4 Days of Poker

This past Friday I headed up with some friends from my monthly home game for a little relaxation and poker. Well, mostly poker as I am sitting here on Tuesday dead tired from the weekend.

Kevin, John, Mark, and I headed up north on Friday around 1:30pm and got to Kevins Dad's log cabin around 6pm. Got the tour of the beautiful log cabin and the surroundings. We were right on the lake and away from civilization. It was really a great place. So we headed out to Leg's, a nice polish restaurant in the area. Kevin's dad was with us and said this place had a great beer and an excellent view. He was right. There back of the place was an outdoor eating area on this grassy terrace overlooking Lake Michigan. Good food, great beer, and beautiful scenery.

We headed back to the cabin and got ready to go play poker in St. Ignace. This is a small reservation casino. The poker room had about 5 tables and only one going when we got there. 2/5 NL $100 max was the only game being played. With us 4 there and some others signed up they opened up a new table. Let the crap begin...

I don't play NL cash games. When I play at a B&M I play limit. NL cash games, especially in small casino's are donk havens from what I have seen in the past and this place was one of them. First hand was shown down and the winner had T3s. I knew this was going to be interesting. So play tight and push hard with my good hands. First decent hand I got was QQ. I raised to $15 and got zero callers. Great. Got into some hands and never hit flops and I was down to about $65 out of my $100. Got dealt AK in the SB. 4 limpers in front of me. That was odd to me. These guys raised almost every pot pre-flop. So I went all in. Kevin was the BB and wasn't too happy to fold his hand. Everyone folded and I picked up about $25. One guy had AJ, another had 99, and Kevin folded QQ. Wow, I cannot believe he folded that. He explained later that the last few games he played up there he lost a ton of money early playing large pocket pairs and wasn't in the mood to go through that again. Oh well.

Last hand of my night was I was in the BB. Few callers and I checked blind. Flop comes A 8 x, 2 clubs. I look to see what I have and I have A8. I bet the pot and I get one caller. Flop comes another club. I put the rest of my money in (like $17) and he calls and flips over AT with the ten being a club. He of course hits the club on the river. Oh well, what can you do. I find a comfy chair and hang out for an hour or so when they are done playing. Kevin is the only one who left up and that was for $210.

We headed back to the cabin and got ourselves situated in the bunk house. We decided that even though it was late we needed to play more poker. So we played .50/1 NL on a small cooler. John ended up winning that when we got heads up and I lost with my two pair to his rivered straight. So that is now twice I lost money on hitting two pair. It was about 3am so we went to bed. I didn't get much sleep as John was snoring most of the night. I think I got about 2 hours of decent sleep.

Got up around 10am and headed out for Breakfast. Had burnt pancakes which didn't help my hangover. Headed back to the cabin and called to see what games they were running if any. Today they had 1/2 NL $100 max. Well that should make me last longer than last night. Heh. We get there and we make it so they can open up a new table. This table sucked. It had no personality and bad players. I won a couple small pots but nothing big and I got dealt AhQh and raised it to $10. Got one caller, Kevin. Flop comes A 3 6. He checks and I bet $15. He calls. Turn comes Q, giving me top two pair. I bet $25 and he raises to $50. Hmmm. I figured he had and Ace or A6 or A3. I called leaving me with about $9. River is a blank and I put the rest of my money in and he calls. Damn. Okay, show me the set. And he did flipping over two 6's. Again, two pair kills me. That was about an hour in. I sat there for another 4 hours till they were done playing. I had $100 left of my poker money and another day to play. Kevin again ended up the winner and took home another $62. Though he played for about 4.5 hours.

We head back to the cabin and pick up some brats and go grilling. After a couple hours we head back to the casino to play. This time they have 2/5 and 1/2 NL going. John and I hit the 1/2 and Mark and Kevin hit up the 2/5.

I pick up 99 on my 3rd hand and raise it up to $10. I get a couple callers. Flop comes J9x. I bet $20 and get one caller. Turn is nothing too wonderful. I bet $15 which puts the guy all in. He calls and flips over 35 for absolutely NOTHING. I win the pot and now up over $150. Cool. First time this trip I am up. Sure that will change.

I get dealt QQ. I raise it to $15 and the blinds call. Flop come 678. I bet 20. Both call. Turn comes a 5. Bah! They check and I check. Turn comes a blank. One guy bets $20, the other raises to $60, I fold my QQ. One had a 4T the other a 93.

I get dealt 27 in BB. I check. Flop comes 534, one club. All check. Turn is a 6 of clubs. All check. River is a 8 of clubs. I bet $15 and one guy raises to $30 and John moves all in for $58. I of course fold cause I know I am beat. The guy calls and shows J3 of clubs. John shows KT of clubs and takes the pot.

From there I just get cold decked and get up before I am the BB. I leave with $75 of my $100.

On the 2/5 table Mark was knocked out early when his pocket 5's hit a set on the flop but the other guy hit a set of 7's as well. He had one a decent pot earlier and was up over $100 and lost it all in that one hand. John was getting tired and got up from the table about 7 hands after I did. He told Kevin all three of us were done and he decided he was up and would leave in a couple hands. He ended up going all in on his last hand and lost. I don't remember the circumstances but it was not pretty. So John left that session the winner being up $50.

John was leaving the next morning so he took the couch as him and Frank were going to head out at 7am. I slept till about 11am. Got up and took a shower and watched some TV. I was tired and had a killer headache. Mark and Kevin went to eat breakfast and returned and called the casino. They were not running any poker that day so we decided to play poker at the cabin, outside. We set up a table and chairs by the fire pit and started a $50 tourney. We started with like 3800 in chips with 30 minute blinds. It was a crazy game. I don't think I can beat either one of them regularly. Kevin and Mark are the two best players at the home game. So I knew I was screwed. Picked up some good pots early and made a huge river bluff on Kevin that I was happy with but then it all fell apart. I went out about 4 hours into the game. They played heads up for another 30-45 minutes till Mark called Kevins all in with Ah 7d vs Kevins Kd Qd. Marks hand help up for the win. That started a heated argument on which is the better starting hand. Eventually I called my wife and had here check out the %'s on my Poker Academy program. I couldn't stand the fighting anymore.

So now it was about 6 and talk of another game was at hand. But I only was willing to play for $50 and Kevin wanted to play for $100 so he could get his $100 back from the last game. So he said, I put up $50 and they each put up $100 on a side bet. This lasted for about 40 minutes and then at the restaurant for an hour where it sounded like we decided not to play cause Mark was only willing to play for $50, $75 tops. This was not acceptable to Kevin. So we went back home and sat on the couch and watched TV. I think I fell asleep for awhile. I don't remember. I took some Wal-dryl and was completely out of it.

At around 11 they decided to play. I got up and went to the table and said, I hope a deal had been made. Of course, there wasn't. Blah! By that point I no longer wanted to play. Well I did, but not for $50. I was drugged up and drowsy. I agreed to $25 and they each played for $50. If I win I get $25 each from them and the 2nd place player gets the extra.

Lots of trash talking in that game. It was pretty cutthroat. I ended up heads up with Kevin and was the shortstack. I doubled up twice and got back into it. I picked up JT. We saw the flop and it came 7TJ. Ahhh, two pair. Wow. I know what is going to happen. So I bet, he called. Turn comes, nothing major. I bet, he raises, I am committed and go all in and he calls showing the 98 for the flopped straight. No J or T on the river and he wins. Big surprise. I now officially hate two pair.

It's now about 3:30am and we crash.

We get up around 11 on Monday and decide to head home. On the way home I pull out some cards to play solitaire and Kevins demands we play a tourney. I am hesitant since Kevin is actually driving us home. But we end up playing. $1000 in chips, 15 minute blinds, $10 buy in. Wow. I don't know how but I win it. So for the weekend I finish down $280.

It was fun though but poker is really annoying to me right now.