2023 Poker Discussion Thread - Page 2 - Horse Racing Forum - PaceAdvantage.Com

proximity · 06-02-2023, 02:27 AM

https://sports.yahoo.com/poker-pro-t...ycsrp_catchall

couple decent pots and (if you make it down to the end) nik airball loses another million.....

proximity · 06-10-2023, 11:06 AM

post-portnoy barstool goes woke!

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/m/1c2d...is-newest.html

of course the article doesn't mention the real horse wizard behind the barstool curtain now, PENN ENTERTAINMENT which fully acquired barstool earlier this year.

no poker room at your flagship property? allowed to have casinos in york and morgantown.... a complete violation of the original spirit of pennsylvania gaming expansion and now woke politics? where is the live poker between pittsburgh and philadelphia that pennsylvania deserves? where are the competitive horse racing takeouts? where is the stewardship to better pennsylvania horse racing and games of skill? everyone has their hands out? what about the taxpayers and the normal citizens? these are the people who should come first! not just the select few!!

sorry for the long post!!

proximity · 07-21-2023, 12:03 PM

ok felt fanatics, we are back with another exciting trip report from the jewel of new jersey, atlantic city!!

it's a rough start to the trip as i'm not only fighting philadelphia traffic but a toothache and my girlfriend estrella. fortunately these fights are relatively rare (we're not exactly vincent laguardia gambini and mona lisa vito here) and certainly getting through that final toll and seeing the magnificent casinos rise in the background as we approach america's playground will raise both our spirits! a new adventure awaits!

we're staying at the tropicana for this trip and will be trying the havana tower. it is actually my first time staying in the havana tower and only my second career stay at tropicana. the room is clean, comfortable, stylish, and provides an awesome view of the entire city. highly recommend!!

before we hit the trop though i decide to stop off at the borgata. our friends over on twoplustwo have been down on this once top rated room since mgm has taken over and my initial experience is indeed a tad negative. as reported, the sign up area is dark and the kiosk won't accept my player's card. i do sign up for 3/6 with the floor and am third on the list but during an incredibly brief sprint over to the racebook, i'm deleted now must wait again..... apparently right beside the two 3/6 tables!?!

fortunately this second wait takes only about as long as kelly kip could run a half and we're back in the game!!

without getting too many hands i make about half the raises in this relatively passive game and eventually sprint to a victory of my own.... aided by no bad beat or high hand rake! apparently a jackpot was recently voided there in a 3/6 game due to the rampant signalling that we detailed in this corner before?

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/s...1&postcount=17

maybe i'm too much of a traditional stick in the mud but i find it kind of refreshing not to hear all the talk about what the high hand is but of course there is the counter argument that this brings fishy jackpot seekers into the game. my counter to this counter is that i would rather keep the money on the table instead of having these lottery style redistributions but everyone has their own opinions.

back over on the boardwalk we end up chasing caesars "quest for rewards" badges in slots and video poker and unfortunately never get into a second poker game. in another first, we do get to sample some of the blueberry hotcakes at tropicana's gilchrist diner in the chelsea tower. i'm not sure they're the "best" as advertised, but they are good and we look forward to returning to tropicana and the gilchrist in future stays.

thank you for reading!

game +44 (3/6 lim)
year +71 (2-0)

how cliche · 07-25-2023, 12:22 AM

after taking a decade break, decided to get back and reg some games in a semi-serious manner. came to find that the live tournament scene in the bay area is unfortunately dying. hard to find any games at all. after some searching, located a friday lucky chances and a sunday bay 101 game i could reg as often as i want to get some volume and retool some live skills that were lost over the last 10 orbits. both are within driving distances i can tolerate, 30 min. once or twice a week is about right for the current iteration anyway. don't wanna be monomaniacal ever again.

there's an economic reality that the public should know about live tournaments. put simply, the greater the buy in, the more the skilled players benefit. the lower the buy in, the more their skill is negated by the structure. that said, the local games are what online players call donkaments. 200 to 240 bi. 20 minute levels, 100bb to start. someplace between a turbo and a super turbo. you better accumulate chips pretty fast, or you're screwed.

been doing some homework at night a couple times a week and regging once or twice a week also. just started. 7 games in 5 weeks. cashed in 2 and am slightly ahead so far. pleasantly surprised by that. thought there was a chance to win, but got elim in 5th two back. dang.

if i want to put some miles in there's a sacramento area casino called thunder valley that has some higher bi games that sound appealing. 45-60m levels, 250-300bb starters. there's a little more work to be done before diving into those sharky waters though. it's like 90min away also. when ready...

been enjoying every game. love live players. love talking w em. only complaint is when people eat at the table. must learn to ignore it. played only two hands that were interesting enough to think about sharing. some other time. the important thing is the enjoyment and the social aspect. feels good to be back.

how cliche · 07-27-2023, 08:46 PM

snoozed on some good ops at thunder valley and it's too late to get into the rungood checkpoint series that had a v good schedule at rates within the bankroll. all that's left for a weekend warrior is a 2.5kbi w a million guaranteed main event and another 1k bi both games stretch into monday and that's not good for a rec. would probably play the 1k if it didn't conflict w other things.

the good news is the wsop circuit is comin to the north bay, about 60 miles away in rohnert park. that series goes aug 10-21. this sat will try to satty into the main event for 125. two step satty. top 10% move on. next sat that you either qualified for it or you bi again for 400. not doing the latter. top 20% from step two get seats. bi for the main is 1.7k w a 500k guarantee. can and will skip monday appts if sattied in and alive to day 3 of that game.

beyond the satty to the main prop there's definitely games to build a schedule around that fit the bankroll.
400bi 50k guaranteed 1 day games.
600bi 250k guaranteed 2 day games that fall on sat-sun.

looking forward to this.

proximity · 08-10-2023, 02:22 AM

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...230658581.html

PENN, which bills itself as “a leading provider of integrated entertainment, sports content and casino gaming experiences in North America,”

close the poker room at your flagship property, give dave portnoy half a billion dollars, and call yourself a leading provider of casino gaming experiences??

good luck to how cliche in the rohnert series and eveyone playing this week!

how cliche · 08-11-2023, 11:41 PM

thank you proximity. had a blast out at graton today. there were 200 runners. the top 20 made it to day 2. the top 29 got at least a mincash worth 936.

sorry to report that i busted someplace around 40th-45th place. v standard tournament spot and it was indicative of how i ran late in the day. there are days like this. they're the games where every time you're all in pre you're ahead but you get passed. again and a-fuckin-gain. at the level before the 3rd break, 1500/3k/3kbba there were a lot of short stacks that needed to go all in pre w like 30k-40k behind. i went into that level w a healthy but not overwhelming 160k stack. here's what i lost aip w to shorten me up quite a bit in those 30 minutes...my ak vs their a3. my aj suited vs their a8 off. my qq vs their jj. in a run neutral level i win two of those and enter the post break level w 170k-200k instead of 98k.

the death hand...pre. 2k/4k/4kbba. i'm on the button. 5 tables left. our table was 8 handed. there's an open to 9k from middle position by a deep stacked player w maybe 250k behind. there's a call from the cutoff by a player w about 70k behind. i began the hand w 86k and i held pocket 10s. i decided to 3 bet all in. deep stack went into the tank and called after maybe 60 to 75 seconds. cutoff folded. he turned over ace ten suited and binked an ace on the flop. nhgg. next!

how cliche · 08-20-2023, 09:26 PM

guess it wasn't my time. played the final circuit game i could squeeze in at 11 this morning.

in actual psychic pain right now. was rolling as table captain. playing good, running good. started w 20k and had stacked up to 75k. hero took a miserable beat before the first break as an 80/20 fav aip in a 5b shove hand w aa to go from 75k down to 30k. rebounded to 65k in an hour. so here's how i got knocked out.

pre. 400/800/800bba. new villain got moved here and asserted himself as the most active and larcenous of us all. never went to showdown. felt light quite often. always aggressive. he'd stolen his way up to 70k or so in the hour he'd been w us. hero felt he could get him good w value hands. villain opened from middle position to 2k. the player in the cutoff called. on the button hero looked down at ace 6 of hearts and 3 bet to 6,600. the opener called. the cutoff folded.

17,200 to the flop that is ace queen 6. two spades. he checks. w two pair hero should bet thinly for value. decided on 1/3 sizing 5,700. villain insta check raised to 15k. it was too fast. almost invariably fast=weak. think first before acting still. there were only 6 combos of ace queen left, 3 combos of qq left, but villain probably 4 bets that pre so unlikely to have but v v occasionally. he check raised too damn fast. there was one combo of 66 left which felt could be safely elim from his range. there's flush draws of course, so we had to give him the wrong price to call. furthermore, we weren't deep enough to just call here so it was shove or fold. hero announced, "all in". villain insta called w, not joking, 10-5 spades and got there. this happens too much and it's allegedly what we want as a 70/30 fav.

had him right where hero wanted him and he got there. bums you out when you know that the good luck is wasted on a player that isn't good enough to make a run in the game. acquaintance at the table messaged me that villain punted off 2/3 of his stack the next level trying to get up w another flush draw. it hurts.

proximity · 08-24-2023, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by how cliche

hero announced, "all in". villain insta called w, not joking, 10-5 spades and got there. .

tournament play isn't my bailiwick and you warned us the bad beat was coming but still this was worse than i expected.

how cliche · 08-24-2023, 09:37 AM

right you are, proximity.

do wonder what i should've done differently. the answer is to 3 bet larger pre, maybe 8k, although i don't know if it makes a difference against this villain.

thankfully i haven't played since, cuz if i'm honest, it's tilted me v badly. they have names for the kinds i'm going through. revenge tilt. injustice tilt. pre is what drives me absolutely nuts. he opened w 10-5 and then called a 3 bet w it out of position. we're supposed to be thankful for these players in the pool. in sep there's another circuit stop in nocal. maybe then retribution will be served.

thaskalos · 08-24-2023, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by how cliche

had him right where hero wanted him and he got there. bums you out when you know that the good luck is wasted on a player that isn't good enough to make a run in the game. acquaintance at the table messaged me that villain punted off 2/3 of his stack the next level trying to get up w another flush draw. it hurts.

You got your "revenge". He learned the wrong lesson in his encounter with you...and blew up his stack in the next flush draw that he got involved in.

Seriously though...tournament play is too nerve-racking and totally unnecessary, IMO. I tried it...but I sleep better without it.

how cliche · 08-29-2023, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Seriously though...tournament play is too nerve-racking and totally unnecessary, IMO. I tried it...but I sleep better without it.

you're not the first to tell me this. some regs tell us how w some experience we'd destroy the cash games around the bay. don't like to admit when you're right, but you might be. spent too many thousands of hours training tournament skills and virtually 0 training for cash. change is forthcoming, however. gonna elim dailies entirely from the schedule and only reg better structured higher bi games when they're available. it's important to keep the live game blade sharpened, which requires playing something live about 10 hours a week.

the post graton first 11 hours of cash were unrealisitcally great. needed it cuz there was v real fear of tilt from the circuit beat in the back of the dome. the first 6hr game was all rungood. anyone woulda come up. floped sets 1 of every 3 attempts and had players ship it w top pair top kicker when we did. same 1/3 rate applied for two pair hits when we opened suited connectors, we'd get three streets; check-bet half, check-bet half, check-bet pot on dry uncomplex one big-four small runouts. got 400bb aip when they 5bet shoved kk into our aa to finish the day. heard another dude mention he folded a king.

doubtful to run that good again the rest of the year. the second game was just too soft. you could win 150 an hour running neutral. did have to overfold two top pair rivers, but aside from those, it was remarkable how easy 90% of the spots were to navigate. need more games like the second. it's a money printing environ.

it's just two games. fearing overconfidence. a minus session next out or two might actually be helpful.

thaskalos · 08-29-2023, 04:06 PM

Stay with the cash games...keeping a steady playing schedule will improve your state of mind. And if you find holdem to be too "boring" for you, because of your tournament fix...then try the omaha cash games instead of going back to the tournaments. The omaha game is sure to keep your excitement level at a high pitch...take it from me.

proximity · 09-09-2023, 01:45 PM

ok poker fans we are back with another exciting trip report!!

today's action finds us back on the famous atlantic city boardwalk at the beautiful tropicana resort where we set up camp in the north tower near the casino! we are again joined by my amazing girlfriend estrella and on this trip we are celebrating proximity's birthday! feliz cumpleanos proximity!!

over in the poker room though, i'm quickly reminded that the cards don't care whether it's your birthday or not as a parade of rags comes my way at an otherwise great table for 1/2 no limit. eventually when i finally make a hand i'm faced with a call and a sizable raise after a mild scare card falls on the turn. this is my birthday moment. i correctly read (physical tells) the villain for strength vs my (now more mild) strength. but it turns out his definition of strength is much wider than mine and i end up folding what would have been a nice winning hand.

after a missed flush draw i decide to get up with hopes that estrella and i can somehow salvage the day?

we do find some success at an old restaurant called tony's baltimore grill which is just a couple blocks behind the casino on atlantic avenue. i soak up some of my sorrows with a plate of spaghetti while estrella has some roast beef which was absolutely delicious.

back on the boardwalk we take a long walk down past margaritaville at resorts. jimmy buffett has passed but the party rages on and i'm pretty sure that's the way he would have wanted it.

"pour me something tall and strong," jimmy famously sang with alan jackson but it's the short and sweet estrella who is the voice of reason tonight at resorts. *

"tu eres good poker player mi amor," she reminds me as we forgo margaritaville's hurricane for a small coffee back in the resorts dunkin' donuts.

"manana es otro dia."

thank you for reading.

game -166 (1/2 nl)
year -95 (2-1)

proximity · 09-11-2023, 02:16 AM

ok fellow felt and fraction fanatics we are back in steaming hot atlantic city for game number two of our proximity birthday trip; today's action finding us over in the marina section of town at the borgata!

when we last visited the borgata earlier this summer, we were in a great 3/6 limit game with no silly jackpot drop. apparently a jackpot was voided in a 3/6 game and they got rid of it altogether and i for one (but maybe the only one lol?) applauded the move because poker should be about poker, not constant talk about high hands or jackpots that rarely hit. this is what the slots are for! anyhow, in the past this corner has covered the goofy signaling that was all too common in these games with players needing to talk about "cheeseburgers"*or "lasagna" to get "help"... and god forbid a non-local "resort guest" mess up a life changing high hand of aces full of tens that will probably get run down by table 38 anyhow. enough!!

well, apparently my bliss was short lived because the jackpots and high hands are back.... along with the extra rake from every hand.... with the structure now being a jackpot chasing gambler friendly 2-4-6-12 (limit)! omg! is this the borgata or jackie mason caddyshack 2 bushwood or clark griswold las vegas?

is nothing sacred anymore?

well, we're there.... so i decide to give it a try.

i win a couple pots but not enough and i'm losing overall. i look to pull ahead when i raise a big pair but sure enough a chaser sucks out on me and starts making some obnoxious animal noises to add insult to injury. down the $44 i won there earlier this summer, the words of football great ricky watters come to mind: "for who? for what?"

i get up from the table immediately and bitterly hope their silly little game soon breaks!

out in the casino estrella gets a voucher stuck in a wolf machine and in the eternity it takes to get assistance i ponder some of the big hands of the trip so far.

at the tropicana, i have to admit i made a mistake by not shoving because i didn't consider the pot odds. maybe i wasn't 50% against a normal atlantic city player BUT i was still close enough that it was a profitable overlay situation considering the money already in the pot. really a bad amateur mistake here and certainly a reminder to always consider the total price i'm getting.

at the borgata, calling the $12 river bet certainly isn't as egregious but still i knew the gentleman sucked out and it was the kind of limit situation our old forum friend wiffleball whiz talked about folding before in these low stakes ac contests.

thank you for reading!

game -44 (2-4-6-12 lim) sigh...
year -139 (2-2)