Live poker
Day 2 on my WSOP week. Phoenix – Mt. Hopkins
It is always nice finding a bargain. The hotel in Phoenix certainly was one. It was almost like a nice little mini-suite with sofa and everything for 53$ (tax and everything included), less than my tank filling anyways. For good bargains in terms of hotels, especially in Las Vegas I have two recommendations.
Day 1 on my WSOP week. Pasadena-Phoenix
So this is it! Travel week is here. I’m writing this on Tuesday, but it is a small blog of my weeklong experience that will be observing and playing at Event #12 (1500$ LHE) at the WSOP.
I (almost) hate floppin’ the nuts in Omaha
I got into a huge hand with my old professor, Jim McManus, at our home game a few weeks ago where I should have laid down the nuts on the flop. The notion of laying down the best band sounds crazy to hold’em players, but it’s something that you have to be willing to consider in Omaha.
At our home game, we play alternating rounds of $5/$5 no limit hold ‘em and pot-limit Omaha. In a big family pot that had been raised preflop, the board came down 9h 7s 6s. It had checked around to me on the button, which made me feel pretty safe. I bet the pot with my 8 10 straight, hoping to take it down right there, but then Jim reraised the pot.
Not Afraid to Look the Fool, Another Difference Live/Online
Poker is a game of incomplete information, and the more information you can accumulate and process, the better you will do. One thing that actually hurts a lot of players in this regard is ego. I have a pretty big ego internally, but externally I will very rarely talk about my accomplishments or show my big laydowns, bluffs, etc. at the table unless I am doing it to set someone up for a play later on or get information.
Drama with a smart/dirty player
At the casino this past weekend, this guy named Lucas randomly told me, “I keep my nails really short because when they’re longer I get tempted to mark cards.” I’ve learned from teaching kids that guilty people usually admit to things that are a little less worse than what they actually did. If a little girl told me that she took three pieces of candy that were off limits, she probably took five. Since this guy was looking for an opportunity to tell a perfect stranger that that he had such a strong desire to mark cards that he had to take physical action to stop himself, I knew he wasn’t afraid to play dirty. Then, a little later, he proudly told the table that he had once won an $800 pot by saying he had two pair at showdown when he didn’t. Saying this made the other guy prematurely muck his hand, and thus forfeit the pot.
Some small stakes live poker
San Manuel Indian Casino
I was at a conference in Lake Arrowhead, just north of San Bernardino, which is just a half an hour drive from where I live. If you ever get to go to Lake Arrowhead, it is really beautiful and a nice cool-off from the warm weather in the valley. I did some hiking and felt so refreshed coming down the mountain, even though I was working there. So I decided to stop by San Manuel for some poker.
you know you’ve been at the casino way too long when…
This is a view of the sunrise at 6 a.m. along Lakeshore drive in Chicago. I shot this on the way home from a 14 hour session. Sunrises over the lake make for gorgeous commutes, but they’re also a sign that I’ve been at the boats waaaaaaaay too long. 
Currently on Tilt: Who plays to get lucky on the river?
The last time I played live I experienced this hand…
1/2 NL HE cash game at the Commerce: I call a raise of $10 from MP with AJ off. There are 2 other players in the pot. The button (original raiser) and the BB. The flop brings Jd-Jc-Qd. The BB checks and I bet $12. Both players call. The turn brings a 3rd low diamond. The BB checks and I bet $20. The Button folds and the BB calls. The river is a 10d. The BB goes all in for $20. I call the $20 into $132 pot feeling like he doesn’t have a diamond… The moron shows pocket 10s. He rivered a full house on me. I asked him how he could call me down to the river knowing he’s beat the whole way.. he said he felt his 10 coming. Ugh!!!
The Update:
Skill + Luck = A Successful Tournament
Today I headed out to the Bike for their monthly Ladies Tournament. My plan was to raise preflop whenever I wanted to be in the pot when in a good position. I wanted to pick up a lot of small pots early on in order to build my stack. I didn’t want to find myself stressing over the antes and blinds as they began to increase. My starting table (which did not break until we were down to 2.. which was great) included a lot of tight play. Myself and 2 other women picked up on this fast and took down many small pots… and in my case with marginal hands…
