I just finished a 22 hour marathon session at Rivers Casino and I am about to bore you with some interesting hands. Before I begin, let me lay out the experience. I arrive at 1:00pm and sit down to a table of seven players. The card room had about 8 out of 26 tables in use and I immediately recognized many players and employees from my previous trips to Mountaineer. I buy in for $300.00 max and sit at my favorite seat(six) for a $1-3 NL game. I know going in that this is going to be a long session so I am not in any hurry to mix things up until I get a feel for the table.
It always seems early on during the day, the table plays tight and the bets are small. Almost like a damn limit game. An average opening bet is between $8.00-$10.00 dollars and a c-bet at $15.00. Screw that. Whenever I entered a pot, it was $15.00 to go and $25.00 for my c-bet. This really took people off guard and it got me noticed. This accomplished one thing however. I got people out of their comfort zone. I sat for the first few hours playing pretty tight, drinking coffee and listening to music. I was just getting a feel for the table dynamics. Most stacks were medium to small and maybe just one over $600.00. I hate playing against a bunch of small stacks because it limits your options but I realized the table would continuously change as the day went on.
For the most part, my stack was always growing. I never went below having $500.00 in front of me after I got to that point, which was fairly quickly. I was there to grind and stay away from race situations as much as possible.
Here are a few fun hands;
Later in the day I started drinking Coronas and started getting obnoxious. Some players were humored and some were not. A get dealt KK and open for $15.00 while announcing that I am holding a big sale to get rid of overstocked Halloween costumes. I get one caller and see a flop of AQ7. I cut out $49.00 and mention that it’s a discount because the store down the street is selling the same hand for $50.00. The other player is not amused and pushes for $275.00. Before calling, I told the guy that his AQ is going to suck out on me but I call anyways. He tables AQ and catches his Ace on the river. I wasn’t steaming because I knew I got my money in good. -$290.00
Another hand came when I got dealt 78s. It was many hours into session so I had a good feel for the people I was up against. I opened for $15.00 on the button and got one caller. He was a pretty tight, young, Asian who played pretty tight and always showed the nuts at showdown. Flop was 533 two spades and he made it $50.00 to go. I look at him and he said he was ready to commit his last $300.00. I remarked, “You will do that with a 3?”. He responded, “I’m ahead of your flush draw”. I told him he was correct and called. Turn was 9s and I immediately stared at him for 10 seconds. Without looking away, I said “all in”. He immediately called and I knew at that point, I was beat. He tabled 93 for the boat. River was Js, not that it matters. -$365.00
Hand of the year;
I get dealt AA and open with my standard $15.00. I got one caller and this hand came really late in the session against an older, call station gentleman who played some very questionable hands throughout the night. Even so, he was sitting on $900.00 in front of him. Flop A74 and I check because he had a reputation for betting in position. He made it $40.00 and I did my best acting job possible. I went in the tank, but not too long. Only long enough to make my call painful. Turn was J and I check after contemplating for exactly three seconds. He bets approximately $100.00 and I irritatingly ask the dealer to count out his bet. I tank for 10 seconds and weakishly call. River is a 10 and I don’t even look at the guy. At this point I am thinking to myself “how I can get the rest of his chips in the pot?. But do I bet or call the river and hope he bets into me?”. I put him on two pair and check because I don’t think he wants a showdown. He bets $100.00 and at that point, knew I had him. I tank for 20 seconds and sheepishly announce “all in”. He instant calls and I table my AA. He mucks, table goes wild, and I sit there with my head down, smiling ear to ear. I couldn’t look at him for the rest of the hour he played. I really don’t feel I could have gotten all his chips if I had been aggressive in any way. I was very proud of my trap and I must have really sold it because nobody at the table expected to see my pocket cards.
Other than those few pots, I spent my time grinding out small to medium size wins. It was a good session for me, I entertained the table and severs, and I left +$600.00. My deepest stack at one point was +$1200.00 but some hands did not go my way. The servers were very entertained by me because I was acting like an idiot to at times. Whenever a girl came around to take drink orders, I would ask for something I knew they did not have. For example, “do you have any diet Orange Crush?, No?, screw it then, I’ll take a Corona”. “Do you have any Dads Rootbeer? You do? Is it diet? No?, Then I’ll just take a Corona”. I told one server that my bottle had a hole in it and wanted a replacement. She fell for it and was ready to get me one until one of the players ratted me out. That bastard.
