Lil Kim's Cove still is in a Tuesday night poker mood, instead of Thursday. So in other weeks, we would have traveled to Soho Bar and Grill for Wednesday night action -- but not this week. We qualified weeks ago for the National League of Poker's monthly "Poker Studs" tournament. We saved on gas and didn't have to pay for soda -- but could we turn a profit?
:01 IN: We have 8-9 offsuit, but we notice a lot of "instant folding" at our table. So with a flop of 6-3-3, we bet the minimum 30 -- and apparently due to absences, the table folds! We win $105, and wind up taking three more small pots that way in the next three minutes.
:05 IN: We have K-10 on the button, and our main rival at the table doubles the blind. We call. The flop is 6-5-K. We bet 100, and he calls. The flop is Q. We both check. The river is 3, and our bet of 100 brings a fold. We win $435.
:10 IN: We have 7-6 of diamonds. The flop is 5x-7x-Qd. We bet the minimum 40, and call a doubling by an opponent. The turn is 9 (not a diamond). We both check. The river is 3. We both check - and our 7's beat A-5! It's a $380 gain.
:20 IN: After splitting a pot with K-A, we have K-Q of spades "under the gun." A player goes all-in for 655, and we dare to call along with another player. The flop is Jx-3x-4s. Our opponent bets 180, and we reluctantly fold. Too bad; the turn is Q, and our pair of Queens would have topped the 9-9 and 4-5 the others have. That costs us about half our stack.
:25 IN: We have 3-4 of spades, realizing we need a comeback. Playing them gets rewarded with a flop of 3-4-7. We go all-in for 400, and the table folds!
That brings us to the half-hour break at 1,100 chips -- above the starting 1,000, and putting us in 206th place. There are 306 players still in the running.
:39 IN: We have 3-5 of diamonds in the Small Blind, and choose to try them. The flop is 6-K-4. The table checks, to our joy. The turn is 5 -- and with our pair, we bet the minimum 150. The table folds, for a $900 win.
Not much else happens for us in the second period, so we reach the one-hour break with only 700 chips. We're still in the tournament, but barely -- 118th out of 126 players. But then....
1:08 IN: We come out of the break with A-Q, and decide to push immediately for 675 (subtracting an ante of 25). A caller shows A-3! The flop is 8-Q-10. The turn is 2. The river is 8. We practically "triple up" again, to $2,050.
1:11 IN: We have Q-K of clubs in the Big Blind. The flop is 10-2-K. We bet 500, and get two callers. The turn is 3. The table checks. The river is 7. An opponent goes all-in; we dare to call -- and the opponents can't beat our Kings! (They have 10-J and A-J.) We eliminate one player, and seize a pot of $5,255.
1:15 IN: We have A-8 on the button. The flop is 2-5-A, and our minimum bet of 400 brings a caller. The turn is K. Everyone checks. The river is 3. We bet 600 - and our opponent folds! It's a pot of $3,850, putting our stack above 7,400.
1:27 IN: We have A-K in the Small Blind, and decide to limp in. The flop is 3-J-8. An opponent bets the minimum 600, and we call. The turn is 5; everyone checks. The river is 9. We dare to bet 600 with two top "overcards," and our opponent folds! It's a win of $4,875; now our stack is above 8,100.
1:29 IN: The next hand brings us K-K on the button! An opponent goes all-in for 1,670; we call along with one other player. The flop is 4-6-7. Our bet of 1,600 chases the other player off. The pusher then shows K-10 - and he's gone, after the turn and river are 3-6. The pot is worth $6,410.
1:30 IN: The very next hand brings us A-K again! An opponent bets 2,100; of course we call - but he shows 7-7. The flop is 9-9-Q. The turn is Q. The river is J -- and the two pair on the board plus our Ace wins us the $6,300 pot! We score a "three-hand slam," improving our stack to $16,870.
1:37 IN: We have 9-9 in the Big Blind. An opponent goes all-in for 406 more. Sure we call -- and lead his 3-K. The flop is 2-2-A. The turn is 10. The river is.... K. Ouch, so close to another one!
But that electrifying third period brings us to another break with $12,410 - a gain of 1,773 percent from 30 minutes earlier! With only 51 players left, we sit in 16th.
1:42 IN: We return from the break with K-7 in the Small Blind. The flop is 2-4-J, all spades -- and our King is a spade. The table checks. The turn is 9c. The table checks again. The river is 5c. We try a minimum bet of 1,200, and wind up with a sidepot of $2,612. (A player who pushed pre-flop takes the main pot with 9-K.)
1:48 IN: We have J-10 offsuit, and decide to "play it safe" by folding. Bad move -- as the flop and turn bring 10-K-10-K. The players still in the hand had nothing close to our potential full house.
1:52 IN: We have K-K on the button, as our stack drops from rising blinds and antes. When our turn comes, we go all-in for $6,872. A player calls with A-K. The flop is J-5-2. The turn is J. The river is.... Ace! Ouch, does that hurt. Our opponent claims a $12,904 pot -- and suddenly we're down to $1,670.
1:55 IN: We have Q-Q, and realize we have little choice. We go all-in for 1,520, and a second player pushes with us. The flop is 9-J-5. The turn is 7. The river is 6 -- but that other pusher has 9-5! He claims the main pot. We take a side pot worth a grand total of $24. "Nice consolation prize," we write on the chat line.
1:56 IN: The antes force us to put those $24 in with the very next hand. We have A-J, so there's hope -- and our only opponent has K-6. But the flop is 6-7-3. The turn is 6. "Of course," we write as the river is 7. We're finally eliminated to an unlikely full house.
We're convinced we played the last four hands exactly right; the cards simply didn't come out right for us. Yet 31st is our best finish ever in the "Stud of the Month" contest. And with 861 entries in this tournament, we would have been rewarded with a nice check at a casino. sadly, the NLOP tournament only paid off the final table of 10.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POKER TOTAL: Full tournaments - 253 point wins in 1,064 games (23.8%), 78 final tables, 7 cashes plus 3 other wins. No-River Hold 'em- 7 point wins in 40 games (17.5%), 6 final tables, 1 cash win.
POKER STARS.NET TOTAL: Pretend cash games - $79,880 (corrected), down $2,047. (We missed $200 somewhere.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment