Hella Hold'em

I was so quick to diss limit (holdem). My most sincere apologies, oh limit holdem gods, as my dissing was rash and unjust.

I headed out to Empress Casino tonight, knowing that midnight was going to be about my bedtime tonight after crawling into bed at sunrise this morning. (I can get home from Empress in 18 minutes flat, even without moving violations... so so so so nice!) I wasn't "feeling" limit, with this NL binge that I'm on, but I know myself and it's just literally dangerous for me to put myself behind the wheel of a car for an hour when overtired. Poker is absolutely not worth wrecking my car, or worse, killing myself or someone else. But, being too stir crazy to sit home, I split the difference and went out to play limit at Empress.

I clocked just over 2 1/2 hours, +30BB at 5/10, and high tailed my ass out of there! It's just past midnight now, and I'm in my pajamas and ready to call it a night. Wheeee! (If anyone uses Twitter, I've been using it lately - I'm phlyersphan).

I had two very profitable hands:

#1 - 45 of hearts in the small blind. BB raised after I completed. 4 to the flop for 2 bets. Flop came 4-4-4. CHECK. 3rd to act bet, button RAISED, I called, and we lost the BB. Turn was bet and raised as well. 3 to the river. It went check (me) - bet - raise - re-raise (me). Lost the original bettor, and the button called. She had pocket 7's. Holy hell.

How do you play flopped quads?? I don't even know. I don't get much practice at that one.

#2 - I put a regular rock on tilt with this one, so much so that he threw his cards at the dealer, cursed at me, then grabbed what was left of his chips and left the table. I admit a tiny bit of guilt here, but I was very nearly justified in this chase. What do you think?

I've got QJ offsuit in the big blind. 3 limpers, then a raise, then 2 cold calls. 10 bets in the pot. I call the 1 bet, and the 2 behind me call. 13 bets in the pot, 7 people to the flop.

Flop comes A-K-x, no flush draw. SB checks, I check, check, check, check, bet, call, call (SB). 16 bets in the pot now, and 1 to me, with 3 people after me. I need 5:1 on my money to go for my gutshot. I'm definitely getting it. I call, as does 1 of the 3 after me. 18 small bets in the pot now - turn coming, so 18 small bets = 9 big bets. Turn is a blank, no flush draw. SB checks, I check, check, check (the original bettor!), bet (new guy betting!), SB folds. 10 big bets in the pot. It's definitely a close call (I'm barely getting the 10:1 to call to chase my gutshot), but with the guy after me, plus the original bettor in the hand, I'm hoping at least one of them call to solidify my chasing odds (lest I feel guilty later). I call.

The guy after me raises! Oy. Then the original bettor calls!!! Oy vey! And the turn bettor calls!! Well, there's now like 17 bets in the pot, and it's 1 more bet to me. C'MON, TEN!

The miracle 10 hits the river, and of course I checked. The guy after me bet. The original bettor raised. The third guy cold called the 2 bets, and I raised to 3 bets. The guy after me reluctantly called, and the original raiser capped it. The guy to my right (the regular rock that I pissed off) went on a tirade about how I chased a gutshot with Queen Jack. (Mind you, it's his turn to act, and there are still 2 people to act - me and the guy to my left. The hand was not over. Very bad etiquette. Here I am scolding the guy AND taking his money - I'm so going to hell). He folded. I called the cap bet as did the guy to my left.

By now, I figure I'm chopping the pot with at least one of these guys.

Nope. I was up against a naked Ace (wtf???), and AK for two pair. I'm not sure what the angry regular had, as he mucked before showdown, but I thought I heard him telling his friend at the other table a few minutes later that his set got cracked.

For the next half hour or so, I felt slightly shamed, as I wasn't about to explain to these people that I had mathematical odds to draw at the hand due to all the preflop raising and whatnot. It may have even been a borderline chase (this after I wrote here earlier that I pride myself in not chasing inappropriately). But I don't think this chase was inappropriate. It was close, but I was counting bets the entire time (which is the only reason I'm able to remember the hand to tell it here - the only hands I seem to remember are the ones I'm counting odds in. Go figure - the hands I'm paying attention to!)

After debating in my head for that half hour over whether or not I should feel bad about chasing that draw, I decided, hell no! I'm on the ass end of people sucking out on me constantly - people who have no business even being in the pot, let alone chasing their dumb ass two pair draws. I don't feel bad at all.

And it was sweet as all hell to walk a rack of reds over to the cage.

Now, I'm going to take my pajama'd ass to bed!