Part 2

1/2 NL can be a cruel game. Even when the situation is optimal you can lose, and lose a lot rapidly. This was my experience with the 2 best hands in Hold-em AA and KK. I managed to get AA only 2X during the trip. Once I won a very small pot and the other time it went like this. I raise to $15 from MP and got 2 calls. The flop came Jc 9s 3s, EP bets $30, I raise to $90, LP calls. What does this guy have to call a $90 raise into a $155 pot? EP thinks and folds. The turn comes Qs putting a flush and possible straight on the board. I check and he shoves all-in for $200 more. I muck and he shows T8h. He had an open ender on the flop but did not have odds to make the call. He likes to gamble as so many were inclined to do at the 1/2 tables when the WSOP was in town. If a blank comes on that turn my stack is going in the middle and if he still wants to play, so be it.

Now for my KK experience. I have KK in EP raise to $15 get a call from the lady to my left. She is a good tight aggressive player. The flop comes J x x. I bet $25, she raises to $50. Warning bells should have been sounding at this point. I put her on a big pair, maybe AJ. The turn comes J. I check she bets $75. Since the J came i am putting her on 99 TT or QQ. She has another $90 behind. Something was telling me that she was good but i did not listen to that little voice this time and I shoved all-in. She insta-calls with AJ. I played that one miserably.

Another KK donation for the ladies. I get KK in MP and raise to $13. This time I get 4 callers. Flop Q J 3 rainbow. 2 checks to me I bet $50. A call from the Asian girl in LP who likes to gamble a bit but is a solid player, 2 folds. Turn is K woo hoo! I bet $75. She shoves all-in for $150 total. I feel that I might be beat but can I lay down the top set? I don't think so, I still have 10 outs to the nuts if I am behind and her range is large. She can have QQ JJ or even 33 so I call and she wins the hand with 9Ts.

Now for the finale, this one goes to an older Englishman who is possibly lit up as he sits down at the table. He is loud and obnoxious, coming on to the female dealers, screaming deuce of hearts at every flop when he is in the hand, and most importantly making big re-raise bluffs and showing it down in pride to the table. He is at the table for about 30 minutes when I get, well you guessed it KK. He raises to $6 and gets 3 callers. I re-raise to $42. I want to isolate this fool and take his stack of about $200. The plan works, he calls everyone else folds. I knew he was not going to fold. The flop comes Q Q 7. He shoves all in for $150. I think about it and come to the conclusion that he wants to show down yet another bluff. I tell him. "Am I going to pay you off? He is quiet. The first time he shut his mouth since he sat down. He does not want a call. I call, he flips over 56s. the turn comes 5, river 5. I go to the bathroom to vomit.

I did make some of my money back with KK on another hand when I hit a K on the turn to fill up for K's over 9's when my opponent had trip 9's. I also made much cash when players were playing typical of the way I have been describing, continued to do so but did not hit their draws. All in all If I had mediocre luck with my premium hands I could have been up well over $1000 for the trip but I did manage to cut my losses to only $230 in total. Not what I was hoping as a final tally but I'll take it. It could have been much worse.

Do you guys ever watch High Stakes Poker? Well it is a Poker show on GSN which is not a tourney but a cash game with a $100K minimum buy-in. The top pros have all been on it during the first 3 seasons and I think the guy I was in a big hand with one morning at The Venetian was an avid viewer due to the fact he offered me a deal for the pot on the turn during a big hand.
I got TT in MP, a raise to $10 from EP, I re-raise to $20. I wanted to represent a big hand that wanted action so that I can push them off on the flop. I get 2 callers. The flop is 2s 5s 6c. Check, I bet $40, call, call. Looks like I got 2 chasers. Turn comes 9d. Check, I check, LP bets $50, fold. I shove all in for another $175 and have him covered. He decides that it is time to do like the pros on High Stakes Poker and make a deal. He said to me " Do you know what I got?" I say nothing, he continues "I have a big draw" and starts to motion as if he was going to show me his cards. The dealer said "you can not show your hand" He said "I'll make you a deal, we chop the pot now or I call your all-in and take it all." I nod my head "no". I have made it a practice to never talk during a hand, but I did nod no so we could get the hand over with. He was being very persistent and I knew there was no way I was not going to make that deal. If he had shown me his hand on the flop and he had a strong draw I might have went for it but it was now the river coming and at best he probably had a 30% chance or less to beat me. The turn comes blank and I take the pot. he is livid. "How can you not take that deal" "Do you really like to risk that much money"? I explained to him that it was not a good deal but he was not having it. A girl at the table agreed with me but he was not in the mood to be educated that day. He reloaded but unfortunately I was unable to get a piece of that stack before he got cracked again.

Let's not forget that the WSOP is going on while I am out there, and with that I leave you until Part 3 "WSOP Bonus coverage at The Rio" and I do play at The WSOP!