Mean Gene

Poker is Nice...I Love Play Poker

During my poker hiatus I wondered if I'd ever really get into playing again. A little success goes a long way toward whetting the appetite. The other night I played a SNG, played well, played aggressive, and found myself heads-up with about a 3-1 chip lead. I didn't win, which cut me to the quick, but I really only made one bonehead play (let myself get trapped against an overpair). I was down 3-1, came back to take the lead, and got crippled when my top pair fell against a flopped set. I fought the good fight, and, hey, it's nice to make money.

Tonight I played a quicky before bed. First hand I'm dealt KK under the gun. Like a doofus I only raise 3x the big blind, meaning I have an army of callers. Flop comes queen-high, I bet big, get raised, and another guy calls the raise. I go all-in, they both call. One guy has a straight draw, the other second pair. Wow. The river is kind and I triple up.

From that point on me and another player collected chips until we were heads up, with him up about 3-2. I then win about 10 hands in a row without a showdown. That's some fun poker. I went way up, let him nearly get back to even again, and then I made a straight on the river that he somehow escaped that put me back in control. Then came the hand that sealed the deal. Yes, I was dealt the Hammer and he didn't raise my blind. Flop comes with two deuces. I check, he bets, I call. The turn is a lovely seven. He bets, I call. On the river he bets a bit more, I raise him all-in, he folds. Modesty prevented me from showing it. A few hands later it's ovah.

Watched the WSOP tonight...how the hell did some of these players make it so deep? I remember reading Pauly and Otis talking about Tiffany Williamson taking forever to make a decision on a hand (there may have been more than one, actually), and the hand they showed tonight was insane. What on God's Green Earth was she thinking about? OK, maybe KJ is her lucky hand. She's got history with it. But does it take that long to listen to your gut, or your heart, because she wasn't using her brain, that's for damn sure. There's been a raise from early positio, a re-raise, and finally an all-in. Exactly what hand do you think this guy has? You are crushed against the big pairs, dominated by AK, and in bad shape against AQ. Against little pairs you're on the short end of a coin flip. Unless you think the guy has gone loco and is on a stone bluff, you're putting your entire tournament at risk in a position where AT BEST you're a small dog. It was extremely bizarre to see her chew this decision over for so long. And she's lucky they didn't kill her hand when she wandered over to the gallery.

Didn't get a chance to tape tonight's episodes, perhaps more nonsense when I see them again. Joe Stillman I think proved the point I made in an earlier post that it's impossible to look sharp while wearing a basketball jersey. Unless you're playing hoops. Which he wasn't.

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