Live Poker is Rigged

First off it's been like 2 months since my last post, so this will be a long one.

I really haven't played that much poker online. Or as much as I should have. I struck out in the wcoop, not cashing in any of the events I played. I feel like I played well, aside from 1 hand in the 1k, that I made a donkey call on the river. The worst part about it was, I was so pissed I whipped my mouse at my key board, it bounced up and hit the worst possible thing it could have hit in the room. My 30 inch monitor, which is now collecting dust in the corner of the room because it's cracked. Not sure if it's even worth trying to fix, but I'm working on that now.

I did have one really big score in the Fulltilt $500 Sunday tourney about 3 weeks ago I think. I ended up taking 4th for 65k. The hand I basically busted on was A10 aip vs. 99, on a button bb battle. If I win that flip I'm guaranteed 80k, and were even chips three handed. Oh well, obv I had to win some races to get there anyway.

So I went to Turning Stone this past week, and I'm pretty sure live poker is rigged. Right when we got there I went to play some 5/5 with Krissy and Yves. About 20 mins in, I manage to lose about a $2600 pot with KK on a Jc6c9d (or something close to that) to Ac7c.

The only winning cash game session was when I was really drunk at a 300max game, basically raising every hand blind, hitting everything and getting paid off. Managed to cash out for about $1100 in that game.

The only other session I played was in 5/5. Ended up losing about $200 no big deal.

I played two tourneys, the $300 and the 1k. In the $300 I built up a pretty good stack, but just couldn't get anything going deep in the tourney. What I love about live poker is that you can play for 8 hours, and make $0. That's always fun.

I took the $500 off because I wanted to be fresh for the 1k. Waking up three days in a row at 9am doesn't work for me. The 1k at TS is my favorite tourney there, I guess that's because it's the only tourney I have ever cashed in. It is an amazing structure though.

So I manage to double up on like the 5th hand to 10k with a set against middle pair and a J high flush draw. I grind for a while up and down between 7k and 15k, for the next 4 hours.

Then at 150/300 with a 25 ante this hand came up: utg, a fairly solid played as far as opening with hands, will raise any pp, and A10+, raised to 1200, with a 20k stack. It folded to me on the button and I looked down at AK. I didn't re raise pree flop once up to this point, so I expected him to give me a lot of respect. I made it 3500. It folded back to him an he thought for a pretty long time and made the call.

The flop came 672 rainbow. He quickly led out for 2500. I started the hand with around 13.5k. After the 3500 pree flop I was left with 10k. So I could only raise him 7.5k more. Now the range of hands that I put him on was 88-JJ or possibly AK or AQ. 99% of the time a weak lead from a pretty weak player, means he is not confident about his hand. I was sure I had 6 outs, with a lot of fold equity. I decided to move in, and represent JJ+. He literally thought for 5 minutes before calling with KK. Just as I'm thinking how does he show up with KK here, BINK! There is the A on the turn. And now I have about 28k. Looking back on the hand, I am happy with how I played it. He legitimately was worried about his KK in that spot, and almost folded. So I think he would have folded 88-JJ there, and it was just very strange for him to play KK like that, and no way I can put him on it.

About 5 hands later two players limp for 300, and I make it 1k with KK. They player I just fluked who has all ready shoved since the hand, shoves all in for about 7k. I obviously call, and he shows Ad3d. He rivers a flush and I'm at 20k. I lose a few other small pots and move tables.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. A couple funny stories from that table. One player to my right, who literally plays TERRIBLE, thinks he is the greatest, telling everyone how bad they play, gets in a hand with me. He raises utg +1 to 450 at 75/150, and I call in mp with 5c7c, because I think he is terrible. BB also calls, and the flop comes 4c8cJh. They both check and I bet 700. The donk makes it 2k, which didn't make much sense. I was worried only about JJ, but wasn't really sure what to make of the hand. I figured I would just call, and hope to win a huge pot off JJ, or possibly bluff later if he shows weakness. The turn was the 10d. He checked. I think I should have bet here, but I was really worried about getting check raised again. I didn't play with the guy long enough to know how he played out flops, but knowing him now I should have bet, but with the info I had at the time, I think checking was fine. River was the 9c. He checked again. Now I was pretty sure he didn't have much, although he probably checks a lot of pretty strong hands there, because the board is so bad. I bet 1k and he folded, showing the Kh. Now here is where it gets funny. I say nice laydown. He says "huh", I said "that's a big lay down, K high on that board". Now he gets really pissed. "I had pocket kings you punk. You internet hero (I was wearing a pstars shirt)". I got a good laugh out of that, and said "easy there farmer Joe". Stacy99 was actually at my table, and we were talking about how he looked like a farmer earlier. The table got a good laugh, including his son at the other end of the table.

For about the next 5 hands I play he is ripping into me. Telling me why I'm bad, how I can't read people, how I am lacking parts of my game. Now here is a quick thing about him, he literally tried to convince me that when you have a big stack, and you are getting close to the bubble, to leave the table, so you don't get involved in hands. That's what really good players do he said to me. He also tried to convince me that 3's and 5's always ride together in red decks. So after him telling me how bad I am, I finally say "sir, how much money have you won playing poker"? Expecting that to shut him up, he starts explaining to me how he has won over $500k in live tournament poker. I literally start to laugh, when someone else at the table actually tells me it's true. Look up his name on google you will see it the other guy said. I never actually got a chance to see, but if it's true, I have to reevaluate my poker strategy.

Another quick funny hand from the table, farmer joe opens to 750 at 75/150, bb makes it 1800, leaving himself 2k. Farmer Joe launches his chips in the middle, and tells the guy that he has him beat. The guy believes him and folds KK face up LOOOOOOOOL. Farmer Joe shows KK also.

Anyway, so back to where I was. I got moved tables, and I have about 16k. From there to to the end of the night, which was about 7 hours. I showed down one hand for a 4k pot. Other then that, I chipped up from 16k to 43k to end the had without showing down. It was by far the best I had ever played. I just picked my spots, and built up a tight image, and used it well. It also helped to have 3 players at the table who played a combined total of 10 hands in 7 hours.

So we started day 2 with 21 players, 13 make the money. I stayed around 40k for a long time, till we were on the bubble playing hand for hand. I raised with AA utg to 4k at 800/1600, and the worst player a the table, huge station called me. The flop came J97 two spades. Oh god, here we go I'm thinking. I bet out for 8k, and he makes it 24k right away. I shove, because I'm never folding AA to this guy, and he folds right away. So now I'm at about 80k, and the bubble breaks. Like 3 hands later the same guy shoves for 28k utg. I look down at AQ on the button, and called. Now the sb insta shoves for 30k. Great. I call, utg has K8 no surprise, and sb has KK. Nice ambush. KK hold up and I have about 50k. Grind that to about 60k and make the final table about average. I then raise utg to 5k at 1/2 blinds with AA. Sb who is the cl makes it 20k, I see he is committed an shove right away and he calls right away with AK. Somehow I hold and now I'm about the chip leader 8 handed, but we are all very close.

Next rotation I raise utg with 88 to 5k, guy shoves for 40k more, I call, he has 44 and hits quads. Now I'm back to like 80k. I blind down for a while, lose a couple small pots, and get all in with Ak vs AJ to the same guy and hold. I'm back to about 120k again. Then for the longest time it's all about blind steals, and the stort stacks getting lucky. Then when we were six handed a really interesting hand came up:

It folded to the button who literally raised half the hands, raises to 10k at 2/4. I look down at A5, which is so ahead of his range it's not even funny. I make it 33k. Now it is interesting because on the previous day, I re raised him like 6 times, and he folded every time, so I know he gives me respect. But now we are 6 handed so it's not the same thing. It was also his first live tourney, so I know he really wanted to make the money, and now that pressure is gone. He thinks for a minute and says 50 more. Now he only has 10k more after the the 50, so I don't really think he was thinking about stacks and my odds if he shoved. I can basically consider that 60k more because he can't fold for the extra 10k. So with the 80k all ready in the pot, plus his 60, that's 140k in the pot, and 60 to call. Close to 2.5/1 on my money, which means I should basically call with anything. But with A5, I'm going to be in such bad shape most of the time. I would only have 40k left if I called and lost. However the more I thought about it the more I thought I had the best hand. I had played with him for 2 days, and he really made a lot of big bluffs. I know he knows that I would be coming over the top of him soon out of the bb, because he had been raising it every rotation. Another thing I really thought he would just insta shove with any pair, or any big A. The more I thought, the more I felt I had the best hand. By this time there was a big crowd watching. I finally pushed in and he obviously called. He said good play, and someone else at the table said JJ and AK? I just laughed and showed A5, he showed A3. The crowed literally went crazy, not understanding how the fuck we played a 200k pot with A3 and A5. We obviously end up chopping which was fine.

Finally someone busts and were 5 handed. We play for ever, until the blinds are 3/6 with a 1k ante. With the average stack about 100k I knew it would go fast. A player raised from the button to 19k, and I shoved with A7. He folded. Next hand he raises I shove with QQ he calls with A9 and I lose. That was for a 2/1 chip lead 4 handed. Instead I'm the short stack. I shove blind utg, and the bb folds an A face up. Then I shove the button with 77 bb calls with 44. He turns a 4 I river a 7. I little bit later crazy kid opens for 15k I shove for 110 with 55, he calls with 99. GG me. I finished 5th for 8k, which was ok, but I felt like I played so much better then everyone else at the final table, aside from 1 kid, who was good, and I just couldn't win my all in pots. Like I said live poker is rigged.

I'll be back....