Still Playing

Friday

I decided to celebrate by playing in a poker tournament today at the Venetian. I busted out after less than an hour. First, my pocket Js ran into pocket Ks. Then I turned two pair, Ks and 10s, and shoved with my short stack. The other player called. Unfortunately, he had turned a straight.

I bought back in.

I've been running mediocre.

The woman to the right of me has been on her phone the whole time. I think she's on a dating site. She seems to be flipping through pictures of guys, stopping now and then to write a long message. I can't see what she's writing, but I'll try.

I just got J♠10♠ in the big blind. One player raised. Another called. I called. The flop was 7♦8♥9♦. I bet $2000. Another player raised to $7200. The third player called. I thought for a long time, looking back and forth at the other players' stacks. Then I shoved. The big stack at the table called. The third player folded. The big stack showed 6♥10♦ for a smaller straight. He could get two diamonds for a flush to win or a J to chop with me. He didn't get either, so I doubled up. I now have a nice, big stack.

We're on break. I have a very big stack!

A short stack (15 big blinds, $22K) shoved. I had pocket 7s in the small blind. My stack was about $80K. I called him. The player in the big blind shoved with about the same size stack as me. I had to fold. The first player had A9. The second player had pocket 8s. On the flop came a 9 to give the short stack the win. Had I called the second player, I would have busted out. However, I still lost a good chunk of my stack.

I lost a few big hands with pocket pairs. Now I'm short stacked.

The chip leader raised. I shoved with A 10. He called with 35. Yes, you read that right: 35. The board ran out 857J5. I busted out.

Saturday

I'm trying again today. I keep wondering when my losing streak will end.

I played for hours with few playable hands, and my stack got short. I finally got KK and AQ and then QQ. The first two hands I didn't get any callers. The last one I raised. Another player reraised. I shoved. He called with AK. He got a K and I busted out.

I bought back in again. On my second hand, I got pocket 9s. I raised from $1200 to $3500. Another player raised to $10K. Everyone else folded. I called. The flop was 35J. I shoved my remaining $30K. He thought for a while, which was a good sign. He then called with AK. The river was a K, and I busted out again.

I bought in yet again. Within my first few hands, I got J♦10♦. I raised. Two players called. The flop was 3♣4♦J♠. I bet. One player called, the other folded. The remaining player called. The next card was 6♣. He bet about $10K. I didn't think a 6 would help him unless he had pocket 6s, so I shoved. He called. He showed 9♣8♣. I had to avoid a club. I did, and doubled up. Let's see if I can continue to get some good cards.

I got AK and went heads up against the same player. I raised to $3K. He raised to $12K. I called. The flop was 357. I checked. He bet $10K. I considered calling, but folded.

I got A♦J♣. I raised to $3K under the gun. Three players called. The flop was 4♦6♦9♦. I bet $5K. Two players folded. One called. The river was 9♣. I needed another diamond for the nut flush. One chance I four. I decided to shove, representing that I already had the nut flush. If he had a 9 or a full house, I was in trouble. The other player might call with a 9 but would definitely call with a full house. He thought for a long time before folding. Whew!

The short stack at the table shoved. I had AK and almost three times his stack. I shoved. Everyone else folded. He turned over pocket 7s. Maybe I could beat his pocket pair with AK like everyone today had beaten my pocket pairs with AK. The board ran out 85J3K! I knocked him out.

I got AJ on the button. The short stack to my right did a min raise to $3K. I called. The small blind and the big blind both called. The flop was A89. Everyone checked to me. I bet $6K. Everyone folded. My stack is still lower than I'd like, but I have some breathing room now.

My first table was a lot more fun. People talked and joked. This one is silent. The guy to my right had a big stack but lost most of it when he rivered the nut flush but his opponent rivered a full house. He sits there angry and silent.

The announcer said, “Remember you can reenter the tournament as a new player until level 12.” I said I want to enter as Daniel Negreanu. No one said anything. The dealer stared at me. Sigh.

I got AK under the gun. I raised to $6K. One player called. Another player raised to $16K. I could fold, but I would be throwing away a great hand. Also, I’m trying to rethink my strategy since I’ve been doing so badly for months. I’ve been told that I play too conservatively. Since I busted out twice waiting for the perfect hand, I decided to shove and hope either 1) he would fold, 2) I had a better hand than him or 3) I would get a K or A. I was really only afraid of one hand… and he had it. He called with pocket As. It turns out I would have won against any other reasonable hand that he could have shoved with, or chopped if he also had AK. The last ace showed up on the board, but I busted out.