Tao of Poker

TowneHouse Friday

"Pauly, how many cheese blintzes do you want?" - Coach

So what was I doing hanging out with a roomful of lawyers on a Friday night and not discussing that lingering paternity suit that never seems to go away? Playing poker of course. Toni hosted two $40 multi table tournaments at the TowneHouse with rebuys in the first orbit (only) and if you don't know by now, Toni uses purple and pink chips for her games. There were two tables going and Signor Ferrari and Coach from the Blue Parrot were also in attendance. I played with a lot of the same people a few weeks ago and I found out that some of them had read my blog since my first appearance at the TowneHouse. I've been outed. Anyway, I ended up winning the first one and coming in 8th in the second one.

I arrived with a strong buzz and freezing my ass off. I had dinner and drinks in Chelsea with Jenna and Briana and some of her old friends from high school to celebrate her birthday. It was freezing outside and I walked almost twenty blocks because I was a little too sloshed to know the difference between numb and stupid.

Players at my table (Tourney #1):
Seat 1: Andy
Seat 2: Pauly
Seat 3: Toni
Seat 4: Cliff
Seat 5: Ferrari
Seat 6: Kyle

I was sitting at the main table. The blinds are fifteen minutes long and start at $10/20 and you get T1000 in chips.

Level 2: Cliff's AQs knocked out Kyle's 86o. There were all low cards on the flop with two clubs. Cliff pushed with the nut flush draw and overcards. All Kyle had was a gutshot and a backdoor flush draw (which would have been beat if he hit). Cliff took an early chip lead.

Level 3: I was on the button with J8 and limped in when everyone folded to me. Toni called in the LB. The flop: 7-8-2. She bet, Cliff folded and I raised $500. Toni thought about it and moved all in. I had to call and started to wonder if I was outkicked or was beat by two pair. She turned over A7s. I knocked her out with top pair and crappy kicker. J8o rules. That's one example how position means everything in NL. I would never play J8o from any other position out of the blinds, but on the button against the blinds I have to see a cheap flop.

As soon as I stacked up my chips, there was commotion on the other table. With a Jack and two rags on the board (but two spades), Sung moved all in. Coach was contemplating calling. He ended up pushing all in with the Hilton Sisters. I thought he had an easy win when Sung showed his J-10. The turn was another spade. Sung had one in his hand and Coach had none. And Sung caught running spades for a flush on the river to double up against Coach. He was crippled and one of the short stacks.

Level 4: This might be the hand of the tournament for me. In the LB, I have QJs. Ferrari limped in and Andy raised the minimum on the button. I called as did Ferrari. The flop: Q-2-6 rainbow. I checked, Ferrari checked, and Andy bet the minimum. I raised the bet to the size of the pot and Ferrari sat for a few minutes thinking over the call. I put him on a middle-Q. With AQ or KQ or a set, he would have called right away or pushed... but he kept thinking about it, which kinda told me he had Q9 or QT. He ended up moving all in! Before I could think about it, Andy moved all in! Well, I had to suspect one of them had me outkicked if they had a Q. But maybe they hit a set? I showed my QJs and folded. Ferrari showed QJs!! We had almost the same hand. I'm glad I folded because Andy showed his pocket aces. Nice betting on his part, with min. bets preflop and on the flop. Perfectly played. Ferrari was knocked out and he pushed because he assumed he was going to be heads up with me (he put me on a Q too... but a weak Q since I was in the blinds). He forgot about Andy. Heck, I figured I was going to be heads up with Ferrari. I forgot about Andy too!

Level 5: The Final Table was seated and I had T1500 and sitting next to Coach. He ended up moving all in with K9s. Andy was the big stack and he called with 77. Coach flopped a 9. And just as the river card, a 7, fell to the felt, he uttered in a sullen tone, "Of course." Andy hit one of his two outs and knocked out Coach. Rivered twice at the TowneHouse. Ouch. Alma knocked out Sung when her 10-10 held up in a race against KJ. She had gone from a short stack to one of the medium stacks in a few hands. Remaining were Damon, Cliff, Kathy, Alma, Andy and myself.

Level 6: Everyone folded to me in the little blind. I had 87s and moved all in for a steal. Alma quickly called with AJ. I knew I was done and said, "You got me beat." The flop didn't help me but I caught an 8 on the turn and doubled up. I got lucky and it wouldn't be the last time at the final table where I came from behind preflop to win hands. Cliff went out when his Hilton Sisters couldn't hold up against Andy's A6s. Damon bubbled out when he lost to Kathy.

Level 7: I didn't get too many good hands but picked up enough blinds to survive. Kathy was on a roll. I think she knocked out Alma and Andy was chipped down. He had me dominated in one hand and I paired my lower kicker to beat him. I had a decent lead in chips. I was heads up with Kathy! She beat me heads up the last time we played. Her play was consistent throughout and one of the toughest things to master in NL is proper bet size. She seems to have a good grasp on that concept. I ended up winning when we both pushed with aces... my A8 beat her A6 when I flopped an 8. I took first place and $240. Also "In the Money" were Kathy ($120), Andy ($80), and Alma ($40).

The second tournament started and we had 13 players for that one when Ken arrived. I was seated at the second table. Like last time everyone got sloshed in between the first and second tournaments. Since it was Friday and the end of a long work week, a few folks got a little more wasted than usual. My hat goes off to Cliff who helped run the tournament. He did his best trying to keep drunk people in line.

The Players at my table (Tourney #2):
Seat 1: Pauly
Seat 2: Kyle
Seat 3: Kathy
Seat 4: Sung
Seat 5: Alma
Seat 6: Ferrari

Level 2: Kyle's KK knocked out Sung. We had five players at our table. And I wasn't getting any hands.

Level 4: There was a misdeal one time when Kyle exposed the flop before he should have when Ferrari was contemplating calling a raise. I need to get a specific ruling on that so we know what to do the next time it happens. I had T750 and getting cold cards.

Level 5: I had 33 and flopped a set with 6-7-3. I bet, Ferrari raised and I moved all in. He thought about it for a while and decided to call when he found out the blinds were going up in a few minutes. He had a good amount of his money in the pot and called with 35o. He had outs and didn't catch any. I doubled up and had over T1650. A few hands later, facing two all in bets preflop by Alma and Kathy, Ferrari folded AQs. At the time it seemed like the good thing to do. Both girls flipped over AK! Ferrari would have flopped two pair when the case ace and a queen hit.

I made the Final Table. Also there were: Kathy, Damon, Coach, Ken, Alma, Kyle, Cliff, Steve. I got to sit next to Steve and he was wicked wasted. I like to party and I hang out with rockstars (based on party ability not musical talent) from time to time. But sometimes people get too out of control. I was not happy about my seat next to the drunk guy but I knew I had to focus on my cards. I had one of the shorter stacks and was looking to double up.

Damon moved all in with AQs. Ken and Alma both called with AK! Didn't that just happen? Amazing. Damon was knocked out and I followed him a few hands later. UTG with 10-10 I moved all in. Ken called with AQs and I was beat when he flopped two pair. Oh well. 8th out of 13 isn't great. But at least I didn't have to sit next to the annoying drunk guy for the next hour. And would you know, two of the drunkest people finished in the top 3. Oh well. I know Alma finished in 4th again and I think Steve came in third, Kyle second, and Ken won it all. I'm not too sure at that point. Things were sloppy at the final table. Props to Cliff who tried his best to maintain order at the table.

I played two tournaments, won the first one and ended up up $160. We played a cash game afterwards when everyone left. There were six of us and we played $4/8 rounds of Hold'em and Omaha 8. I ended up $6 when the game was called early. There was a sketchy incident that happened late night involving a misread Omaha hand and the drunk guy. I'm short on time so I'll have to save that story for another time.

All in all, another fun night at TowneHouse. Thanks agin to Toni who once again was a cool host. I was too lazy to walk to the subway so I took a cab. If I saw any homeless people, I would have given away a few bucks. Instead I tipped my cabbie an extra buck. He was from India so he knew all about karma.