Trip Report
by Bob Dainauski
The Rabbi
---------
I arrived early Saturday morning and got on some lists. I took a seat
to help start a 2/4 HE game until I got called for something else.
Here I met the Rabbi - a gentleman who raised, reraised, or when
possible capped the pot for the dozen or so hands I saw at this table.
One hand the dealer inadvertently only dealt him one card. This
probably would not have slowed him down, but the dealer gave him a
second card anyway. He rammed and jammed to the river with 85o [1].
Mind if we call you "Len" to keep it clear?
-------------------------------------------
I get in a 5/10 HE game and meet two new (to me) RGPers, Len and Len.
Len G later earns Guy of the Year honors when he gives me his banquet
ticket and absolutely refuses any compensation. Len, thanks again,
that was just incredibly nice of you. Later I sat next to Len
Marciano at MATS. Very nice guy. Unfortunately for Len, I sucked out
a 4-outer to river a wheel and bust him in 5th place. Len was ever
the gentleman in taking this bad beat. Two great guys.
Name Those Pocket Cards
-----------------------
So I'm playing 5/10 HE and limp it with A2s from the cutoff seat, a
few limpers in front of me. Flop is AA2. I check and call with the
intent of raising the turn. Turn is a rag, I get in a reraise and
only one player stays with me. River is an ugly deuce. Wonderful,
split pot, right? I bet anyway Just In Case. Guy raises, no real
surprise. I look at the guy. Something tells me that he doesn't work
on the Space Shuttle when he's not playing cards, so I 3 bet it. He
calls, I get the whole pot. I can't imagine what cards he might have
been holding.
MATS Results
------------
MATS was won by an aggressive player named Rick (Sorry Rick, I didn't
catch your last name). Rick wins a seat at TARGET plus travel
expenses. He is still accepting donations of canned goods, however.
Congratulations to Rick, and good luck at TARGET! As best as I can
remember the bust out order was:
| (Winner) | Rick |
| 2nd | Tom Goodwin |
| 3rd | Russell Rosenbloom |
| 4th | Me |
| 5th | Len Marciano (up to here is probably right) |
| 6th | Jerry Gerner |
| 7th | Robert Jacobs |
| 8th | Matt? (Sorry - not sure - wear your badge!) |
| 9th | Bruce Kramer |
| 10th | Nolan |
Thanks to Jerry for running this event, which was a lot of fun besides
being good experience.
The Moment of Sheer Terror
--------------------------
A hand from the NLHE tournament. My big blind. Folded around to
Mordecai on or abouts the button. He raises about half his stack. I
move in holding AA. Mordecai thinks out loud for a minute or two. I
had just read Nolan's article "The Moment of Sheer Terror" the night
before. It is about trying to act calm when you're all-in (or have
made a big bet) and your opponent is sweating you. I was thinking
about how I had never been in that situation yet, and wondering how it
might be. Surprisingly I guess, I felt perfectly calm. I was talking
with Mordecai - maybe I shouldn't have been. Anyway, he made a wise
laydown of AX after a long deliberation. I don't know much about his
NL game, but I would rate Mordecai as among the stronger limit HE
players in our group. He was, once again, slaughtering the pink game
when I was in it. Incidentally, I got to sit next to Nolan in the
stud tournament and got to hear a little bit about his Stu Ungar
project. Put me on the waiting list for that book, it's going to be a
good one.
Worst Mistake in the NLHE
-------------------------
Overall I felt I played much better in the NL event this year than
last. I think I loosened up appropriately for this blind structure
and this group of opponents. Here was a mistake, however: I got
carded to a new table and found myself to the right of Raydon, the
eventual winner. I know he has a reputation as a very good player,
but I've never played with him before. First hand I get dealt I'm in
SB, Raydon is in the BB. Folded to me, I raise on a routine steal
with Qh8h. At the table I had just left, this was working well. Not
here. Raydon turns to me and starts asking me a bunch of questions,
obviously feeling me out. I answered him, too, which I guess I
probably shouldn't have done. To my dismay, he called. Flop was 996,
one heart. I checked and Ray bet almost all-in an amount which would
put me almost all-in (we were both short stacked). I felt pot
committed at this point and, even though I didn't like it, I raised
back a few more chips all-in. He called. The final board was 99689.
Raydon had A8 and I'm sure he though he was getting it all instead of
half. I got a "Nice hand sir," for my troubles - which I kind of
understand, although I didn't think my play was that terrible. The
mistake I made here was that I should have gone all-in or folded.
Good Laydown
------------
NLHE, very early (5-10 blinds?). Someone raises a small amount in
front of me and I reraise with JJ. Someone else reraises behind me
and the original raiser goes all-in. I muck, certain that I'm a 4.5:1
dog to one of them. They had QQ and AA. I was glad I didn't get
stupid early (I waited until late to get stupid, see above).
MATS Miscellany
---------------
I thought my play here was decent. Tell me what you think about this
hand: All numbers are approximations. I have about T900 and raise to
T200 against the T25/T50 blinds from middle position with 88. Russell
Rosenbloom reraises from the button (I think) about T500 more. I
think about this one quite a while. Here are the factors I was
considering:
- Russell is very observant and knows I haven't been playing as many
hands as some of the other guys. So he probably credits me with a
real hand and has either probably got me beat or expects I will lay
down most hands here.
- Russell himself hasn't been out of line, or playing too many hands.
- I don't have enough to reraise and have a prayer at him folding.
So I decide I'm in the Small Favorite Or Big Dog situation and let it
go. Comments?
Walking down after MATS Russell was "debriefing" 2nd place finisher
Tom Goodwin. I made it a point to soak up what he was saying. I was
* really * impressed by Russell's depth of knowledge on NL. Russell
is also hilarious - it's fun to be at the same table. Also Tom has a
great game. A lot of people play aggressively, but he plays with a
controlled aggression and knows how to get away from a hand where some
of the more loose-aggressive players would get busted.
Baby Pot Limit
--------------
Last year I wanted to try this but didn't get a seat. This year there
was a must move, so I got in around midnight Saturday. I bought in
for the minimum ($200), fully expecting to pay it as tuition. I did
ok, and managed to double up. Some hands of note:
- Most amusing hand. Several players for $2 when it gets to Tom
Goodwin in late position. He is near the table, but not sitting down
- he's talking to someone or something. He says "I'll call blind."
Flop is K87. Someone bets $10, couple callers. Tom is still not at
the table, and has definitely not seen his cards. He says, "I'll call
blind - I might have two kings in the hole." Short story - Tom does
have KK, and busts an extreme-sports looking guy (spiky blond hair,
major tattoo work) for a pot that must have been over $1200. (Extreme
guys last raise all-in was not the full pot, and it was 3 Ben
Franklins and some chips - he had 87). Extreme-sports guy went off
after this, pumping up a lot of pots. Curious comment:
Extreme-sports guy tells Tom "I put you on Kings up." Maybe he
thought Tom would lay that down?
- Folded to Russell who raises in late position. I call in the big
blind with JTs (probably a bad idea - and I figure I'm behind
preflop). Flop is little rags and I check. He immediately bets the
pot (only $10) and announces the bet. I feel he doesn't have any part
of this flop and he wouldn't think I would reraise with nothing here.
I reraise and he folds immediately. It was only a $20 pot, but I was
pleased with my thought process on that one.
- Got away with a bad play here. I raise to $5 from somewhat early
position with AJo (I know, I know - I won't do it again). Extreme guy
(see above) makes it $20 and I call with 2 or 3 others. I only called
because the raiser was steaming at this point. I wouldn't have liked
facing a bet with an Ace on the flop - I was hoping for 2 pair or a J
high flop. Flop comes JJ6. Tom Goodwin leads off for $60. I think
briefly. I have no doubt he could have played 66 for $20, but I would
expect him to slow play with it if that's what he had. My action -
what to do? A call might induce more calls, but this pot is already
pretty decent. Maybe Tom has a weak jack. I move all-in for another
$80. Others fold, Tom thinks briefly and folds. I know he credits me
with a J or 66 here. This would be a better story if I had 23o -
maybe I should go back and change it. Anyway, Tom later tells me he
had a lone 6, which makes sense.
Call me a wuss but I left around 3:30 to go get 3 hours sleep. On my
way out I walked past the pink game (which I had played in briefly
earlier) and it was insane (we could EASILY hear them in the PL game
which was against the far glass in the high limit room). Tiger was en
fuego - he had enough chips in front of him to fill a bucket! Rumor
has it he was up $2K. We may have heard "I don't play hold em" for
the last time! I wish I had been in it - to say they were having fun
doesn't come close to describing the scene. After breakfast with my
parents I got back to the card room. As expected, the PL game is
still going. They generously offer me the seat occupied by a sound
asleep individual. I feel a little bad about it, but I wake him up
(he's not in the game) to get the seat. How stupid is my choice to
sit with this lineup? To my immediate right are Nolan, Scott Byron,
Russell and then Tom. Russell is tired of waking Tom up when it's his
turn to act, so he tells me I'll have to take every-other shift. When
it's Tom's turn, I have to peek behind his shades to see if he is
thinking or sleeping (no kidding). Three times I have to wake him
after long hands play out and it's on him in a new hand. I'm also not
kidding when I tell you each time he woke up and immediately said
"raise."
The best line of the weekend came at this early morning session:
(Someone): "A girl spent the night in your bed and you never left the
poker room?"
Tom Goodwin: "Hey, it was a GOOD game!"
These guys are animals! The aforementioned Rabbi is in this game and
playing it pretty much like he played the 2/4. I thought I had a good
chance to double up again, but I didn't play any hands against him
before leaving for the stud tournament.
Stud Tournament
---------------
Unlike the NL tournament, I feel I have a decent shot in limit stud.
I thought I played well, but my only real mistake got me busted. We
were down to less players than I realized at the time, when I played
(J9)9 for a raise (or maybe a reraise) and got heads up with Bruce
Kramer. I had a decent amount of chips, but we were at 200/400, and
he had a big stack. He raised me on 4th street but I thought he was
testing for a steal and his board was little cards. Short story is he
made a straight and busted me. I probably should have avoided such a
big stack who could easily afford to draw against me as we were
entering the later stages. Bruce impressed me as a very good stud
player - and not just because he busted me 2 years in a row. He
doesn't make reflexive plays - he's always thinking about the best
play in each situation. He made a fantastic play with rolled up trips
when he slowed down on fifth street, representing a steal gone bad,
and sucked his opponent in for several more big bets. Matt
("Jacksup") also played a good game despite continuously saying he
didn't know how to play stud.
One more hand of note. I had the bring in with a low card and 22 in
the hole, and I had two clubs which were live. I got raised by a 9 in
front of Dave (Croson?). He was short stacked after taking several
tough beats and getting run down a few times (though not by me) and I
was healthy, so I took off a card. I caught a high club and he caught
an 8. I check-called. Fifth street I caught another club and decided
to bet out, representing clubs. Dave raised me back with nothing
showing. He was close to the felt and I called intending to go all
the way. I caught another 2 on 6th street giving me trips (although
the case 2 was on Dave's board) and a four flush, but Dave paired his
door card giving him a pair of 9s showing. He bet all-in. I said
"I'm drawing dead if you're full," but I called the bet. My trip 2s
beat his two pair. Dave was a little non-plussed and pointed out the
case two on his board, but endured the slings and arrows pretty well.
I thought I played it right.
They Were Missed
----------------
I only heard Foldem mentioned a few thousand times. Bill Alan I hope
you are feeling better. Was Paul McMullin there? I thought he was
coming but I don't see how I could have missed him all weekend?
One and Only One Suggestion
---------------------------
Baby PL was a great way to get cheap experience at the game. My only
suggestion is that the MAX buy-in be $200. People were buying in for
way more than that, which immediately puts the $200 stacks at a Big
Stack vs. Little Stack disadvantage.
What's Left?
------------
Another fun year. Nice seeing all the people I've met in years past.
Forgive me for not naming each one of you - this is long enough as it
is (aren't you glad I didn't take notes?) Each year I come to ATLARGE
feeling like I know a lot more about this game than I did a year
earlier. And the more I feel I know about poker the more and more
impressed I am by how many truly excellent players are part of RGP -
and the more I realize how much there is I don't know. I always,
always learn a lot by playing with you all. I had a great time, as
usual. As always a huge thanks to Tiger and Jazbo for making all this
happen. Already looking forward to next year!
[1] OF COURSE he won with it.
Bob Dainauski
Allentown, PA
