FeliciaLee
06-13-2003, 06:08 PM
Well, this may be my last tournament report for a while. I'm not sure when we'll head back to Atlantic City. It could be next week, or it could be never. I love AC. I love the Tropicana. I love the others players, the people who work there and the dealers, for the most part. I hate to think that I may never get to return, but health demands a change in my life, which may take me away from the East coast forever.
Glenn and I arrived at the Trop at 11:00am, Monday, June 9, 2003. We immediately signed up for the 12:15pm Stud tourney ($30+10). Some of the local tourney pros were already sitting around. Not a good sign, eh? Since they have showed me so much friendliness over the past six weeks, I decided to be very extroverted (when aren't I???) and sit down with them. Just a smile seems to engage the locals in AC. They are very friendly and always eager to chat. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif
Since it was so late, I decided to forego any ring games and just psych myself up for the tourney. I think that we made a big mistake, waking up at 6:00am and heading out after only getting about four hours of sleep. We are not early birds, and playing while grumpy and sleepy is never a good thing.
When I got my table assignment, I grumbled to myself seeing Table I, Seat I on my receipt. Ugh. I could never expect to move. Things only got worse when I started near the table. Everyone else was already seated and as I got nearer, I could see I was in for an uphill battle. Every step was like walking to the gallows, the nearer I got, the worse my table. Pros everywhere. Very solid players. By the time I was five feet away, my footsteps were pounding in my head like a chant: Tough Table, Tough Table, Pros, Pros, Pros!" I groaned when I sat down and said very loudly, "I have no chance here with you guys! I'm dead!" Everyone laughed, and seat 2 (Mark), who is a wonderful guy I've played with many times before (he was featured in the first report as the guy to my left in the 5 seat who kept cheering me on and calling me a cat), said, "You know, I was thinking the same thing when YOU sat down!" /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif We all got a good laugh out of it. No one was really happy, but we had such great camaraderie that we made the best of a bad situation. Here was the lineup:
I was in seat one. Mark, a middle aged retired guy who lives next door to the Trop and has been playing tournaments every day for seven years, was in seat two. A decent player who had some experience but no ability to read was in seat three. Seat four was the only break we got. He was a middle-aged Asian guy who played every hand and had absolutely no clue. Seat five was the same middle-aged guy who complimented me so much in the last tourney report (the one who said I have "It" and that I'm going to be a tourney star, etc.). Seat six was a solid, experienced player. Ditto seat seven, although I felt he played too many hands and took them too far. Seat eight was a solid, experienced player as well. He was a talker, although he didn't really work it to his advantage, he just liked to talk!
The trouble began at once, as the first hand was capped off before fourth! The lucky Asian in seat four made quads, and built a monster stack in front of him. The only players who didn't know about his quads were the less experienced ones; hence he didn't break any good players (rats!). /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif
In the first level of the tournament (15 minutes), I was dealt the following five pairs (both split and pocket): fives (folded to the cap in the first hand), nines (won on 4th), nines (folded to running jacks) and sixes (folded to a raise by a jack doorcard). Wow! We don't get dealt many more than five hands at each 15-minute level!
On the second level, I got dealt jacks in the pocket with a nine doorcard. I had to fold when it was 3-bet on fourth before it even got to me. Mistake? Maybe. I'm still undecided about that one. Maybe one or both of my jacks were dead on fourth, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember right now.
Still on level II, I raised with aces, king doorcard. The Asian stayed with me. I bet it the whole way, but had to fold when he came alive and raised me on sixth with a 3-flush showing and two queens. /forums/images/icons/mad.gif
I was also dealt split fives with a deuce kicker (lol), but folded due to a dead five and being in early position with a lot of paint behind me.
By the third level, I was still doing okay. Of course the Asian, who had most of the money on the table, managed to bust out first. After that, we rarely got to showdown.
I was the bring-in with an ace high three flush. It was folded to the five seat, the tourney pro who complimented me so much. I call him Taxi, because that is what he does when he isn't playing poker. Anyway, he raised to steal. I am getting to know him too well, lol, because I called the raise. He checked it the rest of the way down and although I never helped my flush, on the river I did manage to make a pair of tens and took it down. He later told me that he thought he had me on that hand, but I never give anything away, so it was so hard for him to tell. Another compliment? I hope so.
An older gentleman took the place of the Asian in the four seat. The first hand he played was when I had 8's in the pocket with a seven straight-flush kicker doorcard. He went all-in on an inside straight draw that never got there (what are these people thinking???). /forums/images/icons/confused.gif
After that hand, I got nothing for a long time. I was ground down heavily, between the antes, and being the frequent bring-in. Our hands went so quickly, due to the good players. We only occasionally saw fourth, and rarely went to showdown unless someone was all-in. Our table fell apart so quickly, one after another were slain. The pros and I were the only ones who were still standing, and I was barely standing at that. Boom, boom, boom, they fell. Since we were table I, we were bound to keep getting filled. But they could never fill us rapidly enough, so most of the time we were playing four or five-handed. I saw my stack going down the tubes. Not even a three-flush, three-straight or three high card hand came my way, much less a pair. Then we got back to a full table and it was the final hand before the break. I was dealt split fives, completely live, with a live ten, two-flush kicker. I went all-in. Taxi and the bring-in stayed with me. The bring-in was a green kid in the four seat, which had been vacated yet again. Taxi dropped on fifth when the kid made running nines. We turned up our cards. The kid had nothing but the nines! He bet into a dry pot with his hand exposed, as a bluff. I got trip fives, but the kid caught a nine on the river and IGHN.
22:56 Top eight paid. Taxi won first, an 80-something woman won second (YEAH!!!), another solid player whom I know, snagged third and Sonny, the tourney pro who knocked me out at eighth in my first Stud report, got fourth. From what I was told, the entire final table was as tough as can be imagined for the Trop.
Big mistake going on a Monday for the Stud tourney. Not only is there no rebuy (for $30+10 you just get 400 chips, with fast levels and a fast structure), but the Monday tourney brings out the toughest competition. Not just that, but I was dog tired and felt like hell. We immediately checked into our room and I proceeded to sleep for several hours.
I went to check out the final table. Taxi pulled me to the side in between hands and told me what a great job I did, considering the line-up. I thanked him, then he asked me if I wanted advice. I nodded positively. He said that with that particular line-up, I needed to be a LOT more aggressive. I thanked him and told him I knew that was true. I know that is one of my weaknesses, plus I told him that I was sick and tired, having just driven for four hours to get there, after only four hours of sleep, and suffering from some complications of diabetes. He understood and just reiterated that if I got into that situation again, I needed to be very, very aggressive. Thanks, Taxi /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
The next day was Tuesday. We played ring all day and I got slaughtered. I was sick and it affected my play. Not only that, but in my confused state of mind, I played the 5/10 Stud again and proceeded to not only get outplayed, but get played through, since I was getting run down so often, and the players were mostly pretty good. What a dummy, just when I thought I had hurdled the table selection pitfall. /forums/images/icons/frown.gif
At 7:15pm, there were still 25 people in line for the Stud tourney. Before the last of the 25 could finish buying in, they announced that the tourney was sold out at 112.
I drew table XI. I looked over at table IX and thanked God for my table, because table IX was the toughest lineup I'd seen besides the table I'd been on the day before. My own table was filled with mostly young guys! An older regular was in the six seat, to my right, but he "never" does rebuys, he hates them, hence he never finishes in the money. I was in the seven seat, which is great for a player like me. Most of the players simply had no clue. It was either their first tournament, their first time playing poker, or both, lol. What an awesome table. Here were some of the key hands and their outcomes:
I had a live, high three-flush which I limped in for 5 chips in late position. Fourth was no help, and I had to fold to two bets before it even got to me.
On the second level, I raised with ATA and won the pot uncontested.
On the third level, I raised with 99Q and got outdrawn on the board.
On the fourth level, I reraised an all-in raise with AA3 and isolated. He never improved and was out. A very nice guy who played a decent tourney, but got outdrawn quite a bit.
I raised with Q3Q and took the pot.
Then my table got broken and I spent one or two hands at another table which got broken. I drew table III, seat 8. This table was mostly filled with people who had absolutely no clue and had that deer caught in the headlights look. On the first hand I witnessed, a 50-something lady misread her hand and spent a fortune betting a straight that she didn't even have. She was the shortest stack after that.
The antes went up and suddenly I was getting short. I kept getting the bring-in with nothing and had to fold, fold, fold. Finally I knew I had to make a move if I wanted to get into the money, so I raised with T4T. Only one player stayed with me and I managed to make aces up to his aces only (which he didn't have when he stayed with me).
I was back in the tourney with a little over 1000 chips when I was dealt QQK. A stealer with a 3 doorcard raised before it even got to me. I reraised, trying to either isolate or get him to fold a losing hand. He had this tendency to go for the steal almost every other hand. He called my reraise and we were head's up. I bet out on fourth and he went all-in. We flipped over our cards, and sure enough, he had nothing, but managed to get kings by the river and outdrew me. Now I was short stacked once again. /forums/images/icons/ooo.gif
When only one person had entered the pot, I went all-in with A68, live ace, live two-flush. I immediately got another six, but someone else made aces and IGHN.
39:112, my stats are falling!!!
I attribute my sucky play to being sick and tired. Sick, sick, sick, blah. Diabetes is ruining my life. Which is why I said in the beginning of the post that this might be my last tourney report for a while. I think we are going to have to head back out to the desert. Complications from the diabetes are bringing on other diseases which necessitate a move back into a warm, dry climate.
When we came back from Nevada in late March, I thought I would be fine during the warm months in the DC area. Little did I know that spring was not going to come, and it was going to stay rainy and cold into June. The rain still hasn't let up, and my body is shutting down. So I think we are going to have to pack back up and go out to the desert. We have been looking at some houses online outside of Phoenix, in the Globe area. There are tons of casinos, and it is easy to make money playing low limits in Arizona.
So this is where I am at right now. Kind of in limbo, but willing to jump into something brand new, as always.
I wish this report could have been a little more exciting, but this is all I can muster up for now. Please enjoy it!
Glenn and I arrived at the Trop at 11:00am, Monday, June 9, 2003. We immediately signed up for the 12:15pm Stud tourney ($30+10). Some of the local tourney pros were already sitting around. Not a good sign, eh? Since they have showed me so much friendliness over the past six weeks, I decided to be very extroverted (when aren't I???) and sit down with them. Just a smile seems to engage the locals in AC. They are very friendly and always eager to chat. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif
Since it was so late, I decided to forego any ring games and just psych myself up for the tourney. I think that we made a big mistake, waking up at 6:00am and heading out after only getting about four hours of sleep. We are not early birds, and playing while grumpy and sleepy is never a good thing.
When I got my table assignment, I grumbled to myself seeing Table I, Seat I on my receipt. Ugh. I could never expect to move. Things only got worse when I started near the table. Everyone else was already seated and as I got nearer, I could see I was in for an uphill battle. Every step was like walking to the gallows, the nearer I got, the worse my table. Pros everywhere. Very solid players. By the time I was five feet away, my footsteps were pounding in my head like a chant: Tough Table, Tough Table, Pros, Pros, Pros!" I groaned when I sat down and said very loudly, "I have no chance here with you guys! I'm dead!" Everyone laughed, and seat 2 (Mark), who is a wonderful guy I've played with many times before (he was featured in the first report as the guy to my left in the 5 seat who kept cheering me on and calling me a cat), said, "You know, I was thinking the same thing when YOU sat down!" /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif We all got a good laugh out of it. No one was really happy, but we had such great camaraderie that we made the best of a bad situation. Here was the lineup:
I was in seat one. Mark, a middle aged retired guy who lives next door to the Trop and has been playing tournaments every day for seven years, was in seat two. A decent player who had some experience but no ability to read was in seat three. Seat four was the only break we got. He was a middle-aged Asian guy who played every hand and had absolutely no clue. Seat five was the same middle-aged guy who complimented me so much in the last tourney report (the one who said I have "It" and that I'm going to be a tourney star, etc.). Seat six was a solid, experienced player. Ditto seat seven, although I felt he played too many hands and took them too far. Seat eight was a solid, experienced player as well. He was a talker, although he didn't really work it to his advantage, he just liked to talk!
The trouble began at once, as the first hand was capped off before fourth! The lucky Asian in seat four made quads, and built a monster stack in front of him. The only players who didn't know about his quads were the less experienced ones; hence he didn't break any good players (rats!). /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif
In the first level of the tournament (15 minutes), I was dealt the following five pairs (both split and pocket): fives (folded to the cap in the first hand), nines (won on 4th), nines (folded to running jacks) and sixes (folded to a raise by a jack doorcard). Wow! We don't get dealt many more than five hands at each 15-minute level!
On the second level, I got dealt jacks in the pocket with a nine doorcard. I had to fold when it was 3-bet on fourth before it even got to me. Mistake? Maybe. I'm still undecided about that one. Maybe one or both of my jacks were dead on fourth, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember right now.
Still on level II, I raised with aces, king doorcard. The Asian stayed with me. I bet it the whole way, but had to fold when he came alive and raised me on sixth with a 3-flush showing and two queens. /forums/images/icons/mad.gif
I was also dealt split fives with a deuce kicker (lol), but folded due to a dead five and being in early position with a lot of paint behind me.
By the third level, I was still doing okay. Of course the Asian, who had most of the money on the table, managed to bust out first. After that, we rarely got to showdown.
I was the bring-in with an ace high three flush. It was folded to the five seat, the tourney pro who complimented me so much. I call him Taxi, because that is what he does when he isn't playing poker. Anyway, he raised to steal. I am getting to know him too well, lol, because I called the raise. He checked it the rest of the way down and although I never helped my flush, on the river I did manage to make a pair of tens and took it down. He later told me that he thought he had me on that hand, but I never give anything away, so it was so hard for him to tell. Another compliment? I hope so.
An older gentleman took the place of the Asian in the four seat. The first hand he played was when I had 8's in the pocket with a seven straight-flush kicker doorcard. He went all-in on an inside straight draw that never got there (what are these people thinking???). /forums/images/icons/confused.gif
After that hand, I got nothing for a long time. I was ground down heavily, between the antes, and being the frequent bring-in. Our hands went so quickly, due to the good players. We only occasionally saw fourth, and rarely went to showdown unless someone was all-in. Our table fell apart so quickly, one after another were slain. The pros and I were the only ones who were still standing, and I was barely standing at that. Boom, boom, boom, they fell. Since we were table I, we were bound to keep getting filled. But they could never fill us rapidly enough, so most of the time we were playing four or five-handed. I saw my stack going down the tubes. Not even a three-flush, three-straight or three high card hand came my way, much less a pair. Then we got back to a full table and it was the final hand before the break. I was dealt split fives, completely live, with a live ten, two-flush kicker. I went all-in. Taxi and the bring-in stayed with me. The bring-in was a green kid in the four seat, which had been vacated yet again. Taxi dropped on fifth when the kid made running nines. We turned up our cards. The kid had nothing but the nines! He bet into a dry pot with his hand exposed, as a bluff. I got trip fives, but the kid caught a nine on the river and IGHN.
22:56 Top eight paid. Taxi won first, an 80-something woman won second (YEAH!!!), another solid player whom I know, snagged third and Sonny, the tourney pro who knocked me out at eighth in my first Stud report, got fourth. From what I was told, the entire final table was as tough as can be imagined for the Trop.
Big mistake going on a Monday for the Stud tourney. Not only is there no rebuy (for $30+10 you just get 400 chips, with fast levels and a fast structure), but the Monday tourney brings out the toughest competition. Not just that, but I was dog tired and felt like hell. We immediately checked into our room and I proceeded to sleep for several hours.
I went to check out the final table. Taxi pulled me to the side in between hands and told me what a great job I did, considering the line-up. I thanked him, then he asked me if I wanted advice. I nodded positively. He said that with that particular line-up, I needed to be a LOT more aggressive. I thanked him and told him I knew that was true. I know that is one of my weaknesses, plus I told him that I was sick and tired, having just driven for four hours to get there, after only four hours of sleep, and suffering from some complications of diabetes. He understood and just reiterated that if I got into that situation again, I needed to be very, very aggressive. Thanks, Taxi /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
The next day was Tuesday. We played ring all day and I got slaughtered. I was sick and it affected my play. Not only that, but in my confused state of mind, I played the 5/10 Stud again and proceeded to not only get outplayed, but get played through, since I was getting run down so often, and the players were mostly pretty good. What a dummy, just when I thought I had hurdled the table selection pitfall. /forums/images/icons/frown.gif
At 7:15pm, there were still 25 people in line for the Stud tourney. Before the last of the 25 could finish buying in, they announced that the tourney was sold out at 112.
I drew table XI. I looked over at table IX and thanked God for my table, because table IX was the toughest lineup I'd seen besides the table I'd been on the day before. My own table was filled with mostly young guys! An older regular was in the six seat, to my right, but he "never" does rebuys, he hates them, hence he never finishes in the money. I was in the seven seat, which is great for a player like me. Most of the players simply had no clue. It was either their first tournament, their first time playing poker, or both, lol. What an awesome table. Here were some of the key hands and their outcomes:
I had a live, high three-flush which I limped in for 5 chips in late position. Fourth was no help, and I had to fold to two bets before it even got to me.
On the second level, I raised with ATA and won the pot uncontested.
On the third level, I raised with 99Q and got outdrawn on the board.
On the fourth level, I reraised an all-in raise with AA3 and isolated. He never improved and was out. A very nice guy who played a decent tourney, but got outdrawn quite a bit.
I raised with Q3Q and took the pot.
Then my table got broken and I spent one or two hands at another table which got broken. I drew table III, seat 8. This table was mostly filled with people who had absolutely no clue and had that deer caught in the headlights look. On the first hand I witnessed, a 50-something lady misread her hand and spent a fortune betting a straight that she didn't even have. She was the shortest stack after that.
The antes went up and suddenly I was getting short. I kept getting the bring-in with nothing and had to fold, fold, fold. Finally I knew I had to make a move if I wanted to get into the money, so I raised with T4T. Only one player stayed with me and I managed to make aces up to his aces only (which he didn't have when he stayed with me).
I was back in the tourney with a little over 1000 chips when I was dealt QQK. A stealer with a 3 doorcard raised before it even got to me. I reraised, trying to either isolate or get him to fold a losing hand. He had this tendency to go for the steal almost every other hand. He called my reraise and we were head's up. I bet out on fourth and he went all-in. We flipped over our cards, and sure enough, he had nothing, but managed to get kings by the river and outdrew me. Now I was short stacked once again. /forums/images/icons/ooo.gif
When only one person had entered the pot, I went all-in with A68, live ace, live two-flush. I immediately got another six, but someone else made aces and IGHN.
39:112, my stats are falling!!!
I attribute my sucky play to being sick and tired. Sick, sick, sick, blah. Diabetes is ruining my life. Which is why I said in the beginning of the post that this might be my last tourney report for a while. I think we are going to have to head back out to the desert. Complications from the diabetes are bringing on other diseases which necessitate a move back into a warm, dry climate.
When we came back from Nevada in late March, I thought I would be fine during the warm months in the DC area. Little did I know that spring was not going to come, and it was going to stay rainy and cold into June. The rain still hasn't let up, and my body is shutting down. So I think we are going to have to pack back up and go out to the desert. We have been looking at some houses online outside of Phoenix, in the Globe area. There are tons of casinos, and it is easy to make money playing low limits in Arizona.
So this is where I am at right now. Kind of in limbo, but willing to jump into something brand new, as always.
I wish this report could have been a little more exciting, but this is all I can muster up for now. Please enjoy it!