Friday, April 08, 2005
Oh Happy Day, Happy Day!
First of all, I booked my Vegas trip for the WPBT in June (see previous post). After reading all of the reasons to go, even if I didn't make the tournament list, I decided to do it. I really want to meet everybody, and I'm sure a ton of poker will be had, even without playing in the Aladdin tourney.
Then, I find out that Aladdin has opened up another table for us, and the list of bloggers who have confirmed tournament seats has grown to 55. And I got a seat!!!! (WOOOHOOO!)
Then, Randy took me out for ice cream, which is always a good thing (and never hurts my poker game, though it's not so good for the hips).
Lastly, I sat down on Full Tilt to play off the rest of the next $10 of my bonus, and hopefully make a few bucks in the process. I was sitting at the $.10/.25 NL tables ($25 max buy-in). In the couple hours I played, I was inching up slowly.... I'd be up ten bucks, then that table would close. I'd pull up another, be up five bucks, and then it would close... etc. I went through 6 different tables in the process of 3-tabling. All closed with small profits, but none gave me enough time to settle in and get to know my opposition. None gave me a big score.
Until my very last orbit. I had closed out one of my 3 tables, and was doing my last orbit on the other two. I look down to see pocket eights, in the big blind. Bah. Snowmen. Tonight, I've been keeping in mind a rule that SirF mentioned in one of my comments: always play a pocket pair for a raise of 5% or less of your stack. 10% or more, lay it down. In between, it's a toss up. There were 2 limpers in the pot, then the small blind bumped it up a minimum raise (to 50 cents). I'm half invested, have $28 or so in my stack, and based on SirF's Sklansky-borne advice, I call. So do the two limpers. Four of us go to the flop.
Flop comes 10-10-8, two clubs. I have no clubs, but I sure do have a boat right about now. Lately, I'm not a big fan of slowplaying, but I was dumbfounded by the flop, and was trying to process in my head as fast as I could what the likelihood was that anybody had me beat right now. I checked so I could get my bearings. One of the limpers threw out a minimum bet of 25 cents. Second limper called, and the small blind check-raised it up to $4. I don't think anyone has 10-8 for a higher boat, and I'm praying I'm not up against pocket ten's, but with the two clubs out there and a pair of tens that would make sweet trips for anyone holding that popular 10 card, I didn't want to chase anybody out. I called the $4. So did the limpers. Turn comes a third club. Glory be! Please let someone be flush drawing! Sure enough, the small blind goes all in for his remaining $10. I push all in with my remaining $17 or so, and one of the limpers calls all in with her $6-ish. The second limper was going out of his head, and finally made the laydown (he had one of the tens). River comes a blank, and I scoop a $40-ish pot with my boat. SB had a king-high flush, and I'm not sure what the first limper had.
Woohooo! Close it down, buddy! Time for bed!
That was sweet. For sure. Made all of that patience three-table folding folding folding pay off.
Happy Day, Happy Day!
