Wednesday night I played the No Limit Hold’em tournament held by the EPT in Milford, MA.

My goal this tournament was to place in the final 4, and in the meantime, keep an accurate chip count of my stack, the pot, and the other player’s stacks.

I got some decent hands from time to time. I played cautiously with mediocre hands because there was a belligerent drunk two to my left whose only move for a while was All In. He was scooping lots of pots because no one wanted to put their tournament on the line when the blinds were at $100/$200, $200/$400, $300/$600.

Curiously enough, both times that I got pocket Aces, the final two in the hand after the flop were me and the same other player. So, once I won a big pot and the next time he won the big pot. Fair enough.

I got pocket rockets two times! One time they held up and the other they got beat by a Q 9 two-pair suck out on the Turn. The time that they held up, I got congratulations from the other players at the table; not just for having As, but, for playing them so well. I had intended to play them so that they had no idea I had As — and they didn’t. I didn’t slow play them, but I was patient. I called the other player’s raises, re-raised modestly, and won the hand.

I had played As the Friday night before. Won the hand and got a similar reaction from my table mates. I couldn’t help but think about the results of the Donkey Test that I had taken back in May 2009.  My comment about the profile the Donkey Test had created for me was:

My Big Pair play is my best skill. My score is better than 85.69% of all persons taking this test.

I’m thinking that maybe there is more to that Donkey Test than I had originally thought.

Anyway, I was grateful to be getting better cards than Sunday night, even though I was feeling a little stifled with the one-play drunk on my left.

I made it to the final 16 (<– milestone for the Eastern Poker Tour tournaments. Anyone who places 16th or higher receives bonus points). When we got down to 16, my table was split, and I joined a table with serious but fun players, two of whom, I had played with before, and the drunk guy was shuffled off to the other table.

Final Hand
I sat through a whole round without getting beyond the flop. Then I was in the Big Blind again. My stack was about $21K. It was the last hand at the $600/$1200 level. Everyone limped, so, I checked my option with a Q 6 offsuit. Flop came 9 Q Q. I checked and the other two left in the hand checked. Turn came something like a 3 or an 8. I bet 3x the Big Blind, $3600. One player folded and the other raised All In. Hummm. What do I know about this player? I had only played him once before. As I recalled, he would have the goods. So, I knew he had a Q. The question was whether he was slow playing a Full House, or whether he just had a poor kicker. I decided that he would not slow play a Full House, so he had to have a lousy kicker. But was it lousier than my 6?

The pot had $28.6K. I had $4800 invested. If I folded, I’d have $16.2K; 10x the Big Blind (starting the next hand). If I went for it, I would double up and he would be down to the felt. The River was still to come, and we had equal chances to hit a Full House. If the River did not make a Full House for either of us, there were 6 cards that could beat me [7, 8, 9, T, J, K]. I called.

As soon as I put my money in the pot, he flashed a Q at me with a big, wide grin. So, I returned the favor and flashed my Q at him. That got the table’s attention! That big grin instantly turned into a furrowed brow, and he was genuinely concerned. Sheepishly, he turned over a T. I showed my 6. The table breathed a sigh of relief to have their “regular” player win the hand.  I thanked everyone for a fun hand and bid them good night.

I placed 15th out of 32. Gained 43 points. Missed my goal to come in 4th or better. Practiced counting the chips to a greater degree of accuracy.

Sunday night I played in my 7th No Limit Hold’em tournament held by the EPT in Worcester, MA. There was a low turn out (only 13 runners), so, I expected to excel… Oh yeah… The whole night was frustrating. I had come to play and just was not getting any cards. I don’t need stellar cards, but, something to give me a little fight. I spent the night practicing patience. It felt like I only played 5 or 6 hands in the roughly 2 hours I was there. Maybe that was good because I made it to the final table.

Final Hand
After a night of lousy cards, I finally got a pair of 8s. I was thinking “Finally something to play with!“  So what happens? The Under the Gun (UTG) went All In with $7600 in chips. Everyone folds to me. I was out of position with $7800 in chips. I was thinking that this was the best hand I had seen all night – yet I have 4 on my left to act. Not a good idea…Blinds are escalating…Do it…Don’t do it… I decided that I had to take my chances, hoped that the UTG had 5s or 6s and everyone else would fold, and went All In – and the Big Blind calls. (Queue the Jaws music now.)

The UTG turns over a pr 7s. I turn over my 8s, and the Big Blind turns over a pr of Qs. BAM! Just like that. The board brought a bunch of blanks. No one improved and the Big Blind took the pot.

I placed 8th and gained 80 points.

Last night I played in my 6th Eastern Poker Tour (EPT) No Limit Hold’em tournament.  It was my first time playing in the venue in Bellingham, MA. (The tournament was one of the “Central Massachusetts” region’s events.)

Nothing special happened. Got a couple of cards, but wasn’t on fire. Got a bad beat, delivered a bad beat.

Memorable Bad Hand
In one hand my pr 7s were beat by Q 6 off suit. Blinds were at $300/$600. An 8 came on the river,  completing a Jack-high straight for me and making a Queen-high straight for the other player. He checked. I bet $5K. <– Okay, there’s my mistake. Naturally, he called – as he had called every bet I had made during the hand. When I bet, I knew immediately it was the wrong thing to do. I could hear Mike Sexton saying. “It’s a bad decision. There is no need to bet in this spot. The only ones who will call are the ones that have you beat. Very bad idea.”  Oh, Mike you are SO very right.

Since an 8 completed my J-high straight, you know that 9 10 J were already on the board. It didn’t take any long-and-hard thinking to realize that if the other player had a Q, I was beat. I dismissed that as a possibility since he passively check-called the whole way. Now as I think about it, he had to continue calling because he was on a draw and needed an 8 to make a hand.

Notes to Self
? Remember that player who checked it all the way on a 4-card draw.  (He made it to the final 16.)

? Think about the message I was sending. I meant to portray strength. He obviously wasn’t believing it – OR – maybe he had me on the “strength=weakness” and “weakness=strength” adage.

 (I can’ t believe he check-called all the way to the River on a draw with only 4 outs.) When the 8 popped up, he cleverly checked and I bet right into his trap losing an additional $5K. Next time, I will need to slow down and think more about the cards that can beat me – and – see if I can channel Mike Sexton’s comments on my play before I make a mistake.

After that beat, I was relatively calm; mostly disgusted with myself.  I was down to ~$2400 in chips. Lost over $7K on that hand. The 20-minute dinner break coming shortly after helped put some distance between myself and that ugliness.

After the dinner break, I was moved to another table. I had to sit out the first hand. There was confusion amongst my table mates as to what I was doing at the table. The floor manager explained and play continued. I had a little fun telling them that the floor manager said I was such a bad player (placing my hand near my measly $2400 in chips) that he moved me to this table to learn how to play no limit Texas hold’em by watching these guys who really know how to play no limit hold’em. So I was to observe the first hand, absorb and learn. We all had a good chuckle.

Knowing that I was going to have to go All In soon, I was patient for a little bit, waiting for a half-decent hand. Got one. Went All In. The table-high called and doubled me up. It was a very loose call for him… file under table-high’s profile for later analysis.

Memorable Good Hand
A couple of hands later I got the coveted Aces. Inside I was doing the happy dance (Yippee, WOO HOO). I tried to keep my face stern and concerned as it had been since I got to this table.  I bet 2x the big blind. (The blinds were at $600/$1200.) One player called and then action was on table-high. He raised to $3600. Actually, he could have raised $3600 on top. I don’t know. I was listening for words that would give me an excuse to go All In, and $3600 sounded high enough for me to be able to go All In without raising suspicion.  I looked distressed and looked at him and choked out a defeated “All In”. The other player folded and table-high immediately called. He turned over a pr 10’s.  Then I turned over the Aces… They got appreciative ooo’s and ahh’s, and “I had no idea”’s. The Aces held up and I doubled up through the table-high again. I was back in business with about $15K in chips.

The rest of the night was not so exciting…just your run of the mill game. Got mediocre hands, started to play a few then bailed. Chips were getting low and finally I decided to go All In when I was in the Big Blind. I had 5 9 off. The player who benefitted from my stupid play last week with the  Js versus Aces, benefitted again last night. Flop was a  rainbow mess. I had paired the 5, but, he paired an 8. Bye bye PokaPaloma.

I played the bad beat table and lost in a few hands. One player busted on the first hand in which I was involved. We had to wait 20 minutes for someone else to join before we could play heads-up. That player busted in 2 or 3 hands and we were heads-up. Other player had about 18.5K in chips and I was down to about 1.5K. wah…wah…wah

Sunday night I’ll play in Worcester.

Last Night I played in my 5th EPT event in Milford MA, the Central Massachusetts Region. Placed 7th out of 32.

It was a long night of practicing patience. I had to fold so many times that at one point I was so frustrated, I went all in on a spade draw with A 8. Funniest thing was that the player that called me ($32K) was on the spade draw with K 10. The flush never came, my Ace played, and I doubled up.

Had $45K in chips when we were down to the final 16. Experienced two bad beats before we got to the final table. One was A K hearts beat by Q 8 off suit when board turned 4 diamonds flushing up his Q. It was against a very new player who should have folded after the flop.

Went to the final table with $9400. Blinds were $2000/$4000. We drew for seats and the dealer. As luck would have it, I ended up in the Big Blind. Great can’t even breathe before I have to go all in. Another player had even fewer chips than me, so, on the first hand two of us were all in. We both busted out, although I had a tiny tiny glimmer of hope when the flop came with 2 spades. I had two spades (5 3) in my hand. But… it wasn’t meant to be.

Made 91 points for the night. Enjoyed the bar-b-que chicken pizza and ziti with mushrooms – and – the players were friendly and good no limit hold’em players.

Last night I played in Worcester Region’s Eastern Poker Tour No Limit Hold’em tournament. This was the 4th EPT tournament I played in in recent weeks.

Final Hand
I was in middle position at a table of 9. My stack was almost $10K. Blinds were at $100/$200. Two players limped in in front of me. I raised to $600, one to my left called, one folded, then the Small Blind bet $3000. Everyone folded around to me.

$3000 seemed like an awfully large over bet, so, I put him on a medium to small pair – A hand that he didn’t want to play – or, he had AA or KK and wanted to sucker me in with the overbet. I called with the intention of seeing the flop and bailing if I didn’t hit.

Flop came K blank J rainbow, one spade. He bet another $3000 post-flop and on the turn. 8c comes on the river. Only threat on the board was a King, otherwise I had top pr. with highest kicker. No opportunities for a flush or straights. I moved all in. He called and revealed AK off. I was busted! Didn’t expect that.

So, I busted out at the end of the first level when my AJ spades was beat by AK off.

Bad Beat Game
Okay, so it wasn’t all bad. As I was walking out the door, the floor manager encouraged me to stay and play the bad beat game. The bad beat game would start as soon as he could consolidate two tables. I had never played one before, so, I hung around for another 20 minutes and sat down with others who had busted out of the tournament. 

At one point, I was  down to $1K in chips. Blinds were at $500/$1000. I was the only player left after another player busted 3 others and was sitting on $14K.  Then a third player joined us, and I doubled up through him once or twice. Then a fourth player joined us and I was off to the races. I WON the bad beat table.  Prize was a free entrance to the next EPT Tournament I play.

So, even though I busted out of the tournament early, I practiced ”heads-up” play at the bad beat table. With fewer players and slower play, I was able to study the players more closely. Got great reads on the player with the $14K. I looked for the tells that I had read about in Joe Navarro’s Read’Em and Reap book about poker tells. The player with the $14K was broadcasting the strength of his hands, and I used that information to decide whether to call, raise, or fold. The tells proved to be very accurate indicators of the strength of his hands… After all, I came back from $1K to $14K deficit to win the table. Thanks, Joe Navarro.

Last night I played the EPT No Limit Hold’em tournament at PiNZ in Milford, MA.

I was out in less than an hour and that was with a 20 minute dinner break!  Technically, I was out in a little over 30 minutes of play because I was busted in the last hand at $200/$400. What a donk!

I hadn’t been getting any cards, and in my last hand, I got a Pr Js.

I was the dealer. A few players limped in. The player in the cutoff bet $1200. I called, one other  called, and another folded. The flop came 10 9 8 with two diamonds. Everyone checked and the cutoff bet $2400. I called because now I had an up-and-down straight draw in addition to Jacks. (Still solid play, I think.) Everyone else folded, so, it was down to the cutoff and me.  The Turn was a blank. The cutoff bet $2400 and I called. (Questionable call. I probably should have bailed then since I knew the cutoff had Aces, and that put me on a straight draw only since I didn’t have any diamonds.) The River was a blank. The cutoff put me all in.

There was the broken straight and three diamonds on the board, and I still had Pr Js in my hand. Definitely time to FOLD!

I had invested $6K in the hand and had $2800 behind. Blinds were going to  $300/$600 on the next hand.  If I folded, I would have had a little over 4.5 x the Big Blind.  I felt defeated. I wasn’t getting any cards and I was thinking that it was a real possibility that I was going to be blinded out of the tournament given the cards I had been getting and the skill of the players at the table. I hate that throbbing feeling of dread and sense of urgency that getting blinded out brings.

So, I made a choice based on my defeatist attitude. Better to cut my losses, get home early, and most of all have my “read” of the cutoff validated by forcing  him to show his cards. I KNEW from the start that he had Aces. One thought I had was that I wouldn’t know for sure if my read on him was good unless I called. This morning, I’m thinking, so, why didn’t you even ask if he would show? Didn’t enter my mind last night. Also, had I given it more thought, he probably would have showed, one because he had Aces, but, two because I’m new to the group and I’ve seen other regulars show their cards to let other newbies know that they made a good lay down.

Had I folded on the Turn, I would have had $5200 in chips – a little over 8 x the Big Blind. Had I folded the Pr Js pre-flop, I would have had $8800 in chips – 14.5 x the Big Blind.

So what did I come away with?

1. Follow your gut instinct (and don’t play it down just to prove your read is right). Trust yourself.
2. Practice letting go.
3. Keep fighting (and don’t take a defeatist attitude. You’ve come back from being way down in chips before.)
4. I’ve got a good read on the cutoff and will use that when we meet again.

Last night I played in the No Limit Hold’em tournament sponsored by the Eastern Poker Tour (EPT) at PiNZ in Milford, MA.

$15 to enter. $10K in starting chips. Blinds start at $100/$200 and increase every 15 minutes. No antes. 8-player tables. Self-deal until the final table.

38 runners for this No Limit Hold’em tournament.

Played at one table until the final 16 when the tables were broken down and consolidated to two. Held my own, and even knocked out a couple of regulars in the region’s All Time Top 25.

Made it to the final table. I started the final table with 80K in chips. Played 25% – 30% of the hands and continued to hold my own. When it was down to 3 players:

• Blinds were at 8K/16K
• I had 66K in my stack
• I was in the Big Blind

The Button folded. The Small Blind limped in. I went All In with Kd Qd. The Small Blind turned over a Pr of 5s. Rainbow came on the flop. Turn and River were both blanks, neither of us improved, and the Small Blind won the hand.

For placing 3rd, I won a “Free Buffet” ticket which is basically free entrance to my next EPT event. I earned 118 points.

Got lousy cards for the first few levels, then started getting playable cards every once in a while. At the final table, cards were fairly decent. When I did get cards, they stood up. Made some good folds along the way. I am happy placing 3rd out of 38.

Last night, I went to play in the Sunday night Eastern Poker Tour (EPT) No Limit Hold’em tournament in Worcester, MA. Got to the venue at about 7:20 to learn that the tournament was canceled.

The bar tender said that the manager had called around 6:30pm. Said his car broke down and the tournament was canceled. I was bummed. If I had earlier notice, I could have played in one of the other region’s tournaments which is normally not a great option. This being a Holiday weekend, traveling a little extra would not have caused such a hardship. (Yeah, I know he couldn’t have given earlier notice…I was just bummed)

Oh well, next tournament in the Worcester region is Tuesday night. Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are not good nights for me, so, my next chance in Worcester is Wednesday night.

There is a tournament in Milford tonight. Maybe I’ll head for that. If I go, I’ll add a post tomorrow.

Last night, I attended my first Eastern Poker Tour (EPT) No Limit Hold’em tournament at Jose Murphy’s in Worcester, MA.

Per the Eastern Poker Tour website, I arrived promptly at 7:00. Okay… first sign of a newbie. No one was there except for the EPT floor manager who was setting up. I had 30 minutes to kill, so, I paced back and forth, checked e-mail and made a call.

At about 7:30 there were enough players to start taking seats. I wondered back over to the floor manager who gave me $10K in chips and a seat assignment. Around 7:45 we got started. Blinds started at $100/$200 and increased every 15 minutes. No antes.

First hand I’m dealt KK. Whoah – I LOVE this game!  I’m thinking, “Let this be a sign of things to come in tonight’s tournament.” Fun, but, dilemma. I want to play it one way, but, it is the first freaking hand – I am new to this crowd – and – I don’t know how any of them play. So I hold back and play it soft betting 2x the big blind and get a few calls. Flop and I bet 4x the big blind and get called again. Turn = another bet, another call. River = check check. Showdown…I win…everyone except me shakes their head in disgust.

So night goes on. I get shuffled around to three tables, and, eventually, I make the final table. More play and I find myself playing heads up with a very decent amount of chips – plenty to take it down. I’m fatigued, but, lucky for me my opponent has been visible and verbal all night, so, I have somewhat of a sense for his game. Only problem…once heads up, I go card dead. Hummm…a challenge against a guy who has been checking down winners all night.

Ultimately, I placed second. Went all in with a very decent hand. Opponent one-upped me with an even more decent hand. Board was a blank and he took it down. I got some points for playing, points for placing and some cash. Placing 2 out of 20 was great for my first time with the EPT.

Biggest Donk Call
I had a ton of chips and we were down to 3 or 4. A player went all in. Everyone folded, so, I called thinking that it was an opportunity to knock a player out. Only problem was I had 8 4 off.  Okay, Okay. I was tired, cranky and wanting to go home. He won that hand (and was out within 10 minutes).

Best Story of the Night
Like I said, these guys play together 4 nights a week.  When the tournament started, two of the players at my table had been in a very memorable hand together the night before. The one on my right beat the player across the table from me. His quad Kings squashed the other player’s trip Aces! Now that hurts.

Funnest comment of the night
While considering whether to continue in a hand, I took a few extra moments. Two players to my left who were still in the hand said, “Well?”. I responded, “Well, I got two behind me and I’m thinking about how you guys play.” They burst into laughter and one says, “How we play? You probably got freaking Doyle Brunson on speed dial.” (Oh, yeah, baby. I’d love that!)

Ahhh, the evolution of PokaPaloma.

This morning I signed up for the Eastern Poker Tour (EPT). The EPT has over 25 tournaments going on each week within 50 miles of my town. EPT is an affordable way for Northeasterners to get more face-to-face play experience. The no limit hold’em tournaments are *free* once you pay for a meal.

So now I need to decide which night this week to start. Tonight? Maybe. Tomorrow, a possibility. Sunday – definitely!

I’ve been doing a lot of reading and look forward to putting that newly gained knowledge to the test in tournaments that will not break my bankroll.

I’ll keep you updated as to my progress.

Shakin’ my head wondering why I didn’t see this opportunity a lot sooner…