gift?

I get moved to a new table and fold for a round or so at 400-800-75, and then make it 2500 from the cutoff with K8o into some passive blinds. Button folds and the SB shoves for 3900 more, BB folds and I call and see his JJ. I run good though and the flop comes KQ7. This puts me up to 36k.

I hang around 36k, snag a few small pots that I had no business winning and get to a little over 40k when the following hand happens. UTG shoves for 8800 at 600-1200-100, old guy to my right overshoves for 13200. I have JJ. The old guy was a little weird-even at 400-800 his opening raises were for 6k. I figure his range looks something like 99+, AQ+ here, so with the overlay of the UTG shover (her range was pretty close to any 2, she had just lost a massive pot) so I call. Naturally the person behind me shoves for 13100 more. Folds back to me and I do some math. I have to call 13100 into an approx 64k pot with JJ drawing to 2 outs, so even though the pot is multiway as long as a jack isn't dead I'm getting about the right odds. I call, UTG shover shows Q8h, guy to my right shows AA, woman to my left has KK. AA scoops the main, KK scoops the 26k side, and I cry a little bit.

I have approx 15k left at 600-1200 and make it 3500 UTG+1 with 66. Folds to UTG+3 who shoves for 12k even. I hate calling in this spot but I also hate folding in this spot, so since I'm a station and tilty, I call. He has AA and I brick out again to leave myself around 4k. I get 93c in the BB, CO limps, SB limps, I check, and then shove the K66 flop and get 2 folds? Whatever, well played people. Folds to my SB the next hand and I'm basically blind shoving with T8o. The BB has 99, flop comes 764 but I proceed to whiff my 9 outs twice and head on out.

12:56 am: So this is what it's like to be Matt
After watching Matt hose to a ridiculous extent (PXF isn't working for him right now, but if it does I'll link it) in a 33 turbo last night, which was the most ridiculous and funny thing I have ever seen, I went back to MGM today to play. I ran the starting stack up to 350, ate a ton of hands in a row where I think I played as well as possible and then fell back to 107. Only one hand was of particular note, to me at least. A guy blind raises UTG to 13 and there is one caller in front of me. I have ATh in the BB and think for a second before flatcalling. Flop comes QT4 and it checks around. Turn is a 2 putting two diamonds out there and I bet 30. The blindraiser calls and the other player folds. At this point I put him on a weaker T or a draw, if he had a queen he was valuetowning that flop very hard. River is a 4d and I check, he bets 45. This is kind of a gross spot because literally everything in his range is betting the river in order to get a hand like mine to either fold if I'm ahead or call if I'm beat. I do some quick thinking and he was most definitely wild enough to fire at this river with something ridiculous like KJ or some such, and call. Still not sure if that was right (he had KJd). This was about 2 hours into the session and I went to find some quick food and missed a round. I come back, rebuy to get to the full stack, and then have the following hands happen.

I limp 76o on the button behind several limpers. Flop comes T84. Checks to me and I bet 12, and get a call from the BB. The turn is an 8 and he fires 30 at it. I call with the double gutter knowing I am going to stack him if I peel on the river. River is the 9 and he bets 30 again, and I shove for approx 120 more and he calls and tables KTo and complains about my turn call.

I limp 88 behind a bunch of limpers on the button, the BB makes it 12 and everyone calls. Flop K8h7h and he bets 66, one caller flatcalls, and I shove 300 from the button. He calls pretty quickly and the caller folds, I table the 88 and he has KQo. Turn leaves him drawing dead.

I raise JJ to 12 from UTG+1 and there are 3 callers, including the SB wearing a UB Bulls shirt. Flop comes KJ6 rainbow and I bet 30 at it and the SB calls. Turn is a rag 4 and he bets 50 at it with about 200 behind. I don't like my chances of getting it in here on the turn so I flatcall. River is a rag and he bets 80 at it and I shove and he thinks for quite a while before folding saving his 120.

UTG+1 limps, UTG+2 who has the table covered (over 1k) makes it 6, I call with 66 in the BB, and the limper calls. Flop is KK6, I check to the raiser who bets 10, I make it 40, he calls. Turn is a 2 and I bet 75 and he thinks a tiny bit before calling. River is a 9 (basically anything that wasn't a deuces king queen or ace was very welcome here) and I think for a second and bet 200. He looks sick but calls fairly quickly and tables KTd.

I cashed out 1300 or so, one of my biggest 1-2 sessions ever. I'm still slightly unsure of how well I'm playing, because it is easy to get it in when you are just "coolering" people left and right, but since I'm basically freerolling the 550 tomorrow at the Venetian, I'm not complaining.

09:07 pm: How to get your money in bad at 1/2
AKA how to play as awfully as possible.

I head over to MGM around 2pm today intending to put in a 4-6 hour session. Due to the fact that I haven't played much, if any, live NL cash in about 2 years due to dedicating myself to actually learning how to play tournaments, I decided to sit 1-2 and only move up if I ever felt comfortable. That feeling never really came down, so I will be sure to put in a few decent 1-2 sessions before I move up to 2-5 at MGM and Bellagio.

Early on in the session, I quickly chipped up to 360 from the starting stack of 200. I was getting solid value out of hands (getting 3 bets in with a flopped 2 pair, cbetting JJ on an A33 flop against 3 other players, etc etc) and just generally running well and not showing anything down.

The guy to my left was a bit of a tard and had been showing down some weak hands to win pots (A9 on a A8654 board to win a $130 pot, J9 on a KTJ4J board with bets on all 3 streets, etc). I raise to 12 UTG+1 with KdKc, he calls along with 2 other players. Flop is JJd6d, checks to me, I bet 30, he calls, everyone else folds. Turn is offsuit 4, I bet 55 and he shoves for 35 more, I call to see his obvious JTo.

I make a few decent plays (check-raising 84h on a 5329 3 spade board, winning a decent sized pot with AA, etc) and generally hang around 200. At one point I don't play a hand for 4 rounds-every pot being raised to 12 means that you need to have hands that you can get solid value out of to play. It folds to me on the button and I make it 12 with TT. The same guy as before makes it 24. I call. Flop Q86 and he begins to count out a bunch of chips, slamming them down over and over as he counts out approx 50 in chips, then he checks. I bet 40, he slams his chips down some more and then shoves for 150 more. His line seems to indicate AA or KK, but his actions seem to indicate AK or AJ. I think about it for somewhere around 2 minutes (Drags and Grinder are calling me "that guy" but I'm really not in good enough shape yet to make these kind of decisions quickly) and then call off. He tables KK and turn Q river T. I sheepishly collect the chips.

I dick around for another 4 or 5 rounds and hang around 375 in chips. Another hand comes up where UTG+1 limps, UTG+2 limps, I make it 12 on the button with AQo, folds back to UTG+2 who calls. Flop AAJ, he checks and I try to look as unhappy as possible and bet 25. He calls and checks the 4 turn. I bet 50 and he thinks for about 20 seconds and shoves for 149 more. I call pretty quickly and see his JJ. This hand wasn't even in the range I assigned him and I'm kind of perplexed as to how it showed up there. Whatever, river 5 and I'm left with 105 or so.

I promised myself a max 6 hour session and get into one last round. During this round I typically take advantage of the fold equity I've built up during the day, which typically has strong results. I win a couple of small pots and then lose another before I see Kc Ts UTG. I limp, get 3 other limpers around the table, both blinds come in, and we all see a 7c 6c 4c flop. SB bets 10, BB calls, I make it 40 thinking neither of them can call without at least 2 pair here. It folds to the BB who says "I have too strong of a hand to fold" and he sets me in. I'm forced to call in this spot for my 50 behind and he shows me 5c 3s, I brick out twice and head on out of there with bubkes.

I'm pretty disappointed with how I played in general, a lack of NL cash game play in the past 2 years was very evident. I always structured my game around making several large decisions each session and not have to worry about fighting for every single dollar. I always attempted to play in a fashion that would allow for a minimum amount of decisions but remain profitable over the long term. This style requires that large decisions are pretty much always made correctly, so that every large pot I play results in me either making the correct play. Today, every single large decision I made was wrong.

I'll head back tomorrow to see if I can improve on that incredibly shoddy performance.

11:28 pm: Away we go
Ohmigosh Bizzle actually played today.

Got up early, headed over to Mandalay to play a 240 satty to the 1080 qualifier. Structure sucked, but that was to be expected. I limped 55 at one point, whiffed a flop, ate a blind or two, and then got QTo on the button with 2 limpers in front of me at 50-100. I limp, blinds complete and check, and we see a 884 flop. It checks around and the turn is a Q. Checks to me, I bet 300, blinds fold, first limper calls, second limper folds. River is a beautiful T, limper checks, I try to look weak to ensure a call from a formerly stronger queen, and shove for 850. Guy folds and I have 2k.

In the cutoff a round later at 75-150, I make it 450 with KJo. Supershorty behind me shoves for 550, super tight old lady in the BB calls, I call. Flop is T83 with 2 spades, BB shoves, I make an easy fold. She shows AA, shorty has A9s and promptly peels a spade.

I am now down to 1250 when the blinds are still 75-150, and shove 66 UTG+1 8 handed. Old lady thinks for quite a while and counts down her chips and finds a call with JJ. Slowrollers always lose and I flop the 6 to double through to 2500.

Some guy who looks familiar (I want to say a doctor who was on a WPT episode) limps for the 300th time UTG+1, I make it 700 behind with JJ, old lady calls all in for her last 300, guy thinks and calls. Flop 889, he checks, I ship in my last 1800, he folds, and I table the JJ and win the sidepot of 800. Lady tables A7, turn 2 river A, and she takes the 1k main.

Blinds go up to 200-400. 8 handed. Ubercrapshoot. I eat a shove on my BB and shove the SB with 97o to get back to 2300, which is good for 3rd place at the time. It folds to me on the button but I couldn't pull the trigger with K5o. Folds to CO-1 the next hand who shoves and I look down at ATh. I try to pry a little info out of him, he doesn't seem to love his hand, so I overshove. Old lady calls off her last 300 in the BB this time with 44, guy shows ATd. Flop rainbow, turn diamond, river diamond. Ouch. I set in with my last 500 the next hand with A7 and get 2 callers (K6 and 44) and the K6 wins on the K7339 board. I finish 6th.

Grinder got into town this afternoon and since he is still a youngn he was lookin to get involved in some action. He offered a deal to Chris to get him in a mega and since I was planning on playing another SNG or two he offered me a similiar deal, so we direct bought the 1080 satty to the WPT main event tonight. About 3 hands in there is a limper in front of me and I look down at JJ. I make it 225, button calls, SB calls, and BB calls while limper folds. Okay then. Flop comes Q33, it checks to me and I bet 450 into an approx 950 pot, button folds, SB stares intently at me and then calls, BB folds. Turn is a 7, SB checks, I check. River is a 4 and the SB leads for 500. His hand range is incredibly well defined here as either a big queen or a middle pair, nothing else seems to fit the action. I thought for a bit and had to make a decision as to which way to lean in terms of which side of the range he had, naturally I think wrong since I am a station and call to see his AQ.

This cuts me in half, 2 hands later it folds to the guy in front of me who makes it 150, I make it 500 with 1100 behind prepared to call a shove with AKo, folds back to him and he folds. I get moved to Justin's table and win another small pot before the following hand. I limp ATc in semi-early position behind a limper, we get another limper or two and the blinds to the flop. Flop comes J93 with 2 clubs, BB bets 100 into a 250 pot, I make it 400 when it folds to me, he calls. Turn is a K giving me even more outs (is that possible?), he checks, I shove for 1300ish, he folds. Back to 2400.

I lose some chips to the blinds at some point. UTG limps, I have QJh on the button and limp, blinds complete and check. Flop 9h8c2h, SB checks, BB bets 325, UTG calls, I shove for approx 2k, BB folds, UTG thinks for a bit and calls with A9o. I brick a bazillion outs and head on out of there.

09:51 pm: Day 1
Today started with Chris knocking on my door and then barging in. Around 8 AM. Living with a degenerate this summer is going to have its own set of problems. But nothing that a lock can't handle.

I sattied into the Stars Mil (it was a 535 today) but for the 1000th time in a row in that tourney, I hang around starting stack for a while, get beaten down, double through, rinse and repeat. I played a few other tourneys today, ate a few hands and a few beats, and then headed down to Mandalay Bay to play some satties into the WPT satty tomorrow. We were informed that no more are going off tonight due to a lack of interest, but there will be some tomorrow morning, so it looks like I'm going to have to get up again. On the plus side, getting "up" here is equivalent to getting up at like 11 AM at home, so at least for the first week or so it shouldn't be a problem.

08:41 am: Whew
Well, I'm out here and a bit tired. During certain parts of the drive I was a little punchy (bound to happen when you cover 2550 miles in 3 days) but for the most part it wasn't as bad as I expected. With the exception of one thunderstorm in western Kansas, the weather was nice pretty much the entire way. We had to stop a few more times than I would have liked due to Chris having the bladder of (insert some analogy for something with a really small bladder). We went out last night and snagged some dinner at the closest place we could find mainly due to fatigue and then headed back home, crashed on the couches, and then went to bed. I think we are going to chill out today and probably play a little online, and then either tonight or tomorrow we are headed off to play some STTs over at Mandalay Bay into some superduper satties.