August: Smooth Sailing (2015)
For the first week of the month 5 of us split a room at the Hollywood Hard Rock during their tournament series. As someone who views the casino as a terrible environment it fascinates me that poker dealers go to other casinos to gamble and call that a vacation. Isn't the whole point of going on a vacation to get far away from work? The good thing about this expedition is it only cost me ~$200 for 7 nights, but the problem with carpooling for a poker trip is that no one ever wants to leave at the same time. On our last night there I was up 5k for the trip and wanted to keep the momentum going but already had obligations to drive someone back.
Ever since my 6 month stint in Miami last year I have preached that the games in Tampa are so much better. However, back then I was really nothing more than an ABC nit so it really isn't a fair assessment. I don't want to be a 2/5 grinder forever and soon my roll will allow me to comfortably play 5/10 max buyin comfortably. To play bigger games I will eventually have to move to either Miami, Maryland, or SoCal. It isn't clear cut which is best so it is a bit overwhelming and something constantly weighing on my mind.
On a busy Saturday night I transferred myself from a 7 handed table in the front of the room to another 7 handed table in the back of the room. Like a worm rearing its ugly head out of the dirt most of the players stood up to find out exactly where I was going. No more than 5 minutes later I am given a 24 hour ban and escorted out of the room by security. Poker takes a lot out of me so I'm not going to waste my precious finite energy burning out for $20/hr playing with short-stacking nits and rotting corpses that belong underground. I go there to maintain a $50+/hr winrate and I will accept nothing less.
It's no secret that I'm one of the most hated players in the room. If a dealer does something nasty to me or I just deem them too incompetent I won't be a victim of the social norm by tipping them anyway just because everyone else does it. One particular dealer hates me so much that he has started this malicious rumor that I go north in the middle of hands. He is even trying to get other players to attest to this. It must suck being a middle aged loser having to watch some young kid make your annual salary in just a few months. They must cringe watching the fish get stacked and receiving nothing, knowing that if the fish had won they would have gotten those prized redbirds.
1275/1275 BTN straddle I open AKcc 35 in BB EP one call MP tryhard shitreg 3b 130 both flat. Q76rhc shitreg bet 75 both call. Turn Ah I chk call 230. Riv Kx shitreg shoves 875 I pay off QQ.
This was by far my worst played hand of the month but I think it makes for the most interesting discussion. I asked many players about this hand and they all had very different things to say about each street. The general consensus was to flat the 3b pre, although one player whom I highly respect elected to 4b/f to around 300 then stack off after barreling. I choose to flat the flop because although it does scream strength I feel it is very exploitable to fold to a 1/6th pot bet with BD equity. I feel that if we are floating the flop then we cannot fold this turn. I view the river as a completely standard call but I have been suggested both the line of leading the river small OR making an exploitable fold because it is just too much to be calling off.
It is indisputable that floating OOP then stacking off when we hit is bad, unprofitable poker. I still haven't confidently concluded what the proper line to take is on this hand vs an unknown, which is what he was at the time. In hindsight, knowing that he is a shitty nit this is a standard disciplined fold that I make very easily. The only way to beat nits is by denying them the action they so heavily depend upon when they make hands(which is very easy to identify as they play so face up). Bleeding them to death by avoiding them is the best approach imo.
1525/1525 2 limps I raise KJcc 35 on BTN. 4way QT7ssc SB honest friendly fish donks 60 MP omc call I raise 235 only honest fish call. Turn 3x honest fish donk 200 I jam 1200 he folds Qx.
When he donks turn this small he is block betting a draw or Qx that he is never comfortable calling a shove with. Add to this the fact that we have a friendly dynamic going and I don't think he will ever call me light. He is only playing for stacks this deep with 2p/set which he would always be 3b on the flop. On the rare occasion that he chose not to 3b flop he would definitely be leading turn much larger. If he had checked I do like a check-back in this spot because if he calls my flop raise he is most likely calling on a complete brick.
1000/900 I open QTo 20 in MP. 3way QT7hh I bet 50 CO karl raise 125 I raise 350 he shoves I snap win vs AsAd.
Nothing to really discuss about this hand but I found it hilarious that he thought I had KK. Wouldn't that be all the more reason to 3b pre? Fish logic is like female logic. It's difficult to understand because it simply does not make any sense.
19k 200/400 SB aggro opens 1100 I defend T7o in BB. T84r he bets 1350 I flat. Turn 7x I bet 2500 he CR 6k I jam he snaps 96o.
All 3 options are viable preflop but I definitely chose the worst one by flatting pre. On the flop I feel it is standard to call as I am so used to doing this in cash and it is very standard to do so in televised live events(yes I know how fishy that sounds) but many people I asked said that because I did not 3b this pre I need to be raising this flop. On the turn I feel it is a cooler to be beaten here blind vs blind and many people do agree with this, though they would not gotten to this turn in the same manner. In hindsight I do like a fold pre because I don't see any other line being +EV. 3betting a villian opening as wide as 96o has near zero fold equity and T7o just plays too poorly.
24k 600/1200 one limp I raise red AA 3500 in EP. 4way 655r I bet 6500 HJ omc raise 13k BTN omc shoves 25k I snap HJ omc tank call. HJ 77 CO 66.
In a tournament this soft I think it is absolutely fine to be going a bit larger pre as they won't really notice the difference between 3.5 or 4k. I feel that this is a massive cooler spot because they can play overpairs the exact same way, as you can see by the 1st omc severely overplaying 77. I do not agree with the notion that just because it is a bet>raise>shove situation they should show up with 5x here. Since they are tight old guys I feel that their range is strongly weighted towards pairs and the fact that they were in LP rather than the blinds makes a huge difference.
A few days ago I got a letter in the mail that stated my student loan forgiveness request was completely denied. For a while I had been so opposed to paying it because it was money that I never actually got to see. Although these loans were technically in my name my mother was the one who pocketed them so I felt zero responsibility to pay someone else's debt. Seeing this letter enraged me because I now realize that as fucked up as it is, the only real solution is to suck it up and pay it. The longer I wait the more I get buried by the outright criminal interest rates.
I have made it my resolve to have my ~$14,500 student loan completely paid off before the ending of December. It is going to suck having to put in so many hours and have nothing to show for physically. I achieve a much greater sense of accomplishment watching bands of cash pile up or physical gold get stacked up. Seeing diminishing numbers on a computer screen does absolutely nothing for me. Hopefully I am underestimating how great of a relief being debt free really is.
Overall the month was very smooth sailing and I ran slightly above EV. My biggest regret is not spending more time in Hollywood to participate in that freeroll promotion and play in premium games. However, -3640 in tournaments going 0 for 8 made this a bittersweet month. It is very frustrating not being able to beat the same players who I skin alive in cash.
Although tournaments cause never ending frustration I am excited for the upcoming month as I plan to travel to Immokalee and Biloxi for their main events(real tournaments). Starting from now I will properly record my MTT results the same way I do for cash. Maybe by doing this I will realize what a money sink tournaments actually are and help me to cut them off like I have my other vices.