If you find yourself in a tournament with me and I go all-in, you might consider calling because I probably have a high pocket pair and you'll be able to outdraw me with whatever you have.

This happened consistently enough this weekend that I've come to expect it. AA vs. QJ (straight). QQ vs. 33 (set). JJ vs. KJs (flush). KK vs. 9-10 (two pair). In each hand I was all-in preflop, making for some jaw-dropping (draw-dropping?) calls by players not even shortstacked who should know better but probably know enough that their luck will help them out. I think that mirror I cracked a few years ago is still having an effect.

Here's a hand from a 100+9 SnG. I don't have the hand history because I shut off the computer in disgust, after I screamed loud enough to wake the baby in the apartment down the hall two floors down.

I must work on managing this anger. I recall getting upset when losing a game of Payday or Uno with grubette. We'd play for money (no playing for sport in the grub household), I'd lose, and I'd throw down the cards or flip up the game board and pieces and storm off in a huff. I even kicked a hole in her bedroom door, I'm ashamed to admit. I had a wee bit of an excuse then: I was 12.

Fortunately, I don't display this aggression in person. I'm calm and cool and never take anything out on the dealers.

At home alone, though, cover your ears.

Here's the hand...

It's down to four people. Top three pay. I take shots at the 100+9 SnGs every now and again. I haven't noticed any significant difference in play from the 50+5 SnGs (except, uh, my placings), so I'm likely to continue.

I'm UTG, see KK, and go all-in. I'm medium stacked, and another stack with slightly less chips calls with AQ. The chip leader is sitting pretty, and the fourth player is the shortstack.

I'm chanting, "No Ace, No Ace, No Ace."

The flop: 2-2-2.
No Ace, No Ace, No Ace.

The turn: K.
Yesssss!

The river: 2.
WTF?!?

This beat was a new one on me, and I thought I'd seen it all. I chalk it up to my silly luck. I can't blame it on the AQ player, because shorthanded like that I would've called all-in as well.

What gets my grub are the players who call my high pocket pair all-ins preflop with 22-99 and end up hitting their set. I'd like to think it balances out in the long run, but I can't think of an instant this weekend when I made the push, was called with a smaller pocket pair, and their pocket pair didn't catch their set.

Surely this means my luck is about to change.

I experimented with playing 6 tables at a time, which was more than I could handle. Four is a good number; six requires the other monitor, and it's a challenge to crane my neck back and forth. Certainly keeps my attention, though.

Played about twenty-five 50+5 SnGs and placed first in one out of four. Alas, I gave it back in blackjack and video poker, -EV games I need to cease and desist immediately. I also hit a royal flush for $2000 but gave that back in slotplay... yep, I know I have a problem. I have a difficult time keeping ahold of money.

Did The Gaming Club/Prima's 100K tourney on Saturday, which was malfunctioning because players weren't being moved. Tables weren't balanced and played out like 39 SnGs. Once one table dwindled to one player, that player was moved. Prima made an announcement that they were aware of the problem, yet let the game continue. Top 40 players paid, and when they reached 51 they finally cancelled it and refunded players' buy-ins, rebuys, and add-ons (one player at my table rebought 10 times... he must've been thrilled).

When players caught wind of what was happening, the majority of them began soft-playing and folding blinds to keep their table in the game. They wrote in chat and confirmed their collusion agreement that they would post and fold blinds to each other until the tournament was fixed.

My table was behaving until I was bumped. Then a deal was made, and the remaining players also began post-and-folding.

I was knocked out around 70th, but wrote an email long before that expressing how poorly they were handling this tournament. Many conspiracies abounded -- they still continually get few people signing up (even less, now that they've upped the buy-in to $100+10) and have to put up a significant amount to meet the 100K guarantee. The main theory was that Prima did this purposely when they saw they would be losing too much money; after all, their 3000-player freerolls go off without a hitch. Why should their biggest money tourney with 380 players have this many problems?

I don't believe in Area 51, and I don't subscribe to this, because they've already been losing tens of thousands of dollars every Saturday and Sunday with these 100K and 75K guaranteed tourneys. Why would they sabotage their tournament and risk players abandoning their site, as well as bad-mouthing them?

This tournament has the best overlay anywhere, and though I'm now a little leery of playing it next Saturday, I'll still be there every time they offer it.

I also won seats into two of Party's 250K guaranteed tourneys. They had enough signups that each had pools of over 325K.

My final hand on one of them was AA, which I went all-in after a player raised. That player had KK. You can guess what flopped, and I was out. Again, just bad luck. There's no way KK is dropping and it's just the luck of the cards at that point.

Played a few $32 SnG satellites to the Party Poker Million semis. This is a great little SnG because first place gets the seat and second and third place get entries to another $32 satellite. I only bought into this SnG twice, and after placing 3rd and 2nd giving me two more chances, I won two seats. I hope to win two more, so I have four entries to cover each of the semi days Sept. 2-5. The more chances, the better. And I really want to be on that boat, hobnobbing with Shana Hiatt who by my calculations should be divorced by next year and ready for a rebound.

Oh, but you're not here to read about my weekend of beats, you're here for the Hand of the Week!

Congrats to NemoD, who won $30 for correctly guessing Hand of the Week #13 when my opponent had A8o. Way to go, NemoD! Hope to join you at another final table soon.

The prize has been reset to $20 and off we go!


Grubby's Hand of the Week #14
for Monday, August 16, 2004

Prize: $20

The first person to correctly guess my opponent's hand before next Monday wins. Suits may or may not matter. One guess per person, please. Winner will be declared here the following week. If there's no winner, the prize will roll over to next week plus $5.

If you're signed up to Empire Poker or Absolute Poker or UltimateBet through me (use those links to sign up), the prize is doubled for you.

Leave your guess in the comments section below. You can be Anonymous without registering through Blogger, but do include your name so I know whose guess is whose.

If you don't include contact info and you're the winner, email me after the quiz is over.

Good luck and good skills,

---

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (6 max, 6 handed) converter

UTG ($103.60)
MP ($32.80)
CO ($195.10)
Button ($94)
SB ($228.75)
grubby ($67.20)

Preflop: grubby is BB with J J
UTG calls $2, 1 fold, CO calls $2, 1 fold, SB completes, grubby raises to $10, UTG folds, CO calls $8, SB folds.

Flop: ($24) Q 4 5 (2 players)
grubby bets $10, CO calls $10.

Turn: ($44) T (2 players)
grubby checks, CO bets $25, grubby raises to $47.2 (All-In), CO calls $22.20.

River: ($138.40) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $138.40
Main Pot: $138.40, between CO and grubby.


A word about these NL ring games: always bet your hand and don't check when a 3flush or straight draw develops. Once you check, these sharks will smell that weakness and take advantage. Likewise, you'll be able to take down many an uncontested pot with nothing, simply being in late position.

I had dabbled in NL ring last year but for some reason never stuck to it. I returned after trying it out in Vegas and liking it (despite losing) but mostly because if I fancy myself a good SnG NL player, I should be able to do well in the live NL ring counterpart (besides which, it's the best place to work off bonuses as practically every hand is raked).

The jury's still out whether I'll continue or whether I'm any good. I try to play like I'm playing a NL SnG, with the money just chips. Reads are next to impossible, removing much of that psychology. Though more chatter to make up for it.

Maybe this hand will help to decide?

This was a $100 maximum buy-in, 1/2 blinds. Very different from the 50NL, which rarely has preflop raises. The 100NL is a bit more aggressive, but similar in that everyone is call-call-calling waiting for their hands. It's up to you to make it expensive for them and if you don't and they get their card, it's all your fault.

I had no reads on this table, other than most people were calling and calling with crap. I suspected perhaps a flush draw or a Q with medium kicker, and I was hoping I could shake CO out of the hand by check-raising him all-in, but nope (and yes, he was committed at that point and my short stack was giving him a discount to call and see the river). His call probably meant no flush draw. And meant at least a Q... or did it?

What did CO have?