Saturday Night Tournament

I played in my monthly poker league Saturday night.  I call it the L&BM tournament because the majority of the members are either lesbians or black men.  Yes that makes me in the minority but I don't mind a bit.  It's a great group of people and always alot of fun.

Saturday's game was a $20 buyin with a $5 scratch ticket bounty.  As I've mentioned before I LOVE a bounty.  The problem is I HATE scratch tickets.  Scratch tickets suck as the majority of them are losers.  I like my gambling when I have the edge, not the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.    But it's not my game so I don't make the rules.

As soon as I got there I heard alot of bull shit from one of the brothers because I (the force to be reckoned with) was out first last time.  I took it in stride though.  I've been prepping for my Foxwoods tourney on Friday so I was more than ready to play.  Honestly, I felt like a mouse trap wired a little toooooo tight.  My trap sprung and *wap* I hit people a little too hard.  These are not pros by any means but when I'm on, I'm on.  The hostess kept complaining (yet calling) when I raised her big blind yet again.  Heh.  And yeah I did end up knocking her out even though she fed me. 

The first significant hand came soon enough - and it was a hand I made a very dumb mistake in.  I raised it up with Q-J and got a bunch of callers.  Flop was 10-8-3.  Rick bet 800 and everyone folded to me.  I put him on a 10 and what did I have but two over cards and an inside straight draw.  I knew I neededd to hit a Q, J or 9 and the odds were about 40% that I would.  Thas was more than I needed to make the 800 call.  Turn was a lovely 9.  I checked, he bet 1,600 and I raised to 4K total.  He thought a while and called.  Hmmmm I put him on a 10 but did he have trips?

The river paired the board with another nine so immediately I was on full house alert.

Now there was alot of chips in the pot.  We started with 10K.  I checked to him as I thought there was enough in there and he bets his 5k chip.  Fuck.  I do NOT want to be out first again.  I'm sooo focused on the big bet and worried that he caught a full house that all I'm thinking is 'fold or call?...fold or call?' without taking the time to look at the stack he had left.

I decide to call and he turns over J-10 for 2 pair and I happily show him my straight.  I practically doubled up.

Here's the dumb part.  I'm playing a bounty tournament and all he had left was one 50 chip.  Instead of making him put that 50 chip in and collecting his bounty I just called.  Stupid moves like that lose money and tournaments.  I should've had his scratch ticket bounty but I moved in haste. 

The rest of the night seemed like a workshop on how to play poker.  I think I was too tuned up for my Foxwoods tourney so these guys didn't have a chance.  I called the players hands correctly over and over again.  Soon enough I had the lion's share of the chips and 3-4 peeps were very shortstacked.

At one point I took out two people at once - the lovely hostess and the guy to my left.  I was holding A-5 sooted (spades) and hit my nut flush on the river.  Hostess jammed all in, the other guy called and this time I re-rasied all in making the other guy put his last few chips in.  There were no pairs on the board so I had the absolute nuts with my ace high flush yet he instacalled.  Hostess had two pair and the guy had one pair.  Go figure.

When we were down to 3 peeps the shortie jammed all in.  I had A-8.  Longtime readers know how I feel about ace rag....it sucks!  But when you're playing three handed you just can't afford the luxury of throwing such a hand away as it's most likely the best hand.  Earlier in the night the shortie made a standard raise but I just knew he was sitting on a monster and when the hand was over I said "You have K-K or better".  And yep, he turned over A-A.

But this time my speech with my A-8 was different.  "I know you're just trying to steal the blinds.  I bet I have two over cards.  I call with A-8."

He turned over 7-2.

Well my read (and all my reads that night) was spot on, but he had the hammer!  I immediately got the feeling of dread in my belly.  The flop came down hammer free but the turn was a 7 and I doubled him up.  Not the end of the world but kind of ironic.

I literally beat him about the arms and shoulders for a few minutes (I'm a hitter) and then the game resumed.  I ended up taking out the other guy and me and Mr. Shortie were heads up.

Heads up lasted about 3 hands and it was gg shortie.  Very Josie first place winnar! 

Mama is ready for Foxwoods. But here's the thing.  Someone ugly smart made an observation that when I play my local tourneys I win alot because I'm a big fish in a little pond.   However Foxwoods is a big lake and I become a little fishie when swimming there.  He may be onto something but I pointed out that I kicked ass at the cash game at Foxwoods. I dunno.  I do feel like I've outgrown the little L&BM pond.  I'm ready to swim with the big fishies.

Oh and let's get back to the shitty scratch tickets bounties for a minute.  At the end of the game I'd won (5) $5 scratch tickets.  One guy that I'd knocked out was holding a $5 winner and he asked me if I'd trade the ticket he'd given me for the $5 winner.  Maybe he thought he was sitting on a big winner?  I dunno but I readily agreed to the trade.  I watched him scratch it and it was a loser anyway.  Then I scratched my other 4 tickets and they were all losers too.  Whatever.  First place got me some extra gambling money for Foxwoods!

Play smart.

Josie