Poker Ramblings of cmitch

Contact Info:

cmitchpoker@gmail.com




I stumbled across FTP's $75 LHE mtt last night. I'm not sure if this is a regular tourney or just on Sunday nights, but it was fun (and a little frustrating since it was LHE after all.) When we got 3 handed I had 60k and the other two had around 85k. The limits were 3k/6k and about to go up to 4k/8k. I figured it was a crap shoot and I might as well lock in 2nd place cash.

I think that I made a decent deal, considering anything could have happened. What do you think?

Original payouts
1st - $1,678
2nd - $1,022
3rd - $734

Chop adjusted payouts
1st - $1,176
2nd - $1,170
3rd - $1088

Gambling Boat Trip Report

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

I was excited to head out on the gambling boat when I woke up at the beach condo on Thursday morning. The boat was supposed to leave at 11 AM and return at 4 PM. Our plan was to get the kids dressed, head over to the my Mom and stepfather's hotel, eat some breakfast, and then my stepfather and I were going to head out on the boat. My phone rang right before we left the condo. It was my Mom asking when we were coming over for breakfast. She also informed me that my stepfather no longer felt like going on the boat. Huh? WTF? He is the first to try to plan any trip that involves slot machines, so I wasn't sure what was going on. I guess the main problem was that they brought their dog with them and the dog and the hotel were not getting along. Oh well, I decided to open a few beers after lunch and forget about the gambling cruise.

Fast forward to later that night.....We decided to head to the Port for an early dinner (a few miles from our condo). The gambling boat was docked literally right next to our choice of restaurants. The gambling bug then started to take full effect on my stepfather - having to deal with the stressed out dog all day may have played a part also. After not wanting to head out on the cruise 10 hrs earlier, he decided it was a great idea. I agreed.

I wasn't sure what to expect in the poker room since the last time I was on the Suncruz was probably before my 7 year old daughter was born. I had seen their poker room advertised and talked to a few people that had gone out years ago. They used to have some limit games (5/10 and 10/20) and several NL games (1/2, 2/5).

After boarding the boat, I immediately went to the poker room on the top floor. If they had a list I was going to get on it. I didn't want to be left waiting for a seat when we only had a few hours to play. All (6 or 8 maybe) of the poker tables were covered and no one was at the poker cage. No big deal. We hadn't left port yet and gambling wasn't allowed until you get 3 miles offshore. Time for more beer while waiting for the boat to leave and make it's way to international waters.

Disney Boat coming back to Port next to us

I went back to the poker room a little after we left port. No one was at the cage, but there was one table with people playing poker. I walked over and asked if they started early and was informed that this was a $20 sng with 1 rebuy ($20). Money would be collected after we reached the 3 mile point - until then the dealer would hold onto your ID. The dealer urged me to grab the last seat. The bar sounded like a better idea than a $20 live sng. The dealer said that I might want to reconsider since he was the only dealer on the boat and that the cash games wouldn't start until the sng was finished. I expected a small turn out on a week night (Thurs), but this seemed a little ridiculous - one dealer and one cash game. WTF?

I decided to head to the roulette table with the money my wife and Mom gave me to bet for them. Five dollars from my wife to bet on black and $5 from my Mom to bet on red. :) I was playing the outside and was up and down from my initial $100. I decided it was time to leave and check out the poker room. I had $120 left, took my initial $100, set it aside, and bet $5 on four numbers. One of them hit for $175. I bet a few more numbers on the next spin and left with $240 (+$140).

The sng finally ended about 20 mins later and we were ready for the cash games to start. It was a $1/$3 NL cash game with $200 max and $30 min. Several people bought in for $30. Dealing with short stackers online is bad enough, but live is even more frustrating. I decide to the keep the beers coming and play almost every hand.

Some fun hands

Trapped by a short stacker
I was in the CO with 7s8s.
There were a couple of limpers, so I raised it up to $15.
The SB shoved all in for $27 total ($12 more).
The BB thought for about 20 seconds and called the $27 (leaving about $20 behind).
The limpers folded.
I called.
I wiffed on the flop, turn and river. We checked the flop, checked the turn.
I folded my 2 unders (I think) to his massive overshove of his remaining $20 on the river.

The SB had KK. The BB had AA - he didn't bet his last $20 with his Aces on any street until the river. He told me that he was trying to trap me. I told him that I was lucky there wasn't an Ace on board.

Toothless Old Timer (well only missing one tooth, but it was in the front)
Shortly after one of the short stacks lost his $30, a seat opened up. A toothless old timer named Charlie sat down with $60. I wound up doubling him up($50ish) a few hands later with 77 against his TT. He was grinning ear to ear (minus one tooth). I started chatting with him quite a bit (thanks to the beer) - nothing disrespectful, just something along the lines of him being a shark that comes out on the boat to take all of our money. For some reason it made him decide to come after me.

I'm a little fuzzy on the details (against thanks to the beer), but we were in a hand. I had been the aggressor and an 8 hit the turn gave me the nut straight with JTs. He immediately shoved all in for around $100 into a $60 pot. I immediately called. He had hit 4th pair on the turn. Yikes, I guess he picked the wrong time to "make a move." I was sad to see Charlie leave right after that hand.

Ummm, you have pot odds or something like that
I was dealt J8s in late position and decided to limp along with every other player before me that had already limped in.

Flop was T99. (Pot - $27) - 2 hearts
Seat 9 bets $10
Seat 2 calls $10
Seat 4 calls $10
I call (in seat 6) $10

Turn Q (Pot - $67) - hit the str8; hope it's good
Seat 9 bets $15
Seat 2 folds
Seat 4 moves all in for $35
I raise to $75
Seat 9 calls leaving $50 behind.

River - low card heart(Pot - $252)
I put Seat 9 all in.
He thought for a while, so I knew I was good.
He looked at his $50 in front on him and said, "I was about to leave, if I fold now I am even."
I went on to explain how much money was in the pot and how much he would win if he called his last $50 into a $352 pot. He finally called with A9. I scooped the side pot and shorty all-in on the turn was pushed the main pot with his rivered flush.

I wound up leaving the poker table losing -$145 including drink tips (bluffed $100 off to a calling station and lost $120 on the last hand of the night with KT vs KJ on a King high flop). Total for the night was a waffle like -$5 after drinks.

I forgot how much fun live low limit NLHE can be, especially when you are enjoying a few cocktails. Waking up and heading back down to the beach again the next day was pretty nice too.

Gambiling in Hurricane Waters?

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

I'm planning to head out tomorrow morning on a last minute trip aboard the Suncruz casino out of Port Canveral. Since there is very limited gambling in the state of FL (only $100 max buy-in poker), there are several gambling boats along the shores of FL that head 3 miles offshore to international waters and offer full gambling. I think Suncruz is the only one left in Port Canaveral.

There might be one big problem tomorrow - Bill, Hurricane Bill. Bill isn't supposed to hit FL but is going to be close enough to make the seas extremely rough. I'll cross my fingers that the boat goes out tomorrow.

I'm not sure what games they will have running on a daytime cruise during the week, but I'll report back on all the action.

Blogging is fun

Monday, August 17, 2009

....for ev.......ver....eeee......one. (I think it was Phralad that said that - no need to practice avoidance though.)

Man, am I a slacker or what? I have been horrible when it comes to posting updates. There are times when I sit down to write a post and decide that I don't really have any poker content worth sharing. I could put up the random mindless posts (and have done that) but I prefer to put up something worth reading.

I'll blame it on work, which is a good thing.

I hope to start posting regularly again, but won't post just to post. (*warning - you might be subjected to limit holdem content)

Misclick TURNS good

Friday, August 07, 2009

I was playing a few tables of $5/$10 LHE the other night when this hand came up. I was checking how a player on another table played a previous hand in HEM. The CALL button popped up in the same area where my mouse was scrolling and I misclick called. It turned out to be a good misclick.

....and yes it is boring LHE FR :)


Full Tilt Poker $5/$10 Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Pre Flop: (1.5 SB) Hero is SB with 99 of hearts 77 of hearts

UTG calls
4 folds
BTN raises
Hero calls - oops, misclick out of the SB. Was checking something in HEM and action popped up in the same area that I was scrolling.
BB 3-bets - loose bad player that tilts hard and always comments everyone's bad play
1 fold - not sure what he limps utg and then folds.
BTN calls
Hero calls - guess my misclick prices me in to call.

Flop: (10 SB - $50) 44 of clubs 55 of hearts 66 of hearts (3 players)

Hero checks, BB bets, BTN calls, Hero raises, BB 3-bets, BTN folds,
Hero caps!, BB calls - I'm definitely getting in much money as I can in on this flop

Turn:
(9.5 BB - $95) 88 of hearts (2 players) - Weeeeeeeee!!!!

Hero bets, BB calls

River:
(11.5 BB - $115) 77 of clubs (2 players)

Hero bets, BB calls

Final Pot: 13.5 BB ($135)

Hero shows 99 of hearts 77 of hearts (a straight flush, Nine high)
BB mucks QQ of spades QQ of diamonds

Hero wins 13.2 BB
(Rake: $3.00)


Most misclicks suck, but I didn't mind this one.

Random Thoughts

Monday, August 03, 2009

I like the new FTP Lobby. The lag seems to be gone!!! yeah!!!!

The FTP "Biggest Bonus Ever" is a little ridiculous since the bonuses are smaller than the initial deposit bonus and the most people's mid year iron man bonus. Poor marketing imo. I'm not knocking FTP for giving us free money, but if you are going to market something as the "Biggest Ever!!" shouldn't it be at least bigger than the current initial deposit bonus?

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Face the Ace - I think it is definitely geared more to the non-poker player or casual poker player. I hope it somehow catches on and improves. IMO, they need to get rid of the guy from the Sopranos. I saw a lot of negative reviews on the forums, but I think it was better than mediocre from an entertainment only pov. If by some fluke it takes off, it can only be good for the game.

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Full Ring LHE - Last month when FTP's 5x Happy Hour started running, I fired up a couple of $5/$10 Full Ring Limit Holdem tables because you can earn points, clear bonuses, and rack up the RB really fast. After playing for a couple of weeks, it has become my new favorite game again. I know, I know. Some of you are saying WTF? Why would you play LHE? and if you are playing LHE, why would you play full ring? All I can say is that you would be surprised how poor some of the play is on the FTP FR LHE tables is. Just ask DrPauly. I've run into him at the tables a lot lately.

More LHE adventures in a future post........

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How many more days until college football season starts??? Go Gators!!