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07-18-2004, 04:18 PM
Foxwoods 7/17/04
Today was my second trip down to Foxwoods, accompanied once again by my friend Saul. I was to meet him around 11 to drive down and woke up with a wicked hangover from Friday’s festivities. Not in the mood to sit and concentrate whatsoever. When I got to his house, his mother and younger sister were visiting, but he ushered me on in. After discussing Saul’s bitter hatred of Norman Rockwell for a few minutes he hinted (none too subtly) that he wanted to go gamble, so they pushed off. I got a big kick out of Saul throwing his family out of his house so we could go play cards.
We were en route by noon and, between grub, gas, and parking we were at the tables a bit after three. I don’t know if anyone was there, but I’m six foot one with dirty blonde hair and a reddish blonde beard, and was wearing black pants and a black shirt. You might have seen me.
I decided to play 4/8 as I’ve been told the play is comparable to 2/4 but the rake makes it a bit more beatable. It seemed that the rake was exactly the same as 2/4, in fact. I put my name on the 4/8 list, which was short enough that I didn’t even feel I had time to buy a rack of chips before being seated. Sure enough, they called me quickly and I followed the floor man to my seat. I wiggled my ass into the chair and asked the dealer to change $200; it was only after looking around the table at the bug-eyed retirees and lost-looking Asian kids that I realized I must be seated at 2/4. Check: no stacks over a hundred. Check: grumpy, inexperienced dealer trainee. Yep, they put me at 2/4.
For some reason I didn’t get up right away; rather, I sat there and folded for a few orbits and then put in for a change. Then I got 3/images/graemlins/club.gif4/images/graemlins/club.gif in the SB, five limpers in, I complete, BB checks. Flop was 4/images/graemlins/spade.gif5/images/graemlins/spade.gif6/images/graemlins/club.gif. I bet and everyone called. Turn was a red deuce, I checked, BB bet and I check-raised the field. I’m Rick James, bitch! River was another 2, I bet, called in two places and MHIG. As if on cue, they called me for 4/8 and I racked ‘em up and split like Enron stock during a West Coast heat wave.
4/8 was no tougher than 2/4, and I found the game texture preferable in many ways. There were a few semi-solid players at my table most of the time, mixed with four to six tourists and fishy types. At the time I sat down I was the only tight player at the table and it was pretty passive on all streets. Got tougher as the day wore on but the fish-to-shark ratio stayed good enough that the game was nice all day.
I got up soon after to take a leak which I swear was a full minute. I drank a liter and a half of water in the car to kill my hangover so I guess it made sense. On my way to the bathroom I remembered the recent poop post in the News and Views forum and briefly considered stink-palming a few yellows to toss at the first person to whine about river rats. /images/graemlins/grin.gif Decided to spare the competition for the time being, however.
No hands of note for a while as I was just treading water, up or down no more than 7BB or so for the first 2 hours. The fun started when a loud, middle-aged guy in a golf-shirt sat down; seemed semi-regular but it turned out I was giving him way too much credit. He was seated to my immediate left; I was in the 3 seat at the time. After two hands in which I was clearly the aggressor the whole way, the guy to my immediate right busts out and leaves. Golf Guy decides he wants to move to the 2 seat (which I think is a crap seat) and sit to my right. I decided I didn’t need to worry about him.
A little later we played the following hand: I get 22 on the button, three limpers, Golf Guy limps, I limp, SB completes, BB knocks the table. Flop was 652 with two diamonds. Checked to me and I bet, all call. Turn was the 8 of diamonds. Check, limper bets, fishy calls, Golf Guy calls and I raise. He says, “What, you made the flush? It’s early to have a flush.” I told him it was best to make them as early as possible. Everyone calls, he calls and says, “I’ve got the flush too,” and as they’re dealing the river he flashes me the A of diamonds and says, “We’ll see if yours is bigger than mine.”
River was a blank, checked to me, I bet, all fold to Golf Guy and he mucks his AQo. /images/graemlins/grin.gif
I noticed there were a lot of players like this, engaging in table talk and commenting on plays, trying to do silly things. More of the loud type who have played a few thousand hands but are still crap. I didn’t mind as they were mostly giving away information on how badly they played and the fish didn’t seem to mind. They had the good sense to avoid berating the tourists, and some of the tourists actually seemed to be enjoying hearing some ‘real players talk.’ I stayed out of it until the following hand:
We are 6-handed for a moment as someone is away, a couple have just gotten up, etc. Two players post, one of them UTG and the other next to him. One fold, a fairly decent older guy to my right limps, I limp with 78 suited, fishy button calls, blinds check. Flop is 99T, one of my suit. SB bets, all call and I raise. Button calls two cold and all call. Turn is J, not my suit. Checked to old guy who bets, I raise, all fold and he 3-bets me. With the board so coordinated I think a full house is possible so I just call and check-behind when he tries to check-raise me on the river with J9. He asks me what I thought he had, so I tell him I don’t put him on the higher straight because he would have raised pre-flop (this was sort of a quiet side conversation). So it was 50/50 with either a naked nine or the boat. He shakes his head and tells me KQ is definitely not a raising hand. I say, even six-handed when nobody has entered the pot voluntarily? He says absolutely not, racks up his chips and leaves after playing only 1 or 2 orbits. He was up around $100 so I guess it wasn’t a bad idea.
At that point I was stuck 3 or 4 BB but hit a good run of cards that left me well ahead for the day. Coincidentally this is when some other decent players started getting seated at our table, but they generally stayed out of my way as I had a pretty tight image. The first big hand I picked up was AKo in middle position. It was raised UTG+1 by a decent kid who was still a bit weak and a hair loose. He was still tougher than a lot of the table but was easily subdued; fishy player calls, I three bet, guy to my left calls, two folds, SB calls, BB folds, UTG folds, kid calls, fishy calls. The guy on my immediate left and the SB were cold-calling machines, just brilliant players to have on your left in this type of game. Flop was QTx with two diamonds; kid bets, fish calls, I raise, folded to the kid who 3-bets, we both call. Turn was a rag, kid bet, we both called. River was the J/images/graemlins/heart.gif, kid bet, fish called, I popped it and he started shaking his head and looking at me all weird. I think he was unprepared for any sort of confrontation and was one of those people who starts smiling and laughing when it happens. He was obviously trying to decide if his top pair was good, so I said, “Queen no good! Numbah ten rivah!” and he called, fishy called, I dragged a big pot.
There was another golf guy there later who started talking to Golf Guy #1, and pretty much anyone else who would listen. Turned out to be a total ass, and definitely made me wish I had followed through on that stinky chip surprise. Early on he berated somebody for 3-betting 45s from the blinds, and said, “Suited doesn’t matter!” Later on he dragged a big pot when he made 2 pair with 94s. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif. He also had this habit of demanding to see all the hands that went to showdown, which ticked me off along with everyone else. The bad players didn’t even understand it and I think they got irritated. What was he hoping to do, get insight into the play of a guy who calls one bet with any two and then calls to the river with any piece of the board? After one hand in which he was away from the table, he came back on the river for a 4-way showdown and demanded to see all the hands. I said, “What, you think these guys are dumping yellow chips to each other?” and he gave me a dirty look but didn’t ask to see anymore hands.
I actually found myself babysitting a lot of lost tourists at the table, commiserating when they consistently had their junk aces outkicked, explaining things like missed blinds for them, etc. This was funny because I was playing aggressively and, as you can see, making some silly comments, check-raising people, doing all the things that you would figure make people feel weird. I had the following hand come up against one such fish, a college kid driving from Boston to visit his parents:
I get AJo in the SB, two fishy limpers call, I raise, college boy calls from the BB, fish call. Flop is J high, two-tone. I bet, all call. Turn is an ace, I move as if to keep betting my top pair, notice the overcard and check. Kid bets, both call, I raise. This was a silly move that would only work on a meek, lost college kid who I know plays any ace. Furthermore it would probably just make the kid feel dumb. On top of this, he might well have raised me even if I bet out. So I felt a little silly after doing it. He sighs, says, “I think you have me beat, but I’ll call.” River is a blank, I bet and he calls me down. I gently announce, “Top two,” and he shows me his junk ace and says something nice about my play. He ended up buying back in and letting me sympathize with him for another few orbits while he bled away all his chips the same way, so I didn’t feel so bad about the Sklansky bucks I lost for making a bad player feel dumb.
I never got a pocket pair bigger than nines the whole time I was there; I did, however, get two more big aces in that same orbit and drag nice pots with them. This left me +16 BB for the day and feeling quite nice when Saul came by to get me off the table and go home. Saul was up 4 or 5 BB at 2/4 and was pretty happy just to have played solid and conserved his loot during the bad run of cards he got for a few hours.
All in all I had a good time and felt much more comfortable at the tables than last time. We kept the session short (just over 5 hours), as we had decided to do after our previous trip, and having a few semi-solid players at the table made it easier to define the hands and limit the pot to a few players when I wanted to, while still allowing for multi-way action as well. In short, conditions were optimal and the cards were kind. We’ll probably be making semi-regular weekend trips for the rest of the summer, so all you folks keep your eyes open and say hello some time.
BTW, seems a few of you were around this weekend; hope you had a good time and good cards.
Cheers, thanks for reading.
NT
Today was my second trip down to Foxwoods, accompanied once again by my friend Saul. I was to meet him around 11 to drive down and woke up with a wicked hangover from Friday’s festivities. Not in the mood to sit and concentrate whatsoever. When I got to his house, his mother and younger sister were visiting, but he ushered me on in. After discussing Saul’s bitter hatred of Norman Rockwell for a few minutes he hinted (none too subtly) that he wanted to go gamble, so they pushed off. I got a big kick out of Saul throwing his family out of his house so we could go play cards.
We were en route by noon and, between grub, gas, and parking we were at the tables a bit after three. I don’t know if anyone was there, but I’m six foot one with dirty blonde hair and a reddish blonde beard, and was wearing black pants and a black shirt. You might have seen me.
I decided to play 4/8 as I’ve been told the play is comparable to 2/4 but the rake makes it a bit more beatable. It seemed that the rake was exactly the same as 2/4, in fact. I put my name on the 4/8 list, which was short enough that I didn’t even feel I had time to buy a rack of chips before being seated. Sure enough, they called me quickly and I followed the floor man to my seat. I wiggled my ass into the chair and asked the dealer to change $200; it was only after looking around the table at the bug-eyed retirees and lost-looking Asian kids that I realized I must be seated at 2/4. Check: no stacks over a hundred. Check: grumpy, inexperienced dealer trainee. Yep, they put me at 2/4.
For some reason I didn’t get up right away; rather, I sat there and folded for a few orbits and then put in for a change. Then I got 3/images/graemlins/club.gif4/images/graemlins/club.gif in the SB, five limpers in, I complete, BB checks. Flop was 4/images/graemlins/spade.gif5/images/graemlins/spade.gif6/images/graemlins/club.gif. I bet and everyone called. Turn was a red deuce, I checked, BB bet and I check-raised the field. I’m Rick James, bitch! River was another 2, I bet, called in two places and MHIG. As if on cue, they called me for 4/8 and I racked ‘em up and split like Enron stock during a West Coast heat wave.
4/8 was no tougher than 2/4, and I found the game texture preferable in many ways. There were a few semi-solid players at my table most of the time, mixed with four to six tourists and fishy types. At the time I sat down I was the only tight player at the table and it was pretty passive on all streets. Got tougher as the day wore on but the fish-to-shark ratio stayed good enough that the game was nice all day.
I got up soon after to take a leak which I swear was a full minute. I drank a liter and a half of water in the car to kill my hangover so I guess it made sense. On my way to the bathroom I remembered the recent poop post in the News and Views forum and briefly considered stink-palming a few yellows to toss at the first person to whine about river rats. /images/graemlins/grin.gif Decided to spare the competition for the time being, however.
No hands of note for a while as I was just treading water, up or down no more than 7BB or so for the first 2 hours. The fun started when a loud, middle-aged guy in a golf-shirt sat down; seemed semi-regular but it turned out I was giving him way too much credit. He was seated to my immediate left; I was in the 3 seat at the time. After two hands in which I was clearly the aggressor the whole way, the guy to my immediate right busts out and leaves. Golf Guy decides he wants to move to the 2 seat (which I think is a crap seat) and sit to my right. I decided I didn’t need to worry about him.
A little later we played the following hand: I get 22 on the button, three limpers, Golf Guy limps, I limp, SB completes, BB knocks the table. Flop was 652 with two diamonds. Checked to me and I bet, all call. Turn was the 8 of diamonds. Check, limper bets, fishy calls, Golf Guy calls and I raise. He says, “What, you made the flush? It’s early to have a flush.” I told him it was best to make them as early as possible. Everyone calls, he calls and says, “I’ve got the flush too,” and as they’re dealing the river he flashes me the A of diamonds and says, “We’ll see if yours is bigger than mine.”
River was a blank, checked to me, I bet, all fold to Golf Guy and he mucks his AQo. /images/graemlins/grin.gif
I noticed there were a lot of players like this, engaging in table talk and commenting on plays, trying to do silly things. More of the loud type who have played a few thousand hands but are still crap. I didn’t mind as they were mostly giving away information on how badly they played and the fish didn’t seem to mind. They had the good sense to avoid berating the tourists, and some of the tourists actually seemed to be enjoying hearing some ‘real players talk.’ I stayed out of it until the following hand:
We are 6-handed for a moment as someone is away, a couple have just gotten up, etc. Two players post, one of them UTG and the other next to him. One fold, a fairly decent older guy to my right limps, I limp with 78 suited, fishy button calls, blinds check. Flop is 99T, one of my suit. SB bets, all call and I raise. Button calls two cold and all call. Turn is J, not my suit. Checked to old guy who bets, I raise, all fold and he 3-bets me. With the board so coordinated I think a full house is possible so I just call and check-behind when he tries to check-raise me on the river with J9. He asks me what I thought he had, so I tell him I don’t put him on the higher straight because he would have raised pre-flop (this was sort of a quiet side conversation). So it was 50/50 with either a naked nine or the boat. He shakes his head and tells me KQ is definitely not a raising hand. I say, even six-handed when nobody has entered the pot voluntarily? He says absolutely not, racks up his chips and leaves after playing only 1 or 2 orbits. He was up around $100 so I guess it wasn’t a bad idea.
At that point I was stuck 3 or 4 BB but hit a good run of cards that left me well ahead for the day. Coincidentally this is when some other decent players started getting seated at our table, but they generally stayed out of my way as I had a pretty tight image. The first big hand I picked up was AKo in middle position. It was raised UTG+1 by a decent kid who was still a bit weak and a hair loose. He was still tougher than a lot of the table but was easily subdued; fishy player calls, I three bet, guy to my left calls, two folds, SB calls, BB folds, UTG folds, kid calls, fishy calls. The guy on my immediate left and the SB were cold-calling machines, just brilliant players to have on your left in this type of game. Flop was QTx with two diamonds; kid bets, fish calls, I raise, folded to the kid who 3-bets, we both call. Turn was a rag, kid bet, we both called. River was the J/images/graemlins/heart.gif, kid bet, fish called, I popped it and he started shaking his head and looking at me all weird. I think he was unprepared for any sort of confrontation and was one of those people who starts smiling and laughing when it happens. He was obviously trying to decide if his top pair was good, so I said, “Queen no good! Numbah ten rivah!” and he called, fishy called, I dragged a big pot.
There was another golf guy there later who started talking to Golf Guy #1, and pretty much anyone else who would listen. Turned out to be a total ass, and definitely made me wish I had followed through on that stinky chip surprise. Early on he berated somebody for 3-betting 45s from the blinds, and said, “Suited doesn’t matter!” Later on he dragged a big pot when he made 2 pair with 94s. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif. He also had this habit of demanding to see all the hands that went to showdown, which ticked me off along with everyone else. The bad players didn’t even understand it and I think they got irritated. What was he hoping to do, get insight into the play of a guy who calls one bet with any two and then calls to the river with any piece of the board? After one hand in which he was away from the table, he came back on the river for a 4-way showdown and demanded to see all the hands. I said, “What, you think these guys are dumping yellow chips to each other?” and he gave me a dirty look but didn’t ask to see anymore hands.
I actually found myself babysitting a lot of lost tourists at the table, commiserating when they consistently had their junk aces outkicked, explaining things like missed blinds for them, etc. This was funny because I was playing aggressively and, as you can see, making some silly comments, check-raising people, doing all the things that you would figure make people feel weird. I had the following hand come up against one such fish, a college kid driving from Boston to visit his parents:
I get AJo in the SB, two fishy limpers call, I raise, college boy calls from the BB, fish call. Flop is J high, two-tone. I bet, all call. Turn is an ace, I move as if to keep betting my top pair, notice the overcard and check. Kid bets, both call, I raise. This was a silly move that would only work on a meek, lost college kid who I know plays any ace. Furthermore it would probably just make the kid feel dumb. On top of this, he might well have raised me even if I bet out. So I felt a little silly after doing it. He sighs, says, “I think you have me beat, but I’ll call.” River is a blank, I bet and he calls me down. I gently announce, “Top two,” and he shows me his junk ace and says something nice about my play. He ended up buying back in and letting me sympathize with him for another few orbits while he bled away all his chips the same way, so I didn’t feel so bad about the Sklansky bucks I lost for making a bad player feel dumb.
I never got a pocket pair bigger than nines the whole time I was there; I did, however, get two more big aces in that same orbit and drag nice pots with them. This left me +16 BB for the day and feeling quite nice when Saul came by to get me off the table and go home. Saul was up 4 or 5 BB at 2/4 and was pretty happy just to have played solid and conserved his loot during the bad run of cards he got for a few hours.
All in all I had a good time and felt much more comfortable at the tables than last time. We kept the session short (just over 5 hours), as we had decided to do after our previous trip, and having a few semi-solid players at the table made it easier to define the hands and limit the pot to a few players when I wanted to, while still allowing for multi-way action as well. In short, conditions were optimal and the cards were kind. We’ll probably be making semi-regular weekend trips for the rest of the summer, so all you folks keep your eyes open and say hello some time.
BTW, seems a few of you were around this weekend; hope you had a good time and good cards.
Cheers, thanks for reading.
NT