I'm returning to L.A. tomorrow. Up until a few nights ago, I was having a nice run at the poker tables, then all of a sudden.....
Well, I almost can't wait to get out of town after my last few sessions. I'm gonna give it one last shot after I post this, but let me give a brief summary of what's been happening here lately.
Thursday, a nice session was ruined when I flopped a set and a guy playing 7-4 rivered a straight. I still managed to leave ahead, but that took a big chunk of my profits for the evening.
Next night, I ran two more sets into straights. Both straights were flopped. I guess I should just autofold sets. That was not a profitable session.
Yesterday, third hand of the Binion's tournament, I rivered a set of 9's (I floated the flop thinking the guy might be c-betting AK, and there was no turn bet). The 9 gave him a straight (that's four sets-into-straights in less than 36 hours, if you're counting at home). I didn't really put him on it because in order to make the straight he would have had to have raised preflop with 8-6. But that's exactly what he did. But you know, it was sooooted.
My tournament ended a few hours later when I raised preflop first in with Ace-9 off. One caller. I checked-shoved the flop which was Ace-Jack-10. She snap called and showed King-Queen.
At least that finally gave me time to try a Deep Fried Twinkie, which will make angerisagift happy, since he's been begging me to try them forever. I think he actually prefers the Deep Fried Oreos, but I thought I would go into sugar shock if I tried both, and the twinkie appealed to me more. It was damn good, I have to admit. Is there a Doctor in the house?
Later, my early session at MGM. A few hands in, I called a straddle with pocket 7's. I flopped a set, on a 7-6-4 board, two hearts. I bet the flop. I bet the turn. The river was the Jack of hearts. My opponent bet out. I called $62 because, new to the table, I couldn't be sure he wasn't bluffing or perhaps the Jack gave him two pair or whatever. I had already put over $100 into the pot so I couldn't see folding. He had King-5 of hearts, so with the open ended straight and flush draws, he wasn't going anywhere.
I added $100 and then within a half hour was dealt pocket Aces. A new guy had come to the table a few hands earlier. He was pulled from that table for a few hands to talk to guy with a name badge and a suit. I thought it might be a security issue but then I realized, after they shook hands, that the guy in the suit was a casino host. Anyway, this guy had raise to $5. Four players called the $5 in front of me. I made it $25 with my Aces. Only the original raiser called.
The flop was Queen high, two diamonds. Neither of my bullets was a diamond. I bet $60, which was more than half my remaining stack. The villain, who had me covered, shoved. I called. We didn't show. I was happy that no more diamonds hit. Not so happy when the turn was a second Queen. King on the river.
The guy showed me Queen-4. Offsuit. Seriously. OK, if you wanna raise to $5 for shits and giggles, I get it. But calling a $25 three-bet with it? Seriously. I didn't say anything, though he might have noticed steam coming out of my ears. He said, "Better to be lucky than good."
Small consolation that when all the money went in, I was ahead.
For more fun, after dinner I flopped a set of Queens and a guy who called my preflop raise with Ace-3 of hearts caught his nut-flush on the river. Earlier, this same guy had slow-rolled me when he had the absolutely nuts (another Ace-high flush) against my top pair-top kicker hand. I called him (it was a small bet and I thought he might have had a weaker King than I had) and he took forever to show the absolute nuts. So it was especially galling to lose again to him. At least this second time he didn't slow-roll me.
At the Aria tournament just now, I didn't have any bad beats. Just no cards to play. So maybe that's an improvement.
And yet I am about to go out and try this poker thing one last time. Perhaps I should seek psychiatric help instead.
Anyway, just for fun, here's a few gratuitous pics that have nothing to do with this post but cheer me up.
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