A night out on the town...to play poker.

So, I got invited over to a friends house today and to a couple different poker club tournaments. One went badly, the other went significantly better...

I got to Griff's house at around noon, we went and grabbed some sushi and headed over to a poker club to play in a 200 dollar deepstack event. 10,000 starting stacks, 25/50 blinds. The tournament was basically nothing for me, I missed every single flop, the only 2 flops I hit I got burned on, and without winning a single pot, I was eliminated from the tournament. I actually felt sick, partly because of the way the tournament went(I didn't feel like I played badly, and yet I didn't even manage to win a pot...), and partly because it was insanely hot inside the building. So after we got done, I just wanted to go catch a screening of Rescue Dawn and call it a day. Griff on the other hand insisted we go play this apparantly really juicy game, a 50 dollar 2 rebuy no addon event, 4 tables.

After a little co-ercing I decided to go down and play it with him. We sat down, and the starting stacks were 2000 in chips, only rebuy once you're completely bust, and blinds started at 10/20. The first hand everyone folded around to me in the cut-off with 10d/8d, and I brought it in for a raise to 60. It was quickly re-raised by the button to 240, which seemed kind of fishy to me for some reason(the bet itself makes sense, it was just the way he did it), SB called, and I decided to call and see a flop. Good thing too. 8/8/8 was the flop. SB checked, I checked, button fired out a bet. SB went into the tank for quite a while before folding, and I called behind. Turn was a 4. I checked again and button shoved all-in. I insta-called and he mucked his cards when I turned over the 8, then chastised me for calling, which was fine, it's a rebuy tournament and I kind of liked the image that hand set up real early.

After that, I ran really, really cold for the rest of the first 2 hours until break. Not that I didn't get hands, I had premium starting hands. I just missed every flop or got run down. I actually ended the first 2 hours at 4400, but considering how many times I lost 80/20's and 70/30's, I could have easily had well over 10,000. QQ vs 99, lost. QQ vs 88, lost. AK vs A10, lost. 77 vs 33, lost. It was upsetting.

At the break, both Griff and a friend of his that he introduced me to told me they had gone broke, and were taking off. After spending 2 hours at my table, I told them I thought I was going to win, because had it not been for terrible luck, I'd have been killing the tournament already.

We got back inside and I took a hit right away, putting myself down to a fairly low stack, then I won the next 11 pots I entered, and suddenly found myself the 2nd big stack at the table, behind only the tournament chip leader, and running 3rd in the tournament. The 2 of us ran over the table as new players filed in, and suddenly we found ourselves down to final table.

I got to final table 4th in chips actually thanks to a few huge hands that happened on the other table right before the break. Once there I ran card-dead again for a while, but a few players busted and we found ourselves into the money. After that, I continued grinding since I wasn't getting any hands, and suddenly we were 4 handed, me on the big time short stack. At this point the blinds were probably 200/2000/4000, and I had about 13,500 behind. UTG folded and it was to me on the button, so naturally I shoved with J/8 offsuit given this is my only chance to make people fold and steal much needed blinds and antes. The BB looked at his first card and said "That one's real nice", and I held my breath knowing he had just looked at an ace(frankly, that should have been a call regardless, who cares what the other card is?), but he did take a look and then call and roll over AK. The flop was absolute magic. J/J/8, and I doubled up. The next hand, I eliminated that player when my K/10 held up against his J/9, and I had finally found enough chips to play.

3 handed I was still the short stack but with more play infront of me, but the really big stack was making it tough by raising big amounts every time he was button or SB. Finally, he raised to 20,000 with the blinds at 400/2000/4000, and I re-raised all in with 4/4 to 31,000. He went into the tank, and FOLDED. I couldn't beleive the luck there as I scooped a huge pot. The next hand, he raised from the button, and I came over the top with K/10, he called with Q/J, and my K/10 held. 2 hands after that, he was button, he raised big again, this time to 20,000 as well, but held back 6100 for some reason. I took a race off with him with 4/4 again and shoved, he called this time with As/7s. My 44 held and I had eliminated the big chip leader and taken an absolutely huge lead into heads up play.

When we got to heads up, the chip lead was so substantial that the first hand of heads-up I was faced with a decision. The blinds would in essence nearly double her up, so I could call off any two cards and at least fight, giving her a few more chips if I lost, or I could fold and let her walk it(folding was still an option, she would be pushing 2.5x by BB). She obviously shoved and I called with 7/8 to take a shot. She had AQ and the board of A/K/Q/10 was good for her to win the pot.

She then one two more pots in a row and drew close to even with me, then I started applying alot of pressure to her, figuring now she had worked so hard to get the chips she had finally to play with, she'd be unwilling to call off without a premium hand when we're even. Eventually I padded my lead back a little bit that way, until the last hand.

She limped from the SB, and I checked with 10h/5h. The flop was 10s/6h/4h. I checked hoping to trap, and she bet out 24,000(she had about 60,000 infront of her, I had about 85,000). I shoved. She called and rolled over 10h/8c for actually the best hand, but with that many outs and top pair to boot I'm looking to trap. The turn sealed it, 3h. My flush was good, and I took the 1400 dollar first prize, which was a little ironic since I originally didn't even want to play.

After that, I went back to my friend's place and we watched The Butterfly Effect 2, for a hilariously good viewing experience(who doesn't love watching a truly terrible movie with friends? You can have such fun poking fun at the movie...oh ya, and the Erica Durance sex scene was quite nice).

Overall it was a fairly good day.