Monday Casino Trip

Went to the casino on Monday got a room and stayed the night for my birthday. It was a chance to get some casino live play in before the Heartland Poker Tour next week. As most of you know I play a lot of bar poker and lately I have been tired of all the play that comes with bar poker. So a trip to the casino was just what I needed. Now the funny thing is I got there to sign up and find out a bar from the Twin Cities is bringing 40 players to the tournament. That is good and bad. More player means more money, but it didn't get me away from bar poker play. There ended up with 80 entries and twenty some rebuys. It was a nice payoff. I get to my first table and am happy to see a lot of locals. The table was on the tight side except for everytime I raised I got called. I was very much card dead for the first hour losing about 1/3 of my stack. blinds are 100-200 and we are nearing the end of the re-entry period. I am little frustrated that my cards have been so bad because there were chips to win and I hadn't gotten any yet. I limp in out of position with A-4 suited. Guy behind me makes a big raise. Everyone folds to me and I fold. Next hand I have q-10 suited and limp in again. I am trying to make something happen without to much risk. Guy behind me again raises to 1000. Everyone folds to me and I decide that I can't keep giving away 200. I call. Flop is 10-10-3 rainbow. Wow! I check guy moves all-in, I call and double up and then got a lecture about calling with Q-10! That was the highlight of the tournament. I won a few small pots and eventually became short stacked and pushed in on small blind to everyone folding with A-9 and BB calls with a pocket pair and wins. As a side note the top 3 chopped the tournament for $1100 each. Not a bad payout for a $60 entry. I now put my name on the cash game list and wait for a while and am finally called for a 2-10 kill game spread game. Kill game is if someone wins two hands in a row limits go up double and winner must post $4. It is a new table and I buy-in for $100. Most bought in for $200. My cards were a little slow at first, but that's ok. I like to set up a tight image to the table so I can get folds later. About 10 hands in I see the 2-10 hand of a life time. A women that has yet to play a hand raises preflop to $8. That was about the standard raise on this table and gets 4 callers. I fold. Flop comes Q-J-5 two hearts. Women checks and one player bets $12, one calls, one folds, women reraises to 24. Call. Call. Turns is 9 of clubs. Women bets 20 next player raises 20 other palyer calls, women reraises 20 more, next player reraises 20 more. Third player grumbles and calls, women calls. I figure women has a set of queens, first player must have K-10, and I am thinking flush draw on the other player. River card is a blank. All players check. Women turns over set of jacks, first player turns up set of fives, and third player turns up 8-10 of hearts for the low end of the straight for the winner of over $400. Wow! Now I look back and wonder why all the reraises on the turn. I see the $20 bet by the women and maybe the reraise by the first player, but to call 40 with the low end of the straight and a flush draw maybe I see it. Then the reraise by the women ok I get that. What I don't get is the 4th raise by set of 5's and then the call by the low end straight. I would have thought someone would have folded or at least just called instead of raising. Anyway it turned into a good night for me. Had Kings and queens both hold up for a couple of wins. Then after i won a couple of small pots in a row it was a kill pot and I had to put in $4. I had 7-8 unsuited. No one raises preflop. Flop comes 9-10-A. One player bets $12. I am last to act and decide to call and see one more card. Turn is a 6 giving me a straight. Player bets 20, I reraise 20. he calls. River is nothing. I bet 20, he calls with a set and i win a nice pot. Later I cashed out for almost $250 A nice 150 profit and covered my tournament buy-in ands then some. So it was a good time. Last night my kids surprised me for my birthday. We went out for dinner and then my son came to poker with me at the Legion. I didn't have great cards but made it to the final table and was card dead again most of the night. The best part of the night was they tapped the Leines Octoberfest for me. It is one of my favorite beers. I will have a whole post about the women that got second last night, but maybe later this week.