Adelaide - Jan 2009 - Oldest trick in the book

I have made the trip to Adelaide for the SkyCity Adelaide Hold 'em Championships.

I've dabbled with cash games before the first event - I am about even so far.

First in Sydney while checking out the poker room I sat down at the 2/3 NLH table - buy-in $200. I'd been there about 15 mins when I picked up KK on the button. There was a straddle to $10 with 2 limps, so I raise to $100. The straddler goes all-in for $220 and there is one caller. Is there any way I can fold? I called and the straddler showed JJ and the limp / call AA. I can't be bothered to reload from the ATM so I leave $200 down.

On my first night in Adelaide they are allegedly running 1 table sit and go's for the main event but there is not enough interest. To be honest the poker room is Sh*t* and I play in the biggest game : 2/3 with a max $180 buy-in and a 10% rake max $10. I get caught out by their absurd string bet rule - there is a line to move your chips over but if you don't announce raise and don't put them down in one movement it is a string bet. Well I dropped my chips once they were over the line and it was called a string bet by the dealer. So instead of a flop bet of 40 into a 60 pot it is only $10. Everyone calls and when the flush comes on the turn my top pair is clearly no good. I tilt a bit and when my AK does not beat TT I reload for $100. A few hands later I get all in again, this time with TT vs AJ - he hits J so I give it up for the night.

On day 2 I play the same game. This time it is a complete limp fest and at last my pairs start hitting sets. A very strange session since I never had AA, KK, AK or AQ, so I only raised pre-flop twice - QQ and JJ. My QQ did not get any heat on the flop so I won quite a nice pot uncontested, and when the flop to my JJ was AJ7 rainbow I played it slow - check calling from mid position to a button bet. The turn is a rag so I am pretty sure he has an A so I check again. This time he checks and the river is Q. I check again and he bets $30 into a $100 pot so I just min raise to $60. He then goes all-in - I am slightly worried about the straight but call - he mucks so he must have had AQ. I end up being $550 up for the night, which makes me cash neutral.

So to the tournament. It is a megasatellite for the main event - $670 buy-in, 1 in 5 get an entry into the main event. 69 runners so 13 seats up for grabs. We get 5000 chips with 30 minute levels.
Level 1 25/50. I win some chips when my KQ hits a Q high flop and then when I get a free card having raised pre-flop with AT and there is no action on a ragged flop. An A on the turn - I et out and all fold. I also manage to sneak a win when my Q8 hits a Q on the river. I am up to 7k in chips at the end of the level.
Level 2 50/100. Card dead - down to 6k
Level 3 75/150. Got a lucky break when calling several min raise limps on the button with A6h. Flop is a A75 and I can't believe it when my bet of 700 into a 1500 pot is enough to take it down.
Level 4 100/200. I start with 7k but am down to 6 after raising with AQ spades. Flop is QJT all hearts - he goes all-in and I can't call.
Level 5 150/300. We are down to 50 players and I have 6,500 chips when I play this hand:
One guy has recently shown down 2 big bluffs so I guess I should have been wary when he called UTG. There is one more caller and I have KQ in mid position so I call too. The button calls as do the blinds so we see a flop with a pot of 1800. The flop is QJ2, with 2 hearts (I have Kh) it is checked by the blinds to the second limper who bets 600. I raise to 2400 and the UTG player goes all-in. The bettor folds and so I am looking at around 4000 more into an 9000 pot. I am pretty sure he would have raised with AQ or AK but I do consider AA or KK. But perhaps he is trying it on again? I decide to call and he has KK so I need runner runner flush or Q neither of which show. On reflection I think I should have smelled the proverbial vermin...

Aussie Millions - Jan 2009 - Days 7 to 10 - 3 Bad Beats

Well I am sorry to say I have been knocked out of the main event by an amazingly stupid call by someone who should have known better. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Day 7
Having got through a single table satellite I play in the $1000 main event satellite. We are playing at the same time as the media / celebrity tournament which means the poker room is a shambles. We are treated to some shrieky girl commenting on the media event with words of wisdom (!) from Joe Hachem's brother.
On my table we have the slowest woman in the world playing. If she was not of the fairer sex the locals would have beaten her to a pulp for taking for ever to decide what to do - and then getting outrageously lucky. After about an hour I pick up QJ in mid position and our lady friend limps UTG. I limp as do a couple of others. The flop comes 7TJ with 2 diamonds and she bets 500 into a 1000 pot. I've only got 2000 chips so I move all-in. She calls me with AKd and hits an Ace. I think that she was actually favourite but given her previous play I was surprised she actually had a hand.
I then go find a single table satellite to the $1500 tournament the next day. I am bowling along quite nicely when I get A9 on the button and call a couple of limpers. The flop comes 975 rainbow so when the BB bets out I reraise him all-in pretty sure I am ahead and sure enough he has K9 - however he rivers a K to knock me out.

Days 8 and 9 are rest days. Day 8 was a Friday and Anderson and I meet up with the brother of a friend of mine. He has only just moved here so we seem to know more about the bars than he does. Anderson spots some nice young ladies wandering into what looks like a shopping centre and we follow into a tardis like bar club. (Un)fortunately this is at about 7.30 in the evening - and it turns into a very long night. I will say that the ladies of Melbourne do scrub up well.
I drink too much beer so Saturday is a bit of a write off and I have the proverbial early night.

Day 10 is the big one and there is a certain amount of tacky razzamatazz at the kick off which is 12.30. Not sure where Shane Warne is - we get Brian McFadden instead.

Level 1 - We start with 20,000 chips and blinds are 50/100 - the levels are 90 minutes
Not much happens - I raise with JJ in the SB and the only limper folds. I nick a pot by making my A4c look better than it actually is and when my AK runs into a 3 spade flop J63 even though I hold the King of spades I fold to a pot bet. I end up with 20,000

Level 2 - 100/200
Get a result when I get to limp on the button with 46c. Flop is J73 and when the SB makes a 350 bet into the 1000 pot he gets one caller. I decide to make a speculative call and when the beautiful 5 turns I have the nuts. He checks and I bet 1000 which he calls. The river is a 7 but he still calls down my 1500 bet. Sweet. Unfortunately shortly after I am moved to the table of death - the seat I take has apparently had 2 players kncked out in it. However my stack is 24,000 at the next break.

Level 3 100/200 /50 ante
It all starts to go a bit wrong at this level. I pick up KK in mid position but everyone folds to my standard raise. I then call with Q9 on the button after 3 limps. Flop is J93 with 2 hearts. All check to me so I bet 800 hoping my pair of 9s is good. Unfortunately the man to my right calls. Turn is 6h and he checks to me. I have Qh so perhaps my flush draw is good too. I bet 1500 but he reraises by 5000 - and I have to fold (later he tells me he had made a flush). I had to fold JJ after raising pre flop and then getting some heat on an Axx flop. I also had several baby pairs which I called the odd raise with looking to flop a set. Curiously I can't remember having a sniff at any set at all in the entire trip so far. Considering how many little pairs you see I am nowhere near the 1 in 8 expected.

Level 4 150/300/25
After a rather poor Level 3 I am down to 14,000. Not great but still very playable. I get AK which scores me a couple of 1000 and also AT on a 45T rainbow flop gets me some more when the big stack calls me down to the river.
However when I get AT again in the SB I decide to reraise a standard button raise of 1000. He calls and when the flop comes TJK I try firing again with a 3k bet. He calls. We check down further rags and he shows QQ. Not sure if I could have bet him off this pot or not.

At the end of Level 4 we have the dinner break and when we come back blinds are 200/400/50. I try to be patient but begin to get pissed of with getting JJ again and having to lay down when a A flops. Someone doubles through when he makes a set of 2's on an AJ2 flop - why does that never happen to me? We are getting close to the end of the level and I am down to around 10,000 when I pick up AJ in mid position. The man on the button is a Canadian who has been very active, raising quite a lot of limped pots. Also he has recently lost a huge hand against the south african HORSE winner who is sat to his left, so I decide to try to trap him on this hand. I limp and he raises to 1500 which I call. The flop comes 234 with 2 diamonds (I have the Ad) and I know he is going to try to steal it so I check. Sure enough he bets 2500 so I then go all-in over the top. He is now looking at a further 6000 into a 15000 pot. Surely he can't call here? Even if he has a flush draw I hold the A which must make him think he might be drawing dead to a flush. If he has a low pair then I have lots of outs - back door flush and straight as well as my overcards. He dwells up and then says that he thinks the price is right. He calls and shows Q9 both clubs. WTF? How can he call with that rubbish. He is only beating a dodgy bluff or perhaps a straight draw. Well of course the dealer ships a Q on the river. I am not amused.
Never mind - Anderson buys me an ice cream as compensation.

Aussie Millions - Jan 2009 - Day 6 - HORSE and Hall of Fame

I play in the HORSE tournament today which is a real laugh. There are 98 runners and not many fish (apart from me). The games are limit hold em, Omaha hi/lo, Razz, Stud, and Stud Hi-Lo. I am completely clueless with Razz (stud low) so it is good to get some tuition.

I have Mick "the loon" Hoon on my table and he is a constant source of banter. I manage to scrape along and am a bit unlucky in the stud, twice having four to flush after 5 cards and not improving either time.

However I get a few lucky breaks in the omaha high/low. I make a full house having limped with a high only hand from the small blind and with no low coming I scoop a big pot. A bit later a similar incident. I have a distinctly average hand of 344J on the button and I call after 3 limps. Flop comes 479 with two hearts. There is a bet and 2 calls when it comes to me. I am getting quite low on chips and since I am last to act I know I can't get raised. No-one seems to interested in this pot and this is the last small bet (it is limit) so I call too. Turn is the case 4 so I have quads. It is checked round to me and I am such shock I don't bet - think i am in hold 'em mode and don't want to scare them off. What an idiot. If I bet they probably all have to call. The river is a T which means there is no low so there is only one bet made - however he calls my raise and so I get a nice load of chips.

The structure of the tournament is a bit rubbish - which favours me and I take the opportunity to play all-in with good starting cards a few times to get me to the finally 3 tables of 8.

At dinner all the remaining players are invited to the Australian Poker Hall of Fame party which is on the roof terrace bar/club Breezes in the Crown Towers hotel. We have some posh canapes and champagne and then there is a presentation to the inaugural hall of famers including Joe Hachem, Mel Judah, Tony G.  Unfortunately several of us have to return to the tournament, and I don't know why I bother. I have 10,000 chips and am on the BB of 2000 in omaha. I have to fold that blind and my SB as well and then we hit Razz. I get the bring-in 3 times out of the next 4 hands for 800 chips each so when I am bring-in again with K23 I decide to go all-in against a single raiser. Unfortunately it is Mel Judah showing a 5 up and when we flip them over he has 23 to go with it. The dealer takes the piss by dealing me about 5 face cards in a row and I exit in 20th place. Not bad for an amateur though.

I play a single table satellite and get dealt AA 5 (yes five) times. This is pretty ridiculous since we were probably only dealt 50 hands. Naturally I did win and only think wistfully it would have been nice to save it for Sunday...

Aussie Millions - Jan 2009 - Day 5 - Superduper satellite

Took it a bit easier today since I was changing from a hotel to a serviced apartment. I have a "penthouse" but all this means is that the lift stops on the 14th floor and I have to walk up an extra flight of stairs.

Now I have a kitchen I can buy some proper food but it is difficult to buy a small amount of certain things in the supermarket. For example a very large jar of standard mayonnaise is $1.95 but all the fancy small jars are $4. I think the cleaner is going to score a tip of 300g of mayo, half a bottle of olive oil and some salt and pepper.

I play in the $240 satellite again in the morning. Don't get many cards but make my first real sneaky move when the blinds are up to 200/400 (we start with 2500 and 1 in 5 players go through). I raise a limper with KQ and get 2 callers. I continuation bet on a 579 rainbow flop which nicks me enough chips to get me into the final 30 with 18 getting seats. However when I get all in with AK vs JJ and 88 I don't improve and am knocked out.

I play a ridiculous $120 buy-in one table crap shoot. We get 1000 chips with blinds of 100/200. The rules are that you can never call - you must raise or fold. First hand I am on the button and move all-in with KT and beat A8 to double up. I then don't play again as the other players kamikaze.  Soon we are down to 3 and I double through with some random filth. Then we are two and when I push with KJ he has AT and I don't improve.

Aussie Millions - Jan 2009 - Day 4 - Bubble and Horse

Played in the Phase 1 main event satellite - $240 entry - 1 in 5 go through to the supershot main event satellite later in the day.

Had a very noisy player on our table - Oliver the young Queenslander. The dealer kept telling him to turn down the volume but the locals just liked taking the piss. He clearly was an internet player and knew what he was doing, so when I was getting a bit short stacked and had 2's on the button after his standard raise I shoved (as I believe we have to say "shove" now to get down with the kids, rather than "move all-in"). He thought for ever and berated himself for having a stack large enough to fold - even though I could be stealing yada yada. He folds and shows AT so naturally I show my deuces. Not sure whether this is good advertising or not.

Blinds start going up viciously  and I get away with a few steals, not really having any proper hands. They are paying 13 seats with $600 cash to 14th and we have 16 players left. Blinds are 700/1400 and I have 10,000 when I pick up AJ in the BB. Someone moves all-in for 6000 in late position. I think the correct play would probably be for me to fold in this satellite situation but stupidly I call. He has 22 and I don't improve. I now only have 2000 left after having to fold my small blind. I have to fold to a raise on the button and then I pick up J5 in the cut off. It is folded round to me and I am not sure whether to wait or not. I have no fold equity but no-one has bet. I decide to bet and the small blind nearly does not call. Unfortunately he is talked into it by the rest of the table and even though I hit my 5 he hits his lowly 6 to knock me out as bubble boy. Well it was my own fault.

A bit later I sign up for a $240 single table satellite. As the table gathers it is clear that it is a strong table. There is a young fish swiftly eaten by the local sharks and now the fish is me. However quite early on I get AK on the button and after a raise a call and a small reraise I shove and even though they all correctly exclaim AK! they can't actually call. I then keep out of trouble until we are 3 handed. There are 20000 chips in play and I have 4000 the local Greek grandaddy has 5000 and the local chief shark 11000. Blinds have just gone up to 300/600 so when I get Q7 naturally I shove from the button. Luckily the big stack has enough chips to call with his AJ and I get a lucky 7. Now the tables are turned and after granddad picks up a few pots he and I are slightly ahead. Fortunately before they get a chance to outplay me granddad gets QQ against AQ and it is all over. The 2 of us get to chose a $1000 tournament so I decide to have a go at the HORSE - time to go and find out the rules of RAZZ.

I try to play a bit of cash - only 2/3 no limit - but I don't have the patience and donk-off (i.e. piss away) all my chips on a big draw. Mr Bramley would have been impressed with the way I looked like I was completely clueless but unfortunately I don't have the stamina to stay the 6 hours or whatever to get it back!!

Aussie Millions - Jan 2009 - Day 3 - Deal or No Deal

I won my seat today via the super satellite - and after all that whingeing yesterday!

It was a $200 rebuy and I decided to do an immediate buy-in and go for double or quits. Based on the runners the day before I thought it better to invest $400 and hope to get lucky.

In fact it paid off fairly well. I did not get any cards in the first 2 levels but in level 3 (50/100) I picked up KJ in the small blind and after 3 limps I decided to just call. Flop was J98 with 2 diamonds and I decide to go for a bet of 400. Unfortunately the button went all-in and he had me covered. After a bit of a dwell I decide to call and he had the beautiful QJ with no diamonds. So my sneaky limp worked.

I then won a pretty big pot with QJ hitting QQ664 and also got my first AA of the trip to knock out a small stack.

At the break I had 8000 and there were 40 runners left. We were playing for 5 seats plus $300, so a prize pool of $52800. So I had invested $400 compared to an average of about $1300. Total chips in play 260,000.

I keep out of trouble and make a few standard play including knocking out 2 people at once when my KK holds up against AQ and AT to move up t0 20,000. Looks like I will need about 50k and so when the relentless stealer to my right tries to nick my big blind I go all in with KQ. He calls with K2!!!! The board comes QT2 and the turn 2. So now I am down to 6k with the blinds at 300/600. I do several all-ins and don't get any customers and then get a result when I have AQ and am called by AJ.

Eventually we get to the final 6 and a deal is proposed. What would you do?

Blinds are 3k/6k about to go to 5k/10k. The chip leader has 100k, there are 2 short stacks with about 15k each. I have 50k and the other 2 medium stacks 40k and 30k. We agree to make up the 6th seat so I say whatever and go off to the ATM. When I get back (you can only get out $200 at a time!) the organizer says I need to pay $1900.  This includes a sweetner to the big stack - I think this may be a bit of a rip off but since I don't have the whole amount and he is wearing my debt I can't argue.

So I am in...!

Aussie Millions - Jan 2009 - Day 2 - Super satellite

Played in the super satellite for the $10,000 main event today. I don't think that the format of this is very good.
The buy-in is $200 with rebuys for the first 3 levels which are 30 mins each. You can do a double rebuy any time and a triple rebuy at the break after level 3. You get 1000 chips for $200 and the blinds go 25/50;50/100;75/150.
I am not sure what the best strategy is - but this tournament rather plays itself for me.
In level 1 I pick up KK and raise to 300 after 2 limps. I end up all-in against AT and A5 (??) so I triple up. I then fold everything until level 3 when I have 2500 left and pick up AQ suited on the button. There is a call followed by a raise to 300. I go all-in and am called by JJ which hold up.
I rebuy for 1000 and get nothing. The last hand before the break I have 750 left on the button so after all fold I go all-in with K5. Unfortunately the BB has AA.
I decide to do a double rebuy so after the break with blinds 100/200 I have only one move with my 2000 chips. After a few hands the big stack to my right makes a standard raise to 600 when I am the SB. I look down at A4 and decide to make a stand. He calls showing KQ and even though he flops a K I turn A to double up.
I move tables but when it is my button and I pick up AK after a standard raise the BB puts me all-in. I am happy to call until I see his AA.
There were 70 runners and we were competing for 6 seats - but really I was struggling at the break. I think perhaps I would have been better off paying an extra $200 to enter a proper satellite costing $1000.
Perhaps a better strategy is to start with 2000 chips for $400 and never rebuy - but look to double up early. I may try this tomorrow....

Aussie Millions - Jan 2009 - Day 1 - Charlie Sin-binned

I arrived in Melbourne too late to get in to the multi table satellite for the first event so had to come back for a single table satellite later on in the evening. Unfortunately I only managed 4th out of 10 so I had to pay the full entry fee of $1100 to join the other 348 players for day 1 of event 1.

We started with 5000 chips and 40 minute levels.

Level 1 25/50.
During this level I was dealt 4 pairs : 33, 55 (twice) and TT. I dutifully called with each one and then had to fold on the flop. The most annoying was TT - the flop came A89 and I could not call a pot sized bet - of course the turn was a T but I had to look on from the sidelines. At the end of Level 1 I was down to 3500.

Level 50/100.
This is the level where we discover some of the new rules. For those of you who remember Dallas from the eighties, I believe there was a short blonde girl known as the poison dwarf (Lucy Ewing) - well we get the poker equivalent as our new dealer. I am sat in seat 8 which is at the far end of the table. I've limped in late position with some filth and on the flop the big blind leads out for a reasonable bet. I glance to my right and somehow the fellow in seat 5 manages to have his hands perfectly positioned so I can't see his cards - yet he looks like he has given up. I think he has folded so I toss my cards in. Unfortunately he is still thinking so after he does fold I apologise and explain that it was difficult to see his cards. The dealer says that she has to call the floor man to report my folding out of turn and I get a warning. We will return to this later...
As to the cards - in this level I get a bit of a result in the SB. I am dealt 84 clubs and after 2 limpers I complete. The flop is AT6 with two clubs. I decide to try to nick the pot by betting 300 and there is one caller. The turn is the beautiful 2 clubs. I bet 800 and when I am raised all-in I insta-call - he is drawing dead with a red Ace and a rubbish red kicker.

A few hands later I rereraise with KK and am happy enough not to see a flop. So I have motored on to 9000 chips.

Level 3 - 75/150.
Absolutely card dead. Limp with 55 and have to fold on an Ace high flop. Finish at the break at the end of this level with 8000 chips which is about average.

Level 4 - 100/200
Raise with JJ under the gun. Get 3 callers so when the flop comes with AK7 I don't bother with a continuation bet and I fold to a bet and call. Down to 6000 chips

Level 5 - 100/200 25 ante
Chatting to the man to my right after he has raised pre flop and then folded showing T8 he explains that this is his favourite hand. This reminds me that I used to play "the dog" as my favourite hand and then a few minutes later I get K9d in late postion. So I call a standard raise and call. Flop is 7TJ giving me a double bellybuster (either an 8 or Q will make me a straight). The original raiser leads out for 600 and the limper folds. At this point I make a bit of a mistake. I decide to raise by 2000 but I don't really consider his stack. He has got about 5000 left so when he goes all in I have to call - I thought my K might be an overcard. If I was going to be priced in I should have just gone all-in - however he had KK so would have called anyway. I hit an 8 to knock him out so at the end of Level 5 I have got back to 9000 chips.

Level 6 - 150/300/50
I make steady progress. Win a couple of nice pots when I get K9 matching nicely a 988 flop and having raised with QQ when the flop comes down Kxx my continuation bet is enough to discover there is no K. So at the second break I have 11,000 which is average for the remaining 160 players.

Level 7 200/400/50
I don't get any proper hands but now the antes have arrived it was worth trying to steal and I do manage to nick a couple from late position - up to 13,000.

Level 8 300/600/50
This level is where disaster stikes. The poison dwarf returns and a couple hands in at the new level I am in mid position. I have ATs and I am trying to decide what my standard raise should be, I don't want it to be too much, so because the level has only just changed I think 1600 might do it and I lob the chips out - not noticing the man directly to my right has not folded. So double wammy - the fact he is thinking of betting and then still calls must mean my AT is a load of rubbish - but worse, poison dwarf calls over the floor man to tell them I acted out of turn. It is a different floor man to before, so she points out this is my second offence. Several more floor persons come over and tell me that becuase of this I am sin binned and have to miss an entire orbit. So I have to go into a corner and put on a hat with D on it. This faux-pas costs me 300 in chips.
When I get back I get no hands at all (presumably I missed my AA) and so by the end of this level I am down to 9,500

Level 9 400/800/75
I am now a short stack so when I get K8 in late position I ship them in only to be called by the BB with 99. I don't get lucky so I am out.

This 2 warning thing seems a farce. If I had not had the same dealer twice how would they know I'd transgressed twice? Seems crazy....