Hella Hold'em

No, not on my finger... at the Diamond Game, silly! This past week included the first weekday incarnation of a $50 buy in Diamond Game. This Wednesday night event is apparently going to happen every 4-6 weeks, supplementing the weekend Diamond Games that occur with about the same frequency.

My first note of the evening: I must complain about some false advertising. I bought a new pen for this event - a Bic Grip Roller fine point pen that explicitly stated, "Smooth Writing" on its packaging. Three bucks I paid for this thing.

It does not write smoothly.

Moving on... we had 11 participants that ponied up 50 bones to play for their share of a $550 prize pool. We started with two tables, and once we lost one person we planned to combine to a single table of 10. 3750 starting chips, 15 minute blinds.

Table 1:

1. Rob
2. Scott
3. Shelly (me)
4. Andrew
5. Derek

Table 2:

1. Cathy
2. Randy
3. Mike
4. Ray
5. Rodney
6. Ed

Level: 10/20

Andrew wins our first hand with an aggressive preflop raise of 50. Scott folded.

On table 2, Ed picks up a pot with the stellar holding of 2-3. He hit trips.

Andrew fakes his first all in. Foreshadowing?

On the last hand of Level 1, Andrew folds preflop for the first time.

Level: 20/40

We have our first big hand. Derek completes from the small blind against Rob in the big blind. he flop comes 77x. Action ensues. The turn is a blank, and the river is a 4. More action. Rob had flopped trips with his A7, dominating Derek's 7-4, until the river boated up Derek. Rob did well not to lose all of his chips there.

Overheard from table 2: Ed says,

Gotta shuffle these up! Randy got a hand!

At the end of level 2, I win my first hand: 9-6o from the small blind. I flopped top pair. It was around this time that Derek announced to the table (which included Rob, who I did not know) that I play so tightly that if I'm in the hand, everyone should fold fold fold. This nugget allowed me to bet some people off pots I had no business winning. I was surprised how well it worked, since everyone else at the table had played with me quite a few times previously and shouldn't have been affected by such a statement. Muchos gracias to Derek! :)

Level: 20/40

The first bluff of the evening: Ed bullies table 2 with his 2-4. I proclaimed at this point that 2-4 would be the hand of the night. Rob took me as a prophet and tried to see some flops with the magic hand, to no avail.

Level: 30/60

A hand very similar to the first clash between Derek and Rob: Derek held 10-7 and Rob held 7x. The board came 7-7-x-10-x, boating up Derek against Rob's set once again. This time, both players tried to slow play, and betting on the river was consequently small.

Level: 50/100

Scott gets boned. Rob raises all in preflop. Scott re-raises all in for the isolation move. I fold 3-4 suited. The rest of the table folds. The boys show AQ and QQ, respectively. The flop comes A-2-5, and my tongue starts bleeding as I chew it off. Scott bemoans his fate, as he has been outflopped by a 2 outer (the other ace had been folded). No ladies came to bail out Scott, and Rob doubles up.

Note: We are 5 levels into the game and not a single person has busted out. This is VERY unusual for our crowd of degenerates.

I have no notes for levels 75/150 or 100/200, but somewhere in that time frame we had our first casualty. Derek pushed with A5 of clubs against Scott's Big Slick and couldn't outdraw him. Derek finished in 11th place.

Level: 200/400 - 25 ante

We've combined to a single table of 10 players. I congratulate my opponents for making the final table.

Ed doubles up with AJ versus Rob's A7. Ace seven was the nemesis hand of the night. It was a guaranteed loser. (More on that later). Rob finished in 10th place.

Randy doubles up with a knock-out punch to Rob. The Hilton Sisters did Randy well versus Rob's A3s. Apparently, the Ladies like Randy more than they like Scott.

No notes for 300/600 or 400/800. Rodney, Randy, and Ray have busted out, pushing short stacks against the monster blinds.

Level: 600/1200 - ante 75

I've got about 4 big blinds in front of me, and am under the gun with A7 of diamonds. I should have folded immediately and taken my chances with my big blind hand. However, the ace looked pretty and I ignored the evil karma that the 7 kicker was bringing along tonight. I pushed all in and was called by Mike's pocket 10's. Ouch. No love for the diamonds nor the ace, and I was crippled to the tune of holding 350 chips to my name. I went out on the next hand, finishing in 6th place.

The last-longer bet between Cathy and husband Andrew is still going strong. The suspense would soon end, though, as the couple found themselves heads up against each other with Cathy all in. Andrew mis-stepped, pushing with A8o and obviously did not expect a call from his wife. When the wife holds JJ, though, a call is imminent. The board came A-T-K-7-A, a brutal backstabbing with a twist at the end, and Cathy finished in 5th place. Andrew finally lasted longer than his wife. Apparently, this was a huge milestone for the couple, with poker being just a small part of the equation.

Scott knocked Mike out with AK. Mike's A5 did not improve, and he finished in 4th place. Ed is thrilled to see Mike go, as it means Ed is in the money!

His glee was short lived, as he pushed his A4 all in and got a caller in Andrew, who held AJ. The board came 8-7-J-A-7, and Ed finished in 3rd place.

Heads-up: Scott vs Andrew. This didn't take long, and the final hand went:

Scott - A7 versus Andrew - 33. Andrew rivered a set to win the tournament.

Final Standings:

1. Andrew
2. Scott
3. Ed

4. Mike
5. Cathy
6. Shelly
7. Ray
8. Randy
9. Rodney
10. Rob
11. Derek

Thanks to Scott for hosting the game. It was a great time, as usual. We'll be back at the home of the Diamond Game this Saturday for the larger weekend event. Until then, have a wonderful weekend, everybody!