A Good Laydown

Good morning everyone.  I'll give you one guess where I am.  Yes, Las Vegas..., aren't you CLEVER???  :)  I'm at the Mirage Sportsbook once again, having just colored my way to $150.00 total in football parlay tickets entering this weekend's games.  Of course the football weekend begins tomorrow night, so I'm ready to go.  Like I said, I'll be paying a lot of attention to this weekend's action while trying to tweak my wagering attack.

As for now, let me catch you up on my cash in last Saturday's Monte Carlo Freeroll.  There were 51 qualifiers this time (still with the top 26 getting paid).  Very early on I was involved in the hand that allowed me to reach the final table.  I'm not POSITIVE that I made the right play, but based on my results, I did make a good laydown (even if I didn't).  I started this freeroll with just over 6,000 in chips (6,300 I believe).  The min starting stack is 5,000, but you can earn an extra 100 for every extra qualifying hour that you play.  I started my other 3 freerolls here with 5,100 once and with 5,200 twice.  Having cashed in all three, I felt good about the extra chips.  Back to the hand...  Still in the opening 25/50 round, I raised pocket kings to 300 under the gun.  Almost as soon as the chips hit the felt, I regretted raising too much.  That's before one player called my raise, and then another re-raised to 600 - HMMMM...  The gentleman who popped it has seen me play several times, and I was pretty confident that he didn't think that I was just chucking 300 out there UTG to win 75 bucks.  I called, as did the other player, so 3 of us went to the flop with 1,875 in the pot in the 25/50 round, not normal AT ALL in this freeroll.  The flop was all red, 2 4 6 I believe, with 2 to a flush.  I checked my black kings, having no interest betting into aces or a flopped set.  The player behind me checked, and then the re-raiser bet 2,000.  I thought long and hard, and I play too well in this tourney (plus today I had extra chips) to shove here and get busted.  After we both folded, the girl to my left looked at the older gentleman and said, "aces..."   It was more like an assumption than a question, but regardless, he didn't respond...  Even as I sit here typing this, I still feel that he had aces, but even if I was wrong, I still had chips.

Fast forward to early in the 100/200 round, where myself and the girl to my left are now the blinds.  Folded to me, I look down at AA.  I raise to 600, and am surprised when I get called - she has seen me play also, although this does look like a standard steal.  I bet 1,000 on the jack-high flop and get called.  I bet 2,000 on the lower turn and she goes all-in.  I barely have her covered, and I figure that if she hit a set of jacks or two-pair (or whatever), then so be it.  I called fairly fast, because she immediately asked, "aces?"  I nodded and tabled them, and she tabled her kings...  The river didn't hit her, and I now had 10,000 in chips.  I later picked up pots preflop with KK and AK.  Approaching the bubble, now in the 1,000/2,000/200 ante round, the small blind shoved for 3,700 when it was folded to him.  I looked down at 89 of spades, and knew that I only had to call 1,700 to win about 7,000.  I still had enough chips to make another orbit, and I did call getting about 4 to 1 odds, only to see his JACKS.  I flopped an 8, but got no more help.  On the very next hand, I raised my QQ all-in for 3,200 when the action reached my small blind, and actually did show them when I picked up the big blind and antes.  I was surprised that he folded any 2 cards there for 1,200, and I wanted to let the table know that I wasn't pushing suited connectors every time...  :)  I kept it light by turning to the player to my right and saying, "these would have crushed your jacks last hand," and then I showed everyone...

So now we're on the bubble playing hand-for-hand with 27 players a few hands later when I once again look down at queens (YES..., I was dealt more hands in this freeroll than in any other I've ever played in)...  Facing an all-in, and having already seen players standing at the adjacent table, I looked over, and almost instantly the tournament director announced that we were no longer hand-for-hand.  I immediately shoved, and found that I was up against A 10.  I believe that I still would've made the same play in hindsight (I was asked later), even if the player at the other table didn't bust, but it was a risk-free $75.00 for waiting 2 seconds...  The A 10 didn't catch up with me, and I stacked my chips after hearing the expected, "QUEENS AGAIN?!"  :)

Okay, fast forward to the final hand of the tourney now.  We're at 11 players, with 11th getting $325.00 and the final table earning $500.00 (the chip leader gets $600.00).  I am automatically all-in on my small blind.  I had to make another decision during my previous hand, in the big blind.  A lady who had been playing pretty tight raised all-in, and it folded to me, where I found K 2.  I did not like the idea of facing a bigger king or an ace here (and possibly much worse), although I would usually call here, heads up.  However, since she had made the raise, I opted to see the next hand.  There was an all-in raise, and the big blind behind me (having me covered) decided to call all-in also, doubling the chances that I'd be knocked out (in theory).  The raiser flipped K Q, while the big blind tabled Q 2.  I had not looked at my hand yet, and the table learned what I had as I did, as I peeled each card from the felt.  First..., an ACE!  Then, a ten...The flop came..., WITH AN ACE!!!  :D  The board ran out dry, and I won the main pot and survived.  Oh, but I told you that the big blind had called all-in, right?  Well, the KQ had him covered, and the KQ beat the Q2 - tournament OVER...  :D  

So that's how I cashed for $500.00 last Saturday, and felt no guilt in using my comps on the prime rib and seafood buffet, and was so stuffed and happy that I let my dinner digest in the Monte Carlo Sportsbook while I treated myself to another $30.00 worth of NFL parlay tickets, which I eventually cashed for $170.00 (from just that $30.00)...  :D

That's enough for now my friends.  Hopefully this weekend goes just as well and I have this football stuff figured out...  Have a good one and I'll see you again tomorrow with some football picks from Joey and myself.