Bluff Poker Tour Event #11 & Local Poker Activity

On Wednesday I played in the 11th event on the Bluff Poker Tour, it was at http://www.checknraisepoker.com , it's one of those Java based sites that don't require you to download any software. I was hoping for a low turnout just like everyone else, but when I came home on Wednesday and logged in there were 101 people signed up for the tourney. I have been checking this site several times over the past few weeks to see what their traffic was like, and the most players I had ever seen online at the same time was 91, so the tourney almost doubled their traffic. Frankly it sucked, I don't think the site can handle 101 people in a tournament at the same time, I was getting lockups and freezes during the tournament. For example I raised pre-flop on a hand and I got a caller, the flop gave me an open ended straight draw, the person in the hand bet 800, since I started with 5000 chips I decided to call, well I tried pressing the call button and 30 seconds later it said my hand was folded because I didn't act in time. So I was fairly pissed off, and I was tired of dealing with the site, so I pushed in with AK after about an hour of play because we went up 3 blind levels, and each blind level we got to see maybe 5 -10 hands because of the problems with the site. Well when I pushed in some guy had 7 7 and I didn't catch anything and was eliminated in 82nd place, most of the top 50 went out without any points as well, so I didn't feel to bad. The tour is scheduled to go to check 'n' raise at least one more time I don't know if I can play in it then.

I noticed there are a lot more players joining the tour every week, I checked my ranking and I am in 60th place after 2 events which isn't that bad considering there have been 11 events already. The tour stop next week is at interpoker so it should be much better.


8/13/2005 - Went over to my usual poker hangout spot, it was kind of thrown together at the last minute, and since I purchased some new poker chips I was anxious to play with them LOL. I don't know what it is about new poker chips, but for some reason they make you want to play. Well we played a few games of poker, I didn't do to well in the first game I went out first actually I made two pair on the flop, but the dragon made a better 2 pair, so there wasn't much to talk about in the first game, except to say that it was quick.

We started the second tournament a little bit later, and there were more people this time becuase everyone had come back. I played better this time, the funny thing is no matter how many times I play over there, and how much I know about how people play it never makes it easier to win. I actually had a few decent hands early, and I won a few smallish pots, I made sure to avoid the aggressive people at the table, my goal was to get them out of the hand pre-flop because they could just about any type of hand. I varied between playing loose and tight this time, I was really just making sure I had fun being the loud guy at the table, I think I have a little John Rober Bellande in me LOL. I usually remember a lot of hands, but for some reason a lot of the hands are escaping me because a lot of the pots I won were uncontested raises before the flop (just how I like it). One hand of note I was sitting in the small blind and the blind were a decent size $200/$400 I think, I was dealt * * off suit which I used to think was a monster hand, but really it's almost marginal in my book now. There were a lot of limpers in the pot 5 or so I think, so it comes to me and the pot odds are looking great, and the strange part was no one seemed inclined to raise, so I figured I was dealing with a lot of drawing/marginal hands J 9's, Q 10's, 6 7's, so I took my time to think about what I wanted to do, I didn't think anyone was slow playing a monster, so I decided to raise to $2800 the reason for this raise is that I wanted to determine if anyone had a real hand, it was a bit of a risky play since I only had about $9000 chips. Everyone folded after some posturing and looking me up, I actually wasn't nervous about it though, one thing I picked up from Harrington on Hold'em is when you make risky plays try to make sure it's a hand you can win with if you get in a bind. Raising with 7 2 does not really give you many chances to win, you are in essence hoping that your raise scares everyone away. With * * you have some options, and you will be ahead in most hands except against pairs or higher kickers. I don't raise with hands that I can't win with, 5 6 suited I can win with that and I may raise with it, but 10 4 off suit is almost a waste of time. So, I managed to take down several pots with a few semi-bluffs after the flop and winning an all-in or two.

Hand of note: By now if you have heard me talk poker or read this blog, pocket pairs have been responsible for me losing about $4000 in prize money that I could have won in tournaments had I thrown them away. So, pockets are really falling out of favor with me, well I was dealt 6 6 and I raised to $1000 this was relatively early in the tourney, Monica came over the top with an all in for another $5k, heck I only had about $6k left, she does bluff from time to time, but when she is putting all her chips in pre-flop I have never seen her have just rags. I knew she didn't have a pair for sure but I knew I was dealing with at least 1 over probably 2, so I knew I was in a race situation which for me I don't usually win, the funny thing is I almost look at J J and 6 6 the same way, they are susceptible to so many hands that there isn't much you can do. So I elected to fold, she had A K which I figured, and I rabbit hunted the cards and she would have caught a K on the river, so I made the proper laydown. I would call in that spot sometimes if I feel like gambling, but I didn't feel like I would win the hand, so I folded.

I ended up busting out of the tournament in 6th place, I made an effort to Bluff FDR out of a pot, the funny part about it is at the time I felt I was in the lead. FDR called my pre-flop raise, and when I called I knew he had a fiarly week hand probably something suited, or something he could make a straight off of. I had K J and felt it was probably the best hand at the time pre-flop, when the flop came it was all clubs and low cards. FDR checked and I checked right behind him, there was something suspicious about his check, and since I knew he was playing a bunk hand I knew he could have very well caught a piece of it. The next card was a Queen, FDR bet $4000, which was his standard bet that day, I knew he didn't have a queen, for him it was a semi-bluff, a part of me still felt my King high was good, and I knew he didn't have Queen even though he tried to act like he had one, so I immediately pushed all-in, he then had a hard decision to make. The all-in play accomplished a few things, it verified to me that he didn't have a Queen, or he had a Queen with a weak kicker, he didn't have a big pocket pair, he didn't have a set, and he didn't have the flush, just like I figured he played a bunk hand and now he was in a bind. One other thing is just the fact that he was considering calling also verified that he had at least a pair, which meant I was in trouble if he did call. Eventually he called and he made a pair of 6's on the flop, and I received no help on the river.

Some people may say what the hell were you thinking? I have made that play in several tournaments and it works most of the time, and it works well against people who play bunk hands. The funny thing is next time we are in that situation I may have him beat already, there is no way he can know what I have. The thing about it is when you enter a pot with a marginal hand even if you catch a piece of it your hand is susceptible to a variety of beats that can trump it. The agony you have to go through when someone puts you to the test, and you are holding low pair on the board is a tough thing to deal with, but that's what makes this game great.