Aussie Millions 2009 - 15th January

I touched down in Melbourne this afternoon and after checking into my hotel and withdrawing some money from the bank I pretty much headed straight down to the casino. I’ve never been to Crown before so on first impressions I’d have to say that the complex as a whole is pretty darn sweet. I don’t particularly like the poker room itself though; it sprawls all over the place and despite being divided into loosely-cordoned off sections it really is very messy on the eye. Some might call it a hive of activity, but I think it’s just cramped and chaotic.

Anyway, I played 5/10 for about five hours and finished up $2990. I pretty much owe it all to one big hand in which I massively coolered two people - I had 68c in a raised pot and the flop came 579cc. One opponent had 99 (although she only had about $400) and another had 55 (he had my full 200bb buy-in well covered) and I got it in on the flop against both and held.

On the whole the standard of play was absolutely atrocious; people were opening 8x, check-calling huge bets with gutshots and ace high, and betting three times the pot on the flop. It definitely bodes well for me and I’m looking forward to having a good week at the cash game tables.

Tomorrow is the first tournament on my schedule; the $1650 no limit hold’em bounty feature event. Each bounty is worth a ridiculous $1000 so if I knock out just two people I’ll be up for the tournament even if I don’t cash! Awesome! I’m really hoping to get off to a good start tomorrow and place well to set the tone for the rest of the series. Wish me luck.