2015 Poker Discussion Thread

[proximity]

not much activity lately due to my illness but I was up early yesterday and fired up to play some cards.

horseshoe Baltimore was offering me $70 of comps and $65 of promotional chips. free sara evans concert outside the casino at 4:30 sealed the deal.

would I be born to fly? or would my poker bankroll continue to die?

well, I did flop quads and a set of jacks in the 18 hour session, but overall my trips south.... continued to go south as I couldn't hit a flush draw or open ended straight draw all day, night, and morning long.

however, the outing wasn't a total loss as in addition to the comps and the sara evans concert I got to witness our very own charm city whizz "represent" by nailing a harness simulcast over in the shoe's new racing section!!

good handicapping!!

game -85
year -128 (20-15)

[Overlay]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more...ize/ar-BBl81PV

According to the story at the link, Christian Pham, who had previously won the World Series of Poker's Main Event in 2014, intended to enter a no-limit Texas Hold 'em event at the Rio in Las Vegas as part of this year's WSOP, but signed up instead (reportedly by accident) for a no-limit deuce-to-seven draw lowball event, which he had never played before. However, with his general poker background, his skill in chip management, a little help from other players, and some intense overnight study between the two days of the tournament, he won the event's top prize of $81,314.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Overlay

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more...ize/ar-BBl81PV

According to the story at the link, Christian Pham, who had previously won the World Series of Poker's Main Event in 2014, intended to enter a no-limit Texas Hold 'em event at the Rio in Las Vegas as part of this year's WSOP, but signed up instead (reportedly by accident) for a no-limit deuce-to-seven draw lowball event, which he had never played before. However, with his general poker background, his skill in chip management, a little help from other players, and some intense overnight study between the two days of the tournament, he won the event's top prize of $81,314.

Where is HORSE RACING'S equivalent to these types of stories? Aren't there any former newspaper deliverymen who are making lucrative livings as professional horseplayers?

[ManU918]

Originally Posted by Overlay

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more...ize/ar-BBl81PV

According to the story at the link, Christian Pham, who had previously won the World Series of Poker's Main Event in 2014, intended to enter a no-limit Texas Hold 'em event at the Rio in Las Vegas as part of this year's WSOP, but signed up instead (reportedly by accident) for a no-limit deuce-to-seven draw lowball event, which he had never played before. However, with his general poker background, his skill in chip management, a little help from other players, and some intense overnight study between the two days of the tournament, he won the event's top prize of $81,314.

Pham won the WSOP circuit main event, not the WSOP main event. Big difference.

[proximity]

unfortunately i couldn't get down there, but tonight would've been a great night to play at horseshoe baltimore.

during all orioles home games horseshoe draws hot-seats for every inning the orioles score AND for every home run the orioles hit.

playing my phillies the orioles score in every inning except the 7th (and the unnecessary bottom of the 9th) and blast a franchise record eight home runs.

i'm so embarrassed that idk if i'll ever be able to walk into fred and margies again.

football can't get here soon enough.

colts power!!

[proximity]

well despite another embarrassing loss at horseshoe baltimore, at least i was back rounding again. and after a bad night of racing i decided to try my luck in the no limit wars at penn national.

after a bunch of blinds and several misses with small pairs (flop comes a-j-x every time) i finally wake up with KK in a straddled pot!!!!

and when a player to my right raises the straddle to $30 (!!) i'm going to book a win and maybe (if just for the ride home) start to feel good about life again.

i shove my $40, villain calls with his A8 off, board runs out xxxx..... A.

my life, last year's $95 KK vs ace-rag charles town shove, and KK going 0 for whatever on the last AC trip flash before my eyes.

i rebuy.

KK beats another one of the seemingly endless parade of bad players who shuffle through the hollywood casino turnstiles but i can't get him to bite on the turn.

other than that, i'm blinded out and actually lose $1 on the rebuy.

winning poker appears to be a distant memory with no reprieve in sight.

game -61 (1/2 nl)
year -189 (20-16)
ytd
bonus +560

[Track Collector]

Originally Posted by proximity

winning poker appears to be a distant memory with no reprieve in sight.

Boy can I relate to that!

Adversity has the benefit of motivating us to work even harder. Eventually I may find out I am only capable of going so far, but not for want or desire.

Hopefully we see some winning sessions before the bankrolls disappear.

It seems to me you are out and about playing a little bit more.....hopefully a good sign that your previous health problems are getting much better!

[proximity]

Originally Posted by Track Collector

Hopefully we see some winning sessions before the bankrolls disappear.

after yet another bad night of racing i tried some 1-2 nl again at pen.

after several rounds of paying blinds and folding i raise with TT and get four calls. i check and fold after a flop of A-J-8, the two high cards keeping me from paying off a set of 8s.

over the next few hours, small wins with TT and AJs keep me in the game and i'm finally going to get back in the win column when i limp in on the button with A4s.

flop: 844 rainbow.

but i guess i'm not totally out of the woods as the big blind bets with calls from the player under the gun and two kids in middle position before the action even gets to me.

i'm not going to fold anyone out here so i just call, planning to shove the turn if necessary.

queen of the 4th suit falls on the turn and the two early position player drop out of the hand.

i'm all in and mp#2 raises out mp #1 on the river.

despite a cruddy jack falling, i'm starting to get concerned.

"you have 8s?" i ask the kid.

well, no.... he doesn't have 8s... but it turns out that it's even worse as the kid has played 8-4 off suit from middle position and flopped the boat.

not even in the 3-6 games at horseshoe would i expect to lose to such a ridiculous hand from outside the blinds, but yet there it is, 8-4 off suit, laying flat on the felt in front of the kid.

i stare incredulously at the table for a minute before sulking off into the grantville night.

there will be no rebuy as my bankroll... and my life... continue to circle the bottom of the toilet.

game -60 (1/2 nl)
year -249 (20-17)

[dirty moose]

Just remember, you want people like that guy in the game!!!! It's all come back to the good and patient player. You're one session away from the black. Keep at it.

[thaskalos]

Think of it this way:

You've lost about $7 per session...while getting double that in bonuses. If you took that same $7 to the racetrack...you wouldn't even be able to buy a Racing Form with it.

[Track Collector]

I may have mentioned this before, but I am really surprised that a lot of players (at the Charles Town Races and Slots racino where I play almost exclusively) fail to take advantage of an information gathering opportunity.

Here is an example:

Player 1 is in a position that requires him to be the 1st person to initiate betting for that round, which he does for both the flop and the turn. He ends up heads up with player 2. Both he and player 2 check the river, so by "rule", player 1 (who was the last person to initiate a bet), has to declare his hand 1st. Instead, he delays just enough to get player 2 to declare 1st, and seeing that he is beaten, he mucks his cards.

Although it might only be a few hands over a multi-hour session, IMO player 2 misses a valuable opportunity to see what kind of hand(s) that opponent might play, and what kind of approach they used in their effort to win the hand. Add to this that one tends to see some of the same players over and over again, so eventually one might be able to see enough hands to form a reliable opinion, and subsequently identify a profitable exploit. This is 1/2 No Limit, so chances are much less of encountering a real sharp player who is capable of changing up their strategy from one session to the next.

Unfortunately everyone else at the table is being denied this info as well.

[proximity]

in general I would just flip my hand over at Charles town races and if other players are having trouble putting the villain on a range.... good.

and if I was hell-bent on seeing these cards I'd pretend that I was distracted by the cocktail waitresses or tv so i'm not coming across as a rules expert.

keep it loose and fun!!

[proximity]

against my better judgement I joined a friend from racing for a session at the sands (Bethlehem, pa).

I usually play 3-6 limit at the sands if it's running, and with $300 high hands every hour from 1-9.... it certainly was running, lol.

if slot machines are the crack cocaine of gambling, then high hands are the crack cocaine of poker. personally I don't see the big deal about this promotion, but whatever the reason, there's no denying that mid-atlantic players absolutely LOVE it.

as for my own game, it's basically business as usual at the sands.

KK continues to fail me and 8s continue to kill me.

I go 0-4 with cowboys and one old cowgirl (coulda been a cheerleader from the landry era) crushes me any time an 8 hits the board.

somehow though I hang around and eventually get a dream hand when I turn a full house with AQ and get a lot of action.

AA late seals the deal and, even though it's only a sip, it's good to taste victory again!!

game +45 (3/6 lim)
year -204 (21-17)

[charm city whizz]

In what may be the most aggresive promotion I've seen in a poker room at Maryland live in July from 11am-3am Monday-Friday $500 high hands every 15 minutes for the whole month.....aces full of 2s min qualifier

Pretty nice promo If your a player

[proximity]

Originally Posted by charm city whizz

In what may be the most aggresive promotion I've seen in a poker room at Maryland live in July from 11am-3am Monday-Friday $500 high hands every 15 minutes for the whole month.....aces full of 2s min qualifier

Pretty nice promo If your a player

do you think horseshoe is really gonna lower the rake.... or is it just talk?

any inside info??