Thoughts for the night 12/24

1. Why am I playing poker at 11:36 on Christmas Eve!? Santa is going to be here any second and he's going to be pissed that there are no cookies. My darling daughter (a doppleganger for Cindy-Lou-Who) is upstairs even now with visions of sugar plums and all that. I should at least be watching How the Grinch stole Christmans instead of playing the $2+$.40 sitngo at Absolute. I feel dirty and un-Christmassy.

2. Absolute cut into my poker profits by $.30 over the lats two days because they charge 20% on their sitngos. Can't wait to get over to UB. Just waiting to get my checks, then I can deposit to Neteller and THEN and I can deposit to Absolute and THEN I can withdraw from Absolute and THEN and I can deposit to UB. All very time consuming but it will be worth it.

3. Hand #1 for tonight. Very tight and good sitngo on absolute. I think all the fish took the night off, leaving only the true degenerates (who actually know something about poker) to play.

Stage #276013374 Tourney ID 56834 Holdem Single Tournament No Limit $50 - 2005-12-24 23:51:56 (ET)Table: 4860767 (Real Money)
Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 1 - VANDIE 12 ($1000 in chips)
Seat 2 - CASHSS ($2310 in chips)
Seat 4 - HIGHSOCIETY3 ($930 in chips)S
eat 5 - JFMAJOR ($1770 in chips)
Seat 6 - MOZZART22 ($3225 in chips)
Seat 7 - HEATER16 ($1775 in chips)
Seat 8 - LOBSTERMANTL ($1220 in chips)
Seat 9 - HASSENFEFFER ($1270 in chips) We're several levels in and we've only dropped one player. I'm a smaller stack and these guys are just moving the money around alot. A lot of decent play going on.

JFMAJOR - Posts small blind $50
MOZZART22 - Posts big blind $75

*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to HASSENFEFFER [10c 10d]
HEATER16 - Calls $75
LOBSTERMANTL - Calls $75
HASSENFEFFER - Raises $300 to $300 (I'm UTG but I am really just hoping to pick up the blinds - I hope someone interprets my position and huge bet as a sign of strength)
VANDIE 12 - Folds
CASHSS - Folds
HIGHSOCIETY3 - Folds
JFMAJOR - Folds
MOZZART22 - Folds
HEATER16 - Calls $225
LOBSTERMANTL - Calls $225 (These guys both just call, neither has been crazy/stupid and both have been fairly tight preflop - very little limping from either so far)

*** FLOP *** [5s Kh 5c] (crap, one of them could have the King)

HEATER16 - Checks
LOBSTERMANTL - Checks
HASSENFEFFER - Checks (I remarked to someone the other day about the fact that I have just now been learning the power of position. Since both of these guys have been playing decently, I can guess that neither has a K. Anyone with a K should have bet at least a little there to see where they were. One of them COULD be playing something like A5, but it would be out of character for both to call a big preflop raise with that weak of a pocket)

*** TURN *** [5s Kh 5c] [7h]

HEATER16 - Checks
LOBSTERMANTL - Checks (Ok, now I can be even more sure that neither has a K or a 5. With a flush possibility on the board, anyone with a K or 5 in this position would have to try to bet to run flush chasers off). If they have a 7, it doesn't matter cause I've got that beat. if they have 77 I am screwed. I figure myself for the best hand and now I am the one needing to run off flush chasers. With a lump in my throat I....



HASSENFEFFER - All-In $970


HEATER16 - Folds
LOBSTERMANTL - Folds
HASSENFEFFER - returned ($970) : not called

*** SHOW DOWN ***
HASSENFEFFER - Does not show
HASSENFEFFER Collects $1025 from main pot

*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($1025)


4. I love sitngos because they give you the time to get a sense of a player. By the time I got to the end of this sitngo, I knew I was heads up with someone who was aggressive and smart. Yay! I ended up finishing second to him after we both flopped a pair and he outkicked me. I also think he might have been just plain better than me. But here's a hand that I was very proud of at the time. It is one of the few solid reads I can ever remember making. I hope I do this more often.

Stage #276040093 Tourney ID 56834 Holdem Single Tournament No Limit $300 - 2005-12-25 00:28:23 (ET)Table: 4860767 (Real Money)
Seat #9 is the dealer
Seat 4 - HIGHSOCIETY3 ($8770 in chips)
Seat 9 - HASSENFEFFER ($4730 in chips)

HASSENFEFFER - Posts small blind $300
HIGHSOCIETY3 - Posts big blind $600

*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to HASSENFEFFER [Js Qc] (Solid hand heads up, I had better raise and see if he just gives up the blinds)
HASSENFEFFER - Raises $900 to $1200
HIGHSOCIETY3 - Calls $600 (The call doesn't scare me as I am sure that he thinks that I am just trying to steal, which I was. Plus, I have stolenthe blinds from him several times over the course of the tourney.)

*** FLOP *** [Ac 7c 2d] (crap)

HIGHSOCIETY3 - All-In $7570 (Wait a minute. He only called my raise pre-flop. If he had actually had an Ace, he might have rerasied me then. Maybe not but... if he really does have an Ace, why go all in here? Why not check and give me a chance to bluff at it? Why not bet small, hoping for a call? A dumb player might just puch it here but a smart player slow plays that shit and he's smart. There's no way he goes all in here with the 7 or the 2; not as the big stack with the blinds at only 300/600. Hey, I know! He's representing the Ace! That's what a smart player does here. He might have a K and if so I am screwed but there's no way I am laying this down. -- Really, this was 10-12 seconds of internal dialouge that sounded JUST LIKE THAT. It was, an "Eureka" moment.)

HASSENFEFFER - All-In $3530

HIGHSOCIETY3 - returned ($4040) : not called

*** TURN *** [Ac 7c 2d] [8s]

*** RIVER *** [Ac 7c 2d 8s] [Jd]

*** SHOW DOWN ***
HIGHSOCIETY3 - Shows [10c 6c] (ace high) (Ok, it turns out he had a flush draw too. I TOLD you he was smart. I had him on a bluff and he was semi-bluffing. Still, I called that shit with Queen high. Man, tastes better than beer.)
HASSENFEFFER - Shows [Js Qc] (One pair, jacks)
HASSENFEFFER Collects $9460 from main pot

*** SUMMARY ***Total Pot($9460)