Mrs. Grip Update

I have gotten a few calls today related to yesterday's post. The argument is not based on poker in any form. It is very personal and related to our relationship's historical problems. Nothing further here, but it is not about poker.

Otherwise, I am going to Kentucky to visit Grip Sr. and Momma Grip. It is Momma Grip's birthday today and we are going to celebrate. I will probably have a 2-5 session tomorrow night to discuss.

Oh, an update on Crazy Tom. He went back to LV and played in the NL event today. Just got a text message from him. He is out with a flopped set. I do not know what got him. Probabaly a straight or flush draw that hit.

All, have a good weekend. Until next week,

Good Luck and See You at the Felt.....................

Updated KJ

I try not to only talk about hands that I win (i.e. - losing with 3s full), but I did take this kid out. I honestly felt that he was making a move with every bet. And he was, sort of.

I called the $55 raise preflop with KJo. Flop comes KQ3. He bets $100 in a milisecond. I call just as fast to hopefully slow him down.

The turn comes the 4 and he goes all in for $400 immediately. Nothing here made a lot of sense if he could beat my hand. He could have KQ or AK, but it smelled like a move, looked like a move, and eventually I had to call. I actually thought about the Q10 that I laid down in LV for $1500. That mistake will bug me for a while.

Here, he was a solid player and it appeared at every turn he was moving on me. Once I called, I realized that he had been moving preflop but hit the flop fairly hard for his hand, he had K7o. He was moving on my straddle, which I suspected with the $75 preflop. Then for his misfortune he hit a ton of the flop. Sorry for him, Good for me. I feel good about my reads right now. I just hope it continues through next weekend.

Update:

Buzzard won a seat into the 100-seat guarantee on Full Tilt on Sunday. He took down an $8 satellite giving away only one seat. Good Job buzzard.

It appears that the week leading up to the $2000 event will not be very enjoyable. Mrs. Grip and I are not speaking as of 4:45 PM yesterday. A huge argument arose from events in 1992, yes that is right, 1992. Kentucky Rock was around at the time and can testify as to how bad those times were for me. This is our first real fight in over a year. And unfortunately for someone, I have dug in my heels and will not cede the point, regardless of right or wrong. Sometimes, I have to make a stand, and I have chosen this time to make that stand. Oh, and I am not wrong and did not cause the problem that she is placing on me.

I am still going to LV, and anticipate that she will go as well. We will just have to wait and see how this turns out.

Until next time,

Good Luck and See You at the Felt....................

Kojak Play

Let's discuss a hand and how you would play it.

I am in the fourth hour of my 5-10 NL session in New Orleans last week. We are playing three handed waiting for two smokers and one bathroom breaker to return to six handed. For the only time all day I straddle the button, UTG, for $20. SB folds, the BB makes it $75 to go. He has $600ish in front of him. I look down at KJo.

Information on BB. He is a young player that has been playing relatively tight, but had a few moves in him. He had moved some small bets around leading up to this hand. He had been playing for about an hour with us.

I announced that I was straddling because it is the only time I could do it when it made sense. He sort of laughed that off and made his $75 bet relatively quickly and forcefully.

1. What would you do?

Okay, now assume you call and the flop comes KQ3 no suits. He is first to act and chunks in $100.

2. Now what?

Assume that you called, or raised and was called. Now assume that the turn was a 4 making the rainbow complete. And the BB moved in for $400 instantly.

3. Now what do you do?

Answers to come tomorrow. Think through this one completely. Until then,

Good Luck and See You at the Felt........................

And Like a Phoenix...

TeamGrip Rises Again.

I am going back to the WSOP for one more $2,000 NL Event on July 21. I am selling 5% portions for $125 apeice. The $25 is for food and room expenses. I have a few left so let me know as soon as possible. The TeamGrip original members are still in positive territory from last year.

I am also trying something differently, I am taking Mrs. Grip this time. Maybe she can center my emotions and cause me to focus a little harder than the last time. I feel good about my tournament game, and cash game when I care.

I should do well, I am due and I am playing well right now. I am seeing hands develop better than ever. We shall see what happens.

One other update I failed to mention yesterday. I flew out of LV directly to New Orleans (Sin City to Sin City some say) for work. Our trial was cancelled for one of the days that I was down there and I got a chance to book some time into a $5-10 NL game at Harrah's. I played well and booked a $1500 win in a four hour session, mostly five handed. I got a few good hands and read two guys perfectly and got paid off. One hand may display how well I was playing. I was running really well and usually would have gone bust, but lost the minimum with a monster:

In the BB with 33. EP crazy makes it $30. Button ($2500 stack) calls as do I ($1600 stack +800 at the time). Flop come J 9 3 rainbow. I check, the original better bets $50, button calls and I check raise to $150 total. Initial guy immediately folds, the button immediately calls. The turn is a 4 completing the rainbow. I push out $250. He INSTACALLS. I honestly think that he has Q10 for the nut draw, but was not sure. I decided that I would push on any other cards other than an 8 or K. Then the river comes another J. Board now reads 3 4 9 J J. I start to move in and then he perks up big time (sometimes physical tells are a real blessing). I then check, and he immediately says $400. $400 for a $1000 pot, I know I am not folding and if my read is right, I then lose the minimum. I say "I call, 3's full." He looks up and says "Jacks full" and turns over J9. I had him trapped big time and he escaped.

He quit about an hour later and was crowing about how well he had done (+$3000 or so). I could not help myself and I said, "you think that you played that J9 hand better than I did don't you?" He answered, "I won the pot didn't I?" I responded, "Yes. But you left $800 on the table. I lost the minimum with my hand, you won the minimum and sucked out to get that." I honestly believe if the board comes off below a 7 I double up through him.

Anyway, it was nice to book a nice win with the performance in LV being as it was. Until next time,

Good Luck and See You at the Felt...........................

WSOP Trip Number 2

Okay, trip one. Well let's just say it was a disaster and leave it at that. I busted out of the $2000 about 90 minutes in with AA. 25-50 blinds, 2200 chips. I was in MP, UTG had limped (red lights), I look down at AA. I then hope that the UTG had KK or AKs. All fold to him, he calls my 250 bet. Flop comes out Q J 6 (2 clubs). He checks, I bet 600, slightly more than the pot. He immediately goes all in. I think for 30 seconds and say "either you are on a flush draw (classic move here) or 666." I call. He had 66 for bottom set and I am drawing very thin. I miss, he has me covered, and I am out. No sweat, played it right. I could have laid it down, but that would have been a mistake - IMHO. Thoughts are welcome. The rest of the trip was a blur, as I played badly and made just too many mistakes.

One highlight. $125 daily at MGM Grand. 73 players, I make the final table and finish 5th. I then played a single table with the Weasel, took a bad beat three handed and then only made a $175 profit. The Weasel moved in preflop for the 10th time it seemed since we had gotten to 3 handed. I called with 88, he had 22 and flopped a set. If that one holds, I have 75% of the chips heads up against a predicatable player and walk to at least 4 $500 chips.

I played too many craps and blackjack sessions and made a borderline laydown on Monday, July 3 with Q10 with a KQQ8 Board. That one pot would have been enough to put me close to even for the trip. He moved in with $1500 on the turn and I could not find a hand that he could have that I could beat as he had been playing solid all day. He had Q9. Sigh. I pretty much own the deck there. I then lose my stack to a K high straight when I had a Q high and he had to have perfect KQ and had called a raise with a gut shot. Well he did and got my chips. No worries mate.

Kentucky Rock made a big bluff at me in the 2-5 game Sunday. I did not speak to him for a few hours as he showed it and it was really bad timing. He was running well and did not have to risk his chips. Good to see him playing NL with some spirit. Good Job KR, now lay down that AKo in cash games more often and you are home free.

Cloudy had a profitable trip, but made a strategic error against me. I had warned him not to mess with me in 2-5 because I would bust him. He sat on his cards for pretty much all afternoon on Monday, then made a move into me when I had top pair and was tilting a little. I ended up busting him with a 10 high board holding 10-4. I was bluffing until I hit top pair and then got married to it and busted Cloudy's 66. Sorry Cloudy. Not really.

Sunday night poker was uneventful as I got knocked out early and Kentucky Rock and Cloudy went down for the count early as well.

Crazy Tom and JM had some fun as they had the best looking roomate of the group, LL.

The Weasel is still running well. He took down a $200 limit event at the Orleans for $15,000. Good job Weasel.

Now for the news. Mrs. Grip and I are heading back to LV for the $2000 event on July 21st. She is going to the Spa and I am going to play better and make it DEEP. Time for me to play some real poker and quit "f'n" around with it. Until Next time,

Good Luck and See You at the Felt...............

Sorry for the Delay

But the WSOP was a disaster. Nothing went right. Lost with AA in the $2000 event. More to come later. Until tonight,

Good Luck and See You at the Felt.................