Should I Have Led Out?

A recent session in Ventura was a profitable one even though I won only two pots.  It was the 2/3 and I bought in for the max, $300.  It had taken awhile to get into a game and they finally had enough players to open a new table.

Fairly early on I was dealt two red 7's in the small blind.  A player in early position opened to $20. That was a pretty big opening raise, but a few hands earlier, he had opened to $25.  I later found out that he didn't have a player's card, so perhaps he was new to this room.  Anyway, two players in front of me called the $20.  I still had nearly all of my $300 buy-in and the three players already in had either more than I did or were pretty close to my stack. So it made sense to call and set-mine.  Then the big blind shrugged and said, "Well, with so many callers, how can I not?" So he called too.

The flop came Queen-9-7, two spades (the Q & 7).  I was first to act, and decided not to lead out.  I was assuming the preflop raiser—or someone, at least—would bet and then I'd check-raise.  But the preflop raiser checked.  Fortunately, the next player, who we'll call The Beard, bet $40.  Then the guy on my right called the $40.

So I could proceed with my plan to check-raise.  My default there is 3X.  But with a call, I figured 3X + the call.  Honestly though, the bet of $40 was kind of small for the size of the pot, I briefly considered betting more.  But I did settle on the 3X + the call, so I bet $160.  The big blind and the preflop raiser folded instantly.  The Beard took a bit of time, He talked a bit, "Guess you have something, huh?"  That sort of thing.  He finally folded, the guy on my right folded instantly and I took in a pretty decent pot.

That was fine with me.  But afterwards, I wondered if I did the right thing.  No, I'm not questioning the size of my bet (though you are welcome to), but I wondered if I took too big a risk not betting out first.

In a five-way pot, there's certainly no guarantee the preflop raiser is gonna c-bet, right?  I mean, Ace-King isn't likely to c-bet.  A pocket pair lower than Queens would likely check. Not even sure Queen-Jack or Queen-10 would bet with so many in the pot. 

Or were the percentages on my side?  As I initially suspected, someone would bet, right?  I just needed one of four players to bet to be able to check-raise.  Being the first to check meant that I had four chances for someone to bet.

The thing is, with a board like that, so many draws, I sure didn't want to give a free card to four opponents.  Do I have to lead out to play it safe?

I should point out that the table was still new and I didn't have a lot of information about the players.  No obvious maniacs or aggros had revealed themselves to that point.

It worked out but did I do the right thing?

A bit later, with Ace-Queen of diamonds in early position, I opened to $15.  There were two players, including The Beard who was in the small blind.  The flop was pretty nice, all diamonds.  Always nice to flop the nuts.  Even better, The Beard did what I didn't do in the previous hand. He donked out.  In fact, he bet all his chips, $51.  Sweet.  I just called in case the other player wanted to come along.  But no dice, he folded.

The Beard said, "I think I need some help."  I showed my hand, saying, "I guess you do."  He didn't show his hand.  After the board bricked out, he just mucked, and left to get some more money.

Damn.  He never came back, and they opened his seat up 20-minutes later.  And I never won another pot.  That guy was my personal ATM.

I did get pocket Kings about an hour later.  But I was in the big blind, it folded to the small blind and we chopped.  With Kings, I consider that a major victory.

Eventually the table got short-handed and very boring.  So I called it a day and booked a $140 win. It was a pleasant ride home, but I kept thinking about whether I should have made the donk bet on the first hand.

Don's Incredible "Woman Said" Session

WARNING:  This is a "woman said" tale and is really, really out there.  I mean this is probably several times more salacious than anything I've ever posted before.  Those of you are who sensitive to this type of material may want to think twice about proceeding.

But I must say I am lucky that my friend Don was able to provide this tale from a recent poker session of his in Vegas for us.  It has been way too long since I've been able to provide you a story of the "woman said" category and I miss them.  I hope I can someday write a new one of my own, but this one from Don is definitely a worthy addition to that label.

So, with that fair warning, take it away, Don.

A very loud, somewhat drunk woman comes into the poker room and is first on the list because. She decides she wants my table, proclaiming it's the "fun table". One of the guys is not far from leaving and tells her as much.  She is talking loudly to her friend the whole time she is waiting and talking loudly is something she will do nonstop for her entire time in the room.

When she gets to the table we find out she is a stay-at-home mother of two, that she has also been a bartender and a manager at a chain restaurant/bar.  Also that she met her husband in college and that they've been together for 15 years and married for almost 9—this last fact is important later in the story.

Her mostly monologue goes on throughout the session, although a few other people, myself included, do join the banter.

Shortly after sitting down she says "shit" and then asks the dealer if swearing is okay.  Being that it is after 3am on a Friday night, he replies that it's mostly fine as long as it's not directed at other players and other players aren't upset by it.  So, she continues to freely use profanity.

She also likes to give people nicknames.  She is Mel, because her given name is Melissa and in 5th grade when "you can't spell and are still figuring yourself out, she dropped the 'issa' and has never looked back." Mel proceeds to nickname me "Red" because I'm wearing a red shirt.  I ask "well what if I'm not wearing a red shirt tomorrow and we play?". She said I'll still be "Red" because once she nicknames someone, that's it.

The guy next to me is wearing green as are two other players at the table who she calls "Drew" (short for Andrew) and "Mike" (because that's his name and she likes the name Mike).  But, my neighbor can't be "green" because she's already used shirt color for my nickname, so she gives him a choice of "Leprechaun" or "Green Goblin."  He chose "Leprechaun" and remained so for the rest of Mel's time at the table.

So, play goes on with Mel talking loudly and almost nonstop.  A new dealer, Reginald, pushes in.  He a good guy, but he is younger and less tolerant of cursing at the table.  He mentions this to Mel a couple times and she said she asked about it before he got to the table and was told it was okay—I then relayed to Reginald that she was told it usually wasn't a problem as long as no one minded and it wasn't directed at another player.  He was okay with that, although he did ask Mel to try to rein it in a little, which she did for a bit.

Then, Mel got beaten in back-to-back hands by Mike (a very small pot) and Leprechaun in a $50 or so pot with a lucky river.  Mel got a bit upset and said.  "Dammit, and I like you guys. If I weren't married, I could f*ck that green cock."

Reginald told Mel that the comment was inappropriate, to which she replied "it wasn't directed at anyone, there are 3 guys wearing green here and I didn't say which green cock I would f*ck."

Reginald turned a little red and Mike said "Mel I'd say if it's something that would embarrass Reginald, then it went too far."  While she laughed at that she was still a bit upset that this particular cursing was not allowed and again said something about f*cking a green cock.  At this point, Reginald, clearly fed up said "look you don't have to talk about f*cking green cock, so just don't."

Mel was a little annoyed but, acquiesced and while Reginald remained as dealer didn't swear.  However, she did say that she couldn't use any curse words or dirty language, you know, words like "F" (meaning f*ck) or "C" (meaning cock) or "A" (meaning ass).

Time passes and another dealer pushes in.  Mel, now a bit chastised, continues to not swear and use other more family friendly words for things—like "buttocks" instead of "ass".

As she going on in her monologue, Mel mentions that she chose our table because "there are 2 vag's over there" (referring to the 2 women at the other table) and she thought she "should spread the vag's around."

The dealer has clearly worked graveyard for a while and at this point indicates he is less particular about the swearing rule than Reginald, which ultimately leads to the next "woman said" moment.

Mel's monologue turns to her family.  She talks about her daughters, 4 and 6.  She talks about her husband and how they met at college.  She then says that they've been married almost 9 years and that means that it's getting close to their 10 year anniversary promise, "her buttocks."  Now, Mel is a little overweight and was wearing a dress, so I really didn't notice her behind.  But, I thought, getting a butt lift seems like a weird 10th anniversary gift, but hey to each their own.

I was wrong about the meaning. A few minutes later Mel says, "yup in a little over a year, my buttocks is losing its virginity.  I'm kind of worried about it.  I've heard it hurts, and that I'm going to need a lot of lube, but we promised."  After some discussion that it was natural and wouldn't hurt too much, Mel said "yep, I promised.  I figured at 10 years, the marriage is losing its excitement and that he'd need a new hole.  So, I figured that the ass would keep him from screwing around with other women.  I'm not thrilled about it, but if it keeps him interested, then it's better than the alternative.  I guess anal can save your marriage."

Don's story ends there.  Apparently this got a laugh and everyone moved on.  Perhaps Don (or even yours truly) wil run into Mel a year from now and find out how it went.

Thanks for the great story, Don!

Vegas Summer Series Preview (May Ante Up Column)

Here's my latest Ante Up Column, or at least the version I submitted. As you can see, it is a preview of five of the big poker summer series that are coming starting this month.  The rooms missing, Aria & Planet Hollywood, were covered in my previous column, which you can find here.

You should be able to find this issue in your local poker room by now.  Enjoy!

=  =  =  =  =  =

Golden Nugget hosts the Grand Poker Series, May 28 – July 8.  The $600 main event has three starting flights beginning June 27 and offers a $600K guarantee.

Most weekends during the series will offer $200 buy-in, multi-flight NLH events.  Each will have three starting flights a day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a day 2 on Sunday.  The guarantees for these is $250K, except for the first one, starting May 30, which has a $300K guarantee.

Once again, a staple of the series is a $150 buy-in NLH tourney at 1 p.m. that runs daily, except during the weekends that offer the $200 multi-flight event.  The guarantee on most days is $25K.  A nightly $120 tournament with a $5K guarantee runs at 7 p.m.

There are four seniors events starting June 15, including Omaha 8/B with a $10K guarantee on June 17.  A $150 Ladies event with a $10K guarantee is set for June 19.

Disciplines other than hold-em are offered most days at 11 a.m., usually with a $250 buy-in. Guarantees vary between $10K and $20K. There are also $360 events in this time-slot. Big-O, with a $10K guarantee, runs June 24. A $20K guarantee HORSE event is offered on June 30.  A PLO Bounty event with $100 bounties and a $10K guarantee plays on July 1.  Seven-card Stud with a $10K guarantee follows on July 2. On July 3, an Omaha 8/Stud 8 championship event with a $25K guarantee is offered.  

VENETIAN:  The Deepstack Championship Poker Series runs May 13 – July 28 and offers more than $24M in guarantees.  An $1,100 Summer Kick-off event with two starting flights and a $400K guarantee starts May 27.  On June 3, a three-day MSPT event with a $3M guarantee gets under with the first of its four starting flights. 

Another MSPT event with a $3M guarantee starts on June 17. It has a $1,600 buy-in and three starting flights. On June 24, a four-day, $3,500 buy-in event with a $2M begins. It has just one starting flight, with registration open until 5 p.m. on day 2.

Two $1,100 "Summer Saver" events are offered in July, each with $1M guarantees. The first of the two starting flights are July 5 and July 9, respectively.  New this year are a couple of "Epic Stack" tournaments, which are $600 buy-in events with five-starting flights each and $750K guarantees.  The starting stack 50K.  The first flights for these are June 14 and June 23.

The LIPS Ladies tournament, with a $500 buy-in and a $50K guarantee, runs June 17-18. An $800 Seniors event with a $750K guarantee has the first of its two starting flights on June 10.

Fans of disciplines other than hold'em can find Limit Omaha8, PLO, PLO8, PLO Bounty, Big O and HORSE events throughout the series.  A one-day, $600 Omaha 8/Stud 8 tourney with a $50K guarantee runs June 22.

The main event is a four-day, $5K buy-in with two starting flights beginning July 16.  It has a $2M guarantee.

ORLEANS:  The Summer Poker Series runs May 28 – July 7.  A $150 NLH tourney with a $25K guarantee runs at 11 a.m. most days.

 

"Championship" events, with $400 buy-ins, run throughout, in a variety of disciplines.  There's Omaha 8/B June 1, HORSE June 2, 8-Game Mix June 8, Stud Mix (Stud, Stud 8, Razz) June 9,  PLO June 16, and PLO 8 June 23.  All of these have $50K guarantees.

The NLH championship, also a $400 buy-in, has three starting flights beginning June 29 and offers a $200K guarantee.

The $300 LIPS Ladies championship, with two starting flights, begins June 21. The Senior Poker Tour hosts its $400 championship event beginning June 15.

Except for the events already noted, most days have a NLH tournament in the day and a non-hold'em event in the evening.  These are priced between $150 and $300. There's plenty of Omaha, Omaha 8/Stud 8, Triple Draw, 8-Game Mix, Triple Stud,           and HORSE.

The Orleans is offering a Player of Series award. A total of $10K will be awarded, with the top point getter earning $5K.

WYNN: The Summer Classic is set for May 30 -  July 16.  The first big multi-day event begins on June 11 with a $1,100 buy-in, three-starting flight NLH event that has a $1,500,000 guarantee. The first of two-starting flights for the $1,100 PLO championship is June 25.  It has a $500K guarantee. 

The $1,600 NLH championship event has three-starting flights beginning July 11. It has a $2M guarantee.

There are two $1,100 Seniors events, on June 9 and July 7, each with a $250K guarantee.  A $400 Ladies events with a $50K guarantee is offered on June 25. A $550 PLO tournament with a $100K guarantee plays on June 16.

The rest of the schedule is filled out with one-day NLH tournaments with solid guarantees.  The biggest of these are the $1,600 buy-in events with $350K guarantees running June 4, June 23 and July 9. Single day $1,100 events with $250K guarantees make up a good portion of the schedule. There are also $55   0 single day NLH events with $100K guarantees throughout the series.       

BINION'S: The Summer Series runs June 1 – July 1.  This series specializes in games other than hold'em.  Except for Sundays, the featured daily event for the first two and a half weeks is a $550 event. June 1 is PLO8, June 3 is HORSE, June 5 is Limit Omaha 8, June 6 is 7-Card Stud, June 8 is PLO, June 10 is Triple Stud. June 12 is Stud 8, June 15 is Limit Omaha 8/Stud 8, June 17 is PLO8, June 18 is Razz and June 27 is Triple Stud.  There's also a $550 NLH event on June 14

Championship events with $1,100 buy-ins run later in the series.  These all have two starting flights.  PLO starts June 19, NLH starts June 23 and HORSE starts June 28.