I decided last week that I was going to play the Ladies Event during the Borgata Poker Open's Spring Event (1st one ever!). I had wanted to play the opening day Deep Stack event, however, Hubby Mike made a dentist appt, and my friend was in from Hawaii, so I had to bail (I was not happy). Hubby Mike said that as long as he could go to the driving range this past Saturday, I can play the event. So, of course I let him go to the driving range Saturday :)
I know I haven't been blogging much about poker lately, but I was having a bad run for awhile and I know that I needed to get away from the game for awhile, clear my head, concentrate on other things, then get back into the game. I can count on one hand how many times Hubby Mike and I have gone to the Borgata (Atlantic City) this year. Here it is, almost May (almost half the year is gone already!) and we've gone only a few times....so you know it's bad. At one point during the height of our poker days, we would go every weekend. Then we cut back a little bit as he was taking a hit, but what was good was that I viewed it as a job. If he lost $200, I knew that as a team, I'd have to make up his $200 and I refused to leave the tables unless I was even money plus $200 for him...at least as a team we were breaking even. Then the tables turned a bit. Then we both started doing bad, so we cut back drastically. Now, 'knock on wood' Hubby Mike is starting to fare a little better and did well the last time we were down there. Yesterday, he took a $16 hit at the cash game, which isn't bad after he was down about $200...so he made a lot of it back up.
I wanted to get my feet wet again with tournaments since I've been doing not so great at cash games. Awhile ago, it was the opposite...I was doing great in cash, not so good in tournaments, so Hubby Mike said I should just concentrate on cash and move up a level or two. It's tough for me because I'm comfortable at the limit I play, but I also like to play tournaments. I needed to see that every time I dumped $200-$300 in a tournament and then won $600 in cash, I could have netted almost $1k if I just opted not to play the tournament. But now that I'm doing bad in cash, I want to try to focus on tournament play, hence my decision to come out of 'ladies tournament retirement'
I am a poker player. No doubt about it. I love poker....and it's a huge part of my life. Friends disagree, even Hubby Mike said he wouldn't take it THAT far....but here's how I see it. My job ends next September, if I don't find another one before then. I'm currently on a HUGE project and put in for a few other Army jobs, but was told that since their organization is relying heavily on the project I'm on, they won't take me into their organization b/c that would leave this project with someone unknowledgeable about what I'm doing....apparently I'm too good :( I'm trying to work with them to see if they would just put in writing that after this project, they WILL give me a job then, but for now, nothing. I've been applying everywhere, nothing yet. SO, worse comes to worse, I can always give professional poker a shot. Hubby Mike says no, so do some friends. Hubby Mike has been coming around about it. I'm covered under medical insurance from him...and he's the breadwinner after all. I've been saving as much as I can with our salaries and house expenses and we are currently saving for a downpayment on a house. However, with me possibly being out of work, poker could be an extra income for us. I don't gamble with our bill money, we have a separate account for our gambling and I'm very tight with that money lately. So that's why I'm getting back to the grind, in case I'll need to make it a 'job' in the future. And I know some of you may shake your head and tell me I'm wrong. It's not just a pipe dream of mine. I've had professional poker players come to me and say how I'm a good player and I could make a living out of it...they also tell me areas in which I need to improve to become great. I very much enjoy the game, especially meeting new people and I know from my frugal lifestyle, if I made a living out of it, I would never get over my head with it.
With that being said, Let's Shuffle Up and Deal!!!!!! So we get to the B at about 10:55 and the tourney starts at 11. Hubby Mike is dillydallying in the car (as always!) and I tell him to hurry...he said there won't be a line....and of course, we go in, a HUGE line (both for the ladies event at 11, and the seniors event at noon.). Ugh...and I have to use the restroom. So Hubby Mike and I get in line, then I beeline for the bathroom. When I come back, I'm telling him that they should let the ladies register first since our tourney had now started...and as I say that, here comes a worker from the B saying that if we're in line for the ladies event, they opened up a 3rd window just for us :) SWEET! So I get my ticket and go to the new room where they were doing some events. I sat down to a very interesting woman that some of you may have played against, her name is Rosa Lee. She was once a man, and made the transformation to a woman. I've seen her around most of the ladies events and have wanted to play at her table, and here she is right next to me. Let me tell you, she is a WONDERFUL lady! She's supernice, easy to get along with and will talk about ANYTHING! I really admire her. You may hear some negative remarks about her on 2+2..so I advise you stay away from those threads....and if you say one negative thing about her to me, you'll have to deal with my wrath.
So let's talk some poker! First round I got nothing....and I mean nothing. There were some hands where one lady had kings, the other aces...some nice pots. Then another time, a woman had a straight flush. I kept seeing big pots swing back and forth, even little pots...nothing to me :( I was dying for a king or an ace....just one would make me happy. FINALLY, UTG I get pocket kings. The blinds were 50-100 so I made it 600...and I got 5 callers...really? Flop is 2 Ace 3. Really? ugh. Rosa's to my right and she bets out like $1200. I insta fold. even if she has a pair, someone has an ace and my kings are done. So I fold. Woman across from me raises, Rosa goes all in, lady calls...lady had Ace 10...Rosa has 4 5 spades...ugh...all those women that called priced her in. Of course I made a snide sarcastic remark about calling 600 preflop, but I knew she had to call after everyone else did. the other woman had Ace 10 off. Okay here's the confusing part. At the ladies events, EVERYONE talks....it's not like a co-ed event. This woman kept saying that she got a tax form from B that she won like $200k last year and had to pay taxes. Mostly it was from her and she said it was mostly tournaments. How do you CALL an all in, risking your tourney life with ace ten with that flop with 6 callers pre flop...do you think your ace 10 is good? Are you not putting somoene on a BIG ace, or even a set? The straight seemed out since there was a big raise preflop, but seriously risking your life with Ace 10? yea, you hit your ace, but your kicker is weak....
Later on, when the blinds were 150-300 , I get dealt kings again...SWEET! I wanted to raise it to 1200, and I was thinking how I should do it....2 purples and 2 blacks, or 1 orange and 2 blacks. Dummy me bets out 2 orange and 2 purple (3k) LOL. The dealers like 'Three' and I'm like 'I raised' (thinking he didn't see the chips I put out) and he's like 'I know, three thousand' Everyone insta mucks and looks at me and I tell them about my airheaded moment....woops! At least I won the pot! hahaha.
Few hands later, Hubby Mike comes over to check out the action and I get dealt pocket aces. this time I successufully make it 1200, everyone folds. All well. You always win little pots or lose HUGE pots with pocket rockets.
A few hands later, I'm in the BB and there's a raise to 800 or 1200, I don't recall. I look down at Ace Queen of clubs. So I call. Flop is queen 9 something. I check, and raiser checks. Turn is a club, putting two clubs out there, and giving me the nut flush draw with my pair of queens. I check, raiser bets out 800, I call. King comes on the river...I'm putting her on ace king. I check, she bets 1200, so I call, she has king nine...caught her 2nd pair on the river. Dagnabit...why didn't I bet my queen on the flop...she probably would have folded...all well. I'm now down to about 5500 from starting stack of 10k.
Few hands later, I get dealt jack queen off. eh, I'll limp in, see what happens. Flop is jack queen rag (2 spades). I'm first to act, and bet out 1k. Lady in seat 2 raises me to 2k. everyone folds and it's back to me. I hear Rosa and the girl to her right commentating but it's okay b/c I'm going all-in....it's my game or it's not. I push all in, she calls 'UGH" I think. She has king queen (top pair, king kicker). Please no king please dealer...7 4 runs out the board...sweet double up!
Soon after, we get moved to a new table, and I'm bummed b/c I was having a blast talking with Rosa. The new table is really quiet and 2 other girls from my table are there with me....but they aren't near me. We went on a break soon after. I didn't get ANY cards for just about a round and was getting annoyed. I'm normally patient, but the antes and blinds were killing me. And what set me off too was that when I was SB, i limped in (everyone else folded) and the BB goes all in for like 3x the amount of chips I had....okay FOLD. The blinds go around again and I'm on the button. People start mucking fast and I'm like 'Okay I'm gonna make a move at the pot if everyone folds' sure enough they all fold...I look down at 7 4 off...geesh...I raise to 2k, small blind folds (HA!) and the big blind calls (gulp) flop is 7 4 10 (WOW!) BB bets out, I push all in, she insta calls...she had 9 10. Nothing on turn and river and I double up, and I get looks from EVERYONE at the table...not that I need to defend myself, but I do. I'm like 'OMG I wasn't getting anything and decided that if everyone folded, I'd make a play at the blinds, not expecting to get called' (with 9 10 no less). NOt that she was justified in making the call either...in hindsight, Hubby Mike said that...she called your raise with 9 10?
I lost a few pots after, won a few, you know how the swings go. We go on break and come back. I'm in the small blind after the break and I get king queen...so the blinds are 500 1000 and I make it 3 on top. BB calls. Geesh. Just give me your blind so we can call it even since you stole mine way back when HAHAHAHAHA. Flop is 8 king 8. I go all in, she insta calls...WTH! She's like 'I have an 8' She flips over jack 8 off...really? You call that pre flop with a raise? Whatev. And of course no kings for me...get a flush draw on the turn, brick on the riv and I'm out.
all in all, at my original table, I had a blast....not so much at the new table...I hate table changes :) We're set to go down to the Boat on May 1st for the Showboat Tourney VI or VII or whatever they're at. anyone else going?
