Much Ado About Nothing

Got a bit of a late start, so skipped Dushanbe, for yummy paninis at The Buff instead.

Up to the hill, registered, picked up a nice early 2/5 pot while waiting for the tourney, and promptly ended up down when flopping top two pair (QJ on the button) gets destroyed by the MP player who figured 64o out of position was a nice hand. Well, it was when he caught a 3rd four on the river.

The tournament? Gack. Went set mining five times and was out before the 1st break. Only picked up two pots all day. The first was when I raised AKdd to 1200 (blinds 200/400), called by SB. On a 977 flop (two diamonds), I thought of checking behind, to see the free card, but decided to bet out 1200 into the 2800 pot. The SB folded, and I heard him mention AK. Anyway, I tried to steal from the cutoff the very next hand, with A7s, and the same player called, now from the button. I folded to his 1200 bet after I checked the 8-high flop (with one of my suit). Was that too weak tight of me?

Anyway, as a bit of backstory, I lost the only three pots I played to the river, when I was outkicked by one each time. Two of these were to the same player, the guy on my immediate left (who is the same guy from the previous paragraph). Two hands after my last laydown, I pick up JJ. With two limpers before me, I chose to simply call. I was already down to 10k (from a 15k starting stack), and none of my bets were getting any respect. The player on my left bumps it to 1600, and everyone folds to me. I figure him for AK, or maybe a mid pocket pair, and I elect to call. Not so much to set-mine, but to try to try to get into the same type of situation where he folded his AK to my AK a few hands previous.

Flop comes 887, and in a way, I couldn't ask for a better flop, given my read. But this time, being out of position, and just having the two pair with no draw, yet thinking I was ahead, I chose to check. Well, villain bet out 3k into a roughly 4k pot. I'm sitting on about 8k behind, and I have to raise or fold. If I fold, I'm down to 50% starting stack, less than 20BB, and the shortest stack at the table. So I chose to shove, and learned just how bad my read was when opponent turned up AA. (At least the 3rd AA at our table in under 50 hands...none mine, of course.) I get no help, and I go home. Fucking bummer, too. JJ, 66, 55, 33, 88, all no good for me, and I couldn't even make it past the 3rd level.

I'm pretty certain I did not play my best poker, but I don't think I played too badly, either. Somewhat unlucky when every one of my PP not only didn't flop a set, but in each case had terrible flops for me, such as three paint, or flush/straight combo draws that I didn't have. Really, I lost my way when I lost two pots previous, getting outkicked by one each time. If I don't lose about 30% of my chips in those, I think I can get away from the JJ v. AA hand. If I slowplay my AKdd and hit my flush, maybe I stack the guy who ultimately took me out.

It wasn't a bad day all around, though. I finally got to meet a couple follow members of the Poker in Colorado forum (we each ended up having 10% of the other two, though one of us three went down QQ to AA before I went out). As for the Good Doctor Mondo, she's set. She managed to double her 2/5 buyin in about 90 minutes, eventually giving a few chips back, but finishing up with an 80% profit for the day.

In the meantime, I keep running the opposite of good.

At any rate, this was not what I was looking for pre-Vega$, but nothing I can do about it now, but I worry that perhaps the best thing I can do in Vega$ is not even step in a poker room right now, and I can't postpone the trip. I hate trepidation.