Project 10K Session #10 - Getting Away with Being a Stupid Idiot

On Saturday I was at a dinner party at my friend E.B.'s house and he asked me if there was any chance of me playing later that night. E.B. has also been playing the $2/$3/$5 at the Oaks with some regularity and we've played a couple of sessions together in the recent past. I hadn't been planning on it, but coming off my close to $800 win the night before it started to sound like fun.

After some minor negotiating with our wives, at 9 pm we headed for the Oaks and there were two open seats at the $2/$3/$5 game at table #1 when we walked in the door.

I'd had a few glasses of wine before and during dinner and when the waitress walked by I ordered a beer.

I just about never drink when I'm playing poker without friends around. I learned back in my early 20's that you feel like you're making the same plays and the same decisions, but you're results will not add up. The margins are thin and a few drinks can easily swing you from making a lot of bets where you're a 53% favorite to a 47% favorite. That might not sound like a lot, but that's basically going from being the house to being the player at roulette.

There was one stretch back when I was playing online every day in the golden age of online poker back in 2004 where I ended up drinking and playing about 5 times over the course of one month. I lost every day that I played while drinking and won every other day with one exception. It did not take hard analysis of that data to sort out the problem. That month really stuck with me and I probably only drank and played online a handful of times over the next 6-7 years.

But drinking and gambling go together like peanut butter and chocolate where they're both awesome and then you cram them together and you get the Goddamn flavor magic that is a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. After I stopped playing poker full time I took about 18 months where I didn't play serious poker. But about once a month I'd go in with a friend and play $6/$12 with the goal of winning enough to pay for food and drinks and to just be doing something fun while we were hanging out. I did great in those sessions and it was always a lot of fun. Drinking doesn't take you from an elite player to someone who can't play at all and even impaired I was still able to whoop the schlubs I was up against. And it's really fun to drink and gamble.

With all that said it's stupid to sit with $1,000 in front of you in a no limit game and not be at your best. And after that beer, I ordered another one, and then a cocktail and after a while I was certainly not at my best even though in my own mind I felt like I was playing well and doing the same stuff I normally would.

Luckily the deck was on my side and my strategy has been really well thought out away from the table lately. The moves I make 95% of the time require no thought at this point and as far as I can tell I was able to execute on them mostly how I normally would. It helped that I was getting either total garbage or total monster hands.

Early on I got dealt AA. There was a $5 call and a raise to $25 from a very tight player. I made it $55 to go and was pleased to see them both call. The flop came down J J 4 with two spades and I bet out $100. Only the very tight player called. The turn was the A of spades! Whoa baby! I figured I needed to give my opponent every chance to make something or bluff at it as he only had about $150 left and one more big bet would get it all in. He checked behind. The river was a blank and I put him all in. He folded QQ. Turns out that A was a bad turn card as it killed my action, but I was off to a good start.

This having a pocket pair and making sets and full houses was a trend for the rest of the night.

I had 66 and bet it all the way through on a 9 9 5 flop, 4 turn and 6 on the river and stacked someone for $200. Not sure I needed the 6 to win there, but if I didn't it made me an extra $100 on the river.

I flopped a set of 7's on an ace high board and called a flop bet and a turn bet, before betting myself on the river.

I had 55 on a 5 4 3 board and turned a full house.

On the biggest one, I made it $40 to go with JJ vs a raise to $15 and got two cold callers behind me. We took the flop 4 way and it came down Q J 2 with two diamonds. Zing! I bet $125 and got called by the player just to my left. He was a pretty tight player and I was thinking his preflop call was suspicious. Now that he was calling again I thought there was a good chance he had AA or KK. Then shit got real! One of the other players went all in for $80 and the last player went all in for $320! The guy who I thought might have AA or KK had about $600 left and I had him covered. In the moment I didn't get past looking a the huge pot and knowing I had the best hand on a draw heavy board. I figured I should try to protect it. So I shoved all in and while he was thinking I realized I should have just called and let AA or KK in. After 30 seconds he folded AA face up. The other two had 22 and I don't know what, the turn and river bricked out and I won a huge pot.

I did have one hand that is the thing of nightmares. I raised to $25 with KQ of clubs, got called by Mr. Looks Like He Used To Be A Hippie and then a wild player went all in for a little over $100. Mr. LLHUTBAH had about $550 in front of him and I figured if I just called, he'd call as well, but that I could unload him and isolate the wild player with a reraise. I made it $300 to go. He looked pained and then he said "I guess I'm all in" or something to that effect. Sweet Christ! Some people will smooth call with AA or KK, but not this guy. I've played with him a few times and he makes raises that are way too big with big pocket pairs preflop every time and then he shows them when everyone folds. At this point I was getting almost 4 to 1 on my money so I was stuck no matter what I thought he had. When the cards got turned over he also had KQ...but he made a flush. GAH! This was such a bad play on his part, but what made it worse was that I'm pretty sure he would have folded if I'd just shoved all in. Even though he had to know there was 0% chance of me folding to his reraise, I'm almost positive he would have looked at it differently. He got up right after winning that pot and in my alcohol fueled state I openly ridiculed him. I regret doing that. But I do not regret ridiculing him here, because that was an awful play, I hate him, he has criticized my play opening in the past, I double hate him and I will have my revenge!

My last note in my phone is "Q 7 3 with 2 clubs. Call 20 pre 4 ways. I have 77. Pre-raiser bets 35, I go 100 with 1 behind. He golfs." Not sure how accurate that is.

Other than that one hand with the KQ I ran super hot all night. At one point I crested the mythical magical $2,000+ mark getting to $2,003 to the good. I dribbled back a few bucks and left at about 3:30 am with exactly $1,900 more than I came with.

I bought that first beer with money from my wallet as I have backers involved here and wanted to keep my purchases separate from my chip stack. The next one I bought with chips because it was easier in the moment and vowed to keep a tally of how much came out of my stack. That went out the window with the next drink, but I think I spent about $40 out of my stack.

So I'm calling it a $1,940 win! Huzzah! My $10,000 bankroll is up to $13,821 after 50 hours of play.

Normally after a big win there is a great moment the next morning. That moment when it hits you that you had a big win and there's a fat stack of hundreds in your wallet or in a rubber banded roll that wasn't there at the start of the previous day. On Sunday morning I didn't get that feeling. I felt a little stressed and a little guilty. I should not have played with other people's money on the line while drinking. It's stupid enough to put my own money on the line like that, but worse to risk other's cash and even though it worked out great, I still feel bad about it and won't be doing that again any time soon.

Project 10K Session #9 - The Dismemberment of Seat 4

I put in five and a half hours on Friday night, but the action against one player in particular was the main driver of my results.

He is young guy who normally wears basketball shorts and a t-shirt, is a little chubby and I've played against him a few times. He's very loose and fairly aggressive, but not in a measured or controlled way. He just spews chips all over the place. On Friday he was sitting in Seat 4 and had about $1,200 in front of him when I sat down. I played 6 hands where he was the key villain over the course of about 45 minutes.

On the first big hand against him, he straddled for $10, I raised to $40 with KJ and he was my only caller. The flop came down 9 8 4 with two diamonds and I bet out $55. This was an extremely draw heavy board and I was not at all surprised to see him call. This was actually kind of a tricky spot as I expected him to call preflop with just about anything and expected him to call the flop with just about anything. I had no idea what he had. I could probably rule out the total garbage hands like 23, 25, 73 and others like that, but other than that I was flying blind with not much of a hand. Happily the turn was a J and I bet out $100. As expected he called. The river was an A which wasn't a great card, but there was really no reason to think he had an A. I decided to check hoping he'd bluff with a missed draw and also to save myself some money if he happened to be calling along with a monster. He bet out $100, I quickly called, and he showed me K9.

A little later Seat 4 opened for $20 and after 2 other callers I called out of the big blind with KJ. The flop came down K Q 5. The way to beat loose aggressive players is to let them bet into your made hands, so I checked. Seat 4 bet out $65, the others folded and I just called even though I was very likely to have the best hand. The turn was another K making me trips. Now I was almost certain to have the best of it. I checked again hoping he'd continue to fire, but sadly he checked behind me. The river was a 6 and I considered betting, but decided it would look so weak to check again that I'd be very likely to see a bet no matter what he had. Seat 4 didn't disappoint this time putting $200 into the pot. I considered raising, but I couldn't think of any hands he could have that could call a raise and still lose to my trips. I figured 95% of the time I'd be looking at a fold and 5% of the time I'd get stacked. I called and he folded his hand face down.

I picked up $300 on those hands with some smart river checks and felt really satisfied about it.

I had two other hands where I raised, he was the only caller, I bet the flop and he folded. Not exciting, but good for momentum.

On the next one I had J4 on the button and with 5 of us in there the flop came down 8 8 4. Seat 4 bet $20 into the $20 pot and I called. I didn't think there was any way he'd bet out with an 8 and if he had a 4 it could literally be anything for 42 on up to A4. I was little worried about a hand like 55 or 66, but not enough to fold. The turn was a 7 and he checked reinforcing my read that he had a 4. I bet $55 and he called. The river was an A, we both checked and I beat 94.

On the last hand I played against Seat 4 I raised to $20 with K9 suited and he was the only caller out of the big blind. The flop came down K 8 4 and he checked to me. Thinking back on those two hands where he folded to my continuation bets and seeing a very dry board I took a non standard line and checked it back. The turn was a J. He checked, I bet $25 hoping it looked like a desperate bluff, and he called. The river was a 3 which didn't change anything, and he bet out $55. I figured this was either desperation or two pair, so I had to call thinking I'd win at least half the time. He turned over QQ! Yowza!

Within the next few minutes he spewed off his last couple hundred to someone else and headed for the door. After this run I was ahead about $800 and having a great time.

I had one really tough spot come up later in the session. There were two wild players to my left who had been in almost every pot and just behind them was a tight, fairly straightforward player. I opened for $25 with JJ, both the wild guys called and the tight player made it $100 to go. I felt like about 90% of his range was QQ, KK, AA or AK, and the rest was JJ, TT, AQ with some very tiny chance of random others. If you look at the AA-QQ and AK part there are 6 two card combinations to make each of the pairs and 16 combinations that make AK so if I assume that he has one of those 4 hands it's actually pretty close to even money that he has AK vs a pair even though there are 3 paired hands and one non pair hand in that range. Anyway, I called the $100 and one of the wild guys came along too. The flop came down 9 6 4 with no flush draws possible. I checked and Mr. Tight made it $150 to go. I figured he would do this with AK or an over pair so I called still holding out hope it was AK. The turn paired the 4 and I checked again. Now he bet $250. Normally 9 6 4 4 is a great board for JJ, but this time it was not. If that $250 was all he had left I might have called him, but he had another $500 behind so I let it go.

Other than that one hand, the rest of the night went mostly smoothly and I ended up winning $794 on the night! My $10,000 bankroll is at $11,881 after 43.5 hours of play.

Project 10K Session #8 - Big Pocket Pairs Are Worthless Piles of Beaver Shit

Losing with big pocket pairs can be really frustrating. It's only once every 54 hands (or about every hour and a half) that you'll get a pair JJ-AA so you have to wait and wait and wait, and then many times you get no action and inwardly bitch about it. But, friends it can always be worse...

I sat down at a $1/$1/$2 game where one guy had about $1,500 in front of him. This is an insane stack as the max buy in is $200. He was a nut and I got involved with him and another player in a big hand early on. I got dealt JJ, made it $10 to go and got 4 callers. The flop came down J 6 2 - YAY! But it was all spades - BOO! The player just to my right that had limped preflop bet out $20. I wasn't messing around and made it $60 to go. Mr. 1,500 cold called the $60, and the other guy made it $210 to go! Holy smokes! It figured that this guy had a made flush, but even if he did I was getting the right price to call and there was some chance he had 66 or 22. I put in my remaining $120 or so and was all in. Mr. 1,500 called and they got another $100 in on the turn before the raiser was all in. He had K8 of spades and Mr. 1,500 had the ace of spades. The turn and river were both red, non-pair cards and I saw a huge pot go the wrong way. Stupid sets of jacks!

After other minor bumps I was stuck $250 in that game when I got called for the $2/$3/$5 and got into a tough spot right away. I open raised in late position to $25 with A9 and got one caller who I hadn't played with before. He was sitting on about $250 when the hand started. The flop came down A 7 6 with two hearts. I bet $45 and he raised me to $110. Ugh. The secret sauce here is figuring out 1) Is this the kind of guy who would raise a draw in this manner 2) Is this the kind of guy who would call a raise preflop with Ax suited with the X being a small card and raise a weak ace in this manner 3) Is this the kind of guy who will put me on AK if I three bet him and be able to make a big laydown with AT-AQ? These are questions you can easily answer about a player after a few hours with them, but it's hard when you've played no hands against him. If the answer is no to all of them like it is with many players, it's a clear fold. If it's yes for all 3 it's probably shove time. Without anything to base it on I hoped this guy was the kind of guy who I could answer 'Yes' to for 1, 2, or 3. I put him all in for $225 and he snap called me with AK. Fudge!

I spent a lot of time questioning that play over the next 10-15 minutes, but after playing with that guy for 4 hours I would 100% shove on him there knowing what I know now. He raised me with a bunch of weak shit later on on A high boards and called raises with very weak suited hands often. That doesn't change the fact that it was highly questionable to shove there against a random opponent, but it did make me feel a little better.

I had a few other minor hands go against me and slipped down to -$800 on the day and was thinking how it would be nice to walk in and just have shit work for a change! But I was not discouraged.

I called $30 on the button with KQ and took a flop 3 way. The flop came down A J 4 and the preflop raiser bet out $40. This was a small bet for him and I figured it was either a set, AJ or a miss. So I called thinking if I hit a 10 I'd stack a set and if I was against a miss I'd take the pot on the turn. The other player called which gummed things up a bit on the bluffing front, but when they both checked to me on the turn, I fired out $150 without hesitation. The other player folded and the preflop raiser said "God Damn it!" and folded KK face up! Yum, yum, the sweet taste of bluffing KK with KQ is so sweet!

Over the course of the next couple of hours I flopped 2 straights and got a little action. But then lost $150 with AA ks K8 on a T 9 8 8 4 board. I made some pairs and missed some thin draws. I stole a shitload of small pots. It was mostly up with the few small downs.

Then over the course of a few hands I destroyed this one guy so hard it's almost not fair. I'll call him Mr. Curious.

I didn't note the details, but on one hand I remember I hero called a bet of $60 into a $60 pot on the river with 23 with just the 2 paired and it was good. 

On the second hand Mr. Curious raised to $35 and after 2 calls I called with A8 of spades in the big blind. The flop came down 9 6 2 with two spades. I checked, Mr. Curious bet $120, the others folded and I made it $250 to go. He had about $300 left after his bet and spent about 60 seconds mumbling to himself about what I might have. I spent this time listing to 10% of my inner monologue making the case that the best outcome is him calling and me hitting so a call wouldn't be all that bad while the other 90% is screaming FOLD FOLD FOLD! Eventually he folded KK face up! I'm bluffing pocket kings all over the place baby!

He asked me what I had and I told him that I couldn't tell him because I wanted him to squirm inside with doubt (really!). He asked me a few more times over the next hour and I gave him the same answer.

Facing a lot of limpers Mr. Curious made it $40 to go and I made a loose call (translation: a bad call) with 86 of hearts hoping a few others would come in behind me, but they all folded and we took the flop heads up. It came out 7 5 4 making me the nut straight! I was thinking about how to get max value from Mr. Curious when he made it super easy on me by moving all in for $200. You'll never believe what he had...KK again! No miracles came for him and I scooped a nice pot.

Mr. Curious bought back in for $100 and a few minutes later he called a raise to $15. I looked down at AA and made it $40 to go out of the big blind. The raiser bailed but Mr. Curious called as I figured he would. The flop was T 9 3 and I put him all in for his last $60. He called with KT, missed and I got him again. He stood up to leave and again asked what I had in the hand where I'd made it $250 to go with A8. This time I told him what I had, not to rub it in, but because I felt a little bad for crushing him so hard and he seemed like he really wanted to know.

I guess all big pairs aren't worthless piles of beaver shit, but if you bring KK anywhere near me expect some stink.

In the end I banked a $377 win over 5 hours. My $10,000 bankroll is at $11,087 after 38 hours of play.

Project 10K Session #7 - Come Visit the Wild and Dangerous Draw City

I ended up going to a party Friday night so I ended up heading to the Oaks on Saturday afternoon instead of my normal Friday. When I sat down at $2/$3/$5 I saw more new faces than normal and bought in for my usual $500. The first hour and fifteen minutes were totally nuts with 7 big hands.

Hand #1 - I saw a flop for $5 with 87, flopped a straight on an 9 T J two diamond board and found myself facing a bet of $20. I had four players left to act behind me and on many boards with a huge hand I would just call, but not that board - I made it $50 to go. The button was a guy I'll call Mr. H (because his name starts with H!). I've played with him off and on at the Oaks since I first started playing in 2001. He's maybe in his 40's and I think he's from the Philippines originally. He talks a lot and we joke around a lot. I know I give him trouble, and I have good read on him. He shoved for 95 and put the $20 bettor who had $250 left in a tough spot. Eventually he called, I put him all in, and he looked so sad, but called anyway. Mr. H had 72 of diamonds and Mr $20 bet had AQ with the Q of diamonds. The turn was a small diamond making Mr. H a flush, the river was a blank and I won the side pot, but missed out on the $300 main pot. I was 49% to win all of the money when it went in on the flop. This was OK.

Hand #2 - A guy across the table from me raised to 30 and I called in the small blind with AK with the K of spades. The flop came down 8 9 T all spades. Betting out or check calling were both options, but I went for the check raise and took it from $45 to $125. My opponent called. The turn was a red K which was a fantastic card for me as I went from a semi bluff to very likely having the best hand. I shoved all in and my opponent waited for about 90 second before calling off his last $200. The river was a J and my opponent turned over JJ with the J of spades. GAH! I was 38% to win on the flop there and 77% on the turn. This was bad!

Hand #3 - In a preflop limped pot, I bet out $25 on a A 9 2 two club flop with 98 of clubs. The guy just to my right made it $50. He was a young guy who seemed inexperienced and I was 95% sure this was one pair of aces with a weak or medium kicker. Even though I was sure I was behind I felt like I could intimidate him. I decided to put him to the test as I was about 50/50 to make two pair or better and thought I might be able to unload him - I made it $150 to go. He reluctantly called. On the turn I made my flush, put him all in for $100 and he again reluctantly called. He mucked when I showed my hand. This was good!

Hand #4 - I had 54 of clubs in the big blind and called a raise to $15 in a 6 way pot. The flop came down A 4 2 with two hearts giving me a pair and a gut shot. I checked, the player to my left bet $25 which is a really small bet into a $90 pot. Two players called and I called as well. The turn was a 5 making me two pair. Someone could have had a 3 making them a straight, but unless it was A3 it wasn't likely. I bet out $110 thinking I might get called by a heart draw, but would probably unload anyone with an ace. I got 2 callers! Yikes! I was ready to waive the white flag no matter what, but when the river was the 7 of hearts, I knew my goose was cooked. I checked, the player to my left went all in for $50, and the other went all in for $150. They both made flushes and AJ of hearts took it down. This was bad!

Hand #5 - 7 players called $5 preflop before the small blind who raised it to $35. I had A6 of hearts and 5 of us saw the flop. The small blind bet $100 into the $190 pot on a Q J 5 two heart board. Everyone folded to me with one player still left to act behind me. I felt pretty sure this was a legit hand. Players almost never raise out of the sb lite, they don't often bet $100 into 4 opponents without something good, and he only had $125 left so he was probably pot committed. If I put him all in and he called I'd be risking $225 to win $415. If he had a hand like KK I'd be 45% to win so this was the right price. If he had AQ I'd be 36% which would make it about a break even move in the long run. If he had a set I'd be 25% to win and it would be a losing proposition. In the moment the rough math told me I was 2 to 1 against to make my flush and thinking I wasn't quite getting the right price. But there was some small chance he'd fold or I'd get action from the guy behind as well improving my value when I hit. I made it $300, the other player folded and the first guy said "Will you show if I fold?" I was as still as a statue. He said "I have a big hand" and I believed him. I willed him to fold...and he did! Afterward everyone congratulated him on making a great fold. Ha! This was good!

Hand #6 - The key villain in the next two hands was a guy I'll call Mr. W because he smelled like weed when he walked in. He is 40's, thin, small, asian and I knew from playing with him in the past that he is a loose player. I opened for $20 with JJ and got 3 callers including Mr. W. The flop was T 9 2 which looked great to me. I bet $60 into the $80 pot and only Mr. W called. The turn was a 7 and I put him all in for $100. He called and flipped over 8 6 for a straight! Son of a bitch! What a great board for JJ. Oh well.This was bad!

Hand #7 - About 5 minutes later I got myself into a really tough spot with KT of spades. I called Mr. W's raise to $20 in the big blind and we took the flop 4 way. The flop came down 9 6 2 with two spades, I checked, Mr. Big Watch to my left bet $25 and Mr. W made it $90 to go. At this point I was pretty sure he had a pretty solid hand that was likely and overpair or A9, but for some reason I was feeling full of confidence after my A6 of hearts victory and decided to make a play at the pot. He had about $250 left after the $90 which was enough that if I shoved it would put him in a tough spot. But I thought that would look like a draw. I asked myself "how would this guy expect me to play a set?" The answer was I'd just call the $90. So that's what I did, hoping for a spade on the turn, and planning to represent a set if I missed. Mr. Big Watch folded and sadly I got a red 7 on the turn. I could make an argument for checking here and hoping my flop call is scary enough that it would go check check and I'd see a free river. But in the moment I went for it and put him all in for $250. He called right away with JJ, I missed my K and my spades and another big pot went his way. Grrrrr. This was bad!

This is a lot of action for an hour and fifteen minutes! If you add up the 1 OK, two goods and 4 bads I was stuck about $500.

A while later I got into it again with Mr. W who was now sitting of a big pile of chips mostly funded by me. I raised to 25 on the button with 99 and got two callers. The flop came down K 6 2 with two diamonds and I bet $60 after it checked to me. Only Mr. W called. The turn was an 8 and he checked to me again. Against some players I'd check back here, but he'd been calling me super lite thus far so I figured I'd bet again for value - I fired out $120 and again he called. Now I thought maybe he had a king, but probably he hand a flush draw. I figured if I could fade the diamonds I'd be good. The 3 of spades came on the river. This looked like a perfect card. Then Mr. W went all in! WHAT?! I had about $250 left and there was about $680 in the pot. From what I knew of Mr. W I didn't think there was any way he'd just call the turn with a set or two pair, and I didn't think he'd play a K this way either. The key question was, what did the 3 change? The only answer was 54 is now a straight. That was the only big hand that made any sense at all. It had to be 54 of diamonds or a flush draw that missed and was now making a desperate bluff. It was either one or the other. In the end I figured I was going to lose about 2/3 of the time, but was getting good odds to call. I called and lost to 54 of spades. FUUUUUUUCK! I can't believe this guy called $60 into $80 pots twice with just bare gut shots and beat me twice. On the turn he picked up more outs, but I was still sick of it.

At that point I'd lost to a flush draw twice, missed a flush draw twice, lost to a gut shot straight draw twice, made one flush and stolen one with a flush draw. Not a recipe for success.

That brought me down to -$1,000 on the night and I was all the way down to -$1,250 when the next hand came up.

Mr. W came in for a raise to $20, one player called, I called with 88, another two players called and then the action was on Mr. H. He moved all in for $320! The player to my right who is loose and likes to gamble went all in for about $90 total and it was back to me. There was about $500 in the pot and I needed to call another $300. I totally ruled out AA and KK and Mr. H is too smart to just shove with those. It seemed like AK was the most likely possibility. I took my time and considered that it might me JJ or TT, but it could just as easily be 66 or 77. A medium pair was more likely than a small one, but this big shove just screamed AK to me and if it was AK I'd be roughly 55% to win. So I called. If you're going to play, you can't forget your balls! To my utter delight the flop came with an 8 on it and the turn paired the board! Mr. H showed QQ! Yowza! Living up to his name Mr. Loose Gamble showed 75 suited. I got really lucky here as I was only 17% to win when the money went in.

If I lose that pot I'm out the door a $1,600 loser on the night. Instead all of a sudden had a decent stack.

Then I got KK, raised to 25 and got called by Mr. W and one other player. Come on baby! Let me stick it to this guy one time. Calling me down with fucking gut shots all night long. It's revenge time! The flop came down T 8 2 rainbow and I bet $60. Mr W called. A ha! The turn was a king. Top set baby! I bet 125 and Mr. W called again. Double a ha! Please lord give this guy something. The river paired the 8 which was a fantastic card making me a full house and the second nuts. I bet $250 and Mr. W paused to think. I considered the soul crushing possibility that he might have 88, but only because that was the only hand I couldn't beat. After 30 seconds he said "I know I'm beat. I call." I showed him the goods and he said he had an 8, but I'm not sure I belive him. Take that!

A little later I got my gut shot revenge as well. I called $25 preflop with A2 of hearts against 5 opponents. The flop came down A 3 4 with one heart and I called a bet of $60. On the turn I made the wheel when a 5 came and I just called a bet of $100. My opponent checked the river dark, I bet $160 after an 8 came off and beat AK.

Pile all that shit together and I came out a $63 winner on the night after 6 hours of play! My $10,000 bankroll is a $10,710 after 33 hours of play. It feels great to dodge a big loss.

I'm making it a new goal to book a $2,000 win during project 10K. I think keeping that top of mind will keep me there an extra couple of hours when I'm winning which is the time to push it on the session length. Back in action Tuesday.

Project 10K Session #6 - The Agony and the Ecstasy

I got into a big hand and soon as I sat down at $2/$3/$5. A loose aggressive player opened for $25 and another similar player called him. I looked down at the A of hearts and the Q of spades and made it $75 to go. They both called. "Ace of hearts, queen of spades, about $225 on the pot, looking to bet about $150 on most flops." I thought as the flop came out. In a big pot a mini recap of the situation and your suits is always a good idea.

The flop came down T 4 2 all hearts. "Great! I have the ace of hearts...do I have the ace of hearts? Yes. I'm sure. I just repeated it to myself so I don't need to look back."

The initial raiser came out betting $130 and got called! This was a big surprise. It's very rare for someone to bet out into a preflop 3 bettor in this game. "Do I shove here? I think I have to. I've got about $400 and they both have about $500. I'm about a 2 to 1 dog to make the flush, but that's the move. They're probably going to call. Right? These guys aren't folding. But maybe they might. No, not both of them. But I might have 15 outs. Or probably either the A or the Q, but not both will be good. I can't just call can I? No. Too weak to just call. Got more money in my pocket if I miss." This is what I thought. A quiet "All in" is what I said...

When I went up to the board at the Oaks on Tuesday I was the 5th name on the list for $2/$3/$5 and there was only one game going so I knew I'd need to wait a bit. I took an open seat at the $6/$12 limit game while I waited.

I took the big blind, got dealt K6, flopped a king, bet it all the way, got some action and added $100 to my stack right away. "This is smart and great! I should really be sticking to $6/$12 while waiting and not $1/$1/$2." I thought. Then I sat there for the next two hours getting my ass beaten by 3rd rate players. I only won one other pot in that stretch and found myself stuck almost $400. "This is stupid and shitty. I should really be playing $1/$1/$2 while waiting and not $6/$12" I thought.

Finally enough people piled on to the $2/$3/$5 list for them to start another game. They announced the new game just as I posted my small blind in the $6/$12. I looked down at AK for my final hand at that table. Most of the table called in front of me, I raised and we took the flop 8 way for $12 each.

The flop came down Q J T! Holy shit! There were two hearts out there, but I had the nuts on a board that was perfect for making second best hands. I bet, someone raised, I three bet it and they capped the betting at 4 bets. All 8 of us put in another $24. "No board pairs, no hearts please." I thought. The turn was a black 6. Bet, raise, three bet, cap again on the turn! Not everyone came along, but it was a huge pot. At this point I was sure I was up against another AK and maybe AK of hearts. "No board pairs, no hearts please." I thought. The river was a black 2. I bet, got one call, the other player raised and I just called to entice the last call which I got. It was in fact another AK and a poor guy with 98. My half of that pot netted me $175! I'm not sure I've ever picked up so many chips in a split pot before.

Other than the hand I'm leaving up in the air to make you sweat, I had 4 other hands of note.

On the first I got dealt QQ and raised to 90 out of the small blind over a raise of $35. I got called and was thinking "This guy has like two something left, I'm going with this probably no matter what." The first card off the deck was a Q along with two smalls! Top set!

I took a closer look at my opponent's stack and realized that even though he only had two stacks they were about 40 chips high, not 20-25 so he actually had more like $400. I bet out $65 which is a really small bet in to $180 hoping to project weakness. My opponent instantly shoved all in! HEEEEY OH! I snap called him feeling like a genius for betting $65. He didn't show and I took down a very nice pot.

Just after that, I had a misfire when I bet 86 on a 6 5 4 flop. I bet $35 into a $50 pot after 5 way $10 preflop action. I got one caller, the turn was a 3 and I bet $110 trying to represent a 7. I got called and knew it was time to surrender. The river was an 8 which gave me some hope. It went check, check which gave me more hope. I lost to a set of fours. Barf. I'm not sure if misplayed that one or not, but I don't feel great about it.

Later on I had another potentially huge hand fizzle. I called $5 with 87 in the cuttoff vs 5 opponents and the flop came down 9 6 5 with two clubs! I'm floppin' nut straights today baby! It checked to the player just to my right who bet $25, I just called, and two other players came along. I was hoping for a big card like a king and hoping to fade the club draw. I got the second part with a red 4. Maybe one of you guys should just shove all in? Come on! Do it! DO IT NOW! Sadly those turds checked and folded to my bet of $100. Maybe $75 would have been better?

Toward the end of my session I (perhaps) fucked one hand up in many ways. I got dealt 92 of diamonds in the big blind, the under the gun player made it $15 and after 4 callers I threw in $10 to call. This is a debatable call. On one hand 92 sucks. On the other it was suited, I was closing the action so I couldn't get blown off the hand, and seeing flops cheap when you're looking for creative spots to bluff makes sense. On the first hand 92 sucks. After thinking it over I this is one I should have dumped.

The flop came down Q T 8 with two spades and one diamond. There was a (smallish) bet of $35 and a call. I made a debatable, but not terrible call with my gutshot and backdoor flush draw. The turn was the ten of diamonds and I checked. "I just checked didn't I. What the fuck did I do that for? That is the best bluffing card in the deck and I checked it. Against these two goofs. These clowns should be staring at $150 thinking that they're going to have to call another $300 on the river to see the showdown. Instead I check like a damn fool! Why am I playing these garbage hands if I'm not going to bluff in the best spot ever?"

The guy who bet $35 on the flop checked and the other guy bet $75. I was really not sure what to do here. There was about $270 in the pot so I was getting OK odds to draw, but the board was paired so I might make my hand and still lose and I didn't think I could make a big river bet and get called if I hit one of my draws. I thought about making it $275 but I felt like to time to bluff had already been missed.

The river was the 6 of spades and I thought "Oh yeah! There was a front door spade draw out there! I could have that. I'll represent spades now!" This was not all that well thought out, but I went with it. I bet $160 which was probably a little lite. I didn't have too long to regret it as my opponent called me and showed me AQ of spades in about 1/10 of a second. Grrrr.

Back to the big hand! I had AQ with the A of hearts on a T 4 2 all heart board, and I shoved for $400 over a bet and a call of $130. They both went all in! Eeeek! My hopes of an A or a Q being any help were out the window. The turn was the 3 of spades and I thought a 5 might do the trick. The river was the 5 of hearts! SEND. THE. MOTHER FUCKING. POT. TO. ME. When that heart came out I flipped over that AQ so fast. It was so so so so sweet. Turns out I was up against 44 and AT with no hearts (the AT was the guy who bet $130.)

There was about $1,500 in that pot and I netted about $1,000 which is the biggest pot of project 10K by a wide margin. It erased my $6/$12 loss and gave me a big stack at a table where everyone had $500 or less. I didn't really take advantage of that advantage per se, but I still booked a good win on the night.

I ended up losing $224 at $6/$12 and winning $852 at $2/$3/$5 for a net total of $628 on the night. My starting bankroll of $10,000 is at $10,647 after 27 hours of play. Back in action Friday.

Project 10K Session #5 - The Return of Mr. Green

After a long string of sessions on Tuesdays and Fridays I made it into the Oaks on Wednesday. One of the things that makes Wednesday different is that there is a $185 tournament that night so a separate crop of players comes in for that. I noticed many more $1,000+ stacks at the $2/$3/$5 than normal. I also had to wait close to an hour to get in one of the two games running.

I passed the time in the $1/$1/$2 game. After seeing a few $5 pots get checked down all the way I was not exactly pumped about sitting there for a long time.

I did get some action on one hand. I got dealt QQ in the small blind and made it $11 to go against 2 limpers. The big blind called as did one of the limpers. The flop came down 9 high with two clubs and I bet out $20. The big blind quickly shoved for $100 and I called him without thinking about it too much. The turn and the river were both small red cards and I beat J8 of clubs.

I managed to hold on to that $100 in profit and eventually made my way to table 10 for $2/$3/$5 where I folded just about every hand for 30 minutes. Looking around I noticed 3 players at my table that did not suck, and when I looked over at table 6 I noticed zero players that did not suck. So I put up for a table change and 5 minutes later made my way over to table 6.

When I got there I spotted Mr. Green - the newbie who called me down time and time again in an earlier Project 10K session - with about $900 in front of him. Now it is time for (deep breath) MY REVEEEEEEEENGGGGGGGGEE! I shall slay and flay you Mr. Green!

Unfortunately that shit face Mr. Green got up 15 minutes later. And I started getting sleepy. So sleepy. Folding hand, after hand, after hand, just sitting there doing nothing.

I'd left the house at 8 that morning and had been out all day and I decided that the smart move was to not play when I was too tired to feel really sharp. I did manage to drag a couple of very uninteresting, I raise, get two callers, and no one calls my flop bet pots in my final round that made up for the slow drain of my many folds.

I ended up putting in 2 hours and winning $159. My starting $10,000 bankroll is at $10,019 after 23 hours. 83 cents an hour! What now haters!

My Mom is in town visiting this weekend so I'm out of action until next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Project 10K Session #4 - What do I need to call a $500 dark shove?

I had lunch recently with my friend E.B. who has been playing a lot of $2/$3/$5 at the Oaks and he told me a story recently about playing with this dude who had gone all in without looking at his cards either pre-flop or on the flop for sizeable amounts. I encountered someone who I suspect was the same guy on Friday.

He was an asian guy probably in his 60's and he played fairly normally for a while - I'll call him Mr. X to liven things up!. Then he lost a big hand, bought in for $100 and shoved it all in preflop without looking at this cards. This is not something that is not all that uncommon. $100 is the minimum buy in and every couple of sessions I see someone announce they're going in dark the next hand and then they do.

With that $100 out the window Mr. X put five $100 bills on the table, got dealt the next hand, and shoved them in to the middle. I wasn't sure if he was going all in or not, but the chip runner got there just about that time, and sure enough the $500 in chips went in to the pot before he'd looked at his cards!

I looked down at 87 of spades which is an above average hand when it comes to playing a normal hand as it's a hand that will either win big pots or lose small ones, but it's actually an underdog to a random two card hand (I think J7 is the middle of the road). I folded and it went all the way around to the big blind who did something I have never seen before (keep in mind the ten's of thousands of hours I've played poker when I say that). Wait for it...are you ready? He showed AK and folded! WHAT!? I have never seen anyone ever fold AK to a dark raise before. It's bonkers. He had about $500 in front of him after buying in for $200 and said he didn't want to risk all of his money on one hand. I made a mental note to hit him with big raises until he was broke.

So Mr. X took down that one. On the next one I've forgotten exactly what happened, but I think he made it to the flop and then bet $500 and won.

On the hand after that he put out $10 to straddle under the gun. When it got to me I looked down at KJ of spades and thought "Well, this is plenty good to get it in for $500." I'd been watching Mr. X as the cards came out to see if he was going to look or not and he didn't. I made it $40 to go and when it got to him he paused. I think my table image was so strong at that point that even the nutso crazy guy was hesitant to tangle with me.

Mr. X took a visit to no man's land and made it $140 to go. With zero hesitation I put $600 out there to put him all in. At that point he decided to look at his cards and let out an anguished sigh. But after one more sigh, he called me. I'll leave you in suspense while I tell you about the rest of the night!

I got off to a good start with some well timed bluffs. I won 5 small to medium pots in the first 90 minutes and 4 of them were bluffs. It was simple stuff like call the flop with bottom pair and then when the flush draw gets there bet big, or three bet someone lite and bet big on the flop or bet the turn and river after a check, check flop. That got me about $200 to the good.

I had a nice hand with AA where I just called a raise to $25 and took a flop 4 way. Previously, I'd three bet the guy who raised twice and once he'd folded preflop and the other time he'd check folded on the flop when I rattled my chips so I figured I'd take a risk and just call. The flop came down T T 6, no flush draws. There were two checks to me and one player behind. I decided that if I was up against a T I'd lose less by checking and if I was up against anything else I was so far ahead that I didn't mind giving a free card. The turn was a Q which was a great card and the original raiser bet $65. I called and the river was a 4. He bet $140 and I thought "Well shit! That looks like a ten." But with the way I played it I figured KQ or AQ might just be over confident here. I called and beat Q7! I took some risk here, but if I three bet preflop I think I only win $34 on the hand. If I bet the flop I win $70 on the hand. Instead I won $275. I'm not going to start smooth calling the AA everytime, but it worked perfectly here.

A little later I made a big laydown. I called a button raise to $25 out of the big blind with A7 suited and took the flop 3 way. It came down A A 4 and it checked around. Normally you'd expect the pre-flop raiser to bet here whether they have it or not and I figured maybe he was just giving up or maybe he had a pair and was worried about an A. The turn was a Q and the other player in the hand looked like he was going to bet, so I checked again and sure enough he fired out $40. Now the preflop raiser made it $100 to go! ACK! If he did have an ace, he'd almost certainly have a bigger kicker and there was a chance he'd checked QQ and hit or had 44 and flopped a monster. Either way a raise to $100 there was begging for a call and I dumped it.

Fast forward a bit and I got dealt T9 of diamonds and 6 of us saw a flop for $5. The flop came down J J 8 with one diamond and two hearts giving me and open ended straight draw. Mr. X was in this one and this was before his $500 dark shoves. He checked and this guy who was in the midst of a total melt down bet out $25. I called and Mr. X called. The turn was a black 2 and they both checked to me. I figured this was a good time to represent a J that was nervous about the draws. I bet out $110. Mr. X called and Mr. Meltdown folded. When Mr. Meltdown folded Mr. X looked and him and said "You folded?" I didn't know what to make of that, but I was 95% sure Mr. X was on a draw and my plan was to check behind if I hit 9 ot a T, and to bet again if anything else except a heart came out. The river was the other black 2 and Mr. X checked to me again.

I bet out $155 and he said a heavily accented "SHIT!" and flipped 88 face up in front of him! "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God he flopped a full house!" I thought. I was so sure I was just going to blow a draw away here that I am surprised my eyes didn't shoot out of my head and roll across the table. Also what's up with all of these fucking guys showing me their made hands when I'm bluffing at them? I don't see them doing that to anyone else. Anyway I'm trying not to panic when this guy walking past looks at the situation and says "Shit or get off the pot!" Mr. X mucked his cards about a second later. Then the walking by guy said "I would have called." Ha ha! I wanted to kiss that guy. Not every day someone flops a full house and you get to bluff them off it!

Now that I've made you sweat, let's get back to Mr. X calling my big raise when I had KJ of spades! We've got about $1,100 in the pot and the flop came out T 6 5 with one spade. This seemed below average. The turn was a Q of spades giving me a shit ton of outs if I was behind and the river was a J. I turned over my hand first and said "I have a J." Mr. X picked up his cards and I thought "Oh no, oh no, oh no, he's turning them over. He's not just firing them into the muck! Why is he doing that?!!! This is bad!" He showed 87 and I looked at the board and his hand and the board and counted 5 6 7 8....10? That's nothing! BOO-YA! Ship it!

The rest of the night pales in comparison to those hands. Some were good and some were bad, but I ended up winning $970 on the night. My $10,000 starting bankroll is at $9,860 after 21 hours of play.