CardSharpCook
06-07-2005, 04:55 PM
I wrote this up for non-2+2 friends, and they enjoyed it, so I thought I'd post it here as well. It has been edited for a more poker-savvy crowd.
Day 2, $1500 Pot Limit Hold'em. 1150 entries. I sit down and look to my right to see a middle-aged woman in the seat next to mine. Another player casually asked how she finished in the $25K Bellagio tournament. I think this odd. She gets up for a second, and I peer at her entry tickect and see the name Kathy Liebert. This is an honor and a thrill for me, and it turned out to be a lot of fun as well.
First hand starts with me UTG with Ace-Ten suited (ATs). I promptly triple the blinds as it is good luck to win the first pot, and this seems a likely hand to do so. Folded to the button who pots my bet. Well, there goes my luck... I fold. My table has four identifiably European players, which is not unusual for Pot-limit events,I hear. A very pleasant and chatty table, all of whom have many more years experience than I do and are clearly at ease here. This is in sharp contrast to the very silent first hour yesterday. Kathy, the gentleman to her right, and I develop a three-way conversation that continues until the table is broken. Kathy has been tight PF, but pots the blinds MP3. A geeky 21-year old with braces re-pots. Kathy thinks for a while, and then looks at the kid smiles and chuckles. The kid stares back menacingly. She looks up again, and smiles and chuckles again. The entire table breaks out laughing at this and Kathy says, "well he keeps staring at me!" She mucks and the kid shows AA.
At one point, Kathy is in a pot with seat 6, a odd character; bald, small man with lots of gold jelewery and diamonds, who looks very bookish and is european. A two spade board of 4567 makes for some interesting action. Baldy bets, and Kathy raises, Baldy calls. A 2 of clubs on the river changes nothing. Baldy checks, Kathy bets a sizeable amount, and Baldy again calls. Baldy shows 78 for an 8-high straight, Kathy shows 89 for a 9-high straight (the nuts). The geeky 21-year old tells Kathy, "I knew you had the 89 when you raised on the turn." To which Kathy sarcastically replies, "yep, you got me figured out. I only raise with the nuts." Kathy is a very quiet, gentle person so I find this absolutely hilarious. She keeps at it too. Later when raising she looks over and says to our friend, "better fold, I only play the nuts". Truthfully, I was laughing hysterically at this, though I know this is lost in the retelling.
An Irish player gets into a big pot with Kathy when he calls her raise Pre-Flop (PF). The flop comes Ace-high, Ireland checks, and Kathy puts in a standard bet. Ireland raises a sizeable amount, Kathy thinks for a good 30 seconds, and then folds. Ireland then flips over 96s, good for.... nothing at all. Instantly, Kathy has a new enemy. Almost as funny as her interaction with our 21-year old friend, Kathy becomes determined to get back at Ireland. The little vicious comments this sweet mousy woman would make about Ireland were absolutely hysterical.
Anyway, back to the poker. I am getting NO hands. I find 55 for a 4 way 600 chip pot (we start with 1500 chips) and a board of 456, 2 spades has my regretfully happy... The regret being that I couldn't let someone else bet my hand (because what if they didn't...) because a spade, 2,3,7, or 8 are all bad cards, not to mention the unknown other bad cards... I couldn't let anyone see free cards here. So I lead out, hoping for a call (or better yet, a raise) and am rewarded with 3 folds. Woo-hoo. Only other hand I remember playing was a terrible mistake of a hand J5o. I decide that I'm bored, and that I can convince any of these tight players to fold, so I raise. This was the first hand I elected to play in about 20-30 hands. Yes, J5o. Naturally, someone calls. I bet the flop and am forced to fold to a raise. Patience...is a virtue.
Waiting, waiting, waiting. My god, I have never been so card dead. We are at 25/50 blinds and I am actually getting blinded to death. This continues for 2 hours, until the table breaks. I play no hands at this next table and...8 hands later, this table breaks. I move to a table that is about to break. Fun, Fun, Fun. I get two hands at this table though. The first is 68diamonds in Late position. Remember, having had no hands for over two hours, my 1300 chips is very short (compared to others). I raise the 75/150 blinds to 500. I am rewarded with a call (uh-oh). KJ3 (2 diamonds) leaves me feeling very sick. The caller checks, and I do the only thing I can, I bet All-in. I know he HAS to have something here (for a fact, he HAS to be beating me)... but he folds. Later at the same table I find 77 in the BB. It is raised. The SB takes forever to decide what to do, he is counting his chips for about 2 minutes... and then I examine his hands and realize that he has no cards.... Yes, the entire table has been waiting for ME!!! Embarrased, I call. This is a hit or miss hand - if I don't hit a seven, I am gone. I hit a seven. I check-raise him, putting myself all-in. I figure he has to call given how few chips I have and how big the pot is... but he folds. At this point, I have out-lasted 2/3rds of the field, but I have only 3000 chips when the average is 4500.
My next table brings little action. In fact, (the following morning) I remember no hands from this, my fifth table. I am moved to my sixth table after an hour with the same number of chips, but proportionally less. About 300 players left, Chip avg. around 5500. This new table has some interesting characters. There is one funny looking man who is thin as a rail, wears glasses thicker than my father's and takes about 15 secs to make every decision (I'll call him Thinker). The man to my left is a very personable guy who apparently plays many of these tournies and takes to calling me, "New Orleans". A very nice guy, he ended up finishing 40th, Al Adler. Across the way, a gentleman has a reputation for getting and (amazingly) winning with pocket jacks. He had them 7 times during this tourney, 4 times as I was at the table. They lost only once, and were involved in huge pots 6 times. 5-time bracelet winner, Tony Ma sits down at one point. He is a very quiet Asian gentleman who I would never expect to be as good as he apparently is. High-rated internet player, Poker_Ho, sits down later and makes some high variance plays (some to my benefit). An absolute prick of a 23-year old sits down next to me, and proceeds to iratate nearly everyone at the table. I'll call him "the Prick", as he is in some hands I'll discuss.
To the hands.... While I am short-stacked in the tourney, I am SEVERLY short-stacked at this table. This table must have had more chips on it than any other. Blinds are at 100/200. I pick up 89 of diamonds in late position. Two players limp, so I limp as well. Flop comes A63 (two spades). No one seems interested in the hand as it is checked to me. Naturally, I throw 500 chips in to try to take it down. Thinker thinks for about a minute and then calls. A non-spade J falls on the turn, changing little. At this point, I have Thinker on a flush draw, or possibly a 6. He checks and I throw 1000 chips in the pot (nearly half my remaining stack). This time Thinker's at it for two minutes, and during the course of this thinking, I put him squarely on a 6 and decide that he won't fold. I am done with this hand. I might have bluffed the river, but after all this thinking, I firmly believe he has a pair that doesn't beat aces, but certainly beats me. On the other hand, I love the size of my bluff. It encourages him to call at poor odds if he is on a flush draw, setting up a take-down on the river, but also represents an ace trying to price in a lower pair. Sadly, it didn't seem to be working... I am very sick at this point, knowing that I am now down to 1400 chips after I muck the river. And then he folds.
I love this next hand. I get AKo in early position, but the first player to act bets the pot, raising it to 700. I think for a minute, I now have about 4500 chips, so taking down 1000 (700 plus the blinds) would be very nice, but if I bet pot here and he calls with a pocket pair, I am in trouble. I have position so I decide to call, reasoning that he HAS to lead into me if an ace or king falls, but I can muck on a poor board. I think this decision may meet some disapproval from the Zoo, so what do you think? All other fold. Flop comes an interesting QQ9 (no flush draw possible). He bets out, 1200 (I'll have 2600 left if I call). I think for a minute, and then decide to put on a bluff. My plan is to call here, and if he checks the turn, I'll move in. It is a good bluff, because on the flop it says, "I'm not scared of you seeing more cards, but on the turn, a 2600 chip bet isn't excessive, but is enough that he can't call out of curiousity." A ten falls on the turn, pleasantly/possibly giving me another 4 outs. He checks, I push, he folds. Awesome. I am up to about 6300 chips.
A few hands later, I get AKo again. This time, the player directly to my right bets pot (700). This time, I choose to bet pot back at him (700+1700), putting him into a tough decision (he has about 5800 chips). He thinks for a while, and gives up (basically) and pushes his remaining chips into the pot. I call. He has TT, and an Ace falls on the turn. That's nice. New high-water mark at 12800 chips.
This is getting rather long.... I make several questionable plays in the next few hours (raising with hands like 33,66 way out of position). My stack is slowly decreasing, but goes up at times too. I double up Al Adler when I pot from the CO with A5o. His ATo holds up. (I knew he had me beat, but I was in for like 1000, he is AI for 2500). This is when the Prick sits down. Over the next hour and a half this poor bastard takes some bad beats. He gets all-in PF with Thinker. Prick has AKs, Thinker, AQo. The board comes KQJT3 for a split pot. I get into a pot with him with AJo vs. AQo (I liked this play. He pots from the CO. He is a very agro player. I repot on the button, he pushes my last two chips in.) The board comes 66335 for a split pot. No one likes him.
I make an extended bluff which costs me 2/3rds of my chips when my 33 is called down by KT (king on board). Dissappointing. I am down to 3400 chips as the blinds pass, and feeling desperate as the blinds are now up to 300/600. The Prick open raises to 2000. I have KQs. Normally, I fold this, but feeling desperate, and knowing that the Prick is also one of the more aggressive players, I decide to push, knowing he won't fold, and that he is likely ahead of me. It is worse than I thought. He has AKo. The board falls 4455, and I am praying for another 4 or a 5 to fall for yet another split pot.. but.... a queen comes on the river. I double up. The prick is steaming at this point, and gives his stack to Thinker out of frustration (66 to trip nines on a board full of overs. Prick bluffs off his entire stack). We are all pleased he is gone from the table.
After this, I just can't steal a blind. I try twice and twice I am re-raised and twice I must fold. I am down to 4100 chips, and move to my seventh and, sadly, final table. Absolutely desperate with 4100 chips and blinds of 400/800, I am also 20 players away from getting pair. 120 players are left, 100 get paid. I will be patient. Well, patience lasts until I get A8s on the button and pot. The BB pushes, I call, he has A4s and a bunch of over cards results in a split pot. Two hands later I get JTs. Again, I raise this, and again, the BB pushes me in. He has ATo. Flop comes 789 (all hearts). I flopped a straight, he has the ace of hearts. A six of hearts on the turn gives him the flush, but gives me two outs to a split pot. Neither card comes. I go home finishing 117. Dissapointing, but after all the luck it took to get there, I can't complain.
http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/photos.aspx This is a link to ACTION photos of me. 6/4, Main Event. Check galleries 66 and 8. I am Column 1, Row 3 in 66. I am Column 3, row 4 in 8. Kathy Liebert is left of me on the gallery 8 page, Baldy is to the right, and Geeky Kid is to his right (next row).
CSC
Day 2, $1500 Pot Limit Hold'em. 1150 entries. I sit down and look to my right to see a middle-aged woman in the seat next to mine. Another player casually asked how she finished in the $25K Bellagio tournament. I think this odd. She gets up for a second, and I peer at her entry tickect and see the name Kathy Liebert. This is an honor and a thrill for me, and it turned out to be a lot of fun as well.
First hand starts with me UTG with Ace-Ten suited (ATs). I promptly triple the blinds as it is good luck to win the first pot, and this seems a likely hand to do so. Folded to the button who pots my bet. Well, there goes my luck... I fold. My table has four identifiably European players, which is not unusual for Pot-limit events,I hear. A very pleasant and chatty table, all of whom have many more years experience than I do and are clearly at ease here. This is in sharp contrast to the very silent first hour yesterday. Kathy, the gentleman to her right, and I develop a three-way conversation that continues until the table is broken. Kathy has been tight PF, but pots the blinds MP3. A geeky 21-year old with braces re-pots. Kathy thinks for a while, and then looks at the kid smiles and chuckles. The kid stares back menacingly. She looks up again, and smiles and chuckles again. The entire table breaks out laughing at this and Kathy says, "well he keeps staring at me!" She mucks and the kid shows AA.
At one point, Kathy is in a pot with seat 6, a odd character; bald, small man with lots of gold jelewery and diamonds, who looks very bookish and is european. A two spade board of 4567 makes for some interesting action. Baldy bets, and Kathy raises, Baldy calls. A 2 of clubs on the river changes nothing. Baldy checks, Kathy bets a sizeable amount, and Baldy again calls. Baldy shows 78 for an 8-high straight, Kathy shows 89 for a 9-high straight (the nuts). The geeky 21-year old tells Kathy, "I knew you had the 89 when you raised on the turn." To which Kathy sarcastically replies, "yep, you got me figured out. I only raise with the nuts." Kathy is a very quiet, gentle person so I find this absolutely hilarious. She keeps at it too. Later when raising she looks over and says to our friend, "better fold, I only play the nuts". Truthfully, I was laughing hysterically at this, though I know this is lost in the retelling.
An Irish player gets into a big pot with Kathy when he calls her raise Pre-Flop (PF). The flop comes Ace-high, Ireland checks, and Kathy puts in a standard bet. Ireland raises a sizeable amount, Kathy thinks for a good 30 seconds, and then folds. Ireland then flips over 96s, good for.... nothing at all. Instantly, Kathy has a new enemy. Almost as funny as her interaction with our 21-year old friend, Kathy becomes determined to get back at Ireland. The little vicious comments this sweet mousy woman would make about Ireland were absolutely hysterical.
Anyway, back to the poker. I am getting NO hands. I find 55 for a 4 way 600 chip pot (we start with 1500 chips) and a board of 456, 2 spades has my regretfully happy... The regret being that I couldn't let someone else bet my hand (because what if they didn't...) because a spade, 2,3,7, or 8 are all bad cards, not to mention the unknown other bad cards... I couldn't let anyone see free cards here. So I lead out, hoping for a call (or better yet, a raise) and am rewarded with 3 folds. Woo-hoo. Only other hand I remember playing was a terrible mistake of a hand J5o. I decide that I'm bored, and that I can convince any of these tight players to fold, so I raise. This was the first hand I elected to play in about 20-30 hands. Yes, J5o. Naturally, someone calls. I bet the flop and am forced to fold to a raise. Patience...is a virtue.
Waiting, waiting, waiting. My god, I have never been so card dead. We are at 25/50 blinds and I am actually getting blinded to death. This continues for 2 hours, until the table breaks. I play no hands at this next table and...8 hands later, this table breaks. I move to a table that is about to break. Fun, Fun, Fun. I get two hands at this table though. The first is 68diamonds in Late position. Remember, having had no hands for over two hours, my 1300 chips is very short (compared to others). I raise the 75/150 blinds to 500. I am rewarded with a call (uh-oh). KJ3 (2 diamonds) leaves me feeling very sick. The caller checks, and I do the only thing I can, I bet All-in. I know he HAS to have something here (for a fact, he HAS to be beating me)... but he folds. Later at the same table I find 77 in the BB. It is raised. The SB takes forever to decide what to do, he is counting his chips for about 2 minutes... and then I examine his hands and realize that he has no cards.... Yes, the entire table has been waiting for ME!!! Embarrased, I call. This is a hit or miss hand - if I don't hit a seven, I am gone. I hit a seven. I check-raise him, putting myself all-in. I figure he has to call given how few chips I have and how big the pot is... but he folds. At this point, I have out-lasted 2/3rds of the field, but I have only 3000 chips when the average is 4500.
My next table brings little action. In fact, (the following morning) I remember no hands from this, my fifth table. I am moved to my sixth table after an hour with the same number of chips, but proportionally less. About 300 players left, Chip avg. around 5500. This new table has some interesting characters. There is one funny looking man who is thin as a rail, wears glasses thicker than my father's and takes about 15 secs to make every decision (I'll call him Thinker). The man to my left is a very personable guy who apparently plays many of these tournies and takes to calling me, "New Orleans". A very nice guy, he ended up finishing 40th, Al Adler. Across the way, a gentleman has a reputation for getting and (amazingly) winning with pocket jacks. He had them 7 times during this tourney, 4 times as I was at the table. They lost only once, and were involved in huge pots 6 times. 5-time bracelet winner, Tony Ma sits down at one point. He is a very quiet Asian gentleman who I would never expect to be as good as he apparently is. High-rated internet player, Poker_Ho, sits down later and makes some high variance plays (some to my benefit). An absolute prick of a 23-year old sits down next to me, and proceeds to iratate nearly everyone at the table. I'll call him "the Prick", as he is in some hands I'll discuss.
To the hands.... While I am short-stacked in the tourney, I am SEVERLY short-stacked at this table. This table must have had more chips on it than any other. Blinds are at 100/200. I pick up 89 of diamonds in late position. Two players limp, so I limp as well. Flop comes A63 (two spades). No one seems interested in the hand as it is checked to me. Naturally, I throw 500 chips in to try to take it down. Thinker thinks for about a minute and then calls. A non-spade J falls on the turn, changing little. At this point, I have Thinker on a flush draw, or possibly a 6. He checks and I throw 1000 chips in the pot (nearly half my remaining stack). This time Thinker's at it for two minutes, and during the course of this thinking, I put him squarely on a 6 and decide that he won't fold. I am done with this hand. I might have bluffed the river, but after all this thinking, I firmly believe he has a pair that doesn't beat aces, but certainly beats me. On the other hand, I love the size of my bluff. It encourages him to call at poor odds if he is on a flush draw, setting up a take-down on the river, but also represents an ace trying to price in a lower pair. Sadly, it didn't seem to be working... I am very sick at this point, knowing that I am now down to 1400 chips after I muck the river. And then he folds.
I love this next hand. I get AKo in early position, but the first player to act bets the pot, raising it to 700. I think for a minute, I now have about 4500 chips, so taking down 1000 (700 plus the blinds) would be very nice, but if I bet pot here and he calls with a pocket pair, I am in trouble. I have position so I decide to call, reasoning that he HAS to lead into me if an ace or king falls, but I can muck on a poor board. I think this decision may meet some disapproval from the Zoo, so what do you think? All other fold. Flop comes an interesting QQ9 (no flush draw possible). He bets out, 1200 (I'll have 2600 left if I call). I think for a minute, and then decide to put on a bluff. My plan is to call here, and if he checks the turn, I'll move in. It is a good bluff, because on the flop it says, "I'm not scared of you seeing more cards, but on the turn, a 2600 chip bet isn't excessive, but is enough that he can't call out of curiousity." A ten falls on the turn, pleasantly/possibly giving me another 4 outs. He checks, I push, he folds. Awesome. I am up to about 6300 chips.
A few hands later, I get AKo again. This time, the player directly to my right bets pot (700). This time, I choose to bet pot back at him (700+1700), putting him into a tough decision (he has about 5800 chips). He thinks for a while, and gives up (basically) and pushes his remaining chips into the pot. I call. He has TT, and an Ace falls on the turn. That's nice. New high-water mark at 12800 chips.
This is getting rather long.... I make several questionable plays in the next few hours (raising with hands like 33,66 way out of position). My stack is slowly decreasing, but goes up at times too. I double up Al Adler when I pot from the CO with A5o. His ATo holds up. (I knew he had me beat, but I was in for like 1000, he is AI for 2500). This is when the Prick sits down. Over the next hour and a half this poor bastard takes some bad beats. He gets all-in PF with Thinker. Prick has AKs, Thinker, AQo. The board comes KQJT3 for a split pot. I get into a pot with him with AJo vs. AQo (I liked this play. He pots from the CO. He is a very agro player. I repot on the button, he pushes my last two chips in.) The board comes 66335 for a split pot. No one likes him.
I make an extended bluff which costs me 2/3rds of my chips when my 33 is called down by KT (king on board). Dissappointing. I am down to 3400 chips as the blinds pass, and feeling desperate as the blinds are now up to 300/600. The Prick open raises to 2000. I have KQs. Normally, I fold this, but feeling desperate, and knowing that the Prick is also one of the more aggressive players, I decide to push, knowing he won't fold, and that he is likely ahead of me. It is worse than I thought. He has AKo. The board falls 4455, and I am praying for another 4 or a 5 to fall for yet another split pot.. but.... a queen comes on the river. I double up. The prick is steaming at this point, and gives his stack to Thinker out of frustration (66 to trip nines on a board full of overs. Prick bluffs off his entire stack). We are all pleased he is gone from the table.
After this, I just can't steal a blind. I try twice and twice I am re-raised and twice I must fold. I am down to 4100 chips, and move to my seventh and, sadly, final table. Absolutely desperate with 4100 chips and blinds of 400/800, I am also 20 players away from getting pair. 120 players are left, 100 get paid. I will be patient. Well, patience lasts until I get A8s on the button and pot. The BB pushes, I call, he has A4s and a bunch of over cards results in a split pot. Two hands later I get JTs. Again, I raise this, and again, the BB pushes me in. He has ATo. Flop comes 789 (all hearts). I flopped a straight, he has the ace of hearts. A six of hearts on the turn gives him the flush, but gives me two outs to a split pot. Neither card comes. I go home finishing 117. Dissapointing, but after all the luck it took to get there, I can't complain.
http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/photos.aspx This is a link to ACTION photos of me. 6/4, Main Event. Check galleries 66 and 8. I am Column 1, Row 3 in 66. I am Column 3, row 4 in 8. Kathy Liebert is left of me on the gallery 8 page, Baldy is to the right, and Geeky Kid is to his right (next row).
CSC