The worst hand is good!

this was the night when the best hand was only good on paper. i couldnt count how many pretty gross suckouts occurred, some being kinda gross with others being downright disgusting.

but, thats poker.

Sean found a way to dodge a few bullets himself on his way to the JV Special victory, read his account of his play here.

the first person knocked out would be none other than the man who created the structure, John. kinda sad that in the John V Special he would be the first one gone, but lemme tell you, it was probably the worst suckout of the evening...

let's recap the hand from John's blog:

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FCPC home game. Level 1, blinds T25/25. Stacks at T7000.

Fuel open raises to T100 with QQ
Bob calls from LP
Matt calls from BB

Flop: QJ5

Matt leads T200, I call, Bob calls.

Turn: K

Matt leads very small (T150)
I raise another T500
Bob calls
Matt calls.

Fawk, one of these doucheballs has T9.

River: 5

Nice. Now it's time to take these straight-drawing donkeys to valuetown.

Matt checks
I bet T1000
Bob raises to T3200.
Matt folds.
I shove.
Bob instacalls. Of course he has 55.

Jesus fawk! Out in level 1 two weeks runnings.
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thats pretty gross!

later i would be destroyed by a similarily disgusting display from the poker gods:

Final Table (11 players) blinds 200/400

i call Todd Brunson's (Vin) raise to 1000, Brad calls, a few other callers too

i have 77

flop: 267 sweeeeeeeet!

Brad is first to act and he immediately announces "im all in"
all fold to me, of course i call

Brad shows 78 and grimaces when he sees my cards

but wait Bradley G, lets remember who you are! you lay the worst beats on Earth

turn: 5
river: 9

buh-bye Simon! i saw it coming when the turn 5 hit so i couldnt help but laugh my way to the "loser's" table where a sweet little $20 tourney had just started.

is poker fun or is poker rigged? you decide

DEEPStack next week!

The Limp-Call, strongest play in poker

well, perhaps it's not the strongest play in poker generally, but it was pretty effective in this past week's game.

case in point: early on many limpers to John in the BB, John has AsKd and raises it up to 600 (blinds are 50/100)...everyone calls! this is not so unusual in our game when the stacks are deep.

flop: all spades

all check to Milly on the button who fires out 2000. John, holding 2 overs and the As bangs it up to 6000. Michael quickly announces all-in and John instacalls.

Milly has flopped a King high flush with the undervalued and often underplayed Ks6s. no help for John on the turn or river and all of a sudden we have a crippled stack. John down to about 2500-3000.

not too much longer after this John was eliminated by yet another limp-call. John again in the BB raises all-in after 3 or 4 limpers jump in. Peter makes the call with A9 and has John crushed holding A8. a 9 in the door is enough to give virtually no hope to our only PhD in the crowd.

this limp-call parade we had been seeing was the theme of the night. John was doing his standard berating of all the limp-callers as only he can do. we do have to give the man credit though for staying until the very end. its always nice to have him around

later, Peter was shown the door after getting a little too aggressive with top pair so-so kicker.

Bill open raised with KK and had 2 callers. flop is K-high and Bill comes out firing as the first to act. it folds to Peter who says "im all-in Bill" I am sitting next to Bill and i dont think Bill really understood what had just been plated in front of him. of course he calls and sees Peter playing KT. absolutely no assistance arrives for Peter and he exits in 9th place

George's buddy, Stash was out next after shoving A7 into The Professor's QQ.

slowly the Greeks begin to fall!

Bill, surprisngly, was next out but only because his lucksackery couldnt save him in a pivotal hand (for him) against me:

I raise AA in MP and Bill does the 'ole limp-call with JcTc.

flop: 3c 9c 8s

i fire 5,000, Bill check-calls with his monster draw

turn: Td

Bill checks, at his point i feel like im ahead and start thinking what he is chasing. i assume he has 2 clubs but in the back of my mind im dreading a set.

anyway, i bet 10,000 and he calls. now im worried

river: blank

Bill checks and now i feel im good but because he would bet a hand better than 1 pair. i dont think he would call a river bet unless i was beat so i check too. John knew what we both had and erupted when i checked because Bill had 20 outs going to the river and crapped out.

i dont remember how Bill was eliminated, it may have been by me but i forget. he was doused in 8th.

"one by one the Greeks go down hurrah, hurrah! first its Bill then its Eman hurrah huraah!" (one of my best spur of the moment songs)

Karl got shot down by Michael but nobody cares

Eman bluffed his chips away on a 5-5-4-3 6 board vs Jane. Jane had 52o in the BB and Eman limped UTG with 9cTc. Eman tried raising Jane on the flop, bet hard on the turn and jammed the river only to lose.

my song was validated when this happened. i think ill sing it again next week.

i was a big stack for much of the middle stages of the game but gave The Professor a courtesy double up when i raised K4 and he jammed AJ. i spiked a K on the flop but he rivered the Ace and i started a downward slide.

after that i was in about 3 or 4 race situations and lost all of them. eventually i was pretty much destroyed when, 5 handed, i raised AJ UTG, Jane called on the button and Joanne jammed in the BB. i was left with a decision to call off all but 1,500 of my stack. i dont really like AJ in this spot but i did call figuring she could have a pair that left me with 2 overs. if so i was getting a shot to become really well positioned for the end game.

she had AK of course and we both paired the flop but then i lost. i should have folded, enough said.

soon afterwards i jammed from the SB blind, The Professor called off his paltry stack from the BB blind too when Milner raised JT on the button. i had 63, The Professor had some slightly better crap but Milner hit a pair and i get 5th, Darren gets 4th.

The Professor was one of the Mystery Bounties so Milly scored $50 for that TKO

The Professor, as the bubble boy, won the coveted Greg Raymer WSOP poster but generously donated it back to the club for a future lucky bubbler. very nice of him!

down to 3 handed Michael, Jane and Joanne let the chips fly. all-in with any 2 cards it seemed was entertaining to watch because we had action!

Michael eventually took out Joanne when his JJ was outflopped by whatever Joanne had but hit a J on the river. he also had a 4 flush going to the river but the offsuit J was an ugly ending for Joanne. $70 to Joanne

Joanne was the other bounty and Milner, that lucky SOB, got another $50

i cant remember what the cards were at the end but Michael did win. he generously gave Jane an extra $30 making her prize $150. he took $220 plus $100 for the bounties.

first win for Michael since DEEPStack #1 June 8, 2007

This DEEPStack had QUADS baby!

how about 3 people making QUADS within 1-1.5 hours of each other?

the game started off with a BANG when, on the 3rd hand of the night, Jane was crippled. the action starts when John raises preflop to 300. Jane calls and destiny leads her down a dark path of destruction. we all started the evening with TC25,000
the flop: K-5-6
John leads out for about 1200 (i think there were other players seeing the flop too)
Jane raises to 4000
John re-bangs another 8000...things are getting juicy! Jane calls
turn: K
John bets, Jane calls. i forget the amount
river: 6
Jane says "just check it John, you've got a K i have a K" so John shoves for ~8,000
Jane calls and flips up AK for a boat
John proudly display 66

THOSE ARE QUADS BABY!!!!

the room erupts because we havent seen quads in ages and that was a sick turn and river. jesus what a start to the night...but wait, it kept on coming.

i think within the next 30 minutes we lost Jane when her limped AK hit the A-5-6 flop but when she shoved Joanne called with the A5 and sent Jane to her demise. a cruel and unnecessary punishment for the Queen of the FCPC. THOSE WERE QUADS BABY!!!!!

not too long after that, roughly an hour or so, the mega-cooler hand of the year came.

Eitan limped, I limped then 2 doors down Sean raises to 1200 and Joanne, one of two bigger stacks, calls on the button. Eitan and i fold
flop is 8-8-5
Sean leads out for 1200 or something and Joanne calls after a little delibertion
the turn brings: Q
Sean quickly fires 4,000 and Joanne quickly calls...hmmmmmm
river: the case K
(i had folded the other K even though it was suited up for war with the 6c--i have that kind of discipline)
Sean announces "I'm all in"
Joanne beats him in the pot "i call!"
Sean flips up KK, thats a nice hand, Kings full
Joanne reveals 88 for your standard flopped quads, eliminating Sean from the game


DEMS QUADS BITCH!!!!

holy four-of-a-kind-batman wtf is goin on here??!! 2 quads in one night? we havent seen quads in forever and now we get them twice in roughly an hour!!??

but what night would be complete without a dosing of the good doctor, John the fag.

within 5 minutes of Joanne's quads a pot develops involving yours truly and Johnny boy. i limped in EP after Eitan limped UTG. three to my left is John who pops it to 1700. i think the blinds were 150/300 at this point. Bill cant resist seeing any flop so he calls the 1700 and i complete with another 1400 and 3 of us are in.
the flop: Q-T-T
Bill checks, i look at John and wait about 10 secs (hoping to make it look like im contemplating a move) and check.
John bets, Bill looks at me, i smile, and he eventually folds. i raise another 2500 which John calls. turn: T
i bet 4000, John announces all-in. i call and show TsJs. Mt. St. Veltheer goes into a mini-eruption and is obviously not too happy and flips over AA
the river is academic as i get the double up. John who had virtually eliminated Jane early with Quads was now on the receiving end of the same medicine.


THESE IS QUADS DR. FISHCAKES!!!

this still left us at 8 players but there were 2 or 3 shorties hanging around looking for a spot to make a move.

it wouldnt happen for George though as he finally found a premium hand in JJ, raised it up and heard Alex say "ill put you all in". George obliged, tossed in the rest of his paltry stack and saw he was up against AK of spades. the "special Ace" would prove to be George's demise as it found a partner on the flop in the form of the Ace of Diamonds. George, who arrived pretty baked, exited quietly without putting up much of a fight on the night.

between George's exit and the next player to leave, Eitan, an interesting hand took place.

i was UTG with the blinds at 300/600/50. i looked down at KK and made a standard raise to 2000. of course, 4 others called and we all bunkered down for the fireworks.

the flop: 2h-3c-4h pretty nice for KK but with 5 people seeing the flop?
Eitan was in the BB and immediately shot out 5,000 into the ~10,000 pot. now, i didnt particularly like the BB coming out with a bullet here because he could pretty much have any 2 cards as he was getting 4.5:1 preflop to call. with a little deliberation i decided "fcuk it" and i folded my Kings. it folded around to Bill and he says "im all in"...i felt happy all of a sudden! Eitan called and when we saw the cards Bill had flopped a straight with Ah5h and a str8 flush redraw. Eitan also had a quality hand in a set of 2s. Bill made his flush on the turn and a blank on the river doubled Bill up and severely hurt Eitans stack.

folding Kings aint easy and i dont remember the last time i did it on a 4-high flop but when your spider senses start tingling you gotta fold 'em.

Eitan would leave us next when he jammed KJ into John's AK and the AK held up.

The Professor had a disappointing game. you could probably count the number of hands he played on your 10 fingers and still have a few fingers left to nibble some food. he didnt get any cards on the night, he was frustrtaed by the end of it and hoped he could find some magic when he chose to gamble vs 2 others. Joanne raised to 5,000, Bill called and The Professor went all-in for another 200 chips.
the flop" 2-6-2
Joanne checked, Bill checked
turn: Q
Joanne bet 5,000, Bill thought about it and folded his K-high flush draw (good fold Bill)
Joanne showed a flopped boat with 66 and The Professor was drawing dead
Bill would have made his flush on the river too...good thing his spider senses were working.

that KK hand i had was absolutely, positively the last quality hand i was dealt until the very end. my stack was essentially being blinded away and i hadnt won a pot in quite a while. with the blinds at 500/1000/100 i looked down at AcQc and pulled a John V and jammed it preflop. of course, the cardrack, Joanne had KK and took me down. Joanne was definitely making a lot of hands on the night, she knocked out 3 players and played pretty well too. i was out in 5th after a promising start that i didnt take advantage of.

down to 4, John, Joanne, Bill and Alex fought each other back and forth until finally a confrontation of massive consequences developed.

Bill, UTG, raised JJ to a standard 3xBB. Alex had a very healthy stack and jammed 50,000+ more into the pot. Bill quickly called and we had a race ladies and gentlemen!
the board came: x-x-x-x-x without the necessary A or K to keep Frenchie alive. would you rather go out first or bubble Frenchie wondered aloud before leaving...pick your poison, they both suck.

3 handed play was aggressive and not very flop friendly as much of the preflop raises were not being challenged. Joanne was a massive chip leader early on and throughout most the night but somehow found herself 2nd to Bill and only slightly ahead of the John when she was paid a visit by the poker demon known as the god-damned-f&*^%!-river.
first she called John's preflop all-in and produced AT vs John's As5s. here is what happened:

suckout Johnny strikes again....or is that for the first time ever?

whatever the case Joanne was crushed and within a few hands she jammed with K5 only to be called by Bill who only had to call 3,500 more with J9.

the board showed: K-3-9-T-9

on the river twice in a row! where else would it come?

finally we were heads up with both John and Bill pretty much even. a deal was made to each take $300 and play for the remaining $70 and the notariety that comes with being a DEEPStack champion.

back and forth they went until the final hand of the night. both players were dealt quality hands so it was no wonder why all the chips went in after the flop.
Bill had 3-2
John had 8-4 (suited mind you)
the flop was 4-x-4
after John checked Bill shoved it all-in and John called. Bill didnt make a miracle straight and finally John took down a DEEPStack joining the cream of the crop in the FCPC. he texted me he would blog the experience so hopefully he doesnt go back on his word...fag.

Congrats to John, he played well after the devastating QUAD blow and never gave up. mind you, he did get AA 5 times, KK 3 times and QQ and 55 once.

this took a long time to write...im out.

DEEPStack this Friday

im looking to fill up the roster, we have 8 players confirmed and need 2 more. once it fills ill consult the Magic Dice to see who will win (probably me though)

if you aint in the game yet get in touch with me ASAP!

here is who is in today:

simon "the champ"

john "fishcakes"

sean "i wanna be john one day"

bill "i see every flop"

eitan "the resident jew"

jane "darling"

alex "frenchie"

darren "the professor" <----best nickname ever...see below

How about that, i won again

i try to update this blog as soon as i can after friday night games but saturdays are so full of other stuff that its pretty much a guarantee i cant do it then. sundays i forget and then i get to monday when i remember to write something. so here we go...

first off lemme say that the FCPC site is currently not allowing me to edit anything, i dont know why. ive tried about 15 times to edit the home page with no luck. hopefully it sorts itself out soon.

i won! i am so good it boggles my mind why i dont move to vegas and turn pro.

seriously though, we had a good game on friday that lasted quite a while considering the game and turnout. we played our 11-max $50 "Mystery Bounty" game where there are 2 bounties playing at the table except noone knows who the bounties are. this game creates a bit, and i mean a bit, of excitement because when you get knocked out you must check the 2 seat cards to see if you are one of the bounties. if you are then the person who cracked you gets a $50 reward. we've done this game twice now and its been well recieved both times by whoever has played in it.

this week the bounties ended up being Julia and Bob. i was fortunate enough to destroy Bob with my As5s vs his A7. even though the door card was the 7s i ended up flushing on the river and a perplexed Bob had to leave the table. i think Bob didnt see the flush hit and wondered out loud "im out...huh?" Bob had mentioned numerous times how bad his cards were and he probably felt a bit ripped off because he didnt play many hands and when he did he never made anything, heck he wasnt even dealt a pocket pair in over 4 hours of play!

sucks to be Bob.

Julia was shown the door by Steve, 240s brother. Steve collected the $50 bounty on Julia and would eventually make it heads with me (with a big chip advantage) and i utterly destroyed him...hehe sucker.

key hands for me included the knockout of Bob. if i lose that hand i am in pretty bad shape chipwise and i probably dont win. in that hand Bob was in the BB and short stacked so i butt-raised enough to commit his stack. my A5 spades found a way to take down his A7 and i was healthy enough to make a few plays.

early on with 100/200 blinds i had KK UTG+1 and limped. Matt raised in MP or on the button (i forget) to 600. 2 players called before it got back to me and i re-banged it to 3000. Matt called with AQ and Julia called with JJ.

the flop came 9 high and i fired out 6000 into ~9800, leaving myself roughly 4,000 behind. Matt folded after a bit of thought and Julia was on the verge of calling, she had the chips in her hand! but finally decided to fold her JJ face up. that was a nice hand to win as it got me into or near the chip lead quite early. having that many chips early allows me to speculate with trash far more often than i normally would with an average sized stack.

it took about 2.5-3 hours to lose out first player, Kent. after that about another hour to lose player #2. we started at 7:15ish and finished a few minutes after 12am. i had a big babysitter bill but that was somewhat tempered by my Last Longer Bet with Dr Homo for $40.

by the way, lets all get John to start blogging about his exploits at the FCPC. he never blogs about it and i know we would all love to hear what he has to say about the "ridiculous play" and "donkey-ness". he often complains about how bad his beats are, you know, getting it all in with QQ only to lose to 55. he has some classic rants like this one: "categorically Alex you are the worst player in the history of poker" and "why do i come to this f'n place?!" and of course "c'mon fishcakes {insert derogatory comment here}"

personlly, i would love to read about his experiences here.

more to come...

The Aftermath and a Rant

so, i didnt win. i didnt even make the final table. we were down to about 13 or 14 (of the 19 starters) when i was crippled and shortly afterwards i was done. not much to say about my showing since it wasnt very notable, however, there is definitely something to write about...

there is one common complaint from people about the play at the FCPC and it confuses me at times. if its not "the players are horrible!" then its "the players are terrible!" and if neither of those are heard then it is something close to that. "I HATE THIS PLACE!"

why do people say that?

are the players here really that bad? do we make more obvious mistakes than anyone at the local casino would make? do we make plays that are that much worse than the average donkey online?

i dont think so. as a matter of fact i believe that the play at the FCPC resembles the play you would see at many casino tables with the exception of higher stakes games ($5/$10 or higher). some of it is good and some of it is bad but most of it you wouldnt see any problem with.

the only thing that really bothers me about the comments are that they mainly come from our "good players" who will routinely make the same mistakes that they berate others about. ive seen it many times in the years we've been playing. someone will check-call with AK out of position after a T-T-5 board, hit a pair on the turn and end up winning a healthy pot. the "good player" who lost the hand will then rant about how "AK is gold" and how "noone here can fold AK" blah blah blah....then 2 weeks later he will do the same thing and have a rational explanation for his "play"

you know, its an expert play.

rarely will you hear "nice hand" or "you got me, well played" because one's ego is on the line. "there is no way im gonna tell that donkey he outplayed me or that he had a nice hand. but when he rivers me he will hear what i have to say."

i think its time to accept the fact there are no experts playing here, no pros, no high stakes winners but certainly a lot of average players playing their game. there is no perfect way to play this game and there are many players out there that will let you know that.