Venetian DSE Try 2...and some side games.

So...try number 2, and this time I promise, it's all poker :

The third hand of the tournament, same structure, 6000 in chips, blinds 25/50 and raise every 40 minutes, chaos ensues.

I raise from UTG+1 with KK to 250, get a real quick smoothe call from the player immediately on my left. Late position re-raises to 750. I smoothe call hoping to trap him into this hand since I know he's holding JJ or QQ to come into this pot right now, or AK at worst. The other player blows my mind though, instead of folding out of the way, he comes back over the top to 2250. The late position player folds and leaves me in a weird spot because my first gut instinct says the player has aces that's to my left. It's either that or else a really grossly played pair of 10's or Jacks. After about a full minute in the tank I decide it's a terribly played JJ or 1010 and re-raise all in. He calls and shows JJ. I hold, 14,000 in chips 3 hands into the tournament.

From there, for the rest of the first 2 hours, I leaked chips back by raising into monsters. Any time I raised, I'd see a re-raise and then a re-raise all-in behind me, so I bled alot of chips into the pot, then lost one big pot where I made the wrong read.

Middle position raises to 350, with the blinds at 50/100, and I call with 2/2 hoping to stack him. Everyone else clears the way so I get to play the hand in position.

The flop comes 8/6/4 rainbow, and he fires 300 at it, which to me seemed weak. So I raised to 900, and he smoothe called, which again seemed weak. I figured I might be facing an overpair, like a 9/9 or 10/10. Turn is a Q, he fires a weak almost block bet of 1000 at the pot of 2650, so I call hoping a good scare card peels off on the river. River is gin for me, it's a King. I know for a fact I can sell AK here and take a big pot down. He again makes his same weak block bet of 1000, and I raise it up to 4000. He insta-calls and shows AA. Oops. Right idea, wrong time.

I head into the break right about where I started. The next 2 hours after break are an absolute grind, I can't get anything going. Any time it looks like I can win some chips, I get kicked square in the pants. Case in point a 10,000 chip pot where SB pushes for 5000 with blinds at 300/600, and I'm in the BB with A/2 off, and call knowing I'm ahead. He shows K/9 and the board goes a nice K/Q/J/9/6.

After the 2nd break, I go back to work yet again grinding it along. Again it appears to completely not be my day as I make another mis-read/get suckered. Early position raises to 2400 on 400/800 blinds, and I'm in the BB with 5/5, I call which is kind of weak given I only had 6700 behind, but I felt the need to see a flop, knowing he was stacking himself on any flop that was good for me since he had only 2400 behind. Flop is pretty good actually, 4/6/7 rainbow, I check hoping to let him get all his money in since I know he's pushing any flop. Sure enough he does, and I call, unfortunately he's holding KK and wins the pot.

Eventually I get my money in with Ad/9d vs 3/3, flop comes A/5/8, turn 2, river 4. Meh, not a good day, at least not yet. Today Bruno went out early again to a 2 outer with only one card to come(A/A/6/4 board, he gets it in with 66 against 99 and the player spikes a 9). Sonny played today too and ran well for quite a while before losing a coing flip with JJ vs AK. None of us cash again. Kinda sick actually.

Anyway, Bruno and I in waiting for Sonny to finish head to the cash games at the Venetian, which are incredibly juicy, the 1/2 and 2/5 tables are full of just rank donkeys that can't help themselves from paying you off. Both of us make 200 bucks back, me playing a few interesting hands during my time at the table.

First notable one was kind of silly, I told Bruno I wanted to be a more agressive/wild cash game player because I have admiration for the way he plays cash games. He's a betting machine, and it works well for him.

So I think I took it a step too far in one pot, which led to a big score and some great after the hand dialogue. MP raises to 8 dollars at a 1/2 table, I call from cut-off with Q/J off. Flop is 10/7/4 rainbow, he fires 15 at it. I call. I can't really explain what I'm calling for, I hadn't made up my mind if I was going to try and steal if I felt he was weak or what as of yet. I'd like outs on the turn at least. The turn is actually a J. Now I'm on top pair, he fires 25. I smoothe call still unsure what I'm doing in this pot, and the river is a Q. Now I know why I'm in the pot. He fires 40 dollars at the pot and I make it 100 more to go. He insta-calls and rolls over KK. I show the QJ for top 2 and he gets up and throws a little fit which led to this exchange.

Him : "What the hell are you calling on the flop with?"
Me : "Queen Jack it looks like."
Him : "Ya no shit, why?"
Me : "If I say 'so I can go runner runner for 2 pair you're going to be pissed aren't you?'"
Him : "Hell ya!"
Me : "Okay then nevermind."

So anyway, my 200 quickly becomes 350 or so. Then I lose a big pot with QQ vs 88 on an 8 high flop. Then another kind of funny hand occurs. 6 limps to my button, I look at 3/3, how can I not? I call. Blinds top up, 8 handed to the flop and it's 8/6/3 all spades. Not an ideal flop by any means. Early position bets out 12. Cutoff raises to 25. I call hoping for a board pair. EP calls the extra money. Next card is a 3d. EP checks, cutoff fires another 25. I call again, EP calls. River is a Jh. EP checks yet again, now cutoff checks. Gin, he was value betting his draw and missed. Only one problem, they both turn over their cards as I am counting out chips to bet. The dealer looks at them and goes "He had to act yet...", and then turns to me, and says, "You check." Not posed as a question, he actually tells me I check. I politely inform him that no, I do not check. He tells me I do, and won't accept a bet from me, so I call the floor to over-rule him, then fire 50 dollars at the pot. I don't really expect to get paid off here, but if either of them is really dumb they might still call. Sure enough the EP player calls and shows 7/3 for 2 pair. Thanks?

After the stay at the Venetian we head over to the MGM for a while, and play a quick sit and go. Bruno is the first to get knocked out of the 3 of us, and honest to god, in the 10 minutes, tops, it took from when he went out to when I did, he's raked in 80 dollars at a 1/2 table. Then we decide to call it a night.

Again we've changed the itinerary. Tomorrow we won't be playing the Venetian DSE for $540, because we'd rather take a day off big tournies before the WSOP the next day, so we'll see what tomorrow brings. We'll make it up by playing one of the Venetian CEO Tournaments that start on July 2nd onward, that are 500 dollar buyins and the same structure as the DSE's, 10,000 starting stack, blinds 25/50 and move every 40 minutes. Tomorrow we might go see Cirque De Soleil or something, around what Sonny wants to be a lounge day, but I highly doubt Bruno and I don't find our way to a poker table tomorrow at some point.