Lately I've been playing tournaments live in the circus but then going to Leo's when I am knocked out because the circus cash game is more like a home game with the same faces playing every week. The alternative in Leo's is so much better because newcomers are welcome and because of the location of the cash tables there is a steady stream of non poker players having a dabble.
It's got to the point where I have been considering skipping the tournaments and going straight to the cash game.
The last two weeks have been particularly interesting.
2 weeks ago, as I sat down I saw the back end of a hand where a tight female player made a raise of £100 all in on the river into a pot of about £90 when the board showed 4 to a straight and she was called by a player who was holding J4 for a pair of 4s!
As the hand was finished she said to him, don't worry, you've got another £1000 in your pocket (apparently he has actually been banned from the Circus for card counting on the blackjack and he had won £1000 on the blackjack earlier that night.)
So as he was considering leaving I said to him that he was unlucky in that hand in an attempt to get him to
rebuy and fortunately that worked.
I soon noticed how interesting this game was to become.
He pulled up £200 so I matched that and the very next hand he declared that this hand was going to cost £50 minimum before he looked at his cards.
The blinds are 50p/£1 in this game and I was conveniently sat to his left.
Anyway it was folded to him and he bet the £50 and the girl from the previous hand on his left thought for ages before passing and then it was folded to me and I looked down to see A8. Since he was in for £50 blind I did the honourable thing and went all in as I was well ahead of average and it folded to him and he folded. A nice £50 profit. It turns out that the girl had folded AK!!!! But she didn't want to gamble1
The next hand and he makes it £100 to go blind and I look down to see
AJ and so push again and this time he calls and his 10 2 wins with a ten on the turn.
I pulled up another £200 and the next significant hand is when we were 3 handed and there was a raise to £8 from Mr Blackjack which I flat called and the other player
reraised to £16 which Blackjack and I called. The flop came
AJ6 and amazingly the other player bet £100 into the pot of £48, Blackjack folded and I called to see his
KJ which didn't improve.
One of the reasons I like this game is because of the number of players who I see playing the tournaments each week but seem unable to make good decisions when the are very obvious – For example, in this spot it was pointless betting when he did (especially the amount he did) since blackjack was betting every single flop blind as well if he had raised blind and so he would have bet here, I would have called or raised and he could have saved himself £100! – I'm not complaining though!!!
The next hand came when there was no raising
pre flop and the board had been checked to the river when there were 4 spades showing and Blackjack bet £100 into the pot of £4. Nothing unusual there except he then told me that he hadn't looked at his cards and the dealer confirmed this so I called with my 6 high flush and he turned over his cards to find the 8s and a higher flush!
Anyway, I finished the night £250 in profit which I was pretty happy with considering the 2 big hands I lost.
Last week was just as interesting with another couple of drunk players.
However, circumstances were very different and these guys were a bit cleverer.
The first pot of note came after one of the drunk guys had just lost £400 of his £465 stack.
The very next hand he pushed his £65 into the middle
pre flop (at this point I thought he had done this blind) so I called with
AJ and when it was folded back to him he turned over AA!!
Although drunk, he had looked at his hand and correctly deducted that anyone would think he was on tilt (
ie me) and his hand held up.
The second hand of note was surprisingly similar.
The other drunk, who had been taking ages, slowing the game down and talking rubbish all night picked up his cards in the big blind and looked at them and went to throw them away but realised he was in the blinds.
I limped in with
AQ UTG as did a couple of other players and then when it came to the big blind he started talking rubbish again and said that he might raiser and – having seen him about to muck his cards before I told him to feel free. He then asked me how much he should raise so I said in pretend annoyance "all of it!" so he did I snapped called and everyone else got out of the way only to see him turn over AA! I still don't know if it was a calculated ploy in pretending to throw away his cards
pre flop but it worked a treat – until my
AdQd hit a queen on the flop, a second diamond on the turn and a third diamond on the river to give me a flush!
I don't know what he was doing
pre flop but I am fairly sure that it wasn't a deliberate ploy in attempting to fold but the all in move was good. To be fair though everyone else on the table was happy that the result ended up the way it did given how much messing around he had been doing at the table.
I will have to look out for him again in case this is all an elaborate trick.
The last hand that stood out involved the first drunk player who had said he was going to raise "all in the size of the short stack (about £20)" after the short stack had raised to £4. I had already called with 99 as had another The dealer told him three times to wait his turn and that it was not all in but if he kept saying it his verbal bet would be binding. The third time he told him all his chips (about £140) would have to go in if he said it again. When he said it again the dealer told him he had to put them all in and the player said
ok then. It was folded around to the short stack who called as did I and the other player who was already all in for £16 blind) I called since the drunk player was playing blind and we all turned our hands over with the non drunk player who was all in for £16 blind winning the small pot with
KK and me winning the remaining £300.
All in all it was another interesting night and another £300 profit.
On the football front I don't know who to support at the moment. The other week I was wanted Chelsea to beat Bolton to stop Man
Utd winning the league but every time Bolton attacked I was hoping they would score until I realised.
Then when United played City I kept hoping City would score until I kept remembering that I wanted City to lose and give us a chance of 4
th place.
As for Sunday I don't know who I want to win. A win for us gives united the league and us an outside chance of 4
th.
Man
Utd fans I am sure will be cheering us on!!!
On the plus side I am glad to see that united have God on their side given the miraculous recovery that happened to Rooney last week when he collapsed in a writhing heap until he looked up to see the opponent who had fouled him get his yellow card and then immediately spring up and trot off as though nothing had happened.
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