Can I join the club?

OK, decimated again and Felicia says, "Let's get out of the house". Sounds good to me. Change of environment, change of settings, actually seeing the players. The sights and sounds of chips. Also, there's to be a tournament with $500 added. Bonus!

So, out of the confines of the house we go, over the mountain (I forget the exact height that a hill needs to be before it's called a mountain, but this sucker is tall enough for me. edit: Felicia says 5900 ft.), and back down to our little Vegas, Laughlin, Nevada.

I got a kick talking to one of the floor guys when calling in our names for the tournament; he said that they expected 50 for the tournament. LOL! I wish they got 50! Unfortunately, that card room just doesn't pull that kind of crowd.

One of the dealers looked at me funny when I sat down at her tournament table and said, "You're playing a tournament? I thought you didn't play tournaments?" I replied, "well, they're adding $500 this time; and besides, do you see any ring games going?"

It was true, all the ring games broke up so that people could get in on the tournament. I even saw people that I've played with from the Belle that normally never play at the Palms. Ionizer Bob and "Big" Gene was among them. Tanya of Panther Poker was out as well. (If you read Felicia's posts, you'll know who I'm talking about ;)

I immediately asked for a table change when I saw that both Bob and Tanya was to be to my left. And Bob almost doubled up within the first few hands off of a raise that 1/2 the table called, and then I called too, being I was in the blind and getting something like 11-1 with T8s. Flop is T high, and although I might have the best hand vs Bob, I wanted to see what the others did. So, I checked, Bob bet and it was folded back to me in the BB. Forgetting my aggression that I've been using in the online tournaments, and my read, I just called. My suspicion that I had the best hand was confirmed when he checked behind me on the turn. Ugh, I should have raised him on the flop, as the river brought 4 flush on the board and I didn't have that suit, checked, he bet, and I folded.

While this didn't leave me short stacked right away, it didn't help my chip standing and I ended up played short for quite awhile. I wasn't getting much in cards anyway, so figured I'd save my rebuys until later and hopefully start catching. Finally, toward the end of the 3rd level, I was going to have to rebuy regardless, as after the BB, I'd be all-in on the SB, and was about to take my first rebuy so that I'd have some chips just in case.

However, UTG I get moved to another table..Felicia's. Ugh, again! I also see, to Felicia's left, two to my right, is Sammy, a dealer from the Riverside, with a huge stack of chips. I get stuck in the BB, almost all-in, with the premuim hand of 35o. Sammy limps in, as does the SB, and I check for a free flop: T38, all spades, the suit of my 5. So, I chuck in the last couple blacks I have and Sammy calls, SB folds. Couldn't be worse; he has the T for top pair, and a J of spades. River brings the 4th spade, and I do my first rebuy.

When I was in the cutoff, Sammy open-raises from 400 to 1000, and I look down to see 88. I know Sammy enough that I probably have the best hand, and if not, I need to double up anyway, so I go over the top all-in. Sammy calls and turns over 66. Better odds than I hoped. River brings a 6, I exclaim, "Sammy!"; Sammy just says, "You knew it was coming." Rebuy!

Once I get UTG, I have 2600; 2000 my rebuy got me, and 600 from getting the blinds when I raised with AQ. UTG I see ATo, not the most premium hand, but since other big stacks got moved to our table and the levels about to go up soon, I raise to from 400 to 1200, trying to gain some ground. Sammy calls from the SB and we see an A-high flop. He checks, I toss in the remainder of my chips, and he calls turning over AKo (even spikes a K on the river for good measure) and IGHN.

I could have done another rebuy, but I already was stuck enough for one day. Plus, if I stayed, I'd pretty much have to do the add-on, which was another $30. I saw that there was a ring game going and went to an open seat.

I guess I was steaming a little bit, because I tossed in 2 chips to see the flop with T5s, but I was aware enough that I was in late position and no one else had opened. The guy in the SB was one of the regulars that I've played with before, and the button, another. Both know my playing, and I'm probably mostly considered a rock. Flop comes AAK, BB checks, I toss in 2 (this is 2-6 _spread_ limit) and I get the pot. I love this game. Of course, I'm so up and down with it, I still do much better with online Draw. But sometimes the people are just so plain.

Two younger kids sit down and things start to change. About 5 limpers ahead of me and I see 42s. Call. Seven players to the flop. This is more what I'm used to for this game. We see a flop of 265, gets checked to me, and I bet the 6. The kid behind me folds and I get one caller, a calling station that likes to draw, and everyone else folds. Bonus! 9 on the turn and the calling station checks. I say, "I'll see if that flush comes first" and check behind. He smiles and checks an offsuit river card 7. I bet again with my big bottom pair and he folds ATs face-up, saying "you were right about the flush." Yeah, I know, thank you :)

As time goes on, the kid to my right starts raising a bit, eating into my stack and I start waiting for an opportunity to catch him. I'm on the button with 88 and limp. He makes it 6, again, from the BB, the few other limpers call, as do I. Flop is Jxx, kid bets, folds down to me on the button, and I raise him. No reraise, so I'm guessing he's betting a small pair again. He checks the turn and I bet out. He checks the river. I've seen him give up on the turn before when he thinks he's beat, so I just show my 88's. He turns over KJo. He raised about 4 people with that hand. Ugh. So, my read was right and wrong. I know he raises on meduim strength cards and I was good before the flop. With no reraise I didn't put him on the Jack, not until the call after the turn. That put a big dent in my stack.

I limp a couple other times, with no good results. I ended up calling a max raise once with 44, a hand I normally will muck for that max raise. This time, however, so many people called the raise, I actually had my 8-1 to pop a set! Amazing. No set.. on the flop. 4 was on the turn! Either way, two people got into a raising war on the river (shutting out the original raiser). Two boats: Queens full of 7's and Queen's full of 4's. Yes, two people played Q7 and Q4o for a full raise (meaning $8 preflop).

As the blind is starting to get to me, I see Felicia standing and find out that she busted from the tournament. She says she'd like to go when it gets to my blind, so I do something I have only done twice before in my 2 years of playing. I straddled. UTG, I placed 4 chips out preflop. I get 2 limpers, the BB completes to 4 and I look down to see...

THE HAMMER!

I chuckle and check to see a flop of...

J72 rainbow! BB checks, I chuck in 5 chips, they all fold and I get to show off my Hammer!

The dealer tries to correct me to say, "that's 'Waldo'" (the local term for the hand) and I just tell them that "The Hammer" is the online Blogger term for it. Not that they have any idea what a Blog is. But regardless, I had fun taking down my first pot that I had raised, even if it was dark, with the Hammer.

Can I join the club now?

Posted by Glenn