AC Trip Report 10/28

I get to the Taj in the early morning planning to play in at least 2 tourneys.

Tourney #1 I play at The Taj Mahal. I hold a certain fondness for the Taj. It was where the NYC players went to feast on the tourists in Rounders, and that is why I made it the first stop in my poker career. Now I am back to play in an 80+10 MTT tourney.

The first time I played live poker I sat at a 1/2 NL table in that very room and won the second hand dealt to me when I had JJ and raised it up from middle position to 8 dollars. That got a chuckle going. I did not realize that it was a small raise at that table. I had a lot to learn. When the flop comes with a J, I begin to feel my heart pumping and my hands trembling as I reach for chips being first to act. I try to count out the chips but they were falling and rolling around my immediate vicinity when a player who is out of the hand to my left says "take it easy, take your time", another to his left said “first time at a table?". By now I am entirely overwhelmed, I bet out $25 and get 1 caller who it seems does not believe in physical tells. I bet out again when an undercard hits, not sure how much, and again on the river. He turns over 66 and I am thinking this is too easy. Well it does not take long to learn differently.

Back to the present I find myself at The Taj’s 80+20 MTT and I'm sitting with a group of solid players who are stiff as boards, I felt at one point I would need to tap one to see if I was playing with the living dead. The table consisted of a group of good players who were tight as nails. I did not get much in the name of hole cards and was knocked out in about an hour and a half.

I forgot to mention I sat at a 1/2NL table as I waited for the tourney to start and managed to leave with a profit of $35 in an hour and a half. I thought about sitting at another 1/2, but decided to give limit another shot after having had good results at The Borgata a few weeks ago at a 6/12 table. I take a seat at a brand new 5/10 and begin to run over the table. I am getting good starting hands, good flops, and making good bluffs. I end up with a $135 profit in about an hour and a half. As I am leaving one of the players asks me “Time to move to a better game" I tell him "yes, you guys play a good tight game, I want to get out of here before I lose it" which was true. The game at The Borgata was much juicier with an average of 4 to every flop.

I head on over to The Showboat to play in the 50+10 MTT. As I am waiting for the tourney to start, I said hello to a player who sits 2 seats to my left with whom I played with at a final table a few months ago. I asked him if he had cashed since and he said he did, but he was lying, he could not hide that tell and I put him on tilt. This info was useful in my biggest hand that I happened to play against him. I am on the button; blinds are 50T/100T. I have about T6500. 3 players limp to me, I look down to see JJ. I raise to T700. Tilter calls. Flop is all undercards with a possible flush draw. I know he did not call with overcards, because he limped and had been playing tight, for him to call T700 I put him on a small pair. A big pair he comes over the top. He checks, I look at him and I feel I have him. I over bet the pot to T3000 he looks nervous and he shoves all-in for another T2300 to me. I insta-call and ask him "do you have a big pair"? he said 10's. I flip over my cards and send him packing. All is quiet for a long while as I go positively card dead and the table starts to get hyper aggressive. I have to sit back and watch the action for a while. Then I notice something has happened that is to my disadvantage, the dealer forgets to raise the blinds to T200/T400, by the time I notice this we are getting ready to break. I don't know what might have happened had the blinds went up as they should of when I was big stack I believe it would have been to my advantage because a lot of players would have been playing short stacks, oh well.

After the break, I cannot seem to get a chance to make a move, there is a lot of raising in front of me and I have barely a chance to blind steal. I find myself short stacked with the blinds at T800/T1600. I am on the button and the cut-off min raises to T3200. With about T7500 left I look down at AA. I want to get it all-in but I am worried that the cut-off was on a steal. I act as if I am going to call and then make pretend that I just realize that I am short and say, "Oh, I did not realize I don't have too much left, I'm going to have to go all-in" and I shove. I was right; he was on a steal and folded. The SB bought the acting job, because he said "good bet".

On the very next hand there are 2 limpers when it gets to me, I see 99. I shove and get 2 callers. I figure I am beat. The flop comes with all high cards and the early position player shoves, the other person folds. I am still ahead but barely. My opponent had a flush and straight draw with AK of hearts. I am still alive after the turn, which is a blank, and on the river comes a glorious 9 to give me a set! Wait a sec, oh; I see it was a heart, oh well, off to the rail I go.