The March Madness Tournament at the Pomme lived up to its name. In the very first hand three players were all in.
I think I saw a flop twice in one hour without someone being all-in pre-flop.
It was crazy and after re-loading for a third time, I decided enough was enough, so ducked out of the game and came back later for sensible poker.
I wasn't feeling too good about poker when I sat down and bought £200 of chips, but I soon got into the swing.
I was dealt pocket Kings, and was very happy seeing a King on the flop. Scotty bet out at me the whole way, even betting £50 blind before the river. I was supposed to raise but was a dick and said "Call and raise" so the call stood. Scotty flipped over trip Tens, so my set of Kings was good.
I flopped a few trips tonight and made a flush, so was about £400 up at one stage.
During dealer's choice, a hand of Omaha flopped me a straight so I was doing well.
I had to move tables just after midnight and ended up losing close to £100 when my pocket Aces were cracked with a runner, runner flush. Worst thing about it was I made trip Aces on the flop, but I'm still pissed-off with myself for calling the final £50 bet on the river.
I won a few chips back with pocket Jacks and then ten minutes after the pocket Aces above, I was dealt another pair! This time nobody would stay in the hand, so I only made about £20... gutted!
Back on the original table, I flopped a pair of Kings, that turned into a Set. I got paid off so was back in the money.
Pocket 5s held-up in one of the last few hands of the night, and I ended up cashing in £745, which is just over £5oo up on the night, including the crazy bingo that was the March Madness Tournament!
Probably no home game this week as we have the first heat of the Mourant Charity Series at the Tipsy Toad on Friday. With 50 players, it should be a good night. We have WSOP chips up for grabs and all other proceeds from the buy-ins go to charity.
jT
Monday, 31 March 2008
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Fishhook Leaderboard
Check out the Fishhook Home Game Leaderboard - Click on the image to see it properly.
The rankings are based on games won, but don't let that fool you - check out who is in the money and who is chasing to get back in the black!
Another indication that we have a strong player, is their return on investment. This is calculated based on the return (as a percentage) players have received from all their buy-ins. For example, if a player had played two, £10 buy-in games, and was currently £20 up, their ROI would be 100%.
From the 1st July, we'll implement a point system, similar to the charity game. We'll still track the above stats, but players will also get points for winning games, coming second, and coming third (3 points for a win, 2 points for second, 1 point for third) - that way we can keep an eye on solid players who keep getting to the heads-up, but can't seem to nail it (Cough**Kermit**Cough).
jT
A Professor and The Mountain becomes a Volcano!
It was short-handed this week at Pokerbrat's, as BT and Poker Princess broke down with a flat tyre... a likely story!
Anyway, it was down to Pokerbrat, Kermit, myself and Pokerbrat's girlfriend, who've I've nicknamed The Professor... as she's a teacher and a solid player.
Mountain turned up an hour into the game, missing three re-buys!
Kermit busted-out, and I lost all my chips twice in the space of ten minutes! First time, my pocket 8s were cracked when Pokerbrat's Ace, Queen caught two aces on the board, then when my own suited Ace, Queen failed to improve against the Professor's pocket Kings. It was looking like the first pot was staying in Casa Pokerbrat one way or the other as I doubled up both of them early on!
My game was shithouse from then on, even with a re-load to 30,000 chips. I was out first when I gambled as the short-stack with Queen, Jack only for Professor to catch an Ace on the flop.
Kermit got VERY lucky when he pushed all-in with Ace, rag, got a call from Pokerbrat, who turned over pocket Queens. The board gave Kermit four clubs and he doubled-up with the nut flush.
Mountain was slowly but surely building chips and Professor was making some moves but not getting any callers.
Pokerbrat pushed all-in after a raise from Kermit and after thinking about it for a year and a half, Kermit called with another Ace, rag. The brat turned over pocket Jacks and this time they held, crippling Kermit until he eventually lost to Mountain's outside straight.
The brat had come back from nothing to almost even chips with Mountain, and after taking out the Professor, was dominant again.
It has to be said, Mountain was blinding away, and often folded his small blind. Eventually he was forced to move with an average hand and the brat took down the first game and an £80 pot.
Fairplay to Mountain, he turned up an hour into the game, played solid and made it to heads-up in only his third game with the Fishhook crew! The Professor was also solid in her debut and it will be interesting in future games if we get Lethal, Poker Princess and the Professor at the table... Probably Kermit's worst nightmare!
Second Game
Pokerbrat was busted early when he pushed with his top pair and walked straight into Mountain's trip 7s... the Mountain was now chip leader!
The brat came back strong, gradually stealing chips and winning showdowns with some solid play. It has to be said, he was on form and every time his chips were in the middle and in jeopardy, he always had the strongest hand. Of course his luck didn't always hold out, but his decisions were bang on.
The re-buy period ended and I was chip leader with the brat only 9000 or 10,000 behind me. The blinds were 1000/2000 and I was dealt Ace, Queen off-suit. A nice starting hand. I tried to limp-in but the brat raised it up to 4000. I was the only caller and the flop brought a couple of clubs, in 10, Jack, rag. I was looking good with the straight draw, so called the brat's bet of 12,000. The turn was another club and I was surprised when the brat pushed all his chips in the middle.
I turned my cards over, showing my Ace, Queen and of course the Ace was a club so I had straight draws and flush opportunities. I worked out quickly that I had at least 12 outs, any King, any club or and maybe even pairing my ace should do it, unless the brat already had the flush of course.
I counted my chips and if I lost this one, I'd be left with 9000 chips and of course, Pokerbrat would be almost certainly unstoppable with over two-thirds of the chips in play.
I took my time, or as we like to call it... I took a 'Kermit Pause'.
Eventually I pushed my chips in and as it was my deal, I stood-up, burnt a card and then flipped over a King of clubs... YES!!! The nut flush!
The brat turned over his pocket Queens, gutted.
What's incredible here, is the odds of the Pokerbrat having pocket Queens again, only to have them cracked by a club nut flush again, that needed four clubs on the board, AGAIN!!! I'd love to know the odds of that!
Once again though, the brat had his chips in the middle when he was ahead.
Kermit didn't last too much longer, so Mountain was down to the heads-up two out of two!
With my chip lead, I didn't think it would be long, which was a big mistake because the Mountain was a 'move' machine, pushing all-in nearly every hand and really putting pressure on me. Before I knew it, he was ahead of me in chips, so I knew if I made a stand, and it went wrong, I'd be out the game!
He made some amazing moves, in one hand for example, I'd flopped top-pair (Jacks) but had a shitty kicker. I threw it away when Mountain pushed all-in, convinced he was on Ace, Jack or King, Jack and the bastard turns over pocket 2s!
We called him 'Mountain' because of his Rocky debut and yet here he was throwing his chips in with any face card.
Eventually I dropped about 10,000 chips behind and I had to make a stand. I was dealt Ace, Ten and when Mountain pushed, I called. He flipped over Ace, 8 so at least I was ahead. To my relief, they held and a few hands later, my paired 7, took Mountain out... Phew!!! I thought it was going to be an expensive night as far as the home game goes, but the £50 pot left me £10 up.
Fairplay Mountain, heads-up twice and almost nailed me in the second game.
jT
Anyway, it was down to Pokerbrat, Kermit, myself and Pokerbrat's girlfriend, who've I've nicknamed The Professor... as she's a teacher and a solid player.
Mountain turned up an hour into the game, missing three re-buys!
Kermit busted-out, and I lost all my chips twice in the space of ten minutes! First time, my pocket 8s were cracked when Pokerbrat's Ace, Queen caught two aces on the board, then when my own suited Ace, Queen failed to improve against the Professor's pocket Kings. It was looking like the first pot was staying in Casa Pokerbrat one way or the other as I doubled up both of them early on!
My game was shithouse from then on, even with a re-load to 30,000 chips. I was out first when I gambled as the short-stack with Queen, Jack only for Professor to catch an Ace on the flop.
Kermit got VERY lucky when he pushed all-in with Ace, rag, got a call from Pokerbrat, who turned over pocket Queens. The board gave Kermit four clubs and he doubled-up with the nut flush.
Mountain was slowly but surely building chips and Professor was making some moves but not getting any callers.
Pokerbrat pushed all-in after a raise from Kermit and after thinking about it for a year and a half, Kermit called with another Ace, rag. The brat turned over pocket Jacks and this time they held, crippling Kermit until he eventually lost to Mountain's outside straight.
The brat had come back from nothing to almost even chips with Mountain, and after taking out the Professor, was dominant again.
It has to be said, Mountain was blinding away, and often folded his small blind. Eventually he was forced to move with an average hand and the brat took down the first game and an £80 pot.
Fairplay to Mountain, he turned up an hour into the game, played solid and made it to heads-up in only his third game with the Fishhook crew! The Professor was also solid in her debut and it will be interesting in future games if we get Lethal, Poker Princess and the Professor at the table... Probably Kermit's worst nightmare!
Second Game
Pokerbrat was busted early when he pushed with his top pair and walked straight into Mountain's trip 7s... the Mountain was now chip leader!
The brat came back strong, gradually stealing chips and winning showdowns with some solid play. It has to be said, he was on form and every time his chips were in the middle and in jeopardy, he always had the strongest hand. Of course his luck didn't always hold out, but his decisions were bang on.
The re-buy period ended and I was chip leader with the brat only 9000 or 10,000 behind me. The blinds were 1000/2000 and I was dealt Ace, Queen off-suit. A nice starting hand. I tried to limp-in but the brat raised it up to 4000. I was the only caller and the flop brought a couple of clubs, in 10, Jack, rag. I was looking good with the straight draw, so called the brat's bet of 12,000. The turn was another club and I was surprised when the brat pushed all his chips in the middle.
I turned my cards over, showing my Ace, Queen and of course the Ace was a club so I had straight draws and flush opportunities. I worked out quickly that I had at least 12 outs, any King, any club or and maybe even pairing my ace should do it, unless the brat already had the flush of course.
I counted my chips and if I lost this one, I'd be left with 9000 chips and of course, Pokerbrat would be almost certainly unstoppable with over two-thirds of the chips in play.
I took my time, or as we like to call it... I took a 'Kermit Pause'.
Eventually I pushed my chips in and as it was my deal, I stood-up, burnt a card and then flipped over a King of clubs... YES!!! The nut flush!
The brat turned over his pocket Queens, gutted.
What's incredible here, is the odds of the Pokerbrat having pocket Queens again, only to have them cracked by a club nut flush again, that needed four clubs on the board, AGAIN!!! I'd love to know the odds of that!
Once again though, the brat had his chips in the middle when he was ahead.
Kermit didn't last too much longer, so Mountain was down to the heads-up two out of two!
With my chip lead, I didn't think it would be long, which was a big mistake because the Mountain was a 'move' machine, pushing all-in nearly every hand and really putting pressure on me. Before I knew it, he was ahead of me in chips, so I knew if I made a stand, and it went wrong, I'd be out the game!
He made some amazing moves, in one hand for example, I'd flopped top-pair (Jacks) but had a shitty kicker. I threw it away when Mountain pushed all-in, convinced he was on Ace, Jack or King, Jack and the bastard turns over pocket 2s!
We called him 'Mountain' because of his Rocky debut and yet here he was throwing his chips in with any face card.
Eventually I dropped about 10,000 chips behind and I had to make a stand. I was dealt Ace, Ten and when Mountain pushed, I called. He flipped over Ace, 8 so at least I was ahead. To my relief, they held and a few hands later, my paired 7, took Mountain out... Phew!!! I thought it was going to be an expensive night as far as the home game goes, but the £50 pot left me £10 up.
Fairplay Mountain, heads-up twice and almost nailed me in the second game.
jT
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Never Muck Your Hand - Even if you miss!
I've seen players lose chips (and sometimes cold hard cash) three times this month, because they mucked their hand for no good reason after the river card had been dealt.
Twice I wasn't in the hand, but once I was the lucky recipient of tens of thousands of chips with my 7 high (I missed my draw!)
I was in a cash game (thankfully out of the hand) watching a player throwing plenty of chips into the pot and he had a caller the whole way to the river. Four hearts were on the board and both players checked on the river. A young player, and one who had been making moves all night, claimed he had the flush, and the other player mucked his hand without turning his cards over and the young player simply mucked his hand, without showing, which he was perfectly entitled to do. Did he have the flush? We'll never know! NEVER MUCK YOUR HAND UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THAT YOU ARE BEATEN: POKER PLAYERS LIE!!!
I asked the player later if he had the flush and he smiled and said, "I always have the nuts."
A few weeks later in a cash game, two players bet the whole way to the river card. The board was something like Ace, Ace, Queen, Jack, 3 (no flush) and after the 3 hit on the river, a player bet-out. The other player called, and the betting man turned over Ace, Queen - very happy with his full house. The other player mucked his hand in a rage and was clearly pissed-off.
The dealer collected all the cards and re-shuffled, ready to deal the next hand. Another player asked the loser what he had, and he claimed he had Ace, Jack - Very unlucky as he too had a full house but was just pipped to the post by the Aces over Queens.
Unfortunately for the loser, in his anger to muck his hand, he forgot the house jackpot, which is, if your Aces full house is beaten, and both hands are shown after the river, you win £500 from the house! He may have lost a £100 pot when his Aces over Jacks was beaten by Aces over Queens, but he lost £500 for mucking his hand in anger. EVEN WHEN YOU ARE BEATEN - NEVER MUCK YOUR HAND IN ANGER - IF YOU GET A BAD BEAT, SHARE IT!
And finally, a hand I was involved in where a sneaky move won me a huge pot when I had nothing.
I was second to act against Scrooge McDuck and he bet pre-flop, on the flop and on the turn. I was chasing a straight, intending to bluff on the river if I missed. I flat called the whole way and by the time the river card hit, there was about 30,000 chips in the pot. I put Scrooge on two face cards and I was hoping they weren't paired.
When the river hit, I pushed my chips together as if I was about to push all in, and I was amazed (and relieved) when McDuck mucked his hand before I even got the chance to make the bluff! He was first to act and instead of checking his Ace or King high (I'm assuming) - he simply mucked, giving me all the chips and allowing me to muck my 7 high! NEVER MUCK YOUR HAND UNLESS YOU ARE FORCED TO!!!
I don't know if Scrooge McDuck had a face card, but I'm betting he was ahead of my 7!
jT
Twice I wasn't in the hand, but once I was the lucky recipient of tens of thousands of chips with my 7 high (I missed my draw!)
I was in a cash game (thankfully out of the hand) watching a player throwing plenty of chips into the pot and he had a caller the whole way to the river. Four hearts were on the board and both players checked on the river. A young player, and one who had been making moves all night, claimed he had the flush, and the other player mucked his hand without turning his cards over and the young player simply mucked his hand, without showing, which he was perfectly entitled to do. Did he have the flush? We'll never know! NEVER MUCK YOUR HAND UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THAT YOU ARE BEATEN: POKER PLAYERS LIE!!!
I asked the player later if he had the flush and he smiled and said, "I always have the nuts."
A few weeks later in a cash game, two players bet the whole way to the river card. The board was something like Ace, Ace, Queen, Jack, 3 (no flush) and after the 3 hit on the river, a player bet-out. The other player called, and the betting man turned over Ace, Queen - very happy with his full house. The other player mucked his hand in a rage and was clearly pissed-off.
The dealer collected all the cards and re-shuffled, ready to deal the next hand. Another player asked the loser what he had, and he claimed he had Ace, Jack - Very unlucky as he too had a full house but was just pipped to the post by the Aces over Queens.
Unfortunately for the loser, in his anger to muck his hand, he forgot the house jackpot, which is, if your Aces full house is beaten, and both hands are shown after the river, you win £500 from the house! He may have lost a £100 pot when his Aces over Jacks was beaten by Aces over Queens, but he lost £500 for mucking his hand in anger. EVEN WHEN YOU ARE BEATEN - NEVER MUCK YOUR HAND IN ANGER - IF YOU GET A BAD BEAT, SHARE IT!
And finally, a hand I was involved in where a sneaky move won me a huge pot when I had nothing.
I was second to act against Scrooge McDuck and he bet pre-flop, on the flop and on the turn. I was chasing a straight, intending to bluff on the river if I missed. I flat called the whole way and by the time the river card hit, there was about 30,000 chips in the pot. I put Scrooge on two face cards and I was hoping they weren't paired.
When the river hit, I pushed my chips together as if I was about to push all in, and I was amazed (and relieved) when McDuck mucked his hand before I even got the chance to make the bluff! He was first to act and instead of checking his Ace or King high (I'm assuming) - he simply mucked, giving me all the chips and allowing me to muck my 7 high! NEVER MUCK YOUR HAND UNLESS YOU ARE FORCED TO!!!
I don't know if Scrooge McDuck had a face card, but I'm betting he was ahead of my 7!
jT
Friday, 21 March 2008
Pokerbrat & AnteVirusjT Heads-Up Twice!
It was a great home game tonight. We played two, deep stack , £10 buy-in games with re-buys in the first hour.
In the first game it was a tough field with newcomer, John 'The Mountain' Michel joining us for the first time, Pokerbrat was on top form, Kermit was making some moves, the Fish was fishing, Scrooge McDuck took early chip lead, Lethal was playing tight and I kept hitting the cards.
My streak gave me the chip lead towards the end of the first hour and I'd trebled-up before the re-buy period ended. Kermit and The Fish had to re-load in the first game taking the pot to £90.
I have a chance to take Pokerbrat out and call his King, 10 with my King, Jack. He hits a 10 on the flop and I hit my Jack. The turn gives him another Ten and he doubles-up. This is bad news as he's dangerous with chips.
Kermit made a gutsy all-in call with Ace, King and was happy to see Pokerbrat with Ace, 5. The flop brings dead cards, but the brat turns or rivers a 5, taking Kermit out.
I'm desperately needing a double-up and I push with pocket 7s, when Pokerbrat raises pre-flop. The brat is the chip leader by some way so I'm hoping for a call, as I get to double-up and take some of the brat's chips. I get my wish and I'm pleased to see Ace, Jack as I always prefer to have the pair going into a coin flip. I flop my trips and river a full house so am back in the game in terms of chip stack.
Pokerbrat takes out two guys in one hand and by the time it gets to heads-up, he is a 2-1 chip leader.
We both adopt a push or fold strategy and rarely get to see a flop. I work my way back to even chips and then it's crunch time. I'm tempted to give it the Scotty Nguyen "If you call it's all over baby." Pokerbrat pushes all-in and I turn over my first card - King, so I insta-call and turn over my second card, 4... shit!
Pokerbrat has King, 2 so I am slightly ahead and breath a sigh of relief. Bastard flops a 2... shit! I turn a 4, putting me ahead again and I think the river brings another King, so I take down the first game and a £90 pot (after Pokerbrat takes his buy-in back for coming in second).
Extremely happy, I play too loose in the six-handed, second game, and have to re-load twice. Scrooge McDuck's luck is just as bad and his double re-load takes the pot to £100. At the end of the re-buys, I'd doubled-up but was way behind the chip leader, Chris the Fish, who had been enjoying some crazy calls. Before one of my re-buys, I move all-in with suited Ace, 2 and Fish calls me with King, 8.
I hit a two on the flop, so I'm looking good but you guessed it, the Fish rivers his King, AGAIN!!!
Kermit and me are in a similar position chip-wise and after my raise pre-flop, he pushes all-in. I'm looking at Ace, Queen but with Kermit's tight (as a frog's ass - hence the nickname) image, I wonder if it's enough. I take a long time to make a decision and start drawing tells from the frog. He doesn't seem to want the call but is acting like he does. The problem with Kermit is, he's so negative sometimes, he could be sat on pocket Kings and he's convinced you've got Aces so genuinely gets nervous in these situations anyway. I turn my cards over and ask him how he feels. To be fair to him, he doesn't give much of a reaction but he does reach for his drink, which I take as an insta-call, so push my chips in.
He turns over Ace, Queen and we watch a flush-less board hit, and split-up the pot, both a little relieved.
Kermit is taken out soon after the re-buy period and Scrooge McDuck is unlucky against Pokerbrat with four cards to the nut flush on the flop, a potential straight and the potential royal flush on the board for him! Any Jack would give him the straight, any heart the flush, and the Jack of hearts the royal flush! With two cards to go, he would be mad to fold and he calls only to see black cards turn and river him out of the second game. 8 or 9 outs and he misses! Unlucky.
The Fish is in the chip fryer soon-after, although he looks-up the brat repeatedly, revealing some big moves and giving us all some free information on the brat's range of cards that he's happy to risk his chips with, but it's the Pokerbrat who out-fishes the fish in the end! Good for the rest of us, bad for the Fish and the brat.
Mountain played really well in the second game and using a combination of the table image he built-up during the first game, and some good cards, he makes it to three-handed with Pokerbrat and myself. I need to take Mountain out to bring me about even in chips with the brat.
Mountain makes the fold of the night, when his flopped flush is crushed by a fourth club that gives me the Jack-high flush. I bet big on the river, and he folds his six or seven high flush. He lost a lot of chips as he bet-out right through to the river but he's still in it and made a great fold.
I'm on the big blind and The Mountain calls the 8000 to see the flop. I decide to try and outplay the newcomer and raise without even looking at my cards. The flop is 10, 10, Jack. Mountain bets 12,000 and I call without looking at my cards. The turn is a Queen. Mountain bets most of his chips and I decide it's time to take a peak at my cards. I have a Jack and an 8 so I have top pair and a potential straight. I call the 12,000 and see another Jack on the River, giving me my full house. Mountain pushes all-in and is really unlucky, as he shows pocket Aces. Although out the game, The Mountain has shown some sophisticated play in his debut, making an incredible fold and slow-playing pocket rockets, which could have paid off for him if the second Jack hadn't hit.
Pokerbrat and I are heads-up again, for £100 this time. In the second game it's winner takes all, as there will be no third game and the house rules are that you only get your buy-in back if you play the next game.
It's getting late and all the other players have gone home so the brat and I face-off with 150,000 each.
It goes back and fourth for well over an hour and by 4am, it's not looking like anyone is giving up their chips. I fold pocket tens on a suspicious board that could have trips or a flush but apart from that, we don't get involved in any major hands.
The sun is threatening to peer over the horizon so we agree to split the final pot straight down the middle, leaving me £100 up for the night and the brat £40 up.
We both hate splitting the pot, but respect wins out and we know it could be a long slog!
Great games tonight with some solid poker, plenty of moves and some monster hands.
Welcome aboard, Mountain, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to fellow-founders, BT and Renzo Hansford!!! You were missed!
jT
In the first game it was a tough field with newcomer, John 'The Mountain' Michel joining us for the first time, Pokerbrat was on top form, Kermit was making some moves, the Fish was fishing, Scrooge McDuck took early chip lead, Lethal was playing tight and I kept hitting the cards.
My streak gave me the chip lead towards the end of the first hour and I'd trebled-up before the re-buy period ended. Kermit and The Fish had to re-load in the first game taking the pot to £90.
I have a chance to take Pokerbrat out and call his King, 10 with my King, Jack. He hits a 10 on the flop and I hit my Jack. The turn gives him another Ten and he doubles-up. This is bad news as he's dangerous with chips.
Kermit made a gutsy all-in call with Ace, King and was happy to see Pokerbrat with Ace, 5. The flop brings dead cards, but the brat turns or rivers a 5, taking Kermit out.
I'm desperately needing a double-up and I push with pocket 7s, when Pokerbrat raises pre-flop. The brat is the chip leader by some way so I'm hoping for a call, as I get to double-up and take some of the brat's chips. I get my wish and I'm pleased to see Ace, Jack as I always prefer to have the pair going into a coin flip. I flop my trips and river a full house so am back in the game in terms of chip stack.
Pokerbrat takes out two guys in one hand and by the time it gets to heads-up, he is a 2-1 chip leader.
We both adopt a push or fold strategy and rarely get to see a flop. I work my way back to even chips and then it's crunch time. I'm tempted to give it the Scotty Nguyen "If you call it's all over baby." Pokerbrat pushes all-in and I turn over my first card - King, so I insta-call and turn over my second card, 4... shit!
Pokerbrat has King, 2 so I am slightly ahead and breath a sigh of relief. Bastard flops a 2... shit! I turn a 4, putting me ahead again and I think the river brings another King, so I take down the first game and a £90 pot (after Pokerbrat takes his buy-in back for coming in second).
Extremely happy, I play too loose in the six-handed, second game, and have to re-load twice. Scrooge McDuck's luck is just as bad and his double re-load takes the pot to £100. At the end of the re-buys, I'd doubled-up but was way behind the chip leader, Chris the Fish, who had been enjoying some crazy calls. Before one of my re-buys, I move all-in with suited Ace, 2 and Fish calls me with King, 8.
I hit a two on the flop, so I'm looking good but you guessed it, the Fish rivers his King, AGAIN!!!
Kermit and me are in a similar position chip-wise and after my raise pre-flop, he pushes all-in. I'm looking at Ace, Queen but with Kermit's tight (as a frog's ass - hence the nickname) image, I wonder if it's enough. I take a long time to make a decision and start drawing tells from the frog. He doesn't seem to want the call but is acting like he does. The problem with Kermit is, he's so negative sometimes, he could be sat on pocket Kings and he's convinced you've got Aces so genuinely gets nervous in these situations anyway. I turn my cards over and ask him how he feels. To be fair to him, he doesn't give much of a reaction but he does reach for his drink, which I take as an insta-call, so push my chips in.
He turns over Ace, Queen and we watch a flush-less board hit, and split-up the pot, both a little relieved.
Kermit is taken out soon after the re-buy period and Scrooge McDuck is unlucky against Pokerbrat with four cards to the nut flush on the flop, a potential straight and the potential royal flush on the board for him! Any Jack would give him the straight, any heart the flush, and the Jack of hearts the royal flush! With two cards to go, he would be mad to fold and he calls only to see black cards turn and river him out of the second game. 8 or 9 outs and he misses! Unlucky.
The Fish is in the chip fryer soon-after, although he looks-up the brat repeatedly, revealing some big moves and giving us all some free information on the brat's range of cards that he's happy to risk his chips with, but it's the Pokerbrat who out-fishes the fish in the end! Good for the rest of us, bad for the Fish and the brat.
Mountain played really well in the second game and using a combination of the table image he built-up during the first game, and some good cards, he makes it to three-handed with Pokerbrat and myself. I need to take Mountain out to bring me about even in chips with the brat.
Mountain makes the fold of the night, when his flopped flush is crushed by a fourth club that gives me the Jack-high flush. I bet big on the river, and he folds his six or seven high flush. He lost a lot of chips as he bet-out right through to the river but he's still in it and made a great fold.
I'm on the big blind and The Mountain calls the 8000 to see the flop. I decide to try and outplay the newcomer and raise without even looking at my cards. The flop is 10, 10, Jack. Mountain bets 12,000 and I call without looking at my cards. The turn is a Queen. Mountain bets most of his chips and I decide it's time to take a peak at my cards. I have a Jack and an 8 so I have top pair and a potential straight. I call the 12,000 and see another Jack on the River, giving me my full house. Mountain pushes all-in and is really unlucky, as he shows pocket Aces. Although out the game, The Mountain has shown some sophisticated play in his debut, making an incredible fold and slow-playing pocket rockets, which could have paid off for him if the second Jack hadn't hit.
Pokerbrat and I are heads-up again, for £100 this time. In the second game it's winner takes all, as there will be no third game and the house rules are that you only get your buy-in back if you play the next game.
It's getting late and all the other players have gone home so the brat and I face-off with 150,000 each.
It goes back and fourth for well over an hour and by 4am, it's not looking like anyone is giving up their chips. I fold pocket tens on a suspicious board that could have trips or a flush but apart from that, we don't get involved in any major hands.
The sun is threatening to peer over the horizon so we agree to split the final pot straight down the middle, leaving me £100 up for the night and the brat £40 up.
We both hate splitting the pot, but respect wins out and we know it could be a long slog!
Great games tonight with some solid poker, plenty of moves and some monster hands.
Welcome aboard, Mountain, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to fellow-founders, BT and Renzo Hansford!!! You were missed!
jT
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Channing and Boatman in the House, but...
... I've caught a cold the decks were so damn cold in the Vic!
BT and I were looking across the table for literally hours, with neither of us getting a bloody hand. It was ridiculous. Not to mention a little frenchman who was raising eight times the big blind almost every other hand, the little muppet.
It's a night of poker I'd like to forget so this post will be short. I had five monster hands all night - four of them turned into split pots and in one, I had the nut flush only to be beaten by a straight flush! Unbefuckinlievable!
BT's luck was not much better but I'll let him post his own tale of woe and misfortune.
It was cool to see Barney Boatman and Neil 'Bad Beat' Channing in person but that was slightly second best to the people we met earlier that day for work, namely Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Damien Lewis, The Prince of Wales, the hot chick from the new St Trinians movie and the cool black guy from Heroes... ah, work is tough!
The poker highlight for me was playing hours of dealer's choice with BT on the train - we played Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Pineapple, Five Card Draw, and weird variations of all of those mentioned with Jacks wild! We even played a mental version of Chinese Poker where we were betting chips on each hand with winner takes all.
Anwyay to wrap up the Vic trip, it became clear that the frenchman and at least four of the other players were working together, little bastards. We were never going to beat that table, I just wish we'd clocked it earlier!
jT
BT and I were looking across the table for literally hours, with neither of us getting a bloody hand. It was ridiculous. Not to mention a little frenchman who was raising eight times the big blind almost every other hand, the little muppet.
It's a night of poker I'd like to forget so this post will be short. I had five monster hands all night - four of them turned into split pots and in one, I had the nut flush only to be beaten by a straight flush! Unbefuckinlievable!
BT's luck was not much better but I'll let him post his own tale of woe and misfortune.
It was cool to see Barney Boatman and Neil 'Bad Beat' Channing in person but that was slightly second best to the people we met earlier that day for work, namely Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Damien Lewis, The Prince of Wales, the hot chick from the new St Trinians movie and the cool black guy from Heroes... ah, work is tough!
The poker highlight for me was playing hours of dealer's choice with BT on the train - we played Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Pineapple, Five Card Draw, and weird variations of all of those mentioned with Jacks wild! We even played a mental version of Chinese Poker where we were betting chips on each hand with winner takes all.
Anwyay to wrap up the Vic trip, it became clear that the frenchman and at least four of the other players were working together, little bastards. We were never going to beat that table, I just wish we'd clocked it earlier!
jT
Monday, 17 March 2008
Cold Decks & Pineapple
It was a pretty bad night at the Pomme for me, I lost a huge pot with an Ace, 8 suited when I was out-kicked by a 10 that went from a potential split pot to a straight when the river showed a Jack.
I was down £300 and tempted to call it a night. After the last few weeks I was still up £2000 and I figured I can afford a few weeks of losing £300 - but I couldn't do it! No way I'm leaving at 10:30pm on a bad call. And I've been down £400 before and brought it back up to £1000 profit. Say one thing about me, being down a few hundred quid doesn't throw me on tilt!
So I cashed another £200 and sat back down at the table. The deck was cold for me for at least an hour and I wondered if I was going to see a pair again. I watched Pokerbrat go bust and leave £100 down and I figured it would be a bad night for the Fishhook crew.
Dealer's Choice
My favorite time of the night, when Paul takes a break and the players pick the game. First up, Omaha, and it didn't let me down. This time I'm dealt a marginal hand, one that most people may even fold - QQ52 and the 5 suits one of the Queens. Thing is, I know I'm only gonna get one or two hands of Omaha, so I play it. Luckily nobody raises the pot so I limp in. The flop misses me apart from a 2 so my Queens are still the best cards in my hand... I also have an outside flush. The turn is a rag and the river gives me a Queen-high flush and amazingly, I take down an average pot.
We play another hand of Omaha, but I'm dealt crap and fold when someone bets on the flop.
Then we play 7 card stud and I'm looking good for a straight but have to fold just before the third down card is dealt.
Pineapple
A player chooses Pineapple, a game I've never played before. Basically, you get three cards in the hole and then the flop is dealt. You then get to throw one card away and play the rest of the hand like Hold'em. I really enjoyed it but it was a crap hand. I got 5,7,9 clubs, which could have been sweet on the flop but only gave me three to a straight when I threw away the 9. Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing that again, it's an interesting variation of poker I'd never come across before.
In the last hour, I take down a few pots, play some speculative hands, one that turns into a straight and one that gives me a fishy set of deuces. I didn't get paid in the latter as I said something fuckwitish like "Cheap to call," when someone made the minimum bet. I still got paid a little, but the guy called me a 'Plum' anyway and laughed at my comment.
Dolly Brunson
I was down £300 and tempted to call it a night. After the last few weeks I was still up £2000 and I figured I can afford a few weeks of losing £300 - but I couldn't do it! No way I'm leaving at 10:30pm on a bad call. And I've been down £400 before and brought it back up to £1000 profit. Say one thing about me, being down a few hundred quid doesn't throw me on tilt!
So I cashed another £200 and sat back down at the table. The deck was cold for me for at least an hour and I wondered if I was going to see a pair again. I watched Pokerbrat go bust and leave £100 down and I figured it would be a bad night for the Fishhook crew.
Dealer's Choice
My favorite time of the night, when Paul takes a break and the players pick the game. First up, Omaha, and it didn't let me down. This time I'm dealt a marginal hand, one that most people may even fold - QQ52 and the 5 suits one of the Queens. Thing is, I know I'm only gonna get one or two hands of Omaha, so I play it. Luckily nobody raises the pot so I limp in. The flop misses me apart from a 2 so my Queens are still the best cards in my hand... I also have an outside flush. The turn is a rag and the river gives me a Queen-high flush and amazingly, I take down an average pot.
We play another hand of Omaha, but I'm dealt crap and fold when someone bets on the flop.
Then we play 7 card stud and I'm looking good for a straight but have to fold just before the third down card is dealt.
Pineapple
A player chooses Pineapple, a game I've never played before. Basically, you get three cards in the hole and then the flop is dealt. You then get to throw one card away and play the rest of the hand like Hold'em. I really enjoyed it but it was a crap hand. I got 5,7,9 clubs, which could have been sweet on the flop but only gave me three to a straight when I threw away the 9. Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing that again, it's an interesting variation of poker I'd never come across before.
In the last hour, I take down a few pots, play some speculative hands, one that turns into a straight and one that gives me a fishy set of deuces. I didn't get paid in the latter as I said something fuckwitish like "Cheap to call," when someone made the minimum bet. I still got paid a little, but the guy called me a 'Plum' anyway and laughed at my comment.
Dolly Brunson
I limped-in with 10, 2, unsuited only to hit two pair on the flop. I checked, hoping to trap. The turn throws out another 10 giving me a full house. A guy raises it up so I um and ar and then call. The river throws out a flush possibility and the guy throws in £25, I re-raise £75 and he puts me all-in. I turn over my house and he shows a picture card flush. I double-up and get the only monster I see all night - well, monster with me winning anyway!
When I cashed-in for the night it was for £330, so I managed to claw back £130 into my £300 loss, finishing the night £170 down. Not the end of the world by any means, and I'm hoping the Vic on Tuesday will get me back into my winning ways.
No Pomme next week as it's Easter Sunday but I got the Vic Tuesday and a homegame on Thursday at my place.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
