The start of a strange weekend

Spent the weekend in a marathon poker session at Bally’s. While I’m always trying to make money at poker the trip, or trips as it were, was more of an attempt to pull hours to qualify for their 15K freeroll next week, first place $5K. I made about half the rated hours I needed early in the month and had plan to make weekly trips early in the month with an over nighter with my nephew getting the freebie room somewhere in the mix. Complications over the last couple weeks killed those plans so I went down the last weekend with plans to try for 31 hours of play to qualify. What followed was an experience and a half with lots of fodder for the blog.

The experience started Thurs night with an early sack time as I planned to hit the road early Fri to beat the work rush. Beat the 5 am alarm by a half hour and was on the road by 5. Quick stop at WAWA for cash, coffee and a breakfast sandwich and away I went. Traffic was light and I made it to the poker room by a few minutes before 7. Unlike most times when I was there and there was a 2-4 game running this time the only table going was 1-3 NL. As I am still on a limited bankroll NL is still a reach since I couldn’t afford the double buy in I usually prefer to have to play. Put my name on the limit list and wandered over to watch the NL. After about 30-45 min. there was still no sign of a limit game opening soon and I had gotten a good look at the NL table. Since I was looking to make hours and sitting there idle wasn’t doing it I decided to violate my rule and buy in short so I sat down.

It was a short table 6-7 players and reasonable by which I mean no heavy preflop over aggression. I prefer a post flop game so it’s the type of table I like and why I was willing to buy light. It was a good idea, hours wise, as a limit table did not open up until about 10:30. I wound up playing for a couple of hours and basically held my own. Won a couple small pots and lost a few bets. The lack of pre flop aggression probably bit me in the ass as I hit A-A twice and got no action. Once I got the blinds and once I pulled about $12 with a couple of limpers. As I only raised to $15 both times guess the cards weren’t that great. Only two really memorable hands, one I was in the other I wasn’t but the same poor son of a bitch got bit twice. Guy was to my right and was up a bit looking at his stack. First hand he raised to $15 and the SB raised all in for a buck and a quarter. Guy calls and turns over A-J vs. the SB’s A-Q. Flop hits with J-J-T and table lets out a collective exhalation. Turn however brings the K and there’s and under breath ouch from the table. River a blank and SB doubles. Few hands later same guy raises to $12 and I call with AK. Flop brings an A with two babies and he bets $20 and I just smooth call. Turn is a K and he checks and I shoved my last $45 or so. Yes, I know, I should have been all in on the flop but it ain’t the only, or the worst, mistake I made all weekend though it could have been the costliest. Guy tanks and finally calls and flips A-J and shrugs when he sees the A-K and I double up and am up a few bucks. I drop a few bucks calling preflop raises with A-paint or small pairs and folding to bad flops and they call the limit game. I wind up down about $50. Going to have to try the NL tables when I have the buy ins and am not worried about making hours.

Hit the limit table hoping to make about another 10 hours or so to give me a shot at freeroll. Also needed to stay that long to avoid the rush hour on the Sure-kill expressway between Philly and King of Prussia. Limit poker at Bally’s is an experience. You have an eclectic mix of people. There are the old guys playing hold’em until a stud seat opens up. There are the retired couples playing poker together who would probably have been playing shuffleboard in another day and age, there are the young kids who think they are playing on TV and various and sundry other types. My table was very passive but as I was going for time it really didn’t bother me. You need an aggressive table, or at least a player or two, to make money at 2-4 but at the same time it becomes riskier as the loose play leads to major suckouts. As it was it there was nothing really exceptional about the time at the table, just a lot of standard 2-4 play and fun chatter that killed the time. Only two notable incidents. One “hotshot” kid doing a stutter step check on a draw type turn card and then insisting he never checked after those following him checked and dealer turned the river, an A. While three of us insisted the kid had checked, I said he did but wasn’t in the hand, he had the dealer convinced that the dealer screwed up and the floor agreed with the dealer and the A was reshuffled in and the kid bet and the river bricked and he bet again and won with a pair of Qs. Woman in the 10 seat had the A and would have won with it if not for the controversy.

The woman in the 10 was the other thing of note. She was a poker dealer at Borgata and had been working at the time of the record craps run that just happened. We spent a while discussing that. According to the woman they were lined up 5 deep to get on that table once word of the run had started. The woman setting the record run did not come out majorly ahead and the biggest winner only hit about 25 grand. For a run that long she said the casino got off cheap considering what could have happened with a run that long and a few high rollers. As it was only a low limit table and only 16 players could fit round it at a time the low rollers had the places and probably weren’t going to give them up by the time the word of the run got out so the Borg got lucky. Made for interesting table talk. As it was I got my hours and headed home after playing all the time and breaking even. Wound up down the NL amount and planning to head back down the next day.

More on the weekend for any who can stand the boredom. I will guarantee you will get to bust my chops as I made a total ass of myself Sat night and I will, to my everlasting shame, put it up here. Thank You for your attention for now.