So I Took a Shot at 40/80 NL…

I saw FoxwoodsFiend sitting heads-up with a pretty big fish so I decided to take a one 100bb buy-in shot. I was up $11K for the day at that point so I figured that at worst I’d end the day even. My very first hand I got dealt AK in the big blind, Ariel raised the button, the fish 3-bet from the small blind and I was just like “holy shit I’m going to be racing for my stack my very first hand…”. I 4-bet to about $2100, Ariel folded and the fish flatted out of position (see, told you he was a fish!). The flop came Axx and he check/folded to my 1/4 pot bet. So that was a pretty good start. But then, less than 20 hands later (villain is the fish)…

No-Limit Hold'em, $80.00 BB (3 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($8558)
BB ($13930.50)
Hero (Button) ($9070)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 6, 7

Hero bets $240, 1 fold, BB calls $160

Flop: ($520) 3, 6, 7 (2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets $320, BB raises $1480, Hero raises $2905, BB raises $12210.50 (All-In), Hero calls $5605 (All-In)

Turn: ($18180) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($18180) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $18180

Results:

Hero had 6, 7 (two pair, tens and sevens).
BB had 8, 8 (two pair, tens and eights).

Outcome: BB won $23039.50

FML? I also dropped like $7000 at 5/10 that session so now I’m probably not going to make my goal of $111K in 100K hands. I can still probably make $100K in 100K hands which I guess is a more sensible goal anyway but I liked the idea of having ‘extra’ when I hit the 100K hand mark rather than merely ‘falling over the line’. Anyway I have 13K hands to go so hopefully I’ll go on a heater and get there.

I also saw The Hangover yesterday which was better than expected but still not that great. It’s definitely a lot better if you’re about to head off to Vegas yourself and I can imagine that it’d be quite dull for everyone else. Anyway I’m going to hit the tables again now and hopefully recoup the $11K I blew last night (and yes, I did finish the day only $200 up…).

Exams Over, 5/10 Update, Exchange, Vegas!!!

So exams are finally over and I can get back to grinding now. I leave for Vegas next Thursday so I have about a week to complete my 5/10 goals. I want to make 10K at HU and 25K at 6-Max and then return from Vegas a fully-fledged 10/20+ player. I’ll try to play 5/10 exclusively this week so I can give myself the best shot at finishing it, but if juicy games run at higher stakes I’m not going to turn them down. I’ve been feeling a lot more confident at 10/20 now and even at 25/50 the dollar amounts aren’t phasing me much anymore. Speaking of 25/50, I took another shot yesterday when a certain well-known fish was playing. I proceeded to lose $9000 versus him when he made a set against my KK in a 3-bet pot and when I ran 99 into his QQ preflop. I then managed to win $10000 back just by grinding several medium sized pots without showdown and was feeling really good but then lost a postflop flip in a 3-bet pot (QQ v JKh on 467hh) to end up down. Luckily I won at 5/10 and 10/20 so I ended the session down only $500 or something.

Before I leave for Vegas I need to complete my exchange application form which shouldn’t take too long but will be a bit tedious nonetheless. I haven’t quite decided on my five preferences but at this stage it’s looking like it’ll be:

1) Cornell, USA
2) Queens, Canada
3) Copenhagen, Denmark
4) Utrecht, Netherlands
5) Emory, USA

The first four are pretty solidly locked in but I’m not sure about the fifth. Nothing else available looks particularly enticing so I guess I’ll just throw in another US one. I decided not to waste a preference on Harvard or NYU because there’s simply no chance I’ll get in. The other options of note are University of Texas at Austin, University of Victoria (British Columbia) and Vrije University (Amsterdam).

I’m pretty psyched for Vegas. I’ve decided to play the main event but I’m not sure if I’ll play any cash games because I don’t feel like lugging an extra $10K over there just on the off chance I decide to play cash (I figure you need about that much for 10/20 and I wouldn’t really want to play lower live). I just wish PokerStars had a bank there like they did at PCA. It’d make life so much easier!

Anyway, so it looks like this week is going to be filled with a lot of grinding, some errands, some clothes shopping, some drinking and some partying. And then after that it’ll be the first and last things, only in Vegas instead of Sydney! Cool huh!

Amusing Bad Beat

I don’t usually post bad beats but this one I found genuinely amusing.

I raised a little more than the minimum on the dry flop to represent air and induce a 3-bet bluff. That worked. I then flatted his 3-bet on the off chance he would stick in the rest with said air on the turn despite me getting 4-1 and obviously having a made hand. That worked too.

The river didn’t work so much.

No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($1264)
SB ($853)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, K

Hero bets $25, SB raises $89, Hero calls $69

Flop: ($198) 5, Q, 5 (2 players)

SB bets $100, Hero raises $230, SB raises $300, Hero calls $170

Turn: ($998) 4 (2 players)

SB bets $354 (All-In), Hero calls $354

River: ($1706) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1706

Results:

Hero had Q, K (two pair, Queens and fives).

SB had 4, 6 (full house, fours over fives).

Outcome: SB won $1705