Kohl's Poker Blog

At the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa

The casino was a blast!
End Result: +$6.
Time to play: 30 mins :(
Blinds: .50/$1
Game: Limit Hold 'Em

I was playing 10 handed, and here's how it went!

1st hand: KJo.
Sweet. Not too spectacular with ten players, but definitely a playable hand. I almost never raise in pre-flop, because people never really care much about $1. I noticed everyone's stacks were much larger than mine, and determined this was a bad idea.
Flop comes: 4d 5d 6c
Result: Fold

2nd Hand: QJo.
Again, not all that powerful.
Flop: Ac 7d 4s
Result: Fold

6th Hand: QTo.
I call.
Flop: Ac 10c 4d
I would have pursued this a little longer had there not been 8 other players at the flop.
Result: Fold
End Result: Player wins with 2 pair, AA99.

7th Hand: QTo again.
WTF!
I called, and the flop came Ks Js 6c.
I called this one all the way to the end to hit my open-ended and it never came for me. (Ks Js 6C 4d 7d)
Result: Player wins with KK.

10th Hand: KcJd.
Flop: Ad Qd Jc

BLING! Many possibilities with this hand... I called it all the way to the end.
Turn: 3d

It couldn't have gotten much better than that. (I had 9 diamonds left for a flush,
plus any of the other 3 Jacks for 12 Live Outs... I don't count the Kings because they probably made someone's straight 10 to Ace) So I was crossing my fingers.

River: 7d.

I pushed a raise to $6 and got called by a pair of Aces.

I turned over my AKJ-high Flush and collected $13. w00t!

Hand 13: A5s.
I really can't figure it out, but this is one of my favorite hands. Something always seems to work out for me...

Flop: Kd Qd Jc
Wow... that had to have hit somebody. I called to the river (there was a check around and then a bet on 4th street.)

Turn: Tc
OH WUT WUT -- I hit my Ace high straight and went head to head with the gentleman to my left. It was obvious we pretty much had the same hand. (My A5 ended up going against his A2 and we split pot.)

Result: +$7

At that point, I quit playing!

Total Result: +$6

Some things I learned:
- Raising pre-flop on my strong hands would have lost me $4. When your bankroll is only $40, it probably would have been a poor play to raise, considering most bankrolls there were in the +$200 range.

- I was still able to play conservatively and end up on top. Granted, I hit some draws... but I stuck out some of my tough hands for just an extra $1/$2. I wouldn't recommend doing this all the time, but your pot odds are good with just $1 to call.

- It's amazing how many shitty hands win. Hands like 9-4 would take a pot with two-pair, etc. You have to put more faith in lower-level hands winning a pot, but fold to players who traditionally fold many hands. (These guys only play the best)

- Pay attention to bankrolls of other players. If someone's buying in with $40, like I did, they're most likely to fold a marginal hand because they don't want to lose what little cash they have. If two $200 bankrolls are still in a hand, your raise will be less effective.

- Expect a lot of flushes and straights. People don't really care about $6 to see the final 4th and 5th cards.

- I really gotta go do this again.

Take care! Please post comments :)

-K

posted by Kohl @ 4:02 PM