The Day of the Coolers

Ever had a day where no matter how good you are or your hand is, there's a cooler just waiting to steal that pot from under your nose!

I had it last Monday/Tuesday.

In my regular pub game: My AQs with the flopped flush board (all-in) got beaten by straight flush on river... the villain in this had just doubled up in the previous hand thanks to my 77 against his 88 on a K78AK board... First time I went out before 1st break too! The side cash game saw me sitting on AA against a 'All-In Pre-Flop' 56 hand, was smug til the friggin board came out with X56XX. My Board HU race ended against R4AD when my A8 ran into his A10 on a A810 board... Went really deep on one of the online freerolls, was down to final 30 from 1000++ players after 2.5 hours playing, was 8th or 9th highest stack when I tangled in a four way all-in with 2 shorties and higher chipleader (I moved all-in before he did!) had AKs; Chipleader showed pocket 2s; board AKxx2 and its Good night, UL, GG, WP... blah blah blah... Out before the bubble!

FFS!!!!

Have secured a ticket for the Irish Amateur Poker Association Tournament (APAT) game in the Fitz this Saturday (also my birthday :-P ) ; Ciarán Moloney (aka 'Get In There' on Boards) and Frank Grace from IrishDeafPoker.com will be playing too... I don't expect to cash or go deep, but if I can beat the bottom 20% I'll be happy! Then move on to the cash tables and win back my losses! LOL!

A Tale of Two Casinos

Last night I was in the mood for a game...

Susie Woosie broke her ankle last weekend; she wasn't going "any where" I offered to bring her but she's enjoying the whole 'mammy' treatment at home. Get well soon girl... I want my poker partner back on the road with me again soon!!!!

Dublin Poker Events usually send out a text about Thursday's game in Slevin's but I got none; didn't think it was on so I called Ciarán (AKA Get In There) and he suggested the €50+10 Double Chance (DC) freeze out in Cool Hand Lukes at 8:30pm.

I arrived at 8:50pm filled out a membership form got my free €10 bet - put it on the blackjack table won first hand got my €10 back... and lost it again. Reminded me why I don't play the game it's pure luck! Might as well do a coin toss! I sat down for the DC FO game at 9pm. The exhilaration of being there must have gotten to me: I played like a donk for the first level, limping in and calling raises spewing chips unnecessary, before wising up and playing properly. I was on a mighty strong table - two Rocks and several Super-LAGs 'Luck Boxes' (you know who ye are guys!) wasn't surprised to be kicked out in 5th or 6th place. Was mostly card dead - never saw so many 72s in my playing life. Started going all-in pre-flop to steal blinds and small raises with JJ, QQ, 99 but my luck wasn't to last with one of the Rock's QQ demolishing my Ace high suited pair... I knew I was in trouble when he called my all-in with his massive all-in and no ace or king on flop to save me... boo hoo! I left Luke's at 11:20pm kinda disappointed that there were no cash table going yet to re-boost my ego.

The Taxi-driver woman (who I met a couple of times in the Jackpot) suggested going to the Fitzwilliam 'just around the corner' claiming the 1/2 PL cash tables were 'easy' pickings! I felt hadn't 'lost' enough(!) So off I went to check it out...

After joining up, the place was buzzing when I went inside! Compared to the staid quietness of Lukes there was an amazing electric atmosphere in the place. Making my way to the cash desk, I notice the satellite game for the Fitz500 was still going, blinds were 150/300 and there was 9 players left per the clock!!!! Eh?! Wonder how many started this?

Fitzwilliam operated a moving tier on cash tables, where the longest player on table 1 moves to table 2 and the newcomer takes the player's seat on table 1. I joined the table with €50, sat out a few hands to check the playing strengths, Taxi wasn't lying when she claimed they played 'any two'...

Got a lovely 10 10 UTG and decided to play it - raised to €7 - got 2 callers, flop came out 10 Q 7 hearts, I was gutted, but shot off betting the 'pot' hoping I wouldn't get raised. They folded and I was up by €13... yay! I lost €3 to the blinds and was on the button when this hand happened. I looked down to see AsQs with 4 limpers and the blinds still to act; I raised to 'Pot'; SB (college student on €112) raised to €25 and BB (Chinese guy loose loose LAG on €300 ) pushed to €100. All the limpers folded to me. I hummed and hawed for 3 minutes then pushed my entire stack over the line... SB insta-called all-in, BB threw in the remaining €12. I was horrified to see SB with AA and BB with KK! Board: Qd 6s 8s 10s 3d and I was up to €190! Phew!

Got talking to a player called Teresa (wonder if she's the same infamous Teresa mentioned on Boards.ie?) she asked how long was I playing - a little over a year - hope she didn't think I was a fish when I wrangled €65 out of her with my low-end straight! I built my stack up to €325 when I was asked to move to table 2; it was 1:10am at this stage - I decided to stop and go home when I hit €400; but got embroiled in a messy pot on table 2 calling drunken Chinese guy all-in (on his 3rd buy-in!) to find he actually had a hand for once(!) He went all-in with €70 and 56s on a 56J flop against my JJ and rivered a flush. Tangled with another short stack all-in with AK on a AA10JK board (I had QK, the fecker checked the flop & turn before calling my raises!) What coolers(!) I was down to €170 and was about to quit when I got 910 on BB, checked to see flop with 10 limpers on a 8JQ board and shot up to €276. It was 1:35am and I was getting tired... I decided to call it a day and went home very happy with €275!

Will definitely be back to the Fitzwilliam... as for Luke's... well... I digress!

If you go a-pulling, don't mention the 'P' word!

Had to share this one with ye!

After leaving the Jackpot at 4am approx; taxi's were very scarce on the ground, as scores of people were walking out of the city. Sis and I popped into a nearby kebab place to wait out the 'rush'... I got talking to this tall, fine looking specimen, Sis discovered he lived 'in Castleknock' and suggested we share a taxi over... as she went outside for a smoke while hoping to hail a taxi. The flirting was coming on nicely, as you know, easy on the eye and all that! I casually mentioned we had been playing poker since 1am. This was the gist of the conversation that followed:

- Ah poker? Any ya good?
- Ah I'm okay, not the best mind... but I'm getting there! (...don't mention the losing streak!)
- It a tough game to master...
- I agree!
- Yeah... you have to be able to work out what card is coming next...
- Eh? You play poker too? (...uh oh...)
- Of course, all the time, its all in the mind, you just need to know what's coming next. (... ??? ...)
- Really? Hmmm... I would have said luck, position and pot odds would be more important...
- No, no, no, no, no, no, no... *interrupts*... if you play like that you won't win! ...Luck?!! *scoffs at me while shaking his head* (... eh???...)
- Well I would calculate what outs I have left before betting further if I was in a pot but I gotta admit its almost impossible to predict what card will come out, surely?! (... ah, here lies a 'pub player' a la Boardie definition...)
- No seriously, that's how you win. I'm telling ya... I play all over the place... won €5k last week actually... so I know what I'm talking about. (... really? ...)
- €5k? What did you start with? What was the buy-in
- €500
- How many players? 15? 20?
- Naw... You can only play with 6 players, that the proper way to play... 6 people on one table, ye can't play with more than 6... Thought you know your poker?! (...ah ha... )
- 6? And you won €5k? (... red flag....)
- Yeah! Great game!
- Wow... Where was that game?
- Terry Rogers... upstairs... private members only (...alarm bells...)
- Do you ever play in the Jackpot? Sporting Emporium? Fitzwilliam...
- Where's? Never heard of them... do ya reckon your sister will get us a cab soon? So we can head back to your place for a party... or whatever? Haw! Haw! (... sirens ... )
- Errrrr... ha! Ha! good question... Hold on a sec, I'll run out and have a look... (... aaaaaannnnnnnd good night Mister!)

Jeeze! The things you guys come out with!

Cash game in the Jackpot

Got well and truly jarred on Saturday night at a friend's 40th birthday bash... wasn't in the mood for dancing or house parties, so I dragged my sister to the Jackpot to check out the cash game and made a right holy show of myself!

We stumbled in the door, the place was buzzing with 3 cash tables running, I plonked myself down at the only empty seat at the 1/2 PL table... threw €50 at the dealer amid titters from the rest of the table, I glanced around and realised that I was surrounded by players with 400-600-800 in front of them! Eeek! Not wishing to admit defeat (along with drunken bravado) I ignored them and proceeded to take an interest in the game vowing to play ultra-tight...

Don't remember the first few hands, but notice there was a lot of loose-playing and hardly any bluffing, the chip-leader was in a raise/re-raise race with another player who was practically the next short-stack after me bar one, pushing him all-in, player re-brought for €250 then proceed to lose €200 in the next couple of hands to chip-leader again. Ouch! He stomped off on a break... Just after this I limped in with AJo, flop showed AJx, I called €20 bet to see turn before shipping my remaining €15 to win the pot and double up to €90. Folded several more hands before getting AA on the button; there were 5 limpers so I couldn't bet any more than €12 - a dry flop came out rainbow 10 high, chip-leader threw in €10, I called. Turn brought another low card, Chip-Leader checked... I bet €20... he insta-raised to push me all-in with a smug look and I duly obeyed; he showed KK and I exposed my aces slowly as the entire table cracked up laughing... Said short-stacked player came back, took one look at my stack and muttered 'what happened there...?' Chip-leader replied something along the lines of 'she can play... watch her!' R.E.S.P.E.C.T!

I slowly worked my stack up to €280, growing almost stone-cold sober at this stage! I got stung for €60 calling a player All-In with his 910 -v- my A6 on a 678Ax board then lost a bigger with my QQ's on a JJ10 board against another chip-leader's J9... ah well, so much for drunken bravado! I gave up at that point, it was 4am and I was too tired to continue anyway; went to prise my sister away from the roulette wheel! She was so loud, I was telling her off just as loud, we nearly got asked to leave! Eventually went home with €80... €30 more than I started! LOL!

Looking back I should have put a limit in my head, say €200, then got up when I had this amount... Ah well!

Good night but don't think I'll be playing Jackpot, drunk or sober, for a while!

Photo:Me & Sis - just before our Jackpot adventure!

Success in the 2008 Irish Open Deaf Poker Championship!

Irish Deaf Poker group held the first ever Irish Open for Deaf poker players, on 3rd May, with Paddy Power Poker sponsoring the event. There were 46 runners from Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Wales, Lithuania and Australia! While the latter two countries representatives are currently residing in Ireland/Northern Ireland, it still added a nice international feel to the event!

Since I was playing bad of late, I went in with mixed feelings and no aspirations of winning. The TD - the wonderful Derek AKA the Clamper on boards.ie - texted me the night before to ask if I would deal for him; I replied I was playing but if I got knocked out early I will deal no problem. He replied laughing that he doubted it. On the day, he coolly informed me he had predicted that I would be in the top 5% ... I laughed him off! Then thought, feck it I got this ticket practically free - lets just play the game and enjoy it!

I felt the starting stack of 5k with 20 minute blinds was too low, they either should increase the blind times or increase the stack sizes... Ben Palmer the UK Deaf Open winner was first out as a result of two bad beats in a row! He quickly established himself as chipleader on my table, but bet heavily holding full-house against an all-in holding 4 of a kind... twice! Ouch!

By end of level two I was playing card-dead and had dropped down to 3k. Awful! Then came these lovely hands:

Blinds were 75/150; I was UTG with pocket 8s. BB had approx 8k. I raised to 450, got two callers: button and BB. Flop came out 89J. BB bet 1k, I thought for a moment and shoved all-in with rest of my stack. Button folded and BB called with AJ. My 88s held and my pot doubled to 6.5k. Next hand I was BB with K9 hearts; I checked to see the flop with 3 callers. Flop came out 9x9xQh. SB bet 1k, I called, rest folded. Both SB and myself called. Turn was low heart, SB shoved all-in with his remaining 2k, I thought for a moment then called. SB showed AQ and my set of 9s held up on the river! I had 12k at first break (Average was 7k) the chipleader (UK's Henry McD) at that stage had 17k.

After the break, we were re-seated, there were 3 tables left. I don't remember any specific hands, but I had beeee-ooooot-iful hands (AA, KK, straights, full houses etc) got involved in several pots against short stacks; eliminated them and increased my stack to a cool 53k by dinner break (average was 10k). Good going... good going!

We were down to the final 18 players after dinner; as the playing got tight, I got very loose and started stealing the blinds and re-raising players and limpers. By the time I sat down at the final table, I realised I was the last woman in the game (and chipleader with 95k) I moved into ultra-tight playing mode.

But I played soooooo tight it cost me nearly half my stack(!) At one stage I had 120k (my highest), blinds was 1k/2k, I raised to 8k with KQ suited, got called by David Bowers, BB raised with 25k. I folded, crediting both players with Aces; David called. Flop was KQJxx. Both players checked to the river. David won the pot with 10J and BB showed 99. With 6 players left, I was down to 75k, I looked down to see QQ. Blinds was 1.5/3k; I was CO-1 and raised to 12k. Nick O'Halloran was in BB shoved all-in with 15.5k, David Bowers, who had just limped in UTG, called and I threw in the remaining 3.5k. Flop came down K95 and David insta-shoved with 26k. I thought for a moment.... then folded my Queens. BB showed J10 and David showed AJ. (Foooooooo!!!) The turn and river yielded nothing to help Nick who bubbled in 6th place (only 5 places paying out) UL Nick. I was furious with myself for laying down those queens!!!!! This is my only regret of the day - apart from this hand; I was really happy with how I played!

I went back into loose playing mode raising and re-raising bets; and quickly brought my stack back up to 90k. When this hand happened:

Keenan 'Keeno' Byrne was shortstacked for most of the final table, had started going all-in and stealing the blinds for the last three/four hands with no callers. I looked down to see KQ suited, and limped in on the button. Keenan was in SB and went all-in with 48k, I insta-called him. Keeno showed pocket 6s and the board showed A953x to uphold his pair and push him into 2nd highest stack behind the new chipleader David Bowers.

Liam Moloney was kicked out in 5th place; David Mulligan exited in 4th place. We were down to 3, Keeno and David had 90/95k I was sitting on 50k... I went completely hand dead from this point, folded my cards to raises. David wrangled in a couple of huge pots with Keeno and grew very short stacked, before exiting in 3rd place.

Going into heads-up I had 58k to Keeno's 180k pot, with blinds at 8k/15k... a huge disadvantage, I knew I was finished. My Heads-Up playing is always weak... I went down to 38k when my exit hand happened. I shoved with K10 off into Keeno's A6 and the board gave him the 6 to win 1st place and €920. I exited in a very respectable 2nd place with €552!

Very good game from Keeno who started the final table with 2nd smallest stack - a well deserved win.

The top 3 winners (from left): David Bowers, myself & Keeno Byrne

Well done to Ciarán and the IDP for a well organised tournament, the TD & dealers were well able to handle communication with the deaf players mastering the basic playing signs well... Thumbs Up all around!

Good game and great day! ...And before you ask - yes I'm back in BLACK!

Sick, sick, sick two weeks...

What a fortnight it's been... I've had nothing but sick beats in all my games bar one (where I won €100 in side cash game). Either I'm playing totally crap or events happening elsewhere in my life is affecting my playing big time.

Tonight's one takes the trophy for the worse slowplaying hand(!) I was playing the $30+3 Durham on iPoker; playing a totally tight game playing just 1 hand in 4/5; I had just lost 500 on AK with unpaired board in a previous hand, when this hand happened:

2

008-04-27 00:39:07

- players:

seat 2 = gunnar1234 (2,290)

seat 3 = DaBeear (2,940)

eat 5 = MarkusOwnH87 (2,270)

sat 6 = QueenJulesII (1,560) dealer

seat 7 = UacesK (380) SB 20

seat 9 = ScoobyDoo23 (2,180) BB 40

seat 10= calzer (3,380)

-UacesK pays SB 20

ScoobyDoo23 pays BB 40

calzer calls 40
gunnar1234 folds
DaBeear folds
MarkusOwnH87 folds
QueenJulesII raises 120
UacesK folds
ScoobyDoo23 folds
calzer calls 80

Pot = 270

Flop = 10c 4c 6s

calzer checks
QueenJulesII bets 200
Calzer calls 200

<Turn = 4d

Calzer checks
QueenJulesII bets 1,240 [All-In]
Calzer calls 1,240
QueenJulesII shows Ac6h
Calzer shows 10s 4s

River = 2h

Calzer - full house
QueenJulesII - two pair - out in 7th place.

In this game all pre-flop betting was taking a cautious approach (2.5-4xBB), leading to outright aggressive bets on turn/river. I had marked Calzer as a somewhat LAG player playing any Ace, King, Queen or Jack with any kicker. He always raised when he had a hand, no matter how small his pair was. When he just called my bet pre-flop, I credited him with a picture card plus low kicker. When he checked after the flop, I was sure he had missed the mark, but I decided try a value bet of 200 to seize him up. He insta-called and I thought: hmmm no raise, he either got a 10 or pair of clubs? When the turn ruled out the flush it was likely to be a pair of 10s at best, nothing else, I felt I was in the superior position with two pairs plus the Ace kicker to cover my 6, should he have a pair of 6s too. I was not expecting that 10s4s! Sick move... FFS! I'm still tilting over it!

I contacted a Boards.ie member for some coaching during the week but after a few PMs trying to come to an agreement (I need face-to-face coaching obv.), nothing came out of it. Ah well, maybe its just as well...

IDP game last night was good, there was a decent turnout with 24 players, including 6 visitors from Germany. Susie-Woosie was knocked out just after the break, she went on tilt after one of the Germans actually stole some of her chips from her pile! I was happy enough with my playing in general, but at my best I only had 10k in chips, given my recent run of bad luck I had decided to played tight and avoid getting into large pots with the 'playing-any-two' brigade! Still, I got busted out in 5th place by Vytas with 77-v-99 on a A79103 board. Ahhhh!!!! FFS! WP, GG mate, etc.

Poor Vytas later discovered after the game that his car had been stolen from the car park... Vytas is a decent Deaf player from Lithuania, living and working in Longford for the past 5 years, and is pretty well liked by the local Deaf community there. I genuinely hope you get it back soon Vytas, bad karma to whomever it was...

It's barely a week to the Irish Deaf Poker Open on 3rd May, with 46 runners so far, don't bet on me getting to the final table just yet!!! I've agreed to meet Susie-Woosie for a game in the Bell tomorrow night. I've decided if I don't cash in this game or the Open, I'm definitely not playing again til I get some serious coaching!

I'm still here...

... just took a wee break... In sunny Lanzarote that is!

Came across a weekly 'Texas Poker School' held in a local British-run pub, in which the cards where somewhat differently dealt out - 'dealer' continues to deal out the flop, turn and river face down immediately AFTER dealing the hole cards and all other cards mucked/burnt are placed back on the deck(!) Ah. Realising that the results would be the same, I sat down for a €20 FO 'winner takes all' game. It was just as I suspected, a total walkover with 90% beginners but you DO need luck to play too dontcha? (Realise I need to improve my HU strategy big time) It's not all skill! Was unlucky to come 2nd against the guy who runs it every week... they tell me he wins it 3 weeks out of 4... (go figure!) Nice little earner sir!

Now what have I missed?

I got told by a friend (not a 'big' poker player) that my blog is not making sense to her... Ah. Was gonna do another blog, non-poker of course, but sure haven't I got facebook and bebo for that?!