Thankfully, there was no ultra-early exit at Lil Kim's Cove tonight. When you're dealt lousy cards time after time, quick folding can keep you in the game.
But when great cards come and they don't work -- well, you might say it happened to us again tonight....
BLINDS: 500/1,000
IN THE POCKET: A-A
We had only won one hand all evening, and that was with pocket 8's. So our stack has dwindled to 1,500 chips, and we'd put in 500 as the small blind.
"All in, 1,000 more," we say after a few players call. A no-brainer decision. But it's also a no-brainer for people with bigger stacks to call, because it's only a double-up for them. So a couple of opponents join in.
ON THE FLOP: 9-Q-Q.
As they say in television news, all we can do is wait and see. The other players check quickly.
ON THE TURN: 2.
Quick checks again -- faster than even an online game.
ON THE RIVER: 5.
Two high pairs look nice -- but a man to our right shows a third Queen. He had us at the flop.
We wound up 13th, reaching the semifinal table. But for the third tournament in a row, a potential monster hand was slain. The tournament organizer noted as we left the table that when your chip stack gets small, pocket aces can become simply another two cards.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We showed our "Jesus as your Savior" coin to a woman at our immediate left tonight. She agreed with the message on it, as she sang out loud at times to old-school soul music.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 24 final tables in 60 nights (40%) - 7 cashes.
This is our lowest final table percentage in a long time -- since January 2008. Not that long ago, we were at the threshold of 50% in reaching final tables. Perhaps the odds have caught up with us?!
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $11,983 - Up $444. We've bounced above the $12,000 barrier a couple of times this week, but can't quite stay above it.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Big 6-0
No, that's not our age. It's the number of live poker nights we reach tonight.
Almost all of our tournaments have been at Lil Kim's Cove on Fourth Street, and that's where we plan to be for the first of two evening matches. You're invited to join us (and take us on) at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Almost all of our tournaments have been at Lil Kim's Cove on Fourth Street, and that's where we plan to be for the first of two evening matches. You're invited to join us (and take us on) at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The Chance card
We ask in a post below if poker is a game of skill or luck. We've concluded it's really a mix of both. Luck in the cards that you receive, then show up on the table -- skill in how you handle them.
Our lives can be like that, too. The word "luck" doesn't appear anywhere in the King James Bible, but a similar word shows up a few time -- "chance." For instance:
"The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all." -- Ecc. 9:11, NIV
The Contemporary English Version puts it: "We each have our share of bad luck."
Play poker long enough, and you'll probably be able to build a folder filled with stories when chance and luck didn't go your way. We've felt that in the last two live tournaments we've attended. But we've also learned that good cards sometimes can come when you need them most.
We think success comes in mastering the skill part of poker -- knowing how and when to bet, and when to call or fold. That means, well, careful thinking.
But remember these words of Paul in I Corinthians 8:2. "The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know." The prior verse warns, "Knowledge puffs up...." -- as in making you a proud, arrogant know-it-all. Don't think too highly of yourself, or the chance card that beats you will sting that much harder.
Our lives can be like that, too. The word "luck" doesn't appear anywhere in the King James Bible, but a similar word shows up a few time -- "chance." For instance:
"The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all." -- Ecc. 9:11, NIV
The Contemporary English Version puts it: "We each have our share of bad luck."
Play poker long enough, and you'll probably be able to build a folder filled with stories when chance and luck didn't go your way. We've felt that in the last two live tournaments we've attended. But we've also learned that good cards sometimes can come when you need them most.
We think success comes in mastering the skill part of poker -- knowing how and when to bet, and when to call or fold. That means, well, careful thinking.
But remember these words of Paul in I Corinthians 8:2. "The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know." The prior verse warns, "Knowledge puffs up...." -- as in making you a proud, arrogant know-it-all. Don't think too highly of yourself, or the chance card that beats you will sting that much harder.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Poker Night #59: The Bad Beat Blues
OK, maybe we should recall that post two items down -- about rather being good than lucky. These days, we don't fit either category. A two-day online tailspin led to an ultra-fast exit tonight at Lil Kim's Cove -- last place, out in less than 15 minutes.
We walked to the club reminding ourselves against getting suckered into big pots. For a couple of hands, we did that. But then holding an A-7, we had two pair at the turn and looked good. But a club on the river brought a 2,000-chip bet from the player to our right. We suspected a bluff. He had a flush.
That was a major pain. Then came the next hand....
BLINDS: 25/50.
IN THE POCKET: A-3 of clubs.
Standard bets are made, and we join in a full table. We're one off the button.
ON THE FLOP: Qc-5c-Qd.
A man in the lead position bets 100. A couple of people call. Given our weakened chip stack, we call and hope.
ON THE TURN: K of clubs.
The audacity of hope, indeed. But the man to our left nonchalantly bets 300.
We've played together many times at Lil Kim's Cove, and I know this man tries to bluff his way into pots as often as not -- especially heads-up, as he might think I'll get cold feet and bail out. But here I have a superior flush. That trick won't work this time -- right?
"I'm all in," we announce -- adding 1,550 to the 300. Our opponent calls with little hesitation. We feel good.
"I think you have a 9-10 of clubs," says the man to our right. He had those cards last hand, and thinks he's found the "hot cards" of the night.
We turn over our A-3 of clubs. "That's even better," he says. But our opponent then quietly turns over a Q-5 off-suit.
"It is over," a woman sitting between us declares. After a puzzled moment, it hits me. He hit a full house on the flop, and was sandbagging it with moderate betting.
ON THE RIVER: An 8, which doesn't matter.
For the second tournament in a row, our potential powerhouse hand turns out to be our demise. It's time to regroup -- and our annual Serious Spring Cleaning will allow for that. Thursday night tournaments are NOT guaranteed over the next few weeks.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Someone showed up for poker night with a hole in his jeans. "Those are his church pants," a man joked. "Holy."
Then another player asked how everyone was doing. "Trying to be holy," we respond. "The other kind." We'll talk more about that another day.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 24 final tables in 59 nights (40.7%) - 7 cashes.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $11,539 - down $273 in two weeks. We were at $11,982 two days ago -- but that tailspin happened.
We walked to the club reminding ourselves against getting suckered into big pots. For a couple of hands, we did that. But then holding an A-7, we had two pair at the turn and looked good. But a club on the river brought a 2,000-chip bet from the player to our right. We suspected a bluff. He had a flush.
That was a major pain. Then came the next hand....
BLINDS: 25/50.
IN THE POCKET: A-3 of clubs.
Standard bets are made, and we join in a full table. We're one off the button.
ON THE FLOP: Qc-5c-Qd.
A man in the lead position bets 100. A couple of people call. Given our weakened chip stack, we call and hope.
ON THE TURN: K of clubs.
The audacity of hope, indeed. But the man to our left nonchalantly bets 300.
We've played together many times at Lil Kim's Cove, and I know this man tries to bluff his way into pots as often as not -- especially heads-up, as he might think I'll get cold feet and bail out. But here I have a superior flush. That trick won't work this time -- right?
"I'm all in," we announce -- adding 1,550 to the 300. Our opponent calls with little hesitation. We feel good.
"I think you have a 9-10 of clubs," says the man to our right. He had those cards last hand, and thinks he's found the "hot cards" of the night.
We turn over our A-3 of clubs. "That's even better," he says. But our opponent then quietly turns over a Q-5 off-suit.
"It is over," a woman sitting between us declares. After a puzzled moment, it hits me. He hit a full house on the flop, and was sandbagging it with moderate betting.
ON THE RIVER: An 8, which doesn't matter.
For the second tournament in a row, our potential powerhouse hand turns out to be our demise. It's time to regroup -- and our annual Serious Spring Cleaning will allow for that. Thursday night tournaments are NOT guaranteed over the next few weeks.
MINISTRY MOMENT: Someone showed up for poker night with a hole in his jeans. "Those are his church pants," a man joked. "Holy."
Then another player asked how everyone was doing. "Trying to be holy," we respond. "The other kind." We'll talk more about that another day.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 24 final tables in 59 nights (40.7%) - 7 cashes.
YAHOO POKER TOTAL: $11,539 - down $273 in two weeks. We were at $11,982 two days ago -- but that tailspin happened.
Back to the Table
After a week away for work commitments, we should be able to return to Lil Kim's Cove for tonight's poker night.
We play the first tournament of the doubleheader only, at 7:00 p.m. ET. And if you eat dinner there, you'll get 1,000 free chips!
(Uh, that's poker chips -- not as in fish and chips.)
We play the first tournament of the doubleheader only, at 7:00 p.m. ET. And if you eat dinner there, you'll get 1,000 free chips!
(Uh, that's poker chips -- not as in fish and chips.)
Friday, February 20, 2009
I'd Rather Be Good Than Lucky
In a long-anticipated ruling (ha!), a South Carolina judge has ruled Texas Hold 'em poker is a game of skill. It's not luck after all.
Agree?
Agree?
Monday, February 16, 2009
A fleet of boats
At Yahoo poker just now, we had THREE full houses in the span of about seven hands! We gained a quick $130 (pretend dollars) from them.
What's the hottest run you've ever had at the table -- real or online?
What's the hottest run you've ever had at the table -- real or online?
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