Yesterday I played one four hour session in the afternoon (nitty -$45) and one short two hour spell in the evening (+$107). Our table had become short-handed and they were breaking it and as I had a bit of a stomach ache I decided to book a small profit and head to bed instead of getting reacquainted with a new table.
Went and played the $340 at Caesars this afternoon. Got off to a tidy start winning a few pots and bumbled along above average for a bit.
There was one absolute donkey at our starting table who was butchering hand after hand. Odd min-reraises with raggy aces pre-flop, calling a river bet (after a lot of thought) with Ace high, having called a re-raise pre-flop, that sort of thing.
He went out after suffering what I thought was a brutal ruling. On the river, his opponent bet 900, and he went all-in for 5000. His opponent turned over 99 face-up on the table over the betting line without saying anything or moving any chips forward.
There was a moment's pause.
"Is that a call?" says the donkey.
"Yes, it's a call" says the opponent, finally tossing a 5k chip in the pot.
The dealer asks for the floor, who rules that the 99 are live and the called bet stands!!!
Me and the other English guy at the table sit there open-mouthed as the donkey (quite rightly) starts a scene. Surely this type of ruling is an angle-shooter's paradise - just turn your hand over and watch for your opponents reaction before deciding what to do?
The guy wasn't turning his hand over (deliberately, in front of him) to get a read - he had tossed it face up onto the felt about 18 inches in front of him, in exactly the way you would do if you were folding face-up.
Not only that, but later in the comp, another player, facing an all-in pre-flop (who had not been at the earlier table) asked the same floorman who had given the earlier ruling if he could turn his hand face-up to get a read.
"No you can't. Or rather, you can, but you will then have to sit out a one round penalty." (he called with AK, was up against AA and hit a four-flush to win, before happily spending his penalty watching the baseball with his buddy).
My stack took a hit when I button raised with
and both blinds called. It was checked to the turn when a fourth diamond fell. Checked to me and I bet at the pot and the small blind check-raised allin. I'd bet 5k into the 14k pot and he only had another 3k so I had to call with the 2nd nuts, knowing he only does this with the
.
From there I was in grind mode and got by with punishing limpers (still amazed how much the US players do this with marginal hands when stacks are relatively shallow) until I went out in 12th shoving from the BB with
against a button raise (heard this before?) and mateyboy made a big call with
.
Someone asked about the Hard Rock poker room earlier. Whilst I've not been there, I have heard two table conversations about it and the reports are that it was nice, the chairs were comfortable, the music was low, but the tables had very little padding on the felt.
Also, they have a strange rule in cash games whereby you could straddle from the button, but that the action still started from UTG (I believe that normally, button straddles mean SB is first to act) and that action would then pass over the button, the SB and BB would act, then the button would play, provided there was no 3-bet pre-flop (or something). All a bit confusing.
Finally got around to seeing the fountains at the Bellagio - always managed to miss it before. Also, sadly, the early exit from the Caesars comp means no Pussycat Dolls Casino photos (they don't start work till later).
It is now 8pm, so off to get some food and then cash downstairs.
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