The four-day SE MN Poker Championships has come and gone. I was really curious to see if we could get enough players for the weekly Monday night game. As luck would have it we had more than enough and at one point we had eleven players squished around the table. We would have been just fine but Ho-Chunk Shane couldn’t remember to RSVP on time. I jokingly commented on Sunday afternoon that I spend more time in this garage (Scotty’s Poker Palace) than I do at my own home. I think for the month of April there just might be some truth to that statement.
I took Monday off from work as a personal day. We get so many personal days a year and if we don’t use them, we lose them. It was the perfect day to take off coming off of four late nights of poker. Playing poker can be very demanding, especially tournament poker. Waiting and waiting and waiting. Stamina and patience are the keys, but that is tiring. I had to keep reminding myself that I have to be at the tournament as the director anyways so don’t do anything stupid.
The Monday night game had some people that didn’t get to play in any of the tournaments or just one of them. I guess that is why the game filled up. Brother #2 was there, Danny Softball, M., Scotty Too Hotty, Focker, Ho-Chunk Shane, Z. the Yankees Fan, Mr. Suits and Little A. Grandpa Steve and Nuggets Fan came late. Nuggets fan is a new player to the game who played in a couple of the events the past weekend and wanted to get into our group. Plainview Dave was supposed to show up along with Bill the Accountant, but both had to cancel at the last minute.
For the first time in a couple of months I bought in for the full buy-in. I can’t remember the last time that happened. I don’t know if the $60 experiment is over, but something just told me to buy in the full amount this time. I think I had the worse position on the table. I had Brother #2 to my left who straddles both UTG and the Button every hand and Little A. on my right who is one of the most aggressive players. In addition to dodging the regular landmines in this game I had to contend with those two directly next to me.
For the first 45 minutes or so I splash around in a couple of pots not really connecting with much of anything and then this hand shows up. I’m in the BB with Brother #2 straddling UTG. It is limped to me and I limp with the A7 just looking to see a flop and play fit or fold. Brother #2 raises his straddle to 31 and then the calling begins. There are five callers by the time the action gets to me. Lots of value and dead money laying in the middle of the table so I shove expecting to get one caller because I know that as soon as I shove, Brother #2 will shove and everyone will fold. I was partly correct. Brother #2 did shove, but we were able to pick up to other shoves from the group. Everybody had me covered. The flop came 357 then a 6 on the turn and I thought for sure someone had a straight. The river hit me with an ace, but I thought I lost to a straight. When I turned over my cards two pair stood strong and cracking Brother #2’s pocket kings. He straddles every time and raises about 55% of the time and this is the time he picks up kings. Nonetheless, my river ace brings home the pot for me and a great start to the session.
In order to get the whole feel of this session I have to explain a hand that didn’t involve me. Scotty Too Hotty opened for 65 after a couple of limpers. Focker, who was next to act, shoves for about 400+. The rest of the table folds around to Scotty Too Hotty who calls and turns over pocket Aces. Focker turns over pocket nines. The flop comes 788 and then the launching card comes on the turn. It is a 9. I don’t remember what the river is, but Scotty Too Hotty wins an academy award for his best Phil Hellmuth impersonation. Phil would be proud. The game settles down a little bit and we are back to playing a sane game of poker.
I pick up a bomb win for the first time in about three sessions. Of course it only took me getting quad nines on one of the boards. Still not a fan of bomb pots. I call it the $6 stupid tax and fold most of the time as I completely whiff the board. I think I’m the big winner on bomb pots because I only lose $6.
Z. the Yankees fan opens for 12 and I look down and see pocket Jacks. Not a fan. I decide to just play this one like any other pocket pair and maybe, just maybe flop a set. There are about five players in the pot when the action gets to Nuggets fan and he shoves from the small blind. It is folded to me and I have to imagine that he has some kind of big ace. Using my winnings from the session so far I decide to call his 177 shove. He turns over AQ of clubs. The flop comes 689 with two clubs. The turn is a ten and the river is a 3 but no more clubs giving me the pot.
Then there is the hand of the night. Coming off of playing tournament poker the whole weekend, I have been folding my usual playable suited connectors up to this point. A couple of times I would have flopped big hands and I told myself no more folding them connectors. The other side of me said that now that I started playing them I will probably not hit them the rest of the night. Little A. opens for 15 and I look down and see 4-6 of hearts. I call. Danny Softball calls and then Scotty Too Hotty starts counting out raising chips and he is not stopping. He finally settles on 80. I told myself that I’m going to do what Little A. does. If he calls then I will call and if he folds, then I will fold. He thinks about it for a while and then he calls. I put in calling chips and so does Danny Softball. Four of us put in 80 pre-flop and we’re off to see a flop. It is spread across the table and comes 347 with one heart giving me a pair and a gut shot draw. I also could get two pair that would be Scotty Too Hotty’s big pocket pair. He leads out for 150. Little A. thinks about it and eventually folds. I know I’m calling with this board. I have to put my profit to work. I call and then Danny Softball folds. Before the turn is dealt Scotty Too Hotty announces that he is shoving 175 in the dark. The turn comes out and it is another 4 giving me trips. I call. The river is a 2 and he has pocket aces. When I turn over my cards he goes into another Hellmuth rant but this one would even embarrass Phil. Scotty Too Hotty leaves and we don’t expect to see him for the rest of the night. After about a half hour he comes walking back in still steaming, but he rejoins the game.
I pick up a win with AK when I flop trips. I then lose more than I should have with AJ to Z.’s A8 on an A83 flop. I finally flop a set with pocket 8’s in the big blind, but lose to a flush do Danny Softball and even pay him off on the river. Overall, it was a good night. I still didn’t pick up a big any big starting hands and I went four days of hold’em, including tournaments, I haven’t seen pocket Aces. I have rarely seen kings or queens also. If I can win with A7 and the 4-6 of hearts, I don’t need aces or kings.
The next Monday night game should be interesting. Scotty Too Hotty is in Vegas and I hope he cools down before he gets there. Speaking of Vegas, I have almost finalized my plans for the August Vegas trip. I’m just waiting on the S.O. to make some minor decisions. It might be another couple of months before something is decided.
kingsup62 