Live Cash Game = Success

Sorry, long post. (2 sessions in one)

So after my few live sessions, I went back to Awkwesasne with Adam (fishbones11) and Lacasse. I was going to play 1/2 NL and Adam and Lacasse came to play the 5/10 NL. Of course, we called before we left and they said they were spreading 1/2 up to 5/10. We got to the border and the Customs officer was asking all the usual questions and it seemed like we were going to get let off easy (I have been searched before), and I guess he didn't like the idea of us having almost $10,000 total, we said we had around $8,000 and I guess they didn't believe us. Anyways, he told me to park my car and go inside. So now, I'm just like whatever, I've done this before we won't be hear long, Adam thinks we are going to be like 6 hours and Lacasse is just doing what he always does, making the most hilarious jokes with the Customs officers.

They handed us these small sheets to fill out and the officer inside was pretty cool about everything, he was joking around as well, giving us grades on how well we filled out our sheets and stuff. Anyways they went out and searched my car, and then made us empty out our pockets and made sure we had under $10,000 or we have to declare it which is just a pain in the ass because it's just more sheets to fill out.

Finally, we get to the casino and we're all ready to play. Obviously there is no 5/10 game playing, but there is a waiting list which Adam and Lacasse both sign up for, and then they sat at a 2/5 game while I waited to sit at a 1/2 table.

From my previous sessions, I had done extremely well, but tonight would be different. It was insane how many draws I missed, I mean, ask Adam, I don't know how many open ended/flush draws I could miss in one night, it was sickening. Of course I got it all in on the flop with those draws for $200, $300, and $400 pots and missed completely, so after losing a few buy ins, I just started to play like a maniac while I waited for Adam and Lacasse to finish up. I was shoving blind for a while. I would straddle to $4, and everyone would limp and I would shove knowing no one's calling and if someone does, I am probably not that big of a dog to lose. I was called once by 66, and I showed A 10, and won that race, I think that was the only pot I won all night. My last hand of the night went like this. I am in the BB, of course I didn't look at my cards. There were maybe 4 limpers, and I just shoved blind again. UTG+1 called right away (around $100) and everyone else folded. I said I didn't look and it's the last hand of the night for me so I will show my cards after the board comes out, he said he would do the same. The board came A 8 7 6 2 complete rainbow. He said "I have nothin man, just Jack high." I looked at his cards and he called my blind shove with J 9 off. Haha, good call. So basically I have a good chance of winning this hand until I look at 3 4o. WP. So after that session,

Profit: -$400.

Basically, I can't win every night right? This wasn't a major set back at all, considering I'm still up like $350 or so. And, I played fine up until I missed all my draws then I just went psycho, but I was having fun and didn't care if I lost. I know I am a profitable cash game player and all I can do is just wait until I go next time, they are just so awful, it's awesome.
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I went again this past Tuesday night (November 20) with a different friend, who thankfully drove. I have driven so much it's crazy, so it was nice to get a drive from someone. We didn't get searched at the border, which was a bonus, and we got to the casino and were playing by 10:30pm. So a long, good session was in front of me. I was at a pretty sweet table, I knew how everyone played and there were a few donks who made terrible plays but were catching cards. I sat tight for a while, bought in for the max, $100, and won a couple of small pots maybe $20 each. I was hovering around $125 for a while until this hand.

I'll start out by explaining what my table is like.

Seat 1: Me
Seat 2: Middle aged male, plays every hand, raises with AA, KK, QQ.
Seat 3: Ottawa player (I didn't recognize), late 20's, tight. Will raise hands like AJ and KQ etc.
Seat 4: Late 20's, early 30's female, tightest player in the world.
Seat 5: Older male, 60ish, solid, plays suited connectors, not a bad player. (old man #1)
Seat 6: Complete donk, overbets with hands, plays every hand, will pay you off.
Seat 7: Young guy, my age, tight.
Seat 8: Older male, 60ish, loose, but weak. (old man #2)
Seat 9: Young guy, my age, plays like me.
Seat 10: Weak tight younger player, like really weak tight, like really bad. He was asking me if he made the right play every time he made a bet or something, he would say like "was that the right move or, should I have bet more or what."

Anyways, so I finally got a hand, 1010 in the SB, UTG limps, UTG+1 makes it $12, Hijack calls, I call and UTG calls. At this point, UTG has any 2 cards and the hijack has any 2 cards, and the raiser has a solid hand like AK, JJ, or something like that. The flop was Ac 10c 2, exactly what I wanted. I checked assuming the original raiser is going to C-bet but has AK hopefully, UTG checked, UTG+1 checked (now I know he doesn't have an ace, how am I going to make max now). Hijack bets $25, phew, finally, and I didn't think he was trying to buy it, from some tells, I could tell he hit that flop. He had around $60 behind so he wasn't fold if I raised, but now that I think about it, I think I played this hand poorly. My initial plan was to check raise this pot assuming someone hit it or has a flush draw so they can pay for it. I did check raise, and the Hijack only has $60 behind so I could raise to $60, but that only leaves me like $20 behind for the turn, so thats pointless, so I just shoved $104 or something like that. UTg and UTG+1 fold, hijack calls, but looks like he really doesn't want to. He calls and I showed my set, and he had Qc9c, so if I can dodge a club, nice. The turn was a 2 and I hit my boat and took the pot down, I was now around $205.

The bad beat pot was up to $55,000 and the way the hands were going on my table, it seemed like we should have won like 5 bad beat pots. There were 3 quads and 3 straight flushes, unreal, I've never seen anything like it. And each time someone had quads there was a straight flush possibility and every time someone had a straight flush, there was a paired board, so it was close. Would have been nice to get some extra cash.

I dwindled back down to $100 after calling raises pre with some pocket pair and suited connectors and missing, and I raised with AK, AQ, and QQ and lost some small pots, so everything was fine, just waiting for another pay off. The double up earlier with 1010 was an hour into the session so there was still plenty of poker to play.

By now, Seat 6 had left which sucks cause he had like $500 in front and I wanted all of it, but I guess he was smart enough to realize he was hitting everything and left while he was up, so that was too bad. This was a sickening hand, and I can't believe what fell. There was a straddle, and I was the button, 2 limped for $4, I made it $16 to go with 7h6h, I knew the limpers and SB would call so I decided to juice up this pot if I hit it big. And I knew it, the SB and limpers did call my raise so there is $66 in the pot and the flop was 8c 9h 2h, finally, an awesome flop for me, but could be a disaster cause the limpers could have a set or a higher flush draw, but I raised for a reason so I can't fold now since I got the flop I wanted. UTG+1 (old man #1)limper fired out $25, so right away he isn't looking for the check raise, I know he has a monster, Cut off (old man #2) called after much debate and I instantly shoved, SB folded and UTG+1 called right away and I had him covered by like $5. The cut off thought forever and finally folded, face up, 8h 5h, basically a bad hand for me to see, takes away 2 of my outs. UTG+1 had 8d9d for top 2 pair, and I had seven hearts, three 5's, and three 10's in the deck to hit, so 13 outs, 25% of the deck. I hit a black 5 on the turn and he missed his boat on the river and I raked in the pot and he just shook his head in dejection and seemed pretty pissed at me. He mumbled something along the lines of "7 6 eh, god that's awful". I said, "well, if I'm raising with junk like that, come and get all my chips."

That hand brought me up to ~$250 and I had a sweet image to play with. Three other players left, 2 were tight, so it was like they weren't even there anyways, and the guy to my left was stacked. Now the table was 6 handed, and I love 6 handed poker, so I was excited to just run over the table. I wasn't getting any real good hands to play in position with, so I had to fold alot, but I was still able to pick up small pots here and there. It was so easy to out play these guys.

It was about an hour until I played a big hand, (old man #2) limped for $2, I made it $12 in the CO with QQ, folded back to him and he shoved for $55 total, and I called, he had AhQh, he missed and I stacked him again and he reloaded.

A few hands later, I raised to $10 UTG+1 with KcJc, and the Ottawa player to my left shoved for $46 total. It folded back to me and I put him on a low paid and believe it or not, my read was bang on, he had 66. I spiked a J on the flop and held. I was now up to $300 and change and looking good, he reloaded as well. The other 1/2 table broke and filled the spots up on my table and now we had a full table again, but this time the big stack sat right to my left, and he knew what he was doing, he purposely said, who has the biggest stack and sat beside me, he had $1000 in front, which sucked, cause he was playing like a maniac and I couldn't control the table now, but all I have to do is sit and wait. He made a pretty sick call for a big pot.

It folded to the maniac and he made it $12, the BB (another Ottawa player) called. The flop was Q 5 3, Ottawa player bet, maniac bet $25. Ottawa player called (lets call him OT2). Turn was a Q and OT2 fired out $50, and right away I put him on nothing, just his demeanor said he had nothing, just a read. Maniac called $50, so there is now $175 in the pot, and river was a 3 putting 2 pair on board ( Q 5 3 Q 3). OT2 bet $80 and the maniac called after much deliberation, he took like 5 minutes to call and OT2 showed A 10 for ace high and maniac showed 7 5 for Q's and 5's. Pretty good call and he got up and freaked out and was like that's such a sick call, blah blah. He basically did what Kenny Tran did this year at the WSOP ME when Kenny called the river with a flush on board.

After that nothing much happened, the table got short, and I got 4 pocket pairs in a row. 88 lost to A 6, QQ lost to K 10 on a K 10 10 A board, it was checked around on the flop, and I folded a turn bet showing my QQ face up and he showed his K 10. Then I got 33, missed, then 55 and hit a set and won a small pot. Went to the cage at 5:15, profiting $250 for the night and headed home in the wonderful snow storm and morning traffic in Ottawa. Didn't get home until 8, should have been home at 6:45 or so. Oh well, it was a good night. I'll be going again soon, wish me luck...