Before I decided to play on Saturday, I made a promise to myself to play a lot more loose than what my regular game is like. This means limping in and calling small raises (no more than $17) with suited and unsuited connectors and other random hands. For anyone that knows my game, understands how hard this was going to be, but I was determined and willing to spend some cash and put myself to the test.
The waiting list for the $2-$5 NL game at Bellagio is insane so I decide to walk across the street and see how the Flamingo is. I have played there before and the game and play is fairly decent. I sign up for the only NL game they have, $1-$2. I am sixth on the waiting list and shortly after I sign up, they open up a new table for us. I decide to cozy up next to the dealer, so I take seat 10. A girl about my age sits down next to me (seat 9). I had watched as she signed up shortly after I did. Before signing up, her husband and their friends were all hyping her up and you could tell she was scared shitless. I figured that she probably plays back home with her friends and this is her first time to ever sit down in a casino. Not long after she sits down, she turns and asks me what the blinds were and if they ever went up. I informed her that the blinds were $1-$2 and that they don’t go up in a cash game. My suspicions were correct. After talking with her some more, this was her first time playing in a casino, but back home in Detroit, she always plays with her friends and does fairly well. I am starting to salivate.
Everyone is buying into the game, so I go ahead and buy-in for the max, which at the Flamingo for $1-$2 NL is $300. After all the players had purchased their chips, I noticed I was already at an advantage since most of them bought in for $100, while a few got in for $200.
Cards finally get into the air around 10:45 pm and I decided to fold the first 5 hands (unless I got a monster) to get a feel of the players at the table. It was nice to see that there was nobody that was hyper-aggressive. Just a bunch of your standard limpers and pre-flop raises’ who would bump it up to $6, $12, $17, and sometimes to $22.
Not to long after I was checking out the table, I pick up Kd 9h in the SB and a few people limp in to see a flop of A74 of diamonds. Having the nut flush draw, I go ahead and check to let the BB lead out with a $10. The button bumps it up to $20 and I obviously call while the initial better and one caller fold. The turn is a blank and I check again and the button bets out $15 and I call. The turn is a diamond and I hit the nut flush. There is roughly $80 in the pot and I all I want to do is get paid off at this point, so I under bet the pot with $30 and the button starts trying to talk to me and keeps on saying how I under bet the pot and how he can’t really fold at this point. He ends up calling and I show the nuts and he said “I knew you had that King, but just could not fold to that bet”. Remember the girl from Detroit?? She claimed to know what I had the whole time. Good work Annie Duke.
That is next hour is pretty basic. I pick up a few pots here and there and miss some flops, but overall I am still up.
Then I get dealt 36 offsuit WAY out of position. I think I am 4th to act after the big blind and by the time it gets to me, it has been raised to $12 with two callers. At this point, I have had a few drinks and I am going to really test myself since this is a hand that most people would fold regardless what position they are in. We get one more caller while the SB & BB also make the call. Six players are going to the flop with $72 in the pot. The flop comes 6 Q 3 with two clubs. The BB fires out a bet of $20 and gets myself and one other to call. The turn is a 3, giving me a full house. Another $20 bet from the BB, while I just call and the other player folds. The river is another club and I can only hope this gives him the flush. He bets $60 and I honestly think the players around me could feel the table move. I push in another $100, making it $160 and he insta calls me showing the AJ of clubs for the flush but he was not happy to see my 63 and proceeded to ask how in the hell could I call a $12 raise with that. I told him that if he would have made it $20 pre-lop, I would have folded. He shakes his head in disgust.
This is pretty much how the night went. Catching 2 pair or trips with hands like 86, K4, & 82. You would also be surprised how many people bet out with 2 high cards and get pissed when you call them down with low or middle pair and take down the pot.
We had cycled through a few players and a player finally sat down who came in raising most of the time and showing a lot of bluffs. By this time it was about 7am on Sunday morning and I had $900 (give or take) in chips. I was up roughly $600 and I thought this would be a good time to call it a night or a morning (however you want to look at it) and catch some sleep. I was in the process of racking my chips and I get dealt AK on the button. It is folded around to me and I decide to just limp in hoping that Mr. Aggressive would raise since he was the BB. The SB bumps it up to $30 and the BB pushes all in for $122. Mind you this is pre-flop. I quickly go into the tank and think there is no way he is going to do this with AA, KK, QQ or possibly other high suited cards and even if I lose this hand I am still going to be up overall for the night, so I call. The small blind makes the call as well. Going to the flop there is $366 in the pot. The flop shows 3 J 8 rainbow and myself and the SB check. The turns brings a 2, we both check, and then like clockwork the river brings an Ace. We both check and I am shocked to see that my AK takes it down!! The BB starts going off on me asking me how could I make a call like that with AK. I explain that there is no way he makes that kind of bet with a high pocket pair and even if I lost, I still would have been up for the night. Plus I added that he had been showing bluffs all night so it would be nice to take all your chips. He really did not like that and tried to get me to sit back down to play. I told him that I think it would be best that I hold onto his money for him, but if he wanted to he could come back tomorrow night for another chance at it. Unfortunately I did not see him the next night.
So after about 8.5 hours of play, I was up $950.
Playing like this gave me a new found respect for a player like my friend Aaron Hughes, who is constantly going to the flop with the worst hand..
Off to bed for some much needed rest.
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