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.