Gosh...I don't even know where to begin. I'm so behind on posting here. Mainly because I've just been playing hour upon hour on this trip, and when I get back to my room, I am always SO exhausted. I just lay down, and within minutes, am asleep.
I know I don't HAVE to blog. It's not like its a job. It's not like I'm getting paid. There have been times when I've told Squirrel "I gotta get a blog written," and she rolls her eyes as if to ask "WHY?" It's a pretty good question. Why? Who am I obligated to?
Well...when I have numerous people I don't even know say things to me throughout the day at this event, things like "Hey Monkey...waiting on a new post man" it does make me feel like I need to put something up here. But I think the primary reason I need to post...is that writing is often times very therapeutic for me. And the past four days have been the type of days that have required some major therapy.
My trip started pretty good, albeit, falling short of the goal, a final table at the least, and a win at best. But making the money was at least validation that I belong. And doing that 3 times in 4 days had me feeling like it was only a matter of time before I broke through for a big score. Then I sit here watching guys I know well...all of whom are Facebook friends and who I have played against for years...win rings. Ross Bybee...ring! Mike 'Carwash' Schneider...ring! David 'Lurky' Nicholson....ring!! Allan Farber, a circuit dealer and friend...ring!!! And then, sitting near the top in chip counts after the Main Event Flight A yesterday...John 'Cowboy' Land. All good guys. All guys I consider myself equals with. And they are pulling down the scores that I came here for. That I keep falling short of. I'm very, very happy for them. I am. At the same time, there is a touch of envy...since I am at a point in my life where I really need one of those 'cashes' myself.
Yesterday was an absolute abomination. It started on a positive note. I got a great night of sleep. I had a little breakfast. My first table was very soft. It did have the always nerve-wracking woman at it...the one who raises too much, who always calls it seems...but who, after awhile...became very predicable, and after she got up to about 35k with just idiotic plays...would finally screw herself when everyone caught on to her. By the time they broke our table, she was down to under 8k. I had 26k when our table broke.
My next table...or last table, was one that immediately drew my attention to the 8 seat. And 'that guy.' Oh...you know the one. The OMRG. And I'm thinking that it might be time to start a line of t-shirts featuring the OMRG. Something along the lines of 'OMRG and PROUD!!' Or how bout this one....'I got OMRG'd at Choctaw!' and featuring a poker play with his hands on his head in painful pose? I could see it taking off. Well, yeah...so here he was...sitting over there barely paying attention to the game because he was busy stuffing his face with a side table full of food. He had to be reminded about four or five times that it was his turn to act. Once with a packet of mustard in his hand.
My first indication that he was going to be a nightmare was when a guy on my right pushed all in for 2450 (at 150/300)...and the guy on my left (with 34k) flatted the all in...folded around to OMRG...and he fumbles his food, looks over his chips at his cards...and mutters..."Mmmph...ummm, yeah, okay...I call" and carelessly puts the chips out there. Here comes the flop. Check check. Turn puts three hearts out there. Check. He bets 3k. The other guy folds. And he turns over 7-8 offsuit...good for a straight. 7-8 off suit, for 2450 and another player calling? Um, weird. Okay.
A little later...I raise with A10...ace of diamonds. He calls. I catch a terrible flop of 10-10-6. With two diamonds. He checks to me. I bet about half the pot. He calls. (thanks, I think) Turn is a jack. He checks again. I bet a larger amount...now having no idea what he has...but ready to take the pot down. He calls again. What the hell? The river is a 9. He checks AGAIN. And my last bet is 5200. He tanks...I think I want a call. But I'm not positive. Oh...he finally calls, and turns over (again) 7-8 off. For the straight. Gutshotted me on the river. Oh my god. Now I found myself down to 11k. Shaking my head. That feeling of doubt creeping in.
I sat and watched his dumb ass double up a couple guys with his maniacal play...and it dawned on me, and I mentioned it to the guys at my end of the table..."This guy is either going to double me and make me chipleader...or he's going to bust me, I just know it." And like so many OMRG's before him...who 'run good' and just get shitbox lucky for the first 10 levels or so of a Main Event...and who take out several good players on the way to accumulating a big stack...only to eventually give away all those chips by the time critical play begins, this joker would do the same thing. Fred Roll was this guy's name, and when I checked final Day 1 chip counts, his name was listed with the word 'BUSTED' next to his name. Big shock.
How did he eventually get me? Well, I had lost with AK twice in two orbits, every time I raised, I was up against him. Well, I get pocket nines...with the blinds at 250/500. I raise to 1750. Who calls? He calls. Just him. The flop comes J-7-4...two diamonds. I have a 9 of diamonds. He checks to me. Well, this guy was not a check-raiser. If he hit the flop, he always led out...and for a lot. He wasn't one to finesse the pot. So he checks to me...and frankly, I knew I was ahead, but did NOT want to let him catch up. And really needed to get some positive momentum going...so first and foremost in my mind at that time was to win a damn pot, one that I needed badly, one that would increase my current stack by 50% and hopefully get me back on the right track. So I just shoved on him...for ten thousand. He tanks for a long time...and with the reporter from PokerNews standing by waiting on him to act, and me knowing this hand was about to appear on the Live Reporting feed...he says "Well, I'm probably making a bad call, but I'll call"...and when he calls and turns over AK...I tell him (sarcastically) "nice call sir."
He sees my hand and disputes my claim...though I just know in the pit of my stomach that his dumb ass his going to hit one of his overs. It's how things like this with OMRG's seem to work. And right on cue...a fucking king hits the turn. And holds. And as the report on PokerNews would state a short while later, I sat staring in disbelief at the board...with that feeling we get when these things happen. Like someone just reached down your throat and pulled out all your internal organs. I was out. Son of a bitch! The good thing (I guess) was not having to explain how I lost to everyone when they saw that I was out. Because most of them read those updates. I got a lot of "Dude, Monkey...wow man, saw what happened to you...that's fucked up bro." Yeah, thanks.
I went and played cash game...to cool off, and kill time before the 7pm $250 Mega started. I picked up $335 in under an hour at the 1/2 table. Okay, some positive vibes flowing. Go to the Mega. Start terrible. But then get hot. Get up to over 10k (from 3k starting stack.) Then lost with a straight to a bigger straight and get crippled. Then get back to 8k. Up and down...for three hours. There were 212 players...with 24 winning a seat. I busted in 72nd. I don't even remember what I went out with. This is part of my attempt to wash Friday, January 18, 2013 from my memory. As I have tried to do to so many other days in the poker past. Days that, when you think about them, just bring sorrow to your world.
I decide to enter a $195 SNG to try and find some run good, and maybe win my entry for tomorrow's (today now) Flight B of the Main Event...which will see another large throng of players...most of them likely losers from Day 1. In a very unusual set up, they had the players from Day 1A play an incredibly arduous 17 levels yesterday, going from I think 466 players all the way down to 65 I think. I might be wrong, but I don't ever remember playing that many levels in Day 1. And I guess it's a catch 22...it gives a LOT of players a second chance. It promises a much bigger prize pool. And for the house it promises a lot more juice...which, for those keeping track...has been setting records at this event. So...I guess you could say EVERYONE wins in this scenario.
How did the SNG end up? Ha! It started very badly...with me squeezing with JJ on a raise by a guy for 150...and 7 callers. I got called by the last guy...with AQ...and he turns a queen...to whack me from 3000 down to 750. My stack got to 700...we were only at 25/50...and I decide I'm going to short stack ninja my way to a comeback. So I make the move to go to my room and change. We were playing in a little back room that was freezing. So I go change. Come back, and begin my march. I double up with 77 vs. K10...he flops a King...I turn a seven! I then get 10-10 to win against AK and AQ for a huge triple up. And before long, I had the chiplead. We get to four....we get to three....and finally I get heads up with the ONLY person who didn't do the $20 last longer. So I pocket $180. Problem was...he has me 5-1 after I'd lost a big hand to him. But I knew I could beat him.
I double up after shoving 5-8h and getting called by A7. Now we were even. We played heads up for about an hour. The night before, in a $125 SNG...I played heads up with a guy for almost two hours...before finally beating him for the entire amount (no deal made). Me and this kid never talked deal. I think he was too proud to even mention it. And I really just wanted to play for it all. $1675 seat, $125 cash. We got to where I had him by 1200 chips. He raised. I shoved with 55 (blinds were 600/1200) and he calls with AJ. The flop comes 3-4-6. Awesome! Just straighten me up dealer! Oh god...she puts a jack on the turn. No!!!!! River? Come on baby, come on baby.....brick. DAMMIT! Down to 1200. I double up on the next hand. Okay...okay, we can do this. No we cant. I lose on the next hand. And just sit there, staring at the felt. Dismay. Shock. Anger. Sadness. Frustration. Irritation. All those things. That...is the worst damn feeling in poker. Making that comeback...having him on the ropes. Having him reduced to that one card...and getting shanked. It just sucks.
I stumbled out of the poker room...walking aimlessly around the casino...not ready to go to bed, but not wanting to play poker. Wandering around...looking at all the freakishly bizarre people that come to this outpost in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma to gamble away their savings...in a place that quits serving alcohol after 1:45am...where roulette doesn't use a ball, and craps doesn't use dice. I finally just sit down at a $10 blackjack table. Thinking...what the hell...maybe all my 'run good' for this lousy effing day was supposed to be in blackjack and NOT poker. I'll try. Uh. Bad decision. I will just tell you the final line that tossed my way by the guy in the 5-seat.
"Wow, sir...I don't think I've ever seen ANYONE ever get the kind of lousy cards you just got in the past 30 minutes. I mean, that's pretty much the most unlucky I've ever seen a guy get."
Uhh...yeah, thanks sir. I agree. I thanked Ashley for the $200 beat down...gave her my last $5...she told me she was very sorry, which was nice of her...a pleasant change from the asshole robot guy last weekend, who seemed to lack any emotions whatsoever, and who only wanted to nit pick on every little detail regarding 'waving off', 'splitting' and 'doubling down.' That guy drove me to just pick up what I started with and leave. I mean, I'm not a big gambler...and when I do sit down to gamble a little, its with the thought of decompressing from my poker nightmare. I want to just sit there, alone, and play something that requires very little thought and/or effort. And to have a jerkoff for a dealer? Well, that just makes it beyond annoying. So I will just leave a table like that before I say or do something that gets me in trouble.
So, all this being said...I've used up my allotted time to write to you today. I have 15 minutes now to get ready and head back in there to fire my second bullet. A bullet I hope and pray will result in my placing chips into a plastic bag and earning the right to come back here tomorrow and make a run at a decent score that will allow me to go home to Squirrel and little Carley with enough money to prevent me from staying awake at night. This is a big day....a very, very big day. I've had 9 hours of sleep. And now a little therapy session with you guys. There is SO much more to write about on this trip. But as you can see, I'm short on time.
On a positive note, its been a great event. Run almost flawlessly. Great dealers. A lot of pretty good players. Nice guys for the most part. The facility is fantastic for poker tourneys. One of the best I've seen in fact. The hotel has been great, nice room, daily housekeeping visits...very friendly staff. It's definitely a place I would return to. I just really want and need for it to end on a positive note. Otherwise its going to be a very long, stressful drive home. A long, 10-hour drive home. So...well....here we go, back for Day 1B....
MONKEY
I know I don't HAVE to blog. It's not like its a job. It's not like I'm getting paid. There have been times when I've told Squirrel "I gotta get a blog written," and she rolls her eyes as if to ask "WHY?" It's a pretty good question. Why? Who am I obligated to?
Well...when I have numerous people I don't even know say things to me throughout the day at this event, things like "Hey Monkey...waiting on a new post man" it does make me feel like I need to put something up here. But I think the primary reason I need to post...is that writing is often times very therapeutic for me. And the past four days have been the type of days that have required some major therapy.
My trip started pretty good, albeit, falling short of the goal, a final table at the least, and a win at best. But making the money was at least validation that I belong. And doing that 3 times in 4 days had me feeling like it was only a matter of time before I broke through for a big score. Then I sit here watching guys I know well...all of whom are Facebook friends and who I have played against for years...win rings. Ross Bybee...ring! Mike 'Carwash' Schneider...ring! David 'Lurky' Nicholson....ring!! Allan Farber, a circuit dealer and friend...ring!!! And then, sitting near the top in chip counts after the Main Event Flight A yesterday...John 'Cowboy' Land. All good guys. All guys I consider myself equals with. And they are pulling down the scores that I came here for. That I keep falling short of. I'm very, very happy for them. I am. At the same time, there is a touch of envy...since I am at a point in my life where I really need one of those 'cashes' myself.
Yesterday was an absolute abomination. It started on a positive note. I got a great night of sleep. I had a little breakfast. My first table was very soft. It did have the always nerve-wracking woman at it...the one who raises too much, who always calls it seems...but who, after awhile...became very predicable, and after she got up to about 35k with just idiotic plays...would finally screw herself when everyone caught on to her. By the time they broke our table, she was down to under 8k. I had 26k when our table broke.
My next table...or last table, was one that immediately drew my attention to the 8 seat. And 'that guy.' Oh...you know the one. The OMRG. And I'm thinking that it might be time to start a line of t-shirts featuring the OMRG. Something along the lines of 'OMRG and PROUD!!' Or how bout this one....'I got OMRG'd at Choctaw!' and featuring a poker play with his hands on his head in painful pose? I could see it taking off. Well, yeah...so here he was...sitting over there barely paying attention to the game because he was busy stuffing his face with a side table full of food. He had to be reminded about four or five times that it was his turn to act. Once with a packet of mustard in his hand.
My first indication that he was going to be a nightmare was when a guy on my right pushed all in for 2450 (at 150/300)...and the guy on my left (with 34k) flatted the all in...folded around to OMRG...and he fumbles his food, looks over his chips at his cards...and mutters..."Mmmph...ummm, yeah, okay...I call" and carelessly puts the chips out there. Here comes the flop. Check check. Turn puts three hearts out there. Check. He bets 3k. The other guy folds. And he turns over 7-8 offsuit...good for a straight. 7-8 off suit, for 2450 and another player calling? Um, weird. Okay.
A little later...I raise with A10...ace of diamonds. He calls. I catch a terrible flop of 10-10-6. With two diamonds. He checks to me. I bet about half the pot. He calls. (thanks, I think) Turn is a jack. He checks again. I bet a larger amount...now having no idea what he has...but ready to take the pot down. He calls again. What the hell? The river is a 9. He checks AGAIN. And my last bet is 5200. He tanks...I think I want a call. But I'm not positive. Oh...he finally calls, and turns over (again) 7-8 off. For the straight. Gutshotted me on the river. Oh my god. Now I found myself down to 11k. Shaking my head. That feeling of doubt creeping in.
I sat and watched his dumb ass double up a couple guys with his maniacal play...and it dawned on me, and I mentioned it to the guys at my end of the table..."This guy is either going to double me and make me chipleader...or he's going to bust me, I just know it." And like so many OMRG's before him...who 'run good' and just get shitbox lucky for the first 10 levels or so of a Main Event...and who take out several good players on the way to accumulating a big stack...only to eventually give away all those chips by the time critical play begins, this joker would do the same thing. Fred Roll was this guy's name, and when I checked final Day 1 chip counts, his name was listed with the word 'BUSTED' next to his name. Big shock.
How did he eventually get me? Well, I had lost with AK twice in two orbits, every time I raised, I was up against him. Well, I get pocket nines...with the blinds at 250/500. I raise to 1750. Who calls? He calls. Just him. The flop comes J-7-4...two diamonds. I have a 9 of diamonds. He checks to me. Well, this guy was not a check-raiser. If he hit the flop, he always led out...and for a lot. He wasn't one to finesse the pot. So he checks to me...and frankly, I knew I was ahead, but did NOT want to let him catch up. And really needed to get some positive momentum going...so first and foremost in my mind at that time was to win a damn pot, one that I needed badly, one that would increase my current stack by 50% and hopefully get me back on the right track. So I just shoved on him...for ten thousand. He tanks for a long time...and with the reporter from PokerNews standing by waiting on him to act, and me knowing this hand was about to appear on the Live Reporting feed...he says "Well, I'm probably making a bad call, but I'll call"...and when he calls and turns over AK...I tell him (sarcastically) "nice call sir."
He sees my hand and disputes my claim...though I just know in the pit of my stomach that his dumb ass his going to hit one of his overs. It's how things like this with OMRG's seem to work. And right on cue...a fucking king hits the turn. And holds. And as the report on PokerNews would state a short while later, I sat staring in disbelief at the board...with that feeling we get when these things happen. Like someone just reached down your throat and pulled out all your internal organs. I was out. Son of a bitch! The good thing (I guess) was not having to explain how I lost to everyone when they saw that I was out. Because most of them read those updates. I got a lot of "Dude, Monkey...wow man, saw what happened to you...that's fucked up bro." Yeah, thanks.
I went and played cash game...to cool off, and kill time before the 7pm $250 Mega started. I picked up $335 in under an hour at the 1/2 table. Okay, some positive vibes flowing. Go to the Mega. Start terrible. But then get hot. Get up to over 10k (from 3k starting stack.) Then lost with a straight to a bigger straight and get crippled. Then get back to 8k. Up and down...for three hours. There were 212 players...with 24 winning a seat. I busted in 72nd. I don't even remember what I went out with. This is part of my attempt to wash Friday, January 18, 2013 from my memory. As I have tried to do to so many other days in the poker past. Days that, when you think about them, just bring sorrow to your world.
I decide to enter a $195 SNG to try and find some run good, and maybe win my entry for tomorrow's (today now) Flight B of the Main Event...which will see another large throng of players...most of them likely losers from Day 1. In a very unusual set up, they had the players from Day 1A play an incredibly arduous 17 levels yesterday, going from I think 466 players all the way down to 65 I think. I might be wrong, but I don't ever remember playing that many levels in Day 1. And I guess it's a catch 22...it gives a LOT of players a second chance. It promises a much bigger prize pool. And for the house it promises a lot more juice...which, for those keeping track...has been setting records at this event. So...I guess you could say EVERYONE wins in this scenario.
How did the SNG end up? Ha! It started very badly...with me squeezing with JJ on a raise by a guy for 150...and 7 callers. I got called by the last guy...with AQ...and he turns a queen...to whack me from 3000 down to 750. My stack got to 700...we were only at 25/50...and I decide I'm going to short stack ninja my way to a comeback. So I make the move to go to my room and change. We were playing in a little back room that was freezing. So I go change. Come back, and begin my march. I double up with 77 vs. K10...he flops a King...I turn a seven! I then get 10-10 to win against AK and AQ for a huge triple up. And before long, I had the chiplead. We get to four....we get to three....and finally I get heads up with the ONLY person who didn't do the $20 last longer. So I pocket $180. Problem was...he has me 5-1 after I'd lost a big hand to him. But I knew I could beat him.
I double up after shoving 5-8h and getting called by A7. Now we were even. We played heads up for about an hour. The night before, in a $125 SNG...I played heads up with a guy for almost two hours...before finally beating him for the entire amount (no deal made). Me and this kid never talked deal. I think he was too proud to even mention it. And I really just wanted to play for it all. $1675 seat, $125 cash. We got to where I had him by 1200 chips. He raised. I shoved with 55 (blinds were 600/1200) and he calls with AJ. The flop comes 3-4-6. Awesome! Just straighten me up dealer! Oh god...she puts a jack on the turn. No!!!!! River? Come on baby, come on baby.....brick. DAMMIT! Down to 1200. I double up on the next hand. Okay...okay, we can do this. No we cant. I lose on the next hand. And just sit there, staring at the felt. Dismay. Shock. Anger. Sadness. Frustration. Irritation. All those things. That...is the worst damn feeling in poker. Making that comeback...having him on the ropes. Having him reduced to that one card...and getting shanked. It just sucks.
I stumbled out of the poker room...walking aimlessly around the casino...not ready to go to bed, but not wanting to play poker. Wandering around...looking at all the freakishly bizarre people that come to this outpost in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma to gamble away their savings...in a place that quits serving alcohol after 1:45am...where roulette doesn't use a ball, and craps doesn't use dice. I finally just sit down at a $10 blackjack table. Thinking...what the hell...maybe all my 'run good' for this lousy effing day was supposed to be in blackjack and NOT poker. I'll try. Uh. Bad decision. I will just tell you the final line that tossed my way by the guy in the 5-seat.
"Wow, sir...I don't think I've ever seen ANYONE ever get the kind of lousy cards you just got in the past 30 minutes. I mean, that's pretty much the most unlucky I've ever seen a guy get."
Uhh...yeah, thanks sir. I agree. I thanked Ashley for the $200 beat down...gave her my last $5...she told me she was very sorry, which was nice of her...a pleasant change from the asshole robot guy last weekend, who seemed to lack any emotions whatsoever, and who only wanted to nit pick on every little detail regarding 'waving off', 'splitting' and 'doubling down.' That guy drove me to just pick up what I started with and leave. I mean, I'm not a big gambler...and when I do sit down to gamble a little, its with the thought of decompressing from my poker nightmare. I want to just sit there, alone, and play something that requires very little thought and/or effort. And to have a jerkoff for a dealer? Well, that just makes it beyond annoying. So I will just leave a table like that before I say or do something that gets me in trouble.
So, all this being said...I've used up my allotted time to write to you today. I have 15 minutes now to get ready and head back in there to fire my second bullet. A bullet I hope and pray will result in my placing chips into a plastic bag and earning the right to come back here tomorrow and make a run at a decent score that will allow me to go home to Squirrel and little Carley with enough money to prevent me from staying awake at night. This is a big day....a very, very big day. I've had 9 hours of sleep. And now a little therapy session with you guys. There is SO much more to write about on this trip. But as you can see, I'm short on time.
On a positive note, its been a great event. Run almost flawlessly. Great dealers. A lot of pretty good players. Nice guys for the most part. The facility is fantastic for poker tourneys. One of the best I've seen in fact. The hotel has been great, nice room, daily housekeeping visits...very friendly staff. It's definitely a place I would return to. I just really want and need for it to end on a positive note. Otherwise its going to be a very long, stressful drive home. A long, 10-hour drive home. So...well....here we go, back for Day 1B....
MONKEY
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1 comment:
Will:
As someone who has read your blog for quite a while, yet never posted, I do hope you post a video w/ commentary.
I'm not a particularly gifted poker player, but I love the game and your blog has become one of my favorites. I admire your honesty and love the insights you provide.
I'll be looking for a vlog :-)
s.i.
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